Garage workshop setup

[BlackVert]

I am having a hard time deciding you to organize my garage shop. It is a pretty big garage, and it does have alot of stuff in it, but i have about 1/3 of cleared out for a workshop area.

How did you guys setup your workshop space? I need some ideas.

 

[psychorugby]

In for ideas as well. I have a hard time coming up with space since I have my wife's SLK and my 66 Mustang taking up most of the garage.

 

[VibrantRedGT]

I've got a 2 car garage. I want to put a shed out back to get a lot of this stuff out of there so I got more room. I've pretty much turned it into a shop. It's got everything. I got three 6 foot tall cabinets I put on rollers that have doors so I can put all crap inside there and close the doors. I've got 700+ watts of lighting so I can see everything clearly plus work at night. I've got work lights hanging from the ceiling. I've got peg board with all wrenches in order, screwdrivers in order, pliers in order. I have a Craftsmen 5 foot tool box (3-tier), Craftsmen 26 Gallon Air Compressor with drawers full of pneumatic stuff (chisels, cutters, drill, ratchet's, impact guns, etc.). I've got a TV with cable, CD Stereo with Bose Speakers and 10" sub for surround sound.

This first pic is really old. All that stuff to the right is gone, have cabinets now. All the tires and clutter is gone. The small tool box bottom left has been replaced with a big red Craftsmen. I'm using this shot for the floor.

 

[BlackVert]

thanks. you have a great setup there. it looks clean and tight.

i am also hoping to put a shed on the side of the house for the trash cans and recycling bins and stuff. i intend to make it large enough to be able to move the lawn mower and other yard stuff out there.

i just painted the workbench to go with the color scheme for the floor

i have two craftsman chests that store most of my tools right now. i need to put up a pegboard and move the tools to it.

i think a main problem for me is, i must just be keeping too much stuff, thinking that i might need it in the future. i have a HUGE shelving unit along the entire back wall with 3 deep shelves, and it is full of stuff (4 if you count the floor as a place to stick stuff). i mean this thing is 25' looooooong.

i guess i'll start by trying to chuck stuff i haven't needed or used in the last few years.

 

[wythors]

I have a fairly small 2-car garage. It is 19 wide by 23 deep. When I finished it, I bought a 6x6 garden shed at Sears. It's big enough that all the yard stuff fits in there. The garage is strictly for car stuff. For storage, I have a Craftsman Professional floor cabinet and one of their wall cabinets for all the car care products and miscellaneous liquids like carb clean, oil, etc. Those cabinets are great because they have storage in the doors, as well as shelves. I also have two 6-foot Craftsman cabinets for general storage. They're shallow enough that I don't lose much width for parking cars, but wide enough to be useful. My two 42-inch tool boxes, the work bench and my compressor take up most of the extra space. It's cramped with two cars in there, but I can still work under the hood of one of them easily. For big projects, one car has to move outside.

 

[BlackVert]

you know, jealousy is a really ugly thing. and bad for my health.

dang. you guys are making me feel lousy. but i'm trying to use it as inspiration to get my act together.

keep the inspiration coming!

 

[wythors]

Don't be jealous. What you see there is almost 50 years worth of collecting stuff and it took me over 40 years to have the combination of a house of my own and enough disposable income to pull it off.

My basic advice would be get all the non-car crap out of the garage, have lots of organized storage and do something with the floor besides bare concrete. Floor paint, epoxy or something like the Racedeck I have will make the space brighter, more pleasant to work in, easier to keep clean and make it MUCH easier to find that nut you just dropped than the unfinished concrete floor. Take it one step at a time and do it right the first time. It will save you time and money down the road.

 

[BlackVert]

LOL, I made the jealousy comment mostly for levity.

It sounds like you are in a similar phase of life as me ... I'm 51 now and the kids are both finally off to college, so I finally am starting to have time to do some of the things I have wanted to do for a long time. The colleges are limiting the disposable income part, but I still have a few dollars each month I can play with.

Unfotunately, the house is small enough that the wife claims to need to store stuff out there too. I've been kind of a jerk about it though and told her in no uncertain terms that she has only so much space and the rest is for the shop. After all, she has the entire rest of the house to organize as she wants, so it's only fair that the garage be mine.

I already have the floor. It is the Racedeck-like stuff in silver and dark grey. But I recently realized that there is a water management problem somewhere in the year that results in water collecting in the garage (under the tiles), so now I have part of them out to track that down.

I should snap some pics of where I am now and what progress I make.

 

[revhead347]

My shop looks disgusting compared to some of those, but it's an effective work space. You can definately tell it's well used, because the concrete is absolutely impregnated with oil.

Kurt

 

[BlackVert]

Kurt, at this point, I'm more interested in how to organize it than how clean and tidy it is. If you are willing to share some pics of how yours is organized, I promise not to comment if the floor is not spotless.

 

[revhead347]

I go the cheap route. Lots of peghooks.

Kurt

 

[BlackVert]

thanks kurt. looks like you have a peg board too.

i am going to put one of those up ...

when you turn those lights on, it must be plenty bright in there

 

[revhead347]

I actually have some better pictures on my other computer. Maybe I'll put them up tomorrow. Earlier today I thought it would be a really good idea to slam myself in the face with drain pipe while fixing my sink and I've got a killer headache.

Kurt

 

[revhead347]

Ok, I finally remembered to do this and uploaded more pictures to photobucket. I am a very cheap person, not like I have a choice, but here is my shop space.

Kurt

 

[BlackVert]

Thanks Kurt. I'm sure i'll end up with something more like your setup than the others. I am also a cheap person. The big difference for me will be the floor and painting the wood stuff to make it fit in more with the color scheme of silver and black.

FWIW, mine is at the same time more disorganized, dirty and cluttered than yours that is it truly embarassing.

 

[revhead347]

That's my shop after I spent 2 days cleaning and organizing it. I just got a customer's truck out of there that weekend. So that's about as good as it gets.

Kurt

 

[BlackVert]

customer? you are a pilot; your customers are passengers.

seriously though, i'd like to do some work on the side too.

after much research, i have decided to base the whole organization system off of 2 long french cleats that will run the length of the garage. one cleat will be near the ceiling, the other about 1/2 way up.

i'll post up the plans as they develop

 

[BlackVert]

here is the plan ... i really need to get back to work ...

a cleat. this is a 1x3 ripped at 45*. the other side is also a 45* piece that hooks on. this is used alot for cabinetry, and they are amazingly strong

the cleats, on the wall with toggle bolts. there is no possible way these will fail!

the brackets everything will hang off. there is a spacer at the bottom

the bench support. i will bolt the 2x2s to the brackets and legs together for added strength, and i might use 2x3s

the bench top. i currently have a 24" piece of plywood, thinking about going to 30" though

the workbench

... still not sure about pegboard, or more cleats on the brackets to hang stuff on ...

 

[VibrantRedGT]

The peg board can bolt to the top portion the way you have it. You'll probably need to put one 2 x 2 in the middle of the top part. I have 3 rows, your diagram shows two. The peg board comes in specific lengths. You'll have to have your top proportioned with the peg board sheet. I did mine the same way. I have the peg board over the work bench.

 

[BlackVert]

Yeah, that is what makes this approach so attractive to me ... it is extremely flexible.

I'm not 100% sure I want a peg board. The way the hooks come off so easily bugs me, even if you use those little plastic hold down things.

Another option would be 1x2s going across, sort of like this. Then screw in hooks or nails would be the hangers.