> I'm trying to figure out what sort of shop building to build (or rather
> have built, I might be able to finish the interior myself but that's
> about it). It's mostly to work on bikes but will need to handle the
> occaisional car and provide parking for a small tractor. And provide a
> work area for pressing apple cider and extracting honey. (fortunately
> we just do those as a hobby, not commercial, so we don't need a lot of
> space for that).
>
> So I looked for house floorplan design programs on the net, so I could
> lay out all the stuff that I want in the building and figure out how to
> fit it all in. I played with a program called 'Fast Plans' but it's not
> all that great, and it's not possible to add in my own objects (i.e.
> motorcycles and cars and shop equipment) to lay out on the floorplan to
> 'test out' different floor plans.
>
> Does anyone have any recommendations for software, hopefully free
> that's good for this?
>
>
There are many things that can be done easier without the computer's
assistance. I find that the best way to figure out floorplans or layouts in
general is to do it with paper. Make a floorplan at a reasonable scale, not
too small but small enough to fit on a table, and cut out pieces to scale
for all your 'furniture' - stationary tools, shelving, workbenches, etc.
Then just move them around until it is 'right'.
And I'd like to add: I too hate anyone with multiple thousands of
square feet of workshop space. I just downsized to a garage that is under
150 square feet from a 20x20 that now seems downright spacious. (but the
house is bigger and the neighborhood has great schools - wow, have my
priorities shifted in the last decade or two!!).
Mark Miller
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