Use of domestic room as a workshop

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Having been given permission from wifey to turn the spare room into a workshop when sprog number 2 leaves home (should be any time soon now – yeh!), we're also discussing two further options – a new fully insulated 'shed' at the bottom of the garden or converting the garage.

Obviously all three options have their pros & cons, which we're considering. One of the cons of the spare room idea is that I'm worried about how I'd deal with swarf etc getting into the existing carpet. One idea is to replace the carpet with a lino / vinyl covering. It's a fairly small room, so if & when the time comes to sell-up & move on the expense of a re-fitting a carpet shouldn't be too onerous.

Just wondering – is there anyone here who has a workshop within a 'domestic' environment and if so, how have you dealt with the flooring?

Brian

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

What flooring to use?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Something with give rather than lino will make standing far more comfortable. Some sort of cushionfloor would be OK, or you could use interlocking foam tiles.

JS has some excellent granulated foam stuff in his, but I suspect it wouldn't be 'pretty' enough.

If I was doing this I'd consider having some (disposable) hard-wearing carpet of the type that will 'suck' the swarf off the bottom of your shoes near the door.

Neil

P.S. beware of unsuspected hazards of indoor workshops. In the last house I got mildly electrocuted because a 'house rabbit' peed on top of my extension block. Soon became a 'garden rabbit'.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

I have a cellar workshop (ground around is chalk)
pros are size (12 x 12 ft + further area under stairs, ease of access, easy access to power (distribution board in same room), warmth + due to I suspect chalk ground dry
disadvantages are difficulty of access down stairs both in size and weight, noise transfer to rest of house(not a problem for me) + also to neighbour(eg air compressor + large dust extractor are noisy + run for some extended periods), swarf (or rather the very small particles produced by milling) gets transferred on footwear to living areas even though I’ve put a mat outside and some carpeting at top of stairs.

Swarf and carpets are total enemies, a now deceased friend had a small bedroom workshop – small swarf embeds in lino and oil embeds in everything over time

My cellar floor is tongue +groove suspended on battens but with rubber mat near machines (this is good as much swarf is caught in the holes in this matting – bought from Axminster)

Edited By Frances IoM on 09/02/2016 14:09:27

Edited By Frances IoM on 09/02/2016 14:09:53

Edited By Frances IoM on 09/02/2016 14:12:52

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

You need to change shoes when you enter or leave the room to avoid swarf being carried around the house by them. Been there done that. Curly swarf can be very difficult to remove from some carpets. Colin

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

even with workshop only shoes(safety shoes) I’m afraid answering door for postman or as one gets older the more frequent calls of nature tend to see swarf transferred outside of workshop

[Dennis DParticipant @dennisd]

For a spare room setup you might want to take into account door width for moving machinery in. If its an upstairs room then weight becomes important factor so a machine that can be easily split into manageable weights is ideal.

Also how many bends in the stairs.

I have a WM180 which my daughters ex helped me with (tail stock and chuck removed) and tool post wound to the rear to try and even weight distribution. Going up one person is going backwards and bent over while the lower person is having to lift high to keep things level. I managed an SX2P mill on my own after breaking into 3 parts column, table and base. Vibration from upstairs is also something consider wife always knows when I taking a big cut on the mill.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

Unless you making very small parts or small models along with very small machines I would forget it, I once had a workshop in the bedroom over the kitchen, with Super seven and fobco drill plus bench ,vice and hand tools ,ok making an Allchin 1.5 but when I started on restoring full size stationary engines it was no longer convenient, also I did drop a Lister cooling tank down the stairs. problems ,risk of oil on walls,(despite a sheet of hardboard behind the lathe, swarf through house,noise,etc. Then built my own bungalow, incorporated room off kitchen, ok at first, though I did loose out to swmbo trying to get a Tom Senior M1 indoors, the trouble started when I was caught putting reinforcing mesh in the floor! during the build, problems again were swarf, dirt, noise etc the floor was Marley tiles ,which stood up to workshop use. Main problem is keeping the room in good order, you may want to move house some day and oily dirty walls will need decorating prior to resale, also when selling a property move the workshop out before the property comes up for sale,and don't mention the so and so room was used as a workshop,it definitely puts off prospective purchasers. Build a separate insulated wooden shed in the garden,its far better particularly if you want bigger machines and produce lots of swarf.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Fine for smaller machinery, the bigger stuff should go into the garage

Not mentioned yet is the oil up the walls (as well as swarf issues)

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

A factor you need to consider is the weight capacity of the floor. Not merely from a strength point of view, but the amount of give – elasticity if you prefer. A spare room in a basement or ground floor with no cellar might well have a concrete floor, but what about the underfloor heating? If it is a wood floor, expect trouble if anything is even slightly out of balance. A good peer under the floorboards is recommended, at least.

PS do look out for Lord Lucan – he might well be a peer under your floorboards… Oh, well, never mind.

Cheers, Tim

[Roger Provins 2Participant @rogerprovins2]

I had a friend who set up his workshop in an upstairs spare room, lathe, mill the lot. It was not ideal, too much noise in the house and, despite all precautions, swarf did get carried around the house.

A shed down the garden is okay until it's pouring with rain.

Best bet is an adjoining garage and leave the car outside (they're weather-proof and don't need

cosseting)

[Stephen BensonParticipant @stephenbenson75261]

I have my machine tools in the garage and run my clock repair workshop inside keeping the clean jobs inside keeps me warm and listening to my music while ensuring I do not upset the boss

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

With machines in the garage I find swarf gets in the house, I now have one of these washable mats at the door to catch anything I have on my soles. If the lathe is small then a dedicated cabinet would be fine indoors but not a swarf removing machine as you will even find it in your bed as it goes down inside your shirt. Swarf and dust and oil smell will get everywhere and a re-think is necessary I think.

Clive

[Dave Powell 2Participant @davepowell2]

I have had my workshop indoors, in a shed, in a garage and in a barn. My preferred location is a garage. They are usually away from the living space and have a very solid floor. They are large enough for most people's needs but small enough to keep warm without costing a fortune. They are easy to insulate, which keeps in the heat and the noise. The smell of hot cutting fluid or whatever stays where it is, if you use a lot of paints and solvents an extractor hood can be a useful addition, it's usually much easier and more convenient to fit one in a garage than a spare bedroom. A garage is less likely to attract thieves than a garden shed, it is also easier to secure. I would certainly go for a garage if I had the choice.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Mine is in the house. Not that it matters were I am but I had a splash board at the back against the wall made of ply. Just some 1/4" I had around. It's gone somewhere but the wall is part tiled.

It has cushion flooring. Good quality so easy to sweep up and it lasts. I have had problems treading swarf out onto a carpet in another room but not very often. I just take more care now. Eagle eye spots it anyway as does the dog. I usually work in sandals. Easy to take off and I don't hold heavy things in such a way that they might drop on my feet. If I made large scale traction engines I would wear something else and wouldn't be working in the house.

I had a lot more problems with flying swarf when I had an ML7. Bed and spindle a bit worn so swarf broke off a lot and went all over the place. Some reckon work improved this but not completely. Nice curly swarf doesn't fly around.

One problem people might not think about is noise especially if the machines are upstairs. I have some up there too. While looking for a 2nd lathe I visited a widow selling one of the cheaper gear heads that don't use precision ground gears. To noisy for me to buy. I checked it over for her and told her all was good and showed her which bits went with it. Afterwards she told me she understood why I was concerned about the noise. She often went out when her husband was using it – up stairs. I have things like radial arm saws and bandsaws on the top floor and they don't cause any problems. I'd say smooth running machines and no gears at higher speeds should be ok but houses vary. I've been in some were people can be heard walking around upstairs. They tend to be timber frame builds.

Pass on timber frame but with a bit of sense floor loading shouldn't be a problem. Joist's run in one direction and heavy loads can be put up against a wall that also supports the end of the joists. On the other hand people can be extremely heavy and might even jump about in one place. The main thing really is that a 4 legged bench wont be the ideal load spreader – more of a cabinet type arrangement or a machine cabinet will make a much better job of it. Mounted like that a 200kg wouldn't bother me, getting it up there would.

Storage can be a problem. Easier to show part of my solution. Shelf fittings from screwfix and mdf from B&Q same company but B&Q will cut up the mdf and sc were much cheaper for the fittings in bulk.

Taken part way through yet another tidy up. There are a number of shelves above the ones shown so I need some light weigh steps to get at things. Again sense is needed. What's under the wall etc. This house has some walls in places that are offset from the ones below. They did some strange things in 1911. I wanted shelves in my top floor workshop but the walls aren't solid. We have used some racking instead but the weight of the items on them compared with a lathe etc are low. Actually I have added some racking to the one above. . Shallow as putting things in front of others just makes it hard to get at things. The floor board here rotted away long ago and were filled in with concrete. The rest of the ground floor is solid but this area wasn't for some reason.

Yes my lathe is supported at one end on a window sill above a belfast sink at one end with bulk of it's weight on a very old kitchen unit. The miller which is surprisingly heavy is supported on that and a steel filling cabinet, deep draw a4 type. An old one. I did think about putting a length of the thick kitchen work surface across the lot but didn't. It's good strong stuff. I have made hefty benches in a shed and a garage using it. Kitchen units are also surprisingly strong. The modern drawers in them wont be much good for heavy bits and pieces but shelves will probably be ok – on decent makes.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 09/02/2016 18:05:42

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Talking of swarf travelling into house – soft soles on your footwear are much worse for picking it up and then shedding it in unexpected places.

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Thanks for all the thoughts guys – plenty of food for thought.

Brian

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Posted by Ajohnw on 09/02/2016 18:01:39:

It has cushion flooring. Good quality so easy to sweep up and it lasts.

Can you elaborate on the 'cushion flooring' ? Could be of interest…..

Brian

[Bodger BrianParticipant @bodgerbrian]

Posted by Stephen Benson on 09/02/2016 16:58:26:

I have my machine tools in the garage and run my clock repair workshop inside keeping the clean jobs inside keeps me warm and listening to my music while ensuring I do not upset the boss

I must confess that hadn't occurred to me – have a larger lathe in the garage and smaller lighter stuff indoors. It gets round several problems in one go.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Brian

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

My sister found swarf in her lasagne at a do I was hosting. Now the whole family carefully inspect everything cooked by me.

I have a garage workshop separated from the kitchen by a utility room. Swarf gets out despite mats and regular sweeping. You can make domestic mess even worse with bad luck or stupidity. The black dust caused by me cutting through a hard block of cast iron with an angle grinder went all through the house.

My bedroom workshop is excellent for clean lightweight hobbies but they aren't as much fun as metal mangling!

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

I suggest that a small workshop be set up indoors, spare room/loft/cellar/cupboard under staircase, using small lathe to turn brass loco/traction engine parts or clock parts and small bench and vise. Have big lathe, mill, drill etc in outside workshop – shed/garage/outhouse and let the curly steel swarf fly! As stated above, some thought needs to be given to concealing from potential future buyers of the house, just what you have been up to, so as to not put them off. Also, dirty work outside reduces effort needed to clean up. Downside to detached shed is going out to it in pouring rain or snowy conditions. I find that the need for calls of nature only seem to become urgent the moment I have shut myself in my shed-den! Its happened so often that I now have home-made Elsan set-up in adjacent area.

John

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Cushion flooring is a type of lino that has a spongy sort of feeling to it. I haven't had problems with treading on swarf which might then cuts into it. It was down when I set my stuff up there. It was down when we moved in about 28 years ago. Given what the previous owner did for a living it's probably the highest quality stuff.

I replaced it in the kitchen which is adjacent around 15 years ago. Still ok apart from our dog leaping about and her claws taking off some of the surface covering – leaving grey marks. She's a very lively german shepherd who even at 9 still thinks she is a pup. This is probably a cheaper variety. I had it fitted very quickly as a surprise for my wife.

If only I can get a builder to do something with a wall and build a new one my workshop will be similar to Steven's shown earlier. If we move out it will become a utility room. When that is done and the kitchen re jigged I may install the washing machine under the lathe – a bit of sensible give and take. My wife would be happy with it being in the kitchen where it currently is but she loves to fill all available cupboard space.

John

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[Colin WhittakerParticipant @colinwhittaker20544]

My current set up with a workshop at the bottom of the garden looking out over the Andaman sea works well here in Phuket; I have plenty of space to lose swarf and dust on the way back up to the house and 500W of forced ventilation just about handles 30 degC and 65% humidity. But my fantasies of returning to the UK and buying a house with an internal, heated and dry workshop are taking a severe drubbing. I guess I'd better keep on renewing the retirement visa.

Colin

[OldMetallerParticipant @oldmetaller]

I have stripped, stained and varnished floor boards throughout my house, including the workshop which is in the smallest bedroom. I wear an old pair of steelies unlaced and worn like slippers. I don't always take them off when I leave the workshop, but I've never had a problem with swarf or indeed anything else migrating from the workshop into the rest of the house.

The downside with real floorboards is of course, when you drop something tiny it's gone forever.

Regards,

John.

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

My man cave is in the converted garage attached to the bungalow concrete floor covered in the foam rubber matting from M/Mart ( usual disclaimer ), walls / loft area insulted & boarded, rubber matting in front of the machines & by the entrance door, I have a pair of safety toe trainers by the door which I change into / out of when entering / leaving, & usually wear a pair of old shoes or crocs when going to my man cave which I change into house slippers by the back door … & I still can't keep the man cave elf's out…

George.

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