Garage storage/organization: I wish I would have...

[Toddyus]

Okay, as the title suggests, how would you answer this question now that you've lived with your garage/shop setup for a while?

I'm building a modest 24x20 two-car garage where (for the first time) I would like to have it setup with a little bit of dedicated shop space - workbench, cabinets/shelves and existing HF 13-drawer tool cab. Almost completely for car work. Any carpentry type work will be done in the small basement shop only migrating to the garage when it requires the table saw or more space. All carpentry type tools (minus table saw) will be stored in the basement.

What will be in the garage, as anathema as I know it is to you guys, are the garden tools. Shovels, rakes, weed wacker, chain saw, etc. Just don't have room for a bigger shed. Used to have those in a floor rack and hated it. Plan to hang them on the wall far side from the "shop" area.

That said, I'm trying to figure out whether I do open shelves, parts bins, tall floor cabinets, wall cabinets, open work bench, work bench with drawers, pegboard, etc.

I have some leanings, and I know you don't know exactly what I'll have in my garage, but would appreciate any "Wish I would have" insights. Might be useful to other people, too.

 

[csp]

At my old home everything was on open shelving. I hated that anytime I did a metal project involving a chop saw or grinders, everything (yes everything) in the garage had a black coating of grinding dust.

Everything that isn't a stationary tool in the current home goes into a cabinet or drawer within a drawer cabinet/toolbox, other than a few items that have a permanent home on the workbench. Bolts/nuts/parts are in plastic bins located within a card catalog filing cabinet.

 

[Alfa Ron]

Things I will do different next time:

Make the workbench shallower. My current bench is 40 inches deep, my next bench will be about 28 inches deep.

I will build closed storage.

I will add more electrical capacity and not depend on extension cords.

I will not skimp on material quality and I will take the time to properly construct whatever I'm making.

I will get rid of **** rather than store it.

 

[bad_idea]

open storage is the devil.

momma you say everything is the devil.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I wish I'd started with electric outlets and air lines.

 

[camarotoolman]

Put in lots of outlets, especially above the bench area. Air lines going everywhere. I would look for some 2nd hand kitchen cabinets on craigs or at the flee market. (i saw a bunch this am). I paneled my garage with plywood so I nail up stuff anyplace, doen't have to hunt the studs.

 

[Carl B]

I'm building a modest 24x20 two-car garage where (for the first time)

It that 24' Wide x 20' Deep??

Is this an attached Garage?

Do you plan on parking one or always two cars in it??

Wood Frame or Block???

Roof Pitch????
Engineered Trusses???

Are you already fixed in size and price - such that you are not open to alternatives?

The first "I Wish" would be that I wish I had made mine with at least 10' high walls to begin with.

FWIW,
Carl B.

 

[Steevo]

I wish I'd started with electric outlets and air lines.

AS Jack stated, Air and Power are of primary layout concern.
And then any in-wall stuff, like speaker wires, thermostat wires, etc.

Personally, I wish I had considered high receptacles for drop light reels.
I have a zillion receptacles, 120v and 240v, but none above 50" off the floor.

DOH!

I have been doing reconfigurations of my floor plan for months on Visio, and I have tried a few layouts on paper that would have turned into problems in the shop.
I am also thinking that a few of my "stationary" tools, such as a horiz. bandsaw, drill press and belt/disc sander should get mobile bases, so they can be pushed together when unused, but moved to a good spot when needed. Permanently assigning floor space to every tool will rapidly leave me with no floor space and no work space.

I think spending more time testing your fit on paper is a good lesson.

 

[Toddyus]

It that 24' Wide x 20' Deep??
Correct

Is this an attached Garage?
No

Do you plan on parking one or always two cars in it??
Yes

Wood Frame or Block???
Wood frame on a monoslab curb wall

Roof Pitch????
Engineered Trusses???
8/12 pitch with engineered storage trusses

Are you already fixed in size and price - such that you are not open to alternatives?
Yes. Garage is mostly built and while I've had a rough plan for the interior layout in my head, I need to turn that into a real layout

The first "I Wish" would be that I wish I had made mine with at least 10' high walls to begin with.
City limits total height at 15', so as much as I wanted higher walls I also wanted some additional storage. So did my wife. You see where this is going...

FWIW,
Carl B.

Great questions!

 

[Toddyus]

I wish I'd started with electric outlets and air lines.

I don't use air as much as I though I would, but that might be because my compressor only pushes about 6 SCFM at 40 psi. That said, my plan now is to place the compressor in one back corner and run a line across the back wall with a few fittings spaced across the line. A retractable reel in the center of the garage will be my main go to line. Oh, and I plan to run a short leg over to the workbench as well. Is this too simplistic?

Electric outlets - thanks to great advice on this board - I think I'm pretty set. I have 14 duplex, 20 amp outlets split into two circuits alternating every other position around the garage. I then have a separate circuit for the compressor and another one for a window A/C unit. I have a 250v line for a fixed mount heater and a 15 amp circuit that will feed the garage opener, a couple lights and a receptacle in the attic. Everything is GFCI-protected. Lights are on 2 15 amp circuits. At no point will I ever use much of this at once, but power will be available to me just about anywhere in the garage! Everyone I know that doesn't read this board thinks I'm nuts...

AS Jack stated, Air and Power are of primary layout concern.
And then any in-wall stuff, like speaker wires, thermostat wires, etc.

Personally, I wish I had considered high receptacles for drop light reels.
I have a zillion receptacles, 120v and 240v, but none above 50" off the floor.

DOH!

I have been doing reconfigurations of my floor plan for months on Visio, and I have tried a few layouts on paper that would have turned into problems in the shop.
I am also thinking that a few of my "stationary" tools, such as a horiz. bandsaw, drill press and belt/disc sander should get mobile bases, so they can be pushed together when unused, but moved to a good spot when needed. Permanently assigning floor space to every tool will rapidly leave me with no floor space and no work space.

I think spending more time testing your fit on paper is a good lesson.

Good idea to draw it out. I did that with the electrical plan, but didn't really think about it for this. Most of my stuff is household stuff, not cool fixed positon power tools.

I did place all my outlets at 50" (thanks to this board) and will have two ceiling-mounted outlets; one for a light reel and extension cord reel and the other for the remote garage light.

 

[Toddyus]

Okay, so no open storage. I like the look of closed storage better anyway, so happy to hear this.

I know there's no such thing as "too much" on this board, but in practice, did anybody feel like they overdid it on cabinets, tool cabinets, workbench size (thanks for the good advice on depth) or any other item that would have been space/cash better dedicated to something else?

For example, right now I have one tool cabinet. It's already not enough. I need to decide if I want another one like it or move some of the stuff to pegbaord and free up space for other tools, put stuff in wall cabinets, etc.

Anything you guys used to put in a cabinet and decided you used it so often you had to hang it on the wall?

 

[Call me the Breeze]

I cant remember which member on here had this, but i really like it.
View media item 8429The nice thing is that it closes up when not needed, and is angled so it's not a shelf that you have to move a hundred things to get to it.

 

[daveroy]

I have wall to wall shelves, and everything is visible, and everything is dusty/dirty/ and a place for errant wasps to nest. CLOSED STORAGE IS A MUST!
(I trying to figure out how to change over without upsetting SWMBO on the budget side!)

 

[NUTTSGT]

I lived with mmy grage for awhile. I went through my mind many times what i wished was different. I tried to do all those when I did the interior refurb.

The house garage, which is 24" deep, I wish I would have made it atleast 26' if not 28 feet.

 

[sscustom]

i wish i had started with a proper workbench

 

[dittle fart around]

I cant remember which member on here had this, but i really like it.
View media item 8429The nice thing is that it closes up when not needed, and is angled so it's not a shelf that you have to move a hundred things to get to it.

At the shipyard we called these "A" boxes. The front was a flat plywood panel, shelves inside and open storage. The top was waterproof and locked. One guy was named "A" box Charlie, he would crawl in on swing shift and take a nap. One day they found him at the beginning of day shift locked in the box.

 

[Toddyus]

I cant remember which member on here had this, but i really like it.
View media item 8429The nice thing is that it closes up when not needed, and is angled so it's not a shelf that you have to move a hundred things to get to it.

Wow, that thing is killer. Wish I had the budget for something like it...

 

[machine_punk]

I think some of it depends on how you like to work. I like to have tools hanging on the wall/in easy reach (but I only occasionally work on cars...I mostly do metal work). So, I am building wall storage for most of my rivet guns and tools, air tools, etc.)

I am getting one rolling tool cart for wrenches, screwdrivers, and other general-use tools I might want to take to work outside, on the car, etc.

If you are making your benches moveable, having 2 or 3 small benches, which are all the same height, is far more functional (24-28 inches by 3-4 feet). I put wheels on my bench for when I need to move it...

View media item 10265
+1 on the air lines and power. I am getting ready to run black pipe around the shop (3/4" for the main run, with 1/2" for the drops).

I just got a used bin shelf of CL and a bunch of brand new bins for parts storage, but I do mainly solid riveting, not automotive work. If you have a lot of small parts to keep for the cars you may want parts bins...otherwise, I would have a lot of shelves with doors for car parts, cases of oil, etc.