One-car garage project

[yossarian19]

Well, it all happened over the last twelve months: married, baby, bought a house. I lobbied pretty hard that we should live in a dump that had a new 3-car garage but, of course, we bought a nice place with a 1-car.
Here it is, just moving in.

And an outdoors shot:

The roof is about 30x30, center garage is 11x19 at the floor. The '57 Chevy longbed, pictured, doesn't fit in the center bay - so it's going to be a workshop and the carport space on the right will someday get a poured slab.

In the meantime, I'll share my strategy for making the most of a small space.

 

[zx2slow]

Just put in an offer on a home with a one car garage as well, in for updates.

 

[superdutymike27]

Looks good!

Sometimes less is more.

��

 

[zkling]

Congrats, looks like a nice place. Good luck with the single stall, it will really force you to keep what you need vs what you want. At least you have the covered bay to the right for future expansion. The existing overhead shelving should really help for not often used items.

 

[ed_v]

I have done body-off projects with less than you have to work with. Congrats on the new place. Organize it right and it will serve you well.

Ed

 

[fireeqpsrv]

I like that shop, You can do wonders with small spaces.

 

[captain14]

Is the area to the left of the bay door a covered area? The tree is blocking our view .




Edit: auto spell check is great . Now my question makes sense.

 

[James-W]

You can pour a slab and enclose the carport which will give you a lot more space for working, but it doesn't look like the carport is very tall.

 

[yossarian19]

You can pour a slab and enclose the carport which will give you a lot more space for working, but it doesn't look like the carport is very tall.

I'm 6'1. If I stand under the lowest part of the carport, I'm 4-5" from being able to reach it with a fingertip. Not sure I'll get a lift in there but someday, I could maybe move the workshop / den to the closed in carport and I'd *definitely* be able to get a lift in the center stall.

One thing I got interested in was using filing cabinets as garage storage. A proper steel filing cabinet drawer is built to handle a lot of weight. What with te switch to .pdf's and cloud storage, you can find filing cabinets pretty cheap, too.
So, for $10 I bought two lateral file cabinets @ 29 1/2 wide x 19 1/2 deep and 26 1/2" tall.
The coffee table we were going to throw out had a decent top on it. Remove the legs, lay it on top of the cabinets et voila - second desk & electronics workbench with massive tool storage underneath. Power tools, paint & bulky stuff fits in there really nicely.

 

[Parkershop]

Hey, what make is that cool bike frame with the adjustable dropouts!

JP

 

[matt_i]

That covered roof area is like gold in my thinking. You can use it for garage stuff or even host birthday parties outside even when unexpected rain arrives.

I would keep with the theme of using as much wall and overhead area as you can, to your advantage for storage.

 

[themiller]

Very nice - do you have carports on both sides?

They are easy to close in if you are so inclined down the road. Covered space is so much better than driveway space at least. Looks nice! And a finished house means more time in the garage right? :wink:

 

[OJ Bartley]

Nice looking place, congratulations on all of the "Big 3" life changing events! There are some great single garage threads here, and I'm just starting to organize mine as well. Creativity and ingenuity will yield some very nice results for you, especially if you don't have to leave room to park in the middle (like I do).

Looking forward to more.

 

[yossarian19]

The bike frame is a Gary Moulton era Fuso that I wrecked. I loved the bike too much to scrap the frame, I just transferred the parts that I could onto a Surly Pacer that I still need to finish.
Carports are on both sides but the one on the left is really just roofed entertaining / outdoors space. Previous owner had a kegerator / bar setup, etc. It's nice but we still haven't furnished it at all.

 

[mrvette72]

I"m yoss's old man, I live in Florida, a tad flatter than where he lives, .... I been a hotrodder/motor head for about 60 years now, lived in the Wash DC area for 53 years, and now NW Florida for the last 18 years....the move brought on by arthritis, but the reason I am a motor head is some California/north? guys moved into my burb when I was about ten years old, they had a '49 Ford, baby blue metallic, FULL RIM MOON BRUSHED ALUMINUM CAPS, Dual antennas on back, flaps, louvered, lowered, chopped, channeled, fuzzy dice......

Yoss remembers a certain GTO convertible tow car and some trips with it.....

In a lot of ways I envious of his garage set up there, I have a 2 car garage, but so much damn junk around that I just don't have much enthusiasm to clean out....

 

[dubber]

Congrats on the new garage. I know the feeling, we all hope when looking for a new place that the garage will be massive, most of the time, reality then kicks in. A single offers a unique challenge. I know i enjoyed creating a functional space in my Single that could still easily hold a car when needed.

Good luck!

 

[rodsnratfinks]

I thought that looked like a Fuso! Congrats on the garage and other stuff. I had a similar experience recently in my life: married, house, baby. I got a two car garage, but it's on the small side and I want to keep my shop limited to only one space. I love seeing what guys do with small garages. Yours looks like a good sized 1 car, so you have a nice space when you are done. As for the carport, count your blessings. Growing up, I had a carport with slab to work under in a place where it snowed 6 months a year and the wind always blew like hell. Still preferred it a thousand times over the dirt! I would make pouring that slab a priority.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[HSpencer]

Great Shop!! It should be very nice for you. I like it!!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

 

[Spdstr280Z]

It may be on the small side, but it looks like a very cool space with lots of character ! I like the covered sides also, lots of options. Also, extra points for "et voila"... I cringe a little inside every time I see "wa la", "walla", "wah-la", etc.

Trying to understand the layout a little better. Does the door on the right open outside to the "entertainment" area ? Are those stairs on the upper right ? Is this attached to the house ?

Jason

 

[yossarian19]

Here's a shot of the entertainment area from the steps up to the house, a shot of the garage w/ carport & roofed entertainment area & a shot of the back of the whole roofed area.

I strongly recommend the Simpson Strong Tie work bench kit in the last picture. Sure, you can build a work bench any number of ways - but follow the cut list & screw it all together, this thing is rock solid. I used 3/4 ply for the shelf & 2 sheets of 1/2" ply for the top. It's pretty nice having it out of the garage, too - I can grab an 8' board & turn around with it, drop it on the bench & don't hit anything with the board. Need to add some light out there at some point though.

 

[hachi-roku_fan]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm thinking about selling my current place that has a 2 car garage plus storage to a no car garage lol Got to love Los Angeles

 

[Outlander]

I love the carport/covered area. Just last week I told Mrs Outlander that if the Can-Am garage were ever taken down and rebuilt that I would include a carport to store trailer and to work outside (which I enjoy).

 

[yossarian19]

I haven't spent a lot of time on any one thing, having a lot on my plate. I did make it down the road to Auburn, CA where a contractor had pulled a ton of metal laboratory cabinets of a big institutional remodel he was working on. Some rust but nothing that went through. Adjustable legs, heavy metal construction, etc. At $40 apiece the price was right.
So here's one work in progress hauling another & the smallest of the 3 cabinets I picked up, sitting on the work bench & waiting on me to finish cleaning it & roll on some new paint.

 

[Jmasishin]

Looks good!

Sometimes less is more.

��

What is that truck in your avatar?

 

[yossarian19]

I used Blair's Rota-Broach cutters chucked up in the handheld drill to run 4 5/16" bolts thru the cabinets and raft them together. Now I've got 6x 1/2" adjustable feet holding the cabinets: overkill achieved on that front.
Another Simpson workbench kit + a couple two-by hangers and a few minutes with the measuring tape gets me to this point: 2x4 bench legs and (3) 2x4's supporting the top, at about 10 1/4" on center. I still need to tie the bottom of the legs together and either gusset the back or put a 3/4 plywood shear panel onto the back of it, not to mention put a top on the thing, but I think this will stand up to all the abuse I want to put it through and store a bunch of junk at the same time.
Top is probably going to be a double thickness of 3/4" ply and maybe a layer of 1/8" plastic as a chemical resistant skin on it.

 

[mrvette72]

Looks good man, like you know WTF you doing, had ME fooled.....

But serious, you doing well there, happy for you,

What is this about you wrecking a bike???? You survive ok??

Dad

 

[yossarian19]

It isn't home till the vise is mounted.
Put a handful of 2" screws through a 3/4" A-C top and moved my center support so I could mount the bench vise to it. 1/2" lag bolts hold the vise down and while I could move things around if I was beating it with a mallet, I doubt I could do much harm.

I also got some work done on my wife's project station. She'll mostly fill it with knitting supplies, I expect, but maybe being so near my air compressor will be a good influence on her. When she's happy, we're all happy. I'm putting a 3/4 top on it anyway, expecting it will sometimes be *my* benchtop. Gotta be careful, though...
Still need to order a couple replacement rollers for the drawer & hang the cabinet doors on it.

 

[yossarian19]

It's been a little while and I discovered that the work bench's end was a bit too close to the garage door. Another way to say it is that my truck is too damn big. Anyway, I pulled the bench frame off of the cabinet it was built around & moved rafted up the cabinets, throwing another sheet of 3/4" A-C plywood on top to make an even height light-duty work surface.
The desk had to go, so the lateral files full of power tools & paint moved forward a couple feet & there we have it: new desk.
I also scored a 1952 Delta Rockwell 17" drill press w/ 1.5 HP motor. It was pretty grimy and the table is, well, functional. Not pictured is the 80's Jet 10" table saw that was "free" until I was done fixing it, $120 later. That one lives out in the carport, can't afford the concrete space for it.

Sorry for the funky sized pics. My camera busted. Did I say camera? I meant giveadamn.

With the cabinet out from under the work bench, I think I'm going to take it apart and re-use the lumber in a much heavier unit that will probably wind up out in the carport.

 

[Ainsley]

Great start to your single! Takes some careful thought to maximize such a relatively small space and it looks like your on your way.
I'd love that much outdoor working space!

 

[yossarian19]

Weeell, let's see here.
I've mostly been working "in" the garage in my spare time rather than "on" it, which is nice. If I'm honest I've been watching netflix even more than working but hey, the budget is the budget.
With daylight savings, though, it was time to add track lights to the carport area. Track lights are pretty darn nice, actually. I bought them from the Habitat for humanity store dirt cheap : $2 a track and under $5 a head (with bulbs). A little tweaking, add some romex...

Pictured here is the new compressor I've been cobbling together. I'm ~$200 into it, going to be another $50 or so worth of gaskets to get it totally on-line but that's not so bad for a 5HP 60 (80?) gallon unit. Lord willing I can sell the old compressor to recoup some of that. Aside from air delivery, I like that this one is a vertical. Less space occupied. Lord willing, a new check valve & sealed head gasket makes it a quieter unit than the direct drive & oil free POS I've got.

I also picked up a (battered) rolling service cart for $25 at the junkyard. Looks to be built entirely of 11ga steel, cabinet doors need some catches installed but hey, price was right.
The winning theme seems to be "cabinets, everywhere" with this garage. Every work surface needs to have drawers under it.
Eventually, I'll mount the vise to something - though I'm not sure if I want it on a bench or a post.

 

[yossarian19]

Had just enough of a break in the rain to snap a shot of the new construction.
Longer term, I want to get this place code-compliant & get a slab under it. In the mean time, I'm happy the the truck & tools aren't getting rained on any more. I'd love to have done it myself but I don't have the time; a buddy got'er done for me.
I also got around to building a heavy work bench to mount the vise to. It's a Paramo no. 5, basically an old Record (made in UK, same foundry patterns & all). The workshop area is getting pretty darned useable at this point, which is good because I just looked at the finances and the budget is dry until further notice.

 

[GJoustra]

Nice work! Nice score on those filing cabinets.

 

[captain14]

Did he install siding just on the right side or the back area too? Any windows to allow air movement now?

 

[yossarian19]

No windows yet. When funding allows, I plan to add narrow windows up top on the perimeter, lay slab & close the structure entirely. That's after I get things square with the building department. Heck, wife and I might move before that ever happens.
For now, it's nice to keep the rain off the truck & the tools.

 

[1/2 Cup]

No windows yet. When funding allows, I plan to add narrow windows up top on the perimeter, lay slab & close the structure entirely. That's after I get things square with the building department. Heck, wife and I might move before that ever happens.
For now, it's nice to keep the rain off the truck & the tools.

Looking great, just chip away at it a bit at a time.

Regards

 

[yossarian19]

Well, the metal service cart I've got has been handy as a catch-all set of cabinets, a work surface for oily / greasy parts and even a welding table. With a 16 gauge (possibly 11 gauge, cart is made from some of each) top on it, though, it's pretty light as a welding table and the top is durable but not "beat it with a hammer" durable.

So, up to the steel supply house. 1/2 a sheet of 11 gauge steel, enough for two layers, $50 flat.

My uncle is too humble to say so but he's actually quite a good woodworker. Last time I saw him we were talking shop and he told me that the secret to accurate work is to spend more time jigging and setting up each operation than doing the operation itself. So here I am, notepad + pencil, clamps & a straight edge. Cut the steel with a metal blade in a circular saw.
One down, one to go, then I weld it all home.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thank you for the update, looking great.

Regards

 

[yossarian19]

Earlier in the year, the wife was smokin' busy with work and had to work after dinner some evenings. This left us with a few choices: let the toddler scream at her for ignoring him while she worked, force her back out of the house, or Clay and I could buzz off. I didn't like any of those options so after finishing out a project on the truck, I started remodeling the garage. It needed space for a desk + sheet rock, insulation and more light.
The cabinet uppers got mounted to 2x4 cleats & braced underneath. I filled the 3/4" void behind the face frames with scrap sheet goods I had, so the top is now 1 1/2" thick.
Aand I put the metal cabinets on wheels so we can rearrange the place when we want to.
Wife still has not used the "office" but I'm over the hump on the "mess" phase of the project, things are getting put away, more than half of my junk is now in it's designated spot.