Cozy Garage

[jeep63]

So, my current shop was something I had built 16 years ago to suit my Jeep tinkering. I have it laid out just like I like. After 2.5 years of searching a place on the water, we found one. House, land and location are perfect. Garage is only ~22 x ~22, has 9.5' ceilings, a full attic above accessible via pull-down attic stairs. It is a 'parking' garage so to speak; it is outfitted with GarageTek wall panels all around, 3 tall cabinets, 2 wall cabinets, and their flooring. It looks great. There is one 'wood' garage door 16' wide. There is ~3' of space on either side of the garage door to the walls. There is already a fridge in there the seller is leaving.

I do not think my F250 will fit (17,Crew Cab, short bed), so it will house my Jeep(s). I'm looking for suggestions for placement of my compressor (80 gallon Sears professional series), my workbench (30" x 48"), toolbox. I'm thinking the compressor will be best served along the side, and place the toolbox and workbench along the front wall. I still need a place for the floor jack and 3 sets of jack stands, plus ramps.

I'm sure purging will be necessary and I'm on board with that, been doing it already as we pack up the house.

I'm interested in hearing how others have adjusted to a smaller shop after a move.

If anyone wonders why the shop size was not primary to the decision process, I have one quote for you... "If the momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

 

[npp]

So, my current shop was something I had built 16 years ago to suit my Jeep tinkering. I have it laid out just like I like. After 2.5 years of searching a place on the water, we found one. House, land and location are perfect. Garage is only ~22 x ~22, has 9.5' ceilings, a full attic above accessible via pull-down attic stairs. It is a 'parking' garage so to speak; it is outfitted with GarageTek wall panels all around, 3 tall cabinets, 2 wall cabinets, and their flooring. It looks great. There is one 'wood' garage door 16' wide. There is ~3' of space on either side of the garage door to the walls. There is already a fridge in there the seller is leaving.

I do not think my F250 will fit (17,Crew Cab, short bed), so it will house my Jeep(s). I'm looking for suggestions for placement of my compressor (80 gallon Sears professional series), my workbench (30" x 48"), toolbox. I'm thinking the compressor will be best served along the side, and place the toolbox and workbench along the front wall. I still need a place for the floor jack and 3 sets of jack stands, plus ramps.

I'm sure purging will be necessary and I'm on board with that, been doing it already as we pack up the house.

I'm interested in hearing how others have adjusted to a smaller shop after a move.

If anyone wonders why the shop size was not primary to the decision process, I have one quote for you... "If the momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

Going to a smaller shop, all I can say is “ I feel your pain “ I have been married for 46 years so I understand about keeping momma happy then again being on the water would be great.

 

[Joemctag]

Guess I'd already be planning to expand / add sheds off the side / erect little auxiliary temporary buildings, etc.Even if it doesn't all ever happen, you can dream.
Guess you know alot of people put compressors out in an enclosure and you can do a workbench/cabinet "bump-out" maybe with a window without extending the slab or main roof. We'd like to see pictures or your sketches.
A man can dream.

 

[nadogail]

In your new garage, set up a drawing board to plan your next garage.

 

[jeep63]

I'm going to be on the property today to meet with a flooring guy for the house. I'll grab some pics and take some extra measurements to use for mocking up layouts. I need to find a cheap 3d modeling tool to build the space and place stuff.

Any software you all use for this purpose? free is preferred.

 

[PoorUB]

Graph paper and some squares and rectangles cut to scale of the large items for your shop will work well. Benches, compressor, storage cabinets and vehicles.

22x22? good luck. My wife would be unhappy before I moved into that!

My current is 24x38 feet deep. We are looking to move and looking for a place with two or three attached stalls and a separate roughly two stall detached.

 

[jeep63]

Here are some shots I took today...

 

[nutjob]

Any software you all use for this purpose? free is preferred.

I was going to suggest the Grizzly shop planner but it appears it is down waiting on an upgrade:

https://www.grizzly.com/user/shop-planner

Kevin

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Do you really need that fridge in there? Looks like it takes up a lot of space.

 

[duneslider]

I just built a house and I made the 2 car portion of the garage 24 x 26 (just happens that is what I ended up doing) and now that I have it I would not want to go back to a 22x22. I could live with 22 wide but that extra depth is amazing. Any chance you could modify the garage and build an extension out the back to gain some more feet? Turn it into a 22x30?

 

[jeep63]

This property is on the water and there is insufficient room to extend the garage. I am stuck with the 22x22 size and need to make the best of it. Others do a lot with less, so I'm sure I can make this work, but it will be noticeable since I'm losing space not gaining.

 

[jeep63]

I'm only mildly concerned about the garage; the complete package is otherwise perfect for us: single floor living with rooms upstairs for our son and guests. Waterfront with sizeable property (1.3 acres); rare combination in this area of MD.

Ariel shot of the property; garage is on the right with the cupola on top.

There is a single car garage size space in the rear, but that is effectively a shed area; maybe a flat fender would fit around to there; lol

 

[jeep63]

Do you really need that fridge in there? Looks like it takes up a lot of space.

I know, but I've always had a 'beer fridge' and that perk is hard to give up! lol I figure move it closer to the corner and it will be fine. I need to re-jigger the place to begin fitting my toolbox, compressor, jack, jack stands, press, etc... I doubt I'll get anytime until late winter/early spring due to getting the house settled.

 

[firebirdparts]

I have a 22 by 22 and I very profoundly prefer the far wall, opposite the garage door, for anything and everything. The amount of room at the sides is basically nothing the way we park. And that's not jeeps either. The jeeps will be even shorter than what we park in there.

 

[PoorUB]

Nice place! Two million dollar home and a $25,000 garage!

You can not bump out the back wall of the garage? Looks to be plenty of room. I realize there will be set backs from the water.

 

[jeep63]

Nice place! Two million dollar home and a $25,000 garage!

You can not bump out the back wall of the garage? Looks to be plenty of room. I realize there will be set backs from the water.

I may look into bumping out the garage for more depth. That 'back wall' as I call it will house my toolbox, workbench, and likely the cabinets if I can make it work. I need to get in touch with some guys who know the set backs in this county well; I have used them for other properties we were looking at that had no garage, now I need to see how much I can push this one back. I'm sure I can convince the wife that losing the patio there is not a big deal. There are plenty of outside places to sit.

I have a 22 by 22 and I very profoundly prefer the far wall, opposite the garage door, for anything and everything. The amount of room at the sides is basically nothing the way we park. And that's not jeeps either. The jeeps will be even shorter than what we park in there.

I'm hopeful the sides will allow for a few items; I need to place my compressor somewhere, as well as the press, and welding cart. Then there are items for the walls: Jeep doors, The hard top sits upright on a cart in the summer, I hope I can fit that on the one side.

This may turn into a 1 car garage and the wife parks outside after all. She has stated all along that this is what she plans to do, so I can use the entire space for my Jeep(s).

 

[PoorUB]

I may look into bumping out the garage for more depth. That 'back wall' as I call it will house my toolbox, workbench, and likely the cabinets if I can make it work. I need to get in touch with some guys who know the set backs in this county well; I have used them for other properties we were looking at that had no garage, now I need to see how much I can push this one back. I'm sure I can convince the wife that losing the patio there is not a big deal. There are plenty of outside places to sit.


I'm hopeful the sides will allow for a few items; I need to place my compressor somewhere, as well as the press, and welding cart. Then there are items for the walls: Jeep doors, The hard top sits upright on a cart in the summer, I hope I can fit that on the one side.

This may turn into a 1 car garage and the wife parks outside after all. She has stated all along that this is what she plans to do, so I can use the entire space for my Jeep(s).

22' wide is pretty skinny. IMO, you won't have much room on the sides. My garage is 24 wide and I do store the snow blower, pressure washer, generator and some other stuff on the one wall and all the stuff is about 2 feet wide. The other wall has some sheets of plywood and a couple step ladders leaning against it but it is less than a foot and if my wife is going to hop in I need to back out first. But at 22' by the time you leave room to open the car doors there isn't much left.

All your big stuff will end up along the back wall and I don't know what you have for Jeeps but a 4 door Rubicon is roughly 16 feet long so that leaves you 6 feet from the bumper to the front wall. Add a bench and now you are down to walking room.

Ditch the full sized fridge and get a dorm sized refrigerator if you need a couple cold ones handy.

I would push the back wall out 10 feet.

 

[jeep63]

I was thinking 8’, but I will see if 10 fits. I have a 2 door Jeep, and am currently looking for an m38 or cj 3a as a project.


I somtimes work on our sons LJ too.


They fit nicely in the current garage

 

[CraigStu]

Wow, for that house and property I can see how you are willing to reduce garage size. I would be too. Besides setbacks Md also has regs about the % of the total property that can be covered w/ impermeable stuff. I found out the hard way 12 yrs ago that gravel is considered non-permeable when I laid a bunch next to our garage to park the boat and trailer over the winter. The house is pretty large and I don't know where the kitchen is located but I'd ditch the frig entirely. One way to get around some regs is to use storage sheds that are not on a foundation. Set it on blocks or PT 2xs and it doesn't count as square footage. Double check me on this as we left Md in 2014 but sheds are great for all the lawn care tools and ****. Concentrate on NOTHING but Jeeps and Jeep stuff in the garage. and I think you can make it work.

 

[Crabman]

Doug,

Very pretty place! I am down on St. Jerome's Creek in St. Mary's County, little more rural but similar look.

A thought I am having is raising the roof. The Amish guys down here are really good at it. They take it loose, jack it up, build an addition to the walls, drop it down and refasten. Height would really help you, since a 4 post could hold two jeeps on one side, and maybe you could install a loft or mezzanine for extra storage.

Best of luck with your new place, it looks great. And good crabbing!

Bruce

 

[jeep63]

Wow, for that house and property I can see how you are willing to reduce garage size. I would be too. Besides setbacks Md also has regs about the % of the total property that can be covered w/ impermeable stuff. I found out the hard way 12 yrs ago that gravel is considered non-permeable when I laid a bunch next to our garage to park the boat and trailer over the winter. The house is pretty large and I don't know where the kitchen is located but I'd ditch the frig entirely. One way to get around some regs is to use storage sheds that are not on a foundation. Set it on blocks or PT 2xs and it doesn't count as square footage. Double check me on this as we left Md in 2014 but sheds are great for all the lawn care tools and ****. Concentrate on NOTHING but Jeeps and Jeep stuff in the garage. and I think you can make it work.

It was a driving force in the decision to down-size the garage; lol.

The kitchen is right outside the man door, so very close. I an move that fridge to the basement to give me more freezer and fridge space in the house, or put it in the Mudroom just off the kitchen as a second, closer. spot for overflow. I have a medium 'dorm' fridge that our son used last year, but now uses his roommate's. That will can be placed on a shelf to not consume floor space per se.

With 1.3 acres, I think my critical area calculations have space for more impervious surface; like a 10' extension off the back. I mentioned this to the wife today at breakfast and she wants to wait until we get there and settle in to see if losing that part of the patio is something she has no problem with.

The basement door is right outside the man door too, so I can put stuff down there too; her winter/summer tires, the camping gear, some spare parts; basically all the stuff in my loft and under the stairs in my current garage. I have toyed with the idea of putting the compressor in the basement and plumbing the air lines up and over to the garage, but I don't want that noise in the house.

I'm going to lose a lot of wall space for my pictures too. Need to purge some of those and the signs too.

 

[Glemon]

You have a lot of windows, which makes for nice natural light, but not so much help in maximizing space. I would build a 2' wide or maybe 20" workbench over part of the wall in back, devote some of the rest to tool chests and the compressor, lose (relocate) the fridge. Garage fridge is great, but you don't have space for it. You have high ceilings, you can make or buy high shelves for storage.

Figure out a way to extend the back wall eventually and it can be nice space.

Lastly, if you swap out those jeeps for some low sports cars you will have room for a lift.

 

[jeep63]

So my 2017 F250 short-bed crew cab truck just fits! I have like 1" clearance at the top of the garage door and 2" front/rear clearance. I need to back in so I can get in/out. Problem is this effectively isolates that entire side of the garage wall. I think my truck will be parked outside and only Jeeps will be in the garage.

two more weeks until we move in...

 

[nadogail]

A dorm room refrigerator will keep all the beer you should drink in one day cold and take up less space.

 

[great white tj]

2000 TJ Just over 2200 miles on it... Campground to the Rocks.

 

[jeep63]

A dorm room refrigerator will keep all the beer you should drink in one day cold and take up less space.

Yes, it looks more and more like that refrigerator is heading to the basement. Not a bad thing since we use our current basement fridge for overflow and extra freezer space. It is built in to the location here and not leaving with us, so I can make the best of the situation there.

I'll use the dorm fridge that our son is no longer using to keep the beer cold; my new found taste for Rye whiskey has cut down on my beer consumption too.

One week until the move. We actually settle Monday and I have to take down 1 1/2 pallets of flooring to acclimate and be installed prior to our official move-in. I'm using some of that time to clean out and setup the garage as much as I can.

After taking down all my signs and pictures, I have no idea how I will be even 1/4 of them back up in the new space.

 

[jeep63]

I'm starting to think about my air setup, and I'm for sure taking my compressor 80 Gallon Craftsman Professional compressor. I have 3/4" Schedule M copper runs now. I'm leaning towards taking my existing copper and using it to run air in the new garage. I can easily cut and join what I need to in order to get a different shaped run to fit the new space.

I've also considered getting a MaxAir/Maxline setup. I've read through the various air setup system threads. Seems this is another option that is easily modified, just tough to do alone, but still doable.

I for sure will have multiple drops: need painting setup with dryer, need a quick disconnect at garage door for airing up tires, want a ceiling mounted hose reel for general air tool use and likely a drop at the work bench for tool use.

 

[CraigStu]

I have a 6 yr old hose reel from Eastwood which is still doing great. A couple of months ago I got this from Lowes. It is ****. It makes so much noise for the entire revolution of the reel that it is hard to hear the ratchet so I know when it will lock. The hose itself feels like a rubber band when pulling it. I tried one of these on display at Rural King the other day.

DeWALT Double Arm hose Reel with Hose, 3/8

Product Features: Auto Retracting Steel Hose Reel with premium rubber hose Professional Grade All-Steel Construction 4-Roller hose guide Self-leveling system winds the hose evenly Pull hose to any length due to its 12 positionratchet gearing lock

www.ruralking.com

This one works like the professional ones we had at the shops I used to work in. I will be upgrading after Christmas. I have one on each side of where my car usually sits. For you I'd do two reels also, w/ one towards the overhead door and the other one more towards work bench end of the garage. Put the one near the work bench end on which ever side makes it easiest for you at the bench. IE; I like my air hose to come from my right side since I am right handed. The one near the garage door can be on the opposite side. I am 73 and the second hose reel finally happened a couple of months ago. It is one of those things that should have happened 30-40 years ago. And, as long as I am spending your money, order two of these.

Air Tool Kit - Stedlin

The complete package for your hose connection to the air tool.

stedlin.com

 

[jeep63]

I like your suggestion for two hose reels. I have two today: one at the bench (left side, since I'm left handed) and one at the front of the garage between the doors.

I was thinking a reel on the celing in the middle of the garage and a connection at the bench. This way I can just have a loose hose stored out of the way until I need it. I want to have a dedicated paint line with dryer for times that I'm spraying. This will also be at the bench, but I'll make it a connection so I can use a hose and then disconnect when not in use.

I can change to a reel at the celing by the door and one at the ceiling above the bench. I'll still have a fixed port by the bench for painting.

I'm starting to think that I'll leave the copper lines here, just take my regulators and dryers with me. The new owner runs a garage in town so I'm sure he will appreciate having the lines already in place. He already tried to buy my compressor. LOL

 

[jeep63]

Small update...
We are in, and drowning in moving boxes!

Garage has her convertible and my Jeep in it for now, plus a ton of stuff just scattered around.

I moved the fridge to the basement and hooked up my son's old dorm fridge. The front wall has my toolbox and workbench, along with some cabinets.

I'll try to snap a pic, but all the 'getting settled' work seems to be focused on the house; garage is likely a late winter/early spring project.

Turns out the exterior dimensions of the garage are 25x24; it is cinder block construction with wood framing on the inside for the garage tek panels to be screwed to. I do not believe it is insulated behind the panels, but have not confirmed yet.

 

[jeep63]

Managed to get some garage time today. What a mess…

I have a tentative layout in place. I still need to setup my compressor but I have a place for it and have most of the areas defined.

I need to bring stuff up from the basement where I have it stored in tubs. I have enough storage cabinets for all the fluids so tomorrow I’ll have them all in place. There is no real “display space” to speak of, so my wall art may not go back up. I’m focusing on functional stuff at this point.

Plus I need to find a spot for the hard top and full doors.

It will be a process for sure. I took a couple of preliminary pics of my current layout.





The original discussions had my wife selling her convertible but ironically that has not happened. we will see what the future brings.

 

[PoorUB]

Looks good, but cramped!

Any thoughts on expanding the garage? I know it was mentioned, just wondering if you have any plans to go ahead with it.

 

[jeep63]

I think I need to pull everything off the side walls to keep it as open as possible. The front space is not too bad. I’ll take a pic of that tomorrow. If I clear both side walls I will have enough room to pull wheels and maybe an axle shaft.

If the wife’s car goes I will have room for the future flat fender Jeep.


I mentioned adding 10’ to the depth but that is only in the discuss phase at this point.

My son and I are going to put new flares on his Jeep soon so that will give me my first project experience with this garage. No air tools yet so hopefully I will not need them.

 

[tyyost]

First off, looks like an absolutely terrific home!

On the garage front I think you have two areas you can improve to make your space more livable. First, it seems your current interest is wrenching on the jeeps, so being able to move cars out and work with the Jeep centered in the garage for maximum room to walk around is ideal. I’d think about how you like to work and your typical projects and work from there.

Second, in a small space it is always preferable to get as much mobile as possible. I can’t see your current bench or the end of the garage but I’d make as much on the end wall as dense as possible, trying not to waste any space. that means shelves or cabinets above your bench, nesting jacks and stands in a small a footprint as possible, and even having a working and parking “mode” for the garage. I did a ton of work in a 24x24 as a kid that my mom expected to park in every night. I got really good at switching between working in the middle to pushed over so mom could get in. I would do as much as I could in your space to keep the sides of the garage clear. Example: If you like that location for the compressor I would tighten up the space, get the compressor in the corner, the vac above it and the vac and air hoses stored neatly in the corner both them, giving you back a few more feet of floor space.

 

[jeep63]

First off, looks like an absolutely terrific home!

On the garage front I think you have two areas you can improve to make your space more livable. First, it seems your current interest is wrenching on the jeeps, so being able to move cars out and work with the Jeep centered in the garage for maximum room to walk around is ideal. I’d think about how you like to work and your typical projects and work from there.

Second, in a small space it is always preferable to get as much mobile as possible. I can’t see your current bench or the end of the garage but I’d make as much on the end wall as dense as possible, trying not to waste any space. that means shelves or cabinets above your bench, nesting jacks and stands in a small a footprint as possible, and even having a working and parking “mode” for the garage. I did a ton of work in a 24x24 as a kid that my mom expected to park in every night. I got really good at switching between working in the middle to pushed over so mom could get in. I would do as much as I could in your space to keep the sides of the garage clear. Example: If you like that location for the compressor I would tighten up the space, get the compressor in the corner, the vac above it and the vac and air hoses stored neatly in the corner both them, giving you back a few more feet of floor space.

Thanks.

My plan is to keep the front packed tight and so far it is. My vehicle cleaning cabinet is tucked tightly into the front corner. I was able to fit my 'paint cabinet' next to it just before the window. The windows, while great for natural light, hurt from a wall space perspective. Then I squeezed my press in beside my toolbox. There is just enough room for my 4 jack stands to nest between the toolbox and work bench. I have a small shelf with a mini fridge and space below for my welder and ramps. The front side wall holds two wall cabinets that house all my fluids and filters. I did store some Jeep parts in one.

I'm putting shelves above the man door and high on the 'jeep side' wall to clear that side of everything below 7'. I think this maximizes the space I have. I'll be tweaking for sure, and I'm still looking for a spot to hang some decorations, but that is so low on the priority list it is not funny.

This is about the only place I can whine about the garage and not get eye rolls or other unhelpful responses...

 

[PoorUB]

LOL! I look at that house, then the garage, and think,

"What the hell happened here?!"

I know for many people a large garage is not important, but I can't help buy wonder why someone had only two cars to put inside, or didn't consider inside storage for lawn furniture or something! Around here I see houses 1/3rd that size and they all have decent three car garages, extra deep and a bit wider than a typical three car.

You are more man than me if you can work it out. I would have put dynamite to the garage the day after I moved in!

 

[jeep63]

Technically, there is another garage. At the far end of the house, around back, there is a single car garage door. This is effectively the 'shed' for the property. It is a single car garage and it stores all the 'other' items you mention. This house was build in the early 60s, so at that time the garage was probably huge and most people only parked cars there. The 'extra' garage was added during an addition for storage of outside stuff since the bulk of the work is at the back (or front of the house as they say here).

This garage is still bigger than our first house garage and I have an entire section of the basement for additional 'garage storage'; the basement of this place is huge! The section I'm using for garage over-flow is just outside the man door and down flight of stairs. Basically it is the 'loft' of my last garage.

This is truly a first world problem and I'm confident I'll make it work. I have a buddy who built a massive garage during our time of constant off-roading. He built multiple vehicles. He has since gotten out of it and now is really into shooting, so the garage sits empty except for his sweet classic early bronco. He does all his reloading/building in his basement.

Priorities change, and this garage still allows me to do what I want.

 

[jeep63]

Managed two small projects: one showed me I need to clear the side wall by the man door too. I was putting snow tires on my wife’s car and the stuff there made positioning the jack a pita.

My son and I put new flares on his LJ. This project went well and we had plenty of room.

 

[rayra]

Beautiful property OP. I'd have that tree behind the garage moved closer to the shoreline, away from the back of the garage and push the back wall of the garage out at least 8'. And get rid of the hip roof and go gable on front and rear, to gain more attic storage space. Might even put the compressor up there.

What about the basement garage on the other end of the structure?

 

[CraigStu]

Looks to me like it will work out for you. Not the perfect setup for sure but a doable setup. One thing I'd do is wait til L or HD have paint on sale, buy some off white and rent a sprayer. Getting the top of the walls and the ceiling lighter will make a huge difference. I am sure you are aware but just in case, you will be subject to many restrictions because you are on the water. So check w/ them before even removing a tree and definitely before adding to the garage.