Below 265 SQ/FT DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COOL VI

DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage and DIY projects

This Thread is UNDER CONSTRUCTION (getting ORGANIZED Soon)
1) Goals and TO DO LISTS
2) Metal cabinets and bins
3) Vintage tools & Stuff
4) MATERIALS
5) Projects around the house
6) Skills hoping to develop (listening, welding, fabrication, professional painting with compressor
7) OTHER THREADS with good information about ORGANIZING
8) Questions
9) Pictures of past projects
10) Supplies
11) Machines and tools
12) What to do with old tools when you buy newer or in my case vintage better ones?
13) Shuffling cabinets and benches and vises and grinders and so on…
14) FSD (flat surface disease) cures or possible ways to keep it from happening
15) Tools or supplies to buy or put on the list: Kreg jig, Miller 250 welder, 5x10 aluminum trailer, good 5hp or 7.5 hp compressor, SkatBlast cabinet, ...
16)
17)
18)
19)
20) Vises (or vices as most of the world calls them) and I have a few besides the non cast iron or steel ones.

PICTURES TO COME SOON AS I GET ORGANIZED

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

to do list:

GETTING ORGANIZED is pretty general so i'll do a monthly TO DO LIST to try and break it down.

I have my 9x15 portion of our 2 car garage with half a side and the back 5x9 of the back of my bride's garage.

I also rent a 25x25 shop that also has a shed and a 10x30 garage that i'd like to turn from storage back into a temporary shop until i rebuild my shed and build maybe a 10x20 woodshop in our backyard.

i rent a 20x20 and a 10x20 storage units that i'd like to vacate both of them and get what items i need out of them and move the rest on to other members or clients or friends.

Major GOAL in GETTING ORGANIZED
1) rebuild existing shed from 6x13 with sloping roof to 6x20 with flat roof for 12 foot inside height
2) build a 12x18 woodshop in back yard

Goals (To Do's) 2018

February:
1) move out of 20x20 storage unit (end of Feb. got news of landlord at shop is getting a divorce so have to keep this for a few more months now)
2) build murphy bed and help finish turning daughter's old bedroom into a family room (Murphy (wall) bed installed and documented on posts #202-207)
3) have 9x15 portion of my garage with at least one bench where i can do some work (close to having 3 benches clear as of Feb. 27th)

MARCH 2018:
1) move out of my shop/storage 25x25 and 10x30 and move all the outside racking and steel this month
2) remove old dishwasher and install a new one
3) remove old gas hot water heater and install a new one
4) organize the existing shed so it can store maximum amount of stuff while i'm vacating my leased storage spaces

APRIL 2018:

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

ALL: as you know i've posted hundreds or maybe thousands of pictures of tools, cabinets and stuff and while all are not mine I do have a few.

I also mention i'm going to GET ORGANIZED a lot and it's like LOSING WEIGHT to me cause it's always a challenge. for instance i'm building this unistrut shelving to use the space above my big Lyon rotobin and I see an add for free old lumber. well I've got plenty of 2x8's or other lumber around here to build the shelves but the idea of having old growth or vintage looking wood seemed like a better option.

I contact the seller and it's the grandson and his grandparents are moving into a retirement home at 80 & 90 years old. When i get there the wood is rotten, but i ask if there is any tools before i leave.

he says he has to call his grandpa and uncle cause they have a small shed with tools in it and i say i'd be interested in the German license plate and the toolbox. so i leave and he makes a couple calls and gets the OK an grandma says yes he can have it all.

the grandson calls me (or texts) and says the toolbox isn't for sale, but he can sell everything else.

so long story short as they say i pull out almost everything (did i NEED IT?) and here's what i went home with less some cash to hand the grandson.

so does anybody else wonder why i have a hard time GETTING ORGANIZED?

i'm going through this and giving away some things and putting some of the stuff in a place where i can find it and dealing with it instead of adding it to the pile in my leased storage unit so I guess i'm getting organized.

also I've almost got one bench empty and i'm going to try to keep it that way and work on the other benches soon.

thanks for watching

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

ALL: I built a pretty solid mailbox stand out of 4 4x4's and some 2x4's on top maybe 25 years ago when the single post one kept getting run over by the 90 year olds on our block. my bride and i couldn't agree on the design above the platform so i left it that way until this last summer. the neighbor kids liked walking under it and the 4x6 50 year treated wood was starting to rot and i wanted to put on a security mailbox so it was time for a re do.

first off demo took about an hour or two and you can see what treated 4x4's look like after 25 years at ground level. i had found this commercial cast iron grate that weighs about 300 pounds so the plan was to install it. did you say GOT CEMENT?

also just an FYI. i mentioned to my bride (30 years and still loving her company) that i was going to build a nice cedar mailbox. i'd done a lot of searching on the web and didn't really find a design i liked so i took a few combinations and ideas and some from my own Pergola design that i might post later.

gotta run and i'll reserve another couple posts for the mailbox so they are continuous in case any of you might want to build something like it some day.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Mailbox foundation pictures.

I could have maybe done this in 2 pours, but i'm working for myself and it's just easier on my body mixing up 10 to 15 80 pound bags of cement in the wheelbarrow daily instead of twice that much.

i made a form on one end and included the Stimson 5.5 inch bracket to hold one of my 8x8 cedar posts. yep i had a couple 8 foot cedar 8x8's in my lumber pile so my plan was to use them and some 2x8's. more on that later.

after pouring the one end and letting it dry for about 24 hours (85+ degrees in August when i made this) i framed up the other end and put a piece of 6 inch PVC in the culvert so the commercial drain would fit right. then did a rough estimate on how wide i wanted the 8x8's and put in the other Stimson support. then i did each side on two different days and set the grate in and then put cement on top of the grate to hold it down and made the one side towards my little monument a little bigger so i could put blocks on it to support the dirt from coming into the drain. the drain works like it's supposed to and had to use a hose cause believe it or not we don't get much rain during the summer anymore.

on to the cedar work

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Mailbox stand continued:

of course my bride and the neighbors were wondering when the cedar mailbox stand was going to get built cause i'd been spending all that time on the prep, but i was still working out the plan in my head and on paper so it with just the supports and the old mailbox cut off stand for a few weeks.

i decided to cut my 8 foot cedar 8x8's down to 6.5 feet and make a few 45 degree cuts on the top to match my Pergola i built about 5 years ago. my wife free handed the curves on the ends of my pergola's 2x12's and i just made a smaller version of that on the 2x8's on the mailbox.

the 8x8's were a bit too big for my Dewalt 12 inch planer so i hand planed it with my little 3.5 inch Craftsman planer (I own a Makita too and the Craftsman seems to work a bit better). it's not perfect, but i was just trying to removed the rough cuts from the mill so the Sikkens stain would soak in. I picked redwood color and it's a little too bright to start, but as happened with my Pergola the stain will turn a bit darker in a year or two. (I've added one picture of the Pergola so you can see what i'm talking about and i'll add some more on it maybe later).

without having my routers handy (yes in a box somewhere) or bits i used my old Craftsman router to do the edges and some of the inset to fit on the 8x8's to fit into the supports.

Drilling holes through the cedar 8x8's so i could bolt them to the supports was a 2 man job or i could have maybe anchored a support 2x4 to the ground and did a temporary hold, but my brother in law and my nephew were working on installing our new hardi board siding so i had them hold it plumb while i drilled the holes.

It was a few months ago now and i forget how far exactly i had the 8x8's apart, but it's about 5 feet. if i was to do one again I would have only used 2 2x8's where the mailboxes sit and shorten the lower 4x4's about 8 inches. i'd probably lengthen the top 4x4's maybe 6 inches or a foot, but overall i like it. I didn't account for the mailboxes openings needed to hang over cause i was planning on pushing them back farther and when i figured that out i didn't want to add more wood under each mailbox to allow the doors to swing while they were sitting on the 2x8's.

if any of you might have a few more questions about my mailbox just ask, but i need to get out and start filling up some cabinets. more pics on post #14

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Great Start!!

I must have come on at the right time as it looks like I have drawn first blood on this thread.
However, while I am writing this someone could have made the first one. Anyway, I am near first and your doing well.
I like the reserved blocks which tells us we will have many photos and stories to later comment on. I like your mail box stands and bins and cabinets!
Thanks for starting your thread!!
(The mail boxes I take it are "issued" by the post office? I like the keyed idea on them. That way if your away from the home a while, the mail is secured".)
ps: I am claiming FIRST BLOOD. 1/2 Cup is now second.
Best Regards
Herb

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives, an absolutely fantastic start.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

And here we go...

Drive are we posting our stuff in here too or is this for Drive's only?

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

HS: thanks for posting on the thread I kept telling a lot of you that i was going to start someday so maybe there would be a place where some of you could see what I'M ORGANIZING. it's been a challenge that is for certain. I'll write up more of a background of my STUFF or my ORGANIZING SKILLS AND LACK OF and maybe WHY AND HOW I'M TRYING TO CURE THEM. Honestly at least for me it's about like my SWEET TOOTH and WEIGHT LOSS cause i have a mentality if i like something i BUY IT then figure out what to do with it. anybody else do that?

I actually bought my huge security mailbox a few years ago cause i thought for $100 it was a good deal. I was going to put it on the old stand, but didn't want it sticking out. that said I was going to buy one like the neighbor did across the street cause I went to both HOME DEPOT AND LOWES to pick up 3 boxes (one neighbor was paying me back and it was a gift to the widow across the street for the third one. the neighbor's box across the street had been been ordered online and that's how HD and LOWES sold them and the more expensive boxes were not made well so I decided to keep mine and order 2 boxes online from Amazon. when i looked up the cost of mine new I was amazed cause it costs $480 so i guess i got a fair deal at $100 a few years ago while it sat on a shelf.

so the neighbors give me some trash talk (in a loving way) that i built a Taj Mahal and i'm the big daddy and BTW i didn't charge them anything cause two have been neighbors for 30 years and the other one that just bulldozed his little house to build another has been her 20 years. now i'm actually a little concerned when the delivery guys and contractors get near it. it's been nice and i've had several great complements and cars actually drive down the street and stop to stare at it like they did and still do at my cedar pergola that i'm going to post a few pictures of.

again thanks for stopping in and i'm hoping I CAN GET ORGANIZED some day like 1/2 Cup and a lot of other members that can practically eat of their garage floors.

1/2: thanks again for all your support and you are one of the guys that I'd like to be more like where you can go out to your garage and not spend 30 minutes cleaning up before you want to start a project. And I bet it's been years since you ran to the store to buy something that you knew you had one or maybe 1,000 of like I have more than a few times.

welcome

BJ: yep this is DRIVE'S STUFF, but as i do on your thread and other threads if you are talking about something and you want to post up a few images you are more than welcome to cause I love your garage, talent and STUFF you've gathered and make.

here's the ORGANIZING 201 thread i started if you hadn't seen it so we can all share ideas and maybe learn a few.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=335623&highlight=organizing+201

ALL: a lot of my organizing is because of the COOL METAL AND WOOD CABINETS and shelving I seem to find so i'm playing GARAGE TETRIS and all my stuff waits in boxes until i get it laid out like i want it. i don't have a lot of room and i'll elaborate in the first few posts what i'm now limited to cause we've decided NOT TO MOVE for at least 5 or 10 years if we even live that long, but if we do find a piece of property before my wife fully retires i might build a shop with a living space so when we do move we can build the house and not live in a rental.

SPEAKING OF TETRIS here are some old school Shaw Walker metal file cabinets that i'm going to re purpose to hold nuts, bolts and parts and stuff and since i already built the bench top out of an old LIBERTY WWII SHIP HATCH i had to figure out what combination would work. I think this one works ok and i had these blue LYON (maybe my favorite old cabinet maker) bins that will hold some long bolts and stuff.

I'll work on the intro and editing the posts with pictures and comments and welcome all of you to join my ride while I GET ORGANIZED!!

PICS are of my little shed approx 6x13 with a 2x5 inset where the ship hatch bench is. as you can see it's a catch all and yes it's been a lot worse and even a lot better.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives

As you are already showing, amazing things can happen shop wise in smaller spaces.
I might need that drill press and the drawer bench it sits on, but even if I came to see you with a truck and roll of bills, i have no place to put it. My place is where it should be, and that tells me I have "enough".
I am privy to tons of construction cut offs and left over materials from my Son in Law's business and would love to have all these free (someone paid dearly for them) oak floorings and left over tile and granite slabs. I used to go over and get them weekly, but I am OUT of room for storage, getting old(er) and can only use so much stuff.
I think there is "liberation" with having less, and am becoming one who lets Lowe's and HD do the storage anymore.
Don't let your smaller space deter you one bit, and go for a GREAT SHOP, which you are already well on the way to having!
(Yes, I might be able to mount One more WiltonIf you find one you just can't store.

Best Regards
Herb

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

What I've been waiting on, Drives garage! Since you have to-do 16-20 still open, can I add one or two of my organization task to your list? Also, when you are working on a task, say task 3, will we have to go back to the reserved spot on page 1 to see it?

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

HS: thanks for the good words and i'll have to find your Wilton a big brother cause little brothers don't show up here at all and they are maybe more expensive.

yep I'm learning how to JUST SAY NO but it's not easy. it's like saying NO to sugar or honey or chocolate is to my SWEET TOOTH.

Shorty: i've always enjoyed reading your posts on other threads and i've meant to post on yours to see what you do when you aren't socializing on GJ. if you aren't too hard on me it should be a fun ride here so stick around. My plan on the posts i reserved that i've done on a couple other threads is to use it as an INDEX where i can post stuff as I go (or past Organizing or DIY projects) and i'll put the page # in the reference post.

I think one of them will be PROJECTS so once i get it set up i'll put MAILBOX on that thread with the page # you can find it.

another might be SHED so i'll try to keep it updated. I'm still GETTING THE THREAD ORGANIZED, but if i didn't start this soon some of the guys are totally in the dark what i'm ORGANIZING.

I almost named the thread DRIVESITFAR'S HARDWARE cause my dream is to start and complete a project without having to go to the store more than once.

so what would you like to add?? i'm not frail after raising 5 kids, but i do have feelings and my stuff is like maybe a 6th kid some days. maybe I should just sell it all and just get a dog.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Mailbox stand continued:

overall it took me more than a few hours of planning and work, but other than a restain with Sikkens every few years it's DONE.

working with 8x8's presents some cutting challenges such as cutting the 8 footers down to 6.5 feet, but i cut all 4 sides with my little Ryobi 18v skill saw and grabbed one of my old hand saws to cut out the middle and as they say "BOB'S YOUR UNCLE".

the router work would have been a lot easier if i could have found the bits i own and i didn't want to run buy one or two knowing that i might own several in a box here. using my Ryobi 18v skill saw to make several cuts in the 8x8's to chip out with a hammer and chisel worked ok, but a router with the right bit might have done a cleaner job.

I had some of these 6 inch screws with an 8 bit (called a spider bit) sort of torque head on them that I screwed the mailbox together with and the 4 inch lag bolts with the galvanized washers are more for decorations. I used long bolts to put together the pergola that work great, but i had these 6 inch screws and wanted to try them out. you don't need to pre drill to use these screws or bury the heads, but you can if you'd like a little cleaner look.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Interesting organization for the organizing thread.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Andy: thanks for stopping in. you know it's about 99% mental and the rest just becomes HABIT. if i can ORGANIZE MY THOUGHTS my stuff should follow is my thinking.

hope you are feeling better!!

ALL: a lot of you might know about the GET HEALTHY thread and if you do you know i've got a SWEET TOOTH. my bride tries to cure it with meals like this. here's the link for the get healthy thread if you want to try to feel better more often it takes work so maybe post up on that thread and see what goals you can set and do.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298568

cheers

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives since you have a eat healthy thread I am sure you have thought about using old bread pans for hardware. Does double duty reduces the risk of eating fresh bread and sorts out stuff into useful containers. They do work out pretty good and are cheap at garage sales.
Dave

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

WW: thanks for stopping in and yep i've got a few bread pans. I had a chance to buy maybe 200 of them at a garage sale and he told me to come back after the sale to talk about them and I had something come up and didn't get back and didn't get his number.

you'll see as i post more pictures that i've got quite a variety of metal cabinets and containers which i think are almost as cool as old tools.

take care

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drivesitfar - What area of the PNW are you in? I'm just south of Portland by the Willamette Falls.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Spyder: a couple hours north of you. here's the link for a thread i started in FREE PARKING for PNW guys and a lot of guys in Portland area post on it so start posting and we'll get to know you as you get to know us.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=314689

you've been a member for about ten years and might be the first post i've seen of yours and thanks for dropping in.

cheers

ALL: just resting after a good couple days of metal cabinet tetris. i'm going to level up my stout 5 foot wide cabinet in the morning cause it will drive my OCD crazy not being plumb.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives, I am truly impressed, you have done well.

Quick question: are you going to label all your storage drawers?

Regards

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

1/2: yep i've got several types of tape and a couple drawers full of sharpies to start. then once i'm satisfied with where things are I've got some of those old clickers that stamp names on things that are sticky to put on the drawers, or i might just keep using the tape. as you've maybe seen already I like using every square inch of space, but not overly concerned with paint colors at this time. if everything is level and plumb my OCD is pretty ok with all the colors.

i would like just army green and battleship grey for the majority and if you saw in a few pictures i'm putting cabinets in place before getting them restored cause it's not a great time of year to paint or use my BLO. as you might know I might like old vintage cabinets more than vises hence me always changing their positions which i've saved you from seeing the past couple years. if i don't have everything right yet i'll change later and i just need to get my stuff in them and use them instead of searching for them all the time.

thanks for stopping by and I'm sure i'll need some help as i start emptying all the bins and buckets of stuff to put in all the cabinets and bins.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage and DIY proj

And- about time !!!

LOL

Excited for you , it is a good ,( but at least for myself) , a difficult journey to start on BUT IT GETS EASIER AS YOU PROGRESS .
oops who hit that caps lock ? Watching your thread with interest and support

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Nice job on the mailbox Drives....looking forward to follow along on your projects.

Eric

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives, thanks for starting your new thread. I find your Journal participation always interesting. This may boost my drive to start my own thread, that and now my HOA graduated from DSL to fiber two weeks ago.

Have you measured how many oxygen molecules fit between your stuff and the tops of the garage doors?

Thanks, Rick

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

CoolB: thanks for the support.

Cap lock or did you just use the shift key like I do?

I have a clue how to GET ORGANIZED, but the real part I have a hard time with is just SAYING NO when cool old vises or tools or cabinets or STUFF is set in front of me.

I'm still learning so hopefully this thread will help some of you as much as I hope it helps me.

Stella: thanks for the support and the kudos on my mailbox stand.

if the members already posting haven't seen your cool property with your new home and cool garage and greenhouses they should cause it's very nice. WELL DONE!!

ALL: i just posted up more pictures of the cedar mailbox stand on post #5 and #14. i didn't get to my posts i'd saved for sort of an index so i'll use the first post and keep editing it as i go along and see how that works.

i'll probably post a few pictures of my Pergola that was my first attempt at building something for looks and not to use like a deck or a shed or cement work and i think it came out looking ok. it's 5 years old now and last year i took it apart to make some minor adjustments and resanded it and restained it so it shouldn't need much for a few more years now.

i'm heading out to the garage to add another metal plate under my stout 300-400 pound shelving unit cause most of the stuff on it now needs to go in a cabinet, to be sold or just given away. it's a plate in the back so no lifting today like yesterday when i had to remove the legs out of the 1.5 inch rubber mats that it sunk in to cause i can just tip it after i unload it. best to get it right now cause some mighty heavy iron is about ready to reside there soon.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Epic thread!

I gotta find the time to go threw this!

Have to wait till I have 2-3 hours to browse and digest it all!

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Turbo: thanks for finding my thread and for the support. the kudos and humor are welcome anytime too.

yep i'm not done yet, but i think there is also a few inches above the garage door too for long wood and copper plumbing (yep i hate the plastic stuff) so stay tuned.

ALL: I didn't really write a lot about why I only have a 9x15 portion of our 2 car garage other than i like to keep my bride out of the rain and snow and she has her craft wall that keeps her busy in her portion of our garage.

we sort of looked at moving for the last few years knowing that soon our little girl would move out (she's got spina-bifida and is 27 and going 100 mph), but even if she didn't she was barely around so easy to live with. what with property values up here going to the moon and not finding anything a lot better housewise (we own a 2000 sq. ft. no step one story home with a little water view), my bride finally agreed to allow me to build a new shed and make my little 6x13 maybe 10 feet longer and taller (yep more storage and a woodshop are in the works in the next few years).

ok back to ORGANIZING:

one thing that I really like is my HUGE LYON ROTOBIN that is 5.5 foot in diameter and rated for 2,000 pounds per shelf. what I didn't like was losing the 2.5 feet of storage above it and since i had some huge flat files on one side already that move has taken a bit. i decided to sell the grey Hamilton flat files that were on top cause i like the green Lyon brand better. and Lyon and army green are on top of my favorite's list.

after i removed the Hamiltons i started building a UNISTRUT support that i'm making wood shelves for and i've almost got it DONE. also lifting the Lyon flat files on top of the bigger Hamilton flat files was not easy by myself especially the top one, but they are in place and ready to be loaded. i'm going to use white duct tape and a sharpie if i think i'm going to keep the stuff in that drawer or painter's tape and a sharpie to maybe put stuff in a drawer to see if i like it there.

stay tuned and here's a few posts on my Unistrut shelving project.

also i'm going to mention my FSD (flat surface disease) and show you an example of it. with the benches full of stuff now that should go back in drawers and bins I might have a chance of having a bench free to work on without having to clean it off first. I also need to re install my vises and get a few more bins and shelves up so i can MAXIMIZE my space.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Sub: thanks for the support and you won't need that much time yet, but i do have more than a little organizing and more than a few TO DO'S and HONEY DO's and tools to buy and sell.

UNISTRUT SHELVING HANGING FROM CEILING:

this project not only will help me use the area above my big Lyon Rotobin, but I made it out of material I have laying around so a win win for me when i GET R DONE.

getting the holes drilled so each support would hang down and i could just bolt on the bottom and be level was the goal. instead of measuring each one from the roof or bottom of the joist and hoping i could see the tape measure up there with very little light i made sort of a jig out of a scrap piece of 2x6. i drilled a hole in it so i could easily get a sharpie in and used a Irwin bit that was pretty dull, but of course i couldn't find the box of newer ones. when i drilled the 3rd hole i had to push so hard that i hit a wire I had just move a few inches out of the way and luckily only tripped the breaker (an hour electrical fix happend after than and as i stepped off the chair i hit my head on the only support i could, but that's another hour's story). so i fixed the wire and luckily didn't have to go to the ER for my head wound and changed to a 5/8 spade bit for the last 3 holes.

finding all the bolts, nuts and washer since i own thousands that were not in their bins yet was a challenge, but i bolted it up and it's level and ready for wood. i cut the bottom shelf out of some 2x8x14's that i had in a pile and without hitting my head (or my wife's) I maximixed their length that covered the Lyon Rotobin.

the top shelf is not that tall so i'm using 1x6x6 cedar fence boards that are really an inch thick so if you to to buy these at HD's or Lowes you'll need to buy 5/4 wood. the single shelf will also have 2x8's, but i had to stop cutting cause i was outside on the ground (Yep need a wood bench with my Dewalt 12 inch miter saw built in it sooner rather than later or at least a Sublime68's rolling miter bench he made). that should help get more stuff off the floor and out of storage.

more pictures of UNISTRUT NEXT POST

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Unistrut shelving: yep i had to take a picture of my F'up with the drill bit meeting the electrical in case i want to put it over on the Safety 101 thread cause having a dull bit or not moving the wire up higher with even a nail would have saved me an hour's repair and a hard hit on the head. my wife was in the kitchen when i hit my head and we are having our 30th anniversary this month and she hadn't ever heard me yell those words that loud (yes empty nesting has it's privileges). anyway you'll all love this cause i'm making the splice inside another junction box close to the F'up and as i'm using my worst wire cutters i pulled so hard that when the little end of the plastic came off to show the copper i hit myself in the face. note to self when using DULL CUTTERS do not put yourself in harms way.

it's far from perfect, but with it almost done i can now get those Lyon flat files filled up and quit using my rotobin as a catch all.

also prior to me making a nice wood bench with my Dewalt compound miter built in i need to make up a few forms for each side of my saw when cutting long boards either on a bench or on the ground cause what i had in the picture on the ground under my 2x8's was a CLUSTER F'-/.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Unistrut shelving LOFT STYLE:

more pictures coming as i finish the wood shelves and put up my plastic storage bins. i'm thinking of maybe storing some long stuff up there on top shelf so we'll see if that works out or if i just use some long plastic short bins we used under the kid's beds to store their stuff before they moved.

Note: also if i need to put up more insulation or do some wiring above the rotobin I think i can climb on that 2x8 shelf i built instead or removing the flat files again. also i'm hoping to never move that Lyon rotobin again by myself cause even with 2 people it was a pain to take it apart and home and i've already moved it from my storage unit to my house as i'm vacating my storage units.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

ALL: speaking of electrical some friends of ours were working on their house and I get a call out of desperation that he was only trying to change out the dimmer switch cause the old dimmers don't dim LED's.

i used to have an electrical belt and a few drawers full of basics like wire nuts and supplies, but i moved them to a bigger metal cabinet that i couldn't remember if it was in my shop/storage so i went down there to take a look and hoped they had a few tools.

I'm not sure if the switches he removed had jumpers on it or not, but there was no way in hell he was going to get two switches to work with only one power wire in his box. I made a couple jumpers and damn those old wire nuts are tough on fingers that lost their calluses on the ends, but i got R done.

that led me to a search for my electrical stuff and i found some of it in these cool old metal bins, but since i've found some NEW OLD STOCK grey ones I decided to swap them out even though i'm not a huge fan of plastic if metal is available.

the old orange bins are being passed on to another local member, but i'm keeping the 4 drawer cabinet to store my new grey ones in. i moved the stuff in 2 of the bins so far and i think the cabinet will fit on my stout shelf so crossing fingers i won't have to adjust one of those heavy shelves.

GOT WIRE NUTS??

more electrical to follow as i get my DIY section organized.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives, congratulations on the new thread. I also have difficulty getting organized.

Four years ago I bought a wire rack from Costco to get a bunch of stuff off the floor (after a small self-inflicted flood). I thought it would help organize parts for my project car. The rack came with four casters but I thought it would work better as two racks on wheels.


Over time things piled up higher and higher on the top of those racks so I did the Tetris thing and re-assembled them as a single rack, taking up less floor space.


Unfortunately this means the stuff stacked on top of the two racks didn't fit. Now the workbench is covered with all that stuff.


Organizing is an ongoing battle so don't worry if it doesn't happen overnight. Your GJ fans are rooting for you!

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Bob: another great post as per the usual for you and thank you very very much for the pictures. I've went to commercial type racks to replace those little chrome ones in my shop/storage which is something you might consider if you can squeeze one in between your Caddy and your Vette.

here's one at my storage unit that is only 2 feet deep, but it's 12 foot tall and what i like is you can put toolboxes, lawnmowers, cabinets or whatever under the shelves cause you don't need a shelve(beam) on the floor level.

another maybe better solution is the Costco Whalen racks that are 2 feet deep, have wire shelves and are 6.5 feet tall and wide for $150 or $125 if you hit their in store sale which i think was going on last week so might still be there cause i think it's only a couple times a year.

thanks again for stopping in and I'm hoping to make more time to visit your thread and hear all those great stories so be prepared for a lot of questions.

thanks for the support and great post

ALL: here's a few pics. also for all of you that have the space if you buy 2 shelving units you can make about a 20 foot long run of shelving as in the picture

I just sold the grey 350 pound Shaw Walker fireproof cabinet and thinking i'm going to keep the 2 smaller green ones that only weigh about 250 pounds each. that 66 inch tall Addressograph isn't full and i've moved it a few times, but it weighs like 600 pounds with the drawers out of it. remember the old department stores pulling out your parents or grandparents credit card from one of these old files and swiping it and handing them a carbon copy. man the younger guys barely know what a paper reciept is.

cheers

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Getting organized is such a gratifying experience. You really get to see a change in the area you are working in. Others may not notice, but you always can. I’ve been working on my garage as well and after reading this, I’m excited to get out there!

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Unruh: thanks for stopping in and I hope to learn a lot from all of you and maybe a few of you will learn a few things from me.

good to hear you are inspired about ORGANIZING YOUR GARAGE cause even if do get it ORGANIZED it's like losing weight cause you have to maintain it constantly.

ALL: i haven't parked my own car in my garage for maybe 15 years since my youngest son was a teenager and i wanted to turn it into a gym so his weak looking friends could work out with him and not have to go to a commercial gym and deal with all that goes with that.

here's pictures of maybe the most ORGANIZED GYM in a 9x15 space of anybody i know that i moved some into one of the kid's old bedrooms and sold off most of the rest of it. you really only need a VERSACLIMBER or some form of cardio, dumbbells (Ironmasters were my favorite adjustables) and a good bench. maybe a power rack with olympic bar and weights if you have the space, but that should get you to the big boys gyms or at least in great shape.

for those of you that have more questions about what i have in my old gym or the brands or if they were worth having just ask.

IF i had higher ceilings inside my house i would have never sold my VERSACLIMBER cause you can get a good workout in a few minutes, but my ceilings are only 7.5 and i've got a flat roofed home and you need 8.5 or 9.5 feet for these.

1) www.frankzane.com leg blaster is another item i shouldn't have sold
2) www.promaxima p-143 multy-hip is how i fixed my kneecap that had hurt 24/7 for maybe 3 years without surgery
3) www.ironmaster.com has great adjustable dumbbells and i owned two sets up to 165 pounds each, but 120's are plenty unless you are benching them
4) www.shermworks.com is a safe way to work out if you don't have a spotter or power rack, but he also has spotters for ironmasters so you can pre set your dumbbells and not have to slam them on your legs or drop on the floor
5) www.ironmind.com is a great place to get a lot of cool things and i still have a set of Captains of Crush and I might take another run at closing a #3 cause i did the #2.5 two times which I thought was ok
6) www.versaclimber.com great customer service and these are not cheap, but i've seen 30 year old ones that still work great if you remember to wipe all the sweat off them and grease and clean them once in a while
7) ... i'll add more later and I'm heading to the garage to move that big shelf now

cheers

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives--Great start to your thread. Good luck organizing your HARDWARE STORE and losing yer gut while you do it. Here are my favorite tips:
1. Shelves are nice but drawers provide more compact storage.
2. Have the Procurement Department close ALL open orders.
3. Create a mindset for surplus property disposal. Some items are out of date. Some will never be used. Sell, give away, or Goodwill your excess.

Keep us updated so we can share your victories.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

If this is anything like your building the chair topic I can see it is going to be great to follow. Even though you have had a couple of false starts.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Drives - Great job on the mailbox, unistrut shelving and this thread. Keep at it.

Re: DRIVESITFAR IS GETTING ORGANIZED in his 9x15 portion of 2 car garage. DIY’s & COO

Jim: thanks for the tips and all I can say is I'll try to control the PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT.

Fr8: thanks for the Kudos and I should have started the thread at midnight so i could have filled in the first few posts with more pictures and details, but I'll see if I can recover and GET ORGANIZED which is actually the goal and I hope a lot of members follow along to learn, help and enjoy my adventure.

yep my little girl (27 years old) moved and took her wedding dancing chair with her to her new home with her hubby. so far they've just adopted cats, but that little girl does not think she's handicapped as you can see in my sig line. for those of you that missed that thread here's the link.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348709&highlight=wedding+chair

Bunk: thanks for the Kudos and glad to have you along for the ride. I probably could have bought the unistrut connections where the horizontal ones attached to the vertical ones, but since i was doing this project out of free materials i already owned i thought i'd see if the grade 8 bolts i used will hold up with a few washers. thanks again for your help on that.

ALL: well i went in the garage dressed for maybe below freezing temps and after moving the stout 5 foot 300-350 pound shelving unit for the 3rd time to get it level, plumb and in the right position i don't think i'll have to move my 80 pound Reed 2c from the top shelf again until i mount it on one of my benches. damn that's not a light vise to lift over your head and on a little step ladder. speaking of ladders i had a plan and damn if it didn't work cause i thought the space behind the stout shelf would be a great spot for one of my little giant ladders and OMG IT FIT. also grabbing the ladder guess what i found? yep one of my hydraulic jacks that might have been useful on the first attempt of lift up the stout shelving unit to get it on steel plates. well it's in it's new home now too.

i'm more than a little sweaty cause i also moved my big Reed 4c off the floor so it can sit on that shelf until i make a stand for it. i also decided to not make my STOUT SHELF A CATCH ALL (am I trying to cure my FSD?) so i only put KEEPERS back on the shelf and the rest is heading to storage, to organize there.

I also was needing a good spot for a garbage can and after moving my big Reed 4c one magically appeared next to the WALL OF SHAME that I WILL DO SOMETHING WITH ONE DAY.

hope you are all enjoying your SUNDAY.

cheers (ice tea for this old guy)