What's Your Ideal Workshop?

[kate205gti 4]

just having a discussion after being sent this http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/27581684/list/7-Day-Plan-Get-a-Spotless--Beautifully-Organized-Garage (!)

 

I'm soon (hopefully) buying a house with a double-garage, so first job is to make the garage into a proper workshop

 

I've always kept everything in toolboxes on the floor and roller drawer tool cabinets, but who lays tools out/puts them on the wall?

 

http://www.visordown.com/uploads/images/Large/22875.jpg

 

also - white paint on the walls/floor or no?

 

 

[welshpug 1,657]

definite yes to paint, grey or red oxide colour on the floor, white walls, strip lights low on the wall as well as above.

 

tool wise I'd prefer a large box and a trolley to place the stuff I'm using at the time.

 

two post lift of course! !

[nveeate 78]

I painted my walls white, have striplights and used grey garage floor paint (though this lifts over time). I fitted old kitchen base and wall units across the back wall, which are really handy. unfortunately only big enough for one car, and the 205 is down the pecking order!

[Stu 18]

Same here, grey painted floor, white walls and strip lights mounted on the face of the wall (high up mind) rather than on the ceiling.

 

Workbench at the back end with a roll cab and tool box as a unit

 

Compressor is under the bench too, my welder is mounted on a frame with small castors so that can slide under the bench too, surprising how much room you can create by making things mobile!!

[nick205 12 5 Cars]

Painting the floor makes a big difference, light grey is my preferred. Do it while you have the opportunity of an empty garage, it's a ball-ache to do afterwards.

 

White walls and good lighting really help too.

 

Decent racking for storage helps keep stuff tidy and if you can make use of eaves storage space even better.

 

I made a trolley for my MIG welder, which was really badly planned so it then wouldn't roll under the workbench. Quickly rectified by chopping and re-welding it.

 

A good stereo is also a must for me, with speakers on the wall out of the way. Line in socket means the iPad can be used for Spotify etc.

[DamirGTI 342]

Apart from having as much tools as possible as well as space , i found that actual living in the workshop/garage makes the entire "package" complete down to the core extremely effective environment for car enthusiast !

 

(yes i do live in my workshop/garage ... )

 

D

[GilesW 41]

Went on a visit to Swindon Race Engines once.

Got a great tour.

Even the dirtiest parts of their place was probably cleaner than a restaurant kitchen.

[Biggles 65]

Painted floor - mine's red but grey is probably better.

My walls are dry lined with pale hardboard (was like that when bought it) - it's only single brick so it's good for insulation

Strip lights on walls & ceiling

Compressor in loft space

Very sturdy bench down 1 side, 6" vice, bench grinder, drill press

Lots of racking & cupboards for storage

Peg board for spanners & sockets

Lots of double sockets for power

MP3 player & speakers

 

Still not big enough though (or do I just have too much stuff in it...)

 

A two post hoist would be nice too.

And a lathe, milling machine, ...

And fully air conditioned - well you did say "ideal" ...

Edited June 9, 2014 by Biggles

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

My single garage has

 

Grey painted floor.

White walls

6 strip lights.

Tool chests and some drawers I made up.

None of my tools are visible.

My old kitchen units reduced in depth with the old kitchen worktop cut down to match.

Another folding work bench.

Router table folded on the wall

Workmate on the wall.

Bike rack onm the wall

The ceiling has been well used including above the up and over door.

All this is compactness allows the 205 to go in.......except it doesn't as my bikes are in there!!

 

006 by simes205, on Flickr

 

IMG_4242 by simes205, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

My ideal would be all of the above but double - with a 4 poster!

lathe, metal and wood and a milling machine.

[dale205mills 39 7 Cars]

This is how mine was, it has changed a lot now with new things coming in and I built another garage so big stuff went in there.

Edited June 9, 2014 by dale205mills

[m@ttc 30]

Wow that's cool it's like 205gtidrivers cribs.

[nveeate 78]

This is mine. Now a bit more full of 205crap...

[2-Pugs 57]

I carpet tiled my garage floor. i got a job lot of tiles from B+Q from at something like 10p each so it cost just a few quid to do. I had painted concrete before, but the tiles make a huge difference. More comfortable to kneel on and retain a bit of heat so its a lot more comfortable all in all. Over time thery get dirty and oily of course but its easy to replace them. I highly recommend it.

 

The other thing I did last year was fitted an electric roller shutter door, when the crappy up-and-over door caught the bonnet of my prized and immaculate car and scratched it, that was the end of my tether! But, the roller shutter door is great. It seals up really well so theres no more leaves blowing in or draughts. I can go in there in winter time and close it behind me and after a while with the heater on, its lovely and toasty and you forget that its cold, dark and rainy outside!

 

Besides that I have walls painted in a sort of magnolia colour (I didn't want white as I find it too stark), lots and lots of strip lights (you can't have enough), spanners hung e wall, roller cabinet for most other tools, metal cabinet with spare parts all arranged inside, bench made from an old piece of worktop with fence posts as legs, and the old kitchen cabinets on the walls.I also have three ex-main dealer large illuminated Peugeot signs on the walls, a massive peugeot flag hanging from the rafters, a peugeot main dealer door mat, all with the right 'era' of Peugeot lion on them for the 205. Lastly of note, a CJ autos mini-tilting lift which while it is no 2-poster, is a massive improvement on a pair of axle stands!

 

I have also installed our old surround sound DVD player, with the speakers in all four corners of the garage, along with a small telly on the back wall. It's great! I have had some great times in there working on the 205 with such classics as Pulp Fiction or Ace Ventura: Pet Detective on in the backround

[dcc 855]

I am waiting for Kate to come back saying 'I need to borrow somebodies garage because I killed momo'...

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

This is mine, picture from when I moved in and was painting the floor, 8-ish years ago.

Looking the other way incl beer fridge

Fast forward a few years and a few cars built in there and it's a lot fuller with stuff/machines/crap.

 

Tools live in here

Lathe

 

Mill

 

[kate205gti 4]

some great ideas here - love the pics

 

momos not "dead" he's just mothballed in a barn in Hertfordshire while I now live in Milton Keynes! hence buying a house with a double garage

 

one day he'll get back on the road - just needs some seats, an MOT and some love!

[dale205mills 39 7 Cars]

This is the garage I built for the 205 to get it out of my workshop.

[m@ttc 30]

Love those polycarbonate diffuser light fittings, I've herd stories of tubes dropping down and ending up stuck in some mad places in thru the neck.

[harryskid 193]

I was here with this set up tiil woke i up at my old bench!

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=914945

Edited June 11, 2014 by harryskid

[cti_jim 4 2 Cars]

My workshop is the front garden and my shed is my van. My dad has a garage and pit but im rarely aloud to use this as it houses his skoda lol :-(

 

my ideal workshop would be my dads garage with all of his crap removed and my 205 placed inside :-D

Edited June 13, 2014 by cti_jim

[PAGOS 15 4 Cars]

I would fit L.E.D. strip lighting on the walls , the ceiling , at floor level and above the benches . A level and smooth sealed floor . A good tip for working out spacing , width and heights is to use standard size empty plastic beer crates . They are designed to fit on a pallet ,also good for using to design floor spacing .

[iPlod999 143 1 Cars]

[u47sb2 27 2 Cars]

Some good ideas here. I'm hoping to be moving into my new place in a couple of months. It's got a single garage only, but it's a long garage with space at the back and a potting shed on the side.

 

Already planning for the potting shed to be a tyre store, and going paint shopping tomorrow!

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Spent all weekend tidying up the double garage and still can't fit a car in there! Damn this thread for giving me the enthusiasm.

 

 

Proper depressing

[PAGOS 15 4 Cars]

Dave , buy a FULL crate of beer . . My problem with space , is that I hate throwing stuff out .I have an empty 5 gallon oil drum full of imperial nuts , bolts and threaded bar and all the imperial spanners and sockets in another cabinet . Anybody out there with a set of Whiworth ? 1/4 Whit = battery terminal nut .