Possible new garage

[Heiny57]

I have been looking for a bigger garage. I found a three car garage  attached to a house that we are negotiating over. It has a 10 x11 storage area I can use for tool boxes/countertops. Unfortunately I have to use one stall for the wife’s car but I can deal with that. I might be asking for some advice on organizing from you experts.

[slip knot]

Cool deal on the new place. Sorry I cant help much on the organization part. I'm still amazed how high I can pile crap up in my shop

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

Just build the wife a carport!   

[DeadNutz]

I would be glad to help you organize your workspace. The biggest problem is if you can see a wall or floor it must be filled. I just spent most of the day making room for the blast cabinet. I've got 1650 sq ft and I need more space.

[Heiny57]

Just build the wife a carport!   

LOL I want to keep all my stuff, not end up with half.   

[Heiny57]

I am missing the organization gene. 

[jabberwoki]

When I sorted mine out I had a few rough scale plans drawn out on paper .  Just start with the perimeter and start filling it out imagining that you are working and living in the plan. You`ll never get it right the first time as it evolves the more you think about it.
Don`t be in a rush get it right before you build it.

[Heiny57]

When I sorted mine out I had a few rough scale plans drawn out on paper .  Just start with the perimeter and start filling it out imagining that you are working and living in the plan. You`ll never get it right the first time as it evolves the more you think about it.
Don`t be in a rush get it right before you build it.

I’m getting some graft paper today 👍🏼

[oldnslo]

I'm drawing mine in Powerpoint, and can move boxes that represent things inside the virtual garage, and move the whole garage around in a simple "drag and drop" approach in the back yard.

Just use shapes.

[slip knot]

When I set up a kitchen I'll get blue tape and lay it out on the actual floor. I've caught a few mistakes that way. Looked good on paper but not in the real world.

[RustFarmer]

Maybe make a list of types of projects you will want to do in your garage, and projects you can live without.

For example:
You may want to air up tires, so where does the air compressor go.
You may decide you want to enjoy your time off and hire out the lawn care.  If so, there is no need to allocate space for a lawn mower.

I was changing the oil on a Mercury Grand Marquis for the first time yesterday.  Drove it on the ramps, started the oil change, and discovered that removing the filter requires turning the steering wheel right so the filter can come out.  Had to start over with a floor jack and jack stands.  If I was space limited, I would get rid of the ramps, and just keep a floor jack and jack stands.

I see a staircase to get into the house from the garage. Will this be your last house?  Moving sucks.  If I were building a new house it would be handicap accessible and set up for ageing in place.  Don't need that now, but might down the road.  Actually I could use those features now for my Mother.

[coolmercury]

RustFarmer hit a big nail on the head.  For all the old guys on this blog be careful of the house you buy when you are getting old.  I almost made the mistake of building a two level house about 15 years ago.  I had the plans drawn by a designer and then decided that this was probably the last house I would build.  Dumped those plans and built a single level house with big bathrooms, wide halls and the house low to the ground so if a ramp was built it would be easy to access.  Haven't reached to point of being a handicap yet, but will probably happen if I don't die first.

[Heiny57]

Good eye on steps guys, we had thought of that. The plan is generic for different foundations and we have a fairly flat lot so there should only be one step as it is a slab foundation. I will try and figure out power point. I need to place receptacles in the right places also.

[DeadNutz]

I did my best to plan the location of machines and cabinets before we ran electrical. My big concern was not having a GFI outlet where it would be blocked and trouble to reset. One regular outlet ended up behind my big pallet rack but not a problem. I wish we had run more wire and switches/outlets on the ceiling and a few extra boxes up there in case I ever want to change the lighting configuration or anything.

We did run 220v to the opposite wall of the shop with a big breaker box and glad we did it. It gives me a little more flexibility on things. I would have hated to have to run conduit on the wall to the 16' ceiling, 30' across the ceiling and back down the wall.

[stokester]

I did my best to plan the location of machines and cabinets before we ran electrical. My big concern was not having a GFI outlet where it would be blocked and trouble to reset. One regular outlet ended up behind my big pallet rack but not a problem. I wish we had run more wire and switches/outlets on the ceiling and a few extra boxes up there in case I ever want to change the lighting configuration or anything.

We did run 220v to the opposite wall of the shop with a big breaker box and glad we did it. It gives me a little more flexibility on things. I would have hated to have to run conduit on the wall to the 16' ceiling, 30' across the ceiling and back down the wall.

I found when I had my garage wired that you cannot have too many outlets.  In addition to the 110 outlets I had three 220 runs for a window AC, air compressor and a future stick welder.  The stick welder was replaced with a small MIG but the line was then used for a split system AC unit.