Tools & Fabrication - What mods to your garage do you love/hate/wish you had done?

I'll be moving into my new place here soon and the garage is stock, like anything else I have to mod it. I'm going to epoxy the floors, add some led overhead lights, a spot light in the front for extra under hood light, 225 plug for an eventual welder, separate breaker for air compressor, and a stout wood work bench with stainless top. Besides that I can't think of anything else I'll do right away. Eventually I'd like to plumb the air compressor into the wall to an overhead recoil air hose and do some nice cabinets instead the wire rack shelving I have now.

Just looking for other ideas or thigs to steer clear of.

you have thought this out, which is good. I had a guy look at the floor coatings before I moved in, but at the time I didn't have the money. As much as I use my garage now, I wish I had it done.

How about a sink? I use mine all the time. Also a TV and outlets is something I use a lot. MANY times I wish I had a urinal as well, vs. having to clean off just to go in the house to take a piss. I would going to put one of those saloon doors on the wall, so non of my neighbors could see me piss, lol.

Don't know how big it is...or how much time you plan on spending out there, but...Here's whats in my 40'x40'
Cabinets, countertops, Microwave and Frig from a remodel (no cost)
2 post lift (used 2K)
Work/Tool bench from heavy shelving material (like Lowes and HD use) used $80
Window unit A/C (free from remodel)
lowered ceiling and insulated (I can keep it 78-80 with that little window shaker)
Shop fans, stereo, TV, jackstands, I could go on and on.

It's your space Have fun!

AC and a lift and it would be a dream world for me :nod:

I have more than anyone needs. 2 lifts, 3 phase convertor, etc etc etc........

the best things in my shop.....#1 refridgerated drinking fountain. people come over and leave drinks everywhere, or buy you drinks.....the drinking fountain solves all that. It also works well for cooling things off after welding. lol

#2....well, theres lots of things that are good to have....band saw, benders, hot tank etc etc, but the drinking fountain is #1.

MANY times I wish I had a urinal as well, vs. having to clean off just to go in the house to take a piss. I would going to put one of those saloon doors on the wall, so non of my neighbors could see me piss, lol.

I just whip it out in the yard and piss. :headbang:


AC and a lift and it would be a dream world for me :nod:

It'd be HEAT and a lift for me. But I do have a gas line going to my garage from the house so this will be a reality for me soon enough!

I have a sink in mine. It def comes in handy. Much better than getting the ones inside dirty. LoL

What do I wish I had done?

Made it bigger ...

It's currently 24x54 ...

Mine is 24x32. One half (12x32) has a second floor for storage. It was really great until I had one car on jackstands getting a bodyoff restoration and the driveline dropped out of another.

I have plenty of 110 and 220 plugs, cast iron piping for compressed air and epoxy floor paint.

I wish it was longer and had heat.

The wife is looking to move, so I agreed as long as I can build a larger garage with 4 bays (2 stories high), each with a seperate overhead door.

Bob K.

you can never have enough 110V plugs...I really need to run more in mine :bang:

I did the whole air system with my garage, and love that. I put 2 hose reels in, one is setup with an auto-oiler, so that one gets all the use with the air tools.. other is used for tires, etc.

I do wish I had done the floor, but to put the floor in with the texture for the 24x24 and the 2 feet of foundation cement was going to be about another 1000 bucks I just didn't want to spend.

When I wired the garage.. it got 3 230V circuits, 2 are in the walls, one for the welder, one for the compressor, and the 3rd I left coiled up in the ceiling, waiting for whatever else I end up putting in, which at this point, may end up being a 230V electric heater for the winter time.

I also, have a free-standing a/c unit that is in the corner, that does a decent job of cooling it off, if it's really hot I have to leave it running all the time and overnight so that way it can cool it off and hold the temp down at least for a good portion of the day. Believe it or not it worked alot better until my neibhor cut a tree down, and now my garage is in full sun all afternoon moreso then it was :burn:

I also installed a fan @ the louver on the front. I do wish I had put 2 in, one in both ends, so that way it would create a bit of a vacuum effect in the garage if I open up the hatchway to the attic area.... that would be useful if I start a car in the garage, or if I ever want to paint something. That, I can easily add a 2nd fan though, should the need come along.

Lights, I was going to do the flour or LED ones, but they wanted alot of $ for that, so I ended up with a fixture that just lets a bulb hang out in the open, and there's a total of 8 100 watt bulbs. I did texture the ceiling, and painted it and the walls semi gloss white. If I had to do it again I would have painted them full gloss white to reflect the light better.

Workbench, I like your idea for the stainless top. You can see the one I built, that's pretty sturdy. it's constructed out of 2x8 and 2x6, the metal legs were on an old bench in my basement, that was falling apart. New hardware and wood on them, made a BIG difference.

I also put a 120v plug every 7 feet. Seems insane to put that many in, but I never have an issue finding an open one. And, there's only 5 plugs per breaker, 20 amp breaker so they don't have any issues popping breakers even when every damn tool out there is running at the same time, which does happen.


I also put 2 plugs outside, one that gets used to keep the charger on the trailer battery, and the block heater for my truck in the winter, one in back, I will use for a bug zapper when I get around to buying one.

I also insulated the walls and ceiling.. which makes a big difference with heating/cooling.

If I had to do anything over, the 10.5 foot ceiling I have, it would have been nice to have more so I could actually put a lift in. Garage was supposed to get built with a rafter, not a truss... but that's a whole different story for another day.


If I were to go any bigger, 28x28 would be nice.. but the bigger you go the more crap that finds it's way in there too....

That being said if I won the lotto tomorrow and could build a new house and a garage/shop, it would be a 40x60 steel builting with a min 18 foot ceiling, with gas heat, some type of cooling or at least have shade cover the building, or the west side anyway... and I'd put a lift in big enough to lift my truck up. Also would have a big door at both ends, so I could drive around, pull in with the truck and trailer, unload the car, put it on the lift and leave the trailer and truck hooked, and pull them inside too.

Running water in the garage would be nice too. But, my wife wouldn't allow that, she complains about the fridge that's out there now LOL. If I had running water and a bathroom/shower.. she is right I probably would never come back in the house :nod:

with 4 bays (2 stories high), each with a seperate overhead door.

Bob K.

Please explain why that is preferable to one big door ... or in your case, two big doors? I see a lot of folks preferring that and I just don't see it.

I paid extra for an oversized 18x10 single door, ceiling hugger and opener.
Having that large opening makes it so much easier to get a car in and out.

Not hating ... just curious ...

My next garage (it's getting closer as the wife is getting very serious about moving) as planned will have 4 smaller overhead doors for each bay. Right now I have a 15' wide door for a 24' wide garage. I'd like a seperate door for bay. That would allow me to move things in and out without much fuss. One bay can have the lift, one a backyard buddy for 2 car storage, one bay for my trailer I keed my hunting quad in and a spare for the next Corvette.

I have the lift in my garage now, but I've go my '00 vette torn apart on it and my '72 vette is sitting on the other side waiting for the paint to get stripped.

Bob K.

My favorite thing is the epoxy floor paint. I did it before anything else and it sure makes clean up alot better esp. if you spill oil. I did mine myself with the stuff you buy at the home improvement store. Prepped the hell out of the floor and never had any problem with it lifting, chipping or peeling. I did not add the texture so it was slick at first but as it aged it lost the slick gloss which is perfect. I just scrub it with a broom and geased lightning. hose it down and sqeegee it out the door.

It looks like we are making an offer on a new house tomorrow. It has a seperate 31x44 garage (with three overhead doors) behind the house. It's got 11.5' ceilings so I can fit my lift. The wife can keep the two car garage attatched to the house. It's got 11.5' ceilings so I can fit my lift.

If they accept the offer, I'd need to finish the garage which is just what I want. I would do the expoxy paint on the floor again.

I've learned alot from the comments everyone makes and I appreciate it!:nod:

Bob K.

11.5 feet is kinda short. If the lift is an older dtyle with no cross over tower (true clear floor) then itll work. With a true clear floor lift with the cross over above, they are ussually 12-12.5 feet. My shop is 40x60 with an 800 sq ft up stairs across the back. Its 16 ft at the eves, 23 in the center. I have one new lift and one old. The old lift would work almost anywhere, but it runs the chain across the floor under a steel plate cover.

I have my 4x4 dually ram 3500 on my new lift rt now....booo, broke the nv5600.

Two best things in the shop......the champion 5000 swap cooler on the roof. I borrowed a man lift to hoist it up there. And the water fountain.

The ceiling in my shop is 12'4" and too short for an open floor lift.

The top of the car almost hits the florescent lamps attached directly to the ceiling with my Trans AM or CTS-V at full lift. I certanly can't lift my Mazda CX7 or my F250 to full extension.

MANY times I wish I had a urinal as well, vs. having to clean off just to go in the house to take a piss. I would going to put one of those saloon doors on the wall, so non of my neighbors could see me piss, lol.


Simple fix, get a hose and a funnel, drill a hole in the wall to stick the hose out of, secure the funnel to the wall at your preferred height, and pee away! Pee funnel ftw!

Anybody got any good links on the LED lighting? It's not very easy to find good reliable information about it online since the internet is flooded with generic LED products and websites.

11.5 feet is kinda short.

My lift is a Mohawk A7. It has adjustable lines that I can install over the trusses. I need to drill the floor to figure out how deep the concrete is.

Bob K.

Simple fix, get a hose and a funnel, drill a hole in the wall to stick the hose out of, secure the funnel to the wall at your preferred height, and pee away! Pee funnel ftw!

Nice! Poor man's urinal.

Here are a few pics of mine, thankfully it was pretty well setup but im planning on building a shop off of the house to really go crazy with. The previous owner built all kinds of shleves and even a wall in the middle of the garage, turned a 3+ car into a one car.

Before:
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/003-6.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/004-5.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/005-4.jpg

After:
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/006-3.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/007-3.jpg

I made a adapter for my dryer plug to use my welder for now but id like to add a dedicated 220v circuit for it. I have a couple fans to hang up too and a bunch of machinery tools(large drill press, bench grinders ect.) to setup. It has some kind of floor coating on one side but id really like to epoxy the floor.

...and no its nowhere near that cluttered anymore. Just covered in fiberglass from fitting my hood.

lots of good info in here...unforunatily i woulnt be able to do many of them..lol...i do plan on the epoxy floor coating......and i like the poor mans urnial idea,,lmao!

should be done in the next week or so..waiting on metal and concrete..24X24

Not sure if someone said this or not but put a drain in the floor if you can, always nice to wash your cars and the water just goes down in the drain. Also helps us out in ohio with the snow. But your from TX sp I hardly doubt its gonna help you with snow lol

Electric, whats that car on the other side kinda looks like a 69 camaro but the fender well shape is throwing me off

When I had my house I wanted a two story loft style garage. First floor big enough for 3 cars and a couple bikes. I need in-ground air, oil, and water. I would like a gas pump. 110, 220v outlets everywhere. A two car storage lift, a work lift, and a oil change bay in the floor like at jiffy lube. Refrig.,microwave, a pisser. Then man cave the 2nd floor loft. And a firepole.

I am nearing completion of my new shop housing my LS7 mid-engine Superlite Coupe. I used solid 2 part epoxy from Armourcoat, installing a 2 post lift from Gregg Smith, running RapidAir around shop and on front covered porch (need to move compressor in), have 220V welding plugs 3 inside walls and on front porch. Finally able to turn a wrench again! Two more Gorilla cabinets are now in on the left back wall (not shown). I have plumbing stubbed in for sink/shower but that will have to wait. Overall: 30 x 60, with 20 x 30 front covered porch.

#1 garage mod: put the compressor in a remote location and plumb it in to the garage so you don't have to listen to it run all day...goodbye headaches

Electric, whats that car on the other side kinda looks like a 69 camaro but the fender well shape is throwing me off

Looks like a '67 or '68 FIREBIRD to me

Electric, whats that car on the other side kinda looks like a 69 camaro but the fender well shape is throwing me off

Looks like a '67 or '68 FIREBIRD to me

Bingo! Yep its my 68 Firebird 400, I just put an M22 Muncie in it. Its a factory 4 speed but somewhere someone swapped a TH400 into it. Just need to hook up the clutch linkage and get it started again. Cant wait to drive it!
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/001-8.jpg
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg207/MrElectric003/002-6.jpg

looking for a house right now with a 3 car garage, or room to make a shop.. i want a 2 post, ac, epoxy floor, 230v for a welder, etc etc..

one thing no one mentioned is a bigassfan, those things are cool (bigassfans.com)

also interested in more info on led lighting; id like to do a lot of 'effeciency' stuff when i start, like insulation and good weatherstripping (maybe even solar).

looking for a house right now with a 3 car garage, or room to make a shop.. i want a 2 post, ac, epoxy floor, 230v for a welder, etc etc..

one thing no one mentioned is a bigassfan, those things are cool

also interested in more info on led lighting; id like to do a lot of 'effeciency' stuff when i start, like insulation and good weatherstripping (maybe even solar).

My 3 car is holding me over for now but I have a little under 2 acres and am getting my plans together to build a shop. Ill likely use a steel building to cut down on cost. Definately plan on a lift.

I dont really have a big fan, I have one thats about an 18" blade hanging in the middle that rotates to face the bench or under hood and I have a couple floor fans.

Bingo! Yep its my 68 Firebird 400, I just put an M22 Muncie in it. Its a factory 4 speed but somewhere someone swapped a TH400 into it. Just need to hook up the clutch linkage and get it started again. Cant wait to drive it!

My kind of guy...Ponchos and KTMs. Let me know if your '68 ever comes up for sale.

Mybuilding was already built when I bought the house but was only a shell. It has a 10' ceiling so I had to get creative with a truss. I am still in the process of finishing but my two favorite items are lots of outlets and my 10000lb 2 post lift from Greg Smith Equip.. The cutout in the ceiling is 12'2" and I have had a crew cab duramax comfortably over my head I'm 5'11".
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn137/KFKphotos/003.jpg

Some of you guys have some sick garages.

I just recently bought my first house with a detached 24x22 garage. I am in the process of insulating it and throwing up some OSB. I will be running a gas line from the house to the garage for a heater as well before winter. I am hopefully picking up another Fbody soon and want the garage to be bearable enough in the cold.

I don't have a lot of extra cash to work with so it will be a work in progress for a bit.

If you go with cabinets I suggest Gladiator, when sears has them on sale you can get them for $99 each, much better than the fiberboard cheap crap that home depot sells.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj294/01ssreda4/Husky1.jpg

i'm still working out of the slab in the back of my parents house :)

Jackstand kinda guy lol

I wish I had a damn heater in my garage! Lol

Mybuilding was already built when I bought the house but was only a shell. It has a 10' ceiling so I had to get creative with a truss. I am still in the process of finishing but my two favorite items are lots of outlets and my 10000lb 2 post lift from Greg Smith Equip.. The cutout in the ceiling is 12'2" and I have had a crew cab duramax comfortably over my head I'm 5'11".
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn137/KFKphotos/003.jpg

Wow!! :usa:

Full size Refrig., also Separate Wet Ice Maker. Keeps people out of the house.

Sound system, Stripper Pole (just in case) :secret2:

I wish I had a damn heater in my garage! Lol

I`m actually looking into building a solar heater for the garage. I have been using a kerosene/diesel heater for the past few years, but that t thing slurps fuel. Plus this way the garage would always be warmer.

By far, I wish I had put in a pit.
There's a nice adder to any garage that would let you do just about anything.

The solar heater is a good idea. I have direct sunlight on my garage all the time... I don't know how much heat one would actually make, but it would be a nice way to do it.

I was going to put a propane heater in, hanging one, but I do have the wire ran for a 3rd 230 volt circuit... I may just get a hanging 230V electric one. I'm sure it won't be cheap to run, but the garage is only 24x24, I wanted to set the tstat to keep it at about 45 to 50 all winter just so it doesn't freeze out there, and when I go out to work on stuff I can always just turn it up to 70. Plus, when you're welding, compressor is running, etc there's a bunch of heat sources that are going so it doesn't take long to build some heat from that stuff too.

This is something really simple but really nice to have. I bought one of those towel dispensers from staples like you would see outside a gas station or at a office bathroom. Pulls out the bottom. Something like $30 for the dispenser and a couple rolls of towels.

It is really nice to have towels handy all the time. No need to have a roll either, just pull down.

This is the one I have.

http://www.staples.com/Georgia-Pacific-Sofpull-Center-Pull-Paper-Towel-Dispenser-2-Rolls-of-Towels/product_782781
http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0281558_sc7?$sku$

It's great! Sometimes the simple things make a big difference

Also if you haven't checked out the forums over at garage journal you should look around over there. TONS of good ideas, also makes you spend way to much on tools.

I stay away from those websites as they're deemed evil in my book LOL.

Every time I see one of those it usually results in me buying something.... It's bad enough just having to buy stuff as I go to get things done.

I need to get a toolbox for my trailer, and complete all the sets I have in 6 and 12 pt, so I can take 1/2 of them and put them in the trailer so I have more room in the box I have in the garage.. this way I have the track set of tools and one in the garage so I'm not lugging stuff back and forth. Not to mention every time I do that I always leave something at home that I needed... be nice to not have to dig into one or the other anymore.

Probably a 400 to 500 dollar investment to do it but the time and aggravation that I will save is worth it.

Adding A/C, a sink, and a fridge to the garage make living, er, working in there much easier.... :chug:

Oh, and if you have a hot water heater in there, relocating that makes for some extra room, or go with the tankless system ......

I don't have running water... but I did put a/c in it :nod: It knockes the humidity out of the air and will keep it about 15 degrees cooler then whatever it is outside when the summer new england heat sets in (mid 90's) That is good enough so that it's at least tolerable to be out there for a while.

Fridge, check. Have that and a pretty decent one. Stocked full of beer, soda, water, and in the summer time an ice cream or 2.. and in the winter time, the Gentleman Jack will get cracked if the heat doesn't warm it up enough :D

I stay away from those websites as they're deemed evil in my book LOL.

Every time I see one of those it usually results in me buying something.... It's bad enough just having to buy stuff as I go to get things done.

I need to get a toolbox for my trailer, and complete all the sets I have in 6 and 12 pt, so I can take 1/2 of them and put them in the trailer so I have more room in the box I have in the garage.. this way I have the track set of tools and one in the garage so I'm not lugging stuff back and forth. Not to mention every time I do that I always leave something at home that I needed... be nice to not have to dig into one or the other anymore.

Probably a 400 to 500 dollar investment to do it but the time and aggravation that I will save is worth it.

I had the same problem with not having the tools I need at the cottage. I'm too much of a cheapskate to buy a duplicates, however, so I impletemnted the 95% - 5% rule. 5% of your tools will get you by for 95% the the jobs you will encounter. I prioritized the 5% into a small portable box that sits on my work bench at the home base, and it takes me 5 seconds to close the lid and take it with me whenever I might need tools. The big roller box stays at home with all the weird tools. Not foolproof, but it works pretty good.

And for the guys that have a sink in their shop, you don't need a urinal because you already have one.

I hear ya... thing is that I have 95% of everything x2. Well, let me say that a different way. I have 6 and 12 pt sockets, and just about every one of both, in short, medium and deep in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive, so all I need to do is complete all that and I can take 1/2 of it and put it in the trailer. Then just get the wrenches that I don't have duplicates of already, and make a set of those for the trailer.. screwdrivers I have plenty of to make 2 sets, same with allen key's, and 3/8 drive ratchets, just need to pick up a few things and I will be able to empty out a good part of my box by putting the duplicates in the trailer, then just have 1 set of everything in the garage.

For about 500 bucks I will be able to do it including the box. Harbor freight has a 11 drawer setup for sale for like 1/2 price this weekend, I may just go buy that and take the top part and put it in my trailer, and use the bottom 1/2 of it in the garage as additional storage for all the specialty stuff I have that's stacked up on the shelf. You know, the stuff that comes in their own case, like the air tools, c clip pliers, tubing benders, flare tools, and all the precision measuring stuff I have for doing gear sets, ring gaps, and the like.

I've got more footage in the shop than the house and its still too small-seems the bigger you make them the more you collect. I have a 14'x14' door on the rv end and a 10'x10' on the shop side running directly to the two post Bendpack lift. I wired it myself (retired wireman electrican) so there is plenty of power everywhere, inside and out, I have 150 amps just for the shops.. Epoxied the floors (a must to keep things clean) ran all the air lines in the walls with retractable air and water lines overhead for the lift and at various other locations. Mounted the 80 gal air compressor outside where you can't hear it inside-mixed blessing if you spring an air leak-should have put a tell tale light inside for it.I have radiant heat in the floor and pre plumbed it for solar-just haven't had the time to mount the panels. The gas boiler works great for now. I have a mop sink and a toilet in the garage but a urinal would really be the best bet. My last shop I plumbed for a shower but never found it useful. I put an electric water cooler in as well and put both the cooler and 3 gal water heater on switches so they are only on when I am working out there and not wasting power. I've got Mastercools on the roof which work very well in this dry climate.
Even with 4000"+ I have two future projects sitting outside for lack of space. I have a friend with almost twice the space and his are full too. I guess you keep adding until you fill you space.
No fridge but do have a gum machine.......

yeah it sucks- our shop is 50X50- the day we moved in it seemed so giant- within the next months we will be moving to a 100X100- if anyone is planning on building a garage- always go bigger than you want- youll definatly grow into it

68 firebird.....i want to know if its gettin a true pontiac motor....i hope so

yeah it sucks- our shop is 50X50- the day we moved in it seemed so giant- within the next months we will be moving to a 100X100- if anyone is planning on building a garage- always go bigger than you want- youll definatly grow into it

I have a 4 car garage and just put up 48x32 pole barn. Figured I would have more space than I would ever need..... I was dead wrong.

get a shed for storing any thing not car related.install alot of over head lites.

The thing I love the most about my garage is the recently upgraded lighting.

I went from having 4, 4 foot T-12 fixtures to 12, 4 foot T-8 fixtures and I enjoy being out there so much more now with the improved lighting. It really did make a world of difference.

Stuff I really like:

Painted garage floor with sand for traction
220 outlet for welder
Lots of lighting
Lots of work space

Wish Id thought of:

Plumbing it for air
More 220 and 110 outlets
Insulation
Permanent hook exposed for the come-along