My garage transformation begins - ongoing questions...

[Cebby]

Great site! Glad I was directed here! OK, on to my issues

My garage is a pretty multipurpose affair. I do woodworking, metalworking, automotive, and over stuff in there. As a result of all of these passions, I'm really short on floor space due to tools and works in progress. All of the equipment is on wheels to make things managable, but my floor is uneven and moving this heavy equipment can be a royal pain. More about that in a minute.

The garage is roughly 20' x 20' inside with 2 - 8' x 8' one piece doors. My current ceiling height is roughly 8'-6". The garage is a two story with my office above it and the staircase to the second floor inside running along the back wall.

I'm planning to pour a pad next to my garage (space at a premium here) of about 30' wide x 40' deep and also an approach to my garage of about 6 feet or so from an alley. Along with the pad, I plan to add on to the back of the garage for equipment/tool storage. Roughly a space of 12'd x 20'w. This addition will have the steps on top of it (I want the steps to the 2nd Floor outside) The ground level at the back of the garage is lower than the front, so the addition will likely have a wood floor (not concrete) with some sort of low ceiling heght storage underneath, accessible from outside.

My first question - of many I'm sure - is about leveling old concrete floors. There are two floor drains in the garage and a large crack (ridge) down the middle running from front to back. The floor drains have a ton of slope around them and it makes moving equipment around in them very difficult. I have no idea how thick the old slab is.

Is there a way I can level out this concrete floor? I'm on a budget, so removing it and repouring isn't really an option. Once I have the tool storage area built, I'll be able to pull a vehicle in there to work on it, so I'll still need weight capacity on the concrete still. Is there a strong product that I can float over the existing floor and get a good bond to it?

 

[XR7G428]

If this were my garage....

I would turn the 12 by 20 into the woodshop. So table saw, radial arm saw, planer jointer, floor mount drill press, scroll saw, bench sanders, dust collection, and any other stationary too would go in this space.

Replace the one piece doors with segmented doors and push the tracks up to the ceiling. Use I Drive openers. This will give you some room if you want to get a car up on a lift to work on it. The ceiling isn't high enough for a storage lift, unless you can cut a hole in the roof for the green house area of the car to rise into. Might add something new to your office?

Once you get the woodworking tools out of the garage, the drains are a plus. At the front of the garage (away from the doors) I would pour a low flat slab of maybe 3" to create a parking curb and a flat area to work. Line the wall with Garage Storage Cabinets. Base cabinets amke a good base for a work bench, and then you can run peg board under a set of upper cabinets. This would give you a 20' long work bench and a ton of storage. ( I am thinking that this is thearea where the stairs used to be?) All of your hand tools end up on the peg board, you can put a small drill press and a grinder on the work bench, plus a TV, stereo, and all of the other garage essentials.

Have fun!