My Garage - Take 3 (in progress)

[SpeedCoach]

I've found this garage thing to be an exciting and challenging journey......

There was the transformation of what it was when I moved in (which wasnt much!)....to making it a little better for me...

Then it went from making it a little better for me to making it after finding the GarageJournal

I'm starting over now though, and I'm taking it from after finding the garage journal to after being CONSUMED by the garage journal. My intentions as this 3rd version gets going is to use as much 'left-over' material as I can. I've got a lot of lumber left over from various home improvement projects that I'd like to use up in this...mostly in the new cabinet build (see below).

About a year and a half ago was when the first little light bulb went off. This happened after I put some wire shelving high on the wall on the side where my man-door is. This wall is kind of a dead wall...no outlets...so it's always been the side that got stuff stacked against it, shelves hung from it, and hooks attached to it. While getting to this point was light-years from where I started, I've never really loved it. You can see most of it to the right in this picture.

You can see (to the left) that I have been painting a bit - winter just set in before i got the whole back wall and around to this current wall done. Thats another update for the spring!

As much as i'd like to outfit things in gladiator cabinets and the like I've decided on the frugal route and planned on building my own storage. That's where I am today. As it's warmed a little (and that's a relative term!!!), I've started my interior upgrades. I'm not terribly far along yet, but figured I'd fire up the thread and get started....I know many guys will be starting projects up as things thaw out around the country, so maybe this can serve as an inspiration for the next guy as so many of yours have inspired me....here we go:

The lynch pin of this redesign is that dead-wall. That's going to be what cleans this place up and thats where the majority of my attention early on will be. There have been so many tidbits I've stolen from other's garages that crediting them would take too long...but after stealing so many ideas my over-winter design plan looked like this

The upper cabinets were the cleaner-looking substitution for the wire shelving that got these wheels turning. The floor cabinets just contain the mess, while at the same time keep the messes off the contents. that's the big thing....

Here are some in progress shots of the upper's:

These carcasses are now done and are awaiting their bottom shelves and doors (I'll be using sliding doors). I built these from a design out of handyman magazine that i saw in the mag itself, but later saw referenced in another member's build. Here's a link to those plans.

But I've already deviated from the original design!!! The reality of design to build is that the original gap between upper and lower cabinets was only about 12". I originally thought maybe i'd throw some racing trophies and a few other decorations in that gap for show...but 12" isnt really enough of a space for that....and if I"m true to myself the storage is more important....so I've altered the plan and brought the floor cabinets all the way up to the upper cabinets. That's where I'm at today - here's the only shot I have of those so far.

So that's where we are today. Welcome to my latest journal-inspired journey. Hope you enjoy the ride!

 

[robert1]

nice start congrats

 

[Jack Olsen]

Smart.

Looking good.

 

[clutch93]

Very cool, similar to the cabinets i'm building. those are gonna really clean up your area there. Nice job, keep it coming!

 

[82_454_shorty]

Keep the pics coming!

 

[drooartz]

Very nice start. I really like those upper cabinets. I may have to add something like that in to my space. All garages should just come with those! can't wait to see how this progresses.

 

[SpeedCoach]

OK - after a week of some more cold and a little battle with the flu I've made some progress.

I've again tweaked the plans a bit. I dont think I showed it in the OP, but there used to be a short section of the upper cabinets that was disconnected from the main-body of uppers, it was disconnected in order to clear the garage door track and it's mounting. I tucked it behind the door track. but the more i thought about that one the more i thought it'd be a big pain snaking stuff around the track and into the cabinet...so I took that small section down. I'll just use the top of the new 3rd floor cabinet (which has been shortened compared to the other 2 to clear the garage door) as a shelf now.....anyway, all carcasses are now up:

I've also finished skinning them all:

Got the upper shelf platforms in:

along with the track for the (soon to come) sliding doors:

Also - found a few more "before" pictures:

I'm out of supplies for now, need to go get some wood for the face frames, also need the temps to creep and stablize a little higher so I can start into some of the finish work on the wall and so i can start painting these guys up a bit, as well as adding some shelving to the floor cabinets. I'm also kicking around a couple of different door ideas for the floor cabinets.

Thanks again for looking, I appreciate the encouragement!

 

[Nighttrain]

Looking good. I like the way the cabinet side are being built.

 

[sids04]

Nice work. I look forward to seeing more updates !

 

[go_n_low88]

Looking good. Look forward to more update pictures.

 

[28HopUp]

Looking good! I think the sliding doors will come out nicely! Keep the pictures coming...

 

[glsmaverick]

Nice work so far. I am definitely interested in seeing how that big cabinet works out as I would like to build one in my garage this summer!

 

[clutch93]

Looking good, I got all excited to work some more on mine this weekend, but then pansied out after about 2 hours because of my elbow hurting, plus my drill died. So it was a good excuse to be done. More work to come though. Can't wait to see how your's shapes up. You have some great ideas! Keep it up!

 

[SpeedCoach]

Came to a good place to stop at work today, so I had some time to get to home depot and buy some wood for face frames, etc. I got those up this evening....and I had a cut-off that ended up being absolutely perfectly sized to become a shelf so I mocked that up too just for grins.

That's probably as far as I'm going to be able to get for this week though....a busy week lies ahead. I think when time and warmth permit it's time to start working on the drywall.

I also need to start thinking about the doors for these floor cabinets. My plan has been for each one to have split doors that open outward. I was going to make them from just plywood, but I'm concerned about warping. So any and all door ideas are welcome!

 

[clutch93]

what if you just trimmed them with some 1X to keep them from bowing or warping? just a thought, this may not be the best approach though, just putting it out there. Personally I would just use fairly tough hinges and go with 1/2 plywood and I would think that would be sufficient to not warp.

 

[SpeedCoach]

Alright - I've had some time and warmth....so i was able to clean up the drywall behind the cabinets and make it at least presentable. With that out of the way it's time to throw some paint at the cabinets:

The paint has made a huge difference - even though I've robbed some floorspace, the place feels wider now.

This will dry overnight and during the day tomorrow - then after work tomorrow I can at least throw the cabinet contents back in and clean the joint up (tired of the mess!!!). then I have to play crew chief to my kart for a bit.

Next phase for garage: Doors for the cabinets.

 

[lyonsac4242]

Looks great former speedcoach!!! I'm banking on the megamillions ticket to hit it big on Friday so TRAKSS Racing will be in full effect! Your garage will grow! Your kart will get faster! And you will have a lot more room to work! Garages are for working on Karts right? Not for storing vehicles or kids toys?!!!

 

[SpeedCoach]

Shifted gears a bit today and got away from cabinet building. At Christmas I found the RapidAir home shop piping system - and thought it a pretty viable option for my garage and how I use air tools.

http://www.rapidairproducts.com/rapidair.asp

I know there are bigger and more capable systems out there, but I"m not a very heavy air-tool user. Didnt really feel like sweating copper, and frankly most of what I do is inflation and nail-gun duty. Some light impact work (tire rotation mostly), and some die-grinder work.....No painting, no blasting or anything air intensive. So I thought this system would be a good fit. Here is my install:

Input manifold from compressor:

Ran it up high to the front of the garage:

where my hose reel now lives:

The starter kit I bought came with 2 branches...I put the 2nd drop at the back of the shop.....this probably wont see much duty, but gives me an option to run one of my non-reeled hoses around the back of the garage if needed:

Install was a breeze - things went together quite easy and on the first try. No leaks were detectable either. All tools seem to run just like they did before. I really am liking that hose reel (never had one before). It easily reaches all around the garage, as well as out front to the cars and the travel trailer.

 

[glsmaverick]

I am really like the cabinet; I am going to be building something similar in the near future.

Also that air system looks trick; I am going to have to look into that since I also am not a fan of sweating pipe and my usage sounds similar to yours.

 

[e-tek]

Me lovey the cabs too! I've been DICKING around with wire shelving, crappy racks and cheap wardrbe closets for so long....I really need to get it together and build it in like you're doing. Spots for jackets, shoes, gloves, skating stuff, sports stuff.....

Thanks for the INSPIRATION (damn you!!!!)

 

[SpeedCoach]

Thanks guys - and e-tek, you're welcome

The wire shelves I put up a while ago were AWESOME......for about 5 minutes......i almost felt like they made things worse...like it just got the clutter up into a more noticeable place. I'll be real happy to get the doors put on these guys so all that stuff is hidden behind it. another big upside to these cabinets is that a good hunk of them were built with wood i had leftover from other home reno projects.

A few folks have sent messages about the air lines, I know you can order that kit from the website, but I got mine from northern tool (around christmas...so it's been a while) for $90 shipped.

Thanks again for looking.

 

[SpeedCoach]

Well - today's progress wasnt really planned....but the heads-up on the uber-cheap door slabs from Menards forced me into action. Luckily this is one hot-deal I didnt miss.....for $2 a pop I WAS GONNA MAKE THESE WORK!!!

Anyway, I picked up 6 24" hollow core doors to use for the new lower cabinets. Here's where I finished today:

Norm Abram I am not....but they'll get it done! Each door had to be cut down a couple inches to fit, which meant I cut out the main support on one side of each door....this is important later.

On the taller cabinet sections, I was left with a bit of a gap:

To make up the gap, I was able to take the cut off pieces of the door and attach them to the top, effectively extending them. I cut a few "plugs" from some left over wood I had and glued and nailed them to the original tops of the doors. From there I slipped the cut-off sections over those plugs and glued and nailed them in place to extend the height:

Easy Peasy! I also got a sheet of 1/4" hardboard to make the sliders for the upper cabinets:

Obviously need to paint, but she's coming along! Considering I had pretty much settled on making my doors out of 3 sheets of 3/4 birch plywood (the flatest stuff I can find around here) at $45+ per sheet - i'd say I came out on top this day!

 

[bad daddy]

if you ever do that to the doors again, put the cut end at the bottom, and then you wont see the cut... little trick I learned from the guy that did the renos on our house before we bought it. Only took 15 years for me to spot it.

 

[Motown 454]

The cabinets look great, and nice score on the doors. The airlines look like a nice set up. Its comiong together nicely.

 

[SpeedCoach]

Thanks Motown

Bad Daddy - I thought about that, but by the time i had gotten to grafting a new piece onto the top of the door I had already hung them etc....I actually think I'll be able to blend it together pretty seemlessly, and once painted not really notice it. But if I do, oh well. After all, it is "only a garage"

 

[bad daddy]

Thanks Motown

Bad Daddy - I thought about that, but by the time i had gotten to grafting a new piece onto the top of the door I had already hung them etc....I actually think I'll be able to blend it together pretty seemlessly, and once painted not really notice it. But if I do, oh well. After all, it is "only a garage"

I'm no cabinet maker, just see things different. I am waiting to do the floor of my garage, and soffit cabinets, etc.

I'll learn how to do things in the garage, then I'll attempt them in the house...

 

[Gareth]

After all, it is "only a garage"

You sound like my wife!

 

[SpeedCoach]

Started throwing together my little welding table. Not quite done yet, but she stands under her own power and can hold 215lbs of me.....

 

[tig]

Shifted gears a bit today and got away from cabinet building. At Christmas I found the RapidAir home shop piping system - and thought it a pretty viable option for my garage and how I use air tools.

http://www.rapidairproducts.com/rapidair.asp

Wow, this RapidAir stuff is cool. Glad I found this thread!

 

[SpeedCoach]

Been focusing on the start of my karting season for the last couple of weeks....with good results. 2 races, 2 feature wins - and the points lead

Juvenile I know - but a guy has to have some hobbies dont he?

So with some down time with some time between races now, it's back to the garage (it's never really stopped). Just some odds and ends and clean up mostly. More bracing added to the above welding table (no pics yet - sorry). Took stock of some of my leftovers from the build and I had enough leftovers to add sliding doors to my power hand-tool cabinet you can see on the back wall above the window here:

and now:

next step is some work with paint.

 

[lyonsac4242]

Alison says, "Very nice."

Your racing Brother,
Scott
withstupi Alison)

 

[SpeedCoach]

Well - here we are, all painted up.

a couple shots of the welding table...would like to paint the legs of it at least...but it can wait for now:

and finally, here's a view from the driveway as I've left her tonight.

earlier this week when I was cleaning up...I finally had that first moment. I had a place for everything! and when I closed doors,etc it felt organized! no piles staring back at me taunting me with their existence. no moving this so i can work on that.....it was great! Fortunately the next phases will be much less disruptive. That rear-right corner is next. I'd lke to wrap the soffit cabinets around and onto that wall (and remove the TV and shelf). However - I'm having some electricians out in a couple weeks to investigate running a subpanel out to the garage. I'm feeling the need for more juice

 

[lyonsac4242]

It's coming along nicely! And watch out for that increased output!!!

 

[muibubbles]

yessssssssssss<3 love it

 

[klean63]

I may have missed it in the link for the upper cabinets but, what did you use for the tracks for the sliding doors and where did you get it?

 

[SpeedCoach]

My apologies....I thought I had put that info in the thread, but you're right, looks like I missed it.

I used this:

http://www.doitbest.com/Sliding+doo...g+Co-model-P2417TAN48-doitbest-sku-224037.dib

 

[SpeedCoach]

Been a while since I've updated this....been a great year of karting, camping, and working on the joint...

Moved some things around from previous updates to make things a bit more efficient...here are some pics:

Got the back corner by the man-door more situated...

Moved the compressor, rejiggered the air lines, relocated the c-man wall cabs to more sensible locations based on what I store in them...

Not a great picture here, but made this corner where my welding/grinding table sits most of the time a bit more spark-resistant. Pardon the kart, but this is where she sleeps during the winter so the wife can get her car in.

 

[SpeedCoach]

After several years here I've often just hid from garage work during the winter months.....it gets cold out there!!!

I've dinked around with a little oil-filled radiator heater (which when put under a bench I'm working at actually does ok), as well as one of them infrared style french-fry heaters....which also does ok for the spot I have it mounted at....

Now that at walls are insulated I have noticed that the temperature swings in the garage are less intense/immediate.....and if it's a sunny day the garage actually holds the heat absorbed through the roof very well...well...it at least holds it, which is better than it had in the past.

But the wifey got me this for my birthday:

my hero!

So far.....taking obvious propane-heat precautions....with an outside temp of 28 (and cloudy) and a starting inside temp of 35 I got the garage up to 55 in about 15 minutes and shut her down. from there the little oil filled heater and french fry thingy kept things above 50 for the couple hours I was out there....very comfortable. I'll be interested to see how this thing does when it gets truly cold.

At the least it's an improvement and will help me through the winter months when i can't hide from getting something done.

 

[glsmaverick]

I know a lot of people rag on them but I have a kerosene stand alone heater that works wonders in my two car. I can turn it on high; wait an hour and then work in 50-60*F comfort for hours with only the man door cracked and a fan pointed at the ceiling to keep air moving. I have spent 6+ hours out there in 10* weather and been perfectly comfortable with no suffication or any of that nonsense that people say will happen.

They are not that much money and a 5 gallon jug of kerosene will last over a month if you are working on the weekends.

 

[Brian'sGarage]

I like what you are doing I may have a door solution for you to consider. I found this link a while back and bookmarked and it is very similar in design with what you are doing, it just doesn't extend to the floor. I like the idea of large cabinets with doors to replace all of my mix/match solutions I currently have. Look forward to your finished project! Link is below

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Home-Organization/Garage-Storage/giant-diy-garage-cabinet

< Edit: Sorry - I guess I was excited and didn't see that you had moved forward and finished - looks great too! >