Good morning GJ'ers!
I'm trying to move forward with SOMETHING to improve my garage space and I have a few options, but as it's happened before I let my own thoughts get in the way of doing something. The status quo is this. I have a garage that was here when we bought the house. I'd say it's about 30x40ish with 8' ceilings. The structure while old appears to be serviceable albeit the exterior tin is pretty ugly. The concrete is cracked and heaving in spots but not so much that I can't deal with it. There are a couple of roof leaks I need to find and take care of, but nothing earth shattering.
What do I do out there? I like to create things. Mechanical things, mostly things made of metal, a little bit of necessary wood working, some work with plastics. I have a tiny lathe with aspirations of a mill someday (and bigger lather), a handful of welders, and all the supporting equipment. I also maintain my own vehicles albeit poorly ending up being more reactive than proactive (aside from basic oil and filter changes etc.).
We are finally at a point in our lives where we've been in decent financial shape for a while, and are able to handle relatively crappy situations without stress. This after being in a terrible financial spot for years and working diligently to improve that.
I tell you all of that to propose my problem and ask your advice for a solution. My garage is a disaster. It is not insulated, the interior is half sheeted with falling down fiberboard. I have projects and supplies for future projects stuffed everywhere that get in my way of doing anything productive. I've got a couple of hours of shoving $&*^ around before I can pull my truck in for an oil change and frankly it's embarrassing. What to do? The obvious answer is a new shop. about 54x40 with a 20' covered overhang to park the 5th wheel, 16' walls to allow for a lift, and plenty of space for everything and keep the current garage for parking our daily drivers (what a marvel idea). Of course that's the most expensive option, and not really an option at this time. Although I could get a loan at a good rate, I don't want one. Our previous financial crisis makes me strongly averse to a long term loan for a "want". Option 2? Fix up the current garage. I could certainly insulate and sheet the interior of the current garage. I could do it a section at a time without even affecting our finances, but it doesn't solve the problem of all of the "stuff". Before you say it - I've already purged plenty, and have a little more to go, but not enough to fix this problem. The 3rd option is a combination of option 2, but also build a shed out back. I was first thinking about a "little red barn" type that everybody built years ago. Something like 8x12 which would be pretty inexpensive, but then I thought about it and am thinking that wouldn't even solve the problem. So then I'm thinking what do I need? and I'm coming up with about 20x12. This gives me room for all of those project supplies and home maintenance supplies, as well as a place to park the zero turn, our toro workman, and the snowblower during the offseason. Cost of materials looks to be about $7,500. At that price, I won't be putting it up tomorrow, but this fall or next spring is certainly doable.
Am I going to be satisfied with that? Not entirely. I'll still be crawling around on the ground to change oil etc. (at 44 I'm not getting any younger) but it would be better than what I have now. What would you do?
I'm trying to move forward with SOMETHING to improve my garage space and I have a few options, but as it's happened before I let my own thoughts get in the way of doing something. The status quo is this. I have a garage that was here when we bought the house. I'd say it's about 30x40ish with 8' ceilings. The structure while old appears to be serviceable albeit the exterior tin is pretty ugly. The concrete is cracked and heaving in spots but not so much that I can't deal with it. There are a couple of roof leaks I need to find and take care of, but nothing earth shattering.
What do I do out there? I like to create things. Mechanical things, mostly things made of metal, a little bit of necessary wood working, some work with plastics. I have a tiny lathe with aspirations of a mill someday (and bigger lather), a handful of welders, and all the supporting equipment. I also maintain my own vehicles albeit poorly ending up being more reactive than proactive (aside from basic oil and filter changes etc.).
We are finally at a point in our lives where we've been in decent financial shape for a while, and are able to handle relatively crappy situations without stress. This after being in a terrible financial spot for years and working diligently to improve that.
I tell you all of that to propose my problem and ask your advice for a solution. My garage is a disaster. It is not insulated, the interior is half sheeted with falling down fiberboard. I have projects and supplies for future projects stuffed everywhere that get in my way of doing anything productive. I've got a couple of hours of shoving $&*^ around before I can pull my truck in for an oil change and frankly it's embarrassing. What to do? The obvious answer is a new shop. about 54x40 with a 20' covered overhang to park the 5th wheel, 16' walls to allow for a lift, and plenty of space for everything and keep the current garage for parking our daily drivers (what a marvel idea). Of course that's the most expensive option, and not really an option at this time. Although I could get a loan at a good rate, I don't want one. Our previous financial crisis makes me strongly averse to a long term loan for a "want". Option 2? Fix up the current garage. I could certainly insulate and sheet the interior of the current garage. I could do it a section at a time without even affecting our finances, but it doesn't solve the problem of all of the "stuff". Before you say it - I've already purged plenty, and have a little more to go, but not enough to fix this problem. The 3rd option is a combination of option 2, but also build a shed out back. I was first thinking about a "little red barn" type that everybody built years ago. Something like 8x12 which would be pretty inexpensive, but then I thought about it and am thinking that wouldn't even solve the problem. So then I'm thinking what do I need? and I'm coming up with about 20x12. This gives me room for all of those project supplies and home maintenance supplies, as well as a place to park the zero turn, our toro workman, and the snowblower during the offseason. Cost of materials looks to be about $7,500. At that price, I won't be putting it up tomorrow, but this fall or next spring is certainly doable.
Am I going to be satisfied with that? Not entirely. I'll still be crawling around on the ground to change oil etc. (at 44 I'm not getting any younger) but it would be better than what I have now. What would you do?