24x30 Getting an Overhaul

[OutlawDrifter]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have worked out of my current 24x30 detached for 5 years. Slowly I have been turning it into a more useful work space and less of a catch all. This Spring I'm sprucing up an open face building we have on our property and enclosing it to be our garden shed/storage facility. It is approximately 18x27ish.

My goal is to get all of the non-workshop related items as possible out of my garage to maximize the space. This will include the 2 mowers, all of the kid stuff, garden tools, outdoor decorations, pool stuff, etc.

During the 2011/12 Winter I did a complete drive train overhaul on my Z28 in this garage and it worked out pretty well, just cramped. The Z28 and my wife's SUV reside in the garage when parked, unless I'm out there working.

Currently I have an 8'x2' bench made out of 4"x4"s 2"x6"s and 3/4" plywood with an 11 gauge formed top. Performax tool box/chest combo and a roller cart with 4 drawers. Lot's of homemade shelving, and a beer fridge.

I just purchased a 60 gallon air compressor that will soon be installed to replace a 21gal HF unit. I do a lot of painting and use a lot of air tools, so I needed more capacity.

In intend to make more storage room, organize my parts/tools better, and make a better usable space, this will include a convertible paint booth.

More to come with pictures.

 

[GDPossehl]

That's roughly the size of my garage. Looking forward to seeing how you've used the space.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Welcome! My best advice is to add a shed in the yard somewhere if possible... I feel your pain, I share my garage with my wives SUV.

 

[Bib Overalls]

My goal is to get all of the non-workshop related items as possible out of my garage to maximize the space. This will include the 2 mowers, all of the kid stuff, garden tools, outdoor decorations, pool stuff, etc.

Did that a couple of years ago. Built a 16' x 24' metal clad frame building for anything related to the pool, yard, wood working, or just storage. My wife calls it her "shop" but now that I have heat, air conditioning, and insulation in my shop her projects have started migrating back. What can a poor man do?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

haha, i have a feeling not everything will get moved to the "new" building. just getting the zero turn, JD 318, garden tools, totes, and kid toys out will make a big difference. i'm working on getting another 220v outlet put in for my new 60gal air compressor this weekend hopefully. that garage needs a good cleaning, and my work bench needs cleaned off from the winter pileup.

 

[diypolebarns]

Lot's to plan and do, but it will be all worth it in the end. Can't wait to watch this thread as you add pics throughout your project.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

wow, this thread needs an update!

well, as normal, life has been going on since my last post. blown head gasket in one of my daughter's cars, spring sports, mowing, etc etc.

2 weeks ago i finally had a chance to get the air compressor wired up and in place. this weekend i built the air dryer out of black pipe. i just need to get it mounted to a frame and then to the wall so i can finish the rest of my plumbing.

i haven't done squat on the open face building, but i have cleaned off my bench about 6 or 7 times since my last post!

pictures to come in a day or two.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

well a day or two or three weeks, whatever!

did a serious clean out, rearrange, and shake down on the garage yesterday.

here is the outcome:

the black pipe dryer is hung and all the plumbing is finished.


made a quick hose hanger as a temporary storage solution:


here are some shots of the perimeter as it stands:











underneath my bench houses the mig welder, plasma cutter, chop saw, 10" sliding miter, 38lbs of rags, my cordless combo, and some empty tool boxes. on top is my 5 speed drill press.

everything in the garage that i build is taller than normal, bench, vise stand, etc. i don't like bending over to work.

 

[captain14]

Nice looking shop. Do you have heat for the winter?

Is the compressor secured to the wall or does it just sit on the pallet?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Nice looking shop. Do you have heat for the winter?

Is the compressor secured to the wall or does it just sit on the pallet?

captain, thanks for the kind words.

i run an oil radiator in the winter 100% of the time. keeps it around 50* and doesn't use much electricity. when i'm working in there i kick on 2 space heaters and that gets it into the high 60's in a hurry, very comfortable to work in.

the compressor is not secured to the wall at this time. it had some hard use this weekend and didn't move. i may eventually do something to strap it down, but i'm not worried about it at this time. when i get my lean-to enclosed and get all of the kid stuff, gardening tools, and mowers out of the garage the compressor may move, so i'm not doing anything permanent right now.

 

[sunsation288]

Keep the picture coming ...like you know we love picture

 

[spanny749]

looks nice, just wondering what the deal is with the air piping?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Cheap air dryer. Black pipe cools the air and the drops at the bottom catch the moisture.

 

[spanny749]

Doesn't the air pick up the moisture again as it passes through the drops? how often do you have to crack the valves? sorry for the questions, i have just never seen anything like it.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Doesn't the air pick up the moisture again as it passes through the drops? how often do you have to crack the valves? sorry for the questions, i have just never seen anything like it.

No and it depends on how much you use the compressor. Do a search there are a lot of threads on the topic. More reading than I can provide you with in a single post.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

picked up (6) 4' LED light fixtures at sam's club the other day, they were on sale for $36. just need some time to figure out exactly where they will go.

summer sports for the kids and trying to get the yard mowed between the rains has taken up most of my spare time as of late.

i've been trying to source some of the rustoleum hammered paint in the verde green color or light blue to start making my space look 60's machine shop vintage, but it appears it's difficult to come by. might have to buy off of amazon, i did see that kilz also supposedly has a similar product. need to do some more research on that.

 

[sublime68charger]

nice looking garage

have a pic of how the outside looks?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

sublime, i'll take some pictures of the outside if it will ever stop raining.

picked up some 4' LED's at sam's club for $36/unit. plugged one in and was very impressed with how much light they put out. instant on is nice also. i should probably pick up one or two more to do everything i need.




also, i'm running out of space in my tool box combo and roller cart. well to be honest it's overflowing. so i'm on the hunt for another roller chest. i have it narrowed down to the husky 52" 11 drawer unit (22" deep), or the harbor freight 44" bottom. i also acquired a full set of kitchen cabinets and bases, need to make a plan to put it all in!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

i recently hung all but one of my LED lights. wow, what a difference! i can't believe how much light these things put out, it's like a new garage, even in the daylight.

no pictures at this moment of the lighting. i do have some of my convertible paint booth in action. i had to put a cab corner in my pickup and decided to two-tone it during the process.

my 60gal kobalt compressor that i picked up new for $100 with an extended 5yr warranty worked great! i had my doubts, but it rarely cycled and with my black pipe dryer, provided my with ample amount of clean dry air.

before and after's of the pickup





some of the work in while in progress









one close up that shows the pinstripe detail

 

[OutlawDrifter]

made some progress this weekend.

picked up some cabinets on trade and a few sheets of osb. the osb will be painted a tan or cream color, just didn't have time this weekend. loving the new storage space. it has some more finish work to be done, but this is a good start in the right direction.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

picked up this husky 52" combo yesterday. stopped in to a home depot that hadn't carried these all summer, they had 3. one had a dent in the left side of the top box, so after a little bargaining, i went home with a reduced price box. i can't believe how much space there is in this box. i've read a lot of reviews, both on this site, and elsewhere. this box should be the last one i need.

makes me wonder how i survived out of my 27" performax top and bottom and 4 drawer roller cart!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

loooong time since an update. finally got my 18x31 car port put up. it has 10'x18' of enclosed space with a 6'x6' garage door. this is key in my setup. all the non essential things in my garage like pool stuff, mowers, wife's decorations, etc, will now be moved out to this space freeing up some much needed area.

i've also completed some other projects since i last posted, i've got all of next week off so i intend to "finish up" the interior of my garage. pictures to follow.

 

[Bib Overalls]

We painted my Model A coupe in my shop using a "booth" made out of thin plastic wrap draped over everything. I'm still finding spring clamps holding a patch of plastic hooked to rafters, shelves, and the occasional stud. Job came came out nice. A little hard on the floor but that is OK. It is a shop

 

[OutlawDrifter]

yes i'll have staples in my rafters forever. no big deal. the next one is getting built with pvc frame. i don't worry about the floor, it's had a lot worse stuff than paint overspray on it!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

switched gears again in the garage. current setup is OK, but i think i can maximize the space and workflow better now that i've got a feel for the bulk of my benches, boxes, fixtures, etc.

so i'm going to chop the big metal top bench down, make some modification to create a corner bench with built in desk. build and hang some overhead storage around the working space and on the other side of the garage. move all my free standing components to where the bench is now: drill press, 6" grinder, "anvil", vise...and possibly a bandsaw i'm going to look at this weekend.

all of this will include paint and some more lighting upgrades. progress will be slow, as most of my free time is divided between kids' sports and my wife's kitchen/dining room upgrades.

 

[tjdux]

Thats a great shop you have there and some great home done body work. Is that something you picked up or actual occupation?

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[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks for the kind words. Just something I picked up along the way, no formal schooling or teaching.

 

[Ada-cv]

Regarding your dryer. I had a manufacturing shop with a 28 foot spray booth and average 12 guys working with air drills, sanders etc. I had two large compressors plumbed together running through a larger version of your dryer and it worked perfect for years. We drained the system every couple of days. Good to see some else doing it. Your shop is looking great, keep it up.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Thanks for the kind words. Most of the stuff in this garage will be moved to the new 36x40 I'm constructing now, link is in my signature. This will remain the woodshop and be reverted back to some storage for the Mrs.

 

[tjdux]

About what partbof kansas do you hail? We may not be too far away

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[OutlawDrifter]

Northeast corner.

 

[tjdux]

Northeast corner.

Im 15 mins north of the border into nebraska. Pretty close to the center but more eastern side. Couldn't be more than an hour or so apart. Always neat to see how small the world is.

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