Planning ahead... for moving.

[milanuk]

Okay, maybe I'm over-doing this 'thinking ahead' bit

I was in the last (first) house for ~5 years. I'm hoping to be in this one 5yrs minimum, more like 10 plus. House is very nice, neighborhood kind of 'eh'. I noticed in one book (Tom Clark's) it was mentioned that the average person moves every seven years. I'm not sure where he got that number, but it sure stuck in my head.

So... do you plan and build your larger shop furniture such as wall mounted cabinets, long work benches, etc. with an eye towards being at least partially knock-down, so that when you move you can take it with you to the new site - that way you don't have to start over completely from scratch, or do you build it like it's going to be there *forever*, i.e. part of the building without regard for fitting it out the door - assume its going to stay with the house, and you'll build new (and hopefully improved) ones on site at the new place?

Given the time and cost of building some of these items (often buried from SWMBO ), vs. possibly site-specific characteristics (length/height of walls, duct and outlet locations) I can see arguments either way.

My situation: current shop is pretty spacious, but it is located downstairs. There is fairly generous exterior access (double security doors w/ a removable center column) but at that point its either a hard right up a set of stairs and more complicated maneuvering at the top, or some inventive rigging up and out the stair well - at least thats how we got the previous owners large milling machine out, not fun at all. As such... I'm seriously considering building things in sections perhaps 4-5' wide max to allow for meat-powered moving down the road.

Thoughts? Comments?

[JR]

Perfectly valid worry! The alternative is planning to give up the furniture you know and love (or, in my case, the furniture I've learned to live with!) to the next owner.

My main bench/cabinet assy is comprised of two ~44" bases screwed together, using a common bench top. This is similar to kitchen cabinet design. I can take down the whole thing into movable chunks.

Wall cabinets are hung on french cleats. It's a bear to unload and move them, but it is do-able.

I'm not thrilled with the quality of my shop furniture. It was my first major woodworking project and I had a lot to learn. But I would definitely want to have it available when I started new projects in a new shop, rather than be required to build it all again before I could do any useful ndw projects.

JR

[atgcpaul]

I think my shop built cabinets are nice but I'd probably leave them for the
next owner. They are hung on French cleats, too, so the next owner can
decide if they want to keep them or not. I don't know what my next shop
will be like, and I don't plan that far ahead so it's easier to leave them. I
figure they would be a bonus during the sale.

My workbench is on wheels so that's definitely going with me.

Paul

[Rand]

A nice looking workshop with installed cabinets can be a real plus when it's time to sell your house.

It doesn't make sense but a house that looks nice, with a fresh coat of paint and nice flooring etc. will sell much easier than the exact same house that looks run down and is $20,000 cheaper.

Home buyers want a place to look nice even if they intend to repaint and put in new carpets as soon as they buy the place. I would leave the cabinets.

Besides, you will probably want to do things a little differently at the next house.

[Uncle Cracker]

If I had to relocate, I'd leave the built-in benches, but everything else is easily transportable. It wouldn't be a worry. But one thing I would think about is leaving the shop and the large tools right where they are for the right price. Could be a selling feature for many potential buyers, and it might be nice to re-tool with a big portion funded by somebody else.

[BobSch]

It'd take explosives to get us out of our house. After 31 years we've amassed such a lot of stuff that moving is pretty much out of the question. Besides, we like the house and neighborhood.

[Mr__Bill]

I have moved a lot. I like the modular approach, most often it can be reworked into a new location. But, if offered enough I would leave it behind and build new in the next place, tho it again would be modular. I do plan so that things will fit out the doors without taking too much apart. If you have built on casters it's even easy to move, just roll it into the truck and then out.


Bill, on the Sunny Oregon Coast where we have gotten 6"+ of sunshine in the last few days.

[docrowan]

I'd start from scratch every time. I'd love an opportunity to redesign and rebuild with new skills learned during the first go around.

We love our neighborhood and tolerate our house. About $10,000 would get us to loving our house, but we're not willing to finance home improvements. The big question is whether we have another child after our son is born. If not, then we'll stay put for quite some time. If so, we're probably moving again in the next couple of years, God willing.

[dbhost]

A valid point, but not one I have to worry too much about. Let me explain a bit...

While I have family here there and everywhere across North America, and several European nations, I have a particularly soft spot for the American Southwest, and Pacific Northwest. (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington). Since the majority of my in laws are in the Houston metro area, we would like to stay reasonably close, but far enough away from the Hurricanes... So our living range as it were is going to be the Texas Hill Country, through most likely West Texas. So long winded story short, basements are not likely to be in the cards for me... But rather a garage or shed type workshop.

Now the agreement has already been made with LOML that our next property will have a dedicated outbuilding specifically for a workshop. Most likely a 16x32 Tuff Shed Tall Barn or similar...

So the need for hoisting tools, benches, and cabinets up and out of my garage workshop, and into a new one just isn't there...

When I leave this house, and the workshop space, I am obviously going to leave the circuits / outlets that I am adding in, as well as the built ins such as the pegboard which has custom cutouts for outlet boxes, and the built in storage shelves / shop vac / cyclone storage cabinet.

My workbench is reasonably mobile, and the drywall anchors for the DC plumbing will remain, but the plumbing will go with me.

My clamp racks will stay behind as I will have access to the joists in a small barn / large shed.

I am not sure I buy the averages though. I have been in my house longer than that, and I was in the apartment prior to the house for 8 years. (Apartment renters typically move once a year).

Now as far as being able to simply pack the shop up in a truck and haul it with me, yes, I am selecting tools and bases that will make this process more readily possible. And as I design and build more projects for the shop, mobility is key. Casters and mobile bases are the order of the day. And I keep finding reasons to not buy a jointer (I can do what I need to with a planer / table saw type excuses) and the mobility aspect of this all is partially responsible for this... Though I keep leaning HARD toward a benchtop jointer and bench tool stand / cart as a solution to small space and mobility issues.

Now having said all that, I must note that our current home is fine. But there is prior history that LOML wants to be away from. And I want to give that to her... God willing and the banks and politicians not getting overly stupid, I will be done with my repairs / improvements in about two years, and have a good housing market to put this house up in...

[rnelson0]

I do not think of what I would want to take with me, but I do know that we will not be here forever so I keep that in mind when building stuff. I certainly am not putting up the 18'x30' workshop in the back that I so desperately want It also keeps the project load down. There are a lot of things that I want but are a LOT of work, such as some bench seating by the pool table. But the room is not even big enough (need a short cue along the sides) so I will wait until I have a "real" place to build some fancy seating.

[Gary Lange]

Build it all with the idea that you are going to move it when you head to a new place. Make all upper wall cabinets two doors wide for easy moving. Place French cleats on the backs so as you can lift them off and carry them with you when you go. The Base cabinets can be done the same way by some accurate measurements you can set the them on a french cleat at the top and bottom. These will then lift off and may be moved to a new location. Now and this is important. Before your first showing the home for sale you must take down all these cabinets and store them so as not to appear that they are staying with the house. You don't want anyone to assume that they are staying.

[milanuk]

Thanks for the responses, folks. Seems like most of the time when I see discussions on building shops or such, the builder appears to be trying to create a last, best shop for retirement - i.e. they'll probably croak before ever having to try moving all that stuff. Having another 30+ years to go before retirement... I figure I'll have to relocate a time or three 'til I get to that stage in life

Maybe it's the pessimist in me... but I was contemplating what if the buyer wants no part of a shop in the location you have it in - or is otherwise less than enthused about a full-blown woodshop in the basement. Maybe they are a metal worker, maybe their dear Uncle Earl got disemboweled by a flying piece of red oak, maybe they are a woodworker themselves and have half a truck load of cabinets to bring with them from *their* old shop Might not be such a valuable bargaining chip in the house closing after all.

Speaking of which... has anyone here ever bought a house with a shop full of cabinets, etc. already in it? I came close... sorta. The seller had all manner of tools - table saws, milling machine, lathes, etc. etc. etc. but his storage was pretty minimal - mostly stacks and boxes (kind of like the way I've been doing for the last 2 years!) The 'cabinets' cabinets he left behind probably had a total cost of maybe $300 worth of wood, and thats being generous (old kitchen cabinets, hanging here and there, and used as a work bench base). Enough to get me started and keep me busy, but now I'm at the point of building more and/or ones to suit my needs and use of the space - which are completely different than what he had set up.

Thanks,

Monte

[milanuk]

Gary,

Good point about making sure that stuff you don't intend to leave behind is excluded from the sale... we had the previous owner of our first house yank a hot tub the day before we moved in (and after we'd signed). Realtor said "Well, it isn't specifically listed as included' anywhere in the paperwork..." I have seen specific mention in several home sales flyers, etc. that such-n-such cabinets, etc. were *not* staying with the home.

Monte

[Gary Lange]

I would have made him bring back the Hot Tube because I signed after the walk thru and it was there then it will be there when I move in.

[milanuk]

about seven years too late and they were still our neighbors (sold that house and built right above it) - didn't figure it was worth starting out like that over. My consolation was they might as well have left it... by the time they got their house finished, the tub was pert much ruined from sitting out behind the shop... and it was *way* windier up on that hill than they'd bargained for. Most of the time, they couldn't have sat out in a hot tub if they'd wanted to