Upgrading the Garage

[hakuna matata]

Okay now that my deck is finished I am thinking I need to upgrade my garage. I have a very nice 3 car garage but the cabinets/workbench is sort of a hodge podge of things accumulated over the years.

So I am thinking of updating it with new cabinets. Anyone ever do this? What kind of cabinets did you use? Metal? Wood? Just shelving?

Since it is a 3 car garage I am thinking the far bay would be yard cabinets, with the middle bay being tools, etc and the closer bay to the house for my beer making equipment.

Just curious as to what other people have done. I have a good healthy budget for this (and full wife support!). She wants the garage organized and so I am fairly certain this will happen within the next 3-6 months. Luckily we aren't pack rats but just having everyday garage things just sitting on shelves really doesn't work well for us. I have a small peg board area and plan on expanding that. I find that if a tool has a specific spot I tend to put it back in that spot, if it doesn't, it goes on the nearest available shelf and then I have to remember where I put it when I need it again.

So what have you all done in your garages?

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

I love this topic. Organizing my garage (actually now that we have downsized, just a very large shed) is something I constantly work on. From the flooring to the shelving and storage to the lighting, I am always looking for the thing that works best for me.

I started by coating the floor in that gray epoxy paint. It has a slight amount of sand in it to give it a bit of grip if wet (but not too much to where it is impossible to sweep). I then built a custom workbench with an MDF top, and have an accompanying pegboard behind it (it was built larger than I thought I would ever need, and I like that a lot). I then replaced some old rickety wooden shelving units with strong, boltless shelving units from Grainger. Yes, they were expensive, but they are rock solid. They are exposed shelves, and for about 90% of the shelves I have identical bins (purchased at home depot - found the best price there). The rest of the open shelving is for ad-hoc items that don't fit into bins.

I also used my extra MDF and installed some deep shelving units around the ceiling of the shed, exactly one bin high. That is for things that I don't use often, or treasures from growing up, etc.

For my garage in my last house I had custom made wood cabinets (in addition to some exposed shelving). Benefit to going that route is that it was *exactly* what I wanted, and used every inch of space. It was a pretty expensive route, however. I find that a good solid metal shelving unit with bins that are all the same gives a nice consistent look that I am perfectly satisfied with.

Bikes are stored on the wall on bike-specific hooks. Those are a bit cumbersome and take a lot of space. In the last house I had, I hoisted them up to the ceiling, but I did find that to be too time consuming on a day-to-day basis.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

So what have you all done in your garages?

Here's an interesting discussion forum for garages. I like this one.

 

[Ronstar]

I framed in two closets with an alcove between them for a workbench. The closets have shelves. Then I framed in above the workbench and built a face frame with cabinet doors. Sorry - lighting isn't the best

 

[hakuna matata]

thanks for the links and comments!

Ronstar do you like that fasttrack system better than pegboards? I have pegboards but I like the concept of that other system as it seems more flexible.

 

[Amethyst]

Where do the cars live?

Amethyst

I framed in two closets with an alcove between them for a workbench. The closets have shelves. Then I framed in above the workbench and built a face frame with cabinet doors. Sorry - lighting isn't the best

 

[dvalley]

Two words: garagejournal.com forums - everything you ever wanted to know about setting up garages is there, take a look at the garage gallery section (and hide your retirement funds)

 

[W2R]

[...] I am thinking I need to upgrade my garage. I have a very nice 3 car garage but the cabinets/workbench is sort of a hodge podge of things accumulated over the years. [...]

Wow.

I have no garage at all, and honestly I'd be wildly thrilled to have even a carport. I suppose that this is proof that the more one has, the more one wants.

If all you really want is to organize things, perhaps you could put up utility shelves along one wall and get a dymo labeler.

 

[Ronstar]

thanks for the links and comments!

Ronstar do you like that fasttrack system better than pegboards? I have pegboards but I like the concept of that other system as it seems more flexible.

hakuna matata - I like the track system - both the tracks behind my workbench and on the side wall are made by gladiator. They are more expensive than pegboard. At the time, I considered pegboard, but I didn't like how I'd have to furr out the pegboard to get the hangers in without interfering with the drywall or insulation behind the pegboard.

It seems like the track system can hold more weight and it is more flexible than the pegboard

 

[Ronstar]

Where do the cars live?

Amethyst

The photo is of my workshop - a small 2 car detached garage. I can fit 1 car in there if I moved workbenches, saws, etc to the side. We have an attached garage where the cars live

 

[Ronstar]

Two words: garagejournal.com forums - everything you ever wanted to know about setting up garages is there, take a look at the garage gallery section (and hide your retirement funds)

+1. You can get a lot of great ideas there

 

[Amethyst]

Was afraid the poor things had to sleep out in the weather

The photo is of my workshop - a small 2 car detached garage. I can fit 1 car in there if I moved workbenches, saws, etc to the side. We have an attached garage where the cars live

 

[hakuna matata]

Wow.

I have no garage at all, and honestly I'd be wildly thrilled to have even a carport. I suppose that this is proof that the more one has, the more one wants.

If all you really want is to organize things, perhaps you could put up utility shelves along one wall and get a dymo labeler.

It is a huge space, 3 car garage on the main level, the second level has a room that is 16' wide and 8' tall running the length, plus full access to the space in the eaves. I could rent it out as an apartment. When we looked at this place it was filled with stuff!

Now I mentioned that we aren't packrats and the whole upper floor is completely empty, except for half dozen containers of our Christmas and Halloween decorations. And we have no plans to fill it either.

Right now we have three cars but when my daughter moves out this fall to go to college we can turn the middle bay into my shop. My wife loves to garden and works right now out of a little shed, so she is looking forward to having a gardening bench, and the other bay will be where I keep my beer making supplies. I have it all planned out--a different use for each bay.

Personally I wouldn't have built a 3 car garage but it was part of the house and it is detached (connected by a breezeway). But since it is there I plan on making full use of it.

 

[aldo]

Have a look at Newage cabinets at Costco.com

http://www.costco.com/wall-systems-cabinets.html

 

[hakuna matata]

Have a look at Newage cabinets at Costco.com

http://www.costco.com/wall-systems-cabinets.html

I have been looking at those--have you used them? They appear to be pretty good quality. I just don't want something too flimsy. I will have to go check them out in person I think.

 

[pb4uski]

It is a huge space, 3 car garage on the main level, the second level has a room that is 16' wide and 8' tall running the length, plus full access to the space in the eaves. ....

I'm currently struggling with how to best use the eave space (behind a kneewall on the second level in my case). Built-in drawers would be nice but a lot of work and $.

Another option I am considering are shelves and plastic bins on the shelves that would slide in and out. But I think we would want doors or curtains to cover the ends of the bins.

Has anyone found a solution to knee-wall storage that works really well?

 

[aldo]

I have been looking at those--have you used them? They appear to be pretty good quality. I just don't want something too flimsy. I will have to go check them out in person I think.

Overkill for my small space but I was tempted by the 18-gauge, 10-piece Pro series that was recently on sale for $500 less. I've never seen them in person at Costco but 18 gauge is not flimsy

 

[splitwdw]

In the garage, we have different areas for different activities, metal working, welding, wood shop, auto repair, office. We prefer cabinets with doors, keeps dust/dirt out and looks neat. Some are wood cabinets and some metal. We have separate buildings that house mowers and gardening supplies. Like OP we like to have specifics drawers/space for all our tools.