Starter home - Single Car Attached Garage & Basement Shop

Scotto · Dec 23, 2008

I've been lurking for awhile since I bought my house (foreclosure last spring), so I figured I'd make a post of my small garage/basement workshop. I've gotten a lot of ideas by searching the site, so I'd like contribute some ideas to do in a small work area. This is my 1st home and there isn't any room to build a detached garage, so I'm just working with what I have for now. The progress has been slow because the house had to be rehabbed and I'm doing all the work myself (with some help from my dad :thumbup:

). I'm very happy with it though.

The garage is only going to to have automotive stuff in it, the basement more home improvement and woodworking stuff, and luckily I have a shed for all lawn oriented stuff.

Anyways, onto the pics. This is when I first got the house. The garage is 10' wide (not sure on depth):
(house has been powerwashed since then, plus much more :bounce:

)

My poor garage as I was rehabbing the house:

Built some shelves for over the toolbox:

Threw up some free cabinets I got off Craigslist. Will get painted eventually.

Every garage needs a kick *** stereo:

A month ago I addressed the total lack of power/lighting in the garage (I only had 1 outlet and 1 lightbulb). I added 4 T8 double fixtures:

Added 4 outlet boxes and a motion light off the back of the garage:

Added an outlet in the ceiling for a garage door opener and a pull-down light:

I also relocated my air compressor into the basement. I made that outlet in the basement switched in the garage so I can turn it on/off from the garage. I used a lighted switch so I don't leave it on. I also was able to add an outlet on that finished wall from that power:

I also added a switched 240V outlet for a 4800 watt Ouelett electrical heater. It's a real nice unit - $130, built in thermostat, and about 20k BTUs. It gets the garage up 15 degrees in about 20 min. I'm sure it'll be a lot better and won't run as much once I get it insulated.

The plan now with the garage is to insulate and sheetrock the walls with bare studs. Then I want to get some more shelving up. I'll also run some hard lines for the air compressor to the ceiling for a pull/down winding hose. Once it gets warm I'm going to epoxy coat the floor, or use tiles if there's too much moisture. Oh yea, I need a garage door opener too.

Scotto · Dec 23, 2008

As for the basement, this is what I started out with:

First I brushed on Thoroseal on the walls because there was a lot of moisture down there:

Then I built some shelves out of 2x4s and plywood. I also pulled a metal shelf out of the trash and painted it:

Next was a bench I built. Made it as strong as I can in case I have an engine block on it or something down the line:

I then swapped one of the single incandescent bulb fixtures for an outlet. From this I plugged in 2 shop lights. It's nice because I can then turn off all the lights from the top of the steps, instead of being on a seperate circuit.

I also added a new circuit to the basement for some more power:

Added outlets all over:

Switched outlet for the air compressor:

This last weekend I scored some melamine cabinets off Craigslist, plus some bins from Harbor Freight for bolts, nuts, etc. I put them up over the bench and they work great. I'll get some pics asap.

For the future, I really need a vise (maybe for Christmas?

). Plus I'd like to get a radial arm saw, bench grinder, and press. Then I should be in pretty good shape to take on some bigger projects.

67pete300 · Dec 23, 2008

Wow! You've made alot of progress! Looking good so far.

tdkkart · Dec 23, 2008

Progress looks good, lot's of work ahead I'm sure.

That garage is criminally small, just makes me mad when I see stuff like that. IMO, architects, builders and county building depts should be kicked in the nuts for designing and building something so stupid. Single stalls should be no less than 12ft wide, 22' wide for a double, and none should be less than 22' deep. I see alot of 20x20' garages on new house plans, completely ridiculous.
I realize that it doesn't make alot of difference to most folks, but seems like a common sense item to me. My first place, which I bought back when I was young and stupid, had a 20' deep garage. A full size single cab longbox pickup JUST fit, you couldn't even walk around it with the door down. If nothing else it seems like a safety issue.

Scotto · Dec 23, 2008

Thanks for the comments.

The size does piss me off. We got a great deal on the house though (foreclosure), so I can live with it for a few years. I'm just gonna need to find a Miata or something for a project car :lol:

.
I'm surprised how many people just use their garages for storing ****. Luckily I have the basement/attic for that.

e-tek · Dec 23, 2008

Scotto - that is nice work (excpet where you cut the dry wall in the garage ceiling, plus cut the conduit above it - woops!!

)

The switched compressor from downstairs is brilliant, as is the extra lighting and outlets you installed - you've learned well! Those Crafstman Oilless compressors sure are friggin' loud though - I had one for years that could peel the mascara right off Mrs E-tek when it would kick in!! If I was as smart as you though I would also have added the lighted switch - many times I forgot to turn it off only to have it kick in at 2am, right under our bedroom!!!! Maybe that was why the wifey was so willing to have me build a big shop behind the house???!!!

Come to think of it, I often forget to trun off my big new compressor when I leave my shop...it's in the opposite corner from where I come in and out though so I haven't figured out what to do to remind myself to shut it off when I leave - BIG signs don't seem to help

tdkkart · Dec 23, 2008

e-tek said:
Come to think of it, I often forget to trun off my big new compressor when I leave my shop...it's in the opposite corner from where I come in and out though so I haven't figured out what to do to remind myself to shut it off when I leave - BIG signs don't seem to help

Wire up a contactor in the line to the compressor, switch the contactor off of one of the lights. If the lights are out the compressor is off.

Scotto · Dec 23, 2008

Thanks e-tek :thumbup:

.
Yea, cutting through the duct was a big oops. It was difficult cutting through to begin with because its double layer 5/8" sheetrock. I patched that all up though.

Hehe, I'm hoping my wife thinks the same about the loud air compressor when we eventually move and I want a detached garage. It's not TOO bad in the basement though - about just as loud as the table saw.

jettago · Dec 23, 2008

What year was the house built? because the garage concrete almost appears to be fairly new.

DYNODANNY · Dec 23, 2008

Cool garage, I also started with my starter hause and single garage.

Scotto · Dec 23, 2008

jettago said:
What year was the house built? because the garage concrete almost appears to be fairly new.

'91. I think they just stored stuff in the garage because it looked almost new. I want to get some epoxy on it soon before I oil and stain it all up.

JohnK007 · Dec 23, 2008

That is one sturdy looking bench! The sacrificial hardboard top is a great idea.

Jay H 237 · Dec 23, 2008

Man, nice job, and not a bad first house!

Yeah, the garage is small but I know of some "starter" homes that don't even have garages, like my cousins.

I have on suggestion you might want to look into. Swapping out those garage door tracks for high lift tracks. When the garage door rolls up it will be closer to the cieling than hanging so far down. Should make the garage feel a little bigger and get those tracks out of the way.

stioc · Dec 23, 2008

Scott, nice work man! You handled that wiring and stuff like a pro.

e-tek said:
Scotto - that is nice work (excpet where you cut the dry wall in the garage ceiling, plus cut the conduit above it - woops!! )

Dang e-tek, you sure have sharp eyes...for being an old dude :bounce:

paulmofyourhand · Dec 24, 2008

nice wrx wagon!

(o4 sti owner here, hehe)

Nova72 · Dec 24, 2008

look great so far. would love to see the inside house transformation.

this guy has some vise's on occasion.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/win-win-123_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

goodfellow · Dec 24, 2008

You call that a starter home? That's a gorgeous place -- consider yourself lucky. You should have seen the place I had when i was started -- -50's rambler with a concrete driveway. I built two cars in that driveway.

That garage has great potential -- good luck and Merry Christmas

Scotto · Dec 29, 2008

JohnK007 said:
That is one sturdy looking bench! The sacrificial hardboard top is a great idea.

Thanks, my dad did the same and it's held up great. Cheap too

.

Jay H 237 said:
Man, nice job, and not a bad first house! Yeah, the garage is small but I know of some "starter" homes that don't even have garages, like my cousins.

I have on suggestion you might want to look into. Swapping out those garage door tracks for high lift tracks. When the garage door rolls up it will be closer to the cieling than hanging so far down. Should make the garage feel a little bigger and get those tracks out of the way.

I'll look into that. I might do that and spread the lights so they're on the sides of the door.

paulmofyourhand said:
nice wrx wagon!

(o4 sti owner here, hehe)

Thanks, it's fun. And it pulls my trailer :bounce:

.

Nova72 said:
look great so far. would love to see the inside house transformation.

this guy has some vise's on occasion.

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/win-win-123_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

Thanks, actually got one for Christmas. Got a pic below.

If you wanna see some pics of the work on the inside of the house, check out my thread on another forum:
http://www.mensalmanac.com/zerothread?id=9088
It has my whole progress of the house on there.

goodfellow said:
You call that a starter home? That's a gorgeous place -- consider yourself lucky. You should have seen the place I had when i was started -- -50's rambler with a concrete driveway. I built two cars in that driveway.

That garage has great potential -- good luck and Merry Christmas

I hear ya, we did get a steal on the house (foreclosure). The garage is my only complaint, hehe. But it's coming out good - just gotta be smart with your space.

Scotto · Dec 29, 2008

I got some melamine cabinets up that I got from Craigslist (free!

):

Stool and vise I got for Christmas:

Last night I put some wax on the WRX

Wall mounted wet/dry vac I got for Christmas. It probably only has half the power of a traditional shop vac, but it's out of the way and has a 20' hose, which is really convenient:

slopecarver · Dec 31, 2008

I don't believe I've ever seen a table saw on a post, Incredible.
You said you want a radial arm saw next, while I have one and use it as my primary saw I believe it could better be substituted by a miter saw. Used radial arm saws can be had cheaply but are less accurate than miter saws and a pain to set up square and true. You should also consider finding a used 14" band saw to compliment the miter saw if you were to follow my suggestion.

Scotto · Dec 31, 2008

I decided I'm going to build a 1'x3' small bench in the garage really for the big vise I got. I'm trying to keep the automotive stuff in the garage. Then I'll pick up a wood vise for the basement shop.

slopecarver said:
I don't believe I've ever seen a table saw on a post, Incredible.
You said you want a radial arm saw next, while I have one and use it as my primary saw I believe it could better be substituted by a miter saw. Used radial arm saws can be had cheaply but are less accurate than miter saws and a pain to set up square and true. You should also consider finding a used 14" band saw to compliment the miter saw if you were to follow my suggestion.

Yea, that old table saw was my grandfather's. It can be on a post because the base is HEAVY cast iron. The fence isn't the most accurate thing in the world, but it works for now.

I've been throwing around the idea of a sliding miter saw. I have a non-sliding 10" but it can't crosscut very deep. If I can pick up a used slider for a decent amount I might go that way.

Bib Overalls · Dec 31, 2008

Neat solutions to a lot of common problems here. Thanks for sharing!

e-tek · Dec 31, 2008

Russell said:
Dang e-tek, you sure have sharp eyes...for being an old dude

Watch you mouth sonny. I'll come over there and kick your *** with my good leg.

e-tek · Dec 31, 2008

tdkkart said:
Wire up a contactor in the line to the compressor, switch the contactor off of one of the lights. If the lights are out the compressor is off.

Explain please - what's a contactor?

rickairmedic · Dec 31, 2008

E-tec this

http://www.wolfautomation.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=4921

is a contactor

if you want to see one up close go outside and take the main panel cover off of your airconditioner

. You would want one with a 110 volt coil unlike the one thats in your AC unit that has a 24volt coil. The coil is energised by the 110/24volt and closes the 220 volt contacts thus completing the circuit and turning on or off your compresor oooooooooooor your AC unit.

Rick

69charged · Dec 31, 2008

excellent use of a small space! i too have a small garage and have to juggle things around to get anything done.
one thing i noticed though, is your heater you are using. i cant really tell by the pic that good but if it is one of those cheap 4800w, 220v heaters, you might want to check your insurance coverage on that thing. i, as well as others around our parts found out that the insurance companies would not cover us if there was a fire in the garage and they found out we had a heater similar to that. they are not to be used continuously and not without supervision. might not be the same one but please check. i would hate for something like that to happen to someone.
i had to get a GX rated heater for my garage. whatever that is i dont know but i just asked for one and they shop i got it from knew what i was refering to. cost more too. of course. 249 bucks compared to 70 for the others.
just thought i would throw that out there but nice garage though. :thumbup:

clarence

Scotto · Jan 5, 2009

69charged said:
excellent use of a small space! i too have a small garage and have to juggle things around to get anything done.
one thing i noticed though, is your heater you are using. i cant really tell by the pic that good but if it is one of those cheap 4800w, 220v heaters, you might want to check your insurance coverage on that thing. i, as well as others around our parts found out that the insurance companies would not cover us if there was a fire in the garage and they found out we had a heater similar to that. they are not to be used continuously and not without supervision. might not be the same one but please check. i would hate for something like that to happen to someone.
i had to get a GX rated heater for my garage. whatever that is i dont know but i just asked for one and they shop i got it from knew what i was refering to. cost more too. of course. 249 bucks compared to 70 for the others.
just thought i would throw that out there but nice garage though.

clarence

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check into my insurance :thumbup:

.

I don't plan on running the heater when I'm not in there and I'll be taking it down once it warms up so it shouldn't be an issue.

porschedude996TT · Jan 5, 2009

Scotto said:
I decided I'm going to build a 1'x3' small bench in the garage really for the big vise I got. I'm trying to keep the automotive stuff in the garage. Then I'll pick up a wood vise for the basement shop.

Yea, that old table saw was my grandfather's. It can be on a post because the base is HEAVY cast iron. The fence isn't the most accurate thing in the world, but it works for now.

I've been throwing around the idea of a sliding miter saw. I have a non-sliding 10" but it can't crosscut very deep. If I can pick up a used slider for a decent amount I might go that way.

I have one of these table saws from my Dad and agree it is not very acurate with the standard OEM fence. I always measure the fence position in two places before I turn it on. I bought a Rigid Brand Fence System an it is much better.

Scotto · Mar 16, 2009

Haven't made any updates in awhile.

I built a small bench at the end of my garage to mount my vise and to hold some tools when I work on things. The angled 4x4s worked out really nice (got the idea from another thread on here). It leaves plenty of floor space open and is really strong with the 4x4s and lag bolts going into the wall.

In the last month I've worked on finishing off the garage.
First, I ran and tucked all my wires. Then I insulated all the walls with R13 faced batts:

Then I got the sheetrock up. Went with 5/8" for the durability factor.

This weekend I started taping and mudding the walls. I've never done anything other then patchwork, so I'm learning a lot. I've tried both the mesh and paper tape. The paper seems to be working better for me.

Old61 · Mar 17, 2009

Paper tape is all you need. Don't go to thick when applying the mud, smooth it out and move on. It's a lot easier to do an extra coat then to sand off extra!
Looking good!
I would suggest running your power drops, especially around your work bench, in conduit.

John in OH · Mar 17, 2009

Nice use of a small space. I like the remote compressor start setup with the indicating light.

Just a thought .... I know that I sometimes suffer from "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome ... so with the remote compressor don't forget to regularly blow the moisture out of the compressor's tank to prevent rust/corrosion.

jhn9840 · Mar 18, 2009

Well thought out plan for use of a small space. Having the basement area is a big plus also, good place for your compressor. I have the same one and it sure does get loud. Looks like your getting close to completeing the garage/work shop area. Hope to see some pics of the finished area.

jhn9840
John

Scotto · Mar 18, 2009

Old61 said:
I would suggest running your power drops, especially around your work bench, in conduit.

I was thinking of doing that. When I was putting up the cabinets I dropped on the wire and the shielding came off a bit. I just need to do a little research on conduit - never used it before.

John in OH said:
Just a thought .... I know that I sometimes suffer from "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome ... so with the remote compressor don't forget to regularly blow the moisture out of the compressor's tank to prevent rust/corrosion.

Thanks, I should actually do that now. I'm going to replace the stock value with a quarter turn ball valve, so its easier to do. I'll be more inclined to drain it if it's easier.

jhn9840 said:
Well thought out plan for use of a small space. Having the basement area is a big plus also, good place for your compressor. I have the same one and it sure does get loud. Looks like your getting close to completeing the garage/work shop area. Hope to see some pics of the finished area.

Thanks, it's getting there. I can't wait to get these walls and ceiling done because I have some ideas for different shelves and things to put up.

Rolling_Thunder · Mar 18, 2009

Me and friend me built 2 stockcars in a garage that size! I notice you dont have a work table in the garage. We made a folddown workbench in the small garage we used. Basically just frame a rectangle out of 2x4's then a plywood the top. mount a 2x4 on the wall and hook the 2 together with door hinges and 2x4's on that will fold up and down to hold the table up when its out! we also used a Window latch to hold the unit closed!!

Scotto · Apr 8, 2009

Got a lot done on the garage the past few weeks.

First got it all painted up:

Then I finished painting and I built a shelf above the garage door. It's a bit over 2' deep so I should be able to fit a lot of there. The garage is going to strictly be automotive stuff, so I have enough room....for now.

I'm in the process of cleaning everything up and getting it off the floor. Also painting the cabinets and getting my little bench up.

Once that's all done I'll be running copper air lines and my hose reel. Then I'll trim it all out.

I'll also be epoxying the floor and putting some base trim down (4" rubber stuff).

JMURiz · Apr 8, 2009

Looking good!

sammerdog · Apr 8, 2009

Quite the improvement from what it looked like a few months back - you're doing a great job.

Kevin54 · Apr 8, 2009

Looks great :thumbup:

Speakers might be a little overkill though for no bigger space than that :lol_hitti

Scotto · Apr 8, 2009

Kevin54 said:
Looks great Speakers might be a little overkill though for no bigger space than that

lol, they are but I've had them for years (free) and they sound great. I'm going to pull them toward the front of the shelf and put rarely used car stuff behind them.

Scotto · Feb 3, 2010

Haven't updated this thread in awhile.

Recently I trimmed out the windows and doors, installed a ceiling fan which really helps circulate the heat (and should be nice in the winter), and did some other small stuff.

When it gets a little warmer I'll:
-Install rigid foam in the garage door to insulate it
-Put up a garage door opener I picked up off CL
-Throw down some epoxy on the floor
-Install some vinyl base molding down at the base of the walls

Starter home - Single Car Attached Garage & Basement Shop

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