garage organization optioneros

So I'm finally living in a HOUSE. Very stoked. Keith Roper helped me drag the Galant over since it's lacking in the radiator department right now. I'm still unpacking the house, but my mind is wandering back to the garage and how I will organize it. I would appreciate the input of other rallyistas who have the experience on how best to maximize premium garage space.

It's a smaller 2CG, drywall at the back, block on the right, and a space on the left for the washer, dryer, and water heater. I've got a smaller window for an equally small AC unit so I don't die in the summer heat. Ceiling is open to the roofline with a number of 2x4 rafters and beams.

I plan on throwing a lot of the larger, less used bits up into the rafters by making shelves up there across neighboring beams. What I wonder most is, should I put up some peg board to hang all the tools or stick with the Craftsman rolly and my old Air Force tool box? Should I build some shelving along the right wall? A bench at the back? Perhaps some simple drop-down shelves right above the rally car?

When the car is in there, it's a bit tight along the sides. A shelf deeper than a foot on the right would be a close fit. Likewise, a bench up front couldn't be more than 18" deep unless I wanted to park under it.

Some ideas would be awesome. Thanks!

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Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

If it's tight side to side.. keep everything off the sides. It will drive you nuts trying to get around the car.. or constantly jockeying it from one side to the other (not always possible either if you're really doing lots of work)

If you have a basement (I don't know if they're common in that part of the world).. and the entrance is close enough to the garage, then make a big work bench down there and have tools in both locations or a box with the common ones that you take back and forth..

That's all my opinion though.. always tripping over stuff, not having room and moving something to move it again to move it and three more things back to where it was to move it.. drives me fucking nuts!

My garage is tight.. I put some work benches in the back corners. Then I built an attic with access holes. I braced the attic with 45deg angles back to the walls and use that to hang tools and shit off of. Works fairly well for such a small garage. I maximized the amount of room in the attic bits while making sure I still had room to get an engine crane through a hole in the attic.

Some pics.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Thanks, man! :thumbsup

I like the bracing and the use of the overhead area. Definitely something I will be using. Unfortunately, for some odd reason out here, they don't really do basements. (Which is lost on me, because it's always comfortable in the basement, but go figure.) I'll see about snapping a couple pics with the camera phone tonight showing the car parked in there with stuff piled around it (still unpacking) and see if that helps any.

What do you guys think about hanging tools on pegboard versus storing in a toolbox or cart? I know it makes it easier to make sure you've got everything put back where it belongs, but then I have an empty tool box and cart, ya know? Sure, I could toss some tools in the box for road trips and such, but what do I use the cart for? Haha.

(Took me so long to get an upright, rolling tool box.)

Thanks again!

PS - Moose, I will be sure the garage is cluttered often, as I know you say a clean garage is a bad omen.

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Brian Driggs | KG7KCA | PHX, AZ | 89 Pajero
alterius non sit qui suus esse potest

Pegboard is good as it doesn't take up horizontal space.. the second you get tearing into a car and drinking with a bud.. you're going to want all the floor space you can get.

Edit/ basements.. it's a lot cheaper for the builder to not build them.. you're right though they're always comfortable..

Eventually we will have to start building houses smarter.

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2008 07:47PM by hudson.

I'd keep the tools in the toolbox. When you have to work on the OTHER broken car or the trailer or something in the driveway (or down the street or on the front lawn), then you can just roll the tools out to it, rather than having to go back and forth for every little thing. With your burgeoning rally career, you'll find that the pegboard will be better suited for rally "Trophies" -- conversation pieces, if you will. "I broke that rim while.... and that CV-joint in... and that piece of twisted metal used to be..."

Eventually you'll figure out what's mandatory for your rally kit and put that in the top box, then you just throw that in the back of the service vehicle and giddyup.

And without any sort of insulation or an attic, forget working in the garage in AZ during the summer. Your AC unit will cool all of about 35" in front of the vents and that's about it!

...Brian...

Go with the pegboard. I'm glad I did. It's much easier to find the tool you're looking for when it's hanging in front of you vs somewhere in the drawer. It makes it easier for other people to find a tool also.

An added bonus - I can tell instantly when one of my kids has taken something.

Mike

Mike S Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Go with the pegboard. I'm glad I did. It's much
> easier to find the tool you're looking for when
> it's hanging in front of you vs somewhere in the
> drawer. It makes it easier for other people to
> find a tool also.
>
> An added bonus - I can tell instantly when one of
> my kids has taken something.
>
> Mike


My poor father... I terrorized his tools.. my brother was worse though I think.

To put things in perspective.. I was ~5 when I smashed the the covers on his level because I was intrigued by how the bubble worked

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish