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As many of you probably already know, my family and I just moved to Zimmerman, MN into a house that was better suited for our family. As it turns out, the three-car garage is better suited for my shop as well-or at least it will be whenever I finish it. I plan to keep this thread updated as I work on it. I'm hoping that those who have set up shops can offer some pointers or things I'm sure I'll miss along the way, and it may be helpful for those who set up pipe workshops in the future.


Denim insulation for the dust collection and air compressor closets. The other insulation is for the walls. Denim insulation has better sound absorption than fiberglass. Also in the picture is the 45,000 BTU heater I will install to keep warm in the Minnesota winters.


Started in on framing the dust collector/air compressor closet. (I do plan to vent the closet with bathroom fan (or fans) as well as build a divider between compressor and dust collector to keep the air compressor from getting gummed up.)


Started on framing in a divider wall so I don't have to heat all three stalls and also to give myself another wall with outlets. Hopefully it will also keep the dust off the storage and cars on the other side.


And the framing is nearly complete. I got a really nice hardwood door from the hardware store that had some damage on the frame, so it was a great deal. The closet doors cost me $2 apiece. (Menards had them on clearance.)


Adding strip lighting to the ceiling.


Roughed in some wiring for outlets. I decided to run two 20 Amp circuits along the walls to reduce the load. Also, I'm adding a third circuit for the air conditioner and air filter.

That's it for now. I'll try to post progress shots about once a week until I'm done.

Clearly, you are determined to just barely skate by and do things as fly-by-night as possible with zero planning.

REAL pipemakers get complete overpressure air exchange systems, elevated granite floors leveled to .0001", and at least four monarch lathes.

When are you gonna make a commitment and stop playing around, Sandahl?

Very cool!

Hung the $2 doors onto my sound barrier closet.
Insulated the garage door. Rather than the styrofoam usually used, I got twice the R value with this kit.
Framed in for the window.
Cut the hole for the window with my circular saw and jigsaw.
Put in the window and J-channel. It's not the cleanest siding job, but it works. I used flashing tape around the window frame to seal out moisture. Very important not to miss that step, but it's not pictured.

Also not pictured is the step of sealing with silicone and gap filler. I have a portable air conditioner that will vent through this window.

It looks like tapatalk messed with the order of my photos. And it also appears you can only see them if you look in a browser. I'll try to fix the pictures soon.

Slow and steady, Then you won't trip every other step, like me, tons of necessary items in a one car garage!!!

Jeremiah, this post is super inspirational to me. I currently work on a 4' by 8' balcony at my apartment, but we're moving to Tucson next month and will be renting a house. I'm looking forward to taking over some garage space, and in a couple of years when we buy a house I hope to give it a similar treatment to what you are doing. I admire all the care and planning you are putting into this project. Hopefully you will be rewarded with a workshop that serves you well for years top come.

This is exactly why I wanted to make this thread. I must also say that having a supportive wife is a huge plus. In my old house, I had put my shop together in increments as I needed things. Every time I bought a new tool, I had to make a place for it and it was really difficult to keep organized enough to work in. This time, my wife encouraged me to set up the shop exactly how I want it and to finish it before I start making pipes again. A nice shop should translate into more productivity while I'm working, so over the long haul, it should pay off.

Ratimus wrote:Jeremiah, this post is super inspirational to me. I currently work on a 4' by 8' balcony at my apartment, but we're moving to Tucson next month and will be renting a house. I'm looking forward to taking over some garage space, and in a couple of years when we buy a house I hope to give it a similar treatment to what you are doing. I admire all the care and planning you are putting into this project. Hopefully you will be rewarded with a workshop that serves you well for years top come.

Looking forward to more updates!

Time for another update on my shop. I finished running all the wires for all the receptacles, lights, and switches and passed the inspection.



The closet for my dust collector and air compressor got insulated with recycled denim insulation. Takes a little longer to install, but will be more sound-absorbent than fiberglass, and its easy to install with just a stapler and your bare hands.


Above the door, you can see one of my three vent fans (I chose to work with bathroom fans from the hardware store) which should help circulate the air in the closet while the machines are running.


And here's one of the walls in my shop with insulation (R-15) up and outlets on every stud. Originally, I was going to run a split outlet, but I decided it would actually be easier to just alternate circuits every other stud. I have a total of 4 20-Amp circuits in my shop as well as a 220V/30 Amp for my compressor and a 220V/30Amp for the shop just in case I acquire another machine or two that needs it later.


And finally, the outside corner of my closet with the other two fans.


I've started in on drywalling it all in now. More pictures when that's finished.

P.S. I'm not sure why some of the images are showing up sideways.

You should get this made into a poster for your new shop's front door:

LatakiaLover wrote:You should get this made into a poster for your new shop's front door:

I should make that my avatar...

LatakiaLover wrote:You should get this made into a poster for your new shop's front door:

If I would have been drinking something when I saw this, it would have come out of my nose.

sandahlpipe wrote: I must also say that having a supportive wife is a huge plus.

I concur with this statement. I'm still tweaking a few things here and there in my basement shop, but when I was doing the bulk of my renovation, my wife was so supportive. Being that my previous workspace was about half of a 10'x10' shed, she was very happy for me that I was able to build the shop that I've always wanted.

LatakiaLover wrote:You should get this made into a poster for your new shop's front door:

Nearly spat out my cigar

mightysmurf8201 wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote: I must also say that having a supportive wife is a huge plus.

I concur with this statement. I'm still tweaking a few things here and there in my basement shop, but when I was doing the bulk of my renovation, my wife was so supportive. Being that my previous workspace was about half of a 10'x10' shed, she was very happy for me that I was able to build the shop that I've always wanted.

a big +1 here as well. I used to do all my hobbying in a 3x4m garage below our appartement, but in between were the house owners with small kids, which ment no noise after 20h00. Seeing I usually got home from work past 18h00, that didn't leave much time...

When we went househunting, she agreed from the start that houses without the option to build me a workshop were out of the question.
Once we bought this place, I had a shop at home, but separated from the rest of the house completely whilst only being 2m from the back door. The downside was it had rough (and concave! wall to center of the room had 10cm height difference!) concrete flooring, brick walls, ancient wooden doors and window.
Roughly a year later I told her I desperately needed to upgrade the shop if I wanted it to be useable, so she agreed to free well over €2000 as a budget from our combined savings account so I could put in decent doors, walls, flooring and a ceiling.

That was 4 years ago, and for bigger project I now usually claim the garage (5x7m) as well I just added a 2.5m x 60cm benchtop to the garage to store the mitre saw and some other stuff, so I don't have to cram it in my pipemaking workshop...

Very nice story! And it does sound much like my experience. I have a 3 car garage and am using one stall for pipes and the other two will be for larger projects like furniture.

Gratz on the move and new shop, LOOKING GOOD!

sparkyspipes wrote:Gratz on the move and new shop, LOOKING GOOD!

Thanks, my man!

Cool stuff Jeremiah! I know what it means to have a nicely laid out shop and I know this will be a benefit for you. Good work man.