Looking for Organizational Ideas

[Mach5]

JamieK...you have a point. I think the heat would accelerate drying out and desintegration of the vinyl and the foam. I don't know that they are designed for continuous exposure to 140F temps. But as you say they will all need to be rebuilt anyway. I've avoided putting stuff up there because it gets so hot up there.

Speaking of which, the blow in insulation I put in last month has really helped keep the garage at a more even temp.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[Mach5]

Vankaye - I have some of those heavy duty shelved and used to have a wall full of them in the garage. Presently they are in the shed with a ton of boxes of stuff on them.

We just have too much stuff. Getting rid of it is difficult because it is mostly my wife's stuff or things from when the kids were little that she wants to keep.

But anyway, for the garage I want to go with a cleaner look. I'm looking at different large cabinets as solutions.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[Mach5]

Finally found some cabinets at Stardust that were the right size and right price. I guess you just gotta keep looking. Anyway, I picked up 3 35" wide by 28" deep bottoms and a bottom that is 19" wide, plus one 35" wide top and two 19" tops, all for about $55. Now, being used, they have some issues and minor damage, but for garage purposes, they're just fine. The have an interesting corduroy pattern on the faces that seems fairly durable...we'll see. The sides and interior are all white melamine.

The plan is to put all the bottoms along one wall for about 10' of cabinet and counter top. Two of the uppers will go in where I presently have shelves, above my sink and hot water heater. I haven't decided where the put the last upper yet.

I bought a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" particle board for the sub-top. I was thinking of picking up an inexpensive melamine counter top, if I can find one that is reasonably priced.

Anyway, that will give me a lot of storage space and more working space, too.

One of the bottoms was missing the piece that frames out between the door face at the top. I bought a 3/4" white melamine shelf and cut it to fit, drilled dowel holes, glued and screwed. So now that I've repaired it that will likely be the strongest of the cabinets. I went with the melamine so that I could have a face surface instead of bare particle board, since the front faces out. It doesn't match the others which are faced in the same material as the doors, but I have no idea where I would find that material and this works...plus, it's a garage cabinet.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with these. I still have some work to get them all mounted. I need to re-mount a couple of the door hinges (Euro hidden kind) and I need to reinstall the doors on one cabinet that are upside down - my guess was that they were taken off when the cabinets were removed from their former home and someone just slapped them back on without thinking about it.

 

[Mach5]

I installed my cabinets today:







I still need to finish the baseboards (I plan to do vinyl to protect from water intrusion if I decide to mop the floor). I also need a topper and need to reinstall the doors.

 

[Mach5]

Put the doors back on. Still need to adjust them a bit.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[ryan77]

looks alot better, you did a good job!

 

[Mach5]

ryan77 - Thanks. This was my first time setting cabinets (well, other than hanging cabinets in my office). My buddy JB actually helped quite a bit. He is an low voltage contractor and has had to deal with cabinets and such in the higher end homes in which he does installs, so he has a chop saw, a table saw, nail and staple guns, and steady hands for making straight cuts! He was especially helpful in cutting down the 4x8 sheet of 3/4" particle board for the subtop. I'm still figuring out what to do with the top.

BTW -- while I've been looking for cabinets, this was an unexpected find. I had stopped looking at wood and was focused on finding metal cabinets and just buying a couple at a time. So now I've got all this space and I have to figure out what I want to do with it! I can easily just fill it, but I want to bring organization back into my garage. Meanwhile all the stuff I took out of the garage is sitting outside and mostly uncovered...the monsoon season will soon be here and I need to hurry up and figure out what I want to do. Plus, in the last several days the temps jumped over 20F into the 100s, where it will likely stay until November, so now I have to deal with that. The heat out here sneaks up on you -- I have to work hard just to stay hydrated.

Also, while I'm not in love with the Porsche being outside, it's good to have the non-running cars on the same side of the garage and to have at least one car that I can drive in and out so that I can have working space when I need it. So that was a smart move. When I get done with the re-org job it's back to working on the cars!

 

[DGK]

Garage sale dude!! Looks like there is tons of stuff in your 'workspace', need to reclaim your space. As for all those seats, why do you need 3 sets of seats? If you need them use them, if not get rid of them. I've learned it's not possible to keep everything you think you might need. If you absolutely need to keep them, maybe build a shed for all those bikes and yard tools and overflow house stuff, then build a shelf out of 2x4's on the wall and store your seats up there. Good luck!!

 

[Mach5]

Made some more progress today. I had to fix the brakes on my wife's minivan and after I was done I still had it to use, so I filled it twice full of stuff that I took to Goodwill. That allowed me to put a bunch of stuff into the shed, though it still needs additional organization.

The new counter space created by the three new cabinets really is handy. I still need the topper for it but I don't have a big enough vehicle to carry it in. I tried to rent a U haul this weekend to get it, but no such luck -- they were all rented out to the families of college students returning home for the summer. Maybe next weekend.

 

[cat-mechanic]

What part of Phoenix are you in? I have a truck and could give you a hand with the topper. Just let me know.

 

[Mach5]

Cat-mechanic...thanks for the offer. I'm in N.Phoenix by PV Mall. I was going to do the rental so that I could have a truck all day to do various errands, including the runs to Goodwill that I ended up doing this weekend. I got rid of enough stuff that I was able to move everything that I was worried about getting damaged by rain into the shed. Actually I threw a bunch of the wood up into the attic. Boy is it ever hot up there. Anyway, I don't really know what my schedule is going to be...it might be a couple weeks before I can get back on it.

I appreciate the thought, though.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[cat-mechanic]

Well, the offer is there if needed. I live in Peoria and work in Mesa. So just let me know. I'll PM you my #.

 

[Larry_AZ]

Garage looks great!!

Try the Habit for Humanity Restore for a top. I just saw a kitchen counter top for $40 today.

Keep an eye on CL for pallet racking.
I got 7, 3' uprights (40" deep), 12, 6' beams for $140. Add another $30 for plywood shelving and was able to store all the family extras on 1 side of the garage.

The guy I bought them from is downtown (south of I-10 around 17th ave) I will see if I still have his number, if you are interested.

Have a good weekend.

Larry

 

[Mach5]

Larry_AZ - I was planning to go to the Restore. The pallet shelves would take up too much space in my garage. I'm kind of with what a bunch of the others have said...keep the **** out of the garage and get rid of as much as I can. I think that's my main strategy.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[xplodn]

Stardust has a lot of great stuff in there... with **** piled on top of it! I got a large section of counter top there for my garage sink and sill have some of it left for a back splash.

I built up several shelves in unused space. Above the water heater is my TP and paper towel shelf, above my 60 gallon compressor is another. Just got the white decent shelf brackets at HD and used Plywood I had around.

I am right by you so I can attest to the heat we have. I dont have a block home so I put a window AC In my wall, blew in insulation in the attic and walls and used 2" foam boards glued to my garage and it leave it 86 in the summer unless i am out there then i crank it down. I have a lot of stuff that is heat sensitive that's made to go boom so its worth it to me.

I had the same idea and did everything for low cost and functional.

 

[Jagmandave]

How's the A/C working out?

We get so much humidity I don't think I could work without it in my garage.....mine almost works too well, when I go upstairs into the house after being in the garage for a while with the garage A/C on the house feels stuffy and hot by comparison, even tho it's at the temperature I set it for!

 

[xplodn]

How's the A/C working out?

We get so much humidity I don't think I could work without it in my garage.....mine almost works too well, when I go upstairs into the house after being in the garage for a while with the garage A/C on the house feels stuffy and hot by comparison, even tho it's at the temperature I set it for!

AC is amazing. Ill set it at 72 and let it run when i am working and the house doesn't feel as cool at 76 but still nice as its a new unit too. Ill never not have ac again int he garage. But out in AZ its hot enough of the year to justify it.

 

[Mach5]

AC does alright. I'll turn it on and let it run for an hour or so and it will bring the temp down from 90+ to 78. I don't run it any cooler than that in the garage.

Saturday I went down to Habitat for Humanity ReStore to see what their formica countertops look like. Most of their stuff was eight feet at the most and unfortunately they only had 24 inch or 42 inch depth and I need 30. Also they didn't have any two matching pieces, so I couldn't put two pieces together to get the 10 feet that I needed.

Since I need to get this project done, I decided to you just buy some melamine from Home Depot. I had them cut down some 4x8 sheets to the right widths. Unfortunately they only sell the full 4x8 sheets so you can't just buy the cuts you need. I had them rough cut a shelf go inside one of the cabinets (a bit oversize) as well.

Tonight I cut down the 30" top sheets to make them the right length. I also bought some 1 1/2 inch wide lattice to use as a finish piece for the edge.

I also got in and saw and cut the shims. I still need to install the baseboard.

Unfortunately the shelf I had them rough cut got bound up in the saw while trying to make the last cut to size and it got ruined. So I'll half to buy another 4x8 sheet and I'll just have HD cut it to the correct size this time. My "make lemons out of lemonade" moment is that I may use the extra melamine to make a shelf above the cabinet.

Here's how it looks right now. I plan to caulk the seam but haven't done it yet. I also still need to install the vinyl baseboard.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[j p smith]

Mach5, I like the air station, what is the large filter? Dryer? Dissicant?

 

[ncaddy87]

That's looking good! Keep up the good work. I'm enjoying watching the transformation.

And for your lack of truck problem - have you ever considered buying a used trailer, using it for all these projects and hauling, and even using it for storage (if it is enclosed) and then selling it when you are done with it or buy a truck? I don't know if you have a vehicle with a trailer hitch, but if so, it could be a possibility. I did that for about three years before finally buying my truck. It wasn't ideal, but it got the job done. ...P.S. disregard if this has already been mentioned here - I haven't been able to read the whole thing yet...

 

[OctoMan]

I have a similar situation. Very little space and a British sports car with parts everywhere. I go through my stuff once a year and get rid of things I haven't used in that time. I cleaned up this month and gained at least two feet. I'd love to get rid of the washer/dryer but there's no where else for it to go. I'll build shelving to keep that **** away from the car stuff. Use all the wall space you can and look at building some stuff hanging down from the ceiling. Since you have VW parts no one wants get rid of them. Keep the early X1/9 seats get rid of the others. Put all the family/wife stuff in the shed. Garages are for cars/tools exc not potting shelves. That also keeps the family out of there. Consolidate if you can. I had three tool boxes on each side of the garage and it was driving me crazy. I built a shelf to hold the commonly used tools in a central location. Much easier now! Little things like drop down electric cords/air hoses help. See about putting in an attic exhaust fan to help keep the temp. down. Mine runs constantly during the summer, but it would be much worse if I didn't have it.

Also if you're in a car club ask club members to help out as well. There may be someone who's trying to get rid of shelving or something you need.

 

[Mach5]

Ncaddy87 - my dd is a Mini Cooper S. My only tow vehicle is my wife's minivan. I rarely get to use it. Hence the desire for a truck.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[Mach5]

J p Smith - dryer. I'm pretty sure that came from HF. I think there's a better pic of it in my profile. I'll check later when I'm in front of a computer.

EDIT:

It's an air control unit. Designed to filter air to remove moisture and particles and also to act as a pressure regulator. I have the regulator set so that the pressure doesn't exceed 90-100 psi, since that seems to be the upper limit for most of my tools.

Here's a better pic of my unit:

View media item 22082
Here's a link to the current version sold at HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/industrial-air-filter-regulator-68247.html

Up to now I've only used the one hose, so it has always been on the filtered side. The oiled tools allows us to put oil into a feeder to keep the tools that require oil well lubricated. The hose for those tools will never be used for painting, obviously, so the idea was to have two separate areas and separate hoses. All this was in preparation for the body work on the 74 X, and was done a few years ago. Meanwhile, the 74 languishes for lack of funds to get started. Guess where the money from the sale of the 80X is going to go?

 

[Mach5]

I have a similar situation. Very little space and a British sports car with parts everywhere. I go through my stuff once a year and get rid of things I haven't used in that time. I cleaned up this month and gained at least two feet. I'd love to get rid of the washer/dryer but there's no where else for it to go. I'll build shelving to keep that **** away from the car stuff. Use all the wall space you can and look at building some stuff hanging down from the ceiling. Since you have VW parts no one wants get rid of them. Keep the early X1/9 seats get rid of the others. Put all the family/wife stuff in the shed. Garages are for cars/tools exc not potting shelves. That also keeps the family out of there. Consolidate if you can. I had three tool boxes on each side of the garage and it was driving me crazy. I built a shelf to hold the commonly used tools in a central location. Much easier now! Little things like drop down electric cords/air hoses help. See about putting in an attic exhaust fan to help keep the temp. down. Mine runs constantly during the summer, but it would be much worse if I didn't have it.

Also if you're in a car club ask club members to help out as well. There may be someone who's trying to get rid of shelving or something you need.

I put in an air conditioner and plan to install a ceiling fan to push the air around better. I did move all of the family stuff out of the garage and into the shed. I also got rid of a bunch of stuff recently.

As for the VW parts...we'll see. I was considering getting another VW pickup and found one FS locally the other day. If I did pick one up at least some of the VW stuff I have would get used.

As for the X stuff...I think the "plan" for now is to hold onto that stuff until Nov. There is a car show in Van Nuys CA every year and I can head out there and unload that stuff at the show. Given my current pace I'll probably take the gold X back out again and see if I can sell it while I'm there, too.

As far as consolidating tools, I've decided to create "stations" -- so I have some tools in the big red toolbox by the original workbench. The stuff that still has its original box is being stored in the lower cabinets I installed along the wall, and the air tools will be in the cabinet next to the compressor.

More to come.

 

[ncaddy87]

I understand that. It was worth a shot. Times like this will make you appreciate that truck when you do get it.

 

[j p smith]

Mach5, Thanks!

 

[Mach5]

I had my wife help with the cutting of a 3/4 melamine to cut a shelf for one of the cabinets a weekend or so ago. It didn't go well.

I had extra melamine material from the 4x8 sheet HD made me buy so that I could make my 27"x34" shelf. I thought, well since I'm going to have to buy another melamine sheet to make the shelf (having no remaining pieces large enough for the shelf) I may as well use the long pieces to make a shelf unit over the cabinet.

Today was fits of activity and frustration rolled together. In the end I only got part of the shelf unit together and I'm not sure I'm happy with it.

I also had to remove the hose between the compressor and the dryer tank to put the shelf in place and pretty much ruined that in the process so now I have to buy a new one.

I finally gave up after getting about a third of the project done.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[taumac]

Good luck with your project

 

[gs8212]

I'm in your boat - 20 x 20 attached garage with 2 cars in it in the winter, one in the summer. I've stared at my tiny garage so many times and dreamed of what I wish I had, when what I should have been doing is looking at the space I do have and maximizing it. I've finally got started on ti and I've been getting ideas from these forums.

1. Decide what the space is for and limit it to that. For us I put every yard-related tool (hand, electric, gas), equipment (wheel barrow mower), and supply (fertilizer, sprays, and related equipment) in a shed in the back.

2. The garage is not for house items. Wife has the kitchen, closets, cabinets, basement, etc., that I don't intrude on and she's accepted that the garage is my one space I get to decide on.

3. One wall up against my wife's car is never going to have anything on it like pegboard and things hanging on it, etc. - I'll give her that "clean" walkway. So I have to scratch it off the list as useable space.......except for maybe fold-up workbench?.....that thought just struck me.

4. Finally, get it off the floor. Old cabinets, shelving from COSTCO, whatever. I put my compressor hose reel high on the wall between the rails of my 2 garage doors, which is space with limited usefulness, except for that skinny reel. And the air pipes will run above the garage door on a wall that again will likely never be used for any other purpose.

Good luck and add pictures when you're done.

 

[Mach5]

Here's an update on the garage. I continue to work at it in fits and starts.

 

[Bob Heine]

You are making great progress. Once I get things set up I have a real hard time undoing it. I've settled on shallow cabinets for the side walls that are made from 1"x8" or 1"x10" boards. A round gallon can fits in the 8" deep cabinets and an 8.5"x11" catalog fits in the 10" deep cabinets.

There's something about your garage that I really like. I drove a '74 X1/9 for almost 20 years. Cam, headers and dual 36DCNF downdraft Webers really woke it up. Wide rims and tires kept it stuck to the road.

 

[Mach5]

I've got two at the moment. The 80 runs and has been restored. The 74 is under the cover and needs love.

 

[Mach5]

Gs8212 - putting the reel on the side next to the garage door is an interesting idea. I think it will limit the usability otoh I do have 50' of hose on the reel. I was going to hang it from the ceiling near the center of the garage. I think the final decision will depend on how much hose it will take to get to it.

 

[Jagmandave]

You need to change your sig, since you no longer have the MINI.....