Built a new workbench... not bad for being free :)

[Cobra4B]

Scored 3 large cabinets and 10' of laminate counter top from an office remodeling they did at work. I jumped all over it when the facilities manager asked me if I wanted the stuff. Also, got a 3'x4' WxH cabinet for the wall that'll be perfect for storring detailing stuff and spray bottles etc. etc.

I'm redoing my garage so that the work bench and storage is on the left wall and the back wall is free'd up and clear. This will make the space more functional for working on the cars.

The left wall has the foundation sticking out 3.5" w/ a 2x4 running down the top. This made it impossible to put anything on that wall b/c it stuck out. Because of this I'd been planning on making the wall a custom work bench, but when I saw the cabinets etc. I realized I could back-cut them, and that's just what i did.

I took the shelf out, measured for each, then used the wall ledge as the rear support. Going to snag 3' of counter from my current kitchen remodel to complete the bench and then get sheet metal to cover the complete top.

The drawers and doors are very off-white almost cream, but the covers are like an acrylic shell, they peel off leaving a wood door/drawer so I'm going to spray them bright white to go w/ the garage and will change the brass hardware out to complete it. Will have around 18" of peg board running above the red chair molding and a shelf above that running the length of the bench. Posters etc. will of course be relocated.

Pics -

UPDATE: Spent the snowdays working in the garage, made some good progress. Unfortunately the RaceDeck and 3 other wall cabinets weren't free

1. Installed some RaceDeck to create a work space and get the cabinets off the slab. Unfortunately they forgot all my male edging so I couldn't finish.

2. Peeled off the ugly off-white plastic on the doors/drawers on the freebee stuff I got from work. Going to paint the lower doors/drawers black and the wall cabinet pure white to match the other 3.

3. Got 3 36x15" wall cabinets from HD. Decided to do 3 of the same size to create a usable shelf on top. Had I done the 2 36x30s that I had intended they'd have been too tall.

4. Started putting up pegboard, but held off on finishing so I can run some new outlets and move the fridge under the counter.

Racedeck down and cabinets back in

Wall cabinets done and pegboard going up

Vs. my MSpaint schematic

Took down the old cabinets on the backwall and cleaned it up some, makes for a more open garage.

 

[Finley]

excellent adaptation into the foundation.good job!

 

[Lowriser]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing.
Way to re-claim and reuse!

JF

 

[marty_p]

RE:

Great score, buddy

 

[Cobra4B]

My vision for the area via MS Paint White area under cabinets will be peg board w/ under cabinet lighting on switched power. Will update as I progress. In the middle of a kitchen remodel right now. That motivated me to at least get the work bench in place so I could store stuff in the garage and sand cabinet doors etc. etc.

 

[Hardware]

Is that Woodstock? snoopys buddy sitting on the workbench?
Im on the search for some cabinets like that... If its free its for me!

 

[Cobra4B]

Haha... it's my quick interpretation of a bench grinder and vice. Have the big cabinet waiting to go up, just need to get 3 36x15 cabinets to complete it all.

 

[RobSmith]

Haha... it's my quick interpretation of a bench grinder and vice. Have the big cabinet waiting to go up, just need to get 3 36x15 cabinets to complete it all.

Re think the position of the bench grinder...they make a lot of mess & that mess can be damaging to some tools. One idea is to put it on a solid base on wheels...wheel it out into the middle of the workspace to use it and when you're finished wheel it away and leave the mess in the middle of the floor instead of in all the nooks and crannies on your work bench. A quick floor sweep and the job is done !

 

[jkherd]

Looking good, its is always great to repurpose free stuff and have a cool looking result

 

[Cobra4B]

Re think the position of the bench grinder...they make a lot of mess & that mess can be damaging to some tools. One idea is to put it on a solid base on wheels...wheel it out into the middle of the workspace to use it and when you're finished wheel it away and leave the mess in the middle of the floor instead of in all the nooks and crannies on your work bench. A quick floor sweep and the job is done !

Never thought about that. Currently it's on a free standing post. Maybe I'll just tuck it in the free area at the end of the bench so I can still move it around.

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Rethink the area for the vise as well, Too close to the garage door hinders long pieces in the vise. just my 2 cents

 

[Cobra4B]

That's true too... it's all up in the air. I'm in the middle of a kitchen overhaul right now and wanted to get the bench in place so I had an area to store and work on my cabinet doors (for the inside cabinets).

 

[Cobra4B]

TTT, updated the OP.

 

[Cobra4B]

Nothing at all!?!

 

[Cobra4B]

Update: Didn't realize I started this stuff almost a year ago, but it's finally "done" (it's never done). I had the cabinets/bench/pegboard done and functional all year, but I finally painted the cabinets, added hardware, and made a "multimedia" area to get my laptop and speaker/radio thing off of my work bench.

The cabinet doors turned out pretty good for gloss spraypaint.

Crawled up in my attic and found the cable line I had run to my dining room when I was going to make it a billiards area (never happened) and moved it to the garage, then stole the old crappy flat panel TV I had in my bedroom and moved it to the garage. The laptop is now at perfect standing height for me to use when working on a car project and it's plugged into the speaker steup so I can listen to Pandora out there too. It's nice having all that stuff off of the workbench.

 

[4StarCstms]

Very Nice - great job!

 

[q20v]

Very very very nice!!! I like the use of the smaller cabinets above your bench. You're giving me ideas

 

[rvr6000]

Very Nice......As soon as I'm done with the ceiling I'm going to work rebuilding my workbench. Getting a LOT of great ideas from this forum.

 

[Cobra4B]

Thanks guys... next up will be making a tire rack to get soem of these race wheel/tires up off the floor and trying to find a cost-effective way to cover the work bench top with metal. My garage is a standard 20x20 2-car give or take a few inches. Trying to walk the line between having storage, a functional auto-shop, and something that looks nice as well.

 

[JC23]

Normally we say this on the tool thread - You ****... TWICE! Once for getting al that free stuff and the secong time for doing such a great job with it. Good eye and execution!

Good working, good looking and now good tunes. Yep. No doubt about it - you ****!

 

[Victorymike18]

I just want to echo a lot of the other replies in here.

Fitment looks great, in terms of placement in the garage, and how you went about integrating it all, including the section of racedeck where you'll be standing the most.

I've got a similar size garage, and as you mention, it does take effort to get a balance of storage, auto work, and make it look good at the same time. This is definitely inspiring, now I've got to be on the lookout for some free cabinets!

Now, this is probably a silly question: How do you go about spacing the pegboard from the wall, while sacrificing as few pegs as possible?

 

[Cobra4B]

....including the section of racedeck where you'll be standing the most.

That idea came out of necessity. I really wanted to do an epoxy floor or a VCT floor, but my slab sweats badly and no matter how much prep/time I'd taken it wouldn't have held up over time. If you look at one of my first pics in the first post you can see dampness at the seam of the slab and the blocks. It had been raining heavily and that happens... in never leaks and water never runs out onto the slab, but it gets damp. I didn't want it to rot the cabinets over time so the racedeck gets the cabinets up off the slab and away from that seam just enough that they will stay dry. Furthermore, the Racedeck allows any moisture from the slab sweat the evaborate and move normally (it has channels/passages built in just for this). I don't care for the look of a fully Racedeck'd floor (looks overly plasticy to me) so this was the perfect solution. Also, I do lots of racecar maintenance in the garage so all kinds of fluids are always getting spilled on the floor.

Now, this is probably a silly question: How do you go about spacing the pegboard from the wall, while sacrificing as few pegs as possible?

I created a frame with 1x1s and then cut vertical pieces to fit every 3' or so. The pegboard was 2'x4' so I tried to make sure there was a vertical 1x1 on the seams as well.

Along the top you can see the 1x3 (can't remember if that's the proper size/name for the board) to give the shelves extra support. That wood is screwed into each stud with 2 3" wood screws and the cabinets sit on it, then the cabinets are screwed to the studs. It makes for a very strong cabinet install.

I wish I had the old pictures from when I first bought the house back in 2004. There was one light bulb in the center and a few random brown cabinets on the back wall. When I started repainting with the Behr Ultra Pure White it made the existing walls look grey! It's come along way over the years, but I grew up with a very cluttered garage so I always said I would have a car-only gargae that's organized.

 

[Hardware]

Looks Great.. good Job

 

[Stuey]

Looks great, nice job!