OK, help me plan out my shop!

[rmchrgr]

So I recently sold off my project cars and my garage is now empty. While I am actively looking for another car, my immediate priority is to at least try and get my garage into a good place so when the new car comes, I will be able to work on it.

So far, its been sheetrocked and painted. I put in new windows. When we upgraded our electric panel for 200 amp service, I had the electricians wire up some strip lights. So now I need to get it organized and set up so I can actually use it.

I have the one little crappy Craftsman roll box. I have a couple steel tables, one I made myself, one I bought from a printing place that went out of business and one is just a table top.

I do have a compressor, a smaller C-Man that I need to fix. Works OK for air tools and for short bursts but does not keep up for things like painting and sanders. Not sure if I am going to get a bigger one. There's one at Home Depot for around $440 that I've had my eye on for a while. It takes 110 too. Would love to have a good air system with water separators and a pull down hose reel like we have at work.

I need some shelving bad. The one plastic one I have does not really cut it. I have a larger gray metal unit up at my dad's house but I need to transport it somehow. I also have a giant home made sand blast cabinet, a cheapo workbench with a particle board top and a combo C man toolbox work table that I need to get. Kind of a project in itself...

I two small metal cabinets from my basement I plan to hang up as well.

The floor is trashed unfortunately. There are cracks running the length of the structure and it slopes all kind of different ways. There isn't a right angle in the whole place, its bad.. Probably not worth doing anything fancy like epoxy. I will likely just paint and call it a day.

I am looking for ideas/suggestions/pointers on how to set up the space as efficiently as possible. There will eventually be a car in there so I need to make the work area easy to get to. I would love for all the crap on the floor to be out of the way. Would also Like to hear suggestions on how to put a wooden bench in the corner between the door and window and incorporate the other tables into it.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think.

Here are some pics from today.

 

[moparlover]

if you plan on using a mig welder at all, make sure you get the electrician back to put in a nice beefy circuit so your breaker doesnt pop

i love the workbench

nice little shop there

 

[rmchrgr]

if you plan on using a mig welder at all, make sure you get the electrician back to put in a nice beefy circuit so your breaker doesnt pop

i love the workbench

nice little shop there

We talked about putting in a 220 circuit, just never happened. Guy was a little bit of a flake. Made a mess inside with some lighting, he ain't coming back.

Thanks for the compliments but I have a long way to go.

 

[1970Duster]

Do yourself a favor and add a vertical metal wall to the back (and side if you put it in a corner) so make sure sparks dont light the wall behind the bench of fire. Ask me how I know.

 

[CrazyPete]

shelving is your friend when it comes to saving space if your a tight wad like me build your own outta 2x4 or 2x6's and plywood or buy some gorilla shelving i have both in my shop next is a decent tool box Craigslist will be good also if your on a budget you can find nice used stuff and if you think you may want 220v some day do it now while its empty

 

[bohica2xo]

First, I would pick a spot on that wall where that gray tri-fold cabinet is sitting in pieces, and hang it. Place it at a level where you can comfortably reach the top of it. Screw a piece of 1x1 angle down to the top, along the front edge of the back half of it. This is so you can stack all of the spray cans in the shop up there where the kids can't reach them easily. The 1x1 rail keeps you from stacking a can on the part of the cabinet that moves...

Now park your rollaway box under it. This is the tool area. Go gather up all those 110v tools laying around & put them in the wall cabinet. Buy some pegboard hooks & hang stuff that you use less.

That steel table with the red wheel on the bottom shelf needs to tuck in against the foundation right next to the big door. It is a good welding table, and you really want to do stuff like that near the big door. I would put a couple of casters on one end of it, so I could pick up the other end & roll it outside for welding etc. when the weather is ok.

The balance of that same wall area can be dedicated to your other portable stuff - the mower, compressor etc.

B.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

220 electrical upgrade would be a must in my opinion. That 200 amp panel has to have 220 in it so install at least a 50 amp or 60 amp double pole breaker and pull a main line off of it and install a subpanel in the garage. Install the needed size 220 breakers subpanel and run the circuits to the locations where you might need plugs. You will find that a 220 compressor cost less to operate that a 110 with the same horse power motor. It all comes down to line load and balancing it as equal as possible to create the same load on each leg to get the best use while enjoying the lowest electric cost.

My system has one main 200 amp service with 3 subpanels in the different locations to maximize the power load. This is the type meter you use to get you load balances correct. Rebalancing my system cut my electric bill $50 to 75 a month during peak usage with the A/C, Hot Tub, Electric Water Heater, Electric Dryer, Normal House Use and Shop Use.

 

[rmchrgr]

220 electrical upgrade would be a must in my opinion. That 200 amp panel has to have 220 in it so install at least a 50 amp or 60 amp double pole breaker and pull a main line off of it and install a subpanel in the garage. Install the needed size 220 breakers subpanel and run the circuits to the locations where you might need plugs. You will find that a 220 compressor cost less to operate that a 110 with the same horse power motor. It all comes down to line load and balancing it as equal as possible to create the same load on each leg to get the best use while enjoying the lowest electric cost.

My system has one main 200 amp service with 3 subpanels in the different locations to maximize the power load. This is the type meter you use to get you load balances correct. Rebalancing my system cut my electric bill $50 to 75 a month during peak usage with the A/C, Hot Tub, Electric Water Heater, Electric Dryer, Normal House Use and Shop Use.

We have a subpanel in the basement. The wiring runs through a pipe behind the garage into the house where it connects to the panel.

I need more lights in the garage too, closer to the garage door.

How hard is it to wire a circuit yourself? Everything is out in the open right now, I agree now is the time when its empty.

 

[needsaresto]

if you plan on using a mig welder at all, make sure you get the electrician back to put in a nice beefy circuit so your breaker doesnt pop

i love the workbench

nice little shop there

X2!! I have 15 amp breaker's and my lincoln 120 volt pops those breakers with ease.

ALARM SYSTEM.

 

[joel d. snyder]

wiring is not difficult. there are plenty of how to books for help. my personal quickie shelves are cement blocks and boards. they're solid & easy to tear down & move because nothing is nailed together. don't forget to put up some pegboard, can hang a lot of stuff on there.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

We have a subpanel in the basement. The wiring runs through a pipe behind the garage into the house where it connects to the panel.

I need more lights in the garage too, closer to the garage door.

How hard is it to wire a circuit yourself? Everything is out in the open right now, I agree now is the time when its empty.

Wiring is easy. The absolute most important thing is to match the breaker, wire size to the load. If you need some ideas shoot me a PM and I will send you my email address so we can talk in more detail.

 

[Gryzynx]

I need more lights in the garage too, closer to the garage door.

If you sheet your ceiling and paint it white, you will make a tremendous improvement in your light.

 

[green1]

We talked about putting in a 220 circuit, just never happened. Guy was a little bit of a flake. Made a mess inside with some lighting, he ain't coming back.

Thanks for the compliments but I have a long way to go.

Haven't read all yet, but 1st thing, get the ceiling covered. 2nd, you can buy double breakers that give you 220. But balance your panel. A 220 on one side, try to move that amount of 110 to the other side (using amperage as the key)

That metal shelf in the corner, buddy buys thas, with casters, and anything in there-harbor freight casters, easy to move benches, etc around. You can't buy enough shelves.

 

[green1]

Reading down, Okla is correct, but I never had to use a sub panel. 110 migs? run all day on their own breaker. Like Okla said, balance the load.

Add a light? depends on what existing lights are rated at, and whether you want a different switch, simple.

I have 200 in my shop, wired it myself. 2 60 amp welders, same plug, you can only use one welder at the same time, central heat and air (60), 6 2 bulb 110 watt lights, maybe 3 4 plug receptacles, separate 30 for the fridge. 60 for the 7hp compressor. Only half the panel is full, no breakers trip.

But then my primary service wiring is only 30 feet to the transformer.

Casters, casters, can't have enough.

 

[green1]

Bench tops, it takes some digging in local suppliers. Big guys, nada, but keep trying until you find the small guy. Like $20 for a 4 by 8 sheet of 16 gauge.

and if not metal bench, spend the $ for pt wood, it is pine, not spruce.

 

[rmchrgr]

Haven't read all yet, but 1st thing, get the ceiling covered.

I don't think I am going to cover the ceiling. Probably can't tell from the pics but the beams where the lights hang onto sag pretty bad. I swear, there is not a right angle in the whole structure. Hanging the sheetrock was a nightmare because none of the walls are plumb. I was cutting all sorts of angles into it to get it to line up. The header above the garage door droops down several inches. I would need a big jack too push it back up and bolt a steel plate to it to keep in place.

I believe the whole thing has sunk a little. There is a small grade behind it where a lot of water runs down. There used to be a retaining wall made out of railroad ties to keep it in place but they were rotted into dirt. We need to get the thing properly graded and back filled one day. We will probably end up pouring concrete to make it work properly.

Probably not going to get involved in structural repair at this point, it is what it is. Same reason I won't do anything to the floors. But I digress...

So far I am looking into doing a 220V circuit. Any further ideas in regards to layout from what you all can see?

 

[clhyer]

What size is your shop/garage? Will it be used for other stuff, lawnmower and that sort of thing?
As said, a 220 circuit is nice - but you only need it if you are going to get a 220 air compressor or an electric heater?
Gryz had an excellent suggestion regarding the ceiling. If the rafters up there won't hold sheetrock, how about some thinner panelling that you could paint, or those fiber squares that are used in dropped ceilings? If you get something up there to reflect that light back down it is a tremendous improvement.
What kind of garage door do you have? I hung up two strip lights above my garage door, when the door is open they block the light! One day I plan to move them so that they will be over the windows in the door when the door is open...
A dedicated 20 amp circuit next to the door would be my choice for the welder circuit. That way you run a short extension cord (if any) to weld outside. Most welding jobs can wait a day or two so that it can be done outside.
C

 

[green1]

If the slab is sinking; fix that first. Get the water away from it, then concrete under the washed out areas, won't fix, but will stop.

Rafters/ trusses sagging; jack them up, you can use 2x4's or plywood to hold bottom in place. If it is attached to the house; this has to be done first, as water into the attachment goes into the house.

 

[Gryzynx]

I don't think I am going to cover the ceiling. Probably can't tell from the pics but the beams where the lights hang onto sag pretty bad. I swear, there is not a right angle in the whole structure. Hanging the sheetrock was a nightmare because none of the walls are plumb. I was cutting all sorts of angles into it to get it to line up.

I've seen OSB used to sheet a garage, then painted white. Much easier to handle than sheetrock, handles impact much better and there may even be a cost advantage.

I can see your problem with the ceiling joists as they look to be on something like a 48" center. You would need to strap for 16" or 24" centers for any sort of ceiling.

 

[OneOfMany]

But balance your panel. A 220 on one side, try to move that amount of 110 to the other side (using amperage as the key)

This is not correct. A 220v dual-pole breaker is already load balanced, and does not need to be included in the "balancing". It pertains only to 110v single-pole breakers.

Grant

 

[rmchrgr]

OK, I am in the process of laying out the workbench. I am having a little dilemma trying to figure out how to best utilize the space.

I would like to use the benches in the corner but it does not really work. That little step in the slab kind of makes things difficult. I have these two steel benches I want to use. One is usable now with the legs, the other is just a table top I cleaned up. I need to make/buy legs for it.

Here's the thing, if I line up the unfinished table against the wall where the step is, I have to make the back legs shorter to butt it up flush. I would like for the bench to continue around the corner and have the brown table meet it under the window.

With the benches continuing around the corner, there would end up being approximately 4 square foot of steel bench top I can't really use since it would be back into the corner. I could leave a space between the tables but that would suck. Seems like I may have to scrap the corner idea and just use the back wall like in the pics.

What can I do with that corner???

 

[magnumdart]

I'd get a carpenter to help you with the ceiling. Maybe you could put up a couple of posts and a beam, add some joists and flooring thus gaining invaluable space for things you only use once in a while. Also suspended ceilings would work great for diffusing light, and if done correctly are fire rated. You can then drop in lights, and if they don't work out you can simply move them around. Just make sure to clip the ceiling panels in so when you open the door the wind doesn't blow them out.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

This is not correct. A 220v dual-pole breaker is already load balanced, and does not need to be included in the "balancing". It pertains only to 110v single-pole breakers.

Grant

Grant is 100% correct. Every other lug on panel pull electric from the opposite side of the main breaker. Example; Going straight down a row of breakers lugs 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 would pull off one side of the main breaker while lugs 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 would pull off the other side of the main breaker. Any 220 breaker would automatically be on an odd and an even lug so it would be pulling the load off each side.

 

[Gryzynx]

What can I do with that corner???

How about using that 4X4 space for some sort of waste bin or maybe something to drain liquids if you plan to use the tables for things like disassembling a tranny. Tables could touch at the tip, but neither table extending fully into the corner. I like the idea of the corner tables because you could balance a really big workpiece across both, or support something long like a diff housing with 360 degree access.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

OK, I am in the process of laying out the workbench. I am having a little dilemma trying to figure out how to best utilize the space.

I would like to use the benches in the corner but it does not really work. That little step in the slab kind of makes things difficult. I have these two steel benches I want to use. One is usable now with the legs, the other is just a table top I cleaned up. I need to make/buy legs for it.

Here's the thing, if I line up the unfinished table against the wall where the step is, I have to make the back legs shorter to butt it up flush. I would like for the bench to continue around the corner and have the brown table meet it under the window.

With the benches continuing around the corner, there would end up being approximately 4 square foot of steel bench top I can't really use since it would be back into the corner. I could leave a space between the tables but that would suck. Seems like I may have to scrap the corner idea and just use the back wall like in the pics.

What can I do with that corner???

I had a shop with benches in the corner and all it did was become a catch all. I will never do that again. Corner is a good place for tools with long handles such as shovels, rakes , brooms, mops and the like. I have all long handle things in a trash can in the corner of my shop now.