You need a workshop if you’re a DIY enthusiast, woodworking hobbyist, or professional craftsperson. Different workshops are better for different tasks and workflows. In this guide, we’ll help you figure out what the shop of your dreams looks like and start making it a reality.
Choosing a Workshop Size
Think carefully about the kind of work you’ll do in your shop and how much space you’ll need. No one ever complains that their shop is too big, so stake out as much space as you can. If you work with wood or metal, consider where to put large machinery like table saws, dust collectors, and welders.
Pro Tip: Norm Abram, master carpenter and host of The New Yankee Workshop, advises that a 36-by-26-foot footprint is the gold standard: “The New Yankee Workshop is thirty-six feet by twenty-six, and that’s pretty much ideal. You’ve got good clearance around each tool.” If your space is smaller, don’t be discouraged—”In a small shop, you have to be more creative,” Norm says, “but the basic guidelines still apply.”
Possible Workshop Locations
To figure out where to put your workshop, consider the climate where you live and why you’re building it. Here are a few possibilities for your workshop’s location:
- Basements: Basement shops are easily accessible and rarely need heating or cooling. However, you’ll likely need a dehumidifier to prevent tools from rusting and wood from warping. Further, if you do potentially hazardous work like welding or using flammable solvents, it’s more risky to have a basement shop.
- Garages: If you work with large materials and equipment, it’s easier to get them through a garage door than a basement door. Garage shops are easy to keep comfortable in mild climates, but you may need heating or air conditioning in particularly hot and cool places.
- Standalone structures: If you have the time and money, you can design a standalone workshop building from the ground up to meet your specific needs. Since standalone shops aren’t part of your home or garage, they’re better places for messier and more hazardous work.
How Do You Efficiently Layout Your Workshop?
An efficient shop layout can make all the difference for your workflow.
Workbenches and Work Surfaces
Pro Tip: Norm Abram, This Old House master carpenter, stresses that a proper workbench is non-negotiable: “I very seldom work with something that’s not clamped to the bench. You can’t be accurate when you’re squatting on the floor, and you’re going to get hurt holding something in one hand and cutting with the other. It’s really worth the effort to set up a bench, and it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate.”
Put your main workbench in a well-lit environment that allows easy access to frequently used tools. For versatility, consider a mobile workbench or one with built-in storage. If space allows, include secondary work surfaces for tasks like assembly or finishing.
For maximum flexibility, put your main workbench and large tools on locking casters so they can be repositioned for different tasks. In one TOH-featured New Hampshire workshop, the centerpiece was a 3-by-6-foot rolling plywood workbench (36 inches high) with tough oak trim and industrial rollers with locking brakes. Six plywood drawers beneath the counter held plumbing and electrical components as well as small power tools — keeping essentials within arm’s reach while the bench itself could be wheeled wherever it was needed. A nearby counter provided an extra work surface with additional storage beneath.
Pro Tip: A secondary surface doesn’t have to be fancy. As Norm Abram puts it: “I like a great big table made simply from a sheet of 3/4-inch plywood on a pair of sawhorses, but I’ve seen some of the guys work great with a folding bench.” You can also build a wall-mounted fold-down bench — set just slightly lower than your table saw height — that doubles as an outfeed table for pushing long material through the saw, then folds up and out of the way when not in use.
Tool and Material Storage
Many workshops use a combination of open shelving, cabinets, and pegboard to store tools and building materials. Wall-mounted storage can keep your floor space clear, and drawers and parts bins can hold smaller items like screws and nails. Save more space by storing lumber and piping vertically.
Pro Tip: Norm Abram and TOH general contractor Tom Silva stress that how you store tools affects their longevity. “Tossing tools one on top of the other isn’t good for them,” Norm says. Consider a workbench with full-extension drawers that fit everything from slim hand tools to belt sanders, and add built-in lighting above a pegboard for hanging frequently used items so they’re always within reach and protected.
Pro Tip: TOH master carpenter Norm Abram advises keeping your workspace streamlined: “Minimizing clutter only makes the space more efficient.” He notes that open shelves, while useful, have a downside: “Shelves easily get disorganized as things get stacked on one another.” His solution at the New Yankee Workshop was to convert a wall of wood shelves into a system of adjustable cubbies that kept supplies neat and separated.
Lighting and Power
Well-designed workshops have plenty of power outlets for tools and plenty of light to make jobs easier. For an inexpensive lighting solution, wire keyless lampholders on the ceiling and screw in 50-watt bulbs. You may also want a few reflector lamps for specialized task lighting.
Install outlets near your workbench to charge handheld power tools. It’s preferable to use a 20-amp circuit instead of a 15-amp one. Tools use a lot of power, and heavier-duty wire will reduce the chance of blown circuit breakers ruining your focus. You should also add a 240-volt circuit if you use a welder or heavy-duty air compressor.
Codes often require workshop outlets to be GFCI-protected for safety, especially in areas prone to moisture.
Pro Tip: TOH electrical contractor Paul Kennedy recommends installing GFCI protection at the breaker panel rather than at individual outlets in workshop environments. “Moisture gets in them and there are a lot of false trips,” he says of GFCI outlets. A GFCI breaker mounted inside the panel is less exposed to dust and moisture — both common in workshops — making it a more reliable choice.
Ventilation and Safety Equipment
Good ventilation is essential to protect your workshop’s air quality, especially if you work with paint, solvents, and sawdust. Woodworkers and metalworkers should make room for good-quality dust collection or ventilation systems. You should also make a dedicated spot for first aid kits and fire extinguishers and add smoke, heat, and carbon monoxide detectors as required by local building codes.
Work Zones
Divide your shop into zones based on the tasks you perform most often. If you build furniture, for example, you might have separate areas to cut wood, assemble pieces, and do clean finishing work. Arrange the zones to move logically from one task to the next.
Pro Tip: Norm Abram, TOH master carpenter and host of The New Yankee Workshop, says an ideal shop “should be arranged to maximize square footage and minimize extraneous motion, and tools should be grouped according to function.” He uses the example of the table saw and the jointer — tools that work in tandem on nearly every piece of solid wood — as a pair that should always be positioned side by side.
