How to setup this old 2 car garage ?

[stioc]

So I just moved into a rental house with a standard 2 car attached garage. The garage is quite old, unfinished and has a single 40W light bulb. It might even have a ghost or two lingering around, see if you can spot one in the third pic. So, given what I have to work with here I'm trying to shoot for a functional garage vs. a nice looking garage since its not mine to keep.

The dimensions are roughly 20x20, I have 3 cars but based on past experience I'll only be parking one car in there so its not so cramped. I've also decided to use the side-walls exclusively (as shown in the pics) for stacking space, that way I'll have room on the front and back of the car while working on it. Problem is I have too much stuff, the large items I have in there are:

o a tall toolbox
o a short toolbox with a welder on it
o 25 gal upright compressor
o engine stand
o metal cutting band saw
o table top drill press
o bench grinder
o workbench (to be built)
o 2 floor jacks
o 6 jack stands

The rest is all boxes, oil, shop supplies etc. So, I'll definitely need lots of creative/inexpensive shelving ideas. The best I've come up with so far is to use some 1x12 boards and angle brackets to build quick inexpensive shelves for storing boxes and shop supplies.

 

[dink]

I would concentrate it as a one car garage....it looks to narrow for 2 cars

 

[Luckydevil]

For shelving I'm a big fan of the Rubbermaid shelves that you can buy at HD, Lowe's, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. I think they are only about $35 and can hold a decent amount of weight.

For lighter stuff I also use the wire wall rack shelves they sell at the same places.

Definitely keep it as a single car garage.

 

[W-Cummins]

For shelving I'm a big fan of the Rubbermaid shelves that you can buy at HD, Lowe's, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. I think they are only about $35 and can hold a decent amount of weight.

For lighter stuff I also use the wire wall rack shelves they sell at the same places.

I like the wire rack shelves too but I think it's over kill for the light stuff For the light stuff I like the gorilla rack stuff they sell at sams club and costco. You can even make work benches out of it. In fact they make a work bench too, it's not too bad.

 

[stioc]

Thanks for the ideas, pls keep 'em coming, pics help too.

The first shelf on the right hand side is like one of those Gorilla racks. Its pretty good for storing stuff but it takes up valuable floor space. I'd prefer stuff up on the side walls high enough so I don't bump my noggin into one.

Yes, keeping it as a single car garage.

 

[330Scott]

Can you store any of your excess "stuff" up in the rafters? Maybe keep seasonal stuff up there?

If you build your workbench to the right specs, you can mount your grinder and drill press to it and put some of your larger items under it such as your band saw, jacks and stands, engine stand if nothing is mounted to it. Then put your compressor and tool boxes next to the bench. Try and keep all of your shelving on one side of the garage with maybe the exception of one of those 12"x24"x72" metal shelf units for misc tools, chemicals, radio,... Basically you will end up with one side of your garage being the "working" side & the other side being the "storage" side.

I'd take everyone's ideas and sit down in a lawn chair in the middle of the garage with a cooler of beer and a tape measure this Saturday and figure it out. Start placing your items where you think they will work out best and then do the fine tuning on Sunday. Heck, invite some friends over and do a little beerstorming.

 

[Darren M.]

I'll add a bit to that suggestion. (Welcome to the site by the way. ) Rather than trying to move the various things you have around make some paper stencils from old news papers and move those around instead. (Moving heavy objects kills a buzz. LOL)

Also, if you REALLY want to maximize the space you have you could build some home made hangers and use the inside of the wall studs to hang various thin items. I can see a set of wrenches hanging down two sides of one of those 2x4's. It wouldn't look pretty but .... I too am a huge fan of using rafter space and/or hanging shelves from the rafters..... as pictured...

 

[JMURiz]

First I'd start out with a scale drawing of all the items in your garage, cut them out and place them in a scale drawing of your garage. Also do scale drawings of your cars etc and see which would fit in the best.
This way you can play with placement and see if stuff will fit or be too cramped.
I like metro-shelving as well (wire shelving), it can be high-strength and has an 'open' feel to it.
Good luck!

Nathan
PS: How high is the garage ceiling height, maybe some overhead shelves and a step ladder to maximize space for rarely used items?

 

[SoCalGarage]

Looks like you have a TON of rafter space. Plywood the cr** out and use that as well. That garge is big enough to park 2 cars in no problem. When you need to work on one just move the other one into the driveway. All cars should have a garage to live in when at home.

I'd put your workbench up front. I had a similar size garage and had both a Ford Expedition and a VW Passat in there WITH a workbench up front AND a washer and dryer. Still had lots of room to get around all sides of the cars and used up all available wall space with shelves and was highly organized (OCD )

At least yours is unfinished, my was drywalled and the studs were no where near code so installling shelving was a bi**h!!

have fun, make the shelving removable since your renting and just take it with you when you go somewhere else

 

[astroracer]

One thing I am doing on my "makeover" is putting EVERYTHING on casters... Using good quality casters (w/brakes) makes any tool or bench I have easily storable AND accessible. You will be surprised at how much room you can create when you don't have to have stuff taking up space because it can't be moved... Workbenches especially, having them movable also helps keep the shop clean because any grinding or cutting I have to do can be wheeled outside (or near the garage door if it is incliment) to keep the dust down inside.
I won't go into all of the details in your post but if you want to check out my shop addition thread it is here...
http://www.garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=1245
The last couple of pages have pics of all of my mobile equipment...
Mark

 

[Steve_S]

I have a similar size garage to yours. Organizing and optimizing space are critical! I spend days organizing every tool, nut bolt and tool. Wall cabinets are your friend so get a bunch of them. Use the space below for workbench, toolbox, etc. Use the space on top of the cabinets to hold items you don't use much or plastic storage bins.

The idea about putting everything on wheels is also very good and I have done the same thing. That way when you don't have enough room where you need it for a big job, you can roll things around to make space.

If you have an attic, consider putting a fire-safe door to access it from the garage and use that area to store parts or other non-essincial items. My garage has transformed into a useable work space from a room I could literally not walk through, despite the fact that I have more "stuff" now than I did before. I'm almost done and when I am I will post a thread on it.

 

[stioc]

Thanks for the excellent suggestions and I'll be looking into each and every suggestion you guys have offered.

Steve_S, if you have any pics of your garage, I'd love to see them.

 

[Steve_S]

Sending a PM.

Oh, one more thing, while shelves are easy and cheap, remember that we are in earthquake territory. Cabinets are far better than shelves but if you really want to go with shelving then be sure to secure the items on them. In an earthquake, things WILL fall and fly around and the only objects that are between them and the floor are your cars. I find that tie-down straps or even bunjee cords for light items are good to hold things in place. Just attach to each side of the shelving unit (one strap per shelf) and pull tight.

 

[astroracer]

Shelving... Lots of shelves ='s lots of dust... I had shelves all over before the makeover... I will suggest cabinets as Steve has done. I don't have to worry about quakes here in MI but, if you do ANY kind of work that creates dust, spray painting, woodworking, grinding, even sweeping the floor, that dust gets all over everything! I am going to Home Depot and Lowes tomorrow. I will drop some change to get a bunch of wall cabinets that will seal up and keep "most" of the dust off my stuff...
just more things to think about....
Mark

 

[utahdog2003]

I'd take everyone's ideas and sit down in a lawn chair in the middle of the garage with a cooler of beer and a tape measure this Saturday and figure it out. Start placing your items where you think they will work out best and then do the fine tuning on Sunday. Heck, invite some friends over and do a little beerstorming.

I like that idea. Maybe take some masking tape and stripe off where you're thinking about putting the big stuff...then move in the cars and walk around in your "full garage," remembering of course that you can't walk on the "top" of your tool chest!

Good thinking to go into this prepared. No sense spending money on a rental property if you don't need to. Although after seeing some of the sweet shrines to auto-dom around here, restraining your investment is going to be tough!

 

[gerry]

You can go here http://images.grizzly.com/shopplanner/resources/shopplanner.aspx and run their shop planner to make some scale drawings and templets of standard sized tools and the like to play with. With this you can move things around and look at the working spaces different set ups leave you with

I would love to have lots of the vertical 6' two door storage cabinents in my shop but I may end up with 12 or 15 feet of 24" deep shelves along one side. I will then use RubberMaid boxes to store misc parts and tools in and lable the ends

I'd suggest you make a list of everything that you have or might have and plan a spot for it ftom the begining

Stard looking for old kitchen cabinents that you can beg or buy for little or nothing. To me, real wood is so much better than the plastic stuff

 

[stioc]

Dust and earthquake are definitely valid concerns but I'm trying to organize stuff as cheaply as possible. Yes, you're right, its tough to do this on the cheap when this site is loaded with examples of amazing garages.

I'm attaching a pic of the shelving that I had in mind. I'm thinking I need shelving standards (vertical rails), brackets and a couple of 1x12s.

 

[SoCalGarage]

my shelving is similar to that last pic except i used the 14" W melamie white shelving pieces at HD. They worked fine for over 5 years.

My father was a sheetmetal worker so he broke up some brackets for my shelves and used lag bolts to attach the brackets to the walls and the put screws thru the bottom of the shleves

I live in earthqauke area as well and have NEVER had anything fall off my shelves(knock on wood)

 

[Uncle Buck]

Russell: There are many, myself included who have put their home shop togeather on a shoestring, all of my wall cabinets were kitchen re-do alley finds. My benches are home planned and built of used 2x4's 4x4's and old free desk tops cannibalized from old office desks. You would be suprised how nice my old recycled stuff looks with a fresh coat of paint. I did not even buy the paint at full retail! I went to Home Creapo and asked if I could buy paint from their Hazardous chemical cabinet in their shipping dept (damaged paint that they must pay big money to dispose of per EPA guidelines). I found several gallons of damaged rust-o-leum red ($1.00 a Gallon) that contrasts nicely with the machinery gray color (full retail) I used on my bench legs and used cabinets. I am not really a cheapskate, but my finances are usually drawn a bit thin for many extravagances these days so I find creative shortcuts to make my shop look tidy and clean and a more pleasurable place to work. So it ain't just you!

 

[Steve_S]

I would suggest putting sides on the shelving to help keep things in place. It would also give you a place to put straps, rope, cable, bunjee or whatever across the front of the contents of each shelf.

 

[stioc]

I woke up this morning thinking I'd take some measurements and go to Homeless-Depot to see what they have available. However, I ended up finding a couple of 2ft x 6ft long 3/4" plywood boards. I ended up building two 2'x6' shelves side by side.

Because there's no drywall behind the shelves stuff could fall out the back so I had to notch the shelves to fit around every 2x4 on the wall that was time consuming.

Anyway, turned out pretty decent for no out of pocket cost (except for the 48' aluminum bubble level I had to buy). The wife wasn't impressed "you were making all that noise with your power tools, that's all you've done ?"

 

[stioc]

Remaining projects:

1) Build a workbench
2) Run some electricals and hang three or four florescent shop lights

 

[krooser]

Use the rafters to store stuff...rent a storage locker...

 

[Darren M.]

Looks pretty gooooooodddd! Here's a thought. All those jack stands; Build a shelf in between the 2x4's that is just tall enough to hold one at a time. Build UP and get them all off the floor.

 

[330Scott]

Now yer cookin'... Well since your wife doesn't appreciate your hard work, here's .



So is the plan to keep all your storage on the right hand side & make the left hand side your "shop"? Were you able to get all your storage items up off the floor & organized? I see that you still have some wood stored up in the rafters for future endeavors - maybe build a little shelf near your workbench for your cable TV.

Don't forget that you can utilize the bottoms of your new shelves by screwing different types of hooks into them for hanging stuff such as extension cords and what not.

Btw, where is your beer cooler?

 

[stioc]

Workbench project done but first thanks for the suggestions and compliments on my handy woodwork

Darren, that's a good tip, I'll add it to my to-do list

Scott, the other side of the garage has my two toolboxes, welder, air compressor, engine stand, band saw, washer/dryer etc. Since the garage is quite shallow I don't want to store anything on the front wall to make it easier when working on the cars. Yeah, we inherited the extra wood from previous owners but you're right I'm keeping it for future projects

Now the workbench details, I used simpson tie's kit for the frame, five 2x4s, a scavanged faux butcher block top and a pegboard for back splash. Dimensions are 48'Lx30"Wx39"H. I think it came out pretty decent and I love the fact that its pretty tall, not having to arch your back when doing stuff makes all the difference.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Ya all ever notice that when it comes to the shop/garage stuff, generally the lil misses just does'nt get it!

 

[maa139]

Ya all ever notice that when it comes to the shop/garage stuff, generally the lil misses just does'nt get it!

Generally???? How about never!

 

[GLF]

Southern Calif, the interiors are not finished. You have a good start

 

[stioc]

Thanks for the tips. I use the attic space for seasonal/ stuff storage but a lot of the stuff in those boxes is for frequent use i.e car wax/polishes, extra shop towels, screws/nails etc.

Also, I just built a new workbench today so the old one will either go to a friend or get recycled. The new one's hung off the wall instead of being free standing. The old work bench was 4ft x 2.5ft a bit too deep and not long enough. The new workbench is 6ft x 2ft and its high enough that it allows me to park two cars in the garage comfortably. The toolbox you see is a non ball-bearing box used for welding and measuring tools only.

I also got one 8-ft 4xT8 florescent and one 4ft 2xT12 fixture up, what a difference!

 

[stioc]

Here's the other side of the garage - excuse the grainy pic, time for a new camera I think.