Shop layout

[rebelgtp]

Hey guys I recently moved and here is the layout of my new shop. Actually I will be tearing the guts out of it this summer and trying to set it up a bit more efficiently. So any suggestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated.


My grandpa lived here for 30 years and basically just set things up where they fell kinda. The back work area has benches along all 3 walls and the front area has large shelves. Currently the two garage bays on that side are separated by another bench and bar (yes he had a bar in there) that is going to come out. I think I will extend the benches down the full length of the back wall.


The 3rd bay is separated from the other 2 by a wall and I'm fine with that. More than likely keep whatever is finished there, or just a daily driver.



There are large sections of peg board just sitting in there waiting to get put up and a huge box of hangers for it so I'm basically set as far as that goes. There is an old wood burning barrel stove back by the work area (right next to the door).


Any suggestions what I should setup where in this place? I need to get a compressor and welding setup and some machine work tools. I have 2 Craftsman rollaway cabinets. The bench on one side of the back work area has drawers and cabinets as well (big heavy metal bench).

[astroracer]

When I remodeled my shop a few years ago I got rid of 90% of the pegboard. Picked up some cheap wall cabinets at home Depot and put those up in place of the board. Reason being, anything hanging out in the open just gets covered in dust. Especially if you are doing any body work and painting.

Paint the walls a semi-gloss white to pump up the available light.

Add some good 8' flourescent cold start light fixtures.

Put all of your equipment on casters. I have one permanent bench in the shop. The rest of my stuff I can roll around and during the summer most of my work is done outside. Keeps the shop cleaner.

Hope this helps a bit.

Mark

[rebelgtp]

Paint the walls a semi-gloss white to pump up the available light.

Add some good 8' flourescent cold start light fixtures.

This is actually one of the driving forces in me redoing the shop (that and it is just damn dirty) it is WAY dark in there. In fact there is only one 8 foot florescent in the entire shop! The windows are so dirty hardly any light comes in through them as well.

I had not thought of putting the benches and the like on casters, that would make moving things much easier of course so I will have to think about that.

[DarkBuddha]

Nice to see someone else's shop plan since I'm still trying to get my garage/shop set up. I too recommend putting casters on everything. I bought a kitchen full of used cabinets off craigslist and put casters on all of them so I can reconfigure the garage based on how I (need to) use it. It's been very very very helpful.

I think you're very smart to set aside significant space for storage, especially a closed space to secure items from view and access. I always seem to find that there is never enough storage and I end up frustrated with stuff piled and disorganized. When you get to the point of disassembling a car, it always takes up 5 times the space. Shelves are your friend for sure.

Oh, and don't forget to account for space for larger standalone tools like engine hoist, press, compressor, floor jacks, parts washer, blast cabinet, etc. That stuff will eat up valuable floor space very quickly, and you'll want it arranged so that it's accessible and useable without moving a bunch of stuff around. That's the problem we're currently encountering in my pop's 30x40 shop.

Keep us posted on how it turns out and what works and what doesn't... I know I could use the tips!

[rebelgtp]

Yeah the main tear down and rebuild of the shop will be this spring and early summer. The floor will also be coated, all walls and ceiling painted. The far left stand alone stall I think will be also used as a paint booth area.

One suggestion I got as well is to setup a centralized air compressor and then run hard lines to the various work areas for use. That might get put into the mix at some point, though for now I will stick with a smaller compressor and maybe use that idea as my eventual goal. I'm still going to have to buy a engine hoist, stand and everything else just about. I have most of my tools and the two roll away cabinets. I'm going to talk to my elderly neighbor about buying his welding outfit, not long ago he gave me a complete set of body work hammers and the like.

I'm going to rewire the entire shop, which will be a first for me. I don't really want to rely on 50+ year old wiring you know? Also there are no where near enough outlets for my liking. Lighting is going to be seriously addressed and setup so I can switch on areas of the shop individually. Currently there is no running water to the shop and I'm kind of wondering about putting a sink in as well.

Storage is a HUGE deal for me also because I tend to collect parts and stuff that I may need at some point. Back when I was running drift cars I had at least 4 extra sets of wheels and tires laying around. I have a few thousand dollars worth of 60's Harley parts laying around that I need to get rid of at some point as well.

My girl friend is also getting in on the action and wants to decorate the shop some with the old metal sign and other memorabilia stuff. I have some old license plates (20's and 30's), and some other stuff like a Mopar clock that will go up.

[Frank the Crank]

Casters are a great idea. I seem to be constantly moving stuff around in my garage, to get it "just right". I'm all for metal signs and other garage related deco. I have most of my metal sign collection up and will post a pic soon. Man, I wish I had room for a bar! Heck, I'd settle for a kegerator. Garages are about as unique as their owners. I even wrote a blog about fancy garages. I call them "garage-mahals". You can check it out here:

http://www.amberlightgarage.com/2010...age-mahal.html

Enjoy your garage!