Designing your glassroom

[Malinda]

Ok, so most of you know I am in the process of designing my room. I keep getting ideas and am psyched to do everything we can afford lol. Please give me your input on some of my thoughts/plans.

I have to put a closet in this room in order to get 1 free 6 ft window (although I will have 3 total in there) I plan on having them leave the doors off and inserting shelving and making this my built in glass rack. If we ever leave this house we can put the doors on and it can be considered another bedroom. How thick do you think the shelves should be? I was only thinking like 1" plywood. I have to find out the exact dimensions of the closet but I am considering also putting the utility sink in there, it will keep it out of the way in my eyes?

Someone mentioned to me today to look for cabinet bottoms and use that as a table base so you also get cubbords and drawers to organize your things in. We were looking at Lowes and home Depot tonight and I think that's doable. Not sure on how I'll lay it all out yet but I am thinking about using cabinets more on the ends so in the middle area it's open underneath in case I want to sit down and put my legs under the table (like to design). I am also thinking about 1" plywood for the tops here. What do you think is better for a tabletop, plywood or MDF?  Do you see any stability issues with this thought of leaving the center area open or cabinet free?

I am already having the outlets raised instead of down at the floor.

If I were to put the work table in the center of the room and be able to walk around it fully to work or even if I put the cabinets against the walls, how much do you think I can have the top overhanging from the bases? Maybe it can work out where the tops overhang enough to sit at it and work and not have to leave a center space open?

Well these are just a few things I thought of now but I'm sure more will come up as time gets closer to putting it all together.
Thank you everyone!

[Glassic]

Dont use MDF, over time and abuse it blisters. My coffee mug, damp drink cans and overspray from the grinder testifies to that. Sort of looks like very fine chipboard and can give you splinters.
It's also hard to tap a horseshoe nail into, go for ply.
My benches are sealed ¾'' ply, my cutting table is an old dining table covered in wallboard, my soldering bench is also covered.
Are you setting the sink in a bench in the wrobe? A 6' bench with shelves each side in the recesses would work for me!  Sink in the middle, keep the cut out for a 'plug' and you will have extra workspace. I wouldn't put glass in there as sliding a sheet out against the light wouldn't be possible. I'm rambling.....

[Lady Helen]

Maybe some studio photos would help you out Malinda.
A picture is worth a 1,000 words.

[Amber]

What about something like a kitchen island, they come with overhang for stools and breaky nooks plus tons of cabinet space, and use a butcher block top?? I think with age and scratching the butcher block top will just get lots character for years down the road.

[Kev]

I use 3/4 plywood as well and works great for me. I also put my work table on wheels so it can be moved when needed. Using cabinets for a base is not going to allow you to build your worktable at a height that's right for you, it will be dictated by the stocked size of the cabinets plus the thickness of the table top. You might hit it lucky,it might be the right height, but considering the time you will spend at the worktable, I think it's very important to make sure it's "right" to begin with, to prevent strain and fatigue on your back.

[Lou Ann]

Okay Malinda, here is what I have for you...

I have to put a closet in this room in order to get 1 free 6 ft window (although I will have 3 total in there) I plan on having them leave the doors off and inserting shelving and making this my built in glass rack. If we ever leave this house we can put the doors on and it can be considered another bedroom. How thick do you think the shelves should be? I was only thinking like 1" plywood. I have to find out the exact dimensions of the closet but I am considering also putting the utility sink in there, it will keep it out of the way in my eyes?

Putting the sink in the closet means there will be plumbing in the closet for the next resident and that could hurt your resale value.

Taking the doors off is a great idea.

If you are going to put a glass rack in the closet, you don't really want just "shelves", you want cubbies for the glass and 3/4" plywood is strong enough if you build it right -- I attached a pic of my glass rack below and it is over 5 yrs old and not a bend to it anywhere (the top in the pic is my old bench top so ignore that). If I had more space and he could have built it longer, we would have put a tall cubbie on either side and made each tall cubbie wider than the 8" mine is. If you decide to do something similar to this, let me know and I'll send better pics.

the 1/4" plywood you see as dividers is there as additional support as well as to separate the colors -- it isn't evident in the pic but where the top and bottom of those dividers rest is a slightly routed channel so that way they stay in place when my inventory gets lower than what it is in the pic

Don't forget to leave space in the closet for all your kiln molds and supplies as well as bevels, nuggets, etc. I use an over the door hook and hang my chain inside the cabinet doors on one of the base cabinets so that way it doesn't get dusty and my spooled chain is on the shelf in there

Someone mentioned to me today to look for cabinet bottoms and use that as a table base so you also get cubbords and drawers to organize your things in. We were looking at Lowes and home Depot tonight and I think that's doable. Not sure on how I'll lay it all out yet but I am thinking about using cabinets more on the ends so in the middle area it's open underneath in case I want to sit down and put my legs under the table (like to design). I am also thinking about 1" plywood for the tops here. What do you think is better for a tabletop, plywood or MDF?  Do you see any stability issues with this thought of leaving the center area open or cabinet free?

My work bench is 2 base cabinets seperated by about 2' of open space for me to stack my workboards and molds. I would not be without my drawers because everything is right there when I am working. For a top, I have a piece of precut countertop from Home Depot that is 6' long and cost $50; I previously had plywood and it showed every burn mark and gouge I managed to get into it (solder drops did most of the damage) but the counter top still looks brand new -- the other advantage for me of the counter top is it has the backsplash so nothing can roll off the back of the table

whatever you use, you need to take the time and screw it into the cabinet bases because over times the ends will start to warp/bend up and you'll have a wobbly work table.

If I were to put the work table in the center of the room and be able to walk around it fully to work or even if I put the cabinets against the walls, how much do you think I can have the top overhanging from the bases? Maybe it can work out where the tops overhang enough to sit at it and work and not have to leave a center space open?

Talk to the cabinet consultant in Lowes or Home Depot, they should be able to help you with this; I know Amber mentioned the island concept; however islands that have seating are generally wider than base cabinets and it is that extra width that provides the stability; also putting 3 screws in every corner will help considerably..

Good luck with this

LA

[JoanFrances]

Malinda, seeing that you are still designing, have you thought about putting in a fan system for the soldering fumes?  I think a few of the members have posted pictures of the systems they have set up in their studio's. 

The one thing to keep in mind that no matter how you set it up, you may want to change the layout at some point, so have everything on wheels/casters large enough to hold the weight you may be adding to the different cabinets or work tables.  Don't forget wall cabinets can be helpful for storing your supplies like solder, foil and such.  There are magazine organizes that you can store you pattern books in too.  I have several and try to keep my books together according to the theme of the book, makes it  a bit easier to find one you are looking for.  You can sometimes get them at dollar stores, if not catologs or office supply places have them

Keep in mind the order that you work. 
1. you design a pattern
2. you pick glass
3. you cut
4 you grind
5 you foil
6 you solder
7 you clean
8 you patina
9 you clean again. 

The fewer times you have to walk back and forth while working on a piece, the more creative time you have
Keep the tools needed for doing the processes at the location you are doing that process.

One of the things I have found to be the handiest is the hole I had cut into my work top so that I can sweep the scrap glass into a bucket under the work table. 

There are several threads in this board that have pictures of different members studio's that you may get some ideas from too. 

Have fun my Friend. 

[JoanFrances]

Oh, I forgot.  When it comes to shelves for your glass, Malinda, you should have cubes to break up the length of the shelf and support the weight.  otherwise even 1" shelves may bend in the middle, depending on the lenght of the shelf. 

[Lou Ann]

decided to post a picture of my bench so you can see how far I have it apart with no issues... just excuse the mess I've been working so much that I haven't been up there in a few weeks to do glass so things are very haphazard right now

didn't think this warranted the time it would take me to clean that disaster area either. :-)

[Malinda]

Ok, let me try this again, my computer is having issues lol.

I am attaching 2 designs I thought of last night when I couldn't sleep. The kiln and the sink can't be moved, the plumbing and electrical are going in these areas already. The door is on the bottom right and the windows are at the top of the page.

Thanks for everyones input already.

LA that is exactaly what I am thinking about doing.....just like your picture but I was thinking plywood instead of the countertop. Countertop material can get REAL expensive the larger I go......

[nansea121]

I like to have my work tables out from the wall so I can have access from all sides and most everything has wheels because my shop seems to be in a constance state of growth. I like to use Homosote as a working surface for foiled work and 3/4" plywood for lead work. I have different 'stations' for each use. One for the kiln area, glass crates, a light table area, an area for the cutter's mate, an area for different types of supplies for glass, tools, books, lamp forms, kiln supplies, a boutique to show my wares, etc. I have slat board on the walls so I can add and move shelving brackets and add as many hooks as I can to maximize the space plus lots of plug-ins and overhead lighting.

Here are a few pics. My biggest tip would be to put wheels under as many of your studio furnature as possible. Even my kiln platform has wheels under it.

The only thing I'm missing is a sink! That's great you'll be having one so handy in your studio Malinda.

[Kev]

Wow Nancy..I'd sure love to have that space!

[nansea121]

A few more pics.
The first one shows how I store some of the lead and zinc came. That bench has wheels under it...good thing 'cause it's very heavy.

Second pic shows some storage. There are no naked walls in my studio:)

Third shows one of my 4x8 work tables being finished. They have more smaller glass storage spaces underneath. I just bought a couple more crates of glass. Thank goodness most things have wheels because I'll have to do some more shuffling around to find more glass storage.

[Kev]

I agree with Nancy...you should have access to all sides of you table so you can solder without having to turn the panel or reaching across the tabletop to get to the other side. Having it up against a wall will not allow that. If you put the table on wheels, you can have it against the wall for smaller projects and pull it out away from the wall for larger pieces that require access from both sides of the table. Placing wheels on everything allows you to rearrange things with ease to get exactly what works for you after some trials. You'll figure out what works...but flexibility is something to be considered at the onset. Over time you will be adding more stuff to your area and this will accommodate it.

[nansea121]

LoL Kev:) My problem is that there's never enough space!

[Lou Ann]

LA that is exactaly what I am thinking about doing.....just like your picture but I was thinking plywood instead of the countertop. Countertop material can get REAL expensive the larger I go......

Look in the back of the Home Depot and Lowes stores in the cabinet section, there is a section of precut countertop and what you will find is "left over" lengths, at the store I bought mine, they had both backsplash and no backsplash and the lengths ranged from 2'-8'...

this is not top of the line countertop but the generic formica; the formica covering is much easier to clean because unlike plywood, it will not absorb those flux spills that always happen (my plywood top had 6-8 coats of poly on it and the stuff still seaped in and stained it)

can't help you with placement because I can only set my workarea up one way (I have slanted ceilings and lose floor space on 2 sides of the room); just try to do things so they are easily modified if the first setup doesn't work for you

where I tend to work production line, I have a large extra dining room table on the wall opposite my bench that I stack all my work boards with what is in progress and that is where Toni sits to do mosaics and draw the patterns on the glass for me

[nansea121]

Another reason why I like to have access around the work table is because it makes it easier for for me to get to a student when I have classes. We work off of smaller sections of plywood and homosote board so they can take their projects home with them to work on. The plywood for the main working tables has several coats of sealer on them which makes for a very easy clean-up. If the table surface gets any bad stains or I just want to do a general yearly clean-up, I'll resand the surface and reapply more sealer.

Another suggestion is to visit other established studios as Helen suggested. You'll learn some really good tips and solutions from them as well.

[Lou Ann]

Malinda,

I know you told me on the phone but I forgot, what is the size of the room you are trying to set up?

I think that is going to be a very important factor in what you decide to do; also you might want to look into any additional floor space constraints some of your equipment might have like kilns and saws (don't have either so don't know if a kiln can't be so close to other things or what type of spray area you have to worry about with a saw); also make sure you plan so you don't overload any circuits if you are going to be teaching and having multiple people using different equipment at the same time...

LA

[nansea121]

Good point about the electrical circuts Lou Ann! The kiln I have runs on household currant but this year I plan on adding a separate heavy duty circut for that use only. Different circuts will prevent overloads. You'll find that as you work in your space, things will occur and change several times.

Different work areas for saws, grinders...lol. I forgot to meantion those. My space is about 20' x 28'.

[Audrey]

Nancy, you have more stuff in there than any STORE I have been too. How great. I love your studio.