Okay now, You all have kind of talked me out of the basement shop idea. My only other way to go that I can afford is a small shed I could fix up. I live in Iowa and heating is a 6-7 month heating process. And I will be up front with you I can hardly afford to heat my own house let alone a shop 24/7. I burn wood in my home all winter with add on wood furnace about 16 truckloads of wood a year.If I heat shop with wood I will be running outside every 3-4 hours to add wood or if I am gone then what? with my house at least furnace will kick on if gone. so now what? during the winter how warm do I need to keep a shop? Talking about pickling tanning The whole 9 yards? And I know that when I am working I can put heat on or burn wood its the inbetween time...Thanks again Tim
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I moved out of my basement into a "storage shed" too. The one I bought was 12' x 20' and was already insulated(a must!) and was wired. I did the finish work inside. I had 2 windows that actually opened! I started out with a wood stove too but could not keep the temperature very constant. It was EXTREMELY dry in the room because of wood heat and that caused me some problems...eh? I bought a very small PROPANE furnace with a thermostat on it and rented a 250 lb "pig" for my tank. The little furnace rarely kicks on and a full tank of gas lasts 2 months. I still have no water, so I use plastic milk jugs full as my supply. I added on another 14' x 16' room for my showroom last year and that is my whole set up. It's all up on treated stringers, and if I even move I'm taking it with me!
Here's an idea if you dont have water in your shop. Place a 55 gal plastic drum under your gutter. You can thread a ball valve into the bottom of the drum and run a hose into your shed. You'll have to elevate the drum though.
in the summer time you will need air condition to! A unair conditioned outdoor building will be the devil on hides. My shop is 14x24 with a 14x20 showroom. I have a wall mount ventless propane heater and a 20 lb tank last me about a week. Im in N.C. so the temp low is really not to bad here. I do my pickling in my basement. The saftee acid mix has no smell. And I keep a lid on it as well. Wish you luck in your taxidermy journey.
Teddy
I started out in an 8 x 9 shed just doing a few deer now & then. Then when I started doing more than one I really had a problem with space. So I started adding on a 10 x 12 room and started is correct as my mother got real sick & had to end up back & forth to hospital out of town & staying with her for a couple months... so weather got to it. So the next spring I bought a used mobile home...it was actually an old trade in that wasn't worth alot. Told the guy I wanted it for storing hay (it was one of those "How much would you give me for it?) $500 + $250 to move it. I didn't use any of the wiring as I didn't trust it.. Tore out divider between kitchen & living room...new linoleum ran my own electric & water to bathroom. Have storage, office, full bath, shop & show all in one...
of the reasons for not having a basement shop are related to fire. I would think that moving to a location where you are using a wood stove would only increase this risk. A basement shop may not be ideal but I would make it work before moving to a shed with wood heat and no air conditioning. I do not think drastic changes in temperature are what you want. Also freezing is bad for some paints/stains/glues. Also consider security and vermin (mice/bugs etc.) If you are smart about it I do not see a real problem with a basement shop. You could use your shed for storage of some items or for fleshing/salting or something.
I work out of a small building. Kind of a pain, since I don't have running water, very little heat. But you make work what you have. If I were you I'd use the building for painting, bondo and other things odor related. Heck, a friend of mine used to use his kitchen sink and bath tub to do his work. I would run electric to the building off your fuse panel, find a used window unit for heating and air. I picked one up for less than $100 a new one runs $350. It's a slow process if you are doing it on a shoestring budget, like myself.
TeddyS, I have been meaning to get in touch with you. Please e-mail me.