So, thanks to miami79, I picked up this month’s issue of Inside Triathlon magazine. One article in the issue was “Building A Tri-Garage”. Since I just bought my first house, and I’m much, much more excited about having a 2 car garage than a house, I’m wanting to do a lot of stuff with the garage.
I’m drawing a lot of inspiration for the garage from this article. I’m also willing to take ideas from others on what i should do to my garage. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to build some type of closet in the garage so that I can keep all of my triathlon, hiking, and cold weather gear together. The closet is going to be 4-6 feet wide and have a dowel rod at about eye level. Above the dowel rod, I’m going to have a shelf for helmets, drink mixes, and water bottles. The dowel rod is going to hang clothes with some space at one end to hang a couple of wetsuits. Underneath the rest of the clothes is a shelf for shoes. Underneath that are some drawers from OfficeMax that hold all of my little gear like googles, gloves, Gu packets, socks, and not nice workout gear like cotton muscle shirts.
I’m also going to build a workbench to work on bike stuff and other projects. I’m going to put my trainer out there and a TV or computer as well. I don’t have a good idea on how to hang the bikes up, but I’m pretty sure that I’m going to make one of the garage doors unable to open up so that I have more storage space.
What other things should I do to the garage to make it a better garage and better capable of holding with all of my current triathlon and outdoor gear as well as any future acquisitions that I make?
A few years back, I had a friend who had turned his garage into a karaoke bar. Fridge for beer, big screen TV, karaoke set-up along with his stereo, etc.
One thing to watch for is how warm it is in your garage if you’re going to put Gu or food out there and if you’re going to use the trainer. Also, I’d take a look back in the shop of your LBS to see how their work stations are set up. You might get some good ideas for how to set up your own work area.
and when you’re done, please come to central Austin and do my garage. I keep thinking I need a good place for all my stuff. Oh yeah, but there’s no door on there!
p.s. cold weather gear…haha!! ok…maybe we’ll have a winter this year.
We have hooks on the ceiling and hang the bikes there. I also have a rack that I bought at Home Depot that mounts on the ceiling of the garage and there’s enough clearance in my garage even when the garage door is open for it to fit. Stores alot of stuff! I have a rolling plastic drawer system I bought at Walmart with all the bike stuff in it. Cleaners, lube, tools, tubes, etc… I also have a bike stand, and I just put that out on the lawn and wheel the drawer thing out there to do repairs/cleaning on the bike.
I built one a few years ago with just a handsaw and a drill. It’s brilliant. Got a cheap solid core door that was damaged from Home Depot and a bunch of 2x4. This thing is really solid and heavy, I use it as my woodworking bench. If you would like the plans, let me know and I’ll email them to you.
It will be $2000.00…when I got my house that is when I knew for certain it is ALL $2000.00 (or more), no matter what it is
Stove -$2000
Fridge - $2000+
Dishwasher - $1800 (close enough)
Carpet - $2000+
Bathroom Tile - $2000
Wall in basement - $2000
Washer / Dryer - $2000
I dont care what you do to your garage, by the time you get shelves, drawers, floor paint, tools and all…$2000.00…minimum.
Hah. What kinda junky stove and fridge did you get? Hell, a real over/stove is like $5K, and a fridge is $3K! Clearly, your home appliance tastes aren’t equal to your car/bike tastes…
As for the original poster… go with as many shelves and drawers as you can fit in. Especially drawers. My 8’ long workbench is literally covered with bike stuff because I haven’t any drawers to put the junk in!
As for the original poster… go with as many shelves and drawers as you can fit in. Especially drawers. My 8’ long workbench is literally covered with bike stuff because I haven’t any drawers to put the junk in!
Smart space management is important in any workshop but in the family man’s workshop, it is not as important as smart space defense.
While you may desire a clean, profesional looking shop environment, consider that if you do not live alone, it is very wise to leave the workbench full of your stuff and not to install any more shelves and/or drawers until you have enough stuff to fill them immediately. Any empty space will attract toys, craft supplies, holiday decorations and other unmanly stuff within seconds of being installed.
I never fully clean my workroom and always try to leave a project or 2 out to take up space.
Yeah, I have plans for drawers. In the tri specific area, I’ll have a couple of short drawers from OfficeMax to hold gear. Also, I’m planning on putting some pegboard up for the commonly used tools and then I’ll have a couple of more drawer type things from OfficeMax to hold smaller stuff like drill bits. I want a full tool box, but they are expensive and I don’t plan on having that many tools right away, either. Space and storage is a premium so I have to be creative on how well I organize my garage. I’m getting measurements on the garage this week and I’ll post drawings after that.
I keep thinking I need a good place for all my stuff. Oh yeah, but there’s no door on there!