TeeJayHoward
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 33
Hi guys, long time reader, first(ish) time poster.
Some of the most beautiful garages I have ever seen are on this board. Folks here have come up with brilliant methods of organizing, hiding, and/or storing their tools. I've been introduced to brands I didn't know existed, and given second looks at brands I thought were trash. Anyway, I come to you today to ask for advice.
I'm gonna marry one heck of a gal. She's got a beautiful little starter home for the two of us, but I find the garage a little... Lacking. It's a 12x20 one-car garage - Not the biggest place. I'm a bit of a car guy. I don't care if it's a grocery getter, muscle car, rice rocket, or restored classic, I just plain love cars. In the 10 years I've been driving, I've owned almost 20 different vehicles. I'd buy a new project, get it running, lose interest/time/money, and sell it, normally for a loss. Prior to moving in with my fiancee, I always worked on dirt, in a parking lot, or under a carport. Whenever I'd need a ratchet, I'd have to run back inside, grab one out of my closet, and head back out. Heaven help me if I needed one while I was holding something!
Since I've moved in, I've come to appreciate just how useful a proper workspace is. Unfortunately, our house is a little on the small side, so things tend to get pushed into the garage. I'd like to build a little shed to house the garden tools, bikes, and lawnmower, and take over the garage as my own little slice of heaven. What I'm looking for right now are ideas. I've looked through the tandem and single car garage thread, and most of those are a palace compared to my little 240sqft cinderblock garage. I've got a window taking up valuable space along one wall, a door taking up space on another, the sprinkler system and overhead power on the third wall, and not enough depth on either side of the wall to open a toolchest without bumping the car.
I have more tools than I really need right now. Your basic set of wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, files, hammers, and assorted car-related specialty tools. They all fit nicely in my bottom box. Enough so that I'd like to get rid of my top box, and use that space as a countertop. However, what I don't seem to see in a lot of the garages online are places for the odd bits and ends... And I have quite a few of them. Bungie cords, tow lights, tow ropes, extension cords, cable splitters, etc. I'd also like to find an asthetically appealing way to store my power tools. Right now, they're just taking up my bottom two drawers, and I need to shuffle through them to get to the one I want. Not too happy about my angle grinder scraping up my work light, or my drill cord getting caught up in my sawzall, things like that.
As you can see in the photos, I've also got a baker's rack full of assorted fluids, jackstands, and other junk. I'd love to replace the baker's rack with a matching cabinet. I even measured it out... In order to do that, I'd have to tear down the existing cabinets. And if I were to do that, I'd probably want to put up furring and sheetrock, mud and paint, maybe refinish the floor, install some shoplights, maybe remove the attic floor and add a lift... I'm sure you know how it goes. One thing leads to another and all of a sudden you're $10K lighter.
Anyway, I guess I'm just introducing myself and asking for some ideas. Anything you can toss my way would be helpful!
Oh, please ignore the clothes hanging up. I'm trying to sell 'em on craigslist - no room to store 'em!
Some of the most beautiful garages I have ever seen are on this board. Folks here have come up with brilliant methods of organizing, hiding, and/or storing their tools. I've been introduced to brands I didn't know existed, and given second looks at brands I thought were trash. Anyway, I come to you today to ask for advice.
I'm gonna marry one heck of a gal. She's got a beautiful little starter home for the two of us, but I find the garage a little... Lacking. It's a 12x20 one-car garage - Not the biggest place. I'm a bit of a car guy. I don't care if it's a grocery getter, muscle car, rice rocket, or restored classic, I just plain love cars. In the 10 years I've been driving, I've owned almost 20 different vehicles. I'd buy a new project, get it running, lose interest/time/money, and sell it, normally for a loss. Prior to moving in with my fiancee, I always worked on dirt, in a parking lot, or under a carport. Whenever I'd need a ratchet, I'd have to run back inside, grab one out of my closet, and head back out. Heaven help me if I needed one while I was holding something!
Since I've moved in, I've come to appreciate just how useful a proper workspace is. Unfortunately, our house is a little on the small side, so things tend to get pushed into the garage. I'd like to build a little shed to house the garden tools, bikes, and lawnmower, and take over the garage as my own little slice of heaven. What I'm looking for right now are ideas. I've looked through the tandem and single car garage thread, and most of those are a palace compared to my little 240sqft cinderblock garage. I've got a window taking up valuable space along one wall, a door taking up space on another, the sprinkler system and overhead power on the third wall, and not enough depth on either side of the wall to open a toolchest without bumping the car.
I have more tools than I really need right now. Your basic set of wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, files, hammers, and assorted car-related specialty tools. They all fit nicely in my bottom box. Enough so that I'd like to get rid of my top box, and use that space as a countertop. However, what I don't seem to see in a lot of the garages online are places for the odd bits and ends... And I have quite a few of them. Bungie cords, tow lights, tow ropes, extension cords, cable splitters, etc. I'd also like to find an asthetically appealing way to store my power tools. Right now, they're just taking up my bottom two drawers, and I need to shuffle through them to get to the one I want. Not too happy about my angle grinder scraping up my work light, or my drill cord getting caught up in my sawzall, things like that.
As you can see in the photos, I've also got a baker's rack full of assorted fluids, jackstands, and other junk. I'd love to replace the baker's rack with a matching cabinet. I even measured it out... In order to do that, I'd have to tear down the existing cabinets. And if I were to do that, I'd probably want to put up furring and sheetrock, mud and paint, maybe refinish the floor, install some shoplights, maybe remove the attic floor and add a lift... I'm sure you know how it goes. One thing leads to another and all of a sudden you're $10K lighter.
Anyway, I guess I'm just introducing myself and asking for some ideas. Anything you can toss my way would be helpful!
Oh, please ignore the clothes hanging up. I'm trying to sell 'em on craigslist - no room to store 'em!