Garage Improvements - suggestions

[masraum]

My garage is a mess. It's very hard to keep organized and the storage is difficult. After looking at some of the stuff that Jack O did and thinking about stuff that we've done around the house, I've come up with something that I think may help us improve the situation.

Here's the garage as it sits.



The line that runs across the drawing just at the edge of the workbench is a 3-4" step up. The dotted lines are shelves. Some of them are bordering on too deep to be useful. The red is my roll-away toolbox and the red on brown is a large toolbox top sitting on top of a Workmate. The three long skinny rectangles each side of the head end of the garage and one in the closet are metal shelves a foot deep.

I'm proposing taking down part of the wall and the door to the closet to open the space up for me to build shelving and or add cabinets of some sort, possibly metal. The closet with my tools and shelves is too deep and narrow for the amount of stuff in it, so it never stays clean/organized. Part of the goal is for improving the effectiveness of the garage so I can get to stuff and keep it neater, and part of it is for tidying the place up for the missus.



I have 1 solid door and will have 2 once I'm done. I think I'm going to steal Jack's plan and use the doors as work surfaces that attach to the walls via hinges. The small 18" deep closet may have the shelves gutted and house the short extension ladder, 6' step ladder, brooms and vacuums. I've considered putting the air compressor under the existing work bench and partially enclosing the bottom to cut down on the noise when it's running, but it could also go someplace else. I've considered putting my rollaway near the outside door to make access a bit easier, but I don't know.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to best use the space shown int he drawings. There's really not room for anything out in the garage. Once the cars are in, you can't walk between the front of the cars and the existing metal shelving. I've got car ramps (heavy old metal ones), a largeish shop vac, a small wet-saw for cutting tile, and a contractors style rolling fold-up table saw.

Thanks

[Dueller]

What about moving work bench (and making it longer...maybe use sold door?) to wall where you plan to put tool chest and tear out wall behind existing workbench. That would give you a little elevated workshop area in roughly 10' x 7-8'. Hang some cabinets over new workbench and on wall adjacent to washer? Put tool chest on rear wall or against interior wall adjacent to washer? That would seem to open it up more. Compressor could be located under new workbench in cabinets running the length of workbench ala Jack. Maybe some bifold doors to conceal washer/drier to appease wife?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Dueller

What about moving work bench (and making it longer...maybe use sold door?) to wall where you plan to put tool chest and tear out wall behind existing workbench. That would give you a little elevated workshop area in roughly 10' x 7-8'. Hang some cabinets over new workbench and on wall adjacent to washer? Put tool chest on rear wall or against interior wall adjacent to washer? That would seem to open it up more. Compressor could be located under new workbench in cabinets running the length of workbench ala Jack. Maybe some bifold doors to conceal washer/drier to appease wife?

Lots of good ideas. I'd wondered about taking down the other portion of the wall of the closet. We've currently got some REALLY CHEAP CRAPPY accordion style doors over the washer/dryer, but we're going to put something better in place. We just have to find something that's wide enough to fit the opening.

Thanks

[herr_oberst]

Layout Planner

Here's a little garage planner I found on Garage Journal.

Might help with what you're trying to do.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Layout Planner

Here's a little garage planner I found on Garage Journal.

Might help with what you're trying to do.

Thanks, I'll check that out. It looks pretty cool so far.

Originally Posted by Dueller

What about moving work bench (and making it longer...maybe use sold door?)

I will be using 2 solid doors in the garage for fold up workbench space like Jack did, but I don't have enough storage space for all of my crap to make the main workbench longer. My biggest need in the nook will be storage. But, I do really like the idea of completely opening the space and so does my wife.

Here's the next brainstorm after your suggestion.

[berettafan]

consider a loft for storage. looking at this myself.