Garage | Organization | Workshop

9 Tips to Transform Your Garage into The Ultimate DIY Workshop

Create a DIY Garage Workshop If you’re blessed with a spacious garage, it is only natural you would use it to store equipment and tools. However, the interior is often not geared up and suitable for actual projects. We have looked inside the workshops of seasoned DIY individuals to bring you the tips on how to transform your garage into the ultimate  DIY workshop.

Clean It Up

Begin with throwing away the furniture and household junk just lying there without any repairing

potential. For the actual luggage, bikes and similar family paraphernalia, draw out an imaginary (or chalk) line to separate the workshop from home members’ items. Create

“stations” or categories for where you would like to store and group things.

Concerning workshop furnishing, a modest workbench could do the work for small-scale projects. Alternatively, rent some outside-the-house storage for more challenging works. Or create a temporary larger work station by using 2 sawhorses and a piece of plywood. Maintain a clear surface at the working table as this gives you the flexibility to move things around.

table saw Workbench
Mobile and Compact Table Saw Workbench with Wood Storage

Workbench design

The workbench you opt for must have a sturdy construction and design to endure the hits and vibrations it will be submitted to. It should have solid supporting columns and base with waver-proof quality. The top needs to be highly resistant to dents and grime. Bear in mind that the bench should be composed out of materials complementary to the nature of your activities.

Pro tip: Folding benches are great space savers.

Storage for your tools and materials

The priority investment for all garage-space workshops are the right tools. Safeguard your valuable assets in a prime tool boxes and chests that provide a decent organization and a locking feature. Smooth and movable cabinets with a ball-bearing extensions are advised, just steer clear of rusty second-hand pieces that could damage your tools. Add anti-slide mats to cushion your instruments. Pegboard is great for wall space organization, and it enables fast access for common tools storing. For major projects and material stacks, compact shelving and pallet racking is just the thing you need to keep everything in order and at hand.

Outlets and electricity safety

Put a stop to dragging extension cables from one side to another anytime you need it. Sufficient number of electricity sockets is a prerequisite for any serious workshop, as you will need it for plugging in and charging various devices. Give room to all of your machines, from drill press to band saw. Get assistance from a licenced electrician in these matters as you may need to update or upgrade your electrical box or outlet to accommodate the most demanding of tools. Another option is to consider a retractable extension cord that is mounted to the ceiling.


Great Lighting

Garage is frequently a poorly lit room, so you need to introduce some task light fixtures at strategic spots. Track bulbs are fairly easy to put up and provide vital directed overhead lighting. As these are notorious shadow-makers as well, pair it with accessory light sources in form of a clip-on or standalone lamps. To light up the whole room for cheap, employ radiant and simple fluorescent fixtures.

Cooling and heating issues

The insulation home works usually pass over garage and its doors. This translates into scorching summers and pinching cold winter atmosphere. Some unobtrusive heaters should find their way into garage interior. Also, portable air conditioning units are a flexible installation-free solution to prevent the obstructive effect of hot and cold. Propane heaters are a neat answer to the duct-ridden spaces.

Suitable flooring

The concrete floors are a work-proof surface, only they will get stain marks and trap abundance of dirt and dust particles. Epoxy finish floorings could facilitate a better grip and painless maintenance. Master workers who spend all day on their feet would benefit from a softer floor setting. For this purpose, check out the rubber mats or floor tiles that provide joint relief for industrious DIY people.

Tool list

Now that we have where to put it, let’s see what makes the appearance in the necessary instruments and devices lot, apart from regular hand and power apertures. Here are the suggestions for tool collection build-up:tools in my workshop

  • Table saw
  • Drill press
  • Band saw
  • Belt sender
  • Compound miter saw
  • Grinder
  • Anvil/Vise combo
garage workshop
Learn how to build this miter saw worktable

The preferences may differ with people, but the majority of these are not some fancy additions but devices workers exploit every day. For specific applications, rent a tool or borrow it from the local DIY community.

Air quality and ventilation matters

Pretty much all of the tasks demand an adequate room ventilation, and guess what, garages are not equipped with that either. Windows usually don’t do the trick. Adding ceiling exhaust system is an absolute minimum. Upgrade it to dust removal apparatus, air vents and central vacuum if you’re devising a highly-operational working site. Efficiently protect your clothes and health with a mixture of these three.

Creating a proper DIY workshop out of garage space at your disposal can be a lot of fun. Take care of these aspects to make it effective and safe too.

 

Article written by Lillian Connors. If one thing is true about Lillian Connors, her mind is utterly curious. That’s why she can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of home improvement projects and spread the word about them. As the Co-Editor at SmoothDecorator, she cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit and what we eat, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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2 Comments

  1. Really nice post. Actually, I wanna know to know about different between portable bench and folding benches?

    1. Thank you Richard. Well both foldable and portable benches are excellent for small workshops. But with a foldable bench its something you can fold away and stow away. It can be attached to the wall. But when your done with it , its moved out of the way. A portable bench like the benches I have in my shop. Its on wheels and I can push it where I need it to be. But because it doesn’t fold it does take up floor space. So your floor space is a good way to judge which best fits your needs.

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