GARAGE...Best Tips.

[Wolverine]

Okay. I have my garage clear of cars. I got about $3500 to buy new "organizational" material....to me that is $500 of XX and $500 of pinup girls and $2500 miscellaneous stuff.

I have a Southern California slim 2 car garage. It will need to house mostly auto tools, but some gardening items.

No, I am not calling it the man cave. That is reserved for another room. You guys guess which one.

What "tricks" do you guys have up your sleeve to make the most of this area?

 

[mach71351c]

Wheel dollies. I have a SoCal 2 car garage and I need to park the wife's 2013 vert in side at night.

 

[73pony]

Look for someone remodeling. Grab some old kitchen cabinets cheap. They make great tool storage and the wall cabinets don't take up any floor space. I grabbed a bunch of wall cabinets out of an apartment we remodeled and they really helped to clean up my garage.

 

[Bentworker]

If there is a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store go check it out, you may find some good stuff there for shelving or who knows what. Use lots of wall cabinets, high wall shelving, and at least 1.25 watt / square foot of flourencent lighting.

 

[will e]

Coat the floor.

If you get cabinets put them up high. You don't want to limit your parking space/door opening space with permanent cabinets.

 

[mach1000]

Harbor Freight... 20% off coupon from Magazines (just about every one) and buy a bunch of different style screw in hooks and get a bunch of that stuff off the floor and hung up where and whatever you can reach and pick up. Saves tons of floor space.

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

Secure your air compressor to the wall so it cannot tip over. Get a good retractable hose reel for the air hose.

Put in good lighting. Get a hanging rack for your air tools and mount it so the tools are below the hood level of the car.

When hanging cabinets, make sure you not only secure to studs, but that the cabinets are built sturdily enough that they cannot fail under a heavy load.

If you are revising electric, make sure you have plenty of outlets and a 220 outlet or two is a handy upgrade.

Mount fans up on the wall and out of the way so that you can get good air flow without having to have the fans and cords on the floor.

Coated floors are nice. I like to buy the mud pans for mixing mortar for draining fluids. They are under 10 bucks and are much larger than typical drain pans.

Tool boxes are a personal thing, I like to have not only a decent sized tool chest, but a rolling cart for pulling out job specific tools and holding parts makes most jobs go faster. The magnetic tool holders are great for commonly used screw drivers and wrenches.

and if there is room a refrigerator is nice

 

[Jim and Jutta]

The two best improvements I made in my garage (for the money) was epoxy floor coating and removing my old fluorescent lighting and installing 3 flat LED panels, they come on instantly, more light, no flickering, use a fraction of the electricity and no tubes or bulbs to ever change, plus they look much better than the huge fluorescent lighting I had . Home Depot has them for around $70.00 a piece.

 

[LCB1]

Overhead garage storage racks

 

[EdM]

Not a garage tip per se, but unless you run air, this is proving to be a godsend.

 

[Wolverine]

Not a garage tip per se, but unless you run air, this is proving to be a godsend.

[Milwaukee Air Ratchet]

Thanks for all the nice info guys. Definitely like the lighting. And I do have an air compressor. Your right, I should tie it down. I was thinking of putting it outside my garage. But, it is 10+years old so maybe I should worry about the tank.

And I have a 3/8 Husky Air Ratchet. How does the Milwaukee go clock/counterclock with that....double check that spelling. ...yeah...clock/counterclock.

Any great SOUND SYSTEM ideas? I mounted an Pioneer auto AM/FM radio to a box I made. I keep a pair of auto batteries charged with a trickle charger(8+ years now) that I use to run it. Upgrading speakers shortly.

And, no, the shelf is not THAT off horizontal. Fisheye phone camera lense.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I am in the process of finishing off my garage. I am also installing LED lights and in the paint room I got the explosion proof for just a little more. https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-linear-lighting/60w-linear-led-vapor-proof-light-fixture-industrial-led-light-4-foot-long/3179/6640/

I like my compressor outside less noise and can blow down the tank without a mess in the floor. I live where there is lots of humidity. You can run pipe outside also.

It doesn't matter how big your garage is it will never be big enough. I ordered some of the Ford showroom banners from different years, 20 th. ann. 35 ann and 50th. ann of Mustang to hang from ceiling.

A good safe parts washing tank is always needed.

Here is a link to supplier in California I get stuff from and no complaints.

http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/auto-rotisseries-s/420.htm

A rotisserie will save you more time than any tool in a shop if you are going to do restore. Saves laying on back and much easier to paint. You can rotate the body with one finger when balanced correctly.

Since you are tight for space a scissor type lift fits under the car and out of the way. Just depends on what you are going into.

I like the epoxy coatings but they are expensive if you get the 100% solids. Some of the home improvement kits are not that great. I went to Habitat store here and got enough tile to do my paint / work room and area where I will do engine work. It was $45.00 to cover 16' X 40' area. That was the cost for one box at Lowe's of the same brand and I think there were 14 boxes. Habitat also has the cabinets like some have suggested. Anything with doors keeps the dust and dirt off and easier to keep clean.

Check Craigslist for auctions I went to one that was unreal with some fantastic buys. New Snap On computers were $500. Got a brake lathe for $350. There were so many great buys.

You have to post pics when you are finished. I will soon.

 

[Totalled]

Old metal grocery store shelving. Real stereo. Cram 10lbs in a 5lb bag...

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Being crowded and no place to work is why I finally said this has to change. I have about a month left and the my garage will be up and going. 4,000 sq. ft. 14' eve height, 6" insulation all around, insulated windows and entry doors. Separate room for sanding and paint, 2 post lift, LED lights, brake lathe, hyd. press, rotisserie, two stage 80 gallon compressor. Lincoln wire welder, Smith's torch, Cobra torch, shelving and storage above paint room. I have 12 - 15 cars I need to fit in and still keep the lift and paint room clear. It is too small, lol.

Family will not get to spend my retirement I will they can sell all the cars and stuff if they want but I will play for a few more years. And 12 years ago I did not have a cent went through second divorce. Now I own 4 bedroom home and a 4,000 sq. ft. garage with another one car garage and wood working shop 7 mustang convertibles, 2 Mach 1's, SVO, 20 th. ann and 4 - 1950 fords along with a couple more. Buildings full of parts and do not owe a cent on any of it. Selling on eBay but no time now. Just taking a break from working on garage but back at it till dark.

I guess my point is no matter how big or small your garage is it will never be enough so do the best you can with what you have. I painted my first car in dirt floor garage with cardboard down to stop dust and plastic hung to make a room. And then you have guys like Jay Leno that just has to lift a pen to restore a car.

 

[71XR7VERT]

I installed a couple of floor kitchen cabinets, one with 4 drawers and one with a drawer and a door. On top I mounted kitchen countertop, the Formica kind.

It works great, takes the abuse(I rebuilt my 9"rear on it) and cleans up well.

Mounted a 6" vise on it, too.

 

[streetglide]

A fridge! Gotta have plenty of fluids!!!

 

[EdM]

I installed a couple of floor kitchen cabinets, one with 4 drawers and one with a drawer and a door. On top I mounted kitchen countertop, the Formica kind.

It works great, takes the abuse(I rebuilt my 9"rear on it) and cleans up well.

Mounted a 6" vise on it, too.

Cabinet space is nice though most of mine is filled with brass, bullets and primers. Too many hobbies...

 

[Totalled]

Oh, and purge occasionally. This is my purge pile at the end of today:

 

[Bentworker]

Do you have a washer and dryer in the garage? If so you might consider stackable units and installing a large utility sink. If you allready have a sink consider a urinal.