Woodworking without a personal shop?

January 23, 2011 12:40 PM

What options exist in the Chantilly VA area if I want to continue my woodworking hobby but don't want to rent a place with a garage / shop space?

I currently live in a house with a two car garage and a fair number of big woodworking tools (think table saw and router table not chisels and hammers). However, I'm going to be relocating to the Northern Virginia area in the next year and I'm trying to figure out options for keeping up my woodworking hobby without having to rent way more house than I need. I'm single and could happily live in a 1 or 2 bedroom condo but keeping my shop would require a place with a private garage which raises the rent considerably and tends to increase the commute. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm open to public shops (haven't found any via google) or even renting a space specifically for the shop (if the cost works out) or any other bright ideas.

posted by macfly to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Have you looked into Hackers spaces near by? Their is apparently one in Herndon, google claims it is 15 minutes from Chantilly. You could contact them and offer to keep your tools their in trade for reduced membership cost.
posted by token-ring at 12:57 PM on January 23, 2011

Chantilly is a locality with three things going on: exurban burbscape, the National Reconnaissance Office, and a huge district of light industrial/warehouse space (bounded on one side by Route 50 and on the other by Route 7). You might well be able to find some rental space in the light industrial area near the Chantilly post office for a few hundred dollars a month. It's worth looking into.
posted by killdevil at 1:44 PM on January 23, 2011

You might try looking for condo space with optional rentable garages. I see them in this area on occasion. The question is whether they have power.

Optionally, look for town homes with garages. They're more money than a condo but the Ballston/Clarendon area has many and they'd be less than a whole house.

You might be onto something with the space specifically for a shop. Things being what they are I would think theres folks who wouldn't want a tenant but who'd be willing to give up their garage for a few hundred a month.
posted by phearlez at 1:50 PM on January 23, 2011

Given the real estate market around here, renting a house with a garage might not be as expensive as you think. Especially if you look in older neighborhoods where 1 car garages tend to be the standard.
posted by COD at 3:23 PM on January 23, 2011

If you are interested with in the hackerspace noted in token-ring's comment, send me MeMail or something and I can work on getting in touch with the right people. The hackerspace is still starting out in a lot of ways...
posted by arrjay at 4:27 PM on January 23, 2011

The herndon hackerspace is seriously wanting for tools, fyi.
posted by phrontist at 4:40 PM on January 23, 2011

Response by poster: The Hacker Space looks interesting - I hadn't heard about those yet. I won't be transferring until December (when I graduate) so I'll see how they're doing when I get a little closer. But that's just what I was looking for - possibilities that I didn't know about. The idea of renting something in the light industrial area is interesting too. Thanks.
posted by macfly at 8:39 PM on January 23, 2011

A lot can change in a year. When you get to the point where you're starting to look around feel free to mefi mail me; I'll be glad to share with you my observations about neighborhoods and prices from the perspective of a person looking for property with workshop space.
posted by phearlez at 9:27 AM on January 24, 2011