Think shop is finished

[Chris Adams]

I had the shop built last year, and posted during various projects like the epoxy etc.
I haven't posted any shots of the shop since it became a 'working' shop, that is, since I actually started using it on a daily basis.

The building is 24 deep by 28 long. I picked that size because I needed to pull the F350 dually into it, but still wanted a workshop to the side. The Dually barely fits, but it does fit, enabling me to work on it in heated or A/C comfort with the door down.

The lift is low rise as I could not have the garage taller than the house (zoning) and since my property slopes down to the house, 8 foot walls were the max.
The Rotary low rise does up to my F150, so it's a win. I have pulled trannys etc. on it, so I guess it was tall enough.

 

[sdetweil]

very cool.. used every inch of wallspace!..

Sam

 

[MScott]

Looks great, but you could really lower heating/cooling costs by insulating the ceiling. A shop is never "finished."

 

[kywildcat]

Very nice!! How come you don't have a ceiling in it to hold the heat in......just asking!!

 

[shotgunfatcat]

Looks great


A shop is never "finished."

 

[fotoflojoe]

You need more tool boxes.

Nice work!

 

[Chris Adams]

very cool.. used every inch of wallspace!..

Sam

Thanks, but I had to laugh. Looking at the pictures my first thought was, "look how much space I'm wasting on walls..."

Looks great, but you could really lower heating/cooling costs by insulating the ceiling. A shop is never "finished."

Cooling costs, not so much as the high roof has forced ventilation and I use a swamp cooler, thus the air is cool at the bottom and the heat rises and blows out. I can keep it thirty degrees below the outside air temp, and that's all I can do with the house with just running the swamp cooler.

The walls, are insulated, of course.
Here in the desert, heating isn't as big a deal. And when it is really cold (43 in the shop this morning), well, I don't feel like working anyway.

Very nice!! How come you don't have a ceiling in it to hold the heat in......just asking!!

Previous answer, plus, when I checked into it, the difference in cost to heat/cool was pretty darn small, about two hundred a year for my uses, and the ceiling was 4000 bucks to have done. I don't mind putting up wall, and putting in insulation was easier than the wiring, but I don't do ceilings.

You need more tool boxes.

Nice work!

Um, yeah, they are all full, well, almost full, one empty drawer...

 

[Chris Adams]

Thanks
in answer to your sig;

Good guy, bad guy, I'm the one with the gun...

 

[DARK AGE 53]

Chris, no offense but a person who post " Think shop is finished " and has almost 1700 post has to be delusional posting such a thing ,just kidding of course. Shop looks great.

 

[shotgunfatcat]

Here in the desert, heating isn't as big a deal. And when it is really cold (43 in the shop this morning), well, I don't feel like working anyway.

43 degrees?!!!

That is perfect working weather up here. I was out in my shop working a couple of weeks ago when it was 10 out. It is about 20 out now, and if I am working I just have a sweatshirt on.

anything hotter than 60-65 and it starts to ****, seriously. I guess looking down upon myself, I am built for colder weather, .

 

[Chris Adams]

43 degrees?!!!

That is perfect working weather up here. I was out in my shop working a couple of weeks ago when it was 10 out. It is about 20 out now, and if I am working I just have a sweatshirt on.

anything hotter than 60-65 and it starts to ****, seriously. I guess looking down upon myself, I am built for colder weather, .

I'm built for comfort, not speed myself at least, in my old age...
That 43 is IN the shop. Outside, 29 and a tad breezy.

I agree that I always preferred working in colder weather, but I find as my arthritis (rheumatoid and osteo) kicks up, working on anything kind of *****.

Oddly, I can work well in 100 plus if I just take it slow and easy.
Part of getting older.

 

[Chris Adams]

Chris, no offense but a person who post " Think shop is finished " and has almost 1700 post has to be delusional posting such a thing ,just kidding of course. Shop looks great.

Well, yeah, nothing is ever done. Still, I don't have room for anymore boxes, or component storage, I've settled on this lift (had a Bendpac, didn't like it) have no place for more benches, even using the folding idea I borrowed from Jack Olsen on this site. My cherry picker, motor cart, saws and other big stuff has to live in one of the sheds as is, so I mean, what else can I add?





Shouldn't have said that, now I'm gonna think of something...

 

[IHfreak]

very nice shop.

 

[Chris Adams]

very nice shop.

Thank you, and welcome to the board.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

I know I'm not going to explain this too well but it seems like I once saw on here that someone had an electric winch lower things from the ceiling, with an open ceiling like you have that would be ideal.

 

[ddawg16]

Finished?

Finished?

Finished?

I just looked downstairs....nope...not cold....

 

[930dreamer]

Very nice, I'll send some money so you can get a tool box

 

[NCCheesehead]

Nice looking set up! Where did you find that blue bolt bin in the corner, I like the open bins on top and the drawers below.

Thanks

 

[ZRX61]

Funniest thread title on GJ EVER! LOL!!

 

[gumbudah]

Good to see you've started using it. That's one point I'm not sure if many people get to (including myself)!!!! seems like everytime I think I'm closer to done, another idea pops in my head.
As someone else pointed out, you definitely need another toolbox!

 

[49tandc]

I'm happy NOT to se a TV in there, but I'm guessing the stereo & referigerator are just out of view. I'm looking for the little things (fire extinguisher, Burnout marks on that pretty floor,etc.) that indicate the garage is done!

VERY Nice!
49T&C

 

[nmanitou]

What is this "finished" concept that you speak of?

 

[Chris Adams]

I know I'm not going to explain this too well but it seems like I once saw on here that someone had an electric winch lower things from the ceiling, with an open ceiling like you have that would be ideal.

There is an electric winch up there, that and the recessed lights.

 

[Chris Adams]

I'm happy NOT to se a TV in there, but I'm guessing the stereo & referigerator are just out of view. I'm looking for the little things (fire extinguisher, Burnout marks on that pretty floor,etc.) that indicate the garage is done!

VERY Nice!
49T&C

Um, the TV DVD player is on the wall, also use it as a monitor. But no, I've never watched TV in the shop and the only DVD I've had running is an instructional, really a clip I burned from Muscle Car TV show on some front end mods.

And the silver thing next to the stack of intermediate boxes is my Refrigerator, well stocked with soda. Microwave is near it. Can't abide cold coffee.

The Sony stereo is on top of the biggest SnapOn boxes. Can not work without music.

Oops, oh yeah, one fire extinguisher is on the wall by the jack stands, the other is by the man door.
And yes, there are tracks on the Epoxy but they don't show in the shots.

 

[Chris Adams]

What is this "finished" concept that you speak of?

It is an incantation you tell the wife, as in, "Shops all finished dear, so don't worry about me spending more money on it".
Which sometimes works...

 

[jcabbbang]

I like the shop a lot, and how you used your space. Who makes the lift that you have in your shop? Chris

 

[blazsawgras]

really nice shop well organized. you made good use of your space.

 

[Cage]

Love the shop, could you post pictures of your truck on that lift ? I'd love to see it in action !

 

[larryv]

Nice setup, looks great!

 

[Chris Adams]

Love the shop, could you post pictures of your truck on that lift ? I'd love to see it in action !

Um, not that exciting, it lifts...


It's only a 24 inch lift. You can cheat it up by how you use the low-mid-high steps, but it gets even my truck up high enough that brakes, etc. are easy. I love it for rotating tires, oil changes.
My Rat Rod I changed the automatic in it a couple months ago, put it on the lift backwards, rolled my ****** jack under it and a two man job becomes a job for one old guy.

Here is the shop last summer when I had two lifts. Could not justify taking up the space with the Bendpak, but it did work OK.

 

[e-tek]

I thought my shop was "finished" but then I just caught myself saying to Mrs E-tek I was going to take all the decorations down and revamp it this spring. (Partly her fault as I got a bunch of frame photo's of my projects for Xmas....)

 

[tba]

Who makes the black lift?

 

[gunner3773]

43 degrees? I would be in the driveway wearing a t-shirt and washing the cars! LOL If I live in hell (MN), why is it so cold? LOL

 

[Falcon67]

Nice shop. The desert location explains the swamp cooler - they work like gangbusters in low humidity areas. Any lift is a good lift IMHO.

I don't feel like doing anything at 43F either. We put on jackets here at 60F when those Yankees are still swimming in their pools. Of course, when they come down here in the summer we have to pack them in ice so they don't melt when it's 110 in the shade and the driveway concrete is over 150.

 

[sberry]

One thing I notice is the good use of the wall space which is what its all about. I see some large custom farm shops with a lot of effort into benches that really take up wall space. Reading and seeing here I get some ideas, on occasion I do arranging and ****, 30 more sq ft of space. I was just looking at a revamp now, I hate tools getting out into the floor space. A thing that really didn't take up any room is the hoist.
I don't have any real machine tools, a lathe or mill. A large 3 in one would almost do it for me but an Ironworker might be on my short list first. I have really learned my way around most machining issues, got a bud down the road with most of it and just don't need the stuff, extra tooling, etc for the rare occasions I need. Same with a tig, I need it but it can be nice or a huge expense thats minimally needed for small garage.
Back to the original thought, make some wall space for some more tools,,, ha

 

[SpeedCoach]

Who makes the black lift?

x2

 

[Chris Adams]

Who makes the black lift?

That's the Rotary, and I love it. They make a taller one, of course, but I was worried about shoving the top of the F150 into the rafters, so being paranoid I got one that even with the steps on High lift, it won't quite touch the 96 inch mark.
If I had it to do over, I would have gotten the 57 inch lift and just taken the chance as I mostly work on short stuff like rods or sedans.

Still, even with the low lift, it's amazing how useful it is.

Notice on the shelving side of the shop there are some green boards?
Those are three one inch boards screwed together, times two, with rope handles. I had to make those to set on each side of the lift for the rod. The lift requires 4.5 inches of ground clearance.
Which means the rod hits the oil pan, then the ****** pan, when I drive it on.
Thus the portable ramps.
I keep them in another building for times I don't expect to run anything low on the rack.

 

[minhster]

I like how clean and simple it is. I also LOVE those heavy duty warehouse shelves that you have. We use them at work and even thought they are pricey they are well worth it!

 

[Chris Adams]

One thing I notice is the good use of the wall space which is what its all about. I see some large custom farm shops with a lot of effort into benches that really take up wall space. Reading and seeing here I get some ideas, on occasion I do arranging and ****, 30 more sq ft of space. I was just looking at a revamp now, I hate tools getting out into the floor space. A thing that really didn't take up any room is the hoist.
I don't have any real machine tools, a lathe or mill. A large 3 in one would almost do it for me but an Ironworker might be on my short list first. I have really learned my way around most machining issues, got a bud down the road with most of it and just don't need the stuff, extra tooling, etc for the rare occasions I need. Same with a tig, I need it but it can be nice or a huge expense thats minimally needed for small garage.
Back to the original thought, make some wall space for some more tools,,, ha

Could not agree more about space, keeping things back to the wall. Even my parking garage has shelves around every square inch, but lots of room to park the two cars we keep there.

 

[Chris Adams]

I like how clean and simple it is. I also LOVE those heavy duty warehouse shelves that you have. We use them at work and even thought they are pricey they are well worth it!

Yeah, have a 10x20 shelf with the whole back wall covered with that stuff.
3x5x7 shelves hold a LOT of stuff.

In the one in the shop I have no shelves for the first 37 inches, no bottom shelf or even front brace. I reinforced it so with the shelving starting at 37 inches I can roll my MIG with tank, my battery charger, shop vac, rolling stool and one cart back there. Thus not wasting floor space, but keeping the convenience.