Garage is 98% complete

[edwin]

Thanks to all who provided me the valuable input along the way . I wrapped up the last bit of painting yesterday , only some organizing and clean up work remains. I started with the intention of insulating the walls and hanging some drywall. By the time I was finished, I added a Racedeck 18x18 floor and built some custom cabinets. I strongly considered some custom cabinets but they didn't have the load bearing capacity I was looking for, nor did they utilize the space as well as I wanted. My solution was to load up the truck with cabinet grade hardwood plywood, 2x4's, etc and break out the table saw...making my own. I ended up increasing my storage space by 40% in the same footprint, eliminated most of the clutter, and got some better organization.

In the end, laid down 810 sq ft of floor tile and cabinets of 12' x9'. I'd do a few things differently if I had to do it over again but all in all am pretty pleased with the outcome.

 

[cdrewferd]

Good looking garage. What is the large black square by the cabinets for?

 

[edwin]

Great question! I have 48" wide walk behind mower (like the landscape guys use) that will sit there. The yard stays pretty wet in the summer from the sprinkler system...whenever you park it after cutting, it drips from the underside for a while. I figured the black would be easier to clean up than the white or silver tiles.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Wow that looks good and real tidy.

Are you planing any project in there or manly just for storage.

 

[edwin]

g'day bloke! No real projects as the garage normally houses either 3 cars or 2 cars and a boat. Our main daily entrance into the house is through the garage so it'll be nicer than the cluttered mess of days gone past. As the kids get older it just gets tougher and tougher to keep things in order

My next project will be to do something similar in my 20' X 25' work room in the basement...most of the projects get taken care of down there.

 

[christian]

Could you post some pictures of the inside of the cabinet. Curious as to whether you made drawers, shelves, layout, etc.
Thanks

 

[edwin]

Could you post some pictures of the inside of the cabinet. Curious as to whether you made drawers, shelves, layout, etc.
Thanks

I looked at custom cabinets from a cabinet maker, couple things I didn't like. They couldn't hold a lot of weight, most were only 72" tall, they had lots of tall open areas or drawers, built with MDF particle board, and they were $2,500+. I needed cabinets with shelves with approx 16" spacing, held lots of weight, didn't absorb liquids should something leak, and were built to last.

I ended up using a 48" x 72" commercial grade metal shelf system as the base, built the cabinet frames around that, hung the doors off the frames. I used birch hardwood plywood for the doors built on a 2"x4" frame. The shelves inside can hold 500lbs per shelf so weight bearing should not be an issue. The only big open space is the upper left hand cabinet. If you look at my junk, not much of it would make sense to put in a drawer...the 16" shelves are about perfect.

Total cost for lumber, hinges, paint, hardware, etc was less than $350...

 

[boiler7904]

Good looking garage. I want to get to that point over the next year or so as the budget allows but my wife keeps coming up with new projects for in the house so there goes my garage budget. At least her projects will let me buy a few tools I want and will need.

I never would have thought of building a cabinet to enclose normal steel shelving. Good solution to making those things look better.

How do you like have your compressor on a shelf like that? I'm assuming that with it up there, you aren't real concerned with it being real portable.

 

[benjacobs]

Fantastic job Edwin. The custom cabinets you built look phenomenal. The fact you built them complete for under $350 is sweeeet!!!

 

[TNToy]

I really like those cabinets.

 

[edwin]

How do you like have your compressor on a shelf like that? I'm assuming that with it up there, you aren't real concerned with it being real portable.

I love the compressor being up and out of the way. With 50' of hose, I can reach just about anything I need. I had the compressor for 5 years and it didn't move more than 10 feet. I had built the shelf some time back and it worked out well. Only made sense to put it back up again.

Once the money tree begins to bloom again, I'll be adding a real compressor up in the attic with air lines running into the garage and down into my work room in the basement.

 

[christian]

Thanks a lot for the pictures. Might copy some of your design.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Top idea with the cabinets and the metal shelving.

 

[bje31]

Great looking garage...Enjoy

 

[jwith68]

Edwin, great looking garage. If I may ask, where did you find the metal shelving you used as a basis for your cabinets? I have been looking for some shelving units like that and having a tough time finding anything. It seems that they used to be in every discount store, HD, Lowe's, etc. and now I can't find them at all.

 

[edwin]

...where did you find the metal shelving you used as a basis for your cabinets?

I bought them some years ago at Warehouse of Fixtures (314) 534-5900 in downtown St. Louis. They have tons of industrial shelving units from businesses that have moved, closed, etc.

What I have is similar to the Penco Clipper shelving found at http://www.bigdogwarehouse.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27_28&osCsid=41b6951df036e8fc677ddedc2fffecad

I never saw anything that suited me at Lowes or HD, but the industrial supply places have shelving solutions that will hold just about anything. Plus, you can play let's make a deal with them

 

[Matt2point4]

Very nice work there, I love it!

 

[SteveL]

edwin........Nice job!!! Noticed you are in my neck of the woods too. What part of town are you in? I've thought about trying to put together some sort of Garage Junkies tour this summer.

Whorehouse, I mean warehouse of fixtures use to be a great source for used shelving and office/retail fixtures and furniture. I was in the same business until 1993 and can tell you that those guys knew how to buy things right! Too bad they are not around any more.

 

[edwin]

Hey Steve...I'm in South County close to 270 / Tesson Ferry. Where about are you?

 

[SteveL]

Kirkwood............Lindberg & Manchester

 

[C_F]

Top idea with the cabinets and the metal shelving.

I couldn't agree more, GREAT idea!!
I'm definitely going to put that idea to use this summer.