wrnch
Active member
Hey all,
So I've been reading this forum for a few months now, as I toiled away at remodeling my garage. It isn't much. It's not a barn. It's just a single car garage about 10' x 21'.
Anyway, my garage has clearly not been touched since it was first built in the early 80's. Paint was peeling, drywall was damaged from plumbing issues in the apartment above, and a work bench was nowhere in sight. Growing up my friends and I would always hang out in the garage rebuilding our bikes, karts, or whatever. I wanted a good mancave....so in October I began the process, came up with a plan and have been slowly but surely working away at it.
I also wanted a place that I could use as a live lab, to learn how to put up drywall, work with wood, electrical, etc. What better place to use for this purpose than the garage. I can mess it up as much as I want and not be too concerned....after-all it's the garage.
It is now nearly complete and I thought I'd do my part and share my accomplishments and ideas. Here it goes.
The Beginning
Here's what I started out with.
Warning: If you are squeamish you may not want to look at the following photos.
Step 1 - Clean it out
After many trips to goodwill, a few posts on craigslist, nearly a dumpster full of trash, and all the rest moved to storage the garage was finally cleared out.
Step 2 - Figure out what you got, what you want, and come up with a plan
So once I got cleared out I took measurements, and started to figure out what I wanted. I knew I needed
That's quite a tall order and took some time to figure out, but after working, and reworking a model of the garage in Google Sketchup I think I found a good solution. Check it out....
Step 3 - Epoxy the floor
If you're following along at home you may want to do this later in the rebuild process. You live, and you learn I guess.
More to come....hold tight.
So I've been reading this forum for a few months now, as I toiled away at remodeling my garage. It isn't much. It's not a barn. It's just a single car garage about 10' x 21'.
Anyway, my garage has clearly not been touched since it was first built in the early 80's. Paint was peeling, drywall was damaged from plumbing issues in the apartment above, and a work bench was nowhere in sight. Growing up my friends and I would always hang out in the garage rebuilding our bikes, karts, or whatever. I wanted a good mancave....so in October I began the process, came up with a plan and have been slowly but surely working away at it.
I also wanted a place that I could use as a live lab, to learn how to put up drywall, work with wood, electrical, etc. What better place to use for this purpose than the garage. I can mess it up as much as I want and not be too concerned....after-all it's the garage.
It is now nearly complete and I thought I'd do my part and share my accomplishments and ideas. Here it goes.
The Beginning
Here's what I started out with.
Warning: If you are squeamish you may not want to look at the following photos.
Step 1 - Clean it out
After many trips to goodwill, a few posts on craigslist, nearly a dumpster full of trash, and all the rest moved to storage the garage was finally cleared out.
Step 2 - Figure out what you got, what you want, and come up with a plan
So once I got cleared out I took measurements, and started to figure out what I wanted. I knew I needed
- A lot more light, (Currently, only 1 60w bulb)
- More power, (Currently, only two accessible outlets on the wall and two inaccessible outlets on the ceiling)
- A work bench, (Doesn't exist)
- More room to work on projects, (that area where the bike was parked in the first photo was my work area.)
- More storage than I had before. (Clearly this is needed)
That's quite a tall order and took some time to figure out, but after working, and reworking a model of the garage in Google Sketchup I think I found a good solution. Check it out....
- Storage: In the back right, I put 4'x4' shelves from floor to ceiling. This equals the same amount of storage as the old storage cabinet that ran across the back wall.
- Workbench: In the back left I designed a 5.5' workbench, that'll be 40" off the ground, and 36" deep. The storage and the bench are divided by a new wall that comes 4' off of the back wall.
- Lighting: Two - 4' Fluorescent light fixtures will be installed in the ceiling. (Not pictured)
- Storage: Running both sides of the garage will be new drop shelves that are 16" deep and 14" below the ceiling. (This equals a lot more storage that is up and out of my way.)
- Power: Down the left wall I designed two additional electrical boxes. 1 box will be contain four additional outlets and the box at the bench will have two outlets and one light switch. Dropping from the ceiling will be a retractable extension cord. (Lot more power!)
- Lighting: A new light will be mounted above the bench on the drop shelf.
- Storage: Above the garage door will be two bars running across to hold my surfboards, ladder, and lumber. (This equals more storage that is up and out of my way.)
Step 3 - Epoxy the floor
If you're following along at home you may want to do this later in the rebuild process. You live, and you learn I guess.
More to come....hold tight.
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