Going to design a bedroom/lab setup/ computer setup, suggestions welcome.

[IonizedGears]

Well, i never really had any lab setup before and have been eyeing this unused room in the house for a while but only now actually started working on it because i needed my dad to buy the insulation before i could start . The problem is that as you can see by the photos, the room is filled with clothes/furniture and i already fell down a flight of stairs carrying 75 pounds  of wood down and pretty badly hurt myself so i refuse to do it myself but no one wants to help me which is  because i help them all the time. I am 15 now. I would really like suggestions on what i could do for the layout and/or materials etc. What do you guys think about the exhaust idea? It is so that i wouldn't have to breath in any harmful vapors  and it would work by having a tube like you would see on the back of your dryer machine with a fan etc. so i could easily move it to the source of the smoke/vapor. Suggestions on what machines i should get would be appreciated because i know every machine i could get but don't really know what i should start out with.

See later post for images

[IonizedGears]

Wouldn't let me add all the photos at once so here are the other pictures.

See later post for images

[mazurov]

If lab space is tight, look for old HP/Tek gear which can be put vertically on the floor (they should have legs on a back side).  Saves tremendous amount of space.

[IanJ]

Could you resize your photos so that they can be viewed easily.

Nice space though!

Ian.

[IonizedGears]

Alright, here are the modified pictures. :/ Guess the reason not many people replied could be the pictures fault. I chose my room because A: It is only connected to the house with one wall and a garage underneath(bonus room) so i can pretty much make a lot of noise without bothering anyone. B: It has its own thermostat so i get to control my room's temperature  C: The room hasn't really been developed yet so i can easily modify the room without having to destroy much at all. And D : Lots and lots of room. I am actually covering one wall with idea paint so i can use my entire wall as a whiteboard. I will be designing the lab so i can do rework/designing/troubleshooting/soldering easily. Oh yeah, i go to a tech highschool for electronics and i am the best student there according to both my electronics teachers.

[SeanB]

Cover the glass wool with thin shutterboard ( gives a strong surface to work with) and then you can mount shelving there for the worktops. Mark the studs before covering so you can use them later.

[IonizedGears]

Huh, that is a really good idea since i might be shelving a lot of my tools Hadn't really thought about the material i was going to be mounting the shelves on.

[SeanB]

You can make the shelves out of the same board, provided you use proper bracing to handle the load. Small shelves at top and progressively larger as you come down, then make 2 sides and place it at the ends, then place a door if you want. Large storage area, and compact. The side panel will also be usable as a flat surface for mounting a whiteboard.

[IonizedGears]

I will just set up shelves like in Dave's setup as i personally love an open and simple design. But yeah, i will use shutter board. Should i mount the shutter board after i covered the wall with sheetrock or mount the shutter board to the wall without any sheetrock in between and sheetrock covering the rest of the wall. I will be using idea paint so i don't need to mount a whiteboard, just paint where ever i wish for a instant whiteboard.

[SeanB]

Shutter board only, much stronger than drywall, and less likely to break. Will be a good insulator still.

[Mechatrommer]

whats the depth of the room? from door to window?

[NiHaoMike]

If the window can open, set up your rework area just in front of it so you can vent it directly to the outside. Then set up the rest of your lab around it, trying to keep the benches contiguous as much as possible. Add and use shelves where they make sense and stack equipment that can be stacked.

[IonizedGears]

The distance from door to window is about 20 feet, the width of the room would be about 15 feet, the height of the room is about 9-10 feet

[IonizedGears]

Oh and i don't want to start a new topic for this question so i will just ask it here, i purchased 96 ST LM317t-morocco's for 29.33 USD (20.5 for them and 8.83 for shipping since they are in rather oblong cases) I would like to know if i got a great deal and why the "morocco" in the name?

[Mechatrommer]

96x LM317 for $20 is a good deal, so long they are genuine. not sure the morocco thing. dont you want to switch the bench to the side? along the same side as your future hi-fi system? by putting the bench with window on the front, you'll get annoying light in the day while doing ee job, mine is such setup luckily i got extended roofing outside so they block sunlight significantly now. putting fancy things on the window (fume, racks etc) will  block the sunlight which you will need for other task other than on the bench. ymmv.

[IonizedGears]

They are ST brand, which seems to be a pretty reputable company as i think radioshack sells some of their stuff. I was actually thinking of having it so that the rack splits at the window to allow me to operate the window and even put some sort of blinds on it. Thankfully though my house is positioned in such a way that the sun never shines through it no matter the time of day, it just seemed bright due to my camera seeing it as much brighter than everything else. In real life it isn't that bright. I was thinking of drilling through the wall and putting something like where the hot air of a clothes dryer is expelled outside and it would be powered by a fan and it would have that malleable pipe that is like a bendy straw so i can move the air system to any part of my bench(I will try to do this before i add the insulation . I might be making the actual bench go to each side of the walls and stick out about 2-4 feet. The future hi fi system is actually going to be decently far away from my bench as well. Should i add some sort of breaker to my room so that i could easily cycle my power after a "accidental" short across the line voltage  . That reminds me, should i just add the industrial metal conduits across the wall of the bench or mount simple multitaps? (Again, since i am building this from scratch i would like the best  .

[Mechatrommer]

In real life it isn't that bright

right you've made it alot easier for me. let me do my "very good architecturing job".... you can do it in 4 steps (see attached pictures) dont worry its not patented and you dont have to pay until it pays back the bill. hope that helps.

[IonizedGears]

First of all, LOL, that actually would be a perfect setup if i was only going to use it as a lab. Okay with those walls you added, behind the white walls actually makes a great place to store boxes and other stuff, that might really end up being in my final design. Maybe i can keep your design and put a tv and the end of the second bench thus making the two designs work together? But for the first bench i am going to be making racks that aren't attached the bench but the bench would be attached to the wall as well. I will be adding stuff like a couch and other stuff too. What i am aiming for in this design is to give my self a tremendous use of all the space giving me a lot of work area and entertainment area(Sleeping area isn't important because well, all you need is a bed and clothing storage ) But thanks, those revisions changed my perspective on what i can do

[nctnico]

Oh and i don't want to start a new topic for this question so i will just ask it here, i purchased 96 ST LM317t-morocco's for 29.33 USD (20.5 for them and 8.83 for shipping since they are in rather oblong cases) I would like to know if i got a great deal and why the "morocco" in the name?

ST is a French company. Many European companies have factories in Morocco and Tunesia for cheap labour but still within 1 day roundtrip travel distance.

About clearing the room: use a thick rope to tie stuff together and use it as a carry handle or to lower stuff down. Maybe you could even lower stuff through the window.

[GeoffS]

Gyprock/plasterboard/drywall would be the best way to cover the ceiling portion of the room Easy to work with for one person, lots of dust though. It also provides and extra layer of insulation to the existing batts.
The lowest part of the sloping ceiling, where it meets the floor, is mostly unuasable as its low height make access difficult. Do as mechatrommer suggested and place a wall set in some distance from where the floor meets the ceiling. You wont waste this space if you put in lots of cupboards and drawers.
Some thing like this, although you needn't be this fancy.


I'd use 16mm, melamine coated, MR (moisture resistant) particle board or MDF for the major fit-out. It's what they use for kitchens, fairly tough, easy to clean and cheap. If you can create a detailled plan so you know the sizes that the boards needs to be cut to, most kitchen manufacturers will supply and cut board to size

[IonizedGears]

That was sort of the plan to do but i was thinking of it just being random storage, but your post gave me the idea to have it store electronics etc. for the part near the bench and more specialization for the bedroom section/computer section/entertainment section. Great decision to get the help of the forums. So many awesome suggestions.