Was the biggest (and most expensive) upgrade to my workshop worth it?

[@mattzahara9310]

I have been following your channel for a few years as my space and location are very similar to yours. A similar electrical upgrade should be in the cards for me next year. I’ve watched each of your shop tour videos multiple times for inspiration. If you have enough time and content for another tour, I’ll gladly watch it a few times. Keep it up!

[@MasonWoodshop]

Thank you for watching and leaving such a king comment! While I’ve already done one this year so much has changed in my shop that I’m planning on doing another in September. Still trying to find that perfect mix of tools/storage and the addition of a laser cutter is complicated things, but also given me some good ideas for further improvements.

[@FearsomeWarrior]

What about insulation? I see the open stud bays with the old white paint. Those can be filled with bats for cheap. Staple gun and go. The ceiling is much more difficult because of decisions. Drywall and what height. It is possible to do it cheaply using thin 1/8 or 1/4 sheets and solid foam insulation. Tape it with Tyvek tape to hold it together and let it float up there. Very difficult to deal with. My garage had half drywall to code and the other half was wide open. Took years to finish. Putting up insulation a few rolls at a time. Drywalling slowly after that.

[@MasonWoodshop]

Those are some fantastic ideas and I do want to deal with insulation at some point sooner than later. I might to do what you said to the upper walls, although spray in foam insulation (by a professional, of course) is an option for the roof (and even walls). I’m also planning on putting plywood on top of the rafters with access in one spot. That’ll give me better storage up there, and retain some heat in the winter.

[@FearsomeWarrior]

@@MasonWoodshop Yeah the spray way up top makes sense. I’d just worry the heat would go up in the roof peak and leave me cold down on the ground. Maybe a fan fixes that. Shoot the heat back down.

[@MasonWoodshop]

@@FearsomeWarrior YES! That's a great idea about a fan to keep the heat down. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@garynelles]

Wow Cole I didn’t realize your power was so limited. Enjoy the upgrade!

[@MasonWoodshop]

Thanks, Gary! Now I just need to figure something out to get the humidity out of the shop, haha! Maybe a mini split is in the cards for next year.

[@NWGR]

Congrats on the upgrade! I'm still on the "single 20 amp outlet and multiple extension cords" phase. 😅

[@MasonWoodshop]

Haha, thanks! It felt weird showing the electrician my spaghetti of extension cords, but there was no judgement…as far as I know!

[@robertcastellow5797]

My garage is on a 15A circuit. I do have 2 circuits for a water heater and a dryer that were replaced with gas, so there is room for expansion. Good job on the upgrade, the conduit looks good.

[@MasonWoodshop]

Thanks! I’m thrilled with the results and the attention to detail the electrician had.

[@6399graham]

whats that next to the fuse box big silver thing is it a fridge ??

[@MasonWoodshop]

Haha, it definitely does look like some sort of industrial fridge and even neighbours that see it up close thing so too. It’s just a storage cabinet that I grabbed on clearance.

[@stevem268]

hello fro, sarnia and a fellow woodworker. my shop is very well wired, i did it over the years and in retrospect it would have much easier at the beginning! the main 200 amp panel for the house is located in the garage. i heat the garage which is a medium double car, with natural gas but i,am installing a minisplit heat pump shortly, this will require a subpanel as the main panel is full lighting in my shop/garage is with 2 ceiling fans and 4 highbay commercial led fixtures on two switches for two levels of lighting. there are also 2 garage door openers. i have 2 30 amp 240 volt circuits for heavy machinery and record dust extractor/cyclone system. my biggewst motor is a very old 4 hp in my 1950's planer, the rest are 2 hp. the 30 amp machinery circuit has 5 outlets and the dust collector has one. i have 3 15 amp 120 volt circuits with outlets all around the walls. all outlet boxes are doubles, so 4 plugs can be used at each location, i am never more than 6 feet from an outlet except in the center of the garage i very rarely trip a breaker of course and never one in the house the new subpanel will allow separation of a couple of things, the pool pump and a dedicated circuit for out travel trailer(30 amp/120 volt). it will also allow adding ev charging if we ever go that way i'm surprised that the original garage circuit was combined with the living room , that has been disallowed by ontario code for a long time, exterior outlets also have to be on a dedicated circuit and must gfci protected

[@MasonWoodshop]

Oh wow, that sounds like you’ve put together a good setup, thanks for sharing!

[@stevem268]

@@MasonWoodshop retired trim carpenter, woodworker all my life. all of my machinery is older than me so they are very power hungry!

[@MasonWoodshop]

@@stevem268 Very cool! I grew up in Camlachie and my wife is from Sarnia, so we’re very familiar with the area. Hope you’re enjoying retirement!

[@deziomakes]

Thanks for the details. I've been sitting on my hands about this for a while now. 5k, though... shazam.

[@MasonWoodshop]

Yeah, not cheap but there are ways I could’ve cut costs notably (no heater + thick wire required for it, fewer outlets/runs, and not doing a massive panel install. I could see people easily equipping a small garage like mine with a good electrical setup for half the cost.