Yikes. I delivered the little cake that's shown in the photos, and when I came back there were 29 replies! I think I'll take one more picture to show you the beautiful glass tile backsplash and under-cabinet lighting. I was trying to upload the actual photos, but only the link attached. Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?
Now, to answer the questions. The bakery is 16' x 20'. The window over the triple sink is on one 16' wall, and the entrance from the garage is on the other one. This was a new addition, but the pantry is out of the corner of the garage. I really wanted a basement under this for storage of cardboard, cake stands, etc. but it wasn't feasible. Our garage is on a slab without a foundation, so as it is the crawl space angles down away from it. We had 3' of extra space between the side of the garage and our lot line, and I petitioned the township for a variance for another 3', but they wouldn't do it. So, I took my original 3' and moved that side of the garage out, then extended the bakery from there. (Since I was stealing about 7' x8' for the pantry, I needed as much other space in the garage as I could get.) My ultimate cost was probably about $75-$80k BUT the bakery isn't all I did. I also had an 8' x 12' walk-in closet added to our bedroom, new roof, new siding, new furnace and did a major upgrade inside the garage--it went from dark, dirty, grungy, cobwebby to crisp white and beautiful. It was partly my gift to my husband since he'd always wanted it nice, and partly because my customers would be coming through there. All of the work was contracted except: all painting; closet interior; garage interior; tile backsplash; FRP board. I did those things. We broke ground the 4th Monday of March and pretty much everything was done by the beginning of November. However, the garage took me at least a month, the closet and basement (new water line in disrupted various things there) were a couple of weeks, ICES Convention was another week, and breast cancer diagnosis & surgery/treatment probably accounted for another 6-8 weeks. I'd say that if I'd been doing the bakery and only the bakery it still would have been into September before it was done. Had I done more of the work myself it would have taken even longer.
Better Homes and Gardens website has a program called arrange-a-room (at least I think that's what it's called). That's what I used to design the bakery. In all I did over 200 designs (because of trying the addition in more than one location). What's nice about this program is that you can save your designs and come back to them. I had absolutely everything planned including doors, windows and every cabinet. My sinks, 20 qt. mixer, frig., speed rack and ss tables were all used. The oven was my big splurge--brand spanking new!!
Sorry this is so long! I guess you can tell I love my bakery. As for size, I wouldn't have it an inch smaller. 16' is a good width, but longer wouldn't hurt--especially if I didn't have the pantry. Any wider and you'll just be wasting steps. Any narrower (I tried, believe me) and you'll be bumping into things. I did a lot of thinking/planning before building, and it's paid off. This is a very efficient and comfortable place to work. Hope this helps.
neecerator---
I clicked on the red x's and the pics opened up in a new window.
Paul
very nice! you sure got everything you need packed in there!
it makes me think i could do with less Sq Ft.
thanks for sharing....you are gonna love it!
how you been feeling?
Very nice! and you have my dishwasher! I was looking at the pics and had to take a double take. Is that the stainless GE profile? That is what I have. Stainless inside and out. I love it!
Thank you so much for all the information and photos. It helps all of us appreciate how much work, money, effort, and commitment go into a venture like that. Beautiful job! If you ever get tired of cakes you can now go into the pro kitchen design business. 
Spuddysmom--you're entirely welcome. I actually designed my own kitchen remodel several years ago, then did the demo and construction myself. Since then I've designed and overseen/helped construct two others. The bakery was different in that I not only needed good work flow, but also a large decorating table and an office area. I also wanted to have everything I needed within reach when standing in my mixing area. It took a lot of thinking and "going through the motions" of doing a cake to get it figured out, but so far so good.
Wow, congratulations! That is so wonderful for you!
Congratulations!
Your new shop really looks wonderful.
I love everything about it, including the
convenience of having it so close
to home. 
Fresh, new and wonderful.
We are now looking forward to
all the great cake photos that
will come out of that
fantastic kitchen.
-Debbie B.
Congrats on your gorgeous bakery!!! I wish you all the best!!!!!
Ok, for some reason the righthand portion of the posts aren't showing, but I think you're asking about the 8' stainless table. The one with a cake on it is a 4'. I bought it used, but it originally came from Sam's Club. It backs up to a 6' ss table that is open underneath (no shelf) and it has a drawer. I particularly wanted one like that so I could fit a rolling ingredient bin under it. (I also have a very expensive air purifier under there, too.) After months of searching I found this one at a local auction, and stood outside for three hours in a snowstorm that was blowing sideways in order to get it! The table that's perpendicular to these is an 8' ss with an undershelf. It's a lighter grade of metal than the other two and wiggles a bit, but still works fine. I got it from a bakery that was going out of business. The feet on most of these are adjustable for height, and if that doesn't make it low enough for you you can always cut the legs down. If you live near a big city (I don't) used items are pretty easy to come by. It took almost a year of searching to come up with decent quality used items, and they came from all over: auction; eBay; craigslist; local classifieds; closed businesses. I always kept an eye out for business closings that might have something I wanted. Several items, including the tall little rack--love it!!!--at the end of my decorating table, and the hand wash sink came from a little tea room that closed. They advertised a sale and several buyers showed up; what a madhouse. She wanted $50 for the sink, but I knew I could get it for less at auction. I said, "How about $25 and I'll remove it right now?" She said "deal" and then I realized I'd brought the truck and didn't have any tools with me. So there I was, working my way through the crowd, saying "sir, excuse me, do you have a wrench I could borrow?" Someone finally produced a big ol' pipe wrench--way too big--but I was able get it to work enough that I could do the rest by hand. Yay! Victory! I would have loved to have everything spiffy new and beautiful, but thankfully most things were in pretty decent condition and cleaned up well. The worst condition items were the 2' x 4' nsf wire shelves and the freezer, and those are all pretty much out of sight in the pantry.
what the heck is that tall pipe thing kinda by the magnify glass and the table with the cake on it?!
LOL Rocketgirl!!--very observant! It's the support arm for my Kopykake-style projector. I own a Kopykake table model that I bought on eBay. Then I found this art projector at a yard sale. It actually sells for more than the Kopykake, and has a lens that can "zoom". I thought I'd see which one I liked best and then sell the other, but I have yet to use either one. Chances are I'll stick with the one that's mounted to the table just because it's more available. (The projector is on the shelf down below--don't know if it shows up in the picture.) I have a wedding cake coming up in June that calls for a monogram, so I may use it then.
My biggest mixer is a 20 qt. So far I'm not sure I'm glad that I have it. I've done the sugarshack icing in it twice. The first time it turned out beautifully except for a little bit unmixed in the bottom. The second time the texture wasn't good--quite airy. I used a different PS, so maybe that was it, but I think it's because of the required guard on it. The pour spout is tiny! It's very difficult and time consuming to get 20 pounds of PS poured down it. Next time I think I'll just keep opening the guard--which stops the mixer--and see if I can't get it in that way.
I'd though this would be a beautiful thing for mixing up massive amounts of cake batter at once for wedding cakes, but, again, so far it's not been so great. I have yet to find a method that doesn't leave a lot of rather large unmixed clumps. I have some great big whisks that I use after the mixer is done, but muscling through that much batter is no small task.
Speaking of muscles--that's the other issue. The bowl alone on this thing weighs quite a lot. Once it's full of icing it's a good 40#. I like to set it in my triple sink to scoop out of into buckets for the 'frig, and it's all I can do to hoist it up and over the edge. Cake batter isn't usually quite so problematic. I move the bowl to the nearest ss table and then use a pitcher to scoop it out with.
If you have the room, two 10 qt. would be terrific. If not, and you have the muscles, then go for a 20 qt. Anything bigger than that you'll need at least two people to manage.
As a point of reference, I bought mine used for $700 and it included an extra bowl ($200 value) and the equipment stand that it's on. It's an American Eagle (Hobart clone) and was about two years old.
Thanks so much! I was trying to decide between a 10qt and 20qt. I am not known as a muscle gal, so I'm going to stick with the 10qt. I also hate mess, which is why I hate the 5qts. If the pour spout is tiny, then I'll just have a bigger mess.
BTW- you got a GREAT deal! I am going with American Eagle new and the 20qt runs $1700 w/out a guard and extra bowl.
Your pictures and story give me hope I am currently working on my kitchen in the basement (seperate from my "home" kitchen upstairs), and it's been a royal PITA! I'm refinishing some old cabinets that my in-laws gave to us when they redid their kitchen, and looking everywhere for used appliances. I'm also gonna learn how to lay tile so I can put this stuff in the kitchen. My FIL owns a carpet store and got us some 18x18" travertine-looking porceline tile...for free! It's great to know people some times 
One last final...CONGRATULATIONS! You did a great job!
Hi 350BakerStreet--welcome to Cake Central! I don't know what the rules are in Utah, but something I had to be careful of here is that all surfaces must be washable, including the ceiling. That meant using semi-gloss or gloss paint on every painted surface, FRP board behind sinks and mixers, and vinyl toe-kick under the cabinets as well as where the floor meets the walls. I assume you're working with your Dept. of Ag. inspector to avoid costly do-overs.
The same rules apply here. I was given a list of requirements and having "washable surfaces" was one of them. I should probably call and ask them about the finer details of this. Thanks for the tip 
I'm jealous too.. right now trying to phase out my "fancy" job as a chemist. this is my goal!
Congratulations!! Here's to you enjoying it. Hope you get to keep it as busy as you want. 
wow! your space is awesome! congratulations!!
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