Designing Your Garage/Workspace

[FrozenSection]

skunk's post about winter work got me thinking a bit: What have you done to optimize your garage space? and what would you like to do in the future?

For my own garage, I'd like to get an electrician in to upgrade my pre-existing 15A outlets to 20A outlets (would anyone go higher?). I also want to get more outlets put in around the garage. Anyone have ideas for lighting in addition to the standard 48-inch fluorescent tubes?

What do people use for storage systems -- Craftsman vs. Kobalt vs. other? How about floors -- the $5/sqft vinyl tiles vs. epoxy vs. good ol' cardboard? How about heating for winters (and your winters are harsher than mine)? I've got 12-foot ceilings in my garage, so the heater needs to be able to crank it out (maybe a waste-oil burner?).

As usual, all tips and suggestions welcome and appreciated.

 

[blu_fuz]

There was a thread about garage spaces with pictures.

http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=44526&highlight=pics+garage

http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=41520



I picked up some 4-bulb florecent drop celing units off craigslist for $50 for 11 units. 1/2 the bulbs were burnt out but I think that the light fixtures was the coolest thing I got for my garage rennovation. I carry around tall things and hitting lights with a ladder and breaking the bulbs isn't fun. Cabinets on craigslist were $100 for 14' of upper units seen in my pics. I don't like store bought units for shelving and storage because they are so expensive and mostly weak plastic. Epoxy/tile floors are slippery when wet. 20A outlets all around in mine. You can put 8 20A outlets on one circuit without problems. 75,000 btu modine heater above the bench is more than enough for a 25x29 2 car garage with 10' celing. You might want a 220v plug for something (welder, oven, etc..). I use plastic bins on the shelves of the work bench so I can see what is in each without having to pull each one out. Hanging cord reels for light power tools or whatever.

 

[frenchblueC2]

So far, a couple toolboxes and a large pegboard have done us well for tool storage.
We also have some old toolboxes from Mike's company to store parts and other junk in. And metal shelving for the oil and other cleaning supplies.

We definitely need to pick through it all and get rid of the things that aren't needed, especially old car parts. The shelves are starting to overflow.

We need to blow a wall out in our garage and put it back the way it was when the house was originally built.
Previous owners ate into the garage space to make more room for the furnace area.
It makes things difficult for us, especially since we have garage stuff stored in the furnace room. If the wall space was flipped around, we'd have less trips in and out of the house to get things done ESPECIALLY running the air hose from the compressor.

sometimes I wonder if we should just move into a better house - one with a separate garage!

 

[ElKy]

i have tons of ideas for my garage, btu no time or money to do them!!!
the best thing i haev done to my garage wince moving in was the roof!
yay to dry tools.

although i do plan on building a room in the garage for powder caoting and other small stuff.
other than that, i have a bunch of 4' lights to hang around the place.

 

[FrozenSection]

I appreciate the links. In addition to epoxy getting slippery (and I tend to make royal messes with coolant), I read somewhere that the nice epoxy look will be broken down if the garage floor was not lined with a vapor barrier when the concrete was poured.

What do y'all do for heating and insulation?

 

[rouar]

Well, right now, my furnace heats the garage.

Regarding the to-do list, that missing wall needs to go back up.

 

[frenchblueC2]

Our garage had a pretty ancient heater pre-installed before we moved in, although it was not connected or functional. We had someone come to hook it up and put it on it's own zone, as if it were another room to the house.
We keep it set at 45 degrees except when we need to work in there in the winter. Only on the really cold winter days does it kick on.

The insulated garage doors are a must have for that. I believe we went with R18 doors.

 

[ElKy]

all this talk of garage improvements, makes me want to attack my garage.
too bad i dont plan on staying here long.
i dont want to do a bunch of major upgrades and not be able to take them with me when i leave.

 

[CSVT1214]

My garage is a little tight on space, but it doesnt need much to get a nice setup going. The previous owner of my condo had a wall put up to seperate it from garage space for the other owners. The only modification I'd like to do to it is install a few more electrical outlets.

I planned to have it all setup this year but I think I'll tackle it in the spring instead. It's a mess right now with boxes that I still need to unpack and sort through and it's also being used to store my 00 SVT, which Sandra has yet to register and take off my hands. Would anyone else procrastinate this long if they were given a free car? :shrug: :laugh:

 

[BrApple]

for starters I need more outlets in my garage, there are only two on the back wall. the previous owner ran extention cords up to the garage door openers, so I need to wire outlets up there. I also want some on the side walls of the garage. Next after that is more over head lighting. 220 in the garage at some point would be nice too.

 

[FrozenSection]

You crazy people with furnaces in the garage... Mine's up in the attic.

Point taken about the R-18 garage doors. I think I need to have insulation added to the garage walls and to the ceiling as well -- I don't think builders do that as standard.

Besides an oven, what else would a 220V outlet be useful for? Air compressor?

 

[blu_fuz]

Welder, air compressor, vacuform machine, etc.... I also have R-18 insulated overhead garage doors from Overhead Garage Door Company.