Show Room or Work Shop?

[dougmac]

Wow!

Some of you guys have some really amazing garages. They look like showrooms. I would be afraid to step inside without removing my shoes and I certainly wouldn't set my beer on your benches without a coaster. My shop is nice and I keep it pretty clean but nothing like some of the garages that I see here.

What do you do when it comes time to remove the transmission in the old Buick? I could never have a shop like that because the work I do in my shop would just be too dang messy...... it would be like trying to work on a car in the kitchen....

Doug

 

[Wanna Ride]

I'll admit, my garage is not as nice as some on here, but it's pretty well-equipped and nicer than the average.

I weld in mine, maintain and mod my vehicles, make plenty messes, and often have stuff strewn everywhere. I don't recklessly spray paint, or let fluids drip and puddle on the floor. If I have to torch something, I take it outside. When I weld, I put down the blanket. I try to use drip pans as much as I can, but sometimes a mess is inevitable, so it gets cleaned up promptly.

But there's nothing wrong in taking pride in your posessions and maintaining a degree of cleanliness and organization, when the dust clears.

 

[Boiler]

My guess is that their floors are easy to clean, their cars are clean, and the shops are clean. Once the three are in place, where's the dirt coming from?

If you or I brought our cars into their place, it might be a different story.

But there's nothing wrong in taking pride in your posessions and maintaining a degree of cleanliness and organization, when the dust clears.

Seems like the right way to do it to me too. Currently I can't get my dust to clear though...

 

[Wanna Ride]

Now, that being said...

Most of my close buddies are like me... pretty particular about their stuff. I got a friend who hand waxes his snowmobile trailer at least twice a year. I recently spent a Saturday installing a body-lift on my truck, and two more days cleaning and painting the frame, and making custom gap-guards for all four wheel-wells.

But then I've got some buddies who laugh at my organization and clean shop. But you look at theirs, and they work in dirt-floor barns, **** strewn everywhere and nothing they own shines. But they still have tools, cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles, atv's, and everything else. They smile too, just from different things than the rest of us, I guess. Me personally, I try not to even walk in those shops, and I don't let them touch any of my stuff in my shop.

 

[bazzateer]

Some of the dirtiest looking kitchens produce some of the best tasting food I've ever had. (And never made me ill either).

I reckon the same applies to garages.

 

[Falcon67]

You set your beer down in here

you might not find it again

 

[Jack Olsen]

I say: whatever room you're comfortable working in is the way to go.

I do; but some guys don't want to work on their cars.

 

[dougmac]

I say: whatever room you're comfortable working in is the way to go.

I do; but some guys don't want to work on their cars.

Jack,
Your shop has a tile floor. How do you mange to keep it from getting oil stained? I changed the transmission fluid in my truck and no mater how careful I am, some fluid seems to find it's way to the floor. I have polished concrete and it cleans with a mop pretty well. I couldn't imagine trying to clean a tile floor with automatic transmission fluid spilled on it.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I wipe it up with a rag or a paper towel.

I don't think there is any concrete treatment that cleans more easily than ceramic tile. Polished might be about the same. But concrete is porous. Glazed ceramic tile is not.

 

[nate379]

All depends what you work on.

I used to help my friend out in a shop doing heavy equipment work. I didn't even know the floor was concrete until one day I was waiting for him to come back from a parts run and I cleaned up a little.

 

[regguy1]

"Show Room or Work Shop?"

I think the premise is a classic * false dilema...it doesn't have to be either / or. With a little effort one can have a reasonable balance.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

Are you saying...keep your shop messy /dirty shop because it might get messy / dirty

I clean up after my job/s are done and start fresh again.

But like Jack says....Whatever you're comfortable with.

 

[DCarr]

Now, that being said...

Most of my close buddies are like me... pretty particular about their stuff. I got a friend who hand waxes his snowmobile trailer at least twice a year. I recently spent a Saturday installing a body-lift on my truck, and two more days cleaning and painting the frame, and making custom gap-guards for all four wheel-wells.

But then I've got some buddies who laugh at my organization and clean shop. But you look at theirs, and they work in dirt-floor barns, **** strewn everywhere and nothing they own shines. But they still have tools, cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles, atv's, and everything else. They smile too, just from different things than the rest of us, I guess. Me personally, I try not to even walk in those shops, and I don't let them touch any of my stuff in my shop.

Da** kinda mansy pansy ..... Look at what Troy Trepineir ( sp ) built his first car in. A shed with metal plates on the floor. I have a friend with a few nice cars and a dirt floored 40 x 60 shop that he does just fine in. Not my cup of tea .... but I will go in there whenever ... and he and his toys are welcomed into mine any time.

 

[crewchief888]

while i'm working in the garage, things are a mess. sometimes a "simple" project turns into a disaster
once i finish up one project everything gets picked up, put away, and the floor swept before the next stage. seems like my s-10 blazer is an ongoing project, that never seems to end.

at least a couple times a year, i pull almost everything out of the garage, clean, sweep, reorganize, and toss scrap. that in itself keeps me busy when i'm not working in the garage.

 

[reznunt]

You set your beer down in here

you might not find it again

this is what i'm talking about. i can appreciate a place that's designed to get sh*t done. it's organized and purpose-built. i'd feel more comfortable wrenching in here than at some sterilized auto museum-looking garage.

 

[Matt M PA]

I guess I'm lucky....my attached garage is small but I'm able to keep my '72 Plymouth and 00 GTS there. It's no exactly a showroom, but I put up slatwall, a Racedeck type floor, and have some memorabilia about the cars within. It's also my base for washing cars with all the gear set up. Lots of storage with the slatwall, shelves, etc. With both cars in...there's not much room left.

The detached is the working building. The floor is done with concrete stain, although I'd love to do VCT one day. That being said, at least twice a year the floor is washed, rinsed, etc. I keep things very orderly. I can't stand clutter...or not knowing where a tool is located. Most folks that see my garage are very complimentary.

One thing I have found to keep the floor from getting messed up....is that when I'm working on an oldie...I park on a huge sheet of plastic you buy on the roll at the hardware store. All the junk that falls, leaks or otherwise splooges from the car is contained. When the car's done...roll it up and through it out.

 

[mikevango]

oh yea. mines a show room for sure

 

[Coolabah]

Wow!

Some of you guys have some really amazing garages. They look like showrooms. I would be afraid to step inside without removing my shoes and I certainly wouldn't set my beer on your benches without a coaster. My shop is nice and I keep it pretty clean but nothing like some of the garages that I see here.

What do you do when it comes time to remove the transmission in the old Buick? I could never have a shop like that because the work I do in my shop would just be too dang messy...... it would be like trying to work on a car in the kitchen....

Doug

Well, my garage is not a showroom but I try to keep it tidy especially between projects so that I can find stuff (tools, my beer , the actual item I am working on , etc...) . It also would annoy me no end if I splashed paint all over the concrete floor 'cos I was too lazy to spread newspaper/plastic etc.I wonder though if the photos of some of these garages is showing them on the absolute best day of their appearance lives... kinda like those house type magazines that women read ... ie no way that room looks that perfect normally?? For example I got a new (2nd hand) car last year, polished it to perfection then took a photo. That photo is the photo you will see of my car if I am wanting to show you my car on the internet. Does my car currently resemble that photo ??? err... no....

 

[vette]

I have an excuse one side a machine shop.Build race engines and carbs,dirt is the enemy.It can depend on the work you do but once it's clean it easy to keep it that way.

 

[Falcon67]

I have an excuse one side a machine shop.Build race engines and carbs,dirt is the enemy.It can depend on the work you do but once it's clean it easy to keep it that way.

Same here - the place is full but is fairly clean. The machines are cleaned up after each use. The worst issue is winter wood work, like cutting trim for the house. Sawdust get's everywhere and I have to go a little "Carl Spackler" on the place.

 

[Daddy_Rabbit]

If you can't weld, cut, grind, and paint IMO it is not a garage/shop.

Amen. 'Sup earl ...

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

There is a difference between a shop and a garage. The "garage" is the room of your house where your car sleeps at night. The area where all the welding, cutting, grinding and paint is done is called the "shop". Those that are fortunate enough to have both areas have the best of both worlds...

 

[Need4racin]

oh yea. mines a show room for sure

lol basement shop?

 

[therealwormey]

If you can't weld, cut, grind, and paint IMO it is not a garage/shop.

i share that opinion

 

[sscustom]

workshop all the way showrooms are nice but id be afraid to get anything dirty

 

[bazzateer]

Mine will be a combination. If I had the space and the money I'd build a nice 6 car garage to store my cars and a separate 'big' workshop in which to work on them.

 

[Boost Creep]

There is a difference between a shop and a garage. The "garage" is the room of your house where your car sleeps at night. The area where all the welding, cutting, grinding and paint is done is called the "shop". Those that are fortunate enough to have both areas have the best of both worlds...

agreed.

 

[junk]

Nothing wrong with organizing and cleaning. Couple times a year I have a come to Jesus moment in the shop. Put all the hand tools in the cabinet, sweep up real well, throw out the scrap etc. Now I do a good job of keeping all the sockets and hand tools in their holders arranged by size.

I used to not worry about shop cleanliness, but now I can't work in a dirty shop. I can't find anything and it's irritating.

I also agree if you can't cut, grind, weld, paint, or change auto ****** fluid it's not a shop.

 

[ChristopherLutz]

This may seem obvious, but start with "What do you want to do in that space"?

If you want to hang out and park cars - well, you could go the route you call "showroom". I would call it "man cave" - TV, bar, games, areas to sit, etc.

If you need a place to work on projects - well, then you should probably go a hybrid route as many of the "man cave" accessories would be ruined in a working shop.


There is no right or wrong here - just what suites you. Also....consider how long you're going to stay where you are. Sometimes, fixing up the garage can be quite an investment....if you're going to sell in a few years - keep that in mind. (Personal dilemma, which is why it's top of mind)

Our famous Jack has a killer space. Not terribly expensive, but....too many hours to count invested - and it doesn't look too "moveable" to me.

Just a few thoughts. Take some pictures and let us live vicariously through your adventure.

 

[UncleJoe]

There is a difference between a shop and a garage. The "garage" is the room of your house where your car sleeps at night. The area where all the welding, cutting, grinding and paint is done is called the "shop". Those that are fortunate enough to have both areas have the best of both worlds...

IMO this guy has what is pretty close to perfect. It was one of the first threads I ever read here on the Journal. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25148

If you read it closely you can see he has his show area where he has a built in scissor lift and he can do the cleaner jobs like changing tires on his BMW race car and a lounge/tv area. One of the "Walls" is actually a garage door facing in to the room behind that door is another side of the shop where dirty jobs like welding and cutting can happen. It is a sweet setup for sure.

 

[nmanitou]

I want both! I am near the end (does it ever really end?) of my small build and struggled on design and layout because of all the showroom garages I have seen here. Part of me says "I want that". I like the clean shiny look. But the practical side wonders how I would set up my chop saw and repair the snowblower in that surgical looking room.

Another problem I had was philosophical. The whole concept of "re-purposing" materials appeals to me. I've got an old crappy work bench that's been with me since the 80's. A bunch of old kitchen cabinets from a kitchen project a few years ago. So it just seems wrong to not re-use those, but they don't have the "flash" of a showroom style garage.

So, I tried to have the best of both worlds, some flash and some old school.

 

[patrick66]

There is a difference between a shop and a garage. The "garage" is the room of your house where your car sleeps at night. The area where all the welding, cutting, grinding and paint is done is called the "shop". Those that are fortunate enough to have both areas have the best of both worlds...

Absolutely correct! My tools, tractor, ZTR, old cars and my projects are in my shop building. My driver, my wife's car and my son's pickup are in my garage...along with two freezers, my son's HO-scale train layout, and a small bench with a few hand tools and a storage cupboard. The shed holds the rest of the lawn implements, a couple of bicycles, and is also the wellhouse.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Right now, my garage is a mess, with the refurb going on. I kept it clean before but now, it'll probably be even cleaner. I will not be afraid to use it though, I just want it to look nice. I think I'll buy a mop/bucket since I have some nice new concrete.