Setting up a new workshop (again!)

Following another house move it was time to set up a new workshop. This time, I had a bit more time to plan while the garage roof was redone by the landlord. Time to figure out where everything is going!

It took some time to get everything prepared for house moving, including boxing up all my tools, accessories and securing all the lumber within the lumber cart. I completed a couple of small projects to help the move run smoothly, including a clothes hanging rail, for transporting clothing on hangers more easily; and adding Latches to the mitre saw bench to keep the drawers secured while in transit.

After a mammoth effort to get everything packed and transported, the next job was to get everything set up at the new place. This is another rented house, hopefully one of the last before we can buy our own place! The house had been empty for a few months and we noticed the roof of the garage (workshop-to-be) at the end of the garden was damaged and leaking. We reported this to the landlord, who made the decision to replace the whole roof!

I covered all my benches and tools with tarpaulins while they did the work, which took a couple of weeks to install the scaffolding and refit the roof.

Fortunately we had ok autumn weather for those weeks, so everything remained nicely protected. It was quite fun going inside when the replacement underlay had been fitted, as the sunshine made the workshop quite light!

The new tiles were fitted within a couple of days and the scaffolding removed later that month. Throughout that time I took a load of measurements and did some planning of where to position all my tools. I made a rough plan to figure out what tools could fit together and to ensure a good workflow. One of the benefits of this garage is both a pedestrian walk door and a window! So I can get into the workshop without needing to use the up-and-over door every time and there is actually natural light in my workshop for the first time!

After giving everything a thorough sweeping to remove all the roof debris I set about positioning all my workshop furniture according to my plans. The idea for this workshop is to have a central space from which I can access all my tools in all directions from that spot. I intend to build a solid workbench to sit under the window, which will be my main working location with lots of light. The lumber cart will sit at the back of the workshop, with my mitre saw bench running most of the length of the opposite side. My table saw is setup near the up-and-over garage door, so I can open the door if I need to cut large pieces. And very importantly, dust collection is right by the up-and-over door, so I can take the full barrel outside easily without fighting through the whole workshop!

I got some rubber matting for the floor as a birthday gift last year, so I have laid that out on the floor to give me something softer to stand on when in the workshop for several hours. It came rolled up, so I have wedged it with a moving trolley for now while it uncurls! I am very excited to get on with making things in this new space, as well as figuring out where everything best fits. I expect I shall move things round a few times as I work out my requirements for tool positions!🔨