Small Single Car Garage Ideas

[144Driver]

Gents,

I've got a single car garage, approx 10' wide by 24' long with a 10' high ceiling. I tried a search on small garages and single car garages but couldn't find anything specific on the forum. I want to spruce up my garage so it looks good, has some storage for things I'm tripping over, and make a decent little work space to work on a few small wood working projects and the odd car repair. I imagine there are more than a few of us with limited space so I figured it would be good to compare notes.

I probably wont be living in this house for more than a year and if I sell or rent it, I would be nice if my additions had broad appeal and added to the value of the house. Probably half the people in my area put their car in their garage and so keeping that option would be preferable. I don't want to have to deconstruct too much if I put the place up for sale.

Any input is appreciated. I have a bunch of ideas I've collected that I will post shortly. A quick wish list is:

-Build a storage platform hanging from the ceiling
-Build a folding workbench with a pegboard back
-Add better lighting
-Finish the bare drywall and paint walls
-Add a vacuum connection for my central vac

Basically, I would like to use this as a workshop, densely packed with storage, and still get a small to medium sized car inside after folding up the work bench.

 

[RVDan]

With such a high ceiling you can put three foot tall cabinets around the entire perimeter without intruding on walking space

 

[where2]

Is the garage door evenly split on the 10'? Mine is 11' with a slight 6" offset to one side. On that wider side (driver side), I have three interconnected heavy duty floor standing shelving systems with a gap left so I can open the car door. At the nose of the car, I have a floor standing 48" wide cabinet. Along the narrow side of the garage door, I have wall cabinets mounted above the roof line of the car. I was cursed with an 8' ceiling, so extracting every bit of space is a challenge. I'd love 10' ceilings...

 

[Jawn]

This has intrigued me, but I imagine you could "DIY" cheaper if you put the time into the design.

http://www.benchsolution.com/product/workbench-idealwall-kit/60/

 

[allinon72]

See my single car garage thread in my signature. I have done some of the things you want to.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Deeper cabinets above head height. Some storage below that, based on what you can fit.

 

[OctoMan]

Click on my name and check out the pictures of my garage on the profile. There may be some ideas there you can use.

 

[144Driver]

allinion 72, that is pretty much exactly what I want to do. Your project looks great, very clean and bright. I have researched the folding workbench and there are a few good designs out there.

The Bench Solutions looks good but is a little pricey. Here's one with fold out legs:
http://www.woodstore.net/spacworcen.html

I'd like to have the bench 38 or 40 inches high - I find that a more comfortable height to work on, so the legs would be quite long and I would probably have to fold them towards the middle of the bench, rather than backwards to stow it.

Folding up is also an option, it can cover up the tools on the peg board for a tidy look and since the legs self stow as the bench rises, probably easier to fold up or down. These designs are pretty good: http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32636&showall=1

Here's one with a metal brace that folds out to support the bench, not sure how strong it is.

However, the fold up will have to extend somewhat from the wall at its hinged point so there's enough space between the bench and pegboard when folded without hitting the hangars and tools on the board. This uses up valuable space. Also, you can't grab tools off the pegboard when the bench is stowed, so fold down seems to be the better design. I'm thinking of putting some cheap gas struts (like on a hatchback) to help lift the bench up and cushion it from falling when folding it down.

The main question is the leg design. I like the triangular braces that fold out, but this seems to put all the stress on the wall, pulling on the wall studs. I think it would be ideal if the legs were vertical so any weight is translated into the floor and vertically into the wall studs. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but a friend of mine said I could cause some damage to the wall if I have any weight on the bench and it's full weight hangs off the wall. I'm not going to have any engine blocks or anything on the bench, so I'm not sure how much of an issue this is?