Help me outfit my garage

[rplace]

I know a lot of you are into wood working and have various shops to do your work in.

A while back I had a detached garage built on my property to store my ever expanding collection of crap (Tractor, Truck, etc) as well as function as my brewhouse for my other obsession of home brewing.

Well I have recovered from the cost of building it and now need some ideas on how to outfit it for use. It is 35' wide and 28' deep if that matters. As you face it from left to right it has two 10' garage doors with 3' feet between them and a section about 8' wide with a "people" door on it. The 8-ish wide by first 15 or so is my makeshift brewery where I drag my equipment out and set it up - no stand or anything just 3 turkey fryers, propane tanks, pumps, hoses etc.

It is along that back wall 30+ feet long I'd like to put in "garage" type stuff. Work bench, Cabinets, tool station for swapping out a future bench grinder, drill press and other beer fabricating tools. A table saw would be most cool.

So give me some ideas. Should I just get cheap-o kitchen cabinets and slap a work bench on top? Do I want some open storage? Have seen some cabinets made for garages with fake diamond plate steel look...the jury is still out on if that is cool or cheeeezzzeeee. Do I paint the floor with that garage paint. Have heard mixed results from people who have it. Some love it some say it chips. I'm guessing surface prep is the key there.

I think I have the audio thing covered, but always open to ideas. For sure need the Interwebs out there. Flatscreen and 5.1 surround not in the budget.

One thing I did the first winter was have a gazillion BTU shop style heater installed with thermostat so on brew day morning I just set it at 70 and 15 minutes later I am in a t-shirt for brewing even with the snow outside. Basically all I have now is a big space with a heater. The rest is a blank canvas. Well it is already crammed with junk, so my fall project is to clear it back out and build it up. So what do you suggest

Here are some more pix of it finished. Not sure it will help to figure out what/where to place things, but at least you can see the heater, T-111 and peg board that is in place. Oh, you can also see my pile of brewing junk.

Outside view


Outside looking in


Right wall is the brewing area behind people door you can also see the heater in upper corner. You can see the Klipsch Heresies in the back. Good music is a must in the garage. No crappy Bose here.


Back wall all pegboard


Left wall and more brewing equipment. How about that cool table made from snow tires and plywood.

So what should I do for cabinets and a work bench? How should I set it up for future expansion?

[Groomlakearea51]

Beautifu! Possibilities are endless.... Back wall would be a great place for the shelves/ workbenches, etc.

Leave two corners for a pair of K'horns.... A zymurgist certainly needs good sound while worrying their wort....[]

[rplace]

Since I already have Khorns in the HT/2-channel room, I was thinking split AL trimmed LSIs. I am just waiting for Colter to sell me his [] For now the H2s will have to do.

I am on the fence between cheap kitchen cabinets and building a counter top or going with some sort of made for garage cabinets. Wondering if I should paint/seal the floor are leave it as is. I'd like to get a jump start by hearing what others have done and liked, did not like rather then starting from scratch.

[Groomlakearea51]

Kidding around aside, I would seal and paint the floor. Reason? It will be alot easier (and more sanitary) to clean up after brewing, woodworking, partying, etc. It also greatly reduces and moisture/ humidity that concrete seems to hold. Check out: http://www.revereproducts.com/ We use their products for a variety of applications here. Cleaning, sealing and painting is on my "honey-do" list for the workshop/garage area when the weather cools off and the rains die down. I should have done a long time ago, but kept getting sidetracked.....

[dtel]

If it were mine i would stain and seal the concrete. I just did the front porch and it's so easy a cave-man can do it !

It's an acid base stain which you spray on with a hand type pump up sprayer, it is not enough acid to cause fumes and damage anything in the area. You spray it on let it dry 4-5 hours and rinse off or mop with some baking soda. Let that dry and spray or use a paint roller to apply sealer which dries in a couple of hours.

The prices here are $45 per gallon for the stain, it covers about 200 SF, the sealer is $150 for 5 gallons and covers 1500 SF.

The place where I bought it has their driveway done with stamped concrete to look like stone and it is stained and sealed with these same products, and you drive and park on it to get into the store, it's tough. I was told depending on the amount of traffic you should reseal it every 3 to 5 years.

http://www.all-things-concrete.com/index.html

This is the brand we used.

http://www.flex-c-ment.com/

[dtel]

Got to love a tractor with a front end loader, I use the loader more than any attachment except the finishing mower. [Y]

Almost forget, NICE garage !

[Tom Adams]

I have several pieces of this brand of garage storage cabinets from Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&Ne=4294967294&category=Coleman&N=4294950724

Although they're a bit of a PITA to put together, they're pretty durable and are an affordable solution. The drawer slides are heavy duty and the cabinets have held up well. I've used a combination of the base cabinets and then bridged across them with some 1" MDF for a work surface. I guess all this would make more sense if I'd just shoot a photo of what I've done, eh??

Now.....if you have the extra cash, I'd suggest this stuff which is a bit pricey but extremely well built and looks good.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&Ne=4294967294&category=Gladiator+Garage+Works&N=4294950731

And if you've just won the lottery......you can buy stuff from www.carguygarage.com with my suggestion being http://www.carguygarage.com/fuststgast.html

Tom

[picky]

Wow: Nice "Man-Cave!"

Save yourself some floor footprint and get those Heresies up in the air on the wall with a pair of sturdy, affordable On-Stage SS7913B wall-mount speaker brackets as I did. They hold up to 100 pounds each and allow you to toe the speakers in or out. Places like Guitar Center and ZZounds sell them. They are also available on line. Don't pay over $60 bucks for a pair. I used mine in conjunction with a On-Stage EB9760B Exterior Mounting Bracket for the bottom of each speaker. I made plywood plates to mount these to and then used the original mounting holes for the Heresy III floor cradles to attach the plates to the speaker. This resulted in no modification to the speaker cabinets themselves other than to remove each cradle and save it.

Ref: http://www.onstagestands.com/home

[InnerTuber]

Nice garage!

I've been doing something similar myself -

First I made a pair of nesting saw horses. Rock solid and stackable. http://woodworking.about.com/od/shopequipmentsupplies/ss/woodSawhorses.htm

Then a rolling 4x8' worktable. It's a knockoff of Norm's. Spring loaded wheels drop down to roll. I can't find the link atm. I added a shelf to the bottom.

This week I finished a workbench that could almost withstand a bomb drop. ~15 2x4's laminated on end with 2x6 edging. 1/2 plywood top over the 2x4 lamination. This thing is sturdy. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Build/Workbench.html. I added a shelf on the bottom. Could close it in with doors. Adds to cost.

I like pegboard. 1/4 pegboard is much stronger than the 1/8 inch.

My floor is epoxy paint and it chips and peels in spots. I would not paint a concrete floor, but it does look nice. It's just a maintenance issue. Prep is important for sure. Epoxy maybe, but sealed concrete is pretty easy to maintain. Once you paint most anything it's a maintenance issue in my book. Granted some things need paint.

I like ceiling mount bike racks on amazon - Racor Ceiling-Mounted Bike... $23.18

My thought was build one workbench that is rock solid (like for vise) and then make lighter ones around the other walls creating various areas for various tasks.

Far as table saws a few options. A used cabinet saw is what I'm after. Preferably Powermatic. but Saw Stop, Delta, Jet all have good stuff. If I had $3,000 to plop down I'd grab a Powermatic. For $550 the Ridgid at Home Depot has a lifetime warranty and iron table. A nice alternative with a great warranty.

Storage method is pretty much choice. I'm just not into the metal diamond stuff. I like wood and generally open shelves. I use rubbermaid tubs and mark the ends. Drag em down when I need them. Doors under the benches make things look nice for sure. Heavy stuff I store on the floor, like large metal boxes of bolts.

I think the ~8' bench I just built was about $120 in materials. Doubt you can get kitchen style cabinets under a bench for that rate.

You might want to think about power outlets and running PVC or similar for a vac system. Dust can get everywhere and maybe in beer! Also might want to run a couple lines/drops for compressed air before all the benches or cabinets go in.

I have pics etc if any interest and can get you the link for the rolling table if that helps.

[dtel]

" For $550 the Ridgid at Home Depot has a lifetime warranty and iron table. A nice alternative with a great warranty."

Yes, that's the one I just got a few months ago after reading the reviews. I looked at all the rest, and after comparing reviews, features and prices it's an easy choice, nice fence also. It is not a commercial saw but for the price it's really nice and is very accurate when you take the time to set it up correctly, I am very happy with it.

[rplace]

All good stuff so far guys, thanks! Keep the ides coming.

InnerTuber, please post pix if you can and provide link. I like the idea of one heavy duty work bench.

Picky, I plan to get the speakers up off the floor. Yours looks great.

I was going to stain/seal the concrete floor this weekend and got my floor all cleaned/degreased/etched then read the can. "not for use on garage floors" The guy at the store even suggested this to me after I told him what I wanted to do. It was intended for sidewalks, driveways, patios, etc. Wonder what is different between a driveway and a garage??? So I returned it and got some garage specific epoxy that is more like paint and less like stain. It says it won't pick up on hot tires...that is my main concern.

Seeing the Gladiator cabinets in person is starting to sway me. I check out plastic covered and hardwood cabinets and the price difference is not that much. The Gladiators are all steel and look pretty well built. The Coleman has a nice look but still particle board with laminate, much like other home cabinets. Will have to think on this part longer.

I have a compressor. Can I just run iron pipe around and hook the compressor up to it? Then have drops in a few places from the pipe?

[dtel]

"not for use on garage floors"

Don't make sense to me, different company I guess, the place where we got it has the parking lot done out to the street where you pull off the road and even big trucks pull in and park on it. ? I wonder if it has something to do with the floor of the garage being cool and hot car tires, compared to hot driveway with hot tires ? better to find out now.

I had seen the epoxy used on one of those car shows in a really nice garage, they used a light Grey with speckles in it, they claim it holds up well, probably does ?

[InnerTuber]

Iron pipe ought to work. That's what I will do too. Might think about water separators (or oilers) if that interests you.

Work table with shelf 1/2 installed. It's clamped to one side just to not tip over till the weekend. I like it but need to install better wheels. Rubber rather than plastic.

[InnerTuber]

Laminated bench top

[InnerTuber]

Bit of filler and hand planing since construction grade lumber isn't ... perfect. Or, I'm just AR.

[InnerTuber]

And one area pretty well completed. Note the outlets are pretty high for when the floods come. I try not to think about that.

[Tom Adams]

InnerTuber - Can you give me (us?) more detail about the retractable wheel provision you have on one of your work benches. I'd like to employ casters on a bench for portability, but like the thought of being able to retract them to provide stability.

Thanks!!

Tom

[colterphoto1]

Beautiful building man, congratulations! I'm right behind you, mine is in foundation right now.

I like some of the ideas being presented. One thing I've seen at Greg's Maine shop is a much lower work bench for working on speaker cabinet, probably 20-24" or so high. Shelf underneath for stuff, I/O carpet on top so as not to scratch veneer projects. I think I'll build one of those on lockable dolly wheels.

Remember to keep plenty of open area around items like vises and drill presses so you can work on large pieces.

I'm going to put in several circuits of outlets, kind of hop-scotched around so you can stand in one spot and have access to two circuits.

GLA has some great power tool suggestions, he has a DeWalt table saw with extension table that rolls away easily.

Lighting is important. Standard FL does not work in cold climates, but T8 is costly. I'm going with a U-shaped track around one garage bay as an assembly area that can be lit year round, with some standard FL for general purpose. Two double 4' units in each garage bay do a good job. About one double 4' per 12x12 floor area is a good rule to start with. More lighting of work areas, for you your brew mix area is probably critical to have a good mix of lighting including daylight from one of those windows so you can see the color of the brew clearly.

Definitely put a nice pair of Klipsch KP somethings at a good height and properly spread for stereo- and like Picky's- aimed out the door so you can enjoy in the sun shine! I'll have a couple (or dozen) pairs in my shop. The daily use speakers will probably be my LSI's, double stacked of course. bwhahahaa

Keep the hints coming guys!

yer buddy,

Michael

[rplace]

CP1,

I have been following your building progress. Can't wait to see it...best of luck. I really think those split LSIs are what I need. I'll trade you my perfect condition H-2s straight up...ok, I'll throw in 500 bucks and 5 gallons of home brew, you drive a hard bargain. Let me know when I can pick them up.[]

[InnerTuber]

Surely Tom

I found the link - http://woodworking.about.com/od/shopequipmentsupplies/ss/portableTable.htm

Basically there is a 2x4 across each end with wheels. It's hinged and held down by small 2x4 blocks that are spring loaded to close when you lift the end which locks the wheels down when you lift. Not my idea but I liked it.

I modified it by running two 2x4's across the short ends aligned with the long side stringers. I put a couple braces across there so I can mount a sheet of plywood for a big shelf. That's not complete in the picture, but some of the cut wood is laying around. If you do that, get the shelf in there before you add all the wheelsupports for ease. I might have to split my shelf. I'll know this weekend.

I'd use rubber wheels rather than the cheaper plastic ones like I did. They cost more but roll a LOT better. I'll change them out.

Lastly, I'd dry fit the whole hinge part assemblies before screwing things in, you can have some variation in cuts due to the hinges you use.

It's very solid and I'm pleased with it. I think there is a really nice one on Lowes or HD site that is a rolling work table with lots of cubbys and stuff. Looks more like a island in the kitchen, quite nice. But I tend to toss stuff in giant rubbermaid tubs and slide it on the shelf, so this was a much simpler project.

If I did it over I might lower it to ping pong height!

Regards