[Steve91T]

Hey guys. We're planning on moving to Charlotte, NC soon. The houses in our price range have small garages (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

The one we are really interested in is a 2 car, 18ft wide, by about 21ft long. The gas water heater is the corner, and a built in gas heater is nearby, which is nice. The garage is finished, and has pretty high ceilings, looks like 10ft or so. There's two built in over head storage shelves that are made out of wood, and hanging from the ceilings.

So, if we get this house or not, it doesn't matter. All the garages are about the same size. So, how do you guys make the most out of a small space? If there is enough ceiling height, I'd love to build a loft, to give me room for some of my larger, bulkier things, like the compressor and tires and stuff like that.

This house is going to be a stepping stone for us. We'll be in it for roughly 2 years, then we'll move to a larger house, where hopefully I can build myself a huge detached garage.


Anyway, I just wanted to get some opinions/pictures.

Thanks guys!
Steve

[Steve91T]

Well, 5 weeks after we moved in, my garage looks like this. I've had other "move in" projects that take priority like painting walls, hanging pictures, and hanging curtains. Of course my wife is the one who made all of these things a priority, but now that she's happy, I can get to work. Of course I did have my own little project that I snuck in.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Steve91T/Camaro/2012-02-07_18-15-02_587.jpg)


So, here is a picture of my garage as it sits right now.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Steve91T/Camaro/2012-02-27_09-26-36_644.jpg)

My 20x20 excuse for a garage has zero storage (except for my two cabinets), one outlet, and one light bulb that's supposed to light the entire garage.

The water softener that was next to the water heater is gone. That freed up a lot of room. There is a metal post in front of the water heater to keep people from running into the water heater that needs to be removed. I can live with the water heater where it's at.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Steve91T/Camaro/2012-02-27_09-27-47_247.jpg)


I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what direction I wanted to go as far as storage and making the most of the small space. I was going to build a really long, but skinny work bench, but I really don't need that. I need shelves, peg board, and a small work bench.

Here's what I'm going to build along the back wall.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects...ge/Step-By-Step

I'm going to modify the design to allow for a larger folding work bench, and more peg board. Once that's built, I'm going to put in serious garage lighting, and add at least 5 more outlets. Finally, some overhead storage should finish things off. That'll give me a place to keep bulky things like wheels and tires.

My goal for today is to go to Lowes and get all the lumbar and brackets along with something to cut that metal pipe out of the floor. That's not going to be fun.


Hopefully this week I'll have the garage more or less finished, and I'll be able to get the Camaro back to the car and start working on getting it ready for CMC.

This post has been edited by Steve91T: Feb 27 2012, 03:53 PM

[Jeff94TA]

Finally, some overhead storage should finish things off. That'll give me a place to keep bulky things like wheels and tires.

I just picked up two folding tire lofts from Amazon and haven't hung them yet but they look nice and sturdy especially considering the price. Tire storage loft