Moving into a New Garage - Layout Ideas Help!

[dmparksa]

My wife and I will be moving into our first house with an attached 2 car garage in a few months! I'm pretty excited and have set aside a few thousand to put it together(including some tools I haven't been able to buy being an apartment dweller).

I'll be using the garage for general use and storage. Parking and working on cars, bicycles, light wood working, guitar pedal building, and maybe some welding in the future.

I'm trying to see if I could store the bicycles in the house instead of in the garage since they will take up a significant amount of space in the garage, but that's to be determined after we move in.

We have 1 car at the moment, but will likely be purchasing a second car after moving in. The car we have right now is a Subaru Forester(15.25' L x 6' W). I'm assuming the second car will be a miata, so its dimensions are 13' L x 6' W approx.

We've been having some surprise hail storms in the last few years, so being able to fit both cars in the garage is a big factor at the moment.

The garage is 22'L x 20'W x 10'H. There's about a 3ft(around 34") raised section at at the end of the garage leading into the house. WH is water heater, WSL is Water Softener Loop.

I've chicken scratched some baseline of what I'm imagining(roughly to scale 1ft : 1cm):


With a few things added:

Picture of the 3' x 20' garage ledge at another house by the same builder(we moved the water softner loop and the attic hatch):


Some thoughts/assumptions/facts:
- I'm imagining that I'll need at least 2.5-3ft to open the car doors easily.
- Whatever that goes on the raised section is going to be stationary, or will be painful to move on and off the ledge.
- I'd be okay with moving a car out of the garage if I'm going to be doing a job that requires a lot of space around each side of the car.
- I factored in the largest tool box that I'd be able to fit at 72 inches, but I'd probably be okay with the 44" US General Box. Most of my tools are in a few different Homak 3 drawer boxes at the moment except for the longer items.
- I don't plan on using the air compressor too much, but I plan to purchase a die grinder, air hammer, and astro thor impact wrench eventually. Should max out around 6CFM at 90psi.

Some specific Items and rough prices, will pick things up as they go on sale:
- US General 55" x 22" Series 3 Tool Box - $800
or
- Husky 72" x 24" Heavy Duty Tool Box - $700
- Husky 72" x 24" Work Bench - $350
- Husky 77" x 24" Storage Rack - $250
- Daytona Low Profile Jack - $240
- Husky Jack Stands x 4 - $75
- 4 ft led lights x 6 - $80
- Vise - $100 - $200
- Makita MAC5200(6.5CFM at 90PSI) - $450

If you have any feedback/thoughts about what layout would work well and/or any specific item recommendations, please let me know!

I can provide any additional info if needed as well if I've forgotten to include something.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Some here have found it quite effective to buy or build a shed for the yard. It provides a place for the clutter and gain valuable space back in the garage.


Also, HF is clearencing some of their boxes for the new generation stuff. You may want to see if anything is in stock locally.

 

[dmparksa]

Some here have found it quite effective to buy or build a shed for the yard. It provides a place for the clutter and gain valuable space back in the garage.


Also, HF is clearencing some of their boxes for the new generation stuff. You may want to see if anything is in stock locally.

The HOA that I'm moving into prohibits anything higher than 6ft at the tallest point for a shed, so it limits the usability and off-the-shelf availability quite a bit. They also seem to be quite a bit more money than what I'm wanting to spend to expand storage by a little bit.

It's just the wife and I and we have more than enough rooms for me to expand out to inside the house if needed.

I'm thinking of grabbing their series 2 44" and 26" if it's still available in a few months when I move. I'm in a second floor apartment without an elevator, so I'd rather buy whatever is available after I move even if I pay a couple hundred more.

 

[05snopro440]

I'm not sure where you live, but what's the reasoning for leaving 3' behind the Forester (and 2' behind the potential 2nd car)? That is valuable space that could be usable in front of the car in your work area. Just something to think about.

Sometimes it's nice to move the car forward to load things in without opening the overhead door, but sometimes that space is just too valuable to give up for that. My garage is 32' long and I park my vehicles as close to the overhead door as possible for more work area.

Unless you put a project away every night, being able to keep something on saw horses or a portable bench when needed has been very useful for me.

 

[dmparksa]

I'm not sure where you live, but what's the reasoning for leaving 3' behind the Forester (and 2' behind the potential 2nd car)? That is valuable space that could be usable in front of the car in your work area. Just something to think about.

Sometimes it's nice to move the car forward to load things in without opening the overhead door, but sometimes that space is just too valuable to give up for that. My garage is 32' long and I park my vehicles as close to the overhead door as possible for more work area.

Unless you put a project away every night, being able to keep something on saw horses or a portable bench when needed has been very useful for me.

I'm in Texas!

I put the spacing between the car and the garage door just as a baseline. I don't have any problems moving the cars around if needed to keep longer term projects in the garage.

 

[05snopro440]

I'm in Texas!

I put the spacing between the car and the garage door just as a baseline. I don't have any problems moving the cars around if needed to keep longer term projects in the garage.

I wasn't sure if you were worried about theft while having the door open. I saw another guy on here kind of do the same, new garage about 600 sq-ft, very worried about using the space effectively and his vehicles were 3-4 ft from the overhead door.

 

[dmparksa]

I wasn't sure if you were worried about theft while having the door open. I saw another guy on here kind of do the same, new garage about 600 sq-ft, very worried about using the space effectively and his vehicles were 3-4 ft from the overhead door.

Hmm, not sure I understand his reasoning on what a bit of extra space from the door would do to deter theft . If anything, it'd make it easier to get in and around things, wouldn't it?

I know garage theft is common with people who leave their garage door open while being at the back of the house and such. I plan on putting some cameras in and around the house, not that it'll be perfect, but maybe it'll deter a few people.

One of the reasons why I'm thinking of storing the bicycles inside the house is to prevent theft from the garage since they're the easiest to roll away with at the highest value(I'm an avid cyclist, so they're pretty pricey), although the main reason is just to have them in a conditioned space to prevent unnecessary deterioration.

 

[karoc]

I will be starting my second garage/shop since I also will be moving. What I have learned over years is this kind project is never ending. You set shop up then year so later you make adjustments. I made all my cabinets for my first shop but with price material, think HF idea is road I’m also taking as others suggested. Which means over time shop adjustments be easier. Good luck with any plans, it’s good feeling to have moving from apartment to house with garage. Congratulations

 

[dmparksa]

I will be starting my second garage/shop since I also will be moving. What I have learned over years is this kind project is never ending. You set shop up then year so later you make adjustments. I made all my cabinets for my first shop but with price material, think HF idea is road I’m also taking as others suggested. Which means over time shop adjustments be easier. Good luck with any plans, it’s good feeling to have moving from apartment to house with garage. Congratulations

Thank you! Yeah, I'm very excited for the space. I can change oil in my garage instead of doing it in the dark after the apartment office closes(most apartments have a "no working on cars" policy) or taking it to a shop/dealer.

Yeah, I expect to make a bunch of changes and additions over the years. I'm just hoping I don't have to move the heavy stuff on and off the ledge too often.

I haven't figured out the cabinet storage yet, haven't looked into whether it'd be cheaper to make myself some racks(wooden or steel) when I have some more tools or get kitchen/garage cabinets and hang them up. Please let me know if you have any recommendations!

 

[05snopro440]

Hmm, not sure I understand his reasoning on what a bit of extra space from the door would do to deter theft . If anything, it'd make it easier to get in and around things, wouldn't it?

I know garage theft is common with people who leave their garage door open while being at the back of the house and such. I plan on putting some cameras in and around the house, not that it'll be perfect, but maybe it'll deter a few people.

One of the reasons why I'm thinking of storing the bicycles inside the house is to prevent theft from the garage since they're the easiest to roll away with at the highest value(I'm an avid cyclist, so they're pretty pricey), although the main reason is just to have them in a conditioned space to prevent unnecessary deterioration.

Having the car further from the door would allow you to load and unload in the back hatch of the Forester without having to have your overhead door open. So if you're in and out of the house loading stuff in your car, opportunistic passers-by can't steal from your car or garage. If that's a issue where you are.

The reason I mentioned where you live is whether winter is a factor. My wife likes to have space so that she can load the dogs in the vehicle in the winter through the rear hatch while the overhead garage door is still closed to keep the heat in our heated garage and keep snow out of the vehicle and kennel. But we live in a vastly different climate.

 

[ludakris04]

Have you parked the cars in the garage yet?

That is the first step. I thought 20x20 was going to be a decent size. A couple tool boxes, trash can, recycling can, and it soon becomes a one car garage.
7x7 plastic shed holds a lot, and will be necessary if you have any lawn stuff.

Congrats on the house

 

[kbeefy]

Congrats on getting a new place, thats exciting!

I haven't figured out the cabinet storage yet, haven't looked into whether it'd be cheaper to make myself some racks(wooden or steel) when I have some more tools or get kitchen/garage cabinets and hang them up. Please let me know if you have any recommendations!

Keep an eye on marketplace/CL/where ever for take out cabinets from kitchen remodels. I got some really nice ones from a medical clinic that was being remodeled.

 

[dmparksa]

Have you parked the cars in the garage yet?

That is the first step. I thought 20x20 was going to be a decent size. A couple tool boxes, trash can, recycling can, and it soon becomes a one car garage.
7x7 plastic shed holds a lot, and will be necessary if you have any lawn stuff.

Congrats on the house

Thank you! I haven't parked our car in the garage yet. It's a new construction and it's getting drywall sometime this week, so there's always been construction material in the garage space.

I am thinking of getting a plastic shed eventually, but it'll be tough to find one that's under 6' tall(our hoa height restriction). I haven't found any that looked good.

 

[dmparksa]

Congrats on getting a new place, thats exciting!



Keep an eye on marketplace/CL/where ever for take out cabinets from kitchen remodels. I got some really nice ones from a medical clinic that was being remodeled.

Thank you!

I'll keep my eye out for kitchen cabinets. I kinda thought it'd be ridiculously expensive to get new cabinets, so used cabinets sound great. I was thinking one of those pull out pantry cabinets would be great for storing cans out of sight while still having good access to them.


The steel garage cabinets generally don't have drawers, so I'd have to take a bunch of stuff out in order to get to stuff in the back. Or just end up buying duplicates since I don't know what I have behind all the cans in the front.

 

[ludakris04]

Thank you! I haven't parked our car in the garage yet. It's a new construction and it's getting drywall sometime this week, so there's always been construction material in the garage space.

I am thinking of getting a plastic shed eventually, but it'll be tough to find one that's under 6' tall(our hoa height restriction). I haven't found any that looked good.

That 6' height restriction might be for a permanent shed. Plastic sheds fall under "temporary" many times and will skirt around some requirements. Let the neighborhood shake out a bit.. I bet more than one person will complain about an impossible 6' restriction.

 

[CraigStu]

Look into bike hanging rigs. You can easily have 6.5ft headroom even under a bike hung from the ceiling. I have seen most where the bike ends up horizontal so a rig for each wheel. But they can also hang vertically. A previous garage the original owner had built shelfs 2 ft wide and 2ft below the ceiling on 2 walls. I needed a step ladder but wow did those shelves store a lot of stuff. At first it was just stuffed up there but eventually I got fancy and bought a bunch of clear plastic bins which sure neatened up the look. My attic door was in the center of the ceiling so I got an 10ft step ladder, Put an eye hook either side of the opening. Ran a rope between the eyes and through the top of the ladder. The bottom end of the ladder had a rope attached w/ a dog leash clip which ran up to the ceiling pulley, over to another pulley near the wall and down to a cleat on the wall. The ladder stored against the ceiling when not used. BTW the top rope had a dog leash clip on one end too. So I could let the ladder down, climb up and undo the top rope, and then carry the ladder anywhere else I needed it. That ladder was WAY easier to climb than the standard fold down stairs we had in another house. BTW once you get a 2nd car arrange your parking so your wife can pull in close to the right wall. And you back in close to the left wall, Suddenly you are both opening car doors into a 6ft wide open area vs against a wall 2-3ft away. You have the heater etc in the right bay so grab a tennis ball or a small plastic bottle w/ a couple of bolts in it for weight. Hang it from the ceiling so it taps the windshield when the car is far enough in to clear the door but before it hits the heater. When you look at tool boxes keep that 3 inch concrete shelf in mind. A lot of boxes will come up to just the right height to work on the top when raised 3 inches. If by chance yours would end up too tall, just remove the wheels. I agree w/ ludakris on the shed. Nearly every shed I have looked at had a 6ft opening for the door so the peak was at least 7ft and that is if it were set right on the ground. When our daughter was young I wanted to build a playhouse for her. A neighbor mentioned the temporary vs permanent thing so my solution was start w/ three 2x8x6ft PT boards laid on the grass like railroad ties. I built the house 2ft off the ground w/ the main 4x4 vertical frame pieces bolted to those 2x8s. Over the next 20 years I was careful to keep the grass mowed so those 2x8s were plainly visible. See...it's temporary!

 

[dmparksa]

That 6' height restriction might be for a permanent shed. Plastic sheds fall under "temporary" many times and will skirt around some requirements. Let the neighborhood shake out a bit.. I bet more than one person will complain about an impossible 6' restriction.

I'm not sure if it's going to go away anytime soon. The rule's been in place since the mid 2000s. I've seen a few plastic sheds over 6' while driving around, but I'm not sure how often the hoa people enforce that rule.

I think there's a request I can make for an exemption, but not sure it'd be worth it since it requires an architech/engineer's plan along with a $100 fee to apply for the exemption. It'd be pretty hilarious to hire an engineer to draw a plastic shed on CAD and put his signature on it though hahaha

 

[ludakris04]

I'm not sure if it's going to go away anytime soon. The rule's been in place since the mid 2000s. I've seen a few plastic sheds over 6' while driving around, but I'm not sure how often the hoa people enforce that rule.

I think there's a request I can make for an exemption, but not sure it'd be worth it since it requires an architech/engineer's plan along with a $100 fee to apply for the exemption. It'd be pretty hilarious to hire an engineer to draw a plastic shed on CAD and put his signature on it though hahaha

As an example, our HOA has 2 specific designs allowed for a wood shed. Plastic sheds.. no limitations.
With most rules, there are exceptions and loop holes, once you get to know neighbors you will probably learn them. Good luck.

 

[dmparksa]

Look into bike hanging rigs. You can easily have 6.5ft headroom even under a bike hung from the ceiling. I have seen most where the bike ends up horizontal so a rig for each wheel. But they can also hang vertically. A previous garage the original owner had built shelfs 2 ft wide and 2ft below the ceiling on 2 walls. I needed a step ladder but wow did those shelves store a lot of stuff. At first it was just stuffed up there but eventually I got fancy and bought a bunch of clear plastic bins which sure neatened up the look. My attic door was in the center of the ceiling so I got an 10ft step ladder, Put an eye hook either side of the opening. Ran a rope between the eyes and through the top of the ladder. The bottom end of the ladder had a rope attached w/ a dog leash clip which ran up to the ceiling pulley, over to another pulley near the wall and down to a cleat on the wall. The ladder stored against the ceiling when not used. BTW the top rope had a dog leash clip on one end too. So I could let the ladder down, climb up and undo the top rope, and then carry the ladder anywhere else I needed it. That ladder was WAY easier to climb than the standard fold down stairs we had in another house. BTW once you get a 2nd car arrange your parking so your wife can pull in close to the right wall. And you back in close to the left wall, Suddenly you are both opening car doors into a 6ft wide open area vs against a wall 2-3ft away. You have the heater etc in the right bay so grab a tennis ball or a small plastic bottle w/ a couple of bolts in it for weight. Hang it from the ceiling so it taps the windshield when the car is far enough in to clear the door but before it hits the heater. When you look at tool boxes keep that 3 inch concrete shelf in mind. A lot of boxes will come up to just the right height to work on the top when raised 3 inches. If by chance yours would end up too tall, just remove the wheels.

So the bike hanging thing's been a bit of a head scratcher for me. I'm real lazy when it comes to these things, so I want it to be as easy as it can be.

I currently use these at the apartment and they're pretty nice, but they take up a ton of wall space. Probably not ideal for the garage.


I see some of these type of systems that go on the ceiling and also slide along the rail:

I like the idea of them, but with 10ft ceilings, I'm not sure how convenient they'd be. I'd have to be on my tip toes to be able to put them in and out and I don't think my wife would be able to get them on and off without a ladder.

The wall mount systems like the steadyrack seem like a nice system, but I think they'd protrude from the wall too much even with the bikes rotated:




As for the tennis ball, will be doing that for sure!

 

[kbeefy]

I just measured my garage, 20x22 will fill up fast with a couple cars in it!

Heres the shelf units I found...



Any wall space that doesn't have something blocking it should have some method of utilizing it.
Shelves, hooks, pegboard, slatwall etc. It fills up fast!

 

[CraigStu]

I was thinking more like this for your 10ft ceiling height.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWWVMQQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Not this specifically. It is cheap so questionable, but it was the first one to pop up.

 

[05snopro440]

So the bike hanging thing's been a bit of a head scratcher for me. I'm real lazy when it comes to these things, so I want it to be as easy as it can be.

I currently use these at the apartment and they're pretty nice, but they take up a ton of wall space. Probably not ideal for the garage.


I see some of these type of systems that go on the ceiling and also slide along the rail:

I like the idea of them, but with 10ft ceilings, I'm not sure how convenient they'd be. I'd have to be on my tip toes to be able to put them in and out and I don't think my wife would be able to get them on and off without a ladder.

The wall mount systems like the steadyrack seem like a nice system, but I think they'd protrude from the wall too much even with the bikes rotated:




As for the tennis ball, will be doing that for sure!

I've used both the tennis ball and a parking stop on the floor, I prefer the stop on the floor. Reason being if you change vehicles or want your car parked further forward or back for a week, then it's no problem to move the stop on the floor. Ours are a steel angle with rubber grips, they don't move unless we move them.

 

[dmparksa]

I've used both the tennis ball and a parking stop on the floor, I prefer the stop on the floor. Reason being if you change vehicles or want your car parked further forward or back for a week, then it's no problem to move the stop on the floor. Ours are a steel angle with rubber grips, they don't move unless we move them.

That's a neat idea, although I'm afraid my wife might trip on them if the car's not in the garage.

I did think of putting some blue painters tape on the floor since the car has a backup camera. And then all she has to do is to line up the painters tape on the backup camera and she'd be in the correct spot each time, nothing dangling from the ceiling when the car's not in the garage and nothing to trip over.

 

[dmparksa]

I was thinking more like this for your 10ft ceiling height.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWWVMQQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Not this specifically. It is cheap so questionable, but it was the first one to pop up.

I know it probably takes just 30 seconds, but I'm so lazy with "getting ready to go exercise/outside" that I know if my bike was up on a hoist, I'd probably never take it down.

My laziness is the main reason why I hate going to the gym and prefer something I can do right out the door like walking, biking, or running. Having to drive to the gym puts an additional 30 minutes to my outing that provides no significant substance imo.

I'm certain I'm going to keep at least one bike on the floor and ready to go so I can just open the garage, grab the bike and go. I just need to find a way to make the other bikes accessible enough that it's not cumbersome to take in and out when I want to take those bikes.

 

[05snopro440]

That's a neat idea, although I'm afraid my wife might trip on them if the car's not in the garage.

I did think of putting some blue painters tape on the floor since the car has a backup camera. And then all she has to do is to line up the painters tape on the backup camera and she'd be in the correct spot each time, nothing dangling from the ceiling when the car's not in the garage and nothing to trip over.

On the style I have you can kick them because they're not adhered down, but the shape means a tire against them grips against the floor and doesn't move them. I trip over everything and I find it hard to trip over one.

Alternatively, since both bays have an adjacent wall, a vertical surface, tape line, or something on the wall that is aligned where you're supposed to stop when you look straight to the right/left is a nice non-intrusive option if it works for you.

 

[Mike65]

Here is what I did for my mountain bike to keep it out of the way when not in use. I got the plans off the internet & it was easy to build using scrap lumber I had laying around.



For the parking we use one of the parking mats in the carport so you can't accidently back up too far & hit the back wall of the carport. My wife's Bronco Sport has a backup camera, so she lines up with the map & backs up until she feels the rear tire go over the first hump on the mat.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/park-right-parking-mat-1225399?cid=Shopping-Google-Product-1225399&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA6byqBhAWEiwAnGCA4Mbp6_BxWSYbeoHH0LvDvrJtWk5MO2VjG0FEjTQR0bJGamHszX97AhoCjJsQAvD_BwE

 

[pickles]

OP. I have a similar sized garage that I want to park two cars in and also have four bikes. I bought this It lifts up the bikes so you can drive under it. Obviously you have to move that car to get to a bike. It also wasn’t cheap. But I really like it and it’s a good solution for a smaller garage.

 

[dmparksa]

OP. I have a similar sized garage that I want to park two cars in and also have four bikes. I bought this It lifts up the bikes so you can drive under it. Obviously you have to move that car to get to a bike. It also wasn’t cheap. But I really like it and it’s a good solution for a smaller garage.

That's very pricey, but this might be the solution after we move in and settle in for a year or so. I got the okay from the missus to keep the bikes in the house for now since we barely have any furniture to move into the house anyways.

We don't have a hitch mounted bike carrier, as I generally don't like having to drive out to a location to go biking(I'm a road cyclist mainly), but that may have to change since the subdivision we're moving to is right off of a state highway.

 

[nadogail]

I use the Tennis Ball to let me know when I have pulled in far enough to close the garage door, that gives me plenty of space in front of the car. If I want more space behind the car I can pull it in further.

My cabinets came from our kitchen remodel.

I am a firm proponent of CAD, Cardboard Assisted Design. It is much easier to move scale cutouts on a sheet of Graph Paper then full size Cabinets and Machines.

 

[rsparks64]

I suggest having as much as possible on wheels/casters so they can be moved if necessary. As you mentioned, any heavy things up on that shelf would be hard to move off of it, but could be moved side to side. My garage is a bit bigger than yours and is a three car with a small back shelf for the water heaters and water softener. I have several of my storage shelves on wheels (bakers rack types on shelves) so that I can move them around very easily. Only my Husky type of bench and one heavy duty shelving unit are not on wheels. I have a Milwaukee bench/tool box and a double decker toolbox, both on wheels, that I can move if necessary. I also have a zero turn mower that takes up a lot of room so we normally keep our SUV in the driveway and our other 2 cars are in the garage. Like you, we sometimes get hail and I can move the shelves around and put the zero turn in a tight spot in about 5 minutes and then I can get the SUV into the garage. It is tight, but only temporary.

 

[driftpin]

having as much as possible on wheels/casters so they can be moved if necessary.

+1 for this idea. Stuff on dollys/casters is a great way to maximize your utility.

I suggest you look at Gladiator steel shelving. They have different sizes: depth, length but I haven't seen height, the ones I've seen are about a bit above six feet. They are really-strong, the ones I have are capable of holding 8,000 lbs, properly-distributed, and don't need tools for assembly. They also have workbenches, I'd make my own top out of a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood, glued and screwed together to form a 24" x 96" top. You could use 2"x 10"s or some-other dimension of two-by's but the plywood top will be flatter, as the two-by's these days are going to have cups and bows. make it easy on yourself, and use 3/4" plywood, Of course, you can make it whatever depth and length you want. Make it 28" deep so you have a slight front overhang and to have a larger area for working. The only thing is, you need two 4 x 8 sheets.

A suggestion if you get the Gladiator shelves, they come with welded-wire which fits into recesses, and which serves as the shelf platform for each shelf. I cut pieces of 1/8" masonite to fit on-top of the welded-wire shelves, making it easy to slide heavier, bulkier things on/off the shelving. If you size it properly, you can have it lie where it's kept in-place by the shape of the steel shelf stampings. The one-eighth inch thickness is plenty thick-enough, because it's the welded wire grid which supports the shelf load. The masonite just makes it easy to store things and to move them, and it stops smaller things from falling through the welded-wire shelves.

There are many suppliers of these shelves in either the Gladiator or other companies' names. Costco and Home Depot has them, one Christmas I even saw Best Buy was offering them, and I ran-out and bought one because they were about $70 cheaper than anyplace else was selling them at that point. Remember they have different depths for the shelving units, ones I've seen are 18" and 24" so buy what works best for you. Also, be sure to see the last link where solutions for covering the racks are discussed. You can easily fabricate sliding doors, and I suggested bamboo curtains, which are inexpensive, easy to hang, and will cover-up the shelving fronts to make things more visually-attractive. You could also use something like thin plywood, masonite, or light sheetmetal to enclose the shelving, if you wanted. I make good use of Rubbermaid storage bins (Roughneck or Brute Tote), and size the shelving depth and individual shelving height to match whatever size bins fit on the shelves. Of course there are many other brands, I find that after a few years, the Roughneck totes will split especially if heavy loads are kept in them. I've bought some of the harder plastic ones that Home Depot sells, they're yellow tops and black bins, they seem to last a long time, and are available in many sizes. I've yet to have one fail. Fingers crossed.

Gladiator also has a variety of steel wall cabinets and base cabinets. They come with cleats for hanging the wall cabinets. Their workbench frames are very-strong. Just be sure you hit the wall studs to mount the wall cabinets. Use fender washers on the inside to spread the load, using something like 1/8" x 1-1/2" straps all the way across the inside back of the cabinets is a needless waste of $ as you aren't going to be putting anything heavy-enough in those cabinets to justify full-width strappping. The wall cabinets are 12' deep.



Gladiator also sells a RTA (ready to assemble) line of cabinets. I suggest you go with the Premier line which is welded construction.

Garage Workbenches & Accessories | Gladiator

Shop Gladiator workbenches, stools, & accessories to transform your garage into a space ready for any project.

www.gladiatorgarageworks.com

I bought a set of Gladiator workbench legs (building my own top, see above) inexpensively off CL, as I don't 'do' facebook. However, that's probably the #1 source to check these days.

I may have missed it, I didn't see any comment on the washer/dryer installation. Is that inside?

I cut down some Gladiator shelving to fit the garage side-wall returns depth to store things, a thread. See post #6:

Best 'bang for the buck' garage cabinets you can buy at the store?

Going to be looking at adding some wall-mounted cabinets in my garage in the near future. I have searched and a lot of people will say find someone who is demoing a kitchen or house and use those. Or find an old business who is cleaning out and try and get them, but I just don't have the time to...

www.garagejournal.com

Possibilities for enclosing or at least covering-up tall shelving racks:

garage storage system with sliding doors

I'm in the market for a garage storage system in one car garage. We have received estimates from a couple of companies, but I'm looking for new ideas. Ideally, we would like to utilize about 130 to 150 inches of width (against drywall) and about 80 to 85 in Height and maybe 17-24 inches...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[rayra]

high shallow shelves on the side walls, from 6' and up to the ceiling. Use a french cleat system to hang them, so the floorspace below them remains clear. This space is for long-term or seasonal stuff which you rarely need to get to. Move the car(s) out to get stuff down or put it away. That's 120sq' of shelf space right there.

That pull down staircase is slaughtering your usable workbench space. Literally could not have been put in a worse location. Is there any way to relocate it into the middle of the garage floor instead? Serious suggestion.

And hold a pencil across the ends of each of those ladder segments as you move them thru their arcs of motion, trace those arcs on the wall. The amount of room needed to swing those segments just obliterates the useful wall space.
Rafter / joist spacings are typically regular. Depending how the roof peak is oriented, You really out to be able to readily relocate those stairs to somewhere adjacent to the **** end of your garage door opener. ~40% of your garage length away from your workbench area.
Those stair rigs are usually help in with a dozen screws into the joists on both sides of the opening. Simple matter to remove and relocate.
And you can even take the drywall from the new hole and use it to patch the old hole, with a little care.


A large wall-mounted fold-up project table space on a side wall. Which you park the car outside while you use the table space.

 

[dmparksa]

That pull down staircase is slaughtering your usable workbench space. Literally could not have been put in a worse location. Is there any way to relocate it into the middle of the garage floor instead? Serious suggestion.

Yep, that's one of the first "customizations" we asked for. Had it moved 2 rafters over to the middle of the garage floor, and had the water softener loop moved to the side wall as well.

 

[dmparksa]

+1 for this idea. Stuff on dollys/casters is a great way to maximize your utility.

I suggest you look at Gladiator steel shelving. They have different sizes: depth, length but I haven't seen height, the ones I've seen are about a bit above six feet. They are really-strong, the ones I have are capable of holding 8,000 lbs, properly-distributed, and don't need tools for assembly. They also have workbenches, I'd make my own top out of a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood, glued and screwed together to form a 24" x 96" top. You could use 2"x 10"s or some-other dimension of two-by's but the plywood top will be flatter, as the two-by's these days are going to have cups and bows. make it easy on yourself, and use 3/4" plywood, Of course, you can make it whatever depth and length you want. Make it 28" deep so you have a slight front overhang and to have a larger area for working. The only thing is, you need two 4 x 8 sheets.

A suggestion if you get the Gladiator shelves, they come with welded-wire which fits into recesses, and which serves as the shelf platform for each shelf. I cut pieces of 1/8" masonite to fit on-top of the welded-wire shelves, making it easy to slide heavier, bulkier things on/off the shelving. If you size it properly, you can have it lie where it's kept in-place by the shape of the steel shelf stampings. The one-eighth inch thickness is plenty thick-enough, because it's the welded wire grid which supports the shelf load. The masonite just makes it easy to store things and to move them, and it stops smaller things from falling through the welded-wire shelves.

There are many suppliers of these shelves in either the Gladiator or other companies' names. Costco and Home Depot has them, one Christmas I even saw Best Buy was offering them, and I ran-out and bought one because they were about $70 cheaper than anyplace else was selling them at that point. Remember they have different depths for the shelving units, ones I've seen are 18" and 24" so buy what works best for you. Also, be sure to see the last link where solutions for covering the racks are discussed. You can easily fabricate sliding doors, and I suggested bamboo curtains, which are inexpensive, easy to hang, and will cover-up the shelving fronts to make things more visually-attractive. You could also use something like thin plywood, masonite, or light sheetmetal to enclose the shelving, if you wanted. I make good use of Rubbermaid storage bins (Roughneck or Brute Tote), and size the shelving depth and individual shelving height to match whatever size bins fit on the shelves. Of course there are many other brands, I find that after a few years, the Roughneck totes will split especially if heavy loads are kept in them. I've bought some of the harder plastic ones that Home Depot sells, they're yellow tops and black bins, they seem to last a long time, and are available in many sizes. I've yet to have one fail. Fingers crossed.

Gladiator also has a variety of steel wall cabinets and base cabinets. They come with cleats for hanging the wall cabinets. Their workbench frames are very-strong. Just be sure you hit the wall studs to mount the wall cabinets. Use fender washers on the inside to spread the load, using something like 1/8" x 1-1/2" straps all the way across the inside back of the cabinets is a needless waste of $ as you aren't going to be putting anything heavy-enough in those cabinets to justify full-width strappping. The wall cabinets are 12' deep.



Gladiator also sells a RTA (ready to assemble) line of cabinets. I suggest you go with the Premier line which is welded construction.

Garage Workbenches & Accessories | Gladiator

Shop Gladiator workbenches, stools, & accessories to transform your garage into a space ready for any project.

www.gladiatorgarageworks.com

I bought a set of Gladiator workbench legs (building my own top, see above) inexpensively off CL, as I don't 'do' facebook. However, that's probably the #1 source to check these days.

I may have missed it, I didn't see any comment on the washer/dryer installation. Is that inside?

I cut down some Gladiator shelving to fit the garage side-wall returns depth to store things, a thread. See post #6:

Best 'bang for the buck' garage cabinets you can buy at the store?

Going to be looking at adding some wall-mounted cabinets in my garage in the near future. I have searched and a lot of people will say find someone who is demoing a kitchen or house and use those. Or find an old business who is cleaning out and try and get them, but I just don't have the time to...

www.garagejournal.com

Possibilities for enclosing or at least covering-up tall shelving racks:

garage storage system with sliding doors

I'm in the market for a garage storage system in one car garage. We have received estimates from a couple of companies, but I'm looking for new ideas. Ideally, we would like to utilize about 130 to 150 inches of width (against drywall) and about 80 to 85 in Height and maybe 17-24 inches...

www.garagejournal.com

Thank you for the very detailed information here! I will check out those links along with the rack and shelving options from gladiator and suggestions from the other posts you linked.

Yes, the washer/dryer is inside in its own utility room.

I was leaning towards some of the home depot offerings since the workbenches seemed to be a bit less expensive from Husky over Gladiator. Not sure if there's any significant quality difference.

 

[dmparksa]

I suggest having as much as possible on wheels/casters so they can be moved if necessary. As you mentioned, any heavy things up on that shelf would be hard to move off of it, but could be moved side to side. My garage is a bit bigger than yours and is a three car with a small back shelf for the water heaters and water softener. I have several of my storage shelves on wheels (bakers rack types on shelves) so that I can move them around very easily. Only my Husky type of bench and one heavy duty shelving unit are not on wheels. I have a Milwaukee bench/tool box and a double decker toolbox, both on wheels, that I can move if necessary. I also have a zero turn mower that takes up a lot of room so we normally keep our SUV in the driveway and our other 2 cars are in the garage. Like you, we sometimes get hail and I can move the shelves around and put the zero turn in a tight spot in about 5 minutes and then I can get the SUV into the garage. It is tight, but only temporary.

That's what I'm trying to go for as much as possible. Keep the 2nd car outside if I'm working on another car in the garage, but be able to move things around quickly(within 5-15 mins) in case of severe storm or hail.

I think if the second car is a smaller car, it should be very easy even with lawn equipment along with some storage/tools near the walls.

My only thought is that having the workbench on the 3 ft ledge is going to only give me about a foot of standing space. It's only a 3 inch ledge, but I'm sure it'll be something I trip over often.

I'm trying to think of a place that I can put the workbench instead of on top of the ledge. Or a lighter, movable workbench/cart along with a full sized bench on the ledge.

 

[rayra]

If your cars are short enough you could add a removable wood deck that widens that usable floor shelf so you have more room to walk / work or not accidentally turn an ankle stepping off of it. Just make it flush and level with that concrete step.

If you can build anything, you can readily make a custom bench for the work space and one which a rolling cabinet could dock into or under.

I used a combo of ready-made upper kitchen cabinets and made the rest, all hung on a french cleat on my 3rd garage stall side wall. And modified my old workbench to fit the new space (mostly out of frame to the right). I added rolling cabinets and rolling shelf units and a rolling work table that docks to the wall under the white-door cabinets when not in active use.
Most of the stuff is on wheels, I can configure the work space any way I need to, or collapse it all into a compact block when not in use. Had that latter idea in our old house with a 2-car. When we were house-shopping 3yrs ago a 3-car was near the top of the 'must have' list.