Upfitting my garage into a workshop. WIP, and eventual showoff... I hope

[Loess]

Upfitting my garage into a workshop. WIP

Well, it's been a very busy summer and fall, which kept me from doing much on the board. But, now that things like getting married, and helping my dad with a bunch of art shows are finished, I've been able to get to work on other projects. (Big Sister, HD Mk 5!)

The biggest project though, and the one that should greatly help all the other things I want to get done, is finally improving my garage into a proper shop.

This is what I started with; an unusually long single car garage, with a sorta-ok workbench at the back end, insufficient wiring, and jammed full of the stuff that collects in the garage. (In these photos, I'd already cleared a bunch of stuff out, to prep for starting work on it.)


The first thing was to measure for insulation and sheathing, so that I can heat this place in the winter, and to get a new walk-through door to replace one of the old ones that were there. After I knew how much of what to get, my dad and I picked up the stuff.

30-some sheets of OSB, 5 rolls of fiberglass batting, some 2x4's, one door, one window, and assorted hardware later, I had nearly all that I'd need.


Now, all the pics I've put up are from back in May, I'd made my plans, thought them through, double and triple-checked them, and knew what to do... Then I got way too busy with everything else to do anything with this until mid November.:rolleyes

The weekend before Thanksgiving was really nice here, so my dad and I finally got a chance to work on this. The old door came out, and a new door went in, I spent weeknights after work putting up insulation in the walls, I cleaned the place up even more, and we got it ready to put up the ceiling.



The first panels up!


We spent much of the next couple weekends putting up the ceiling, since there was only the two of us to lift and secure all these sheets, and we also got to deal with some re-framing, and structure which needed to be added for the OSB to nail to.


Going up and over the garage door was tons of fun.... lots of time measuring and cutting to get everything to fit correctly.


And, that's where I hit the cutoff point for number of img links in one post!

Come back tomorrow for more about what I did over my Christmas vacation! (Lots more OSB, and insulation...)

 

[Jester1014]

Gonna make your self a workshop, Nice.
It'll be your own personal Armory and Lock-up for your gear. So wishing I still had my house right now rather than living with my M.I.L.

Good luck mate.

 

[nate98]

wow your lucky your going to make yourself a workshop. All I have to work on in my garage is half a desk

 

[ventrue]

Sweet! I'm almost getting jealous!

Are you going to mould it when you're done? ;-)
http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a412/ventrue3000/Sarcasm.jpg

 

[Roadkiller]

Looking good!

How did you scale it? Will you release the patterns?

 

[Loess]

wow your lucky your going to make yourself a workshop. All I have to work on in my garage is half a desk

Ooh, I know how you feel, that's about what the garage was like before I started. I had to mix my resin using an upturned bucket for a table.

Looking good!

How did you scale it? Will you release the patterns?

I had to scale it the old fashioned way, with just a tape measure and sketch pad, I can scan the plans that I drew, if you want. The ones for the shop itself probably won't help, but if anyone want's the ones for the bench, I can put them up.

Woot! As of two weeks ago, the ceiling is finished.


The weekend before Christmas, we removed the second walk-through door, and replaced it with a window. I really didn't need the second door, since I only used it for ventilation.


First piece of the wall up! Then, the door and the rest of the wall.

 

[Loess]

Sorry, double post, since I hit the IMG cap again. (I'm just about through my backlog of pictures, shouldn't happen again.)


Breaking down the old bench, to make way for the back wall, and the back corner of the side wall.


Finally time for electrical! Lights, new breaker panel, and outlets, all run in conduit, and sized to actually handle the load of a small shop.



The heater that I had gotten, I had to take that back, since it wasn't wired for US power. >.<
Apparently, you can't expect a store in the US to sell an electric heater that's designed to be wired into an American electrical system.


The most important tool in the shop.


Aziz! Light!

 

[Liamthedevastator]

"Aziz! Light!"

Priceless, I'm always quoting the Fifth Element and sadly most people don't know what I'm talking about

Sweet space, putting in any ventilation (forced or passive)?

 

[Loess]

"Aziz! Light!"

Priceless, I'm always quoting the Fifth Element and sadly most people don't know what I'm talking about

Sweet space, putting in any ventilation (forced or passive)?

My wife and I love that quote, we use that quite often when one of us wants the other to turn on a light.

The ventilation will be thru the window and the doors, mostly. I have a box fan to set in the window if I need more flow. Fairly soon, I plan on getting an ambient air cleaner to help clear dust while I'm sanding or glassing. There's also the chance of putting in a through-wall exhaust fan for a fume hood or paint booth.

Edit*
Got the photos from last weekend uploaded.

The project last weekend was a particularly fun one. I got to build my Bench!

This isn't terribly unusual, just 2x4's and particleboard, but the top is thicker than I've normally seen.

The materials that I started with, particle board, and 2-bys.


I started with two frames to support the top and shelf, made from normal 2x4's on 16" centers, and 3" deck screws. (sorry Joe, all my measurements will be in Imperial, since it's what our materials come in)


This little guy came in really handy for putting up the lights, and assembling the bench. A 12 volt impact driver that my parents got me for Christmas.


The frame for the top was supported against the back wall, leveled along its length, and screwed to the studs behind it. After the top frame was fixed to the wall, we leveled it front-to-back, and screwed the legs to it. Then, we did the same for the shelf frame underneath.


Once the frame was completed, we started laying up the top. It's 4 layers of 5/8" particleboard underlayment. The bottom 3 layers were glued and screwed together, and screwed down to the frame, and the top layer was only screwed down, so that if the benchtop eventually gets scored up, or otherwise damaged, I can replace just the top layer.


The final stats are: 12 feet long, by 2 feet wide, just over 2.5 inches thick, weighs a ton, and doesn't move or bounce at all when I wind up and hit something on it with a mallet.

The other fun thing I got this weekend was my drill press:

Which I got to put together on monday night, and last night.

It's an import, but the bearings and motor are good, and the castings are all decent quality.:cool

 

[0235]

when someone buys a pillar drill, tehn you know that they mean business.

this is looking good, i like the way that you have made it a project in itself, though as you know, make sure its ventilated.

 

[Loess]

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I haven't been ignoring the shop, though. One reason for sporadic updates is spending lots of the minuscule free time I have finishing it up.

Such as:


A few weeks ago, my dad and I went and picked up the plywood and other materials for the cabinets to go into the shop. A bunch of 1/2" underlayment plywood, some 1/4" luan ply, hinges, shelf support tracks, door pulls, and drawer hardware.


Cut into the pieces we needed to make 2 double cabinets, and a set of drawers.


One of the cabinets, these are 6 feet tall, and each side is 33 inches wide- LOTS of space!


One of two drawer sets, we had to make these to raise the cabinet up off the uneven floor, and above the concrete sill that protrudes in from the wall the whole way around the shop.


Homebrew levelers, from T-nuts and carriage bolts, since the floor wasn't anywhere close to flat, or level.


Joining the two drawer cases together, we couldn't make them in one unit since together they're 11 feet long, and we did all the cabinet work at my dad's shop, since it's set up for this kind of work.


Drawer case in place and level, and the first cabinet in place, plumbed up, and fastened to the wall. Yes the wall is 1" out of plumb over 7 feet. (It was loads of fun to sheathe the walls.)


We could only fit the drawers, and one cabinet in the truck to bring them up, so we had to make one more trip to get the other cabinet, it almost escaped from the pickup bed on the way up to my shop... but we got it here safe.


The drawers work!

I still need to mount the doors, and get some photos of the shelves in place, but I WILL do that this weekend. Really.

 

[royalpain88]

We as in my family for our mobile home uses a portable kerosene heater. It does a real nice job of keeping the place warm. There is very little soot and I do mean VERY little and it even doubles as our hot pot water heater. We've been using one for the past thirteen years.

 

[Brandon McClain]

Yupp. I'm officially jealous. Lucky sucker.

 

[Mensrea Prod]

Good looking shop you got going there so far. My shop is a table with a over head light under a big tree in the back yard. But! I live in Fl, so the wx is good most days

 

[ventrue]

Homebrew levelers, from T-nuts and carriage bolts, since the floor wasn't anywhere close to flat, or level.

What part of this is homebrew? IKEA does it exactly the same way ;-)

 

[Loess]

We as in my family for our mobile home uses a portable kerosene heater. It does a real nice job of keeping the place warm. There is very little soot and I do mean VERY little and it even doubles as our hot pot water heater. We've been using one for the past thirteen years.

I went for a small propane heater, since it was easier than kerosene, at least until I can get the electrical set up to handle a heater.

What part of this is homebrew? IKEA does it exactly the same way ;-)

Well, homebrew, since I bought the tee-nuts and bolts separately, and put them together myself.

They're not exactly a new design, but they did the job really well.

Good looking shop you got going there so far. My shop is a table with a over head light under a big tree in the back yard. But! I live in Fl, so the wx is good most days

I remember having to work like that, it's nice to have a good shop, though. We haven't gotten much good weather in Iowa in a while.

Yupp. I'm officially jealous. Lucky sucker.

 

[sonic sod]

are you going to have some kind of extraction fan in there??

 

[Unity]

Every prop maker needs a good workshop. Awsome shop man!

Jacob

 

[juliet76]

DUDE! You are going OFF!

The new shop is looking awesome buddy. Lol at the comment about the draws working, I remember thinking- "Every draw I make is going to work perfect!" -my first one was a shocker! Since then I've realised how wise an investment 90 degree angle clamps are.

I'll have to update my workshop thread at some point, got a metal lathe and mill now.

 

[Loess]

are you going to have some kind of extraction fan in there??

A box fan in the window, for now. If I need to, I may put in a fume hood and through-wall vent fan.

Every prop maker needs a good workshop. Awsome shop man!

Jacob

Thanks!

DUDE! You are going OFF!

The new shop is looking awesome buddy. Lol at the comment about the draws working, I remember thinking- "Every draw I make is going to work perfect!" -my first one was a shocker! Since then I've realised how wise an investment 90 degree angle clamps are.

I'll have to update my workshop thread at some point, got a metal lathe and mill now.

Joe! Good to hear from you
I was lucky, and had my dad to help with these. He knows most of the tricks already, so I don't have to find them the hard way.

Yes, you will need to update your shop thread.

Metal lathe and mill?
Now I'm jealous.