My TINY Single - 9'8" x 18'7" - Challenge Accepted!!

[Fast_Ed]

Hello Everyone! My first post, and I'm glad I found some fellow garage enthusiasts! I've done some browsing around the forum and I'm impressed with just about everything I've seen, both small and large. I'm hoping to get some advice and constructive criticism on my current situation, which as you will see is a bit of a challenge! And I'll be posting pictures and updates along the way.

Let's get right to it. I'm currently renting an apartment (in an excellent location!), and for an extra $100/month I get a single-car garage to keep my baby, a 2010 Evo X. Growing up I was lucky enough to have access to my own tools/garage space, but now that I've moved out I'm happy to have something to call my own, even if it's just a rental.

The dimensions are 9'8" x 18'7" x 7'3" tall. The structure consists of 4 bays, of which I have an end unit. It's fully enclosed, contains 1 electrical outlet, and 1 overhead light bulb. There's currently a manual overhead door. 2 of the 3 walls are cinder-block, the 3rd being a hodge-podge of loose wood paneling and sheet rock:


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

But! It's just big enough to store the car and do basic maintenance/detailing, which is all I really need at the moment. Keep in mind that this is a RENTAL. That means that a majority of my projects must be easily removable/portable. That being said, the landlord seems very easy to work with, and as long as my projects don't decrease the property value I don't foresee any issues.

Here are my preliminary plans, in order of priority:

-Electric door opener (priority, as this is my daily and getting out to open/close the door every day *****!!)
-Overhead lighting - thinking 2 dual fluorescents, 1 in the center, 1 at the rear
- Door guards - 1 for each wall. It's narrow in there, and there's barely room to get the doors open on each side. The last thing I want are door dings/chips.
-Music! - I've got power in there, and it'd be nice to get an iPod/speaker setup to keep me sane during the long hours I plan on spending in there.
-Work bench - I'm thinking a wood construction on the back wall, about 5' wide. Something solid enough to mount a vice and do basic rebuilds on small components.
-Tool chest - something tall and narrow, on wheels with as minimal footprint as possible.
-Storage shelf/cabinet - I'd like somewhere to keep my detailing supplies, chemicals, lubricants, etc.
-Tire Rack - I'd love an overhead storage rack to keep my spare set of wheels/tires
-Flooring - I'm thinking of adding some flooring depending on budget. A racedeck is appealing but might be out of my price range. I'm thinking of maybe an epoxy, but I'd have to get approval from the landlord first.

And that's pretty much it! If I can get the above squeezed in there I'll be happy!

I'd appreciate any tips/comments/advice from any of you. I realize I don't have a lot to work with but I'm trying to maximize the potential for the space that I have. So fire away!

And here are a few more pictures to add to my wall of text:

Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


Untitled by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

-Eddie

 

[Sunbimmer]

I'm very interested in what you make of this garage because your EVO is an absolute beauty and deserves a beautiful place to sleep

If it was mine I would go with a clean and minimalistic look, lots of white and lots of light.

Oh and welcome to GJ.

 

[HSpencer]

If the landlord would go for it, I would remove the mixed up paneling, and put up something I could paint bright white. I would look at Lowe's for some inexpensive wall panels, OSB etc. A white wall in there would make a huge light difference. It does not look too crowded in the photos you posted. I would then make everything I used in there portable, such as light fixtures, a bench, shelves, so they can go with you when you move. Pegboard painted white on a frame, that can be mounted with a few screws, and then come down. There is lots of potential there.

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[taumac]

If the landlord would go for it, I would remove the mixed up paneling, and put up something I could paint bright white. I would look at Lowe's for some inexpensive wall panels, OSB etc. A white wall in there would make a huge light difference. It does not look too crowded in the photos you posted. I would then make everything I used in there portable, such as light fixtures, a bench, shelves, so they can go with you when you move. Pegboard painted white on a frame, that can be mounted with a few screws, and then come down. There is lots of potential there.

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

I second a lot with what Hspencer said. Totes willbe friend also. HD has ones that can be stacked. Wish I took pics of my first garage. It was a single with alot of ideas you could use.

 

[dubber]

Very cool. Even though its a rental you can still make it your own and enjoy. Good luck!

 

[Fast_Ed]

I'm very interested in what you make of this garage because your EVO is an absolute beauty and deserves a beautiful place to sleep

If it was mine I would go with a clean and minimalistic look, lots of white and lots of light.

Oh and welcome to GJ.

Thanks for the compliments and warm welcome! I'm definitely shooting for the minimalist look. Adding some brightness and lighting will be the first major step.

If the landlord would go for it, I would remove the mixed up paneling, and put up something I could paint bright white. I would look at Lowe's for some inexpensive wall panels, OSB etc. A white wall in there would make a huge light difference. It does not look too crowded in the photos you posted. I would then make everything I used in there portable, such as light fixtures, a bench, shelves, so they can go with you when you move. Pegboard painted white on a frame, that can be mounted with a few screws, and then come down. There is lots of potential there.

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

I second a lot with what Hspencer said. Totes willbe friend also. HD has ones that can be stacked. Wish I took pics of my first garage. It was a single with alot of ideas you could use.

I like the idea of replacing the nasty panels. If I can get the landlord to agree to it I'll definitely have to do that. Any recommendations on a specific product I should look for? I've never done much with drywall/sheetrock other than sand/paint it. Hanging something fresh will be a first for me!

Very cool. Even though its a rental you can still make it your own and enjoy. Good luck!

Thanks, I plan to! Hoping to get a bunch of work done this weekend.


A big concern of mine are the cinder-block walls. Would it be worth coating them with something to try and brighten the space up? Anyone have any recommendations on products I might be able to use?

And does anyone have any advice on how I can hang some peg board on the cinder-block? I'd like to avoid drilling into the walls. I'm almost thinking it might be easiest to hang a "false wall" off the rafters that I can hang stuff off of. I've got a few ideas in mind.

 

[zkling]

Pffff, if that garage ends up looking half as good as your car, I think your landlord should pay YOU for increasing his property value.

Seriously, looks like you take fantastic shape of that car, can't wait to see what you do with the garage. A little paint and lights can really do wonders to a place.

 

[59'trump]

I encountered the same issue with my little cinder block garage. It wasn't too big of a hassle to drill and mount some furring strips and pegboard directly to the walls. Rent a decent hammer drill, buy some spax screws or tapcon and go to town. I'll post some before and after pics soon. My garage is not much bigger than yours and it completely transformed the storage space.
Good luck!

 

[taumac]

As far as totes.... I know home depot has some black bins with yellow tops that can be stacked.... I would get double then you need. Sometimes they only make that type or color for a year or so. If your ever needed more down the road you already have them. The wall I got idea of pegboard or slot wall attached to plywood that you could take with you. Drywall seems to be a lot of work for a rental imo. Pegboard or slot wall on plywood you can go right over the paneling if landlord gives you issues.

 

[HSpencer]

On the pegboard frames, you can drill through them and install them on the block with several kinds of moly anchors. I like the larger "redhead" anchors as you drill a 1/4 inch hole with a concrete bit, and drive the anchor in with a hammer. Then you put the screw through the frame and into the anchor. Done carefully, the frame will tighten to the block and be pretty sturdy. You need not do very many and it stays put on the wall. Taken down, you would have only about 4 or 6 holes to fill with gray liquid cement from a caulking gun type tube.
Others may have another route, but the plastic anchors have always worked for me.

 

[Colin Len]

I thought I was the only one here in this situation! I'm also currently renting and am stuck in a small single car (even narrower than yours). I had planned on buying a house this year but that didn't work out so I'm stuck here and earlier in the year decided to "remodel" a little so that I can finish an engine swap and overall teardown/rebuild of my track car. Goal was pure function with as little $ spent as possible.

Few things that really helped me get more usable space:
- Move as much off the ground as possible
- Anything that has to be on the ground - put it on wheels if possible (I like to use the $7.99 furniture dollies from Harbor Freight to put extra wheels/tires, transmissions...etc on so that you can roll them around and out of the way)
- Stack things as much as possible (I built a little platform which I now keep a compressor on and will also hold 5 spare wheels/tires. Underneath that I can store my floor jack and my oil drain pan)
- Cabinets and shelves! I lucked out in getting a free wall cabinet and ended up moving a shelf unit that was on the ground to up on the wall
- Depending on what you're doing, it REALLY helps to have a workspace. Until recently I had to work on the floor. But now I have a very simple and very effective fold down bench top. It's even sturdy enough for light/medium duty use of a vice.

Here's what the back wall of mine looked like packed with tons of stuff originally



After some changes I now have wall cabinets/shelves, a bench, compressor/wheel storage with jack and oil pan storage below. And tons of stuff up on the walls. It's not pretty, but like I said, my goal was function for as little money as possible. I didn't want to spend an extra penny on "looks" since it is just a rental. A bunch of the random stuff I used was free, existing (but modified), or even just junk I found in the alley and repurposed.

 

[Fast_Ed]

Pffff, if that garage ends up looking half as good as your car, I think your landlord should pay YOU for increasing his property value.

Seriously, looks like you take fantastic shape of that car, can't wait to see what you do with the garage. A little paint and lights can really do wonders to a place.

Thanks! The car was just cleaned in that pic, I wish I could keep it that clean all the time but it's my daily. Check back in for progress in a week or two!

I encountered the same issue with my little cinder block garage. It wasn't too big of a hassle to drill and mount some furring strips and pegboard directly to the walls. Rent a decent hammer drill, buy some spax screws or tapcon and go to town. I'll post some before and after pics soon. My garage is not much bigger than yours and it completely transformed the storage space.
Good luck!

Thanks for the input. I've got access to a hammer drill so eventually I'll be hanging a few things on the cinder-block. Priority is going to be the drywall and the workbench area.

As far as totes.... I know home depot has some black bins with yellow tops that can be stacked.... I would get double then you need. Sometimes they only make that type or color for a year or so. If your ever needed more down the road you already have them. The wall I got idea of pegboard or slot wall attached to plywood that you could take with you. Drywall seems to be a lot of work for a rental imo. Pegboard or slot wall on plywood you can go right over the paneling if landlord gives you issues.

I wish I could just reuse/paint the paneling that's in there, but it's in pretty shoddy shape. I wouldn't really trust mounting anything to it. I think I can knock out the single wall with paint for about $100.

On the pegboard frames, you can drill through them and install them on the block with several kinds of moly anchors. I like the larger "redhead" anchors as you drill a 1/4 inch hole with a concrete bit, and drive the anchor in with a hammer. Then you put the screw through the frame and into the anchor. Done carefully, the frame will tighten to the block and be pretty sturdy. You need not do very many and it stays put on the wall. Taken down, you would have only about 4 or 6 holes to fill with gray liquid cement from a caulking gun type tube.
Others may have another route, but the plastic anchors have always worked for me.

Thanks for the tip! When I got to the point of mounting stuff up there I'll be referencing this for sure.

I thought I was the only one here in this situation! I'm also currently renting and am stuck in a small single car (even narrower than yours). I had planned on buying a house this year but that didn't work out so I'm stuck here and earlier in the year decided to "remodel" a little so that I can finish an engine swap and overall teardown/rebuild of my track car. Goal was pure function with as little $ spent as possible.

Few things that really helped me get more usable space:
- Move as much off the ground as possible
- Anything that has to be on the ground - put it on wheels if possible (I like to use the $7.99 furniture dollies from Harbor Freight to put extra wheels/tires, transmissions...etc on so that you can roll them around and out of the way)
- Stack things as much as possible (I built a little platform which I now keep a compressor on and will also hold 5 spare wheels/tires. Underneath that I can store my floor jack and my oil drain pan)
- Cabinets and shelves! I lucked out in getting a free wall cabinet and ended up moving a shelf unit that was on the ground to up on the wall
- Depending on what you're doing, it REALLY helps to have a workspace. Until recently I had to work on the floor. But now I have a very simple and very effective fold down bench top. It's even sturdy enough for light/medium duty use of a vice.

Here's what the back wall of mine looked like packed with tons of stuff originally



After some changes I now have wall cabinets/shelves, a bench, compressor/wheel storage with jack and oil pan storage below. And tons of stuff up on the walls. It's not pretty, but like I said, my goal was function for as little money as possible. I didn't want to spend an extra penny on "looks" since it is just a rental. A bunch of the random stuff I used was free, existing (but modified), or even just junk I found in the alley and repurposed.

NICE!! This is exactly the type of feel I'm going for. Small, but not cramped or cluttered, with just enough room to get some work done. From what I can see it looks like you've got yourself a B-series teggy project going!? Good stuff!

One specific question I have for you...it looks like you've got an electric opener with no other entrance/exit to the garage, which I'm debating myself. Do you have any concern about the power going out, or the opener failing, and you not being able to get in? Do you have any other security measures? Feel free to PM me if necessary.

 

[bczygan]

Where are you getting electric from?
Do you have access to it to reset breakers?
What capacity can you get for your own use?
Do you have access to run new circuits?

 

[ClintNZ]

For lighting, how about 2-3 mains powered LED worklamps hung high down each side? The brightness/$ of those things is getting better all the time, they won't overload the lighting circuit, you'll have a better spread of light, & they'd be easily removable.

Nice Evo too!

Cheers
Clint

 

[Zeke]

I like Colin's post. On the same theme, I'd build as much free standing equipment/storage/shelves as possible. Casters are good. If you move, the stuff you build will transfer to the new place. A little pegboard is something you can afford to leave behind. But make that tire rack something you can take with you.

 

[Stuart in MN]

One specific question I have for you...it looks like you've got an electric opener with no other entrance/exit to the garage, which I'm debating myself. Do you have any concern about the power going out, or the opener failing, and you not being able to get in? Do you have any other security measures? Feel free to PM me if necessary.

You can get an emergency release kit so the door can be opened from outside if the power goes out. I think most door manufacturers offer one, or you can get a universal kit. This one sells for $16. http://www.westsidewholesale.com/genie-ger-2.html?mr:referralID=1f09326f-10eb-11e3-a88a-001b2166becc

 

[Colin Len]

NICE!! This is exactly the type of feel I'm going for. Small, but not cramped or cluttered, with just enough room to get some work done. From what I can see it looks like you've got yourself a B-series teggy project going!? Good stuff!

Yes sir, that's a VERY good eye! It's a 92 GSR. I threw a rod in my b17a earlier this year at Buttonwillow Raceway and what could have been a simple swap or rebuild has turned into a very expensive fiasco (long story). So I'm going to be building a Type R motor now. The current Honda scene is embarrassing for us that have aged but still love the brand and the older chassis. But they still make great affordable track cars. Here's a shot from last year:

One specific question I have for you...it looks like you've got an electric opener with no other entrance/exit to the garage, which I'm debating myself. Do you have any concern about the power going out, or the opener failing, and you not being able to get in? Do you have any other security measures? Feel free to PM me if necessary.

This is a minor concern. The car isn't a daily, so that helps it not be a huge issue. My garage is the only one in a bank of 5 which is walled off from the others. If the power goes out, I'm screwed until it goes back on. If the opener fails then I can get access thru my neighbor's garages. You can't see it in the pic but I could crawl thru the rear storage area since it's open to my neighbor's garage and they don't store anything there.

With that said, I've known about the setups like Stuart in MN posted but never actually thought about buying one and installing it. But now I am, lol. I might just have to do that since it looks pretty simple and cheap. I do however have a keypad opener outside which I'd never had previously and now that I'm used to it feels like an absolute necessity!

 

[kamlung]

welcome... beautiful car... i'm sure you will make the most of your space... i agree bright white on the walls will def liven everything up...

 

[JimVonBaden]

Paint it all white, add your workbench, and HF tool cabinet on wheels so you can move it around, and use shelving on the sidewall where the wood is. Kind of like this up high and out of the way:

Easy to install, inexpensive, strong and holds totes up away from the car and leaves you your floor space.

You can often pick up the red one (better) for $169 or the black one for $99. Good quality, many of us have them.

Lastly I would consider Racedeck flooring. You can put it down easily and take it up to move with you to your next place.

Jim

PS Nice car!

 

[Colin Len]

^I can vouch for those tool carts too. I love my black one. Bought it a year or so ago then bought another a few months back and modified them to stack two of the drawer units into one rolling cart so now I have double the storage. I shopped around when I bought the first one and there's nothing even close for the price considering they're often on sale for $109 or $129 with coupon.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137365

 

[T.Hadley]

This is my small rental garage, same as you only 1-110 volt outlet changes all lighting except the 4' florescent lights over the bench to led's, Small 1.5 hp 2 stage air compressor under the bench, the big Quincy in the corner I just got for future use when I have 220 power again.
I still have some other cabinets to put up it will get me buy for now...

 

[Fast_Ed]

Where are you getting electric from?
Do you have access to it to reset breakers?
What capacity can you get for your own use?
Do you have access to run new circuits?

Electric comes from the basement of the apartment building. There's 1 breaker for the entire structure of 4 bays. Luckily, the other bays are just used for storage so I'll be the only one drawing any real power. I do have access to the breaker if it gets tripped.

For lighting, how about 2-3 mains powered LED worklamps hung high down each side? The brightness/$ of those things is getting better all the time, they won't overload the lighting circuit, you'll have a better spread of light, & they'd be easily removable.

Nice Evo too!

Cheers
Clint

Thanks! I'm planning on just doing a couple cheap fluorescents, but if you have some suggestions for reasonably priced LEDs I'd be happy to take a look!

I like Colin's post. On the same theme, I'd build as much free standing equipment/storage/shelves as possible. Casters are good. If you move, the stuff you build will transfer to the new place. A little pegboard is something you can afford to leave behind. But make that tire rack something you can take with you.

Still not sure what I'm going to do with the tire rack. I'd like to just construct something simple out of lumber. That way if I have to leave it I won't be too heartbroken.

You can get an emergency release kit so the door can be opened from outside if the power goes out. I think most door manufacturers offer one, or you can get a universal kit. This one sells for $16. http://www.westsidewholesale.com/genie-ger-2.html?mr:referralID=1f09326f-10eb-11e3-a88a-001b2166becc

This is perfect!! Thanks for the link! I'll definitely be picking one of these up, it's exactly what I was looking for.

Yes sir, that's a VERY good eye! It's a 92 GSR. I threw a rod in my b17a earlier this year at Buttonwillow Raceway and what could have been a simple swap or rebuild has turned into a very expensive fiasco (long story). So I'm going to be building a Type R motor now. The current Honda scene is embarrassing for us that have aged but still love the brand and the older chassis. But they still make great affordable track cars. Here's a shot from last year:

This is a minor concern. The car isn't a daily, so that helps it not be a huge issue. My garage is the only one in a bank of 5 which is walled off from the others. If the power goes out, I'm screwed until it goes back on. If the opener fails then I can get access thru my neighbor's garages. You can't see it in the pic but I could crawl thru the rear storage area since it's open to my neighbor's garage and they don't store anything there.

With that said, I've known about the setups like Stuart in MN posted but never actually thought about buying one and installing it. But now I am, lol. I might just have to do that since it looks pretty simple and cheap. I do however have a keypad opener outside which I'd never had previously and now that I'm used to it feels like an absolute necessity!

Very nice!! I'm a Honda guy at heart myself. Here's an old picture of my other pride and joy. Unfortunately she's down for some repairs at the moment, but I'm hoping to have her back up and running in time for the spring:

welcome... beautiful car... i'm sure you will make the most of your space... i agree bright white on the walls will def liven everything up...

That's the plan!!

Paint it all white, add your workbench, and HF tool cabinet on wheels so you can move it around, and use shelving on the sidewall where the wood is. Kind of like this up high and out of the way:

Easy to install, inexpensive, strong and holds totes up away from the car and leaves you your floor space.

You can often pick up the red one (better) for $169 or the black one for $99. Good quality, many of us have them.

Lastly I would consider Racedeck flooring. You can put it down easily and take it up to move with you to your next place.

Jim

PS Nice car!

Thanks! And good call on the shelving. I think a row of that along the top of the wood wall would be a nice addition. I'd love to have a Racedeck, but I'm planning on using jackstands quite often for miscellaneous stuff. I'd be worried about cracking such an expensive floor.

^I can vouch for those tool carts too. I love my black one. Bought it a year or so ago then bought another a few months back and modified them to stack two of the drawer units into one rolling cart so now I have double the storage. I shopped around when I bought the first one and there's nothing even close for the price considering they're often on sale for $109 or $129 with coupon.

Thanks for the link! Those tool carts seem pretty versatile, I might have to pick one up! Always love a good deal at Harbor Freight.

This is my small rental garage, same as you only 1-110 volt outlet changes all lighting except the 4' florescent lights over the bench to led's, Small 1.5 hp 2 stage air compressor under the bench, the big Quincy in the corner I just got for future use when I have 220 power again.
I still have some other cabinets to put up it will get me buy for now...

Nice setup you got there! Looks like you can actually get some work done in there, which is what I'm after. Thanks for sharing!

Although it's been a while, and I haven't actually made any real-world progress on my space, I have been tinkering in CAD during some downtime at work and this is what I've got laid out so far:


CAD1 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

I'm debating on where I want to put the tire rack. I also might be able to construct some small loft space in the rafters, and I'm wondering if I can throw my extra set of wheels up there. I'll work it out. First thing will be the garage door opener which should be installed this weekend! Also, thank you all for your input and suggestions so far! Progress on this will be slow, but I'll update every once in a while as I get stuff accomplished.

 

[ClintNZ]

Thanks! I'm planning on just doing a couple cheap fluorescents, but if you have some suggestions for reasonably priced LEDs I'd be happy to take a look!
.

Something like this from DX: http://dx.com/p/rechargeable-portable-10w-900lm-6000k-led-white-light-flood-lamp-black-110-240v-dc-12v-24v-247280

Probably hard to beat some fluorescents for value, especially if you are comfortable wiring them in yourself, but these LED worklamps aren't too much more & the portability is great.

Cheers
Clint

 

[captain14]

I have a single garage too and will follow the progress.

 

[N0tt0N]

Good luck with the garage! It takes a lot of planning for a single car garage. Can't wait to see your progress!

 

[borgdog]

I would actually just take the paneling off the one wall and paint the stud bays, for a couple reasons, 1- costs less than adding something back, and 2- stud bays hold a lot of stuff and your space is at a premium.

 

[Fast_Ed]

I let this thread die for a while because over the winter some circumstances changed and I didn't really have the time/resources to do much in the garage. I'm happy to report that over the past few months I've made some significant upgrades to my tiny space and I'd say it's finally in a "workable" condition. I'll start uploading updates/pictures to thread over the next few hours to show progress.

To start with, I finally added that electric door opener along with a keyed emergency cable release. The install wasn't too bad, but doing it in the dead of winter without any light wasn't much fun! It's a basic Craftsman ½ hp chain drive unit that I scored a nice deal on around Black Friday. I also took the opportunity to pick up a small compressor which you'll see in photos later. Landlord was not too happy that I didn't give him a heads-up, but we've since smoothed things out.

Once spring rolled around it was time to get busy. The first step to organization was picking up some shelving. I needed something sturdy and temporary, so a floor standing unit was the best option. Craftsman offers a nice 36" unit which had the perfect dimensions based on my other plans. Here is the unit assembled in my kitchen! Haha:

IMG_0695 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


And here it is out in the garage along with the rest of my junk. The new compressor can be seen in this shot, but as you can see it's not too glamorous yet:

IMG_0700 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

Also notice the amount of moisture on the floor. This was a common theme throughout the winter, and without a good way of mitigating it I've placed everything up on risers or casters to prevent corrosion.


Next step was to work out some tool storage options. Based on advice I got in this very thread I decided to go with a Harbor Freight 4-drawer cart. I really liked the fact that it was cheap, had good casters, and was low enough such that it would tuck nicely underneath the workbench planned for the future. Here it is assembled inside once again (where it was nice and warm!). Also notice the magnetic side tray and paper towel holder:

IMG_0764 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

IMG_0766 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

And here are things out in the garage, finally starting to take shape!!

IMG_0767 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


I've been doing plenty of research here on Garage Journal the past few months, learning and gathering ideas from others. So thanks to all of you and stay tuned for a few more updates!!

 

[Fast_Ed]

Here's another shot from further out and after a little more organization:

IMG_0769 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr


And to not disappoint the Evo fans, a shot after a quick spring wash:

IMG_0690 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

 

[Fast_Ed]

The next big step would be the addition of a workbench. In such a tiny space it was really difficult to get anything done without a work surface. I was always planning on building a bench of my own construction so that I could customize it's dimensions and features. Well, after poking around at my local Sears I began to do some thinking. I'm not really much of a woodworker. I much prefer to work with alloys, nuts, and bolts (It's what I do for a living ). After measuring things out and picking a few options, the end result was a bunch of boxes being delivered a few weeks later:

IMG_1168 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

And a few hours later...BOOM, a bench!!

IMG_1169 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

I really like that it matches all the other components of the garage. I was very impressed with the quality of the butcher block surface, and the fact that I was able to get pegboard and a shop light built into the backwall was a major bonus. Cost was higher than if I had gone with wood, but not significantly so. And the time saved in measuring, cutting, and inevitably screwing up was well worth it.

After some further organizing, here is what I was left with This is how I envisioned things from the beginning and it's all finally starting to come together:

IMG_1170 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

IMG_1173 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

And here's a shot to get an impression of clearance with the car parked inside:

IMG_1178 by fast_ed_411, on Flickr

 

[silversilvia]

Gsr with Mr wheels? I am trying to get one as well and in a pickle because they discontinued the recaro seats for 2015. And I am not ready to buy one til. March so next March I will be looking for a blue gsr with no options. There is a wicked white gsr with no option right now but dealers don't let people test drive even if u bring them a pre-approved letter for the sticker. Anyways nice car

 

[Fast_Ed]

Gsr with Mr wheels? I am trying to get one as well and in a pickle because they discontinued the recaro seats for 2015. And I am not ready to buy one til. March so next March I will be looking for a blue gsr with no options. There is a wicked white gsr with no option right now but dealers don't let people test drive even if u bring them a pre-approved letter for the sticker. Anyways nice car

It's an MR, with MR wheels

I heard no such thing about them discontinuing the Recaro's, you might want to double check with your dealer on that one. Either way, good luck with your search!

 

[silversilvia]

On evox forum and it's been confirmed with the feature list and an email from Mitsubishi. I think those recaros don't meet some standard for 15. I thought mr had lip spoiler and not the big wing?

 

[ClintNZ]

That looks good! A little forethought about the size of everything has paid off well with it all fitting together in a nice efficient way. Now you need a vice!

Cheers
Clint

 

[bshusted]

Looks like you're doing a good job with the space you have to work with. How does your landlord feel about painting those walls? I think it would really help to brighten up the space.

 

[HSpencer]

Coming together nicely!! I love the workbench. That and the shelf just work together well. Your looking good in there. Hopefully the wall can be all white and that would make the space seem larger. Good job, things are looking great!!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[s2kattracks]

Love the teg!

I happen to have a b17 block in my garage right now Sold the head and trans years ago sadly. But, made all my money back on those to things(Paid nothing for the swap)

I am in a townhome and have a single car garage too, getting ready to empty it out and start making it a nice place to be!

 

[taumac]

Glad to see your back out there working on the garage. Place is coming together nice.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[jnkpile]

Seeing as how there is no ceiling in there, if you added a rafter between the trusses it would be a perfect "up and outta-the-way" spot to stick you're spare tires

 

[Chicago_one]

Good job. I love seeing single-garage builds..and I Love the EvoX. Big Mitsu fan here.

 

[dubber]

Keep it up!