Work Bench for a 1 Car Garage - Suggestions, Ideas, Critiques

[454cid]

If ease of configuration/flexibility is a high priority - and it seems like it should be in such a tight space - it's difficult to beat the wire closet shelf type hardware. The trick is to only use the hanging rails and shelf brackets but with solid shelves. That way stuff doesn't constantly disappear into one of the many unidentified lower levels.

Stuff falling through, or falling over, on my restaurant wire shelving can be a con. On the other hand the wire can let light through, so a large shelf isn't necesarily dark. They'll also take quite a bit of weight. I mean cases of macaroni and cheese, and biscuits aren't light.... that's what was stored on mine previously per the labels I removed

I would like a few of my shelves to be solid. Maybe at some point, I'll cut a few pieces of 3/8ths plywood for where I want to put smaller items.

 

[termite]

3/8ths plywood

5mm Underlayment. Thinner. Cheaper (maybe, haven't bought any recent enough to recall). Definitely lighter and should serve the purpose of bridging the slots while not taking up much space or adding weight. Also easy to cut with a razor knife if necessary.

 

[jd33173]

Stuff falling through, or falling over, on my restaurant wire shelving can be a con. On the other hand the wire can let light through, so a large shelf isn't necesarily dark. They'll also take quite a bit of weight. I mean cases of macaroni and cheese, and biscuits aren't light.... that's what was stored on mine previously per the labels I removed

I would like a few of my shelves to be solid. Maybe at some point, I'll cut a few pieces of 3/8ths plywood for where I want to put smaller items.

I have metro shelf type wire shelving also and have put in the clear liners on them to stop stuff from falling through

 

[fancyTBI]

This is my primary shop facility, it's a single service bay operation:

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's a close up of my machine pit and dedicated welding area / engine clean room / service bay / paint booth with wall mount storage I got off amazon:

You must be registered for see images attach

Over here I have a pretty hot setup. The centerpiece is the variable position composite workbench with oil-absorbing replaceable top:

You must be registered for see images attach

I think your shelves look pretty good, my wall storage is pretty similar. I'd delete that vertical stringer board between the two workbenches to allow long things to be placed on the bench easier.

You've got a lot crammed into a single bay. Impressive to say the least. If I didn't have to park my truck inside, it wouldn't be such an issue. Looks like you're making the most of that space. Respect. Thank you for the input on the stringer.

For someone with zero carpentry experience that design represents a fair bit of carpentry. All of that 2x4 framing takes up a lot of space that could be occupied by the stuff you're trying to store. If you're set on 2x4 construction, you can easily reclaim 9" of linear space in the design you posted above just by rotating the 2x4 vertical supports 90 degrees on the Z axis.

Thank you, there is a definite learning curve but I wanted to give it a shot. Rotating them would be a great idea. I suppose I should still shoot for getting them on the studs when possible. I might need to re-model it to get a better idea.

If ease of configuration/flexibility is a high priority - and it seems like it should be in such a tight space - it's difficult to beat the wire closet shelf type hardware. The trick is to only use the hanging rails and shelf brackets but with solid shelves. That way stuff doesn't constantly disappear into one of the many unidentified lower levels. It's strong enough for chin ups if installed properly. Run the verticals as high as you can on every stud and then you can adjust as needed. Make sure to get them perfectly aligned with one another and you'll thank yourself for years to come.

Any recommendations on these hanging rails? I found some Delta brackets from HD that hold 800lbs combined (160 per shelf). They are adjustable. I could double up on the racking and have quite the wall of shelving. 16" deep is a little shallow. With my design i'd have 24". Food for thought.

The best work surface is always a function of the intended work. Formica or your preferred countertop laminate seems to be the best multipurpose choice. It's impervious to basically all chemicals, adhesives don't stick to it, oil/grease are powerless against it...in fact, extreme heat/fire is basically its only weakness.

Unless you're going to be using a sledge hammer on it 4x4s are a misallocation of space and money in your design. If you do plan on beating on things, a solid top - not plywood over any kind of space frame - is a superior design choice. The additional mass dampens the rebound.

A smaller open work surface is rarely preferred over a smaller one. In your design above, I would remove the upper portion of the 2x4 vertical support so I would have a 108.75" wide work surface, but you know your needs best.

I've heard of Formica and that it could be sourced cheap enough at some of those bargain stores that sell pallets of left over materials. I will definitely be adding formica to the list. Noted on the 4x4s. Should I replace those with a single 2x4 installed with the 4" side being vertical for strength? I will remove the vertical support. Would it be necessary to brace the top over the work area differently?

Really appreciate your input. Thank you so much! And yeah, he's holding a ukulele, haha.

 

[fancyTBI]

Attached are photos of what I'm working with.

First: the spot where the discussed bench would go. 18' stretches from 6" away from the garage door (to allow for access to the laser and track hardware, to past the window in the bottom right. Yes, there is a window from my basement to my garage. I will probably shave the sill off of that to allow for less modification to the bench. Pas that is a vertical freezer. 2' extends to about even with the garage door track. 6'10" tall is 4" from the edge of the track. I've got wire shelves currently. They're jammed full, but do work well. If I build here, these will get cycled to the corner discussed below. The plastic shelves will go to my dad. All the garden tools will be cycled to an outside shed once I acquire one. The green concrete blocks do not extend all the way down to the garage door. There is insulation behind the paneling. This is the east wall. Truck is as close to the west wall as I can go. Garage door is on the north end.

You must be registered for see images attach

Second: This is my current setup. Box and shelves that primarily hold paint, fluids, power tools, and the like. It is cramped. I tried coming up with a max-effort work area for this. See the second photo. For reference, this is the south-west corner of the garage. From the wall to the Door it is 46", hence why my drawing is not a full 4' section on the south wall.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Carlaisle]

Corners tend to be wasteful. You may find the SW corner of your garage more useful if it were to contain a single bench 7' long as opposed to the L shaped version illustrated above. You end up with less counterspace - 14 square feet vs. 18 square feet, but you end up with more usable counterspace. You would also have full and easy access to everything under the bench (if you are considering building a bench there). Another option would be to build just the 5' section and store the tool chest on the 46" wall and slide it in/out as needed for access. This would not be ideal, but it would make efficient use of the available space. In this latter scenario, I would build the bench so that the toolbox could roll under it. That way you would have additional stationary counterspace.

The Delta shelf track/brackets you linked are rated for basically 240 lbs per linear foot. At that rate you could store an engine block on them if you were so inclined. I would consider the limited configurability outweighs the weight capacity unless you have a use for that kind of weight capacity and be inclined toward something more like this. 90 lbs per linear foot and you get significantly increased flexibility. They are only 20" deep, but you can make the plywood shelf you put on them as deep as you want. If you prefer the Delta, those brackets could be extended out another 8" with a simple bracket made out of plywood or just replace the entire bracket with a piece of appropriately sized rectangular steel tube. Drill a hole and you're done. The Everbuilt (or similar) option I linked above seems like a faster and more convenient path to completion.

If you go with the 2x4 construction and run the verticals all the way to the ground you only need to anchor them to the studs in a few places to help hold things in place. The 2x4s are providing all of the structural support. Anchoring them to the wall only serves to resist lateral movement and prevent tipping.

What are you planning to store on top of that wide open span over the center of your workbench? A 2x4 can easily span that 9' with no other support, but I wouldn't load it up with paint cans and lead shot. If it needs to support a sizeable load, I would add some additional shelf brackets to help carry the load or significantly increase the depth of the beam. Run a 2x10 on the front and a ledger anchored to the studs on the wall side and you could store engine blocks up there, too.

Formica is a thin laminate - 1/16" or so - intended to be applied over a supporting surface. To span the roughly 4' open space in your workbench, you would definitely want a 2x4 on edge if using a plywood top. For a 24" deep work surface, you would want a second parallel one centered between the wall and the front - or - a couple running perpendicular between the wall and front like in your typical home floor/deck construction. For a very solid work surface, laminate a bunch of them together like this picture provided courtesy of the web.

 

[Komet]

Gmt400.com; come for the trucks, stay for the thoughtful workbench advice and oatmeal recipes.

 

[454cid]

Gmt400.com; come for the trucks, stay for the thoughtful workbench advice and oatmeal recipes.

Just in case anyone was curious, the oatmeal was giving me horrendous gas. I took a break from it, and if I do eat it, it'll be in smaller portions.

No??? No one wanted to know that???

Corners tend to be wasteful.

Yes, I decided the best use for my south east corner was to leave it open, and keep things there like my ramps, and material for laying on, or painting on.

It can be seen here: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/what...did-you-fix-today.55459/page-238#post-1343147

The cabinet on the left is no longer there. It's been replaced with a lateral filing cabinet.

 

[Hipster]

#1. lawn tools, lawn furniture , camping gear, the wife's empty plant pots, bags of peat moss, etc. go in the shed out back. lol

I did the metal bar closets rack at my mother's house, Both sides and across front 2 rows With her car it was high enough not to be wacking the car door against it. Bought totes . Wanting to say there were 14-16 inches tall added 2 inches and spaces the shelves according. Piece of tape and sharpie to label In a tight garage I like to get stuff off the floor if it can be, and you might find a big built in wall unit is in exactly the place you need to position yourself to do a task. tights spaces I like a bench on wheels. If you're working in one corner you can move set -up bench on your other side. I also prefer a bench built at bar height/ barstool so you're not bent over.

 

[Hipster]

Just in case anyone was curious, the oatmeal was giving me horrendous gas. I took a break from it, and if I do eat it, it'll be in smaller portions.

No??? No one wanted to know that???

I'm not believing ya. I'm thinking oversized and frequency lol