My First Garage!

[Tallted]

Hi all! My wife and I just bought our first house. With it comes my very firsr garage! Over the years I have come to realize I love working with my hands, building abd repairing things. I wasn't raised this way, my dad never used any tools, so I have had to teach myself everything.
The garage is a 20x20, with a water heater in the corner. It came with drywall up, unfinished, and hookups for a sink. It also had 1 outlet :/
I can do some basic electrical but I had an electrician come and setup some more outlets. Also had several put kn the ceiling, for more lights (currently have one bulb in the middle of the room).
Right now I am working painting it. Its not perfect because the drywall has a lot of imperfections and is not textured but its looking much better. I am having to paint half at a time cause of all the junk. Once the second half is painted, I am going to build my workbench! Planning on a long bench.
Will mostly be using this garage for working on cars, and whatever home repairs I have to do.
Right now a lot of my time is being taken up by fixing stuff around the house [emoji14]

I will be updating this thread as I get my garage together! Plans are:
Workbench
Lighting
Sink
And see where to go from there

 

[Tallted]

Worked all day in the garage. Finished filling the remiaining holes, sanded, wiped everything down, primedthen painted the ceiling and walls. Took forever but looks great!!!

Tomorrow morning I go and pick up the lumber for my workbench. Hopefully get it all assembled tomorrow. Will post any progress I make either way.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Tallted congratulations on your first home and garage.

Looking forward to following your journey.

Regards

 

[Tallted]

Thanks 1/2 Cup! First off planning the bench all out and getting all the right stuff took forever today. Finally got everything I needed and got it home.

Then as I'm putting the daughter to sleep and about to head out to the garage I see a leak coming from where the AC is in the attic. We just had a whole new unit put in 2 months ago. Call the place and the owner comes out to check it. Said one of the installers had recently stoleb some stuff and quit. He inspects the unit and says the guy didnt properly connect the pipe, it ran to the pan, and the weight of it broke the pan and cause it to leak, and they will pay for everything.
Once that was all through, I had out to the shop and got some lights up!

Theyre 42" commercial electric LED. 4000 lumens and wow they brighten up the place!! They were pricey but I think the 4 provides a perfect amount of light.
I had an electrician install sockets in the ceiling before we moved in (and added sockets around the walls, havent attempted adding new wiring), so they are just plugged in. The sockets are tied to the switch the controls the one bulb I had before, so one switch turns on all the shop lights.
Spent the rest of the evening working on the bench. It's going to be 10' long, with 6 total 4x4 posts for legs. Using Simpson strong ties to hold it all together. Going to have 2x4s holding together the legs. Will lay 2x4s down on tbe top it all (lengthwise and then mount playwood to the top as the surface. All total it will be about 38.5" tall (I'm 6'5") and 33.75 inches deep. Will also be putting up a small "backsplash" to keep things from rolling back. It may be a bit overkill, but its the only way I can imagine a bench actually being set up
Here is a rough mockup

 

[Tallted]

In that last picture I just threw a 10' 2x4 onto the end legs I got setup. Thats 7" longer than the final bench

 

[1/2 Cup]

A great recovery on the AC install.

The lighting looks good as well.

Trust me there is nothing wrong with over kill when it comes to a bench build, I consider that an investment in your future. Well done.

Regards

 

[Tallted]

So today I upgraded my circular saw to a new Dewalt!

I mostly have cheap junk tools and not many of those. My drill was the first really nice tool I bought, and it has been amazing. Now with this I am again blown away by how much more powerful and well built the tool is (when you spend the money). I think I may develop a problem...
Anyways I got the bench framed up

I laid everything out again to get an idea of what it will be like when its done (this time including the 2x4s that will lay across as the bench (plywood on top)

Beer for scale (10' long)

Really pleased with this overall. Its super sturdy already, sits flat and is level. The corners are only 1/8" difference so its fairly square. Next I plan on adding in support and bracing. 4x4 posts will be nothced and tied to the center with 2x4s connecting them. Then adding some corner braces. Will that be enough? I think it should be but I will see how it looks when that's done and go from there.
I originally wanted to slide a toolbox or two into it. I've decided against that and have some ideas for adding drawers to it.
I can't express how excited I am by all of this. I have never made anything like this. Learning how to do things as I go, like notching wood. It's all turning out to be quite rewarding. Really glad I decided to build my own bench rather than buy a kit or premade one. The size is perfect too, it fits the space and is nice and tall for me

 

[Tallted]

A great recovery on the AC install.[emoji106]

The lighting looks good as well.[emoji106]

Trust me there is nothing wrong with over kill when it comes to a bench build, I consider that an investment in your future. Well done.[emoji106][emoji106]

Regards

Thanks for your support! I started my thread mostly for myself to keep track of my progress, and stay motivated. It helps to know someone else thinks what I'm doing is cool.

 

[1/2 Cup]

You have done well Tallted and you should be justifiably proud of your achievement.

Regards

 

[MagicMarker]

Great progress pics. Keep them coming.

 

[Toolfool]

Congratulations on the new home and garage. Have fun out there.

 

[Cougar]

Congrats on the new garage. Work bench looks good.
Is that romex going to the outlets on the walls.
If so, you should run conduit from the outlet up to the ceiling to protect the wires.

 

[Tallted]

Thanks everyone! No it's not Romex (had to look it up). I had ab electrician do the outlets for me. I am comfortable changing out fixtures but not setting up new electrical. They're protected by a flexible metal tube

I would have preferred that they were set into the wall, but this is fine.

 

[Cougar]

That will work.
I couldn't tell in the other pics.

 

[Tallted]

So I had a little time today in the garage, and got the remaining posts notched, and the braces cut and mitered. Didn't take any pics (not much to see really). So all thats left is to secure them, level the top, attach the worktop (the 2x4 base) the plywood worktop and the little backsplash I have planned.
After that I have decided I'm going to build in a combination of shelves and drawers
Got a major jumpstart this week while I was off work. Did a lot around the house too (new kitchen hood, new fan and unpacked a ton of boxes). Progress will probably slow down a bit, but I will keep posting!

 

[Tallted]

Got some more time and braced the frame!

I think its solid, and I probably don't need to do any more. Thoughts?

 

[jt777]

I like how the frame for the top nests in with the legs. I build workbenches write often for people and i always use that system with laminated 2x4 or 2x6. Very sturdy. Just very interesting to attach. Nice garage though

 

[Tallted]

That was the first time I have ever notched wood (dont really do woodworking projects) its not super clean but it came out pretty well once it was all together

 

[Toolfool]

It would have been stronger if you had notched the corner posts to support the upper 2x4's as well. The more projects you attempt, the more you'll learn.

 

[Tallted]

Honestly I hadn't planned on notching the center posts. It came out of necessity. Didnt realize it would be stronger.

 

[Toolfool]

Honestly I hadn't planned on notching the center posts. It came out of necessity. Didnt realize it would be stronger.

Just like house construction, your 2x4 is acting like a beam or a header. Support directly beneath that beam, transferring the load, will be 10x stronger than your brackets. The brackets are only as strong as the screws you attached them with. Not trying to pick on you, just trying to help.

 

[jt777]

It gives your bench almost no give on top because any pounding it takes on top goes directly through the legs into the floor. I challenge anyone to kill one of my benches when they come pick them up.

 

[Tallted]

Should I be concerned about the strength of the bench? I have never done anything like this before (my dad was not handy, I'm self taught). Overall the frame seems far sturdier than I could need. I know it is stronger than anything they sell at hardware stores though
Thanks for the feedback guys! Only one way to learn!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Tallted IMHO your bench, in terms of strength, will be just fine.

Keep up the great work.

Regards

 

[Kpjeepin]

Great job so far! Once you start you can't stop.! You can look for some used cabinets or you can pic some up at the box stores unfinished for $50 a piece to hang above you bench for more storage. I was like you and had to learn as I went, but it's great when you get something accomplished. The caster table cost me $60 in materials.


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[Kpjeepin]

. Wood shelves about $120.

. Organization is the key in a small space.


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[Tallted]

Kpjeepin thanks for the encouragement! I like your setup, looks like there is a ton of stuff hidden away. Two questions: your handle: do you have a Jeep? And I also spotted a license frame for a 66 Mustang, do you have one? I plan on working on a WJ for family camping/wheeling with friends. I would love to build a Mustang in here one day too

So as you all may have noticed I am slow at getting stuff done. I chip away a little bit at a time, when I can sneak away into the garage. Family comes first
Got out this evening and got my workbench functional!

I added a little "backsplash" to keep things from rolling away. I might add shorter ones on the sides too.
I plan on adding some shelves below, and a few drawers, but I have so much other stuff to do in the meantime...
I was going to mount the vise finally, but need to add a spacer so it doesnt hit the 2x4, which means I need longer bolts...
Also here is a pic of my dog Merlin checking out my new space!

 

[Kpjeepin]

Lol, guilty of jeep ownership I have a 2001 TJ and my wife has a 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk. Love jeeps.

Some of my jeeps in various stages from over the years;( sold the Blue Cj7 when I moved to the PNW. I had a 66 mustang when I was in high school. Money pit but it looked nice. You'll like the WJ Offroad. My cousin ran the old man emu kit on his with 31's.


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[Tallted]

Nice collection! I am recently into Jeeps. We got one as a family vehicle a few years ago. I enjoy working on it and have enjoyed going offroad a few times. Engine blew a headgasket and bought another WJ. Going to rebuild the old one and use it for fun

Just did some reorganizing this evening and got the car back in. Project car I got from a friend, that Iam trying to get rid of...

Now I need to work on getting more permanent homes for everything. There are some boxes/bins in the house which need to come in too. Future plans include a new tool box, hanging the bikes, shelves above garage door for holiday decoration storage, shed for gardening stuff, rack for ladder, base shelf on bench, and then see where I am after all that. Also want to add a sink and parts washer the bookshelf on the right has a setup ready to install a sink!

 

[Tallted]

Just a small update:

The workbench looked lonely so I bought a new toolbox. I have the HF 5 drawer cart, but wanted to expand. Its a Husky textured black 27". I read all about how great the HF is, but from what I could tell the Huskys seem similar in quality, and not the bright red. Plus they seem to be cheaper, which is nice. I spent forever peeling off the display stickers, which came on it from the box :/ The drawers close a bit hard, but overall I really like the quality and finish on them!!
I also mounted the bikes to clear some floor space

 

[txusa03]

Nice work and progress!

Regarding the workbench, it should be ok for normal duty around the house. If you want, you can easily fixed the workbench according to toolfool's recommendation without buying any additional lumber. To add notches, it would mean your bench is roughly 8" shorter in length.

 

[Tallted]

Thanks txusa03! Now that it's all together I am going to leave it. It feels incredibly strong. I don't think I could break it if I wanted to.
Got some more storage today! The toolbox just looked so lonely

Also got around to mounting my vise!

It's my grandpas old vise. A Rock Island from around the 1940s. It's been beat on, is rusty and filthy, but I love it! As a kid I used to love playing with it in my grandpas garage. Crushed countless soda cans in it, as well as my fingers. Was so happy that my uncle still had it, and passed it on to me.