"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 10:04:06 -0600, "Jeff B" wrote:

I have a newer home that has garages *barely* deep enough for the cars
themselves. I also have neighborhood covenants forbidding any kind of
outside shed, shop, etc. So basically, if I want a place to play it looks
like it's going to have to be in the basement.

My question is, am I crazy to think about building an enclosed room in my
(currently unfinished) basement? The space I have that I could allocate
to
this is about 12' x 15'. I was thinking that I'd leave the floor concrete
and put up drywall all the way around... sound isolation would be a major
concern. It would almost be pointless to have this workshop if I could
use
it late at night while the family is sleep (2 floor up).

Yes - but you'll need to do so much prep work to build a welding or
machining workshop under the house and do it safely that it would be a
WHOLE lot easier to sell that house and buy one further out of town
that does not have the restrictions on a shop outbuilding in the back
yard, or to build a new house from scratch (or a total
almost-ground-up remodel) that was planned for that use in the first
place. I'm thinking a concrete slab floor between the basement and 1st
floor as the ultimate firestop.
snip

Great post Bruce. Finally, someone has shed the bright light of real safety
concerns upon this problem. I agree with the others who suggested moving
your car/cars to an off-site facility during the winter months for storage.

The only thing I would add to Bruce's post is: think about your insurance.
Doing any welding (or other machine work, for that matter) in your basement
will very likely invalidate any homeowner's insurance you might have. It may
also invalidate your life insurance in the event that you kill yourself or a
family member.

- Michael