Pete Gossett
Active member
Hi everyone,
We're in the process of relocating from Illinois to the MS gulf coast, and our new (to us) house down south has both a 20'x32' garage, plus a separate 12'x'24' workshop. I had a similar sized garage in IL, but it was oriented the opposite direction; and also had a separate workspace, but it was a couple blocks away vs. just out in the backyard.
Here are a couple pics of what I have to work with.
This is looking in from the left garage door. There is a walk-in door toward the back along the left wall, and Im bringing down a very old/heavy/solid workbench from my garage in IL that will go just past the doorway, under the shelves along the rear wall(which may get relocated).
The white door in the middle has a ramp to the back yard for lawnmower entry - I'm still figuring out what to do about lawncare down here, as the yard is more sand than grass, but mostly is trees, bamboo, and other ornamental grasses. I do not have a separate storage shed, so my mower would need to go in the garage or workshop.
In the far right corner of the garage is a storage room, shown below. I've put two of my toolboxes along the outside wall of this room. They fit well there, yet still leave room to back my van in & open the rear lift gate. I have a 3rd toolbox that I think I'll end up with in the workshop. I have duplicates of many common hand tools, plus I think most of my power tools will end up out there.
Here's the workshop. It's hard to tell, but there's an 8' gap between the front workbench on the right(with the white cabinet doors), and the one in the rear corner. I have a lighter-weight workbench in IL that I think I'll put here. I've already mounted my drill press and large vice on the front workbench. Just inside the doorway on the left is a small shelf/bench that's angled at the entrance, which I plan to mount my bench grinder onto.
That leaves me with a list of questions, and a list of ideas, about what to do with these spaces to make the most of what I have.
First off, my questions:
1.) Neither of these buildings have insulation, A/C, or heat. I'm sure I can get by with a small space heater in winter, and I plan on framing in openings for a window A/C unit in each building, but should I insulate them?
2.) Both buildings are dark and poorly lit. There are no windows in the garage, and only a small one in the workshop - I'm ok with that from a security perspective. About 1/2 of the fluorescent fixtures either don't work, or aren't working when it's cold, so I think LED fixtures will be near the top of my update list. Unfortunately, there are no Costco stores in the area(or near us in IL) which leaves me with a choice of Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's or ordering online. Is there a 2nd-best retailer other than Costco? Are there specific brands to either look for, or avoid?
3.) The darkness is also compounded by the bare wood walls inside. I'm thinking of just painting them white for now(I probably have enough white paint, if it's still good), though I'm considering drywall eventually - particularly if insulating the buildings makes sense. Other than budget, another reason I think I might hold off on drywall is it will give me an opportunity to determine where I need to add/relocate power...and/or possibly plumb air lines. Does that seem reasonable?
4.) The workshop is about 60' back from the garage, so any large automotive projects will definitely take place in the garage. The workshop is also wood-floored, so any welding will stay in the garage too. I don't think that it will end up being a huge problem, but I also want to avoid running back & forth constantly. Does anyone else have a similar setup, who can provide some input after living with it for a while?
Here are some ideas I've had, but would appreciate feedback on:
1.) Do I want to run air lines out to the garage? I don't see a need offhand, although I do need to upgrade my compressor anyway, so maybe my old compressor could be relocated out there, just in case?
2.) I'm considering changing the storage room in the garage. For one, once I get a larger vertical compressor, I think putting it in there with a door, some insulation, and a switch on the outside to turn it on/off, would be much nicer & quieter than having it running in the open garage. Does that seem worth the effort?
3.) If I do bring down my lawnmower(44" Dixie Chopper) it will fit through the rear door of the garage, but not through the entryway of the storage room(or between the shelves). If I'm already redesigning this room(see #2 directly above), I think making the doorway & space wide enough to store my mower makes sense - yes/no?
4.) I have 6 bicycles, and ride frequently(hopefully almost daily once we're settled in!). Hanging them from the ceiling would be a hassle, so I'm thinking about building a bike-rack of sorts along the back-left corner of the workshop. That would keep them relatively organized, somewhat out of the way, yet allow easy access. Does that seem like a reasonable solution?
5.) So far I have, or plan, to put in the workshop: Drill press, bench vice, bench grinder, cutoff/miter saw, hydraulic press, bike repair stand, and also keep my power tools(except my "good" cordless drill), Dremel, bike tools, guitar repair tools(I'm also a musician), etc.
6.) In the garage, I have/plan to put: Large workbench, Blacksmith's vice(the foot needs to rest on something more solid than the wood floor of the workshop), welder, air compressor, two rolling toolboxes with hand tools/air tools/auto-specific tools, floor jack, jack stands, oil/brake fluid/etc., lawnmower(?), storage of small/spare parts & hardware.
How do my plans sound so far, and what changes/corrections would you guys suggest?
Thanks!
Pete
We're in the process of relocating from Illinois to the MS gulf coast, and our new (to us) house down south has both a 20'x32' garage, plus a separate 12'x'24' workshop. I had a similar sized garage in IL, but it was oriented the opposite direction; and also had a separate workspace, but it was a couple blocks away vs. just out in the backyard.
Here are a couple pics of what I have to work with.
This is looking in from the left garage door. There is a walk-in door toward the back along the left wall, and Im bringing down a very old/heavy/solid workbench from my garage in IL that will go just past the doorway, under the shelves along the rear wall(which may get relocated).
The white door in the middle has a ramp to the back yard for lawnmower entry - I'm still figuring out what to do about lawncare down here, as the yard is more sand than grass, but mostly is trees, bamboo, and other ornamental grasses. I do not have a separate storage shed, so my mower would need to go in the garage or workshop.
In the far right corner of the garage is a storage room, shown below. I've put two of my toolboxes along the outside wall of this room. They fit well there, yet still leave room to back my van in & open the rear lift gate. I have a 3rd toolbox that I think I'll end up with in the workshop. I have duplicates of many common hand tools, plus I think most of my power tools will end up out there.
Here's the workshop. It's hard to tell, but there's an 8' gap between the front workbench on the right(with the white cabinet doors), and the one in the rear corner. I have a lighter-weight workbench in IL that I think I'll put here. I've already mounted my drill press and large vice on the front workbench. Just inside the doorway on the left is a small shelf/bench that's angled at the entrance, which I plan to mount my bench grinder onto.
That leaves me with a list of questions, and a list of ideas, about what to do with these spaces to make the most of what I have.
First off, my questions:
1.) Neither of these buildings have insulation, A/C, or heat. I'm sure I can get by with a small space heater in winter, and I plan on framing in openings for a window A/C unit in each building, but should I insulate them?
2.) Both buildings are dark and poorly lit. There are no windows in the garage, and only a small one in the workshop - I'm ok with that from a security perspective. About 1/2 of the fluorescent fixtures either don't work, or aren't working when it's cold, so I think LED fixtures will be near the top of my update list. Unfortunately, there are no Costco stores in the area(or near us in IL) which leaves me with a choice of Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's or ordering online. Is there a 2nd-best retailer other than Costco? Are there specific brands to either look for, or avoid?
3.) The darkness is also compounded by the bare wood walls inside. I'm thinking of just painting them white for now(I probably have enough white paint, if it's still good), though I'm considering drywall eventually - particularly if insulating the buildings makes sense. Other than budget, another reason I think I might hold off on drywall is it will give me an opportunity to determine where I need to add/relocate power...and/or possibly plumb air lines. Does that seem reasonable?
4.) The workshop is about 60' back from the garage, so any large automotive projects will definitely take place in the garage. The workshop is also wood-floored, so any welding will stay in the garage too. I don't think that it will end up being a huge problem, but I also want to avoid running back & forth constantly. Does anyone else have a similar setup, who can provide some input after living with it for a while?
Here are some ideas I've had, but would appreciate feedback on:
1.) Do I want to run air lines out to the garage? I don't see a need offhand, although I do need to upgrade my compressor anyway, so maybe my old compressor could be relocated out there, just in case?
2.) I'm considering changing the storage room in the garage. For one, once I get a larger vertical compressor, I think putting it in there with a door, some insulation, and a switch on the outside to turn it on/off, would be much nicer & quieter than having it running in the open garage. Does that seem worth the effort?
3.) If I do bring down my lawnmower(44" Dixie Chopper) it will fit through the rear door of the garage, but not through the entryway of the storage room(or between the shelves). If I'm already redesigning this room(see #2 directly above), I think making the doorway & space wide enough to store my mower makes sense - yes/no?
4.) I have 6 bicycles, and ride frequently(hopefully almost daily once we're settled in!). Hanging them from the ceiling would be a hassle, so I'm thinking about building a bike-rack of sorts along the back-left corner of the workshop. That would keep them relatively organized, somewhat out of the way, yet allow easy access. Does that seem like a reasonable solution?
5.) So far I have, or plan, to put in the workshop: Drill press, bench vice, bench grinder, cutoff/miter saw, hydraulic press, bike repair stand, and also keep my power tools(except my "good" cordless drill), Dremel, bike tools, guitar repair tools(I'm also a musician), etc.
6.) In the garage, I have/plan to put: Large workbench, Blacksmith's vice(the foot needs to rest on something more solid than the wood floor of the workshop), welder, air compressor, two rolling toolboxes with hand tools/air tools/auto-specific tools, floor jack, jack stands, oil/brake fluid/etc., lawnmower(?), storage of small/spare parts & hardware.
How do my plans sound so far, and what changes/corrections would you guys suggest?
Thanks!
Pete
