Ambitious but.... (2+1)

[maxchevy]

Hello all,

I stumbled across this website with searches about detailing cars; I have always been a wash and wax guy but I was trying to step it up a notch. I am extremely excited about this site and have spent most of my time here going through some amazing garages.

I am generating this thread to help keep me motivated and track my progress and hopefully one day it will be an inspiration to others as many of the garages on here are to me.

About the garage:

This is my third garage and I was lucky enough to find a house with a three car garage (double bay on one side and single bay on other). We moved in roughly 6 months ago so I am still dealing with some of the moving mess although it is greatly improved in the past couple months.

Objective: Create an open area with maximum floor space available and have a neat but also some what of an organized clutter appearance.

My goals so far (not necessarily in order):

1. create an outdoor storage to remove lawn equipment from garage

2. install additional shelving/cabinets on walls

3. move items rarely used to attic

4. improve overall organization

5. improve lighting

6. epoxy coat flooring

This will not be a quick process due to life (just had first baby!)..

Also welcome any criticism and suggestions.

Thank you all for reading, I will post some pictures of my starting point.

 

[roscoe2000]

Sounds like a good start, I would add electrical to the mix for present and future power requirement.

 

[maxchevy]

I took these pictures as the garage was for a real starting point.



Wall with entrance to house, good area for my work area but the stair case protruding into the space was/is really throwing me off on how to make the best use of space. Yesterday I purchased another rolling cabinet for more drawer space...



Opposite wall: Most of this junk will be moved else where. I never knew I would enjoy having windows in a garage so much... On a hot day they provide a nice flow of air.



Back wall: My goal is to get rid of the shelves and replace with wall mounted shelving. I hope to keep the cabinet as I really like it but I want to be able to park my truck on either side of garage and cannot have anything against the wall to do so... I will try it placed in middle of wall though.



Lighting: as you can see the lighting is terrible. My first upgrade was the 8' t5 HO fixture with 4 bulbs (compared to the other 4' two bulb fixture).

 

[maxchevy]

The single bay:



My major problem in this garage is the left over brick (behind the cardboard on the left) It is stacked 4' high and the width of a pallet. I have already moved some of the other brick.. I will most likely use the brick for a foundation for a shed.



I installed the shelves and tracks with attachments fairly quickly after move in to at least store some stuff... This arrangement will most like change over time.

I will also most likely store the bikes on the front wall with... but that may also change... I have yet to come up with a way to store bikes that doesn't drive me crazy but I have a new option that I am going to try.

The single bay has the highest ceilings which allows for better storage up high. The double bay has a room over head which puts the ceilings down to 8'.

 

[maxchevy]

Do yourself a huge favor.
Go today, and buy the harbor freight portable garage.
They are 10x17', 7'+- at the edges and higher at the peak.
$179
Put some stuff in it tomorrow that is cluttering the garage.
No excuses, do it.
Many here will decide for you that the HF stuff has no value.
If it only lasts a year [it will last five-ish years pretty easy], your redundant or not particularly in need of prime space stuff will be the hell out of your way.

Today is the day.
No excuses. No other $179 is going to give you near the value, maybe ever again, in your garage quest.

Thank you for your input! I will most certainly go investigate today.. (luckily I am at work and HF is about a mile from me)

 

[maxchevy]

Sounds like a good start, I would add electrical to the mix for present and future power requirement.

Yes! I did forget to mention electrical.. my first garage had one, ONE outlet! The second home we built and I was able to put outlets wherever I wanted and had tv pre wired.. it was awesome.

This garage has at least an outlet or two on each wall... for now I am not bothered by outlets but we do have a good electrician that has already added some outlets for us in the house.. and as of now I don't have a need for 220 but future projects will determine that addition.

 

[maxchevy]

This really a picture of my truck.. but you can see a bit of my first garage... It was disorganized and drywall was coming down in places. The major upgrade I did there was convert to a single garage door instead of two doors with post in the middle.. I really don't know why builders do the double doors here in Texas with every other person drives a truck.

I will try to find other pictures of previous garages to better see what has led me to this point.

 

[55cadillacking]

Hello all,

I stumbled across this website with searches about detailing cars; I have always been a wash and wax guy but I was trying to step it up a notch.

Well, you have come to the right place. Stepping it up a notch is ALL this site is about! I was in a position similar to yours 4.5 years ago. New house, new garage, new son, not a lot of spare time, needed to get the non-essential stuff out of the garage...IT CAN BE DONE! Best of luck to you.

 

[maxchevy]

Well, you have come to the right place. Stepping it up a notch is ALL this site is about! I was in a position similar to yours 4.5 years ago. New house, new garage, new son, not a lot of spare time, needed to get the non-essential stuff out of the garage...IT CAN BE DONE! Best of luck to you.

Thank you sir! Your garage has been one of my top motivators and inspiration! Simply incredible!

 

[wasfast]

Perhaps the most space efficient use of the angled section under the stairs is to frame a short section that's wide enough to put a compressor and shop vac in or similar things that can be out of the way most of the time.

I'm thinking perhaps 3' when looking directly at the wall with a 30" door. Then you have a straight wall to put your other storage cabinets against. Food for thought.

 

[bczygan]

Yes! I did forget to mention electrical.. my first garage had one, ONE outlet! The second home we built and I was able to put outlets wherever I wanted and had tv pre wired.. it was awesome.

This garage has at least an outlet or two on each wall... for now I am not bothered by outlets but we do have a good electrician that has already added some outlets for us in the house.. and as of now I don't have a need for 220 but future projects will determine that addition.

Oh, you NEED 220.........You just don't know it yet!

Bill

 

[ZRX61]

Many here will decide for you that the HF stuff has no value.
If it only lasts a year [it will last five-ish years pretty easy].

Maybe where you live. Here they are scrap within a month. I figure somewhere out near Barstow are the covers off at least 100 of them judging by the naked frames I see around town.

 

[taumac]

Do you have a overall pic of how the 2 bay and 3rd bay connect? Looking forward to future progress.

 

[maxchevy]

Oh, you NEED 220.........You just don't know it yet!

Bill

That's what I'm afraid of!

Do you have a overall pic of how the 2 bay and 3rd bay connect? Looking forward to future progress.

My least favorite part is the drive way/garage placement. Getting my truck in and out is kind of a pain sometimes...Although some houses in the neighborhood with a similar configuration have a driveway so narrow there is no way I could swing the truck in.

Note: this picture was borrowed from street view which was a couple of years ago based on how young the trees look... The grass is 10x better than pictured here so don't judge me

 

[taumac]

I can see that. I think you have to swing all over to the right then hard left to the grass and back it in the double bay.
As for the single it's either a series of k turns or back it up the drive. I like to back all my vehicles in

 

[maxchevy]

Hello all,

Looking for some opinions; My current plan is to install craftsman cabinets above the work bench to match the bench and tool chests. On the back wall I am thinking of going with gladiator cabinets to match the gladiator shelves that I love so much (plan on installing two more gladiator shelves on back wall similar to what is in single bay garage with the coolers on them).

I would normally prefer to stick with one brand/look but I think because they are on different walls I will be ok with it. Let me know if I'm putting too much thought into it or if I should do craftsman cabinets on back wall next to the gladiator shelving.

Here is a quick mock up of the back wall that I am planning.



or

 

[taumac]

I like the second myself. IMO you can mismatch stuff if you have a common color involved. I have older Craftsman one one wall and HF on other. I repainted the red sections on the craftsman to match the HF 44's.

 

[maxchevy]

I like the second myself. IMO you can mismatch stuff if you have a common color involved. I have older Craftsman one one wall and HF on other. I repainted the red sections on the craftsman to match the HF 44's.

Thank you for input!

I went ahead and stopped at Lowes on the way home and picked up 3 cabinets, I should actually be able to fit 4 cabinets and 2 shelves so I will pick up another one from another location at some point. They price matched gladiators website as well so I saved $60. Hopefully will get them up within the week.

 

[sublime68charger]

Nice looking place and garage area!

Put your location in your avatar

It helps a lot with some questions you'll have going forward if people can know your rough location.

Nice old truck what are the specs on that?

 

[taumac]

I think cabinets in the middle and then shelves flanking them on each side would be nice look.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

[maxchevy]

Nice looking place and garage area!

Put your location in your avatar

It helps a lot with some questions you'll have going forward if people can know your rough location.

Nice old truck what are the specs on that?

Done!

The truck is a 47 dodge 1 ton (wd-20), all original drivetrain with a flathead six. Its currently at a shop getting converted to a 12 volt and replacing all wiring and going through the fuel system. It was my grandpa's truck and sat in his barn for about 40 years. The initial restore was kind of botched..I'm still getting over that. but it will look good 50/50 (if it will go 50 mph, lol)

I think cabinets in the middle and then shelves flanking them on each side would be nice look.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

Thank you, I do like that as well...

Here are a couple examples of that - for whatever reason gladiator is not letting me adjust the wall length properly. I should be able to fit 4 cabinets and 2 shelves as mentioned earlier.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Looking good! I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.... Having our first baby recently I understand the challenge to getting it all done both in the garage and in the house...

 

[maxchevy]

Looking good! I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.... Having our first baby recently I understand the challenge to getting it all done both in the garage and in the house...

Thank you!

I did manage to get two of the cabinets together last night, they were very simple to get together... the second one took me about 10 minutes.

 

[maxchevy]

I made a little progress today; three of the cabinets are up. Slowly but surely!





Did a little work on the detailing corner the other day; tidied it up a bit...



here is a picture with both cars in the double bay

 

[maxchevy]

My garage turned into a disaster zone yesterday; it had to get worse before it gets better. Managed to get the rest of the cabinets up. The shelf at the end of the cabinets did not want to go up however.







The wall in the corner is beyond not straight...the shelf won't sit in the track completely. I tried shimming the tracks to straighten them up but eventually called it a night after the shelf fell on me a couple of times. I have not had this problem with these shelves before.


Hoping to get things somewhat back in order tonight to get both cars back in.

 

[maxchevy]

Brought the other truck home today. So I spent some time reorganizing/throwing away. I also put some plywood down in the attic to aid in additional storage.

I am excited about how things have cleaned up, space will only get better with the addition of an outdoor shed (hopefully soon).


Got the brick removed.



Single bay is better organized now - Finally got the bike on the wall and I managed to re-used the craftsman cabinet.



This wall should clean up quite a bit with outdoor storage, but the clutter is reduced a bit so far.



Dodge in garage!



First time to have three cars in!

Just that much closer to getting to some flooring and some descent paint on the walls.

 

[maxchevy]

I was able to spend some time in the garage the past week. Mostly continued organization and throwing away of stuff. The single bay has gone a little different direction than planned. Once I initially cleaned it I realized I will probably never have a vehicle in that garage that needed the full length. I added some husky chests with work tops for some added drawer space.

So far I am very happy with them; they are great for storing my jack stands, some extra dodge parts, and some misc tools and things I don't use as often.

I did get a little plastic shed that I still need to put together but I did get the base down which was a task in 90+ degree weather. For now I am storing most of my yard equipment on the back patio.

We have also added a new, more family friendly vehicle to the garage. The car seat did not exactly fit in the old "sport" sedan. It is a tight fit through the single door but has descent room inside on all sides.

Here are some quick pictures of the changes:

 

[taumac]

Looks great and congrats on getting all the vehicles inside.

 

[ajohno]

Like what you have done.
Also like the look of your new car.

 

[HemiRamOn22s]

Garages are already looking better! nice work!

 

[onemanarmy]

man. looks good. maybe selling some of those Yetis could finance a garage renovation or truck restoration.

 

[XAMfed]

man. looks good. maybe selling some of those Yetis could finance a garage renovation or truck restoration.

I was thinking the same thing

 

[alexl]

Now that is a man who looks to keep his drinks cold. A cooler for every mood. Looking good!

 

[maxchevy]

Looks great and congrats on getting all the vehicles inside.

Like what you have done.
Also like the look of your new car.

Garages are already looking better! nice work!

Thank ya'll very much

man. looks good. maybe selling some of those Yetis could finance a garage renovation or truck restoration.

I was thinking the same thing

Thanks! if I sold my coolers I wouldn't be cool anymore

Now that is a man who looks to keep his drinks cold. A cooler for every mood. Looking good!

Thank you, they do come in handy for whatever situation

 

[maxchevy]

It's been a while since last update:



Removed old work bench and one tool box. Added new age cabinets.

Added a shop light over the work area and ran power for two more light fixtures in the garage. I may install them at some point but for now am very happy with just having a shop light.




The back wall has been cleaned up. Still organizing and getting rid of stuff. I will add a shelf on the opposite side soon.

 

[maxchevy]

Small update:

Added the last shelf in the corner of the garage, added some over head storage for parts storage. Also added some more Newage cabinets for a cleaner look. My intention was to replace the one gladiator cabinet, but noticed the cabinets were updated to a new look. I found some good deals on the old style and went ahead with adding the five drawer.

I think I finally decided on the flooring. I am getting a quote from a company that came highly recommended here in Houston for epoxy.



Over head storage, cleaned up the floor and is out of sight when door is up



Shelf installed.



New cabinets. I have not completed installation of the top or fastened them together. I will finish that when floors are done.

 

[bczygan]

I see a lot of OCD going on there, and it is great inspiration for me, and others I'm sure.

Any progress on that shed planning? What are you thinking of doing?

As always, we recommend making it as big as is allowed.

Bill (King of sheds)

 

[maxchevy]

I see a lot of OCD going on there, and it is great inspiration for me, and others I'm sure.

Any progress on that shed planning? What are you thinking of doing?

As always, we recommend making it as big as is allowed.

Bill (King of sheds)

Thank you, I did put up a small plastic shed, which helped and was an easy fix. I will be adding another shed, most likely will build myself to make the most out of the space I want to put it in. Between the two I should have enough to store the majority of yard tools/generator/pressure washer. I will be sure to post pictures when I get started.

Thanks again,

Paul

 

[maxchevy]

I ended up winning an online auction on this vise (3.5" bullet), I put the minimum bid in and actually won. I was quite surprised and am really happy I won. I needed to replace the Wilton vise I sold with my work bench and with influence from the vises on here, I decided to look for a vintage Wilton.



After I partially disassembled the vise, I do not see a date code; This may be a bit of a Frankenstein. Either way I am sure I will be very happy with it.



Initially I (if I won the auction) planned on repainting the vise, but I really like the patina. I now plan to tear it down and clean up the mechanical pieces and re-assemble. It does not open/close as smooth as I think it could.



Here are some quick pictures when I opened the package.

 

[maxchevy]

Finished the vise; think it cleaned up well and opens without the hang ups it had before.



Disassembled and used engine degreaser and simple green for the clean up. The screw had a lot of gunk built up in the threads. Used some Scotch-brite to remove most of the red and white marks as well as general clean up. Used gear oil on the jaw and synthetic grease on the screw. Once back together I put some WD-40 silicone protectant on it.



I noticed the pins in the end piece did not extend into the nut. I called Wilton technical support and they were very helpful. Bought some new pins based on his recommendation. He also said the jaw may have been replaced at some point in time and that is why there is no date code.





Pin is flush with body, the nut just fell out when dust cap was removed.





New pin next to old one. The new pin is still 5mm shorter than what it should be but it holds the nut in place and all I could find locally.











Re-assembled