Garage set up

[Smokeyyank]

Going to be tackling a garage renovation soon and was wondering if anyone has some tips, thoughts or ideas. I have a three car garage and one of them has to be for the wifes car, rest are for me. Mainly want something that I can obviously keep all my tools in and space to work on things. A welder and drill press and the bigger tools. I do plan do add in a bunch of shelves. Add in insulation and sheet rock (had wanted to do plywood but way too expensive). Right now my loose plan is to clear as much space in the 2 bay area so the wife can park and another car could potentially park in along with putting more of the "stupid" storage over there. Currently there's a janky shelf that makes that space pretty tight. I'd keep the one bay area mainly for tools, work benches and such. I tried to pitch the idea to the wife about her using the 1 bay area and got told some choice words, so that's out. 

 

Wanting to see if anyone has some things they've done or ideas? 

[Smokeyyank]

Here's what I'm working with. Don't mind the cluster f of clutter. Lots of things going on. 

[neohic]

Take some good measurements of the space and where all the doors and windows are. Then measure the footprint of all of your tools and equipment that'll be within that space along with dimensions of your vehicles. Use some graph paper or something to "draw" out each thing and then cut out all of the things that need to live in the garage.

 

This has been the way I've planned out past shops, other people's shops, and wall layout in my house. It gives you a 1/1 ratio of how everything needs to fit and where it all makes sense to go. You might even figure out the minimum size space you need for maneuvering around and then cut that out as a circle so you can also get a rough idea on how much space you'll have leftover.

[ghetdjc320]

I find keeping a good divider between dirty or heavy mechanical work and clean work make a big difference. In other words, make a sealed single (or dual) car area that has really good ventilation and lighting along with separate access. That way it’s not dirtying up other vehicles with dirt, grease, fumes, overspray etc. OSB is also a good alternative to sheet rock and you have a good surface for mounting things on. Keeps the wall material about 1/2” above the floor also and use some outdoor spray foam or similar to seal the gap. That way you can easily hose/mop/squeegee it out without water damaging the walls. 

[Pete M]

is that the only man door?  how does she get to the house from the garage?

[Smokeyyank]

2 hours ago, neohic said:

Take some good measurements of the space and where all the doors and windows are. Then measure the footprint of all of your tools and equipment that'll be within that space along with dimensions of your vehicles. Use some graph paper or something to "draw" out each thing and then cut out all of the things that need to live in the garage.

 

This has been the way I've planned out past shops, other people's shops, and wall layout in my house. It gives you a 1/1 ratio of how everything needs to fit and where it all makes sense to go. You might even figure out the minimum size space you need for maneuvering around and then cut that out as a circle so you can also get a rough idea on how much space you'll have leftover.

 

Ok, thanks for the info. I have a rough idea but this might be the best idea. Might have to raid the kids legos....

 

2 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

I find keeping a good divider between dirty or heavy mechanical work and clean work make a big difference. In other words, make a sealed single (or dual) car area that has really good ventilation and lighting along with separate access. That way it’s not dirtying up other vehicles with dirt, grease, fumes, overspray etc. OSB is also a good alternative to sheet rock and you have a good surface for mounting things on. Keeps the wall material about 1/2” above the floor also and use some outdoor spray foam or similar to seal the gap. That way you can easily hose/mop/squeegee it out without water damaging the walls. 

Thanks for the info. I may do OSB. Will have to see what I can source 

 

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

is that the only man door?  how does she get to the house from the garage?

The door by the MJ goes to the back yard there is another door the goes to the inside of the house. First two pics are from the vantage point. 

[Muncher]

Long tool box and a nice metal work bench. Plenty of shelves and cabinets to keep stuff off the ground. I just got a garage been working on organizing it

[Smokeyyank]

1 hour ago, Muncher said:

Long tool box and a nice metal work bench. Plenty of shelves and cabinets to keep stuff off the ground. I just got a garage been working on organizing it

 

I do have a new rolling 56" toolbox and am planning a work bench/welding table. Have thought about maybe a fold down bench to utilize space. 

[Muncher]

Just now, Smokeyyank said:

 

I do have a new rolling 56" toolbox and am planning a work bench/welding table. Have thought about maybe a fold down bench to utilize space. 

I've got a old but still works good metal welding table. I've got my vice on it. 

[neohic]

32 minutes ago, Smokeyyank said:

… Have thought about maybe a fold down bench to utilize space. 

This. Her car can go outside when it’s time to work on things. I like having folding work stations because it forces me to clean up when I’m done. 

[Pete M]

dang, I kinda figured her most direct route to the house would be on the double-door side of the garage.    the single side would have worked perfect for the daily which leaves 2/3s for projects.  now you're stuck working around that 1/3rd.  oh well, I'm sure it'll still work out.   just takes a bit more planning.

 

I like to use painters tape on the floor to outline where things might go.  gives a good idea of the spaces available for working.  make sure your truck's doors can be opened fully and you can still get around the truck. 

[DirtyComanche]

I hate shelves, and would recommend cabinets instead.  I put cabinets along the top of my shop on both sides (sans doors, so they're technically still shelves so I hate them, but that's a project I keep meaning to get to), you need a ladder to access them so they're only good for things you rarely use.  However, when you start looking around you realize there is a bunch of stuff that you rarely use.  I then bought some filing cabinets, bolted them together, and then put casters on them and built simple cabinets on the top of them, all for storing stuff I normally use.  You've got super limited space so you might not be able to fit anything that big.  The other thing is almost everything in my shop (everything but the lathe and mill actually) is on wheels/casters, because that way you can move things around as needed, or just straight up roll something outside if you need more space for a short period of time.

 

If plywood is too expensive, look at OSB.  At least for the lower 4' OSB is a lot nicer than drywall, because it will get beat up.   I didn't do the entire interior of my shop in OSB, just parts that I thought would take the most damage, and the rest is drywall.  It's okay, but I'd probably just do OSB for everything next time.  Paint at least the top half of it and the ceiling white, it will help a ton with lighting by just doing that.

 

My next biggest tip is to build a "garden shed" and fill that thing with everything that shouldn't be in your garage/shop.  This was so successful for me that I had to build a second one.  Then I put lean-to additions on both of them.  I then built a small cabinet style shed down the whole outside of the shop and filled that too.  Anyway...

 

Also, I put my compressor in an "outhouse" type structure behind the shop, then plumbed for air.  Lots of work but saves a lot of floor space.  Initially I had a small one and I was going to put it in the attic, and even build a place for it, but I scored a big vertical unit for cheap so went the outhouse route.  Again, it's all just about saving the space.  Also cuts down on noise.  Your little compressor could probably go in a cabinet built high up on the wall, or in the attic, if possible.

 

Oh, buy one of those portable tent buildings and get your wife to park in there.  Bam, freed up a whole bay.  (I'm joking on this one, as I assume that's not going to happen )

[Airborne Janitor]

If you're gonna get a welder make sure you have a 240v welding outlet. If you don't have a 240v outlet in the garage, find out where you want to put one in so you know where your welder will have to be. Then build your fabrication workspace around that. Plans for an air compressor? Route your lines now before you start putting up walls. Same with electrical. Looks like you have a pretty tall ceiling, possible storage options there? I built a loft area in my shop which is very nice for storing Jeep parts.

[Smokeyyank]

Thanks for the input. Yes, I will be getting a bigger compressor. The one in the pic is my beat around compressor that I use for stuff in the house and other jobs. I would like to get a bigger vertical one but wouldn't be able to build a separate spot for it. That's a good thought to plumb lines before covering walls. Anything specific I need to do for that? Assuming something like this https://www.amazon.com/Maxline-Leak-Proof-Compressor-Accessories-HDPE-Aluminum/dp/B005FKYRTU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Shop+Air+Compressor+Line&qid=1674145284&sr=8-3

 

I do have a shed already outside that has a a lot of the seasonal stuff and some other things I didn't get to organize when we first moved in.  The MJ currently in the garage will be going away so that will free up a lot of space and is the big piece of the puzzle that needs to get the f out of the way. There is a loft area above the 3rd car spot. It has a few things but will be looking to add a ladder and some more storage up there for some of the random crap. It's not huge but more useable space. 

 

Good idea about the casters. I do plan to get some cabinets. Had a buddy that put peg board on the cabinet doors to hang stuff which I might do to. I had thought about the filing cabinet or lockers to keep some things in. 

 

I already have a Miller 180 currently that can run off 120, but do plan to get a bigger one. Most of the welding I do/ am capable of is smaller things. I am going to run new outlets and more lights. If there's one thing I've learned in life is you can never have too many outlets or lights, especially in the garage. I'm hoping I won't have to put in a new panel but pretty sure I will which I know isn't cheap right now. 

[Airborne Janitor]

If you're gonna weld, get 240v regardless of your welder or what you plan on welding. Performance is much better than 120v even on lower settings for thin metal. I promise you won't regret putting in 240v, but you will regret running any welder off 120v if you're welding often. You'll never say "I wish I never put in that 240v outlet".

 

I did alot of reseach into that Maxline air line kit, seems really cool and inexpensive for what you'll get. There's lots of youtube videos of reviews and installs of the stuff.

 

I'll be building a table for grinding/prep work this summer with casters, so I can push it out of my shop and do the dirty work outside.

[DirtyComanche]

I plumbed my shop for air using PEX.  I would do it again.  IMHO all the "kits" are gimmicky proprietary stuff, where as you can buy good quality PEX and fittings from anywhere and have it all work together and it's incredibly economical.  I put a manifold in the attic and ran separate drops from it in each of the walls, plus one high up to run a reel that's mounted on the ceiling by the big door.  If I'm filling tires I use the reel, otherwise I use shorter lightweight hoses from each of the drops.  But if you want to buy a kit, I'd say go ahead, people have good results with them.

 

Ditto on the 240V welding outlet.  I put three of them in my shop because it gives me more flexibility, and I can plug other high power equipment into them if needed, but that's overkill for most people.  If you don't feel you need one, but you're planning to stay here for a long time, I'd at least future proof by running conduit for one or whatever else to make it easy to do later.

 

I put 120V outlets about every 8', but both at baseboard height (12" or so) and work bench height (52" sort of thing).  I don't regret that.  I do regret not putting a couple in the ceiling that were switched.  This would have made it easier to change some of the lighting later, or to plug in an extension cord reel.

[Smokeyyank]

7 hours ago, DirtyComanche said:

I plumbed my shop for air using PEX.  I would do it again.  IMHO all the "kits" are gimmicky proprietary stuff, where as you can buy good quality PEX and fittings from anywhere and have it all work together and it's incredibly economical.  I put a manifold in the attic and ran separate drops from it in each of the walls, plus one high up to run a reel that's mounted on the ceiling by the big door.  If I'm filling tires I use the reel, otherwise I use shorter lightweight hoses from each of the drops.  But if you want to buy a kit, I'd say go ahead, people have good results with them.

 

Ditto on the 240V welding outlet.  I put three of them in my shop because it gives me more flexibility, and I can plug other high power equipment into them if needed, but that's overkill for most people.  If you don't feel you need one, but you're planning to stay here for a long time, I'd at least future proof by running conduit for one or whatever else to make it easy to do later.

 

I put 120V outlets about every 8', but both at baseboard height (12" or so) and work bench height (52" sort of thing).  I don't regret that.  I do regret not putting a couple in the ceiling that were switched.  This would have made it easier to change some of the lighting later, or to plug in an extension cord reel.

 

Good to know about PEX. I definitely consider going down that route because it seems it would be a lot cheaper. So do you just buy the termination to air hose connectors separate?

 

 

[DirtyComanche]

1 hour ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

Good to know about PEX. I definitely consider going down that route because it seems it would be a lot cheaper. So do you just buy the termination to air hose connectors separate?

 

 

You can just buy a 1/2" PEX to 1/4" NPT and do it that way, or use a standard 1/2" PEX to faucet bib stub-out and sweat/thread a fitting on, or whatever, then just screw your regular air coupler on (they're all either 1/4" or 3/8" N or F MPT).  I have a picture of how I did it somewhere because I wanted a true clean install, but I'll have to take one tonight if you want to see, because I'm unlikely to find it in the eleventybillion photos on my phone.

[gogmorgo]

Are you rearranging current space or adding new?

If you’re building new space I would strongly suggest future proofing with suitable floor and ceiling height for a lift, whether you currently plan on installing one or not. I’m in the early stages of house shopping and I’ve come to the conclusion that the only ways to get a shop suitable for a lift are either to build it from scratch for the purpose, or to buy an old farm yard with a machinery shed. If you’re building anyway and there’s a chance a lift is in the works, best to make provisions now.

 

If you’re planning on using one end of the same room that your wife parks in as a work space, it might be to your advantage to build a wall to keep the two spaces separate. This will save coming and going in your work space and help to keep your workspace from spilling over or dirtying the parking space. If you’re welding, it means you’re cutting and grinding, which will get metal dust everywhere. It will also mean you’re not blowing all the heat out of the workspace every time the garage door is opened, if that’s a factor where you live. 
On a similar note, hand washing facilities within the work space will definitely be helpful to keep the work space from spilling over into the house.

I go back and forth on cupboards vs shelves. ADHD monkey brain hates cupboards because they’re an extra step to getting at things, and if I can’t see where everything is I lose stuff. My cupboard doors almost always get left open which defeats the purpose. But cupboards keep everything looking tidier and everything in them cleaner which is a huge plus if there’s other people accessing your space, and the lack of the clutter of open shelves makes it easier to work. 

I’d avoid pegboard. It’s really annoying. If you’re not careful lifting tools off you’ll pull the pegs out, and if you push them back in a hurry, you’ll damage the pegboard. Hooks or other things that screw solidly into plywood are a much better solution if you’re doing that sort of tool organization. 
 

Adam Savage has some really good advice on how to cram small workspaces full of way to much stuff and keep it all organized and still useful as a workspace, on the Tested channel on YouTube. Something that I picked up from there was using clear plastic totes to turn shelves into “drawers” you can see things in to help maximise space in a cupboard. He’s got a bunch of tips for maximizing vertical space for storage, prioritizing putting high-access things where they’re most easily accessed, building storage solutions where whatever the standard or factory packaging is bulky and impractical, etc. I can’t really point to any one specific video because it’s mostly little tidbits scattered throughout the Ask Adam Savage segments, but it’s interesting for other reasons, especially if you were a Mythbusters fan. 

[Airborne Janitor]

3 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

On a similar note, hand washing facilities within the work space will definitely be helpful to keep the work space from spilling over into the house.

 

 

My last house, I worked in a 2 car garage that had plumbing capped off, so I added a plastic utility sink. I miss having that shop sink, so easy to clean up crusty parts or wash your hands without touching any house doorknobs. My shop now is detached from the house by about 30ft, but the entrance into the house is right into a basement bathroom with shower, so that's been nice.

[DirtyComanche]

15 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

 

Good to know about PEX. I definitely consider going down that route because it seems it would be a lot cheaper. So do you just buy the termination to air hose connectors separate?

 

 

Here's what I did.  Not going to say it's the best/cheapest way, but it did mostly what I wanted.  If you were retentive you could caulk the gaps and it would look even better.

 

 

Basically it's an outdoor rated electrical box installed in the wall, reason for using them is they're sturdy, have an integrated cover, and since they're for conduit they have NPT threads in them.  That said, it's a bit of a trick to do what I did, and I don't totally remember how I did it, I think I internally threaded a long bushing from both ends, then screwed it into the box from the inside (the wrong way), and put a PEX/NPT elbow on the back.

 

Reel one:

 

The one for the reel doesn't have a cover and was a mistake to use the box like that, I should have just used a standard PEX "drop elbow" like this:

 

Anyway, there's lots of PEX fittings out there so just be creative.  Maybe the kits they sell for air fittings are better now, but when I looked at them 8~ years ago they weren't any better than what you could do with PEX and were a lot more money.

 

 

[Smokeyyank]

11 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

Are you rearranging current space or adding new?

 

Rearranging current space. I would love to add new but that isn't in the cards. My dad has a lift at his house so pending what I'm working on I just go up there and use the lift. Biggest issue is trying to find tools in his $#!& storm of a storage system. 

 

The current thought is using the 3rd garage spot as the area for "working" and tool storage while being able to park something there that can be moved. I do plan to have a temporary wall of sorts to contain stuff, especially with welding/grinding. 

39 minutes ago, DirtyComanche said:

Here's what I did

Thanks for the info. 

[Muncher]

[tugboat95]

I just built a shop last year, you can find it on here if you look up my posts.  First thing, mine is dedicated to me and nobody else in the house (wife)  Second I built some space but not enough.  So i'm fortunate there.  Going along with that I bought a cabinet, rolling chest system from a local big box Liquidator.  It was returned to Home Depot with some scratches.  Bought it for half price.  But the cabinets allow me to organize supplies.  One has sprays, and specialty tools in it and the other has smaller pull out cabinet drawers with bolts, nuts, electrical, etc.  It also stores some parts on the bottom two shelves of each cabinet.  The rolling chests have 90% of my hand tools in them.  One chest is metric, the other is SAE. they are on wheels and I can roll them to the job place. I have two other small chest with various extra tools as well as all kinds of painting supplies in them  I also have a car lift so that helps.  Next I have a set of open shelves that is home to all of my oils, anitfreeze, grease,etc.  Along with the buckets, containment and oil dry stuff associated. I purchased on marketplace a set of lateral file cabinets.  This is where I keep all my battery and electrical tools along with my air tools. I set a section of the shop off as a metal fab area.  My welder setup is there as well as a small table that I will be making bigger soon.  I also have a dedicated tool chest on wheels here for all the metal fabrication tools I need.  Along with another set of lateral file drawers full of part on the bottom and grinders and their associated equipment in the top two drawers.  Finally I have a an 8foot workbench that is too long (i shouldve built a 6 footer).  Ii have an air compressor stuck in a corner with air lines run throughout the shop.  My shop is 36 x 24 and I'm out of space already.  Biggest thing in all of this is organize.  Sit down and think it thru.  But a year later, I'm still moving stuff around as its a work in progress

 

One thing you do not want to skimp on.  LIGHTS.  put lights everywhere.  You can never have enough lighting.  Another advice, electrical outlets.  I have a 2 gang box setup every six feet along every wall as well as 2 in the overhead. And one on my lift.  I don't hunt or move stuff to get to an outlet.  And I  rarley use extension cords.

 

[Pete M]

33 minutes ago, tugboat95 said:

 You can never have enough lighting. 

 

 

truth.  we put lights in the barn (8' ceilings) every 3rd joist and I still want more.    (unfortunately it was done juuuuust before LED shop lights exploded on the market and so they are merely next-gen florescents.)  I'm thinking on slapping a bunch of tape LEDs along the rest of the joists.