The All-year-round Shop
You could say that Pete Lynah has had sawdust in his shoes since age 10 when his dad gave him and his brother a 50-lb keg of 6d common nails for Christmas. He's since moved on from hammering together tree forts and go-karts to building small exotic-wood boxes, oval Shaker boxes, corner cabinets, dining tables, and cedar-lined hope chests for his daughters. He built his first workshop more than 35 years ago, and after retiring he decided it was time for a shop upgrade. So he built a new one—essentially an upsize version of his previous space, right down to the tool layout.
Pete framed, wired, and insulated a new 24×32' metal-clad pole building. The 3⁄4 " plywood floor rests on pressure-treated 2×6 joists over a concrete slab. The joists provide room for 5" metal dust-collection ductwork under the floor, running to a sealed room where his 2-hp dust collector resides, vented outside via three dryer vents. The ductwork leads to ports at his tablesaw, mitersaw, and by two benches. A shop vacuum services his smaller tools.
A mini-split heat pump regulates temperature year-round. During extended time out of the shop in cold weather, Pete shuts off the mini-split, and a separate room with baseboard heat keeps finishes and glue from freezing.
Pete built in loads of storage. A walled-off alcove in the back of the shop houses shelves for miscellaneous items. At the opposite end of the shop, Pete built wall racks for his raw lumber, sheet goods, and cut-offs. He organizes hardware and fasteners for woodworking and household maintenance in metal cans of all shapes and sizes, then arranges them on his "can wall."
A 200-amp breaker panel provides electric service for six 20-amp, 120V receptacle circuits, two 15-amp lighting circuits, and four 240V circuits to supply his tablesaw, dust collector, and baseboard heater.