After months (years actually) of planning, thinking, flip-flopping, U turns, back pedaling... I have closely studied the possibility of putting my woodshop in about every building on this farm and the option of building new. I have already moved it a couple of times over the years but this time is different. At my current age and level of busyness I know that this needs to be it... I think... Maybe...
Drum-roll please... The basement... A 24' X 40' room with its own outside entrance and a quick trot down the stairs from the living room above it.
I was very seriously considering moving the woodshop from our former store (converted to a huge family room for some years before we moved to this much larger house maybe 6 years ago) where the woodshop is now up into the main part of our old house. Lots of good possibilities there but I was fairly recently reminded of the large demand for rental houses locally and the high rent rates they are now commanding. Rather than chopping up the inside of that house for a shop I decided that having a little over a grand a month coming in extra each month would maybe do more for me and my shop budget than moving the shop there. I was really feeling bad about the thought of chopping that nice house up to open it up.
That house has a lot going for it like being in the country but only a stones throw from the city limits and only 2 miles from an I-74 interchange which is less than 25 miles from Indianapolis. The house will include a double horse shelter and a couple of acres of grass pasture.
I briefly considered moving the woodshop back in with the farm shop in the old barn to get it closer to the house but there is no way you could get it warm even if you sat it on fire plus it would be impossible to run AC there.
Several factors really steered me toward the basement shop. Huge is the complete elimination of extra heating and cooling cost. Not a small factor at all in Central Indiana. As big of a factor maybe too is being able to just walk downstairs and putter any time in any weather. No coat, no waiting for the shop and tools to warm up. I am up puttering around at all times of the night anyway, I might as well be working wood.
It is going to work out well. While I do wish it had another foot of ceiling height it is over 8' and I used to work with a much lower one. It is pretty well wired and has 10 outlets and plenty of places where I can add more if needed. The main house electrical entrance (it has 2) is only 3' from this big room and has room for expansion. The concrete floor is very smooth but still hard.
Walling this 24' X 40' area off from the rest of the basement will be very easy, there is nothing in the way. OK, there is a lot of stuff sitting in the way but nothing attached
The hardest part will be the new outside exit. Not really a problem either but I will need to do it quickly before the ground freezes.
I am already moving some small stuff but the original outside entrance to the other part of the basement under the "old" part of the house is not very convenient for moving anything of any size (like about half of my machinery). I also need to remove an old heavy 21 cu. ft. chest freezer and there is no way it will weave around through that old basement and up those kind of narrow stairs.
It is really quite a relief to be moving along in one direction, finally...
