Hey guys. I'm no longer in a large shop and have moved into a much smaller industrial unit with a work area of 16' long by 8' wide. I'm super grateful to have this work space but am having a tough time fitting 10lbs of crap into a 5lb bag. There's a mezzanine that has a low ceiling height so I can't work while standing and I don't have a way to lift super heavy stuff up there but it will be storage for tools and items I don't often use. I'm sharing the space with my wife who is a seamstress so her machines take up a good chunk of real estate as well. I also don't want to get grease, sparks or other unsavory car stuff on her fabrics or machines. I also have a lift and I'll be keeping 3 cars inside so any grinding or welding will just require me to move 1 or more out. Not a big deal but will eat up a lot more time pulling them in and out. The main tools list is a lathe, milling machine, welding cart, horizontal band saw, drill press, bench grinders on a stand, a rolling work bench and a 60 gallon air compressor (not pictured). There's tons of shelving and a couple of cabinets for spray cleaners, solvents and other cabinet-ish stuff. Attached are some pics of my current layout. If you have ideas, please throw them out there! NAES
Do you have enough ultimate height to split the floor and mezzaine evenly so that you can set your Mrs up on the mezzaine and you still have enough head space underneath for you to work in? You could then build out the mezzaine into something sealed off and nice for her whilst working downstairs.
8' x 16' ? with mezzanine storage. Reading your list of equipment, cars, lift, tools, sounds impossible, 25 # in a 2 # bag. Good Luck !
Wow, other than "a place for everything and everything in its place" you should be looking for alternative storage options. I have a small garage as well which is long and narrow, fitting two Model A coupes but I have one half used as a single work bay and all other large pieces of equipment are stored in out buildings in close proximity. Even my compressor is outside the garage in an enclosure. I sold my lathe and don't have anything large that is not portable in the garage. I move things around on wheels or carts as needed. My 12' ceilings afforded a lot of upper cabinet storage but I need a 4 step ladder to reach the top shelves.
If she cant use the mezzaine, can you build her a space of her own in an extension to the house or one of those relocatable cabins? Otherwise I can see how you can keep her area clean once a grinder or sander comes out
NAES ..... I have no clue.... have a 2 car garage and it is always seems full no matter how times I rearrange it Which of the 3 cars are you most attached too ?? Ricky.
It took my wife like 35 years to get a parking space in the garage but she'd still give it up if I needed the space. Wouldn't be happy, but she'd give it up. We've got a 3 car so I've still got 2.
Just for my clarity, the actual unt is larger than 8x16, right? I/e after you put everything in, you have an 8x16 area left as a work space? Are you looking for organizing tips?
Downsizing sucks sometimes... BUT once you get used to it, the steps and flow can be greatly rewarding having less room. First off, You have all your major equipment separated, You may find that putting them all in the same general spot will help the flow since its probably just yourself running those machines correct? That blue storage rack is killing space, looks to be just too large for what you need. Suggestion is to ditch the craftsman box, get a US general, Snap on, something with just drawers below with a worktop, use that worktop and maybe build a bench next to it for extension space, under the bench you can put tubs in with parts etc or whatever... For long iron storage etc, a rack on the wall somewhere may be good also, I built a small rack on my wall in my 2 car garage for short steel, worked wonders for freeing up space. Anything you don't use every week, put in the Mezzanine but label it if its inside a box. Drill press you may look at getting an older one that mounts onto a column, those help free up floor space etc vs the one you have. Honestly your treating under the Mezzanine things like two squares, treat it like one huge rectangle with walking area in the middle. A horseshoe workstation is much more usable than two squares any day of the week. The column being in the middle can be used to your advantage with storage or the drill press idea etc. A portable building behind may be in order for the stuff you don't want dirty or dusty. Hope this helps...
I would suggest full use of the blank walls. Get the drill press off the stand and floor and mount on a bench. Peg board can be put to good use. Check out those small plastic storage boxes with clear tops and movable compartments. You may have use for something like that and they can be labeled and stacked. I put casters on everything I can; love those ones PowerTec makes with quick release plates. A set of four wheels can be moved from one bench or tool to another then toss the casters in the tool box until next time you need to move something. Fire extinguisher. Safety glasses at all work stations. Don't let junk like cords and hoses lay on the floor. Maybe a hose reel and another reel for extension cord. The older one gets the more important a clean, safe floor becomes. Spend some time looking at other's shops on the net. I often find myself looking beyond the subject matter posted on this site and focusing on how the person's shop/garage is organized. I get a lot of ideas from that. Some people are quite creative and skilled at DIY so I look at their stuff. Good luck, have fun.
1) get rid of spares and items that are not directly related to current project 2) good shelving and storage 3) build an enclosure and tank drain for your compressor to keep noise down and make servicing easy. Run air lines down the wall for easy hook up. Good time to build in a water trap. 4) consider a small hoist or chain fall to get items into the loft. 5) folding attic stairs and good lighting could make the mezzanine a work area for seamstress, keeps that material clean. 6) put as much on wheels as possible. I'm converting my stuff to drop down casters slowly, let's it sit on its original base and the casters lift up enough to move it
I was considering the arrangement Indy posted but then I began to think they would present another hazard my old feet could trip over. Then I saw the quick release plates; you can remove the casters and the mount stays mounted flush to the legs. Kind of spendy though. But then again if you don't mind sending money to the CCP you can probably get them cheap at the cheap tool dealer. I paid around $55 I believe for the caster set and $20 each for the plates. Mine came from Home Depot, Powertec brand, Taiwan made. I also installed a ball valve to the drain port on the compressor and can kick it open and closed with my foot. Lazy, huh?
I do keep some flat skids with casters for moving / rearranging the shop for different projects. Agree, I don't like how the casters hang out. I'll have to check out the plate / caster set up. Things like grinder stands, I'm putting 2 wheels on the base and can tilt it and roll it like a bottle cart. I have ball valve on both compressors. Shop compressor has a tube routed out the wall. Home compressor, I use a 32 oz cup with a rag shoved in it. I'm trying not to Lock Down the floor layout, reconfigure as necessary, or move the tool or work bench to the area I'm working. Doesn't apply to mills and lathes, but other smaller things.
Yeah I figured I was pretty much stuck. I should clarify that the entire shop is 800sq ft but the usable "fabrication" area ia 8x16 with room to wrench on my cars where the lift is placed. Once I have the majority of the rest setup this week I'll know for sure what I have to work with. We toyed with the idea of making the upstairs mezzanine the sewing area but it gets pretty hot up there and those machines are definitely not light! Hell, we are still using ladders to get up there until I build or buy some stairs! Lol Thanks again everyone! NAES
Yup, wheels, the greatest invention. Almost everything is on wheels in my garage. Takes a little more time to do anything, but hell I’m retired
I don't see a workbench anywhere or a cherry picker or floor jacks. My suggestions are to find some used pallet racking for a reasonable price. Tall ones can be cut off if the price is right. This allows you to use the higher shelves to store the things you accumulate..... A lower shelf can be filled with 2x6s and used as a workbench and a little welding will allow you to mount a vise on it. Second I would buy a used I beam and run it across as an overhead crane. You lose no floor space other than at the walls where you have the support posts. You can use your lathe to make short pipe lengths that slide up and down on the poles and can support brackets for tools like bead rollers and engine stands. Again, it saves space rather than taking space. Lastly.......if the building is on your own property, I'd build a lean-to and then later add walls to it. Lots of space fairly cheaply. Once walled in, its a good place for things like lathes and mills and tools that are on wheels. Don't put anything thats top heavy on wheels. Small simple cranes properly placed and constructed replace cherry pickers pretty well Pallet Rack workbench with vise. Add other cabinets if you can find some on facebook. Engine stand will swivel sideways if the cabinet on the left wasn't in the way. Multiple sleeves can be put on round poles for holding other tools with a common mounting adapter of your design. Up higher, shop fans can be mounted that can swivel to point where you need them. Again saving floor space. To me, the best way to save space is to make use of all the space that is up higher and get rid of the stuff taking up floor space. Then take the stuff that has to sit on the floor and try to make it serve more than one purpose. Just do it safely..........
Hello, When we moved to our last house on the Westside of Long Beach, it was a small house with two small bedrooms, one bath, a living room, kitchen and tiny 40s style dining room. It was approximately 900 sq feet. The whole neighborhood was built in the late 40s and had similar small rooms and overall, one or two car garages. But, the one good thing was the property was huge. We had a two car detached garage with a yard in between the house and pull up door. A wide concrete pad plus a nice grass play area. On the side and back was more yard and had a separate recreation structure called a Rumpus Room. Every third house was like this style without the rear building structure, but then a super large yard. Today, it would be considered a big shop as per community standards in a tract, after we converted the free standing structure into a garage big enough for a single car plus work areas. Our neighbor worked for a business down the street. The company made all sorts of clothing, jackets, pants, shirts, and other lines of clothing, like heavy coats, etc. It was a small company and their little box of a factory building was only a few blocks away in a different zone for R-2 and small industrial businesses. Since they did a lot of work, the small building was not able to house all of the employees. The window next to the front windshield on the Yellow house, is the one from the industrial sewing machine workplace at our neighbor's similar small house. The next door neighbor had a small bedroom (approximately 8 x 8) converted to a workplace with a couch, comfortable chair and an industrial sewing machine, as well as her own sewing machine. All day, during the week, when we were home, we could hear the daily sewing action of making jackets, shirts and other different clothes for her at home business location. Jnaki We found out later that after we converted the backyard garage to a hot rod enclave, then a surfboard shop, and finally a small motorcycle work area/storage, we realized that we could work in any size space if the effort and desire takes us. It is not the size that matter, but the desire. But, our history has always been a small two car garage work area. So, when we were able to get a three car garage attached to a huge house, it was pretty awesome to have so much space. The separate single area was designated by a long counter and countless drawers. In front were tall cabinets and more storage. The whole garage was wired for cat 5 circuitry and fully armed with a fire suppressant system. So, it was ready for a hot rod project and we almost started another one. We could not help it, since the ocean adventures called to us as an activity that we both could enjoy participating together. Now, we had space that was endless and our future brought bigger ideas/different looks at what we wanted to do with our lives. The hot rod projects took a break and the ocean sailing took over for the next 6 years. In the end, we went back to a much smaller house with a two car garage, still able to work on cars, but at least it was easier to keep clean and tidy. Where there is a will, there is a way... YRMV
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