Next Garage to Work On

[Reverend Bow]

Well, doesn't it figure, just when you start getting the time to further your garage transformation, life gets in the way...

Just as I was getting on my way to the garage I wanted in Maryland, I transferred with my job to somewhere a bit West... Way West as a matter of fact, to Yuma, AZ... (they say its a dry heat)

So we sold her house and my garage in Maryland and just received word that our offer was excepted on a house in Yuma...

Good news: beautiful house
Bad news: small garage...

Small garage to the tune of 20'-10" x 21'... and I keep 2 vehicles in my garage... The property is a bit of an odd thing.. the house was built in 2007, we will be the 3rd owner, and it has never been lived in... so the first order of business is to epoxy the garage floor, something I didn't get a chance to do in Maryland...

So I will be looking for suggestions on how to make the most out of the space I have been given...

The 2 garage kept vehicles are a '99.5 Nissan Pathfinder SE (hers) and a '91 240SX (mine). The wife has promised me we will get a small shed to keep the lawn mower and other garden tools in, so that is a plus as far as space goes.

I believe it has the standard raised area in the back of the garage that extends about 2' forward from the back wall. I was thinking this will be the place for the work bench. I am probably going to find some previously-enjoyed kitchen cabinets to start with...

But I am looking for suggestions on other storage possibilities for such a small area.

All suggestions are welcome, but the lost is small, so adding on or extending the garage is impossible..

Thanks

 

[justanengineer]

Having never lived there I cannot speak to the weather, but depending on how your property is set up and what the wife allows, you may be able to get away with having a bit of outdoor storage. I'm a big fan of Kiwi Kev's shop linked below for that reason. Really wish I lived in a place both warm and dry.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64560

 

[bazzateer]

the lot is small, so adding on or extending the garage is impossible..

Then you already know what I am about to say, you bought the wrong place!

 

[Steevo]

The first order of business will be to get as creative as you can with all types of storage.
Avoiding using the garage for storing "non-garage" stuff like yard care equipment is a good start. Follow that with a "no seasonal decorations in the garage" mandate, right from day one. You can easily keep that stuff in other places if you really try.
Then, study every thread on this site that is about storage, shelving, etc. There are a lot of clever and creative people here, who have come up with a lot of great ideas, which they have shared.

Here is one to start with:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39367

 

[Al Bundy]

Then you already know what I am about to say, you bought the wrong place!

^This.

 

[mrpizza]

Gotta go to platinums for coin night! (Im a Marine, spent many months there for various training exercises

 

[Jack Olsen]

Two quick questions:

1) What are you planning on doing in the garage?
- and -
2) What were you thinking when you agreed to let the Pathfinder in there?

It's a warm place -- in the dead of summer a dry heat place. And there's very little rain. No snow. No salt on the roads. Very rarely below 50° out.

You've got negotiate this now, in my opinion. I was lucky in that our driveway is long and narrow -- intimidating and extra work for my wife (at least, that's how I sold it).

Maybe offer to build her a carport or canopy or something?

One car in a space like that will make for a nice little shop.

 

[Zeke]

I believe it has the standard raised area in the back of the garage that extends about 2' forward from the back wall. I was thinking this will be the place for the work bench. I am probably going to find some previously-enjoyed kitchen cabinets to start with...



Thanks

I don't know what you mean by "standard raised area."
I don't see that often and I don't like it when I do. That's just a tripping point.

But yes, that's a good area for a bench. Once built, you will however be locked into shorter cars like the ones you have or have to park outside. For that reason, I might be inclined to use prefab cabinets that can be rearranged if need be. And don't forget RH wall. If drive in/back out, you can nestle in close on that side.

 

[onewaydave]

Algebra teaches us that in addition to X and Y, there is Z. To go negative may require dynamite in Yuma though.

Ditto to everything outside that is not needed/wanted.

Dave, semper fi to milesvdustin.

 

[RobSmith]

How about raise the roof a little to make a storage loft.

 

[paullie]

Two quick questions:

1) What are you planning on doing in the garage?
- and -
2) What were you thinking when you agreed to let the Pathfinder in there?

It's a warm place -- in the dead of summer a dry heat place. And there's very little rain. No snow. No salt on the roads. Very rarely below 50° out.

You've got negotiate this now, in my opinion. I was lucky in that our driveway is long and narrow -- intimidating and extra work for my wife (at least, that's how I sold it).

Maybe offer to build her a carport or canopy or something?

One car in a space like that will make for a nice little shop.

Jack has some great points. Is it going to be a place to park or a place to "play"?

Get a car port thingy, that will keep the cars out of the sun and leave more room to play.

 

[rick carpenter]

I received a lot of good suggestions on...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=175576

Good luck!
Rick

 

[70redbee]

Built in 2007, 3rd owner and never lived in? Must be a reason...I'm confused but that's not hard to do. Good luck and you will find all you need to know from this forum.

 

[Reverend Bow]

Thanks for the replies, let me catch up...

Two quick questions:

1) What are you planning on doing in the garage?

Well, I do all my own work on my vehicles/ hobby electronics/house things needing repair.

But I also store the 2 least driven vehicles in there ('99.5 Pathfinder SE - Hers and '91 240SX - My Toy)

2) What were you thinking when you agreed to let the Pathfinder in there?

Well, I want to keep it looking good and storing it out of the sun has done that over the past 11 years of ownership)

It's a warm place -- in the dead of summer a dry heat place. And there's very little rain. No snow. No salt on the roads. Very rarely below 50° out.

You've got negotiate this now, in my opinion. I was lucky in that our driveway is long and narrow -- intimidating and extra work for my wife (at least, that's how I sold it).

Yeah, of the houses we looked at, this is what caught our eye, house wise, but the garage... welll..... is just small.

Maybe offer to build her a carport or canopy or something?

Possible, if it goes well style wise with the house, that is actually a great idea I'll be looking into for the future...

One car in a space like that will make for a nice little shop.

Agreed.. 2 car garages are nice for working on a single car...

Jack has some great points. Is it going to be a place to park or a place to "play"?

Both.. If i need to do some serious work requiring space, one or both will move to the driveway.

Get a car port thingy, that will keep the cars out of the sun and leave more room to play.

True

Built in 2007, 3rd owner and never lived in? Must be a reason...I'm confused but that's not hard to do.

Well, we dug a little deeper and found this out... built in 2007 by the builder as a model home, and yes, the place has damn near every option you can put into it by the builder (including full landscaping front and rear and a sprinkler system), and it is their flagship model at 2607 sq ft. The builder sold it to the current owner in 2009, who was going to relocate from Idaho to Yuma for retirement with his wife. His wife passed shortly after the home purchase and he never moved down. now his children are pushing him to sell it off...

Good luck and you will find all you need to know from this forum.

Roger that, I'll be digging some more....

But I will say the I explained to the wife that if this is "the place", then I will be making the garage work for me, and she is on board with that. Today we purchased the epoxy kit for the floor in the garage, and I am already starting to look for cabinets...

 

[Reverend Bow]

Then you already know what I am about to say, you bought the wrong place!

Only from a garage point of view.. the house itself really kicks ***...

I don't know what you mean by "standard raised area."

27" wide, 3" high raised apron across the rear and left (house side) of the garage

I don't see that often and I don't like it when I do. That's just a tripping point.

But yes, that's a good area for a bench. Once built, you will however be locked into shorter cars like the ones you have or have to park outside. For that reason, I might be inclined to use prefab cabinets that can be rearranged if need be. And don't forget RH wall. If drive in/back out, you can nestle in close on that side.

Yup, I'm looking for prefab cabinets, which is what my last garage this side came with. and you are correct, I use to stuff my 240SX up against the wall, or close to the welder and air compressor I kept on that side.

As far as getting a longer car, I'll keep the 240SX until the cut me out of it, so that isn't much of an issue, I'm not a big vehicle kind of guy...

How about raise the roof a little to make a storage loft.

I was at the home inspection Friday and looked up above the ceiling in the garage, there isn't a large amount of area up there, but It will be put to work.

 

[John in OH]

So what's wrong with 20'-10" x 21'?? That's a very generously sized single-car garage!!

 

[Reverend Bow]

Ha! Very True!

But I still have to figure out what to do with the space I have!
In fact, since I am getting a small shed for the garden tools/mower, I'm thinking about putting my compressor in there and piping it in... it is a Horizontal and oil-less, works great for what I use it for, but takes up some space and is noisy... Maybe I can let the neighbors enjoy the sweet sounds of the compressor...

 

[thammel]

I'm just guessing there is no basement? If not, you surely will need the best and biggest shed out back for storage. I don't know how people out West and in Florida cope without basements. I have a full 15 x 20 workshop there with tons of stuff. You didn't mention the ceiling height in the garage. I saw a neat system a few days ago at a Packard restorer's garage. He has high mounted wall cabinets on both sides with a rolling ladder (think library) system to access them. The wall space under them was totall open and available.

Tom

 

[Slupie]

I have a 22' 6" deep by almost 22' 4" wide garage. I have a full size cabinet table saw with 48" fence at the back of the garage, plus air compressor, dust collector and a tool box. On the side I have full size kitchen cabinets 24" deep by about 10' long. The cabinets are split and on casters. We still get two cars in the garage. One is BMW 3 series and just recently purchased Nissan Quest. My recommendation is to swap the cars and back yours in on the left and and have the wife pull hers in on the right. It will give you a wide "center isle". We have been parking that way since we moved in over 8 years ago. That way we have plenty of room to open the doors and avoid self induced door dings.

 

[Reverend Bow]

Well, here is for bring a thread back from the dead...

We have been on the house over a year now...

The floor never got painted before we moved in (too cold as per mainfacture's specs), a water softner and RO water system were also install for the house and reside in the garage....

The Wife bought me the 6' Rolling workbench with drawers, 6" workbench, and 4 matching wall cabinets from Sam's Club. They are up on the raised portion of the floor across the back of the garage. I built 2 levels of 24" deep shelving on the long wall and 2 single level shelves 24" deep on the short wall on either side of the Garage/House Door.

I have my Horizontial Compressor, MIG Welder, Rolling Toolbox, and some other stuff against th elong wall, my built engine on it's stand is on the short wall. and I build some above Garage door storage using several 18" x 4' wire shelves and 2x4's...

We had a 6'x6' shed put out back for all the "Non-Garage/Yard Tools and other Items"

The biggest thing.. is is a 1 car garage.. the "Pathfinder" is living in the driveway, and is going to stay there.... However, my 240SX is in the garage...



Next week, I am taking vacation from work, pulling everything on the floor out, parking the 240SX in the driveway for the week, and doing the floor paint...

So as John in OH said...

So what's wrong with 20'-10" x 21'?? That's a very generously sized single-car garage!!

So the garage will be my space for Car tweaking, Ham Radio Operating/Building/Repairing/Tweaking, Guitar/Tube Amp Playing/Building/Repairing/Tweaking, and general area for beer consumption...

I'll try to get for photos.. it is still recovering from the move in, rearranging, other projects that have been done over the year, but it is coming together....

But it is a Hot MoFo in the summer down here... we saw 120 degrees more than a few times last summer...

Here is the Basic layout now...

 

[Reverend Bow]

Garage Floor prep tonight, primer in the morning, hope to paint in the afternoon...

the 28" wide Stoop on 2 walls isn't getting paint... I'm thinking tile, but I'd love to figure out how to do a greyed wood look....

any suggestions?

 

[Reverend Bow]

Well, the floor is more primed than I am.... considering it is 78 degrees and 18% humidity
, I think I'll go with the lower end of the "finish after 4 hours but before 30 days" Behr bonding primer suggestion ....

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

 

[Reverend Bow]

Well, its Does Equis ** time... ran outta chips on the the last 1/4 of the floor, but its a done deal...

Now I have to finish the top of the "stoop", which looks like ****

 

[Reverend Bow]

Well, didn't like the way the chips laided out, talked with the Misses, and decided another coat was in the cards, so this afternoon, Epoxy Coat #2 was put down and I had "She Who Didn't Paint" sprinkle the paint chips down... It worked much better...

So I won't be doing much in the garage for a couple days... at least

 

[Reverend Bow]

So here is some of the storage I built since I've been in here...

Next I am looking to build a wall mount for my Bench Grinder and one for my Bench Top Drill Press.

Then I will be doing some serious rearrangement after the floor cures...

 

[KEH]

Is the old territorial prison still in Yuma?

Garage looks good. Spinkler system? For a lawn? I always though a lawn in a desert was a waste of scarce water. Of course, I'm in humid SC and get tired of mowing the lawn.

KEH

 

[Reverend Bow]

Yup, the prison is still here.... as it is a great place for one.

Yup, the house was a Spec home, so it had a small lawn, and watering for the landscaping.

The garage is coming together, thanks for the reply.