Garage Re-Organization....My Turn

[Jagmandave]

nolimits, I had the bench top custom made at a local sheet metal shop, they made it out of 18 ga stainless, welded the left corner where the backsplash comes together, and welded the right side where I had them fold down a 1-1/2" piece to match the front. They bent a 1-1/2" front with a 1" return underneath - total cost was $209.

They did a fantastic job and it fit perfectly - for the underlayment I used a 4X8 piece of particle board sliced down the middle to make two 2x8s, laid on top each other gave me the 1-1/2" thick and plenty of stiffness.

I won't have the cabinets till mid next week, and I'll still haven't made a final decision as to placement - still kicking around some ideas. I saw the cabinets at $135 originally too......

I did get my electrical done, and all the lights are now working off of the wall switch - let there be light!

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I also found a good deal on CL for a Harbor Freight 20 ton press, I'm picking it up tonight only about a mile from my house!

Projects still to do: remove all the schmutz on the other two benches and paint behind them, move as much of the loose detritus to the basement temporarily, then once the cabinets are up, start getting stuff relocated. Also, I still have to figure out my nut/bolt/odds'n ends storage.....

 

[Jagmandave]

I've been watching for one of these for a while now, finally tonight I found one just a mile or so from my house and went and got it!

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Yes it's got a small bend on the lip of the cross piece, I'll just flip it upside down and it'll be good to go.

 

[Mach5]

The press is a very handy tool. My buddy JB bought a HF press (I don't recall if it is the 20 ton) and it came in handy when pressing off and on the CV joints on the MINI whilst doing the CV joint boot replacement.

 

[Responder]

Coming along nicely! That SS top fits in there really well. As for the built in rollers, seems Steevo has inspired another project with his fine craftsmanship! Well done!!

 

[Jagmandave]

Today's HF flyer had their 1 ton foldup engine hoist for $99.....I can't find used ones that cheap!

I also noticed they're making a wholesale change to silver paint instead of that milky orange - that's a good thing in my book!

Oh, and my cabinets came today.....boy howdy are those suckers heavy! I don't know how I'm going to get them lifted up onto the wall......one advantage of going with thin metal cabinets I guess.....

 

[Mach5]

The milky orange paint was pretty thin, too. Hopefully the silver will be a bit more durable.

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[Jagmandave]

So, today I'm a cabinet maker!

My cabinets arrived today via FedEx and boy those things are heavy, made out of MDF, covered in vinyl except for the doors which are painted a beautiful pearl white - they should go with my color scheme nicely.

I've got one built and another almost finished, but then comes the hard part - hanging them on the wall. they're held on with a French cleat, and getting the cleats centered over the studs and level with each other will be fun....I've half decided to put them side by side on the end wall, above the parts washer - but that will mean moving one of my light fixtures, and may require a little rewiring again.

They're 35 wide X 31 tall X 12 deep.

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[Jagmandave]

Cabinets are hung......rethinking the height tho before I fill them all up. I also need to move that light fixture, and either turn it 90º or something. I could move them down another 6" or so......I just can't decide if I need the extra room below or not.....I'm just winging it here!

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I found a nuts and bots cabinet I'm going to go look at tomorrow - it has 180 3X5" drawers and it's roughly 42" square. I think that would hold all of my nuts and bolts easily, in one package. he want's $65 which I think is a bit optimistic on his part.....

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[Jagmandave]

Lighting's fixed, I'm going to leave the cabinets where they are and start moving stuff into them today - I have got to start making some real progress on this project, it's going to start snowing soon and the bride wants her car back in the garage...I currently have her side buried in paint, trim boards and misc stuff and I don't want to move it again till it goes in it's final place!

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[FarmerPete]

If that bin is made solid, I would pay $65 for it. I'd still try to talk it down to $50, but $65 doesn't seem unreasonable. I love that it has the sizing cutouts built in.

 

[boiler7904]

If that bin is made solid, I would pay $65 for it. I'd still try to talk it down to $50, but $65 doesn't seem unreasonable. I love that it has the sizing cutouts built in.

Was thinking the same thing. Looks like it needs some cleanup / tlc but not unrealistic at that price.

 

[littlered70]

nolimits, I had the bench top custom made at a local sheet metal shop, they made it out of 18 ga stainless, welded the left corner where the backsplash comes together, and welded the right side where I had them fold down a 1-1/2" piece to match the front. They bent a 1-1/2" front with a 1" return underneath - total cost was $209.

They did a fantastic job and it fit perfectly - for the underlayment I used a 4X8 piece of particle board sliced down the middle to make two 2x8s, laid on top each other gave me the 1-1/2" thick and plenty of stiffness.

I won't have the cabinets till mid next week, and I'll still haven't made a final decision as to placement - still kicking around some ideas. I saw the cabinets at $135 originally too......

I did get my electrical done, and all the lights are now working off of the wall switch - let there be light!

View media item 34386
I also found a good deal on CL for a Harbor Freight 20 ton press, I'm picking it up tonight only about a mile from my house!

Projects still to do: remove all the schmutz on the other two benches and paint behind them, move as much of the loose detritus to the basement temporarily, then once the cabinets are up, start getting stuff relocated. Also, I still have to figure out my nut/bolt/odds'n ends storage.....

Which local shop did you have the SS top fabricated at, as I will be looking to have one built too?

 

[nolimits76]

The cabinets look good Dave. My only concern would be the height as you mentioned. Not sure your height or how often you need to reach items on the top shelf, but they look high to me. Maybe your garage ceiling is low in that area? Just something to consider.

And thanks for sharing the info on the stainless top. There is a fab shop just around the corner from my work. I think I will visit with them to see how much one will cost once I get things built. If it's in the $200 range, I'm in. Unfortunately with the L-shape I have, I think it will be $300-400 total.

 

[Jagmandave]

littlered70, Heckert Sheetmetal did it, they're down on Southwest blvd next to Schutte Lumber.....I've used them for sheet metal work for years and years.

What part of KC are you in?

 

[toolman1967]

Your makeover is giving me lots of great ideas Dave. Looking good!!

Tim the Toolman

 

[littlered70]

JagmanDave, Thanks for the info. I'm out in the Lees Summit area.

 

[Jagmandave]

I'm in OP.

I'd think just about any sheetmetal shop could do it for you, and I know there have to be a number of them out your way...

Good luck with your project, and be sure to start a thread to document what you do.

 

[Jagmandave]

Another step.......this corner is by the garage doors and was a black pit of despair, with a buildup of leaves blown in thru the doors and weird electrical run everywhere by the previous owner. Behind the shelf unit to the right is a small 4 sq ft space where my compressor fit perfectly, but I had to run a 20A circuit to it. Next I'll pipe to a hose reel that I'll mount on the wall above the pressure washer, that will give me good access without having to reach thru those shelves.

I don't know if this is the final layout, it may be too close for the wife to get her car door open, so I may have to change things around yet, but I'm making progress. If her car won't fit then I'll swap places and park my old Jag there and she can use the other side.

I'd say I'm 3/4 of the way done now, only one corner left to do, the one with the wooden and metal benches. Once that area is painted and the benches moved back into place I can do the final relocation and clean up. Still haven't decided what to do with all the nuts and bolts tho.....

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[zkling]

Looking really good on the remodel. Make sure you don't light a match near your floor jack.

Actually that may be a nice spot for a welding table.

 

[jacksmash]

I love the extra nooks for equipment and shop space. That is something that most garages in Chicago definitely don't have. They have room for one or two cars and a lawnmower. Also like the commercial solvent washer.

 

[Jagmandave]

Looking really good on the remodel. Make sure you don't light a match near your floor jack.

Actually that may be a nice spot for a welding table.

Ha! I'm a non-smoker, and I don't allow anyone else to smoke in my shop either.....besides, all those gas cans are empty - I have no idea why I have so many!

The smallest one is for 2 stroke mix for the weedeater and chainsaw, the others are just regular gas cans. I have a 5 gal. diesel can and another 5 gal gas out at my "country" place where I keep my tractor and ZTR.

The black one is my oil change container.

And I have a small welding table on wheels that will fit right in that spot for storage. I'm still in the "find a place for everything" stage, so some of it will probably be rearranged yet again

 

[Jagmandave]

I love the extra nooks for equipment and shop space. That is something that most garages in Chicago definitely don't have. They have room for one or two cars and a lawnmower. Also like the commercial solvent washer.

The solvent washer is actually a Harbor Freight that I converted with a can of Saftey Kleen solvent, I built some brackets and dangled the pump down in the solvent and it works perfectly!

I like that it has the extra little nooks also, that's what's been so frustrating about it - I still had no room to work, once this is done it will be positively spacious.....comparatively anyway!

 

[Mach5]

Do you have a "before" pic of that space?

 

[Jagmandave]

I'll have to look, but I doubt it......take my word for it, it was a mess!

 

[Mach5]

I just didn't even remember the nook there at all.

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[Jagmandave]

I'll see if I have a pic from one of our garage days that might show it - probably the reason you don't remember it is because it was dark and stuffed full o ****!


The compressor used to sit right by the door, now it's moved into the cubbyhole behind the rack to the right.....

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Here's one where I was welding up my Mini lifter uppers that kinda shows it, but it was stuffed full o even more **** after this.


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these show this corner a little better...

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didn't look too bad in those pics, I musta cleaned it up some.....I replaced those two 3 ft long shelve units with 4 footers, and I still can't get everything put away!

 

[Jagmandave]

A little more work done today, I pulled the two workbenches out and removed all the shelves, I nailed up the baseboard molding, and made up a little mortar to fill in along the edge where it had deteriorated on top. A little mud and some primer and this is the last corner of the shop to be painted. Then all that's left is to finish finding homes for everything I took down. Still haven't done anything with the floors, tho I might try a little paint stripper tomorrow to see if it will touch it, After cleaning the floor under the benches I realized the floor paint is not grey like I thought, it's a kind of pale green! Goes well with the yellow walls, huh?

So glad to get this all covered at last!

The before look....

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Todays work....

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[Jagmandave]

Let there be white!

The last corner, primed and top coated, and the grey lower has been cut in, but I need to let the top cure overnight before I tape it off and finish the grey. It feels so good to have finally covered all that old nasty yellow paint!

I also put a coat of grey on the legs of the wooden bench so it would look better against the wall. Tomorrow once the last coat is dry I can start moving things back into place and do the final reorganization. I can't believe I've been working on this for a month and a half already!

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[Jagmandave]

A little more progress....paint in the last corner is done, now al I have to do is start putting it together again, and get a lot of stuff moved into it's final home. some is going downstairs, at least for now....

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Benches moved back and bolted down again, now I'm just sorting and moving things around looking for the best places to put them. All the stuff I use, even occasionally stays upstairs, the rest is going down to the basement, where I'll have to do a similar chore before it's all done....

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In looking at these pics I realize that all of the stuff on the pegboard would fit in the two HF tool boxes yet, except for that big puller. That rear door is going to be replaced, that's why I didn't bother painting it - it's in sad shape. The previous owners musta had a big dog that lived in the garage, as that door is scratched and beat up something fierce. I like the extra light it brings into the garage, but it's sure not secure if someone wanted to break in.

This is the "before" pic....

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[Mach5]

Is that really how it looked or just how that corner looked while you were doing the build for the new bench across the room?

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[Jagmandave]

Mostly the latter......

Here's how it looked on a recent MINI club shop day....

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So, I'm closing in on the last of it - finally ......I can't believe how long I've been working on this. Today I got my new air hose reel mounted and plumbed to the compressor......btw, the price of brass fittings at Home Depot is just nuts these days, buy what you need at HF for pennies compared to HD or anywhere else I checked...

I bought some small parts bins to sort out the remaining nuts bolts and odds and ends, then all I have left to do is get the rest of the stuff off the garage floor and find homes for it. It's been a long haul but I think it will be worth the effort and expense once it's done. I'm also still sorting tools into the new tool boxes, and I printed some labels for the handles, that way I won't spend all day opening and closing drawers trying to find that tool I need!

I'll have final pics on Friday - that's my D day on this project as I have a MINI club shop day scheduled for this Sat, so it HAS to be done by Friday night.

The press might still get moved out of that space in between the benches, I'm undecided on it right now. I'm also considering cutting the back legs shorter to allow it to sit closer to the wall.

 

[Mach5]

Yes but the HF ones tend to leak

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[Jagmandave]

I haven't had any issues with HF brass fittings leaking, in fact they look pretty good to me.

The few galvanized fittings I bought last night at HD were absolute ****, I had to dig thru the box to find the ones that looked half way decent.

 

[Mach5]

I haven't had a problem with mine but I think mine might be Sears. JB has one at his house he says is HF and it leaks horribly.

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[Jagmandave]

Mostly done. I put away the last of the tools out of the smaller roll cabinets into the HF 44's, moved some stuff around again and finished cleaning up. A lot of stuff went down into the basement, so guess what my next project is?

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Today I held another shop day for the KC MINI club. It's amazing how such a big space can get small with only a couple of cars in it and 15 or so guys sharing some donuts, coffee and workin on their cars!

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thanks to everyone who read my thread and made suggestions, I appreciate all the input and interest!

 

[akdiesel]

Jagmandave

Nice build. In my shop I have an open space shop, no center post to hold up the roof, but in your garage and others like yours with the metal center post gives a nice place to hold a grinder or something similar. I know it may get bumps or in the way of cars, but you could use bolts to hold it place then remove it later or slide it up to the ceiling out of the way.

 

[Mach5]

Need to do your floor. Wouldn't any epoxy finish be able to expand and contract with the floor? I take it the pieces of concrete aren't even and that the unequal heaving and settling caused the cracking. So the question becomes whether you can float new concrete over the old to even the floor or if that new concrete would be too weak and easily torn up by heavy equip, jacks, etc. I would think the epoxy would add strength...

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[Jagmandave]

Over near the door, the floor has settled about 2" into the corner where I put up the wire shelves with all the spray cans and gas cans on them.

In the other bay, it's dropped about an inch or more right in the middle where the door lands, and the floor is cracked there too.

I've had mudjacking done on the driveway a few years ago because the driveway dropped almost 6" right in front of the bay - that's been holding fine since, so I guess I'll call them and see what they think of raising the garage floor up again. If I can get it mostly level again, then I'd consider putting a coating down, but frankly I prefer smooth clean concrete to painted or race deck or anything.

My patio has dropped 1 1/2" in one spot too, so maybe I can get a "two-fer"..

The alternative is to have it all torn out - driveway too, and replaced. that would be nice, but I don't have the funds for that. My neighbor had his garage floor and driveway re-poured a number of years ago and he got a great job, it hasn't cracked anywhere and still looks terrific. It cost him about $6K then, and that was at least 15 years ago, I can imagine what it would cost nowadays.

akdiesel, good idea on the grinder, attaching it to the pole - although I don't know how I would raise it up and down. And in the down position I would run into it constantly - as big as that area looks in the photos, once you get cars in there it's really not that big - in my picture those are MINI's in there, imagine how it would be with a pick up truck or something?

One of the guys jokingly suggested what I need to do is lower the floor, and since the driveway slopes up to the house, that would lessen that incline as well and give me enough headroom for a couple of lifts. Imagine what that would look like, 10 foot tall garage doors on the front of the house!

 

[Micscience]

Man nice garage when I get my own one day I would be very happy if it looks similar to that. It has just the right amount of space, 2 bays one for a lift and a back door plus space to walk around the cars nice build good luck.

 

[Jagmandave]

Thanks, but given the low ceiling height due to the bedrooms the only lift I could use is a scissors type, and I could only lift a car about 3 ft.