ChristopherLutz
Well-known member
Finally getting around to sprucing up the very pedestrian suburban 3 car.
Before we moved in, I had someone epoxy the floor...then peiced together a work bench and a bit of storage. None of it worked very well...but, it stayed in place for nearly 7 years.
Here are a few before pics:
In the pic above, you can see the man-door that enters the house and laundry room. The "mess" is consistent and largely due to poor work habits (no excuse) and lack of storage space.
I built the work bench at left - along with the open shelf hutch which stores a great deal of my tools, books, hardware etc. The only thing that actually works well are the tackle boxes with hardware. I've labled them all and it's quite handy to pull them down for projects.
To the right of the man-door, you see the early Gladiator Garage track I mounted to handle mops, brooms, balls etc. This area got incredibly 'dirty' as the paint was flat and seemed to just sponge up dirty finger prints, etc.
This picture is the area just to the right of the man-door (scanning to the right if you will)
When we first moved in, I purchased he white melamine cabinets and work bench you see here. I never really used the bench and should have just purchased 2 or 3 more cabinets.
you can see the garage has a curb stop section at the back that is about 3 feet deep - it's level and the cabinets actually sat well on that. You can also see to the left of the white cabinet is a 45 degree wall that I was struggling with how to make the best use of.
You can clearly see how messy and disorganized everything is - I'm suitably embarrassed.
So, after combing this site and (ahem) "borrowing" a few ideas from lots of folks here (many thanks) I decided to begin the refurb with the pictured section above.
I need to work in sections (or rather, chose to) to avoid renting a pod and clearing everything out. This is probably not the most efficient method; however, given the slowness of my pace - driven by life's business, it's the method I chose.
I wanted to change the white paint to some neutral color (I'm not flashy) and change to an eggshell finish to eliminate the dirty finger problem. I chose a Behr paint that is "tan". the large stripe is brown and the smaller stripe is a brushed black.
As an editorial comment on the paint. While maybe not the world's best paint...it says it's self-priming (really?) and is ready for "re-coat" in two hours. That last bit sold me. It went on well and I don't really have any complaints - other than paint seems to have gotten more expensive lately.
Enough preamble, here is the first section painted and "done":
You can see I stopped painting just above the door, purposely. Behind this pic is piles and piles of stuff that I have no room for. And the Mrs. is/was parking outside...so, I wanted to get something done.
For what it's worth, to paint the stripes (on my textured walls) I taped and then actually caulked the tape edges before painting. That was a little clunky..but it kept the line strait and clean.
I never did really solve the 45 degree wall problem. I wanted to put the brooms and dustpan behind a closet or cabinet door...but, never did figure out an elegant solution. Instead, I chose to use the wall for hanging. You'll see that the brooms and mops that were previously just to the right of the man door have (or will) move to the 45 degree wall.
A quick trip to Sears for the Gladiator Garage Wall - and voila:
The Garage Wall was pretty easy to install and really...not terribly expense on a per sq. ft basis. It's about $100 for two 8 foot sections that are 12'' high. The sections were cut with a circular saw (80 tooth blade) and came out nice.
WARNING: this will absolutely HAMMER the blade. The only fiddly part is the lowest section - once you level that and get it anchored to studs....the rest just insert tongue and groove.
Sears didn't have the edge moulding - so, I had to order that online....and, I couldn't resist the paper towel holder accessory. I'm not sure how I'm going to use the section below the light switches just yet. I still have the baskets from the previous installation, but may go a different route.
Both sections were installed in about 3 hours....no rushing.
Once that was done - I knew I wanted some cabinet storage space. I scoured the web for metal cabinets and either choked on the price or I couldn't find a size that would accommodate some of the tools I wanted to put in them....like a router table. The dimensions just didn't work.
Optimist that I am (read with heavy sarcasm), I decided to build my own. Thinking we may not stay in this house forever, I thought I'd build free standing cabinets with adjustable legs. Then I could just take them with me.
Bad Idea. Here's what I learned:
1) Cabinet making is harder than it seems - even if you have pretty decent handy man skills
2) Don't even consider trying to do it with a skillsaw and guide - if you want to build a square box...you need a table saw.
3) Free standing and "Big and Tall" don't really go together.
Some of you helped me through my trials building this first version:
It actually looks "ok" in the first pic...but, it's not square and - it's a bit unsteady. I'm a big fan of STURDY and this isn't/wasn't it.
The wife likes it...but, I can't live with it. After a minor pity party for myself, I took the plunge and bought a Ridgid table saw. (Model 4510 with wheels) for those interested.
I also changed the design strategy to: legs in front, sitting on a ledger at bottom and anchored at top.
My second cabinet (and first "keeper") is square within 1/32 of an inch and is ROCK SOLID / DEAD LEVEL.
I now consider the first cabinet my $500 cabinet building tutorial.
Here is version 2.0:
And, open with golf clubs inside:
You can see the ledger at bottom. It's anchored into the studs and VERY LEVEL. It's two 2x4's sistered together. You can also see the top anchor plate I installed to ensure I could lag the top of the cabinet in without worrying where the studs are.
The cabinet you see at the right is version 1.0.....dying to get rid of it, debating this with my much better half.
The plan is to create 2 more cabinets exactly like version 2.0 but, with many more shelves to accomodate my goodies.
On the above, I found anti-fatigue matting at Lowes for about $3 a foot and lined the bottom of the cabinet with this so that putting in the clubs would be silent and wouldn't scratch the paint.
I'm taking my time and trying to remind myself to enjoy the process. There are more ideas I plan to steal from GJ and implement as I move around the garage and slowly clean up. I'll keep posting...but, my progress is slow.
Thanks for reading - I'm certainly interested in comments, suggestions and thoughts.
And, once again - thanks to the GJrs who took the time to help answer questions during my cabinet building.
Before we moved in, I had someone epoxy the floor...then peiced together a work bench and a bit of storage. None of it worked very well...but, it stayed in place for nearly 7 years.
Here are a few before pics:
In the pic above, you can see the man-door that enters the house and laundry room. The "mess" is consistent and largely due to poor work habits (no excuse) and lack of storage space.
I built the work bench at left - along with the open shelf hutch which stores a great deal of my tools, books, hardware etc. The only thing that actually works well are the tackle boxes with hardware. I've labled them all and it's quite handy to pull them down for projects.
To the right of the man-door, you see the early Gladiator Garage track I mounted to handle mops, brooms, balls etc. This area got incredibly 'dirty' as the paint was flat and seemed to just sponge up dirty finger prints, etc.
This picture is the area just to the right of the man-door (scanning to the right if you will)
When we first moved in, I purchased he white melamine cabinets and work bench you see here. I never really used the bench and should have just purchased 2 or 3 more cabinets.
you can see the garage has a curb stop section at the back that is about 3 feet deep - it's level and the cabinets actually sat well on that. You can also see to the left of the white cabinet is a 45 degree wall that I was struggling with how to make the best use of.
You can clearly see how messy and disorganized everything is - I'm suitably embarrassed.
So, after combing this site and (ahem) "borrowing" a few ideas from lots of folks here (many thanks) I decided to begin the refurb with the pictured section above.
I need to work in sections (or rather, chose to) to avoid renting a pod and clearing everything out. This is probably not the most efficient method; however, given the slowness of my pace - driven by life's business, it's the method I chose.
I wanted to change the white paint to some neutral color (I'm not flashy) and change to an eggshell finish to eliminate the dirty finger problem. I chose a Behr paint that is "tan". the large stripe is brown and the smaller stripe is a brushed black.
As an editorial comment on the paint. While maybe not the world's best paint...it says it's self-priming (really?) and is ready for "re-coat" in two hours. That last bit sold me. It went on well and I don't really have any complaints - other than paint seems to have gotten more expensive lately.
Enough preamble, here is the first section painted and "done":
You can see I stopped painting just above the door, purposely. Behind this pic is piles and piles of stuff that I have no room for. And the Mrs. is/was parking outside...so, I wanted to get something done.
For what it's worth, to paint the stripes (on my textured walls) I taped and then actually caulked the tape edges before painting. That was a little clunky..but it kept the line strait and clean.
I never did really solve the 45 degree wall problem. I wanted to put the brooms and dustpan behind a closet or cabinet door...but, never did figure out an elegant solution. Instead, I chose to use the wall for hanging. You'll see that the brooms and mops that were previously just to the right of the man door have (or will) move to the 45 degree wall.
A quick trip to Sears for the Gladiator Garage Wall - and voila:
The Garage Wall was pretty easy to install and really...not terribly expense on a per sq. ft basis. It's about $100 for two 8 foot sections that are 12'' high. The sections were cut with a circular saw (80 tooth blade) and came out nice.
WARNING: this will absolutely HAMMER the blade. The only fiddly part is the lowest section - once you level that and get it anchored to studs....the rest just insert tongue and groove.
Sears didn't have the edge moulding - so, I had to order that online....and, I couldn't resist the paper towel holder accessory. I'm not sure how I'm going to use the section below the light switches just yet. I still have the baskets from the previous installation, but may go a different route.
Both sections were installed in about 3 hours....no rushing.
Once that was done - I knew I wanted some cabinet storage space. I scoured the web for metal cabinets and either choked on the price or I couldn't find a size that would accommodate some of the tools I wanted to put in them....like a router table. The dimensions just didn't work.
Optimist that I am (read with heavy sarcasm), I decided to build my own. Thinking we may not stay in this house forever, I thought I'd build free standing cabinets with adjustable legs. Then I could just take them with me.
Bad Idea. Here's what I learned:
1) Cabinet making is harder than it seems - even if you have pretty decent handy man skills
2) Don't even consider trying to do it with a skillsaw and guide - if you want to build a square box...you need a table saw.
3) Free standing and "Big and Tall" don't really go together.
Some of you helped me through my trials building this first version:
It actually looks "ok" in the first pic...but, it's not square and - it's a bit unsteady. I'm a big fan of STURDY and this isn't/wasn't it.
The wife likes it...but, I can't live with it. After a minor pity party for myself, I took the plunge and bought a Ridgid table saw. (Model 4510 with wheels) for those interested.
I also changed the design strategy to: legs in front, sitting on a ledger at bottom and anchored at top.
My second cabinet (and first "keeper") is square within 1/32 of an inch and is ROCK SOLID / DEAD LEVEL.
I now consider the first cabinet my $500 cabinet building tutorial.
Here is version 2.0:
And, open with golf clubs inside:
You can see the ledger at bottom. It's anchored into the studs and VERY LEVEL. It's two 2x4's sistered together. You can also see the top anchor plate I installed to ensure I could lag the top of the cabinet in without worrying where the studs are.
The cabinet you see at the right is version 1.0.....dying to get rid of it, debating this with my much better half.
The plan is to create 2 more cabinets exactly like version 2.0 but, with many more shelves to accomodate my goodies.
On the above, I found anti-fatigue matting at Lowes for about $3 a foot and lined the bottom of the cabinet with this so that putting in the clubs would be silent and wouldn't scratch the paint.
I'm taking my time and trying to remind myself to enjoy the process. There are more ideas I plan to steal from GJ and implement as I move around the garage and slowly clean up. I'll keep posting...but, my progress is slow.
Thanks for reading - I'm certainly interested in comments, suggestions and thoughts.
And, once again - thanks to the GJrs who took the time to help answer questions during my cabinet building.
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I am currently starting to build a shelf/cabinet for the baby room...with a Circ. saw & guide...I guess I'll see how it works :S Looks like your "workbench" became another shelf!