BB’s Garage Project

[BB73]

Hi, my name is Ben and this is my garage thread. My garage is detached with interior dimensions of 31 feet, 4 inches wide, 20 feet, 10 inches deep from the doors to the back wall with an 8 foot ceiling. There are two doors that measure 16 X 7 and 9 X 7.

I found garage journal in 2011 and I joined because you had to be a member so that you could see all the pictures (not sure if that is still the case). I have enjoyed this site a lot and have decided it’s time to contribute.

I moved in to this garage in July of 2010. I don’t have any pictures from when I first moved in but the walls and ceiling already had drywall. There is texture on two of the walls that looks like someone put sand in the paint but I’m not sure why. There are also some lights in the garage that they left. I won’t say much else about the work that previous owners did but I will put these two pictures here...

These are the earliest pictures I have of the project. This is February of 2013. 4 cars in a 3 car garage and a load of other stuff. Not much could get done in there.

I decided to concentrate on this one wall to start. I came up with a plan of what I wanted and started working towards it. The plan evolved as I found some items on craigslist and just had new ideas.

Here is my first step to progress.

Most of this came from my last garage. I got tired of looking at stuff on open shelves so I bought the office supply cabinets. They were cheap because they are dinged up. I built the riser for them to store the heavier tools underneath.

More to come.

 

[KF5LCH]

That's a good looking space you have. Mine is about the same size, you'd be surprised what you can do with it. It's all about organization!

What's the make on that old BMX? I did quite a bit of freestyle back in the day. I used Hutch bikes. I had a TrickStar & a Windstyler. If only I'd have held on to them. They're worth a small fortune today.

 

[BearCuda]

Cool, what kind of old school Bmx bike is that?

 

[BB73]

That bike is a Schwinn Predator Free Form EX from 1986. I bought it new with my paper route money.

 

[BB73]

Here are a couple more shots of the garage at the start of the project.

This is March of 2013. I found the 4 drawer and sliding door cabinets on craigslist and got the butcher block top from Ikea. This made the garage a bit more functional.

Here is a shot of my new work surface.

You can see my garage stereo. It is a Boston Acoustics desktop computer setup. It was just sitting in a box in the basement. Makes plenty of sound and doesn't take up a lot of space. I just plug my iPod in and it's good to go.

 

[Boosted1]

I like the spyder.
Garage is coming along nicely.

 

[quadrcr87]

I miss listening to the WRIF in Michigan when I worked out in the garage good luck with the garage.

 

[runt262]

Who makes the 550? Assuming its a replica...

 

[BB73]

I miss listening to the WRIF in Michigan when I worked out in the garage good luck with the garage.

If you have a smart phone check out the Tune In app. I have listened to WRIF and other stations from around the country on it as well as some web streams.

Who makes the 550? Assuming its a replica...

Yep, it's a replica built by Beck.

 

[BB73]

This is July of 2013. I scrubbed the floor and added a little refinement.

I decided that I would limit my spare fasteners and small metal/wood scraps to what I could fit in 6 milk crates. I really didn’t want to look at them though. I took some left over flooring and some plywood and made this.

 

[BB73]

This is November of 2013. I bought a Kreg jig. I made some pieces. What a great tool.

This is how I did the door to cover the shelves and reduce some of the noise of the compressor. I bought a closet sliding door track and trimmed off one of the two tracks. I attached it to the ceiling with wall anchors.

I sold one of the cars. There is no way to have a workshop and store that many cars.

So this is where I stand now. Another winter is here and I have no heat in the garage. I need to run a gas line to the garage but it is a difficult task since the garage is detached and there is a paver patio, 5 arborvitaes and hemlock between the house and the garage.

One of the good things about having a small car is that there is a lot more room in the garage. I plan to build a workbench in front of it.

 

[BB73]

Got a good start on my workbench this past weekend.

Biggest problem with this location is the window. I'm thinking about getting a piece of plexiglass to protect it but I want something that I can easily remove. I liked to put a fan in this window in the summer.

 

[Kevin54]

This is November of 2013. I bought a Kreg jig. I made some pieces. What a great tool.

This is how I did the door to cover the shelves and reduce some of the noise of the compressor. I bought a closet sliding door track and trimmed off one of the two tracks. I attached it to the ceiling with wall anchors.

I sold one of the cars. There is no way to have a workshop and store that many cars.

So this is where I stand now. Another winter is here and I have no heat in the garage. I need to run a gas line to the garage but it is a difficult task since the garage is detached and there is a paver patio, 5 arborvitaes and hemlock between the house and the garage.

One of the good things about having a small car is that there is a lot more room in the garage. I plan to build a workbench in front of it.

If you go with a propane furnace, chances are you can put in a 120 gallon tank and set it right up beside the garage which will minimize your copper line run. If you go larger that a 120 gal. tank, you then have to have the tank at least 10' away at the minimum.

Just something to think about.

 

[BB73]

Thanks for the idea. I will have to look in to that.

 

[DEERE G]

Nice job with the garage. I like how you have organized and cleaned up. Looks good.

 

[Pat Brady]

Great looking place!! I love that car!!

 

[BB73]

Thank you for the compliments.

I like the way the garage is coming along. It's nice to have the place more functional instead of working on the ground, a milk crate or the Workmate all the time. I am looking forward to getting my vise mounted to the workbench.

The car is fun. I bought it used last year and it has needed a bit of sorting but it's coming along.

 

[aps63]

Very nice start, I love when everything is hidden away behind doors and drawers.
Very clean look. Keep the pictures coming

 

[astroracer]

Hey Ben!
Nice garage! You've done a lot of tidying up and it looks great! How are you doing? I haven't talked to anyone at the General for a while. Is everything going ok there?
Mark

 

[jose's garage]

i'm moving down south to a house with a small garage, the same size as yours. great ideas. its funny how storage in a garage is always an on going process.

 

[BB73]

The cold has kept me from making many improvements on my garage but I was able to get a couple of things done.

Here is my bench. It is not completely done but this is how it is now.

I got some under cabinet lights and a 3 outlet extension cord.

 

[aps63]

Bench came out great. Are you going to paint, stain, or leave it natural?

 

[BB73]

Thank you.

Good question. Still trying to decide. I like the way it looks now though.

 

[truckin23]

Just finish reading from the beginning subscribing awesome

 

[Sunbimmer]

Great looking work bench . I'm thinking of mounting my vise in the exact same way, I'm assuming you can rotate that vise

 

[BB73]

Thanks guys.

Yes, the vise can be rotated over 180 degrees even when fully closed.

 

[ncaddy87]

I really like what you've done. I'm definitely going to keep that sliding door for the compressor in mind. I've been trying to decide where to hide my compressor. I know I want to build a small nook closet for it, but not sure of the details yet. That's one of the best ideas I've seen so far.