Moving to a bigger shop. Working on the layout...

[visualeyez]

New location is 21' x 90' x 8'. Mainly one large room with a couple restrooms and a storage room in the back. I want to separate the front 24 feet with a wall to create the showroom/front desk area.

There is no heating so I plan to install 9 baseboard heaters, two thermostats and a good dehumidifier.

I am also picking up a 6 color 4 station Riley Hopkins Silkscreen kit with a crappy conveyor dryer and about 40 aluminum screens, ink, flash dryer, burn unit, etc.

So here is the idea for the shop layout
:

 

[Gino]

Make sure you have plenty of lighting.

 

[k_graham]

OBviously different requirements than our printshop in Canada.

I did ours by, workflow, draw workflow, set building under it. FIt plumbing and Electric to it.

Our darkroom ended up behind Graphics with drain ran along wall to back.

Materials come in back but majority leave by front with customer in our case so we have finished storage in front. We have both tills 2 and graphics 2 in front with accounting office 3rd graphics off front. RIps with monitors are near copiers and latex printer.

I question dehumidifier, we humidify for 50 percent, get 40percent, this is, as we have copiers and paper and printers want humidity.

Also is darkroom required?

Our use has dropped 95 percent as most is digital with presses now a distant 2 nd. I assume you are using for stencils, can they be made digitally with for instance a latex printer laying down solid k or solid cmyk?

Regards Electric heat, what is estimated cost of electricity by baseboard heaters?

HEat pumps can provide 3 to 5 times the efficiency and also provide air conditioning, if you get below freezing weather, you might consider sealed radiant tube type natural gas heating above workspaces but probably not. Dont forget heat pumps are natural air dehumidifiers in cooling mode. We have 3 phase 5ton units attached to our 90% efficient naturalgas air furnacesand reliability is measured in years without outside service. Conversely as I near retirement we have a 10 room hotel playalindahotel-com in Mexico using individual 1 ton minisplits per room and Carriers with 1 year warranty lasted the warranty and not much more. We switched to a brand with 2 year warranty but in a building with open space I would insulate 1st and put in ducting for 1 to 2 large units after paying for a heat loss calculation. But thats because we purchased our building and all improvements belong to wife and I. Your situation is of course different, but if renting try and have landloard provide improvements that make you profitable.

Ken

 

[visualeyez]

I am renting, and will ask for assistance, but rent is only $525 for the 2,000 sq.ft. so I don't want to be burdon.
After I put the wall in that seperates the showroom from the work area, I have two separate spaces to heat.

The front is 21x24 and only needs heated during business hours.

The work area is 21x50 and needs heated 24/7 for the equipment and materials. The floor is concrete,
the walls are brick, and there are only 2 windows in the front so no real heat loss. This is where I
wanted a de-humidifier, as the shop is less then 1/2 mile from the Pacific Ocean, at sea level. We
have very moist salty air that I don't want rusting out my equipment.

Need help on the heaters though. Paying the bill but not retiring for a while (I'm 30) and I run
the whole shop myself.


The back 21x16 will be separated as storage and left unheated.

 

[Gino]

Wouldn't a pellet stove be a lot cheaper to buy, install and run compared to electric baseboard heat ??

Don't you hafta worry about dipping temperatures at night..... for freezing pipes and knocking the sh!t outta your surroundings ?? Even your supplies and substrates should remain at a constant somewhat normal temperature, so you don't hafta heat them up when you wanna use them.

 

[k_graham]

Our 2nd location is 2000 feet, I define as a copy shop as is all digital. WIth R40 insulated roof its still an oven in summer as we havent yet added Central Air, but it did come with a wall,window unit.

Dehumidifier doesnt count when you have to open the doors for ventilation. A heat pump covers cooling, heat, and dehumidifies. I would suggest ducting with closing dampers for rear part. Consider open exposed ducts painted black like some restaurants using open beam look, though ducts should also be insulated. I said a heat calculation but really its a cooling calculation you need as even here anything sized for cooling will provide adequate airflow for heat. I suspect 5 tons required of cooling.

Our unit is open , no wall just 2 counter desks 12 feet with walkway we could gate between. Moveable in case retail, work area is wrong. I made by using standard store shelving that uses pegboards, I simply cut to about standing desk height with a cutoff saw. Then finished with 3/4 inch plywood top and arborite. Steel adjustable Shelving below is usefulWe also use with drafting chairs with seat backs. An alternative with tall shelving greater than 6 foot would have been leaving tall but leaving pegboard out above counter height. Then also run yellow strips of tape back to the bathroom and signs saying to stay between lines if in shop area.

THe building attachments like ducting and heatpump belong to landlord so work into rent but remember heat will be 1/4 of baseboards.

Try to get a locked buyout price for building, and if not a right of first refusal so if he decides to sell, whatever someone else offers you have first right. Also a locked in price escalator max on rent.

 

[k_graham]

Another thought on darkroom replacement. Could you use the method of stencil creation as we use for rubber stamps?

That is instead of a darkroom negative or positive simply use a laser image on a kimoto polyester printing plate. If black isnt enough a cmyk black. Of course this limits you to about 13x19 vs a print off a large format latex printer.

Ken