posted on August 12, 2001 08:39:14 PM
After what seems like forever I'm finally taking the plunge and having a workshop built in our backyard. It'll be delivered on Friday.
I'm trying to decide on the layout of the workspace. It's a 10 x 16 building. I sell 99% books so that's going to be the main use. I'll have a center table area to be used partly as a packing area and partly to do my dye work. We're going to add a loft to hold packing supplies.
So, the main problem I'm having is figuring out how to lay out the shelving for the books and how deep to make the shelving. My initial thought was to just line the walls with shelves. There'll be a small window with a window unit but other than that and the door the wall space will be free to use.
As it's getting closer to the time to start putting it together I'm having second thoughts and wondering if I might get more shelf space by angling the shelving out into the room rather than up against the wall. Also, I'm not sure if I want to get the extra wide plastic shelving from Home Depot or the wooden ones. I'm guessing the wood type would be more expensive and if I wait for my husband to build them.... it'll be 2010.
I'm thinking about it so much I'm confusing myself... I'd like to get the best use possible out of the space... any ideas are appreciated.
posted on August 12, 2001 08:59:04 PM
Putting the shelves up against an outside wall would concern me due to trapping moisture...is this a concern with heavy rains? I would presume that you are not going to have finished walls...but rather studs and wood is this correct?
You want a good source of air circulation for your paper products...wooden shelves will serve you best (plastic has a tendency to sag) and so will wooden ones if they are too thin...Oak has proven to be the best wooden shelf material. Have you thought about heavy gage metal shelving that is assembled with braces and allows you to preset the height of your shelves for various height books?
posted on August 12, 2001 09:04:11 PM
Hi Zilvy, We're going to finish the walls out and insulate them since it'll be an area we'll need to cool and heat. I'll be spending several hours a day in there. I hadn't thought about metal shelves. That always makes me think of rusting... so, I guess I didn't give it it's due consideration but I will.
posted on August 12, 2001 09:28:29 PM
Wood shelves are EASY, mybidness. Hammer or drill in the metal brackets where you want support, stick some planks up, and you've got decent shelving that won't sag. I'd put the support brackets in the studs.
A carpenter lived here before us, and he put heavy duty book shelves in the bedroom with 2x4s for shelving, and they don't bow with heavy books stacked on them.
posted on August 12, 2001 09:35:52 PMSnowy I'll think about that too. I've got a medical condition that prevents me from doing much heavy duty stuff - unfortunately - but maybe I can handle that. The more I think about it the more I think I should just line them up against the walls and forget about trying to angle them out. I'll be spending so much time in there I don't want to feel too overcrowded.
posted on August 12, 2001 10:00:12 PM
I wouldn't angle your shelves out into the room! This outbuilding of yours isn't that much bigger than the room *I* use (I also sell books). The room is 10 x 14 and with shelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, I have room for a 2.5' X 4' table that I use for packing/image taking. That leaves me with a decent sized walk area around the table. I store packing supplies both in the room's closet & under the table.
I think you'll find that 12 inch deep shelves are the most versatile, able to hold 99% of books regardless of size. Oak, while nice, isn't necessary. Two of my walls have pine shelving that had been custom made for a townhome I owned (I took them apart & had to put them through the room's windows, they are so bid )--I have used them now for 12 or 13 years & have had no problems with bowing even under the weight of hardcover books packed into them. The other two walls of my room are lined with bookshelf units I bought *cheap* at IKEA (incredibly reduced because of slight scratches & already put together)--they are each 2.5 feet wide & 8 feet tall & have a wood veneer over particle board and after five years no bowing with them, either.
posted on August 12, 2001 10:41:20 PM
Thanks Bunnicula, It sounds like your workspace dimensions are close enough to make a good comparision. I think you're right about keeping the shelves against the walls. I'm going to have to have a good sized work table so that I can keep the dye work separate. The idea is that other than putting lids on the containers - I don't want to have to pack it up and put it away everytime I'm ready to shift gears to packing books. If I have the larger table I think I'll need to keep the shelves on the walls. The local home depot has some that are a very heavy duty plastic - actually I think it's called something else but I can't remember what... but it's plastic-like. I think the ones I looked at were 18" deep but they probably have 12" too. I didn't look to closely at the shelving options yet because we'll have some work to do on the walls before I can start adding that. I've got several stand alones here that I can use to get me started. Most of the shelves I use now are built into the wall in a pantry area... it'll be so nice to have my pantry back.
posted on August 12, 2001 10:56:43 PM
You might also want to consider using rolling carts for your dyes that can be rolled under the table when not in use. That way there would be less "clutter" on your work table.
Another very inexpensive shelving system is the old board-and-brick one. My uncle made one for me for my 20th birthday (made a wood riser frame so bottom shelf up off floor, painted the 15" square bricks, laquered the particle board shelves). It is 8 feet long & something over 4 feet high. I have used it continuously for books until just recently when I gave it to a friend's son who got his first apartment & needed shelving: I am 46, so this unit has been in use for 26 years! One shelf has very *slight* bowing after all this time. I was sad to see it go, but it was for a good cause.
posted on August 12, 2001 11:12:16 PM
I love the idea of the rolling table. That would be a perfect way to keep the dyes away from everything else. I'll have to keep exploring all the different shelving options. It will be so nice to finally free up some of my living area... who knows - we may even start eating at the kitchen table on a semi-regular basis again.
posted on August 13, 2001 12:23:29 AM
My main book room is 11x12', I have floor to ceiling bookcases on three walls......
with back-to-back floor-to-ceiling units sticking out a right angle from one wall.
I have just passed the 3,000 book milestone and still have room for a moderate amount more. I prefer shelves to be only 6 to 6 1/2" deep! Holds all but the heftiest books which I lay flatways on the top shelf which I made 11 3/4" (12" lumber) wide.
I also have a 5 foot computer desk which is a little over 3' deep which I custom made with a small hutch over holding scanner & printer, one file drawer and one supply/junk drawer under, and a small shelf holding my tower off the floor.
Directly behind me when I'm sitting at the computer is a small plain desk with no drawers, just used for sorting piles, it's about 54x20". To my right is a 7' tall 4' wide bookcase I try to keep as empty as possible..... I use it to stack books by size as they're loaded, then they're all ready to scan. The middle shelf, which touches my left elbow, holds my dictionery, notepaper, filecards, and files of sales completed.
On the floor is a little cardboard box about the size of a breadbox (and if you know WHAT a breadbox is you probably also remember UNsliced bread!). This box holds paper; envelopes that bills came in, ads stuck under my windshield wipers, wasted printer paper and such to use as scratch paper.
Taped to the lip of my desk is a plastic grocery bag used for trash, I can toss constantly, no trashcan to wash. On the desktop is a stack of favorite CD's (Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson, Michelle Wright, George Strait, and never least = Nat King Cole). I have a long plastic silverwear rack out of a dishwasher as the best pencil/pen/felt pen/marker holder I EVER used, a teepee shaped easel to hold books upright without hands, a little electric warmer for coffee A.M. and tea P.M., 12' steel measure tape, and a small calculator.
Overhead I installed track lights, I can point them right where I need them.
I try really hard to keep everything OFF the floor, easier to sweep (hardwood) and merchandise on the floor is at risk.
[ edited by immykidsmom on Aug 13, 2001 12:28 AM ]
posted on August 13, 2001 09:36:17 AM
mybiddness, a work shop must not be acceptable to weather large weather changes inside the building. Heating & cooling of the shop is a important as the purpose of the building.
I have a very large shop 20 x 40 & well insulated. I felt that heating & cooling was secondary & only needed it when I spent time in the shop.
How wrong I was. My tools started to rust, the shop books gained moisture. I later put in a heating & cooling system to keep a controled enviroment. My shop books were stored seperate, in a small room built inside the shop.
I know that I went to the extreme, but I do not have a moisture problem. The tools don't rust. The wood does not conduct moisture & my shop books do not smell or have discoloration.
I used pine for shelves, covered with laminated flooring. they line the interior walls.
posted on August 13, 2001 08:40:17 PM
hi immykidsmom You sound much more organized than I am... I'm impressed.
Thanks for your comments Fred. I was just in the living room discussing this with my husband again. We plan to heavily insulate the walls so I hope that'll help with the moisture problems. The only thing I'm concerned about is that I ordered it with a skylight because I didn't want to use up my wall space with another window... now I'm wondering if that won't just invite moisture. We were looking at the window units earlier today and it seems that the units that are for cooling only are by far the better priced. I have a small area heater that I've used in the garage occasionally but I don't think it'll be big enough to keep this room heated. We were just discussing what to put on the floor. My idea is to put a heavy duty foam backed carpeting down. We have a neighbor who owns several carpeting stores and he's said he'd give us a good price if we're willing to take a leftover piece. I'm not picky about the color, etc. but I'm wondering if carpeting is a good idea for a space like this? I would think that it would help insulate better than linoleum or tile.
posted on August 14, 2001 02:53:14 PM
I would think a good quality indoor/outdoor carpet would work well in your shed. When will you be getting the shed, Mybiddness? This sounds like quite a project...no wonder your all excited! Getting back your pantry will mean more cooking yanno?
posted on August 14, 2001 03:06:28 PM
I just had a 10x12 storage shed put in to hold my Olympic pins. I only have about 200,000... My wife seems to think that the pins are not safe to have around with our twins (just over a year). Ah well.
posted on August 14, 2001 04:29:47 PM
200,000 Olympic pins? That's a serious collection!
Zilvy It was scheduled for Friday but they called and asked if they can put it up tomorrow morning! Yes, I'm thrilled! My neighbor mentioned a berber (sp?) carpeting. He says he has a perfect sized piece left over from a commercial job... might go with that.
)--I have used them now for 12 or 13 years & have had no problems with bowing even under the weight of hardcover books packed into them. The other two walls of my room are lined with bookshelf units I bought *cheap* at IKEA (incredibly reduced because of slight scratches & already put together)--they are each 2.5 feet wide & 8 feet tall & have a wood veneer over particle board and after five years no bowing with them, either.
Yes, I'm thrilled! My neighbor mentioned a berber (sp?) carpeting. He says he has a perfect sized piece left over from a commercial job... might go with that.