New Shop Design

[Grant Brown]

I'm converting my detached, uninsulated garage into a combination office/shop/gym.
I am thinking of using kitchen cabinets for storage. Does anyone know of garage planning tools or how to plan it out so that it makes the most sense?

I have some stuff stored in the trusses, does it make more sense to remove it and use batt insulation in the ceiling or use foam between the joists against the roof sheathing?

The garage is 24'x16' and has a 9x7 overhead door in one of the 16 foot ends. I will have a 9x9 corner partitioned off for the office area.

Grant

 

[whitney]

Re: New Shop Design

I insulated and organized my garage over the last few years. Here's what I'd recommend:

- Insulate the ceiling and leave the truss/roof unheated. Craft paper faced rolls are easy to put up and add wall covering (sheetrock) over.
- Add a good walk up ladder somewhere to gain access to the trusses for storage. See the steel Warner ladders, they are great.
- I'd put flooring up in the attic to make the storage more useable. Are your trusses 24" OC?
- For cabinets, I use cheap 16" deep wall cabinets from Lowes. Most kitchen stuff is 12" deep, and the 16" are a LOT more spacious. I think the 36x48x16" 2-door cabinets I used were only $75 or so each. I have 3 of them
- I also use the 16" white wire closet shelving. Again 16" rules.
- Best rule of thumb for a good shop -- if it doesn't have to stand on the floor, put it on the walls. In my garage if I can lift it and it fits, it goes on wall shelves or cabinets. No free standing shelving at all.

Mine is a 24x36' dedicated garage, heated with overhead IR electric heat and cooled with a 2-ton wallmount AC unit. It's clean, organized, and very functional but was done on a budget and certainly isn't a show garage Plenty of stains on the ground from motor swaps and welding FWIW I also sheathed the whole garage with white pegboard since I did not want to mess with mudding and painting drywall. I also scored a great deal on 2x2' acoustic ceiling tile which I put up with a unique direct-mount grid called Ceiling Link. Worked great.

I'll see if I can find some pics if you're interested.

 

[j_martin]

Re: New Shop Design

A word of wisdom. Most garage trusses are rated for snow load only, not for additional floor load. If you put in a ladder and put a bunch of weight up there, then get a heavy snow load, you get some damage. When the insurance company sees what you've done, they will not pay for the damage.

 

[aspeck]

Re: New Shop Design

A word of wisdom. Most garage trusses are rated for snow load only, not for additional floor load. If you put in a ladder and put a bunch of weight up there, then get a heavy snow load, you get some damage. When the insurance company sees what you've done, they will not pay for the damage.

I was going to mention to be careful how much storage you do overhead if it is not designed for that. At the very least you will need to add some support bracing (can all be done above the ceiling line, but you will need to get someone who knows what they are doing to tell you where to put them for maximum support).

Also, since you are "up north" you will want to get as much R value in your walls and ceiling as possible ... but do not heat above your ceiling joists ... that area needs to breath. It will help your roof last longer.

Insulate your walls well, especially your office area. You will also probably want a heat source to vent in the area of your garage door to make a blanket of warm air, keeping the colder air on the outside when the door is open. The more you can insulate the garage door the better ... maybe additional foam on the door ... because that door will sweat and freeze.

As for the cabinet space, you can use kitchen cabinets, or any type of cabinets you desire. However, for your heavy stuff, make sure those cabinets are sturdy enough to handle the load.

http://www.maxorganization.com/Homepage.aspx "Maxed Out" has some great ideas for design and adjustible hanging devices. Check them out, you might get some good ideas.

 

[Grant Brown]

Re: New Shop Design

Thanks guys. Those are great tips.
The pitch on the roof is 4/12. Even though we don't get much snow around here, there's not much room for stuff in the trusses anyway. I will insulate the ceiling and leave the attic cold.

I put an ad on Craigslist for cabinets and a local guy about 5 miles away called me with a bunch of steel cabinets from a medical office demo. He says they are decent shape, very sturdy and standard kitchen counter height/depth. He's got 15 or so. If I take them all I can have them for about $15 each!

Woo Hoo, the man cave is starting to look like a reality!

Now to find a deal on a BIG plasma TV and pool table...

Grant

 

[jeeperman]

Re: New Shop Design

$15 each would be a steal.
If you do not mount then on the wall you could maybe add casters so they can be moved around to suit.

 

[Grant Brown]

Re: New Shop Design

Got the cabinets. They are all standard kitchen cabinet height and depth, either 4 feet wide with 2 doors or 2 feet wide with a drawer and a door. Not sure how many total but in a row it's about 40 feet long. I offered him $195 and he bit.
He also saved all the counter tops. They are super heavy and look to me made with some crazy epoxy or something. They came from a medical lab so it's probably some high tech totally non porous stuff. I am going back on Saturday to get that.
I'm going to use what I need, offer some to any friends that want them then sell the rest and see if I can earn my $195 back.

Grant

 

[dwco5051]

Re: New Shop Design

He also saved all the counter tops. They are super heavy and look to me made with some crazy epoxy or something. They came from a medical lab so it's probably some high tech totally non porous stuff. I am going back on Saturday to get that.

Grant

Try to find out exactly what material the tops were constructed from. Many of the old lab counter tops made before the 1980's contain asbestos. Not a problem for work tables but if they are sawn or sanded they could release asbestos fibers into the air. If they don't need to be cut either way you got a great deal. I am looking for the same type of a deal for my new shop I will be constructing next year. My neighbor stopped by a nearby school where he saw a bunch of cabinets in the parking lot and got the contents of two science rooms for free for his shop two months ago. Maybe next year they will be doing two more rooms when it is my turn