ᐅ No basement - where to place the workshop or hobby room (pictures?)

Hello everyone,

We are planning to build a single-family house and until recently thought that having a basement was a must. However, we are slowly moving away from that idea because we both know from our parents’ experiences that basements often end up just being storage rooms for all kinds of stuff that is never used again.

So now we are reconsidering the design to build without a basement.

Since I enjoy DIY projects (whether working with wood or electronics), I would like to have a small workshop where I can pursue my hobby undisturbed.

Has anyone integrated such a hobby room within their utility or technical room? If so, could you possibly share some pictures? Of course, you can also set up a hobby room in a larger garage, but it would be nicer if it were inside the house since it would be warmer, etc.

If anyone has suggestions on how to implement this simply and effectively, I would appreciate hearing them.

You don’t have to turn the basement into a cluttered storage area if you assign appropriate uses to the rooms. We don’t really have a storage closet down there—only maybe under the stairs. Otherwise, the attic will be the storage room.

I also have a workshop in the basement—with underfloor heating, a separate exit going upstairs, and a shower room with a toilet nearby—I’m really looking forward to my little retreat.

Sebastian79 schrieb:
You don’t have to turn the basement into a storage dump if you assign proper uses to the rooms. We don’t really have a storage closet down there—maybe just under the stairs. Otherwise, the attic will serve as the storage area.

I also have a workshop in the basement—with underfloor heating, a separate exit upstairs, and a shower room with toilet next to it—I’m really looking forward to my little retreat.

A dream. I would love that too. Unfortunately, here only a waterproof concrete tank (white tank) is possible. Architect’s cost estimate for a finished basement: 90,000 EUR.

So now the garage will be significantly larger and will include a roughly 15 m² (160 sq ft) hobby room (insulated and heated).

Best regards, Steffen

Considering how much you all write here, you probably end up spending most of your time in the living room anyway.

A friend has converted his garage into a really nice and spacious workshop. I think this solution is brilliant because it keeps noise and dust out of the house. Another option would be to convert the attic and set up a nice workshop there. However, this has the downside that you sometimes have to go up or down two floors, and you don’t have direct access to the outside if you want to, for example, do some sawing outdoors. A third option is the classic garden shed, which can also be turned into a workshop.

We are planning to have a basement, but my workshop will be back in the garage.
A basement is nice and all, but it’s really only suitable for fair-weather tinkerers.

For fun, try clamping a 250cm (8 feet 2 inches) board in the vise. For something like that, you need enough space and room to maneuver.