My first garage!

[gweaver]

Well, not really, but it'll be the first one I can truly call mine. Wife and I are in the process of buying a house in Cotati, CA. Our offer has been accepted and we've submitted loan paperwork. Inspection is tomorrow, appraisal should be later this week or next. Expected close is the end of July. I don't have any pictures of the garage, but it's a 2-car, and I know it's 22 1/2 feet deep, so big enough for the boat.

In preparation for having my own playspace to truly call my own, I've started working on building a new work bench with tool storage.

The frame is an old drafting table. I used 5/8" plywood to build the bottom base and the little shelf/storage area. That's all to give a little lift to this:

It's an old 5-drawer blueprint cabinet. The drawers are about 2.5" deep, and extend back about 26". Should provide plenty of storage space for tools. Future plans call for building shelves in the open space on the side, to store bins with hardware and fasteners. The top will be two sheets of 5/8" glued and screwed together. I'll also add either casters or blocks to the legs to raise the whole thing up higher. A power strip, possibly a retractable extension cord and maybe one overhead light fixture may be future additions.

I've got a second old drafting table which will have shelves for additional hardware storage in tackle trays, overhead lighting along with a solder station and a ring light/magnifier unit.

I should be able to get pictures of the garage tomorrow during the inspection.

Greg

 

[Glenn M.]

Welcome to the GJ from VA!
Nothing like getting a jump on the projects. Thanks for the pics, looking forward to the garage pics. Congrats on buying a place!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Welcome from downunder Greg, enjoy and thanks for posting.

 

[930dreamer]

Welcome to the GJ.

 

[gweaver]

OK. Got the plywood cut for the bench top. My original plan was two sheets of 5/8", but the final version is a piece of 5/8" over a piece of 3/4"! Talk about stout!!

Next step: multiple coats of marine varnish to seal the wood and add some scratch resistance. Since we're getting ready to move, I'll wait to mount and load the tool box.

So after seeing the garages some of you have, I probably shouldn't post these here, for fear of shame and embarrassment, but whatever. We stopped by the house the other day and I took a couple of photos.

This is standing at the front of the garage. Some storage shelving along the upper right. It's out of the picture, but there's a rubbish work bench. Basically 3 2x6 boards for a top with 2x4s for legs. That will get removed and something better will be built in it's place. Where the gas can is along the wall is where one rolling work bench will go. It's really just your basic tract-home garage. Fortunately, I've got a buddy who's very creative, and we can probably come up with some creative ways to make storage and work space in there.

The other half of the garage:

The wall behind the big desk is a mud/laundry room added by some prior owner. It's about 7' x 9', and takes a pretty big chunk out of the garage. The desk belongs to the seller, and when that goes away, the second rolling work bench will go there. In the lower left of the picture, you can see some framing- that's another chunk taken out of the garage. The 'office' on the other side of that wall was extended about 2-3 feet in and turned in to a bedroom. So what started out as a 2-car garage is probably more like a 1 1/2 car garage. I have a funny feeling the boat won't fit anymore.

At least I'll have room for the motorcycle, tools and other garage paraphernalia.

G

 

[sean Buick 76]

Please post so e pic of your progress and ideas about how you will set it up.. Are you planning to put one vehicle inside at a time? What are the measurements you boat?