Garage organizing software

[bigdogrider99]

Hello all, Newbie with first post and a question. Anyone got any software for laying out floor space for all the stuff we try to fit into a garage.

Building mine now 36x40 with a 12x40 storage room upstairs.

Gonna be doing woodwork, motorcycles and automotive restoration, along with a little metal fab to foot the bills for my hobbies.

Great looking web site.

bigdogrider99

 

[Bradley Miller]

Hello all, Newbie with first post and a question. Anyone got any software for laying out floor space for all the stuff we try to fit into a garage.

Building mine now 36x40 with a 12x40 storage room upstairs.

Gonna be doing woodwork, motorcycles and automotive restoration, along with a little metal fab to foot the bills for my hobbies.

Great looking web site.

bigdogrider99

http://sketchup.google.com/examples.html -- this software looks to be promising . . . I've been playing in the garage too much to do anything near a computer though.

 

[astroracer]

Grizzly has a shop layout program...
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G8145
Click on the Build your Dream shop button. You may have to scroll down a bit. It is really limited though for equipment and has no vehicle representations.
I used 1/4" grid paper to layout my shop last fall. Simply outline the building size (1/4" = 1') and then make paper cutouts of all of your "stuff". It's simple to move them around to determine the layout or just to let you know your shop isn't big enough...
Mark

 

[TER]

Grizzly has a shop layout program...
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G8145
Click on the Build your Dream shop button. ***********
Mark

That Workshop Planner is a pretty cool.

Thanks.

 

[bigdogrider99]

Thanks that thing works great. I have a decent idea/start on a layout now.

 

[Bradley Miller]

So far the Grizzly software is handy for doing a "what size do I need" and then just take that number and multiply it by n (the amount of garage your S.O. or SWIMBO will allow). Once you have that, then you can take the SketchUp and build your perfect add on for your house . . . something like this. Right honey? Honey . . . ? Perhaps a bed in the garage would be handy . . . but not for "the act".

 

[TER]

*** Once you have that, then you can take the SketchUp and build your perfect add on for your house . . . ***

But then you miss the fun of the big surprise! .. as well as the dull surprise.

 

[JohnZ]

I used 1/4" grid paper to layout my shop last fall. Simply outline the building size (1/4" = 1') and then make paper cutouts of all of your "stuff". It's simple to move them around to determine the layout or just to let you know your shop isn't big enough...
Mark

Sounds low-tech, but I've used this method every time we've moved (ten homes in the last 35 years); got a floor plan of the new home (or made one if it wasn't available), replicated it on 1/4" grid paper, and have kept an envelope with 1/4"-scale cutouts of all our furniture for years. Then put a tag on each piece of furniture for the movers so they know what room it goes in, and posted a copy on the door of each room so they know where to put each piece. Saves confusion during the move, and having to move heavy stuff after they're gone.

 

[Mike F]

When you use cut-outs of tools, you should also include the "working space" required for those tools. As an example, consider a table saw. While the tool's footprint may be 3' x 5' or so, if you plan on ripping 4 x 8 shhets of plywood you need space for the infeed and outfeed. The same applies to being able to move around a car on the ground or on a lift.

 

[Bradley Miller]

Sounds low-tech . . . kept an envelope with 1/4"-scale cutouts of all our furniture for years . . .

Did you have little Viper cutouts too? One of the guys that was engineer at Chrysler (Ed Peters) had all sorts of fun things and little antidotes. Somewhere I've got one of the exhaust flex pipes for the early Viper test cars. I needed it to take care of the header on my Shelby Charger. I got my Weber carbs that were a part of the old Direct Connection road show for the 2.2L stuff. Fun stuff.

 

[Pekingman]

You could always use Microsoft's Visio program. Its only 2-D but its the best 2D software I've used. It has tons of sizeable templates for shop equipment, office equipment, vehicles, and TONS more. Give it a look.