My partner and myself have decided to make the leap and move our metalworking shop from hobby level to full on working shop. We've found a nice warehouse in west oakland in an artists community that we will be carving out our own little 1000sqft shop. It's going to be a live work situation with the bedrooms built into a mezzanine loft and the metal shop on the ground floor. We just got done meeting with the landlords and I have our final foot print so I'm going to start mocking up the space as we see it. Renders and then photos to come. 

Good luck.

Network in the area...find folk with tools and services you can not put in house ...and then use them.

 

Ric

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37004-welding-table-and-tool-storage/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37003-walk-in/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37002-main-floor-into-prep-area/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37001-looking-north-from-nicks-woodshop/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37000-living-quarters/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36999-living-quarters-2/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36998-forge/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/36997-birds-eye-1/

 

So here are a few renders that I finished late last night. Things in here are subject to change based on where we feel like pulling power to and so on and so forth. This space will house three craftsmen. Two metalworkers and one leatherworker. The bathrooms and kitchen are elsewhere within the warehouse in a communal space. It's 37ft long by 27ft wide. The room on the ground floor is the leathershop, other than that the entire ground floor is shop space and our office in the south west corner. 

You might look into using a gas forge. Or using a fan assisted hood for the coal forge. Even great shops with great chimneys seem to become covered with dust from the forge. Also make sure to install good fire detectors and CO2 detectors. I would consider installing very good forced ventilation in the shop area. It will be very poor in the living area is there is a lot of grinding or painting or any type of chemical use just below. 

good luck

There's going to be a 7200cfm extraction system hooked up. It's going to come in off the wall right by the forge and T off above it to tie into the extraction hood over the welding table. I didn't rough it into the model yet. 

The main problem I see is exactly the dust and grime that will settle in the living quarters, no matter how good extraction systems are. I suppose that living quarters have to be almost air tight insulated from the working area. You guys will have to clean thoroughly your working area every day after work. Would I go forward with such nice project, of course I would!

Welcome to " Living The dream" I hope all goes well for you both!

Id say the living quarters would have to be sealed and kept at a positive pressure to keep dust and gunk out.

Well the other thing is that you don't actually see the "living" quarters so much here. Our communal "kick it" space is up on the balcony, but the kitchen and bathroom aren't pictured in this build out. They're on the south end of the warehouse, what's shown here is only 1000 sq ft of a 4800sqft space that's going to be shared with 6 other artists. I don't know if positive pressure is really necessary in the bedrooms but we're going to be keeping our doors shut for sure. We have a shop hand to sweep up and make sure the ground floor stays nice and clean as well ;) 

This also isn't an every day use shop, both my partner and myself have jobs outside of our fabrication business still until we can really get the contracts coming it to pay the bills. 

With zoning law and regulations being what they are, before you decide to build living space I would make sure that you are allowed to "live" in a commercial space.  It may be one thing to have a cot to catch some zees and another to have bedrooms.

My Dad lived in his warehouse in east Oakland right next to the Mothers Cookies factory. I hated that smell.
I hope your neighborhood is better than his was (one block off east 14th)

With zoning law and regulations being what they are, before you decide to build living space I would make sure that you are allowed to "live" in a commercial space.  It may be one thing to have a cot to catch some zees and another to have bedrooms.

 

We're not technically allowed to live there, however neither is anyone who lives in any of the other warehouses on the block or anywhere in Oakland for that  matter. It's overlooked by city officials unless you're growing pot or causing trouble in some way. 

 

 

 

My Dad lived in his warehouse in east Oakland right next to the Mothers Cookies factory. I hated that smell.
I hope your neighborhood is better than his was (one block off east 14th)

It's West Oakland, I don't do East Oakland anymore since I lived there a few years ago. There's too much gang violence.

You should look into a propane forge. It makes for happier neighbors, coal fires have a smell that not everyone likes. Propane and a lot of chains and magnets on my anvil keep my neighbors ignoring all my banging around in north Oakland

My office as a community college Welding Instructor is just off the shop. Despite having a separate HVAC system, I still have to take an air hose and blow the fine dust out of the space several times a year, and dust surfaces weekly. It gets in the light fixtures, file cabinets, everywhere. My boss was glad to give it up to the new hire and move down the hall to a quieter, less dusty locale.

 

Historical anecdote, the owner of US Steel had an apartment built in to his biggest plant so that he could watch what was going on. They had to take all the drapes and linens down and sent them out to be cleaned every week. He had several identical sets in rotation.