Do you guys have shops in basement, garage?

[DR]

Curious about this, if you live in a city does your house have a dedicated shop? Not necessarily a large shop filled with machines, but an area with a work bench where you can work on something without having to put a tarp down to protect the floor or carpet.

I'm asking this because I think I'm seeing a trend away from workshop spaces. In my in-city neighborhood the houses are from 30 to 80 years old. Originally they all had unfinished basements with storage and a work area.

Now as these houses change ownership I see the sales listings, houses nearly identical to my 4 bedroom house suddenly have 6+ bedrooms. Going through these homes I see the basements invariably have been turned into living space with tiny, rat holes bedrooms.

What's with this?

Adding to the confusion is my city, Seattle, is rapidly becoming unaffordable for young couples with children, the housing is just plain too expensive. Yet, there seem to be a super premium on having lots and lots of bedrooms.

How is it where you live?

[Evan]

Yes, I do.

[Tin Falcon]

I live in an urban area of a small town 15 thousand plus or minus . 100 plus year old house. my shop is in a room at the back of the house, the basement and the garage. The garage is mostly storage hope tp turn it more into work space.
tin

[sch]

I live on a hill side, the house is about 25' below street level, and the
basement, accessed only from the rear or inside the house is another
10' down. Shop is in the basement. Garage is easy access but dedicated
to cars, yard stuff and bikes, and general storage. If I ever stumbled
across a B'port type mill it would have to go in the garage, which would be
a major upheaval. Temps in garage go to 120F in summer.

[andypullen]

My shop was in the basement for several years. Although it was always comfortable year round, the cutting oil smell was sometimes too much for the family. Since I moved; I'm in the garage. More space, yes, but I share it with the wife's van and bikes, mowers, etc. Cold in the winter, too. I need to insulate it and improve how I heat it. I haven't been here in the summer, yet...I'll let you know about that. When it's damp outside; the floor is damp. I haven't figured out what to do about that, yet.

A friend of mine built a garage and had the heated floor put in. He tells me it's fantastic in the winter. He also put in AC for summer.

Andy Pullen

[lane]

Live in the South . Started out in 1/2 of a 2 car garage. But about 19 years ago built a 16 by 20 building in back yard for shop.Now its too small . Need 20x30 building.

[TECHSHOP]

My home (metal) shop was in the garage, but it is in the process of moving into a portion of the basement. The garage is now going to be woodworking and large project assembly area only. Another section of the basement is already used as a "dry" (no oil, etc) assembly area for things I can carry, and is generally a hand tool only zone. Which is located next to the "heat treat" area (yes, a large masonary fireplace). Today I returned home with a brand new 12x24 ft "shop in a box" to replace the 10x20 ft "shop in a box" of the last few years, basically doubles the available shop surface area in spring and summer. That leave out the back shed, mainly because I may have to move into there, when SWMBO finds out about the planned shop expansion...

[ProGunOne]

1 car attached garage that was never used as one.

[lazlo]

Live in the South.

Depends on where in the South. It's rare for a house in Central Texas to have a basement (land is mostly solid limestone), and the real state is so expensive that you'll rarely find a separate shop building in Dallas/Austin/Houston/San Antonio.

I have a friend who wanted a separate shop bad enough that he bought a house well outside of the city, but he's got over an hour commute each direction to work.

I need to move to Louisiana -- I'd love to have a dedicated shop!

[J Tiers]

Basement. The city frowns on basement living quarters, you have to have multiple egress means, etc. They particularly don't like basement bathrooms, unless, as we did, you already have one. Then you can upgrade, but to put one in they have more requirements, based largely on flooding potential.

I have basement stairs, so moving in a 13" SB, let alone a B-Pt, would be a hassle. No walk-in door.

I am in a first-line suburb, house is 70 years old, and my commute recently dropped to 6 minutes door-to-door (didn't change jobs).

Basements are nice, no extra to heat them, no extra to cool them, always there, and other activities can be combined with shop work, such as minding laundry, keeping an eye on other activities, etc.