Help Me Plan My Garage!

[OctaneMotorsports]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for some advice regarding layout in my single door, two-car (24'x26') attatched garage. My parents are getting a storage shed built in the backyard this summer, meaning the garage will be clear and all mine. Keep in mind I am only 14 years old, so anything too crazy is out of the question. The sole purpose of my garage is to support my racing, and I will be using it to store and work on 1-2 race karts at any given time. I will be drawing out a plan tomorrow during school, but I am wondering if anyone has some pictures of their two-car garages to see how it's laid out. I have almost everything I need, but I need some advice with placement.

Here is my garage as it stands right now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/octanemotowrench/BrendanGarage001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/octanemotowrench/BrendanGarage002.jpg
As you can see, there is a lot of **** at the back of the garage. I'd like to move everything more towards the back, to allow backing in part of the trailer to load/unload every weekend.

The necessities:
-toolbox (top and bottom)
-work bench (with vise)
-parts storage
-chemical storage
-air compressor (C&H 8 Gallon, possibly with a split...one to the main work area, one to the work bench)
-hose reel (for pressure washer)
-TV, CD, DVD, VHS, PS2, Sony six-speaker surround
-roll cart
-2 shop stools

I think that's about it...I will probably build a new workbench down the road, as the one I have now is an absolute beater.

Anyone have any ideas or plans? Thanks a lot!

 

[TACRick]

One suggestion I'd offer to maximize the use of your space is to get as much as possible off of the floor. Having stuff on the floor only makes more places for little stuff you drop to hide -- look into getting some heavy duty shelving and organizing stuff on that. How heavy duty? Depends on your stuff, but generally speaking the heavier the better. Nothing worse that sinking $ into shelves that are too light duty, and then having them sag and lean under the weight that's on them.

You'd be surprised at how much space the garage has when you can keep everything from being piled on top of itself, and how (relatively) easy it is to find stuff when it's organized!

 

[kartracer55]

You lucky *******... You do know I envy your CRG (although I couldnt be happier with the margay) and the fact that you have the garage to yourself

For storing the karts, I say clear a wall and go with some E track



http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_153963_153963

The stuff guys have along thier trailers... and use the straps. Its pretty cheap, and as long as you drain your tank you shouldnt have any problems storing them. Id mount this to a length of 2x4, top and bottom. go around the front porch of the kart and through the main rails on the back of the kart, and use a piece of rubber hose to seperate the kart from the wall and you will free up a ton of space in the garage.

For the workbench, Id get some help and build one right off the bat. Make it as wide as possible... If I were you, I would run it the full length of the back wall of the garage... Use 3/4 of it for the workbench and put the tv and **** on the last 1/4. Out of the 3/4 of the bench, I say cover it with some steel plate (3/16) and mount the vise to that. Put the top box up on the top of the workbench over towards the side and put the bottom underneath the bench in the same area as the toolbox. Put the compressor under the workbench as well.

Jim

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

Thanks for the advice.

Jim, the karts would be staying on standard kart stands, for ease of working on them. There will most likely be just one, but possibly one more down the road.

For the bench I was thinking something that spans across the back wall, with the toolbox in the middle and doors for storage. I would also probably incorporate an air compressor inclosure in there to reduce the noise a little bit. I would like to get a drill press and parts washer down the road, so a bigger bench is essential. I was thinking plywood, but we'll see.

As for overhead storage, I don't feel that much is necessary. All my mom's **** will be gone, and it's basically a few sets of kart tires and my chemicals to store...that's something you can always add on later, so we'll see.

 

[kartracer55]

Thanks for the advice.

Jim, the karts would be staying on standard kart stands, for ease of working on them. There will most likely be just one, but possibly one more down the road.

For the bench I was thinking something that spans across the back wall, with the toolbox in the middle and doors for storage. I would also probably incorporate an air compressor inclosure in there to reduce the noise a little bit. I would like to get a drill press and parts washer down the road, so a bigger bench is essential. I was thinking plywood, but we'll see.

As for overhead storage, I don't feel that much is necessary. All my mom's **** will be gone, and it's basically a few sets of kart tires and my chemicals to store...that's something you can always add on later, so we'll see.

You have open 2x4 walls right? Cut some pieces of 2x4 to fit in between them to make some built in shelves... put a slight back angle on them and you will have built in shelves for storing bottles of oil and cleaners... I have a bunch of these built in my garage... they work wonders and keep things neat. You can do it with some scrap wood too

Jim

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

Nope.

Most of the garage is drywalled, with exception to about the first 5 feet at the front.

 

[carcentric]

Here's my layout for reference:

Some of the key features:
- up here (Seattle area) siting matters (windows on South side for solar gain in winter)
- six 4' long twin tube T8 lights on ceiling (minimum)
- track lighting over workbench
- overhead door offset to give more room on workbench side
- shelving on two walls only (shorter side is gorilla rack for steel tubing)
- kitchen drawers (cheap, assemble yourself) support metal workbench top
- high windows let in more light and make break-ins difficult
- plan for lotsa 110v outlets to cut down on extension cord use
- plan for 240v for compressor (for painting down the road) and heater (IMO)
- 4' concrete apron with 3' porch roof over it for covered outside work area
- fire extinguisher near doors (preserves the choice to leave or fight to the last minute)

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

Lighting definately needs to be improved. As of right now my lighting consists of an independant 60w bulb towards the back, and the 2 60w in the garage door opener itself. No windows or doors.

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

Speaking of lighting, what do you guys think of these?

48" all metal w/5' cord. Uses 25, 34 or 40W T12 bi-pin fluorescent tubes. Direct plug in, so I could install them myself. I would probably get 2-3 of these to run along the back wall above my toolbox and workbench(es).

Seems like a pretty good deal for $20 CDN each.

 

[carcentric]

Speaking of lighting, what do you guys think of these?

48" all metal w/5' cord. Uses 25, 34 or 40W T12 bi-pin fluorescent tubes. Direct plug in, so I could install them myself. I would probably get 2-3 of these to run along the back wall above my toolbox and workbench(es).
. . .
Seems like a pretty good deal for $20 CDN each.

In the US at least (and I think everywhere else, too), T12 bulbs are being phased out (NLA at some point), so a better long-term investment would be the T8 bulbs.

The fixtures cost more than T12s (especially if you opt for the cold weather no hum, no flicker ones), but you'll only buy them once. They're available in with-plug or without (direct wire) models.