DebbieTX Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 After five long, long, long years of working out of my dinky kitchen, my hubby is finally building me a workshop on our property. It has barn type appearance with a loft inside so that I can store jars, etc out of the way. The walls are up and the trusses and siding are going on Monday. This gives me about a week to decide what to put where inside. He keeps asking me what I want inside and honestly, I really have no idea. I have been working in an eight foot area for so long that I think I have just made do with what I had to work with.Does anyone have any advice or pics that I can view? I did a search and only came across 2 or 3 shops that were not storefronts. Any tips on what to add? I do candles and soap. Wax melter will go in. Oven is going in. Anyone with "I wish I would have done.....or I wish I wouldn't have done...?" For those that do have, do you like open shelving or closed cabinets? Do you wish they were more shallow or more deep? For finished products, do you just put them on shelves, leave in the boxes and then shelve, what? See...I told you that there are just too many decisions here! Like my product decisions aren't enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joym Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 No pictures, but a couple of thoughts - I really like the wire shelves with wheels that you can get at Sam's (& probably other places.) about $80. I do store the finished candles in boxes - otherwise they fade over time.Another word of advice - take your time adding things and working out arrangements - I didn't and have had to backtrack some.Good Luck - it's exciting to be able to move out of the kitchen (and, by the way, I'm still finding wax to be scraped off the kitchen floor)!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerinarkansas Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 If you have any manufacturing companies close, you can check with them to see if they have any metal shelving they don't use. Sometimes they pile it out back of the company. My husband came home one night with loads of shelving that was dumpster bound...make sure your pouring tables are nice and level. I keep my oils in an old dresser type thing. It has 3 deep drawers and one area with a door. Got it for next to nothing. Just make a plan on what type layout you want....jars on one end, pouring table, area for labeling and then your storage. Make it fix YOUR needs. Ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwc Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 When I first started researching candlemaking, I ran across a web site that showed the optimum setup (according to the lady from the website). Do you think I can find it now? And I thought all my bookmarks were categorized well.We may be adding on a garage in the future, and if we do, I plan to add a shop to make candles and B&B products. Some of my questions would be:* What kind of floor should I put in? - When I used to have to stand at work, we had the fatigue mats and I wonder if a rubber floor would work. Or fatigue mats over a concrete floor?*How big should the shop be? Obviously as big as you can afford to build to allow for future growth, but what do you, general you (UGU) (not you personally) think a minimum size for a shop should be - 15 x 20, 20 x 30, 20 x 40? I can't remember the size the county said was the maximum size allowed here, I'll have to go look for the form. I'm thinking 1500 sf is all the most that is allowed, maybe 1000 sf.*What kind of countertops would UGU put in that don't stain easily and hold up to heat?*How would you heat and cool your shop? Obviously in Texas you would use refrigerated air, in Colorado we could probably get away with a swamp cooler in the summer with a very small pellet stove in the winter.Here is what I'm imagining: A large U shape. At the top of the U, facing the door, place for two computer desks, one in front of the other. B&B materials on one side, candle materials on the opposite side.Countertops lower than normal to make it easier to work on, with plenty of commercial power strips across the back of the wall (those that have a plug about every 18 inches). At the opposite end of the U from the desks, a stove and sink setup and small fridge and microwave (who wants to go to the house for snacks?). In the middle, a deep, long island, again lower than normal countertop, to line the candle jars up to pour, clean, label, and package them. Maybe a power strip in the middle or on the sides. Middle seems safer, a 1-2" strip running down the middle of the island.Under the countertops, one drawer under each section and then open shelving for raw supplies, to be kept in large plastic see-through tubs. Above the countertops, cabinets with doors for smaller supplies and to protect FO from light. In the middle of the candle counter, the wax melter in between cabinets where cabinets won't interfere with them. Maybe even a --__-- design to the contertop (looking at it straight on) so that the wax melters would be lower and easier to manage. Oh, and a bathroom somewhere in there. With my bladder, I'd spend all day going from the shop to the house.And I would want to have ONE switch that I could turn off at the end of the day and it would turn off all plugs; that way I would never have to worry about leaving anything on. I guess this could be accomplished by using breakers, right?I don't know a lot about soapmaking and haven't done much research into it yet, but when working with lye you work outside, don't you? If so, I would pour a small concrete patio behind the shop for this purpose.I know some of you will think this is awfully premature, but in the months I was taking care of my mother before she died, I had a lot of time to think (dream) about this. Not so much the B&B side of things, but the candle side.Ok, I'll shut up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dallas_Texas_Dean Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 I could be wrong...and I am too lazy to look right now but i THINK it is Natures Garden....or Nature "somthing" that has a layout that is suppose to be ideal. Where is that thing? I KNOW I have seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ah-soy Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 If you go to www.candlepro.com (this is NG) and scroll down the left side menu you'll find their candle workroom diagram under the 'candle making' link toward the bottom of the page. Has nothin' to do with soap, but looks good for candles to me since I work in my kitchen and have now spread out to my dining room too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebbieTX Posted June 10, 2007 Author Share Posted June 10, 2007 Wow BWC...you definitely have thought this through! It gave me lots of ideas! I remember NG's. I will go take a look at it. You all are the most creative people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heirloomoriginals Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 BWC, you sound like you have built many shops! I might have to print that out in case I ever get big enough to have my own shop built.steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 Here is that picture, it was hard to find It is on the site ah-soy posted, but not in that section. It's on the left under Candle Manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 I have to disagree with one thing BWC said.Counter tops that are lower than normal and having to stoop over them to pour candles, will kill your back. I know this because I statred out with banquet tables, 8 years ago, and had to bend over to use them & it killed my back. I'm 6' and like 36" counter tops, just make the counter tops the height that is comfortable for you.This is for counter tops you stand to work at. They would be a different height if you sit at them with a chair or bar stool, to work at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwc Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 I'm 6' and like 36" counter tops, just make the counter tops the height that is comfortable for you.This is for counter tops you stand to work at. They would be a different height if you sit at them with a chair or bar stool, to work at.That's true. I'm 5'4", so maybe we should all have custom countertop heights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwc Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 BWC, you sound like you have built many shops! I might have to print that out in case I ever get big enough to have my own shop built.stephNope, not a one. Just had a lot of time to think and dream last year when my candle plans got derailed. You find you want to be anywhere except sitting in a hospital room or nursing home. Nature's Garden! Thanks, everyone, for coming up with that. I know I have that link somewhere in my bookmarks, but I guess I didn't put a good enough description by it to remember the layout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 Some great descriptions here! I'd work on how you'd actually flow your process if you had the room to spread out. Write down each step. Keep wet and dry processes separate.Keep big heavy items like wax, oils, whatever, close to the main access door. Have a good place to stack things out of the way so you can start buying in bulk if you don't already. Have little wheeled platforms so you can move heavy items around. Have packaging/shipping/computer stuff also near the door so you can move it out quickly. That way supplies can move around the room, you can make up things, cure them and store them, then package them and have them out the door, without moving things back and forth over and over. And for b&b, easy to clean floors, stainless wherever I could afford it, and shelves shelves shelves shelves shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwc Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 That way supplies can move around the room, you can make up things, cure them and store them, then package them and have them out the door, without moving things back and forth over and over. And for b&b, easy to clean floors, stainless wherever I could afford it, and shelves shelves shelves shelves shelves.See, I never would have thought of stainless, but I bet that would be the way to go. Oh, I would also add that everything put in the shop be as fireproof as you can get. When my SIL put in her daycare center, she even had the sheetrock that had the highest fireproof rating.Robin, you're great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraftyChris Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Here are a few pics for you. This is our shop. I like a higher bench, but some of the girls who work for me like it lower, so ll of our benches are different heights, depending of what we are pouring.TONS of hydro. We never have enough. Our commercial melters are on brakers just for them, then burners, fans, heat guns......Hope that helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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