Workshop - indoors or outdoors

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I would definitely go for the cellar, only possible downside is getting machinery in but nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.

Dave W

Cellar

Go for both?

Roger

Both!

Wood work and dry stock storage in the cellar. Metal work in the shed.

The cellar sounds like first choice, access may be the downside if you want to build a large loco,traction engine or full scale motorbikes, but warm and dry is a big plus and should solve at a stroke the eternal rust battle. If you can climate control the outside option then the choice is open and maybe the work you want to do will be the decider. The machines you have or want may be a factor, a Bridgeport or a 6” lathe may need some proper heavy gang skills to get them installed. A nice problem to have.

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 25/02/2019 20:42:05

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I had a cellar shop some years ago and it was very good. The access issue was a real pain as the stone steps turned through 90 degrees at the bottom and made getting anything long in virtually impossible.

Great for building small items, drawing and that kind of thing. I'd definitely use the space down there but look at a larger shop outdoors.

LED lighting is inexpensive to run.

I would go cellar, artificial light is not a problem, if you are like me you need to have extra lighting on your work any way.

Work out how to build a ramp for the coal hole, add a good chain winch and getting things in and out would be easy.

Also I am half way building my garden workshop, it is quite a long job, and costs many £££. If i had a ready made space I would have used it.

I built my workshop without windows as they are hard to insulate and are a security weak point. When I built it I was working so evening working needed lights anyway. LED lighting is getting pretty competitive with fluorescent now so probably would be my first choice, I like a light over the machine or workbench so I am not working in my own shadow and a light that illuminates the general space so when you drop something it doesn’t disappear into a twilight zone. I may overlight my workshop but shadows irritate me. One of the downsides of workshops is the ceilings are often low so you need more lights to avoid shadows. I t can be useful to put in plenty of lights and control them separately so if it is to harsh with all of the on you can knock a few off, as we get older we can need 30% more light to see what we are doing, restaurants like to have low lighting but it does make reading the menu difficult, a friend said he asked the waiter for a torch in one dimly lit establishment.

Mike

Bought a bandsaw off a guy in Manchester, fantastic cellar workshop, Hardinge lathe etc. Told me he had a Bridgeport down there at one time. Only access was through the kitchen, and down a flight of steep and narrow stone steps, a mountain goat would have balked at

Cellar every time. I have a large one under the entire house so there are a complete suite of rooms. Access from a wooden stair case at the end of the hall but also from outside since the garden is built at a lower level than the front of the house making one wall of the cellar an outside one. There are two external doors and a couple of windows in this wall, so I have been spoiled. I generously allowed my wife to have one room with a window as a wash room and she said I could have the rest. I have a modest !!! workshop with millers,lathes, grinders, drills etc,etc. and three phase power. Benefits are most notable on those filthy winter nights with the rain and wind lashing outside. Just pop down the stairs into the cellar where it is warm (never below 60 F even in the coldest winter) dry, so I have no rust issues, and everything is hidden from the prying eyes of our fellow criminal elements.

How I got all this down there is another story.

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I think I would go with the workshop. The lack of natural light in the celler would drive me crazy. The workshop offers easy access and noise can be kept away from neighbours. If you are building from scratch insulation can be dealt with too. 

Edited By Hollowpoint on 26/02/2019 08:52:20

I would echo everyone else .... the cellar would be best .... but I would do any silver soldering, brazing or welding outside and not in the cellar.

Dave

If you are sharing the space with a boiler I would make sure I had a working carbon monoxide alarm or two, even a room sealed boiler could leak, it’s a good idea not to use or store lpg equipment in a basement as the gas is heavier than air and has nowhere to go if it leaks. Some fire fighting equipment would be wise in a room with one exit and It may be worth making the coal Shute an emergency exit if possible. Discing and grinding have a long track record of setting things on fire but precautions like a flammable store bin or cupboard help to avoid accidents.

Mike

Whilst not wanting to rain on anyone’s parade, I will say that probably you need to discuss the matter of using a cellar for this with your Insurance Company first.

If you must talk to your insurance company, I would call it a "Craft Room" .... Insurance companies don't like Workshops!

Dave

Bill,

Cellar every time.

I'm fortunate in that I have a very nice downstairs bedroom as my workshop (sorry, craft room) and whilst the extension which houses it was being built I had a year of working out of the garage. The thing nobody has mentioned is that going out in the cold puts a significant damper on going into the workshop. I only had background heating in the garage and so would have to steel myself before going out there (and donning appropriate warm clothing). It wasn't so much that it was too cold when you got out there (thought not cold enough to stop me from working) it was rather that it took time to adjust and acclimatise, therefore popping out for 10 minutes never happened - it was all too much of an ordeal.

Having the workshop indoors and warm means the above doesn't apply and I now pop in any time. I know it might sound a bit wimpy, but that few minutes of cold was a real turn off to getting down to work.

Regards Tom