Home Based Professional Shops

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Comment by Ryan Bruzan on April 26, 2011 at 11:11am

15 minutes away, that is cool!

Comment by Vinnie Scarlata on April 26, 2011 at 8:00am

What are the chances. Here, a national blog, and we end up 15 minutes away from each other. Go figure!

Comment by Vinnie Scarlata on April 26, 2011 at 7:58am

Hey Will, I know Sandy Hook. I pass through on my way to Kellogg Hardwood.You're not far at all. Any time you want to visit, the shop door's always open. Be happy to have you. Call: 203.732.3257

Comment by Will Sampson on April 26, 2011 at 7:48am

I'm just up Route 34 from you in Sandy Hook. Not far at all. Maybe I could come visit your shop one of these days.

Comment by Vinnie Scarlata on April 25, 2011 at 8:01pm

Hey  Will, I'm in Connecticut, too. I'm in Ansonia, Where are you?

Comment by Ralph W. Bagnall on April 25, 2011 at 10:08am

Will, Telecommuting should be a whole separate topic for discussion! lol

Comment by Will Sampson on April 25, 2011 at 9:36am

Vinnie, I'm envious! Your shop sounds just like what I plan to build on my 30 acres in Maine when I can figure out how to escape the urban sprawl of Connecticut.

Comment by Vinnie Scarlata on April 25, 2011 at 9:33am

Reread my post, just to clearify, the second floor acts as office and veneering area. The shop proper, obviously, is the garage level. Did I also mention the benefit of the radiant heat in the concrete floor. Toasty, guys !!!!

 

Vinnie

Comment by Vinnie Scarlata on April 25, 2011 at 9:28am

I bought my home 6 years ago mostly for the property size. The property consists of 2 building lots. The secondary lot has run-off water accessibility to it so it could never be built on and thus became part of the the overall lot. I jumped at the chance to buy this place and saw visions of my home workshop. Since I can essentially have zoning capacity to build a second house on the property I built a 36 x 40, 3 car garage (will never see a tire track), with a full second floor, that is my cabinet shop. No I'm not zoned for the shop. Can't get 3 phase so all my equipment can only be 220 single. I do need to keep a low profile as well and not be too obvious and be considerate about timing of my bigger tool use. Once I insulated the walls, though, even my planers and table saw echo little noise to the outside. The insulation was the biggest asset to a quiet neighborhood shop. Face it, if your in your home with the windows shut and running a job saw during remodeling, you can't hear the noise from the yard. Maybe a humming sound. The same thing happened when I finally insulated the shop. Things got real quiet after that. I can even do some light machine work after hours if it's really necessary but I do try to avoid that as much as possible.

 

Making nice with my immediate neighbors has also been a plus since they are the ones mostly effected but that has also been great. They get it. I changed over from lacquer based to water based finishes so I don't have to worry about stinking up the joint or the neighborhood. Low profile has been the key and it seems to be working.

 

Vinnie

 

Comment by Ralph W. Bagnall on April 25, 2011 at 8:47am

Ryan's comment reminds me why I have always tried to stay away from home owner's associations! I've only lived in one place that had one, on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, and they were very reasonable. I just can't live with the idea that others can tell me what to do with my own property.

 

That being said, I use common sense when operating my shop. Just as I would never mow my lawn at 7am on a Sunday morning, I limit my power tool use to a "normal" schedule that won't intrude on the neighbors.

 

I have the advantage that my shop is used primarily as a studio for shooting woodworking articles and video rather than a manufacturing facility, so my schedule pretty much never requires late night or early morning use.

 

If I feel the "need" to be out in the shop working late, (on a warm summer evening this can be very nice) I will work a project that can be done with hand tools or maybe do a little turning. Things that make no undue noise.

 

Ralph

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