Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Grumblebums Corner

[Grumblebum]

So after having lurked around for a while and spent several weeks of evenings getting through the garage gallery threads of Mr.360, 1/2 Cup, dubbers single, Taumac and Denwood, I thought I would share my space.

In the last few years I have added an extension to my home and as part of that built a double garage and adjoining workshop area. The garage area is around 6 x 5.7m (19' x 18'), and my workshop area is 2.7 x 3.1m (9' x 10').

After getting through a few threads now (thanks for the motivation) I've been down here in the evenings trying to get things in order as it's been a bit of a mess for a while.



The cabinetry is from the old kitchen that was removed when I did the renovation/extension, and it fit the space perfectly. Just made up some new benchtops with some heavy particle board subfloor and formply on top.





I use this area as a battery charging station.



And the spot where a microwave oven once lived is now a space for an old laptop.



Cheers everyone.

 

[Hounddog]

Welcome aboard Mate...looks to me that you've got it going your way! Nice space you got there. As you know this place is a great place for ideas. Please drop by my build "Never BIG enough Garage Addition" and say HI.

 

[Carves]

G'Day,

Good looking, compact workspace ..

Must take a little while to get jobs done tho, If you have to wait for that red and white worklight,

... to do a full rotation - before you can see what your doing again ..

 

[Grumblebum]

I finally tackled sorting my assortment of screws, nuts, bolts and washers into something more manageable during a few evenings this week. There were many containers that were just mixed medleys and numerous packets that were all just shoved in various boxes and I'm sure I'm not alone in this respect!

First stop was a trip to the hardware to see what they had as possible storage options. Picked up a few of these containers and ended up doing a follow up trip to get some more of the ones that seemed to work ok.





These ones were pretty good as you get a smaller bonus container too and you just adjust the slots you need.







A couple of progress shots...



So at least now I hopefully won't waste time looking for the right size fixing, if it's not in the right spot then I don't have it and it's off to the hardware.

They currently live in a corner cupboard under my battery charging area. It will need some future adjustment, but for now it's much better.

 

[Grumblebum]

Thanks Hounddog, I'll be sure to stop by. I've only been sniffing around for a few weeks and already there are things that are moving up the to-do list that would not otherwise have made it for a while yet!, shall see how we go...

 

[Grumblebum]

G'Day,

Good looking, compact workspace ..

Must take a little while to get jobs done tho, If you have to wait for that red and white worklight,

... to do a full rotation - before you can see what your doing again ..

Thanks Carves, surprisingly it puts out a good little light. It's on the bench to have some bits glued back up as an almost 4 year old knocked it a bit when he was playing in the garden with my claw hammer

 

[Sunbimmer]

Looks like a very nice work space, neat and clean
Thanks for sharing...oh and what's with the lighthouse?

 

[Grumblebum]

These were on sale yesterday at the local Repco automotive outlet as part of the Father's day catalogs that are out at the moment.



At $99 I was a bit skeptical on the quality, but after having checked out one they used in the shop themselves it looked ok, certainly fine for my needs.



A cold beverage or so later...



The end of my mobile bench is 22 1/4", so I had been looking for something around that size, most of the cabinets seem to start at 26", so when I found this one which ended up being 24 1/4" it fit the bill perfectly and does not impede walking around the bench at all. It also stays within the footprint of the workspace, so when I eventually get the vehicles back in here it's not going to get smacked with a door. As a bonus the height is almost exactly the same as the bench, I hadn't even worried about the height before purchase.



Originally I thought I might get something to fit on my main counter top, so if I re-arrange later it is still an option, and fits nicely too with the lid open.



Cut some draw bases from some 1/8" conveyor belt type matting. Will have to cut some more on the weekend to finish it off.





And now I have somewhere to put the oil I use in my Hilux. The base probably will see an offcut of ply in the bottom just to stiffen it up a bit.

Pretty happy overall, I've never owned such a cabinet before and all it needs is some lubricant on the castors to free them up a bit.

 

[Grumblebum]

Almost caught up on the last week of evenings....

I stole this idea from dubbers single thread, he had some black tubs somewhere in there earlier on in the show from memory. Nice idea as clear plastic still looks cluttered.

There is a shelf above head height (approx 6') that runs along the back wall of the garage so that the cars bonnets still tuck under nicely.



Started with 6...



...and ended up with 16.

Really took care of a lot of items that otherwise just cluttered the shelf as it was before.

The tubs contain things like car washing/detailing gear, first aid kit refill supplies, camping bits, even one to store my home brew gear.

That shelf itself is 2 layers of formply to keep the theme of the main benchtops, so 32mm thick. Guess I better get in and finish tidying up the timberwork with some paint.

The backwall itself has a number of items hanging but I've seen on here a few people with some of the paneling options that look much nicer so I may look at that further in the future.

 

[Lyndon]

Welcome Grumblebum.

This is a great site, which has been helping keep me busy for the last 12 months or so. I don't have a thread yet (because I think I would be too slow adding updates), but enjoy everyone's threads here.

Enjoy the journey - we'll all be watching with interest.

What you've achieved so far is great.

Lyndon
On a beautiful late winter's day - Downtown Camden, Sth West Sydney.

 

[1/2 Cup]

G'day and welcome aboard Grumblebum its great to have another Aussie on the forum.

You have a great setup there and I really like your storage containers, they are the best thing since sliced bread. You wont know your self.

Looking forward to following your progress.

Regards

 

[HSpencer]

Welcome aboard and looks like a real nice shop to begin with. Your efforts are looking good and I like the arrangements a lot. I am a big fan of the smaller shops.
Thanks for posting yours and we will all enjoy following your work!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[OJ Bartley]

Nice space, Grumblebum. I like the doubled up tote bins in black, they look almost seamless. In small spaces you have to be pretty efficient and it looks like you're doing quite well with it. Keep it up!

 

[Grumblebum]

Not a lot of garage related projects this weekend gone, just managed to add a plywood base and finish the draw mat in the tool chest. There may be some new goodies arriving tomorrow hopefully!

The rubber matting is very grippy, so helps stop the inertial tendency of things moving around. I have some in the back of my Hilux and it keeps things in place nicely.







(apologies for the crappy photos, still working out cameras so most of these are just from the mobile so far...)

 

[Grumblebum]

Looks like a very nice work space, neat and clean
Thanks for sharing...oh and what's with the lighthouse?

Ha, the little light house belongs in the vegetable garden. It's solar powered so it lights up at night with a small led light. I glued up the broken bits the other day so will try to get a snap of it in action soon.

 

[Grumblebum]

Welcome Grumblebum.

This is a great site, which has been helping keep me busy for the last 12 months or so. I don't have a thread yet (because I think I would be too slow adding updates), but enjoy everyone's threads here.

Enjoy the journey - we'll all be watching with interest.

What you've achieved so far is great.

Lyndon
On a beautiful late winter's day - Downtown Camden, Sth West Sydney.

Thanks Lyndon, I'm finding that after reading a few threads and starting my own it's a motivator to get more done! - might work for you too

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice space, Grumblebum. I like the doubled up tote bins in black, they look almost seamless. In small spaces you have to be pretty efficient and it looks like you're doing quite well with it. Keep it up!

Thanks, I had the idea of labeling each with a number and listing the contents on a small whiteboard or something inside a cupboard door, however wife didn't think that helped her so it looks like they are getting labels

G'day and welcome aboard Grumblebum its great to have another Aussie on the forum.

You have a great setup there and I really like your storage containers, they are the best thing since sliced bread. You wont know your self.

Looking forward to following your progress.

Regards

Cheers 1/2 Cup, lot's to do and finish - got through a pile of tek screw sorting the other night so I know where they are now

Welcome aboard and looks like a real nice shop to begin with. Your efforts are looking good and I like the arrangements a lot. I am a big fan of the smaller shops.
Thanks for posting yours and we will all enjoy following your work!

Best Regards
Herb

Thanks Herb, there is a little bit more yet to appear in photos but we shall get there eventually

 

[Grumblebum]

Damn dropped my phone onto concrete last week and broke the screen. It managed to just hit at an angle that the outer cover I have on it did not protect. So a visit to ebay later and about 2 hours of time made it happy again - what a PITA, have to pull the whole phone apart to get to the front screen!







The numbers on the paper with the parts represent the steps that I followed from the ifixit site, certainly helped with re-assembly.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+4S+Display+Assembly+Replacement/7277

 

[Grumblebum]

Here is a preview of an idea I had the other week when I was sitting in my garage with a cold one thinking about how to optimize my space a bit (the more I read the more I find that others here do this too..) Anyway last night I made some rough measurements.





These are not in much detail, but basically there is room under my old kitchen cabinets behind where normally there is a kick panel at the bottom which I am yet to install. So I thought I would use the space to make concealed drawers there.

Quite a lot of room and can probably get 5" of draw height in each one depending upon what castor arrangement I can suss out. Will snap some picks on the weekend when I can flesh it out a bit more.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Not good with the phone Grumblebum they don't like a fall from heights. One of the blokes at work dropped a brand new I6 and it was a right off.

Like your idea for the concealed drawers, now that's truly using every inch of space.

 

[Grumblebum]

Just went out to lock the chooks up, and the little lighthouse had charged up a bit.

 

[Grumblebum]

Some goodies for the toolbox arrived today, so no more going out to get the ones from the truck at odd hours.

These are "SP Tools" brand, seem to be on par with most of the mid-range tools as far as I can tell and seem to be pretty well regarded.

The combination spanner set and 1/2" socket set were on promotion as part of the Father's day catlogs.







First to be tested was the bottle opener. Pass!

 

[Grumblebum]

Since the weather outside hindered today's plan A, I fiddled around with my concealed drawers idea a bit.

Picked up some furniture castors during the week at the hardware which seem to be low profile enough for what I was after.



44mm hole saw in the bottom for the castors.



Just knocked up some basic draws with misc offcuts of 12mm ply that I had available. Nothing fancy, just pre-drilled, glued and screwed. Hit the panels with the orbital sander before assembly.



A snap of the space underneath one of the cabinets.



Fitted and mounted with the kick panel. Used some small white hooks as finger pulls so you can open them. They can't be seen when the draws are closed.





Looks just like a normal cabinet kick panel.



I don't know what will end up living in these yet, but they will be handy storage for things like clamps and odd items that otherwise take up valuable cupboard space.

Was great working in the workshop today since getting all the screws etc sorted the other week. Quick to get what I needed, and quick to clean up after as most things have a home now.

 

[Grumblebum]

While I had it out today I snapped a pick of my shop vac storage. I have 2 underbench bins, one stores the shop vac, the other stores the pressure cleaner.

I'd made these before I acquired the beer fridge, just happened to be the right size





They do need a paint at some point to tidy them up a bit.

 

[1/2 Cup]

A cleaver use of your available space, well done.

 

[Grumblebum]

A cleaver use of your available space, well done.

Thanks 1/2. I'm keen to see how you get on with your bench drawers, they look like they are going to come up very nice.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thanks 1/2. I'm keen to see how you get on with your bench drawers, they look like they are going to come up very nice.

I am still waiting on friends of friends at the moment, I could do with the extra space.

 

[OJ Bartley]

Great idea using that dead space under the cabinets Grumblebum! Any extra storage space helps, especially for stuff that doesn't get used often.

 

[dubber]

You sir have a nicely organized workshop.

I should send some of the pics to my dad to give him the needed kick in the ****.

 

[taumac]

So after having lurked around for a while and spent several weeks of evenings getting through the garage gallery threads of Mr.360, 1/2 Cup, dubbers single, Taumac and Denwood, I thought I would share my space.
Cheers everyone.

Wow, what a great space you have. Cabinets look great, the storage bins worked out great, and under the cabinets storage is real trick idea. Looks like your well on your way to one awesome shop.

 

[Grumblebum]

Great idea using that dead space under the cabinets Grumblebum! Any extra storage space helps, especially for stuff that doesn't get used often.

You sir have a nicely organized workshop.

I should send some of the pics to my dad to give him the needed kick in the ****.

Thanks for the comments and for stopping by. Definitely some new ideas floating around since being on GJ.

 

[Grumblebum]

Wow, what a great space you have. Cabinets look great, the storage bins worked out great, and under the cabinets storage is real trick idea. Looks like your well on your way to one awesome shop.

Cheers taumac, I looked back at your thread the other night to catchup on it too. I thought I'd posted in there but it might have been when the ipad died on me so it must not have gone through, I'll have to stop by again and say hi.

I did measure up some of the ply offcuts last night to finish off the remaining under cabinet drawers, so hopefully I can get that finished on the weekend and have a home for some of the clutter I have left to sort out.

Cheers Grumblebum

 

[HSpencer]

Good looking set of tools. I like the appearance of the boxes as well. The bins under the cabinet and for the shop vac is a great idea. Your looking good there!!

The place is looking quite cozy!!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[Denwood]

Grumb, thanks for the mention in post 1 You're making very efficient use of your space. Your kick storage is the first implementation I've seen. Very nice

It would be great to see a few pics of your overall space to see how you added in the extra work space.

 

[Grumblebum]

Good looking set of tools. I like the appearance of the boxes as well. The bins under the cabinet and for the shop vac is a great idea. Your looking good there!!

The place is looking quite cozy!!

Best Regards
Herb

Thanks Herb, I've got a few more ideas to improve some of the storage and I've worked out the formula is:

(beer + GJ + pondering = new idea!)

Just need to get some QST as 1/2 cup says to make it happen.

 

[Grumblebum]

Grumb, thanks for the mention in post 1 You're making very efficient use of your space. Your kick storage is the first implementation I've seen. Very nice

It would be great to see a few pics of your overall space to see how you added in the extra work space.

Thanks for dropping by Denwood, I think the under cabinet drawers could be an option for anyone who has used old kitchen cabinetry in a workshop space, and could certainly be improved upon for anyone doing a fresh install as you could make nice base drawer units and sit the cabinets on top of that.

I'll will get some snaps of the other part of the garage soon, it's just a bit cluttered with my box trailer, camper trailer and kids bikes etc at the moment that I need to find a better home for as I want to get the vehicles in the garage.

Cheers Grumblebum.

 

[BBChevro]

Nice use of space GB, I really like the secret drawers in the kick panels (hey, who doesn't like secret compartments?) and the storage box for the shop-vac.

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice use of space GB, I really like the secret drawers in the kick panels (hey, who doesn't like secret compartments?) and the storage box for the shop-vac.

Cheers BB, I managed to get another draw finished today in between daddy duties and working on underfloor insulation under the house.

I need to get some more of the recessed casters to finish the remaining draws.



This particular draw is a good size (34" wide x 21.5" deep) and all my clamps fit in it freeing up space in the cupboards.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Good one Grumblebum

 

[Grumblebum]

Some progress this weekend...

Saturday:

Finished off the underfloor insulation on the old part of the house (wrong end of winter to finish however I know). I used the Bradford Optimo underfloor batts. Very easy to install, cuts clean with a Stanley knife. Where I am is near the coast so very temperate climate, hence I used the R2.1 batts (approx R12 US).

All in 20 bags around 80m2 (861 sq ft), best thing was that I used the lot with none leftover

http://bradfordinsulation.com.au/~/media/Files/Bradford/Optimo-Brochure.ashx

So far results are definitely much quieter inside, you don't hear as much of that "suburban" noise. There are no more drafts coming up around the skirting boards (which was one of the main things I wanted to stop), and hence it feels much more comfortable.



Saturday afternoon managed to cut the bases for the last few draws that need assembly under the cabinets.

Sunday:

Father's day morning, manged to score a bit of a lye in and read some GJ threads My wife and kids presented me with a cool new toy...



Later on managed to get a couple more draws assembled for under the cabinets.



And that's about it. Hope those of you with young-ins had a good day.

Cheers Grumblebum.