Arrange your shop for safer, faster work

Enter your room size and tools. Get a floor plan with workflow zones that cut wasted steps and keep clear paths.

Open the Planner

Floor Plan Preview

18 × 20 ft

How the Optimizer Works

1

Set Your Room

Enter the width and depth of your shop. Pick a preset for common garage and shed sizes. The planner uses these dimensions to calculate usable floor space after accounting for walkway clearances.

2

Add Your Tools

Click tool chips to add them to your list. Each tool has a footprint and a workflow role. Cutting tools go in the rough zone. Assembly and hand-tool work goes in the finish zone. Storage stays near the walls.

3

Generate & Adjust

The optimizer places tools into zones based on your workflow focus. Drag items on the preview to fine-tune. The plan updates clearances and warnings in real time.

4

Save or Print

Save layouts to your browser for later. Print a copy to tape to your shop wall while you rearrange. Share a link with a friend for feedback.

Common Layout Scenarios

The Lumber-Flow Shop

Room: 20×24 ft, two-car garage. Focus: Breaking down sheet goods and rough-cutting boards.

Place the table saw in the center with 4 feet of infeed and outfeed space. Put the miter saw near the lumber rack along the left wall. The jointer and planer line up in sequence near the entry door so raw stock flows in one direction: rack to jointer to planer to saw to assembly.

Keep the garage door area clear for unloading sheet goods. A 4×8 sheet needs a clear path from the door to the table saw.

The Finishing-Flow Shop

Room: 12×16 ft, one-car garage. Focus: Assembly, hand-tool work, and finishing.

Put the workbench against the best-lit wall under a window. The assembly table goes nearby with 3 feet of clearance on all sides. Store hand tools on a pegboard above the bench. Keep finishing supplies in a sealed cabinet away from the dust-producing tools.

Finishing needs clean air. If your dust collector is across the room, the fine dust will settle on wet finish. Place finishing stations upwind of cutting tools.

The Tight Shed Workshop

Room: 10×12 ft, backyard shed. Focus: Hand-tool woodworking with one power tool.

With limited space, choose one primary power tool. A table saw with a short fence or a jobsite saw on a folding cart works well. Store it against the back wall and pull it out when needed. The workbench doubles as an outfeed surface. Wall-mounted storage keeps the floor open.

In a shed, every inch counts. Use the ceiling for lumber storage and the walls for tool hanging. Keep the center of the room completely clear.

Common Layout Mistakes

  • Table saw against a wall. You need infeed space in front and outfeed space behind. A saw against the wall means you're wrestling 8-foot boards with no room to catch the cut.
  • No clear path to the lumber rack. If you have to move three tools to get a board off the rack, you'll stop using the rack and pile wood on the floor. That's a trip hazard and a waste of material.
  • Dust collector in a corner far from tools. Long duct runs lose suction. Place the collector centrally or plan short, straight runs to each major tool.
  • Workbench blocking the garage door. You need to get materials in and out. A bench in front of the door means you're constantly moving it or working around it.
  • Ignoring electrical layout. Before you move anything, check where your outlets and circuits are. A 220V table saw on the opposite side of the room from the panel means expensive electrical work.
  • Too much open floor, not enough storage. It feels spacious on day one. By month three, tools are on the floor because there's nowhere to put them. Plan wall storage for every tool you own.

Questions & Answers

What if my shop is L-shaped?

Enter the bounding rectangle (the smallest rectangle that covers the whole floor). Treat the extra alcove as overflow storage or a finishing nook. The optimizer works with rectangles, but you can manually drag tools into the alcove area on the preview.

How much space does a table saw really need?

For a full-size cabinet saw, plan for at least 8 feet in front and 8 feet behind for sheet goods. For a jobsite saw, 4 feet each way is workable. The planner defaults to 48 inches of clearance around cutting tools.

Can I use this for a metal shop or other workspace?

Yes. The zone logic works for any workspace where materials move through stages. Add your machines as custom tools and assign them to zones. The workflow focus options are woodworking-specific, but the layout engine is general.

Is my data saved anywhere?

No. Everything runs in your browser. Saved layouts use local storage on your device. Share links encode the layout in the URL. Nothing is sent to a server.

What about dust collection and electrical planning?

This planner focuses on physical layout and workflow. It does not model duct runs or circuits. Use the layout as a starting point, then plan your utilities around the tool positions. Mark duct and wire paths on the printed plan.