Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Marticus’ small single garage / workshop

[Marticus100]

Hello all!

I figured I would share my space as I’m just starting to get it in order in preparation for a makeover.

I moved into the house 5 or so years ago and whilst the garage was used for some projects it was mainly just a storage space / dumping ground.

I’m cringing at the current state of it, but believe it or not I’ve already cleared several car loads of junk over the past few weeks!



As you can see there is a LOT of stuff in there. I did build myself a workbench at the back, but it’s currently buried under everything that’s been dumped during my reorganisation.

Right now under everything the garage is unfinished since we bought the house so the floors are bare concrete and the walls are unpainted.




The plan now is to pull everything out throwing away as much as I can in the process so that I can work on the floor. I need to deal with the drain in the centre and there is a gap around the edge of the floor that will need filling.

After that I think just some paint or maybe those pvc floor tiles that seem to be so popular.

But first things first. I don’t have any storage to put everything in whilst I’m working on the garage so I spent this evening putting together some shelves that will eventually live in the garage when it’s done. For now they will go under the carport so that I can at least keep everything off the floor.



And that’s where I’m at for tonight, I’ve had enough after realising I’d put two of the legs on the smaller shelves upside down .

One last pic for today

The sign reads: ‘why clean up the mess when you can just turn off the lights’. Hopefully that’s not going to be the theme of this project going forwards!

 

[Marticus100]

Small progress today but the trash exodus from the garage is under way.

I’ve moved a lot of things to the carport temporarily, and have managed to load the car for another trip to the recycling centre.



Carports starting to get full now.



And garage is looking emptier.

I’m still concerned about how much stuff I have that needs to go back to the garage.
I’ve been looking at some of the beautiful well organised and clean garages on here, but I think something like that isn’t going to be possible for me considering the stuff / space ratio I have going on.

Maybe I’ll figure out some other storage solution for the bikes , lawnmowers etc

 

[captain14]

Can you make a diagram on paper on what you need in the garage?

Make some cut outs to scale so you can see what fits where? Just moving your stuff 6 times to decide it doesn’t fit there is tiring.

 

[Marticus100]

Can you make a diagram on paper on what you need in the garage?

Make some cut outs to scale so you can see what fits where? Just moving your stuff 6 times to decide it doesn’t fit there is tiring.

Yeah that’s exactly what I should be doing.
I’ll take some measurements today while I’m in there and see what I can come up with.

Good idea, thanks.

 

[Marticus100]

No big progress yesterday but I did start some kind of design / planning.




Sorry for crappy pics I can’t be bothered to export screenshots and send them to my phone.

But outlook is that it’s going to be a tight fit!

 

[Marticus100]

A little reorganisation and I should at least be able to open the door to get out now.

 

[Marticus100]

Another small update, I managed to get a couple of hours in the garage today, cleared a bit more of the **** out, and made some progress on the drain.





Now I’m starting to think about what to do with the floor when I have it cleared, I’m really not in the market for spending hundreds of dollars on epoxy and tiles are beyond me

Right now I’m looking at just painting it, I’ve found some paint that says it is for garage floors but then goes on to say it’s not suitable for heavy vehicle traffic which isn’t confidence inspiring.

So if anyone has any suggestions let me know, I’ll keep looking in the meantime..

 

[MovingAlong]

Right now I’m looking at just painting it, I’ve found some paint that says it is for garage floors but then goes on to say it’s not suitable for heavy vehicle traffic which isn’t confidence inspiring.

So if anyone has any suggestions let me know, I’ll keep looking in the meantime..

If the concrete is still clean, any paint would have to be addressed when you do go for epoxy or tile. Based on the electrical and language sign, the nearest Home Depot is probably a ways off but here is what I'd be tempted to do - just unroll some vinyl flooring. Turning the front wheels of the car lock to lock might tear it up, but just pulling in and backing out might not...

 

[Marticus100]

If the concrete is still clean, any paint would have to be addressed when you do go for epoxy or tile. Based on the electrical and language sign, the nearest Home Depot is probably a ways off but here is what I'd be tempted to do - just unroll some vinyl flooring. Turning the front wheels of the car lock to lock might tear it up, but just pulling in and backing out might not...

Thanks for the reply,

I actually picked up some paint from my local hardware store today.

The floor is just raw untreated concrete at the moment so I figured whatever I do it needs to be at least sealed against moisture.

So I will paint for now, but I actually had an idea about adding something over the top for added protection.

there are a few different companies selling those plastic grate tiles that I’ve seen here in loads of builds. I didn’t want to use them because I also use the garage for woodworking and other messy jobs and it seems like they would be a ballache to clean, I also have some moveable trolleys with small wheels that would be difficat to move around on those.

So now I’m thinking after the paint to put just two strips of those tiles or maybe vinyl something down to protect the floor a bit and leave clear space in the middle for other jobs or moving things around.

The only problem is how to stop them from moving around when I’m driving in and out as you say.

 

[Marticus100]

Still slow progress at the moment, life is getting in the way. But I wanted to spend a little time in the garage tonight.

As it’s attached to the house loud work is off the board after the kids are asleep, so I decided to fit the windowsill that I bought the other day.



And really not wanting to deal with the mess stacked on the workbench I was overcome with the urge to fill some of the holes left over from the shelves and racks that won’t be going back up.

Pretty soon filling a couple of holes turned into filling the larger dents, then the smaller dents. And before I knew what had overcome me it’s an 45 minutes later I’ve run out of filler and I’m not even a third of the way through.




I’m not sure why I bothered I’m not looking for perfection here, but I guess if I’m repainting anyway it can’t hurt..

I need to stop procrastinating though and finish dealing with the mess, I’m determined to have it done by the end of this week so I can push on with the decorating and floor.

 

[Marticus100]

I’m burning the midnight oil today, but I forced myself to spend a few hours in the garage and I FINALLY cleared the workbench.

I also cut the top down to accommodate moving the fridge when alls done. I still need to cut down the frame and remove one of the legs etc, but small progress is still progress.



Eventually it would be good to make it look a bit nicer, so if anyone has any suggestions on how to beautify particle board be sure to let me know for now I’m off to bed.

 

[Marticus100]

Still making slow progress here, but still moving things forwards.

Got the drain seated but figured it wouldn’t look good being white on a dark grey floor, so it got painted.



Whilst I had the black paint out I wondered if the electric conduit would look better in black



I think I’ll be painting it all black properly while I’m decorating it looks much better.

And then I figured there’s no place for a white freezer in the garage so you guessed it..



Aside from painting everything black I cleared out all the expansion joints around the floor.



And pulled down the last of the shelves and organisers, and patched the last of the holes.



And that’s where I’m at tonight, I figure I’ve got one last trip to the recycling centre and I’m nearly ready to start the fun stuff!

I’m thinking to take a day off later I the week to make a proper start on the decorating, trying to do this between everything else is taking too long.

 

[Marticus100]

It’s empty! It’s finally empty!





I would like to dedicate this moment to my carport, without you all my **** would be getting wet.

And to cheap galvanised steel shelving units, though you stink and are wonky as all hell, you help me organised my ****.. sob

 

[captain14]

It may be the only time you’re ever see it empty until you move!

Capture the moment!!

 

[Marticus100]

It may be the only time you’re ever see it empty until you move!

Capture the moment!!

Yep, I’ll be taking some more pics when it looks a bit nicer for sure, and the kids have been enjoying the space on their rollerskates.

For now it’s all preparation I’m not looking for perfection but lots of sanding, sweeping, filling, sanding, sweeping, cleaning etc etc.

I’ve just finished grounding the walls and floor and now am finally ready for paint, hoping to get the base coat done tonight but still waiting for the grounding to dry…

 

[Marticus100]

Last update for today. Floors and walls cleaned, everything grounded, and the first base coat is on.



It’s been a long day, and will be again tomorrow, but I will have everything painted before the weekend so I can start getting everything back in next week.

 

[Marticus100]

Quick update for today got the walls done.

Started with the top half


Which looked quite dark until I started the bottom



Color contrast perception is weird!
The whole top half of the walls are all the same grey, only the bottom half of the end wall is painted


And after a second coat we are done



Can’t believe how much better it looks already.

If I find the energy Later tonight I’ll paint the stripe and maybe give the floor the first coat.

 

[Marticus100]

Started work on the dividing strip but was concerned that the masking tape I had was not great, and sure enough I had a lot of tear out when I came to remove it.

So tomorrow I’m going to be repainting all the areas that got damaged, but here’s a quick pic of the current state fuckups included. At least the Color scheme came out alright.

 

[Marticus100]

Managed to sneak a couple of hours in this evening.

Repaired the damage done yesterday and the first coat of paint is drying on the floor.



Happy with how it is turning out so far. But it wont look so great when all the stuff goes back in.

Next step after the floor is done will be skirting boards and painting the conduit.

Then a lot of reorganisation before everything goes back in.

 

[captain14]

Did you make a diagram where everything is going to live? Move it once, not three times.

 

[Marticus100]

Did you make a diagram where everything is going to live? Move it once, not three times.

Hi, yeah i started a few posts up with some layouts in 3d.

So i know how to layout the furniture, and i have three sets of shelves that i didnt before so that will help.

Im hoping to wallmount the hoses and pressurewasher which will clear one corner.

The main problem is organising the smaller stuff tools etc…

A tool chest is on my list of purchases this year which shoukd help a lot. Im thinking i shoukd also pick up some cabinetry for the back wall to try and maximise the use of wall space.

The rest of the wall space will be taken up with bikes.

 

[Marticus100]

The last week was spent putting three layers of paint on the floor and fitting skirting boards.

And today i played some more with some black paint:

Shelves painted


Then i finished of the conduit for the cables, really happy with what difference this made


And finally started getting things back into the garage. Fridge and workbench are back in place and shelves got bolted to the wall.


Next job will be to start bringing everything back in from under the carport so that i can paint the shelves there and bring them into the garage.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Wow, that looks fantastic! What a difference!

 

[Marticus100]

Wow, that looks fantastic! What a difference!

Thanks, theres still a lot to do but i feel like this is a good start!

 

[Marticus100]

Before i fixed the shelves i figured i would be a good idea to confirm the car fits and unfortunately it looks like my earlier layout designs were not accurate.

Fortunately there is space enough for the car and to get in and out.





Unfortunately any hopes of using the workbench with the car in situ are out of the window.


Next purchase: a smaller car

 

[Marticus100]

Hi guys, been a while since the last update. But after vacation and a bout of Covid im back at it.

Right now im focused on getting everything back into the garage and organised.

Im happy with the layout of the shelving and the extra space they give me but the small scale granular organisation is still a pain.



I have one shelf filled with car cleaning / polishing/ bodywork items, but i feel like its too squeezed in so i will probably divide it onto the top shelf as well once the speakers are properly mounted.




I was previously using these Wallmounted organisers but had planned on getting rid of them. The problem is i dont see any other good options for sorting small items that will allow easy retrieval. I dont fance having multiple organisers stacked on the sheLves, so untill i figure something else out these will go back up.



Ive left myself space for a toolbox when i have some funds, that will help a lot.



In addition to everything else im relocating my 3d printing setup to the garage, i originally had it here on the shelves but it didnt feel like a good place so i have it on the workbench for now and am weighing options.

I may build a wallmounted cabinet for it, which will help if i decide to print high temp materials in the future anyway.



So this is where we are, ive replaced the printer with a clamp and a grinder for now, im not sure how best to use that space i may get a top for both shelves and have a second mini workbench area.

Ive got camping gear on the right, and car servicing thing on the floor below.

Im trying to plan ahead but i know organisation like this is a process more than anything else and im sure ill be rearranging as time goes on.

 

[Marticus100]

Oh and my wife bought me my first decoration as a small birthday present,



Ill be adding some more over time to add some interest to the walls.

 

[Marticus100]

In my desire to find some suitable organisation for the shelves, ive managed to put together some kind of ‘system’ that i think might work.

Ive found two different height crates that when stacked will fit perfectly onto the shelves.

With the smaller one being the perfect height for some small organisational boxes.









My thought process here us to use them for related items so in this case the larger will be for electrical cable, and the smaller for connectors / fittings, so if im wiring something i can pull out the whole box and have everything on hand.

 

[Marticus100]

So first box on the left is mains electric with bulbs switches electrical cable and on top are some tools and fittings.

Second box is A/V, networking, so speaker cable, hdmi, etc and on top is ending, interconnects and crimping tools etc..

I thing ill need two more for electrical, one computer specific and a second for low voltage (12v LEDs and other small things).

Theres going to be some crossover im sure but hopefully over time ill get it to a point where its useable.

Sorry if im going on about this stuff too much i hope im not boring everyone

 

[Marticus100]

Ok last update for today, promise!




Got the storage containers remounted and im pretty happy with them there.

Theres room for a couple more rows which i will add later, im going to exchange the larger containers for smaller ones as they dont do well with lots of weight anyway.

I’ll find some other solution for heavier items like lagbolts.

 

[Marticus100]

Hi guys, im still making slow but steady progress with this.

Still organising my ****, but in the meantime i found some time to mount a couple of speakers for music.


I was running these off a mini amp using phono / aux, but my new phone doesnt have an output, so i’ll be picking up a blutooth version somepoint soon.

I also picked up some conduit for the cables but it only came in white so i’ll be painting that black to match the existing conduit.

Since i gave up on the idea of getting rid of the wall mounted sorting boxes, i have commited to it and mounted a couple more rails and picked up some new boxes, still need a few more to fill it out, but slowly getting there.



The wife also bought me a couple more tin signs while she was out the other day, ones above and the other here


I think thats her way of encouraging me to keep things moving as shes also pushing my unfinshed projects out of the house


Ill be working on that soon and will find a home for it out here somewhere..not sure how but.

 

[Marticus100]

Well the missing organisers were annoying me so i went to the hardware store.


Now i need to actually organise the contents

 

[Marticus100]

And just picked up a couple more tin signs for the garage.



This is becoming an addiction…

 

[Marticus100]

Found this small cabinet for sale by me for a good price, not huge but it will let me organise my tools untill i pick up something better:

 

[Marticus100]

… Aaaand its full already.

Damn im going to have to invest into a proper tool chest sooner than later, but i like this little thing, once i get something bigger this will go onto the wall.

 

[captain14]

It doesn’t take much to fill a new toolbox if you’re just cleaning up the workbench or a couple of shelves.

 

[Marticus100]

It doesn’t take much to fill a new toolbox if you’re just cleaning up the workbench or a couple of shelves.

Oh yea for sure its hard to appreciate how many tools you have when theyre spread out all over the place.

 

[Marticus100]

Cleared the floor before finishing up for the day.

Its nice to see how far its come in the last months.




Still plenty to do though!

 

[Marticus100]

Finally finished clearing my workbench today!



Sure it wont stay that way for long, but feels good for now.

Was also tired of loosing track of everything all the time so i bought a chalkboard.



Feeling more organised already!

Ive managed to find a few hundred euro to put towards tools so i picked up a small toolbox to sit on top of the workbench.

Ill be filling it with sockets wrenches and hex/ torx drivers

Which is all on my shopping list now as i will slowly start replacing my old cheap tools with some slightly nicer ones.

I also need a torque wrench but my current budget wont allow for that so i will go on the christms list, maybe santa (the mrs) will be feeling generous this year!

 

[Marticus100]

Welle everytime i think ive got the garage empty, it just keeps filling back up.

This time a whole volkswagen golf has appeared in there!



Finally replaced my old 3 series, with an almost as old Golf.

Ive been searching for at least three months now, as the car market is totally screwed at the moment.

Then this showed up a couple of hours drive from me and i jumped right on it.

Fresh import from Germany with 100k miles, spotty service history, but the body is super clean, and the previous owner had just invested a grand on it at the beginning of the year replacing wishbones and other suspension bits.

All in all im well pleased, got it booked in at VW for dsg service and a once over.