Welcome to the Shop!
- alexkluka
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 23
An introduction to the cold (for now), messy (for now) garage where all the magic happens
Hi, and welcome to the Shop! If you've been following along, you might understand how excited I am to have a space like this. I never have before, despite always wanting one, so you can imagine all the ideas and plans I have for it.
With that said, the Shop is definitely a work in progress. I have a list of things I want to do and buy that gets longer much faster than things get crossed off. Everyone who's bought a house before keeps telling me that's permanently the case with everything and I'm starting to believe them. In any case, it seemed right to give a tour of the Shop in its current state. I don't know if it's the HGTV fan in me or it's universal, but I love a good before and after. So, we'll watch the before and after of the Shop happen in real time, together, via Mutt Hutts Blogs.
When it comes to the Shop, I have "concepts of organization" that haven't fully materialized yet. A top priority whenever I have some free time is to continue that organization journey.
Allow me to introduce you to my miter station. One of the best things about finally not working out of a cramped basement is having the space to make the most basic of cuts. This miter table/station/bench that I built finally gives me that - after I clear off all the other clutter from the table that needs its own home. The miter station has been done for a few months, but this week I was able to get the cabinet shells in place in preparation for future organization.
You might also notice the french cleat wall and be thinking, "why is it empty?" The answer is I'm working on that, too. That one is coming along slowly but at least it's somewhat intentional. My thought was to work in the Shop a little bit and see what I need and where. Basic things like tape measures, speed squares, pencils, drills, bits, chargers, fasteners, and probably much more will live on this wall so I always know where they are. Until then, they'll be in my way on top of the bench.
The biggest and most useful build yet in my efforts to organize the Shop is this layout table. The table measures a full 6' x 6' and should have no problem holding any project I'm working on (and me, when necessary). The main goal and purpose of the size of this table was to be able to cut full 4' x 8' sheets of plywood without the need for additional support as I push it through the blade. Breaking down plywood, by far the most clumsy and difficult task in small spaces, is finally not a huge hurdle. That in and of itself has streamlined many, many projects for me already.
In this picture you can also see how my efforts to insulate the Shop are going. The building is a square, 25' x 25' inside, with a slightly pitched roof and had pretty much nothing in the way of climate control when I bought it. So far I've installed about 55 batts of R-21 faced insulation in the ceiling bays and vinyl weather stripping on all sides of each of the two garage doors. I probably have about 20 more batts to install, some rigid foam on the sides, a few cans of spray foam and maybe some windows to enclose before it can really stay warm on days like we've been having this winter. But, like everything else, we're getting closer and making steady progress. Also, insulation isn't cheap! Who knew.
The rest of the Shop equipment, of which I only have pictures in their previous homes, lives in the back half of the garage. That equipment includes a 20" wide JET planer, a 6" Craftsman jointer, a drill press, and an X-Carve CNC router. I also bought a 7' x 14' V-nose enclosed trailer a few years back to store a lot of these tools while I didn't have the space, and which now serves as additional lumber storage and of course helps to transport some of the bigger projects I work on.
That about wraps up the Shop tour for now. I look forward to updating this regularly and more importantly, keeping everybody up to date with the fun projects that come out of the Shop. See you soon!
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