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The Outfit-your-toolshed thread.

F

FrustratedUser

Lifer
The grace period is over in the new house and it's time to get going on the soon to be work shop. Gotta have a nice place to work on stuff (RC cars for example).

It's a nice 8 x 10' wooden shed with sliding door and one small window. Enough space to make it real nice.

The plans are these:

1. Get electrician out and install AC power.
2. Buy AC unit (window mounted)
3. Cut holes to fit said AC unit.
4. Insulate and cover walls with plywood or similar. Possibly the particle board with small holes for hooks and stuff.
5. Install work bench - Possibly 50% home made and then use IKEA Ivar shelfs for the actual work area.
6. Route compressed air to a few outlets - used for cleaning and air brush.
7. Fridge + beer

For the AC I'm thinking a small 5000 BTU unit will do but I have no feeling for how much power it needs. I'm guessing 10 - 15A which leads me to the next question.
I've got a 200A line to my house and an unused 25A switch in the electrical box. Would that be enough?

edit:
Ooops, forgot to finsh the post....

Next question is: What's the best way to install a window AC unit? Should I just cut out a big hole in hte wall, line it with wood and then seal it with silicone?
The walls are plywood with wood/hardyplank siding on the outside, just like on a house.
 
You're going to want more then 25 amps out there if you plan to have an air conditioner, air compressor, lights, other tools, etc. Since your pulling wire anyway, I'd put in a small 100A sub panel.
 
i'd run 2 20a circuits to the shed if you can
1 for ac
1 for everything else.
maybe even run a 3rd cable if you can for future use.
don't forget to run cable tv and ethernet.
but most importantly, get a bigger beer fridge.
 
Sounds like a fun project. I can't really help you with your questions. However, I do think just one 25A fuse would be a bit too small, especially if you really want to do some work in there. I think Johngute has it right. Armitage, in an 8x10 foot shed, I really can't see anyone fitting in an AC, fridge, air compressor, normal tools, AND a welder. There just isn't enough room for it all. But, you might as well run 220V out there just in case, it shouldn't cost that much more since you are already doing the electrical work.

FrustratedUser, how is the summer/winter weather in Charlottesville? You might want to be careful with the fridge. You might need the AC on the hottest days even if you aren't using the shed just to keep the fridge in proper operating conditions. Also, does it freeze in winter? That'll be an easy way to kill a fridge too.
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Sounds like a fun project. I can't really help you with your questions. However, I do think just one 25A fuse would be a bit too small, especially if you really want to do some work in there. I think Johngute has it right. Armitage, in an 8x10 foot shed, I really can't see anyone fitting in an AC, fridge, air compressor, normal tools, AND a welder. There just isn't enough room for it all.
Click to expand...

Yea, it is a small shed. But he's definitely talking about AC and an air compressor, each of which will likely need 20A. I suspect the difficult part will be running the wire at all. Running a single large cable for a 100A 220V sub panel may be overkill, but the cost & trouble probably won't be much higher then running a pair of smaller cables for 20A outlets and you'll have all the power you ever need. My brother did this for a similar size shed because his wife runs a pottery kiln out there sometimes.
 
I don't know what you're going to do with the 25A fuse/breaker... I'm not an electrical code expert, but I don't think you're allowed 25A on 12 gauge wire... That would drop you to 10 gauge wire; and now you're going to have problems with outlets made for 12 gauge or 14 gauge wire. Just a guess, I think your cheapest route is 2 20-amp circuits, but I still like the idea of the 100Amp subpanel. For me, it would be a diy project to do so... be prepared to shell out quite a bit for an electrician though, especially depending on the route your wires are going to have to take from the house. I need to do the same thing out in my barn - right now the entire thing is on 1 20amp circuit from the house. I'm going to re-wire the whole thing and drop in a new 100A sub panel. Since I need to dig a trench for the wiring, it'd be silly do do anything less.
 
Originally posted by: Armitage
Actually, thinking some more - I'd run a 220 circuit out there if you might ever want to run a welder or such.
Click to expand...

No welder. It's not THAT big a shed. 🙂

Uses:
Small Air compressor (1.5HP 6 Gallon)
AC unit (5000BTU - smallest available)
Lights
Heatgun (1000W max - almost never used)
Solder Iron (40W)
Battery chargers (100 - 150W max)

Basically for hobby use. No heavy duty automotive air tools.
Beer fridge is not needed. It's right by my house so walking to the kitchen is not hard in any way.

 
5000 BTU AC unit will need about 6A, given a medium to medium-low efficiency. Wally World has them for $89.

 
Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Originally posted by: Armitage
Actually, thinking some more - I'd run a 220 circuit out there if you might ever want to run a welder or such.
Click to expand...

No welder. It's not THAT big a shed. 🙂

Uses:
Small Air compressor (1.5HP 6 Gallon)
AC unit (5000BTU - smallest available)
Lights
Heatgun (1000W max - almost never used)
Solder Iron (40W)
Battery chargers (100 - 150W max)

Basically for hobby use. No heavy duty automotive air tools.
Beer fridge is not needed. It's right by my house so walking to the kitchen is not hard in any way.
Click to expand...

Ok, so I'm getting carried away with the 220 😀
I'd still go with a 100A sub panel. Who knows what power hungry hobbies you'll have in a few years!
 
So this shed is 8x10? And you are gonna air condition it?? I mean...really. Once you put a bench and a few tools in there you might have a few feet left to stand and pivot. Air-conditioning a closet seems a bit overkill to me. Maybe just an exhaust fan?
 
I put up insulation on my walls then covered it with white peg board.
It holds the insulation in place, the white reflects light and the peg hooks makes it easy to hang things.
 
Originally posted by: Snatchface
So this shed is 8x10? And you are gonna air condition it?? I mean...really. Once you put a bench and a few tools in there you might have a few feet left to stand and pivot. Air-conditioning a closet seems a bit overkill to me. Maybe just an exhaust fan?
Click to expand...

That depends. If you are working under a car for a couple hours in the summer, having a/c would be fantastic.
 
Originally posted by: Snatchface
So this shed is 8x10? And you are gonna air condition it?? I mean...really. Once you put a bench and a few tools in there you might have a few feet left to stand and pivot. Air-conditioning a closet seems a bit overkill to me. Maybe just an exhaust fan?
Click to expand...

Working in a shed on my RC cars at 100F is no fun. That's why.
 
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
I put up insulation on my walls then covered it with white peg board.
It holds the insulation in place, the white reflects light and the peg hooks makes it easy to hang things.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I'm going to do. Peg board was the word I was looking for.
 
FrustratedUser, how is the summer/winter weather in Charlottesville? You might want to be careful with the fridge. You might need the AC on the hottest days even if you aren't using the shed just to keep the fridge in proper operating conditions. Also, does it freeze in winter? That'll be an easy way to kill a fridge too.
Click to expand...

Summers get up to +90F and winters can go below freezing (20 - 25F).
I'm holding off on the beer fridge but I like to keep a somewhat constant temp to avoid condensation in the Nitro fuel.
 
Well if you are working in tight quarters and need a compressor, this is the one to get - Makita MAC2400 2.5 HP TwinStack Air Compressor. Search it out on Amazon. Great all around compressor, small, draws <15A and the quietest one there is in that class.
 
It took a while but the elctrician just left after installing 16 outlets and an extra superduper power outlet for the AC unit. I got a 60A circuit with 5 x 20A breakers.

Now on to insulation and AC installation.
 
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