Functionally Chaotic 2 Car Garage

[Bobcat719]

Hello everyone. I have been on here lurking for some time just waiting for the right time to strike! Well, I have finally decided to bite the bullet and post my junkie(for now) garage and start documenting the progress that I am making with it. I will post some pics to give you all some idea of what I am working with and the overall goal with my garage. I would love to create a functional DIY garage that I can do woodworking, car repair and maintenance, and then park both our cars in at the end of the day. I am not in a hurry, but feel that I am just wasting time not utilizing the space the way I see fit. So here we go! The first pic gives you an idea of what the space is, 2 car garage with single doors. The next pic is of the left bay (wife's) and the third pic is of the right bay (mine). I have started with my side (duh) while that is true, I have always tried to keep her side clean enough to put her car in, so I would like that to be true for me as well. One of the first projects that I will be tackling will be a compound miter station that is 8 feet long, sit on the far right of the garage, and house my table saw and my air compressor under it, all while allowing my 2004 Dodge Durango to still fit in!

 

[Red Leader]

Alright!!! I was waiting for this thread

Your space has a TON of potential. Lot of ways you can take it. Are the two garages completely separate or is it just playing tricks on me?

I see you already have drywall up and it is a 'finished' space for all intents and purposes, which means you're already ahead of the game.

I don't know if you have any desire for more electrical, but if so, you can just do a run of conduit (which in my opinion looks cool in a garage setting).

Have you thought about any paint colors or a theme for the garage?

Welcome aboard!

EDIT: just re-read your description. Glad to hear you've got some woodworking equipment you'll be doing stuff with. A miter saw is extremely useful and paired with a table saw, allow you to do 90% of most woodworking tasks. I like your idea of putting the table saw under the miter saw bench for space. Another idea is to have the whole miter bench system raise and lower via a hand crank or something to get even more space. A miter saw station doesn't have to have the extreme rigidity of a table saw since the wood is stationary. However, I may just be projecting somewhat since I've tried to find a way to get some kind of cool crank-up/crank-down power tool station somewhere in the garage

 

[Bobcat719]

Alright, here are some more pics, and some updates to the right side of the garage. The first pic is the far right wall and the chaos that it brings. The next pic is the station that I just built and now have pics to show for it. The next few are with it all blown apart and then painted. I am keeping the tops the exposed MDF just because I did not know what else to do, and that part was easy. So it is 8 feet long, the center is inset to allow the compound miter saw to be level with the work surface. Let me know what you think!

 

[Bobcat719]

Alright!!! I was waiting for this thread

Your space has a TON of potential. Lot of ways you can take it. Are the two garages completely separate or is it just playing tricks on me?

I see you already have drywall up and it is a 'finished' space for all intents and purposes, which means you're already ahead of the game.

I don't know if you have any desire for more electrical, but if so, you can just do a run of conduit (which in my opinion looks cool in a garage setting).

Have you thought about any paint colors or a theme for the garage?

Welcome aboard!

EDIT: just re-read your description. Glad to hear you've got some woodworking equipment you'll be doing stuff with. A miter saw is extremely useful and paired with a table saw, allow you to do 90% of most woodworking tasks. I like your idea of putting the table saw under the miter saw bench for space. Another idea is to have the whole miter bench system raise and lower via a hand crank or something to get even more space. A miter saw station doesn't have to have the extreme rigidity of a table saw since the wood is stationary. However, I may just be projecting somewhat since I've tried to find a way to get some kind of cool crank-up/crank-down power tool station somewhere in the garage

So I am still very new at this, but I see that you include the persons message when replying to a specific question, so this is my attempt at it. The garages are separate entrances, but are open inside, which is very nice, but I have not utilized the space appropriately.

The electrical is a definite yes, just not sure how much and where, but upgrades they are a comin'.

Paint colors and themes have come into play, and I thought something would have popped by now, but no. I do have all craftsman gear, and would love to run with that theme in someway, I am just not a fan of the red, so it will require some thought.

As far as the miter saw height adjustment....now you tell me! just kidding, I had this plan in the works for literally five years now! That is why I am so happy that this actually happening. I knew I only had so much room to work with, and so far this was the best plan I could come up with for this side. I still have the whole front of the garage for a work bench and my tool chest, fridge.....the list goes on.

on a side note, how do you get your pics to just be in the post, instead of how mine are? I like yours alot better than the way mine are working, any thoughts?

 

[tinbender 66]

Deja vu! That looks just like the bench I built in my "little" shop when we first moved here (22 years ago) except I framed in the bottom and put some doors on it that I got from my folks kitchen remodel. I guarentee you're gonna have a lot of fun with this project.

 

[rickairmedic]

Well if reds dont do it for you and I am guessing you are a Mopar fan theres always Petty blue or Hemi orange . I myself am a Ford fan so the choice was easy with Ford blue.


Rick

 

[Red Leader]

on a side note, how do you get your pics to just be in the post, instead of how mine are? I like yours alot better than the way mine are working, any thoughts?

Actually, I have the reverse question - how to you get yours in the post like that?

I have mine hosted on an external site (imageshack) then linked on the garage thread. I kinda have this worry in the back of my head that if imageshack crashed and burned, my thread would lose all its pictures.

How'd you do yours?

Mine is simple:

1. Create imageshack account
2. Click 'Upload'
3. Select file from computer
4. Select size of file (the 640x?? for messageboards is standard)
5. Click 'my images'
6. Select image by clicking the top little icon next to picture
7. Highlight and copy link
8. Paste link in thread.

Whala!

-Dave

 

[Bobcat719]

That is so funny. Yours just look a lot cleaner and the resolution is too good! Anyway, all I have done is:

1: click reply
2: scroll down to the additional options section
3: select manage attachments
4: click on one of the open areas and click browse
5: find image you want, wait a thousand years for the upload
6: click preview to avoid looking like a newbie on an awesome forum!

 

[Red Leader]

As far as the miter saw height adjustment....now you tell me! just kidding, I had this plan in the works for literally five years now! That is why I am so happy that this actually happening. I knew I only had so much room to work with, and so far this was the best plan I could come up with for this side. I still have the whole front of the garage for a work bench and my tool chest, fridge.....the list goes on.

You're design is very nice! Sometimes getting it done is higher on the list than planning it out with all the extra doohickies but never getting around to doing it. That is a battle I face all the time. Right now, I'm facing that with my workbench. I'm spending so much time planning out the height and how to get around the concrete footer in my garage that I have to be careful or else it won't get done!

Although that is another valuable lesson I learned. I don't know if anybody else gets this feeling, but many times in the planning stage or in the very early construction stage, I get this feeling like the specific project is just so overwhelmingly big that I'm ridiculous to think that I'll get it done, and its a real downer. I had that with the cabinets I built. However, now being through it and coming out on the other side, just know if you ever feel like that, you can push through it and get it done.

 

[Bobcat719]

@ Rick: I am thinking that blue, but how to incorporate it and not overpower the area. But I like where your head is at! I am a mopar guy for now, but am not opposed to any brand that will treat me right!

@ tinbender: I bet I have seen that style of work bench/work area for years now, and just decided, what the heck! it is just a workstation as I will have a main workbench area at the front of the garage that I will include later on. Thanks for the words and hope that brought back fond memories!

 

[Red Leader]

That is so funny. Yours just look a lot cleaner and the resolution is too good! Anyway, all I have done is:

1: click reply
2: scroll down to the additional options section
3: select manage attachments
4: click on one of the open areas and click browse
5: find image you want, wait a thousand years for the upload
6: click preview to avoid looking like a newbie on an awesome forum!

See, this way may have a hidden benefit, and that is if GJ actually hosts the image. That way, you are not relying on an outside website for your images to show up. I get the feeling that the 'waiting forever' thing you describe means that GJ does actually host the images.

Then you have the satisfaction of knowing that if you images stopped showing up, WWIII started and you'd have nothing to worry about since the entire GJ site, your thread included, turned to dust

 

[rickairmedic]

Bobcat my garage is mostly gloss white including the ceiling and
I did all my cabinets in the Ford blue.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9084&highlight=houston+problem


Rick

 

[flybefree]

Bobcat,

I really like the bench you made...I think posting you project here will help you in several ways...inspiration and forcing you to write things down are two that have helped me. As far as color scheme/theme...perhaps a Frank Lyod Wright garage? That has not been done and would match your house.

Shaun

 

[70Camaro]

The miter saw bench idea is great!!

 

[Wingnut65]

Congrats on the thread, Bobcat. You do have potential. And it already has with a full size fridge AND a ping-pong table as well!

The miter station will come in handy. One thought I have seen is that if the miter saw gets in the way, find a place for it and build an insert to make the workbench continuous.

You may find having the full open garage available at time may be useful for large projects. But the area between the overhead doors could be usefully storage or a place for a movable workbench.

 

[wolflrv]

Can I play devil's advocate for a minute?? I think your garage has vast potential, but needs much more storage area and taking half a wall for a miter saw, which is only one tool(you can count two with the table saw) seems to waste a ton of otherwise useful space. If you want to park both cars, then everything has to be vertically stored. And you're losing horizontal space with such a long tool space and also vertical space for storage above it.

Since you plan on doing some woodworking anyway, I would like to suggest the following miter saw station. It could be parked next to the table saw and you could use the entirety of the space above them for storage shelves/cabinets and have regained 4-6 ft of wall space.

Here's what I'm thinking about:

You can see the plans for it at: http://www.plansnow.com/dn3115.html

Not trying to shoot you in the foot or anything, but looking seriously at your setup, that's what I would do. Feel free to tell me to shutup and go away.

 

[lowbucktruck]

Wolflrv does have a good point. Its a nice saw bench you built, but you do lose a lot of wall space and storage potential with it. I have a portable miter saw stand myself, and do all of my cutting outside.

Do you have a dust collector for your woodworking machines?

 

[The J]

I'll be watching this thread. I think most of us can relate to a 2-car (or smaller in my case) garage with clutter, and trying to have a multi-purpose space is on the top of my want list for my garage.


And completely off topic, from the 'dare not offend anyone' category... does that Christmas tree box up on the ceiling really say "6ft Lighted Winter Tree" on it?

 

[P1et]

And completely off topic, from the 'dare not offend anyone' category... does that Christmas tree box up on the ceiling really say "6ft Lighted Winter Tree" on it?

Hold on, HOLD ON... did you just say "winter tree"? I hope you're not referring to CHRISTMAS here!!! I'm, like, sooooooooo offended. I hope to see a ban here soon!

 

[Wingnut65]

Very good eye, The J! But I believe "Christmas" just doesn't transalte in Chinese as "Winter" does!

I wonder what they call the lighted 'deer' in the box above the CHRISTMAS tree?? A brown furry mammel?

Sorry Bobcat. We sometimes get board and really start looking at photos very closely. Don't get offended. I had only one person notice my Bucs chair in my cabinet.

 

[Bobcat719]

You guys are great!
@ Wolf, that was the cart I thought of making at first....should have thought that through a little more, but as I have seen on the GJ, I may just have to start over....oh well!

@ Lowbuck, I have a poor mans version of a dust collector, a shop vac and a hose, I want to do a pvc pipe hard connected to it, just to the right of the workbench....

@The J, you caught me....I have every season in there, so you will see it all, that tree is an outside, all white with lights made to look like snow,(like we need it in Colorado) so not sure why it doesn't say Christma* on it, but oh well.

@P1et, I am sure that there are too many things in there that will offend....oh boy, have I opened a can of worms or what!! J/K

@ Wingnut, I was thinking the same thing with other peoples pics, I wonder if they know that the other junk is in the pics....so that is now free game! just an FYI, I noticed the bucs chair too!

 

[Wingnut65]

I have the plan of attempting to do the nylon rollers on my garage door this weekend and documenting the process, so we shall see.

BK, That is one process that I have not seen documented here on GJ. Great idea.

BTW, if you have anything in your garage personalized, be sure to turn it around or remove it before starting all the photos. When I got ready to start my build thread, all my 'Before' shots had our name in the background. I had to edit each photo before posting. IF you have anything like that, save yourself time and remove it now. Just a thought form experience...

 

[couchmechanic]

Hey, how is it going? Couchmechanic

 

[Bobcat719]

Not too bad, just been lurking and planning. I have been on Craigslist looking for some vintage tools and have just scored my first! I am super excited. Here are some pics. It looks to have a born on date of Feb. of 1961, so not quite the 1950's craftsman garage action, but man was I really happy to get it. I am still working on all of the smaller projects with a little headway, but just grinding it out bit by bit. Thanks for the message, good to know someones checking!

 

[Bobcat719]

By bobcat719 at 2011-09-26
front pic

By bobcat719 at 2011-09-26
side pic

By bobcat719 at 2011-09-26
showing the model number

By bobcat719 at 2011-09-26
showing the born on date and the old SSN of the previous owner. I guess that is how they used to mark their tools back in the day.

 

[flybefree]

Another vintage tool obsession begins! Hey, it says it is for farm and home use only...that's sort of funny.

 

[Wingnut65]

Congrats, Bobcat! It looks like Red Leader's addiction is spreading across GJ. Nice score! It looks complete with all the usually missing parts. Glad you have either a farm or home that you can be able to use this in!

Congrats on making progress in the shop. One step at a time is all it takes. Post random pix of progress when you have a chance.

 

[Kevin54]

Make an insert for the area where the miter saw is setting. That way you can take the saw out, put the insert in, and have a bench all the way across if you need it. And instead of having the top just as raw MDF, get something like laminate flooring and cover the top and where the saw sits. It will be easier to clean up afterwards.

You may also want to make a fitting to adapt a Shop Vac to the saw. You're going to have a heck of a lot of sawdust blowing against the wall and all around there.

 

[Red Leader]

Bobcat,

Great find on that 50s grinder.

We have a local 'email list' for vintage tools we (CO OWWMers) find and then pass on to the group. If you want, I can get you on that list. PM me for details.

-RL

 

[-Brent-]

I like these types of projects. Can't wait to see more.

Bobcat,

Great find on that 50s grinder.

We have a local 'email list' for vintage tools we (CO OWWMers) find and then pass on to the group. If you want, I can get you on that list. PM me for details.

-RL

RL, I want onto that list too, if possible.

 

[couchmechanic]

Stopping by to say hi. Are you working on any projects?
Pete