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Garage Workspaces – Starting Over
For those of us who have a garage, it may simply be the place we park our car or store our stuff. For others, maybe the garage serves as an extra room or a studio of sorts. But in the end, for many people, it is just another space that they pass through. Not for me.
Growing up, we moved around frequently. Sometimes we had a garage, sometimes we did not. When we did, it was far more than just a place to store things, more than a space to park the car; it was a refuge, a sanctuary from the outside world. It was a place altogether masculine: the smell of wood and cigarette smoke, the sounds of power tools, projects on the bench in various stages of completion, tools hanging on the pegboard or in hidden in their drawers but always in their proper place. It was a place to experiment, to build, and to swear. It was a place to try new things, fail, and try again. Perhaps I am romanticizing, but I don’t care. I want that garage. I want that workspace.
In the first house I bought, I built a simple bench and pegboard at the back of the garage. It wasn’t much, but it was suitable for limited storage and provided space for me to indulge in efforts to repair old console radios and turntables. My tool collection was limited in those early years, but I had all the basics. I had bigger plans for the second house, and so had a bigger workspace, but — due to the imposition of other priorities — it never lived up to its potential beyond the multitude of pinewood derby cars designed and built there. And then the tornado hit, and it was all gone.
I am moderately chagrined by the fact it has taken me more than two years in the rebuilt house to finally get around to setting up my work area. But the stars finally appear to be aligning, and I am now in the stages of planning my new workspace. To say that I am excited and a little giddy is an understatement. Not only am I anxious to build this space, I need to build this space. Perhaps some of you will understand that without me having to explain why.
The best part is, I get to start from scratch. This means the slate is clean, and I have the opportunity do it right from the start. I’ve scoured the Internet for ideas. I have a Pinterest board full of links to pictures, plans, and tricks and tips. (Hey, don’t laugh. Pinterest has links to tons of garage workshop ideas, tools, and other “manly” things). But I want more. While I pretty much know what I want do to, I’m still open to additional ideas.
Here’s where you come in, Ricochet. Do you have a garage workspace, or a workshop? What do you like about it? What would you do differently if you could? What configurations work for you? What don’t? If you have pictures you are willing to share, that would be great. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re a car guy or a woodworker, tell me about what you have, or what you wish you had.
Share and compare. One-upmanship is encouraged on this post, as a little envy can motivate one to new things. Tim Taylor grunting is allowed.
Published in General
Infrastructure: consider future flexibility. Studs can be be a pain to tie into later, but adding horizontal lumber or substantial plywood in the right spaces allows you to screw, nail and hang at will. I keep thanking myself more than a decade later as I change this and move that.
Great post Jim. I’ve got a simple fixed workbench at the front of the single bay of my 3 car garage, with a pegboard wall above it and various tools arranged around the rest of the garage on plywood walls. It’s good for basic stuff but I want one of these:
http://www.strazzafurniture.com/workbenches.html
Gotta have a good workbench.
I’m in the process of acquiring the skills to build one of those beauties. The place to do that is here, and they offer a 10 day course to build one!
http://www.sustainlife.org/heritage-school-of-woodworking/
One can dream.
Good for you for coming out and admitting that you’re on Pinterest!
Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Hey, lots of us manly-men are on pinterest. But I can’t help noticing that you don’t follow me, vicky.
Good post, Jim!
I just spent several weeks of off-time in my own garage, working on a record-shelf. Probably too much money spent on various speciality tools and on wood/supplies, but so much better than going out and buying an expensive piece of furniture. In the end, I’m angry about the little flaws that (according to my wife) only I (well, and other woodworking men, probably) see… but it still turned out pretty well.
And yes, my garage is exactly how you describe. Only now it is a horrible mess, with scraps and sawdust covering the floor, tools strewn about, sawhorses set up holding spent paper-towels and cans of stain and varnish. The next project, of course, is cleaning it up!
Mine includes a few corning-kegs with my homebrew, a workbench that my dad and I built, years worth of collecting various power-tools. And cigar smoke from the occasional nightcap Audio MeetUp.
whoa! Yeah, that workbench looks pretty cool. Getting too much into the woodworking stuff, though, can be so insanely frustrating. Especially when you lack patience and … skill.
No photos to show, but here’s my situation.
The garage barely holds two cars, if you don’t also have to store a lawnmower, kids’ bikes, yard equipment, etc. So half the garage has my vette (an ongoing project) and the tools I use on it. But there is no room for anything like machinery. Just a rolling tool chest, but no room for a bench of any kind. That sort of work has to be done elsewhere.
So the utility room in the basement has more tools, including a proper work bench (that I built), my drill press, shop press, vises, clamps, and the sundry other items that go along. No room in either place, though, for a table saw, and I have to wait for a nice day outside to drag out the 2x4s and sawhorses to use the miter saw for anything substantial. And I have to share the workroom with the cats’ litter boxes, further reducing space. I built a mini-bench in a corner to hold the reloading presses, case tumbler, and a very small bench grinder.
Um, I haven’t seen you on there, so that’s not my fault. I get suggestions about whom to follow based on my FB friends, and since you’re not on FB like a normal person in their 30’s…
I define normal… it’s the rest of you weirdos. Can’t you just search with email? Let me check.
[it just sends an invite to your email, apparently]
I have, however, made some improvements to the garage. Epoxy-painted the floor (improves cleanup from spills and such) insulated and drywalled the place (improves habitability), added lighting, and am thinking of routing some air lines so I’m not dragging that hose all over for the air tools. If I was starting over, I’d also have added an air line to the basement so I could leave the compressor in the garage when I need air tools downstairs.
I think I found you, but there’s a bunch of sappy quotes and some Nascar stuff, including a picture of Britney Spears in a race suit…
Yeah, most of what I pin is inspirational quotes and sexy pictures of pop-musicians, so you’ve probably got the right account. If you see a board titled “girl’s haircuts I wish I had,” you’re definitely on the right page.
Ryan, you just surrendered your man card.
The girl’s haircuts was a red herring. The real reason for him to hand over his man card is the quilting board he has.
Absolutely. Future flexibility is a must, which I why I’m taking the extra time to try to think this through. Excellent point about horizontal lumber and supports.
I’m so glad I avoid Pinterest.
Look into building in air lines and lots and lots of power outlets. Consider getting an electrician to add a line for later 220 if you think you might want anything heavy duty. And don’t forget plenty of lighting. LED fixtures are still a bit pricey, but they don’t have the power requirements of flourescent fixtures.
Mind you, the only board I have is for garage workspace. Guy stuff only.
Bwahahahaha!
Of course, dear.
That’s what I’m talking about, and what I’m looking forward to. I’m not sure whether I’ll go back to tinkering with old radios, or take a stab at some minor woodworking. But whatever it is, making that “horrible mess” will be a pleasure.
We turned our basement into a teen pad (along with the storm bunker, guest bedroom, and storage space), so my workspace is going be in the garage. Good thing right now is, I have some space in the garage to work with, but as I’m a stickler for actually parking my vehicles in the garage when I can, that space is confined to one area.
I’ve gone back and forth on the epoxy-paint. I did it in my storage space in the basement, to good effect. Putting it down in the garage is something I think I’m going to do – and if I do, I definitely want to do it “first” before I construct the workspace. But it adds a few days to the schedule and is a bit of a hassle. I used the Rust-Oleum RockSolid epoxy paint last time. I still have an unopened can of it left over too.
Yeah, well, that’s where I could have used more prescience when we rebuilt. I have a bounty of 120VAC receptacles strategically placed in the spot where I plan to put the workbench. I can get to the 220 through the wall (the laundry is on the other side of the wall), but I can’t remember if I brought the 220 out to the garage. Built in air lines, too late for that (walls are drywalled and insulated already).
As for lighting, I’ve been looking very hard at LED options. Fluorescents take too long to warm up / brighten up in winter.
You can still run black iron pipe mounted to the walls if needed later.
I’m working on that “hidden stars” quilt for next Christmas. :)
For serial?
That bench is nice, but I’m a long way from that, and it seems tailored for the craftsman woodworker. I’m focused on general utility right now.
I’m designing an L-shaped bench now, that will combine elements of these. I like the inset miter, the floor-level cubbies for things like the shop vac. I even like the idea of “mobile” elements that can be stored underneath the main bench, but pulled out for additional table top space as needed.
I’m guessing all you guys converting your garages into work-space live someplace where it isn’t below freezing 3-6 months out of the year.
That’s why you insulate the place (including the door) and maybe install heating.