Garage Storage/Work Area Conundrum

[Rtrorkt]

So, been contemplating actually getting my garage somewhat in order. Have two pathways. First is the least expensive; get an 8' work bench from Home Depot (Husky) at $400 delivered, add a vertical storage cabinet (3'wx6'hx2'd) for another $450 or so and continue to use my Craftsman tool chest. Maybe add a $200 cabinet under the work bench for additional storage. All in around $1000. This alternative provides a place to sit to work at the bench.

Alternative 2 is to go full boat garage cabinets from New Age, Pro Slat or one those. Will get to be around double the price. Given the configurations, it is hard to get an adequate sit down area.

Been looking at as many cabinet mfrs as possible. Like the idea of a one design sort of slick installation but also like the flexibility of the work bench plus units.

Thoughts from the brain trust?

[Steve Viegas]

What kind of work are you going to be doing? I think of the garage as a place where I work on cars (but not really), do wood work, etc. and I do those things standing up.

If I were doing something more intricate, tying flies or something, I could see sitting being a huge benefit.

I would go with the solution that gives you the most storage space.

[a2jon]

I really like my NewAge cabinets. FYI - Costco has better package deals than buying direct if you watch their sales. The cabinets are very well made, heavy gauge metal, and have held up well.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Well timed.

I have just spent the last week 'trying' to get more organized.
I am in a unique position of having 4 garages, two sheds, and too many hobbies. Woodworking, Cars, Guitars, Model Trains, Garden Tractors, and bikes.

In frustration I went on a rampage and bought a 3 56 inch harbor freight toolboxes, one 44 inch, and one 26 inch upper box.

Garage one: Cars and bikes:



Garage two - tractors



Garage three/four- not pictured (at my wife's place)

Basement: Guitars and Model Trains




These AREN'T organized yet. They are a work in progress. Consider them unorganized with new tool boxes where help is on the way.

Here are my thoughts-

1. Watch videos on workshop space/hf tool boxes/ etc. There are a bunch of videos where users have incorporated the heavy duty boxes into walls/workbenches. I will probably do this as time goes by. There are a lot of great ideas, especially from the woodworkers. Funny thing is, there are a growing number of female diy'ers/woodworkers, and some of their shops give the boyz a run for the money. Another funny fact- the woodworkers like to make wood frames for their benches (with limited metal skills), metalworkers weld up their benchspace (with crappy woodworking skills). Go figure. Quickly skim through some of these. Lots of good ideas.

2. Don't knock the HF stuff. Go check out a husky, go check out a 'new' craftsman, go check out a us general. Literally, go kick em'. Pull out a bottom drawer and stand on it if you dare. Keep in mind not only price and width, but depth, and how solid the rollers feel pulling out the drawers. After playing with the HF, the husky was ok, the 'new' craftsman felt cheap. The HF had double rollers on the larger boxes, and were built more like snap on stuff than box store stuff. I went with hf 56 inches, smaller than the 72 inch (although the 72 is a beautiful proportioned box) to keep things modular. Also, by going with the 56 inches, all my boxes are the same height, so if I pull off the wheels and use them to support a bench, they are the same height. This keeps me flexible for future changes. The 44, 56, and 72 are all different heights- the 56 was the also the best height for me. They also have modular side boxes with cabinents, lockers, and drawers, that hook right over the side, all depending on what you need. I will probably add side boxes with slim drawer on mine, like a machinist drawer, to hold drill bits, tap and die, etc. These boxes are solid enough, that I plan on mounting wood on the top of two of them , and then bolt in my two vices on top of that. I would have no reservation pounding the #$## out of something mounted in the vice, once the vice is bolted down.

3. Keep metal working and wood working separate if possible. They don't play well together.

4. If space is an issue, try to keep as much stuff as possible on walls. In sight, in place, accessible. One good youtube video points out, a garage isn't just 12wx30l (or whatever) it is 12wx30lx8h. Use height in the design, keeping the most used tools at eye level, and lesser used stuff up higher (or lower) as needed.



I was just organizing the basement train/guitar stuff when I saw this thread

[ckelly78z]

I really like my 8' bowling ally workbench that I built legs under, and have a nice area where I have a padded John Deere stool. I generally sharpen chainsaw chains, and smaller stuff while sitting, but did the whole floor in my small shop 18x8 in padded diamond plate, anti-fatigue mats for when I need to get on my knees for bigger projects.

[dad911]

I was just in HF. The toolboxes look decent, and are available in bright colors also.
I regret not buying the Stainless Steel boxes at Costco when they had them.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Here's one I was watching today (where a mechanic gets involved):



And this is what happens when a woodworker gets involved.



And then the metalworker pulls out his welder (maybe the woodworking on this isn't so bad after all )

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Well timed.


Garage two - tractors

Clearly you have a much more urgent issue here: A vintage Ford ( appears very nice btw) coupled to a vintage JD cart. You need to separate those immediately or cross contamination will occur!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Clearly you have a much more urgent issue here: A vintage Ford ( appears very nice btw) coupled to a vintage JD cart. You need to separate those immediately or cross contamination will occur!

yup. 2020 has been one hell of a year!

edit- also, there's a JD parked in front of the ford, so it's sort of a three-way...

[Rtrorkt]

Gents, thanks for weighing in. Clearly I am dealing with a first world issue. The garage is full of crap that we have accumulated and I am trying to work around it. If I really put my shoulder in it (and got my wife to get rid of her paper) I would have a much better area. Basically I have the side of the garage adjacent to where I park the 911 and am trying to make something useful without breaking the bank or my back.

I appreciate the thoughtful suggestions. Leaky, like the mechanic's idea

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

Basically I have the side of the garage adjacent to where I park the 911a

Oh yeah, one more thing (from experience) and I'll leave this thread alone, make sure you can open your car doors with whatever layout you choose- for example, don't have pullout shelves next to the driver's door. Ask me how I know.

[Rtrorkt]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

Oh yeah, one more thing (from experience) and I'll leave this thread alone, make sure you can open your car doors with whatever layout you choose- for example, don't have pullout shelves next to the driver's door. Ask me how I know.

Yep. On board. 24” deep max. Thanks for the reminder

[rfuerst911sc]

I did my man cave garage in Gladiator brand metal cabinets I like them . But any cabinets will work . The key is get organized and stay organized . Everything has to have a home and be returned to that home every time . A large solid work bench is needed to do actual work , but it quickly can turn into a catch all shelf if you lack discipline . If you are into air tools make it as easy as possible to supply air to them .

[onewhippedpuppy]

For my budget garage renovation I bought three Gladiator cabinets that mounted on the wall above the workbench, a HF tool chest that I already had, and a standard length Formica countertop that I cut to length and mounted just above the tool box. Two of the three walls are finished in pegboard for an abundance of storage, and I bought prefinished shelving that attaches to the walls with L-brackets. Nothing special or fancy but it gets the job done.

[javadog]

Consider buying used kitchen cabinets. I recently bought about 20 linear feet of upper cabinets for $80.

For bulk storage, consider warehouse shelving along one side, if you have the room. I recently bout 16 linear feet of that (2' wide, 7' tall) for under a hundred bucks.

I also have a bunch of wire shelving units on wheels that I can roll round to where it's needed. Guess what, you can also find that used for little money.

I find workbenches with tall cabinets on either side to be near useless. You need room to work and to be able to extend things beyond the length of a work top.

[Rtrorkt]

Appreciate all of the ideas. Think I am focusing in on the solution. Have about 14' of wall with two 2x2 high windows. Can go longer, but I think this is the right length. Figuring a 4' wide 6' tall storage cabinet on one end. Reuse my Craftsman 26" x 18" tool base and buy another matching unit for the other end (or put them together at one end). That will give me around 6' of "sitting" area. Given the windows there are no uppers. Previous owner installed a line of duplex outlets on their own circuit above where the counter will go. Might add one more narrow drawer unit. Buy some butcher block from Lowes and I think it will work.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I had been focused on Hayley, Pro Slat, New Age or other systems, but I think the "I'll make it myself" is better and cheaper.

[911boost]

Like Java I have used recycled Kitchen cabinets in the past. For my current house the cabinets from my old kitchen are in my basement for storage.

What I like to do is buy the 2x4basics Black Polyresin Workbench kits from Lowes etc. That way you can design the bench to your specific needs. I have two 8 foot ones in my garage now, but am looking at moving one of the benches and the space is only 6 feet. It is easy to cut it down smaller.

[Rtrorkt]

Centering in on the idea of taking mobile tool cabinets and putting them on legs. Having a hard time finding 4" metal legs. Thoughts on these from the brain trust?

https://www.amazon.com/Desunia-Cabinet-Leveler-Legs-Capacity/dp/B06XP2YHGZ/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&hvadid=78340230276860&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=4+cabinet+legs&qid=1609440620&sr=8-14&tag=mh0b-20

[dad911]

Those are plastic. They are used for levelling cabinets, like kitchen cabinets, when setting them. Once they are set, the strength is from being screwed to the studs/wall.

Why not just remove the castors, and set them on a 2x4 frame?

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

Centering in on the idea of taking mobile tool cabinets and putting them on legs. Having a hard time finding 4" metal legs. Thoughts on these from the brain trust?

https://www.amazon.com/Desunia-Cabinet-Leveler-Legs-Capacity/dp/B06XP2YHGZ/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&hvadid=78340230276860&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=4+cabinet+legs&qid=1609440620&sr=8-14&tag=mh0b-20

If they're not going to move, make a base out of dimensioned lumber (2x6, 4x4 by X feet long, etc.), then set the cabinets on top of the support structure - much sturdier than plastic feet. For greater flexibility, suggest large caster wheels (larger is better; locking and non-locking to adjust the counter height to suit and to adjust their location as needed. Or build "furniture dollies" using dimensioned lumber and place the tool cabinet on top.

For example, the 200 lb. cabinet below sits on thin, 1/2" plywood to position caster wheels at each corner/ The casters are decidedly undersize but needed for a specific counter height.



Sherwood