garage studios

It would be extremely useful to know in what part of the country you would like to do this in. Weather has a whole lot to do with the equation. There is a vast difference as to what is needed between the frozen winters of New England and the scorching summers of Arizona, or the suppressing humidity of midwest and southern summers.

The responses in regard to heating and insulation would be more useful if they were matched up with your climate.

My shop is in my basement in the midwest and I usually have three dehumidifers going around the clock down there in the summer.

Thanks, Foolproof546. I am in Denver, Colorado - high altitude, low humidity.

my shop is in a 4 car garage, well insulated with 6” of cement on the floor, lights are 8’ but if i had to do it again they would be 4’ers, the cement is hard on your feet, if you drop type or mag. cuts they could be damaged by the cement, so i have rubber mats where i set type and at each press. i’m in new england near the coean, winters are cold and summers are very humid, have a gas furnace to keep shop kinda warm, and a wood\coal stove i run during the day in the winter, a air conditioner about 18,000 btus keeps out the humidity, without air conditioning in the hottest part of the summer you can open a ream of paper and watch it curl up so it won’t run on a press. been full time here since 1999, my garage isn’t attached to my house so i have to walk to work [about 50 feet] not too bad but the walk home is tough. dick g.

Hi Joshua,
My shop is new and still in progress in central CT. I have one stall of a two car garage. I kicked one of my beloved Saab’s outside. Sigh. I built a wall with a door separating the two halves. Insulated ceiling and walls. Wired many 110volt circuits and one 220volt. Installed inexpensive 12” ceiling tile and four 4’ flourescent fixtures. I plan a vinyl tile floor with rubber mats at presses. I have a portable dehumidifier, a window a/c unit, and electric ceiling mounted heater. I am fortunate to have three windows that add light. I am going to somehow insulate the garage door before this winter. I have a Ludlow and two mat cabinets on the new partition to one side of the door and a refridgerator then kitchen base cabinet and Improved Pearl on the other side of the door. The opposite exterior wall has a bench with a small metal lathe, then a perforator, then a type cabinet with hand press on top, then another bench with cutter and a hot foil press and a radio for entertainment, and finally my big Golding Jobber. The back wall is another base cabinet with paper storage. Everything fit pretty good until I purchase another Jobber today! I want a larger cutter as well, so it’s not looking good for the other car. Just kidding. Many of the decisions are based on where you live, your available space, what equipment you intend on having, and how much time you will be spending in it. I personally want to live in mine, so I even have framed pictures on the walls. Good luck and have fun.

Pictures page on my web site www.miconpress.com has recent pics of 14x40 main floor of shop. More pics including 2nd floor to added later.100 amp 3 phase service, wireless internet interior white painted aspenite and insulation.
Mike

Hi Joshua,

My ‘studio-ette’ is a corner of a single garage in the UK. I have enough space for a desktop Adana Eight-Five, a book press, and metal cabinet of type. The floor area claimed (so far !) is approx 8ft by 6ft !

Is this the worlds smallest press studio ?

Unfortunately, I am currently battling with four push-bikes, a cross-trainer and a table tennis table ! I need to gather reinforcements - like a Vandercook SP15 !

Ian.

I love small shops! My first letterpress prints were accomplished in a “shop” that consisted of a small foot-locker at the foot of my bed. The top served as my working surface, and inside was a Kelsey 5x8, type, ink, paper, paper cutter, bookbinding supplies, and a whole host of other things.

It was tiny, but I was able to print a lot of things….

When I was located in Northern Indiana, I had quite a sustantial shop. The garage was not attached, made of brick and not insulated. I had ten cabinets of type, a Universal 1 Vandercook, a Dodson 10” x 15”, a small handpress, two stand routers, a saw, a Ludlow and 2 cabinets, a flat file for paper storage and a very large wire drying rack. I learned a very valuable lesson, in that type cabinets placed against an outside wall will get condensation from the cold wall meeting the warm air from the heater. I literally had water running down the back of any cabinet placed against the wall. I had to give up operating in the shop by December as I no longer could heat the building adequately, and could not return to work in it until April.

Now that I am in central coastal California my enemy is the salty sea air. I try to keep the shop closed up tight, and since the garage is attached to the house the heating is minimal.