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I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 10:04 am
by TUDrewser
For the past 6 years or so, I've stored all my tools in a 6x12 enclosed trailer in my side yard. It has a back ramp and a side door, so it's been fairly easy to go in for the tool I need or roll out the air compressor, table saw, etc. However, it's never near the driveway when I'm working, and takes forever and a day to find anything. My amazing wife has heard my grumblings and finally prompted me to start cleaning out the garage and converting it to my work area.

I don't have any good before pictures, but this should give you an idea:

Image

Granted, that was when we were installing some garage cabinets years ago, so everything was pushed to the middle. But the garage was our storage shed.

After a weekend and holiday of work, it now looks like this:

Image

I bought the workbench at HF, but I glued every joint as I put it together and it's pretty rock solid now. As we were pulling away from the HF pickup, my wife spotted the sheet of peg board leaning up against a dumpster. Had a piece cut out, but that piece was there too. Yay! Used that piece for my air tools. Plan is to now build a welding table and put it on the left to complete my side of the garage (I've only been allowed half the garage so far ;-) ). I also ran fresh power to it...10 gauge wiring, 16 outlets. I've already used the space countless times for fixing little things...so nice to finally have a work bench. Not to mention the air compressor and hose reel at the ready. The workbench and electrical outlets/boxes/conduit were the only purchases...everything else came out of the trailer.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Can't wait to work on the jeep with all my tools at the ready instead of working in my neighbor's driveway.

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:38 pm
by jsinajeep
Which half of the garage is your :D

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:32 pm
by Gumby
Well sooner or later you will get the other side too :D .

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:19 pm
by FSJ Guy
It's nice to finally clean out your garage, isn't it?

If only I could keep mine clean….. :- (

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 6:07 am
by jaber
FSJ Guy wrote:If only I could keep mine clean….. :- (

If only I HAD a garage... :banghead:

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:46 am
by FSJ Guy
jaber wrote:
FSJ Guy wrote:If only I could keep mine clean….. :- (

If only I HAD a garage... :banghead:
Judging by your location, I don't think you need it as much as those of us in CO. LOL!

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:06 pm
by TUDrewser
at jaber's altitude, I'll bet they still get some snow, and at least cold temps. but then, I need the garage for the summer ;-) I'm thinking an AC unit will mount in that all just fine...

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:19 am
by carnuck
They actually passed a law here to keep people from closing in their carports.

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:30 am
by TUDrewser
carnuck wrote:They actually passed a law here to keep people from closing in their carports.
That's just stupid. What's the rationale?

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:31 pm
by rstep
Looks good Drew , wish my space would stay neat and clean.

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:37 pm
by Stuka
TUDrewser wrote:
carnuck wrote:They actually passed a law here to keep people from closing in their carports.
That's just stupid. What's the rationale?
If it's anything like here, it's to make you pay for a building permit for a garage.


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Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:27 am
by Locked and Loaded
Your mancard is being mailed back to you. I have a side draft swamp cooler mounted in my garage. Cheaper to run. And it works good,

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:36 am
by jaber
TUDrewser wrote:at jaber's altitude, I'll bet they still get some snow, and at least cold temps. but then, I need the garage for the summer ;-) I'm thinking an AC unit will mount in that all just fine...
Right in between. This winter has been averaging between 40* and 55* for daily his, clear to partly cloudy. Summer can reach a sweltering 100* on hot days (when Phx is 120). My biggest complaint about not having one is the wind and dirt that blows up here. Makes it hard to tear into an engine when you dont think you can keep it clean... :banghead:

A/C, ppppfffttt, thats for wusses that cant hang... :shock: :lol:

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:33 am
by TUDrewser
Well, right now I'm TOTALLY roughing it with no AC. And it was like 76 the other day. ;-)

Re: I'm taking back my garage

Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:43 pm
by REDONE
TUDrewser wrote:Well, right now I'm TOTALLY roughing it with no AC. And it was like 76 the other day. ;-)
I'm going to put my dogs poop in a box and mail it to you! Not really, but that's awesome garage weather, brat. :P

I had a heated garage in WA but left it to move home to CO. I encourage every one of us to clear the cluttering BS and take back your garages if you have one! Right now I live in two places. I have my cabin in Bailey, CO and just got an apartment in Golden, CO to ease the pain at the gas pump. Neither has a garage but one is a whole lot closer to my girlfriends apartment in Denver.

The word "garage" used to be where you took your carriage to be repaired or serviced. With the rise of the Model T, "home garage" was where you an owner could store and fix their own horseless carriage. After a while "home garage" was dropped from "Popular Mechanics" in lue of just "garage". The garage was always central to automobiles, until the babyboomers started stuffing all their extra crap into them and pushing their cars out into the driveway. making way in the "garage" for storage and pingpong tables.

Good on you for taking back the garage, I hope everyone else who has a "garage" stuffed full of knicknacks and packrat crap follows suit! I know the random words of some guy on the internet are little motivation, but I also know first hand how hard it is to come home from a solid 8 hours and do anything productive. I hope that if anything this post reminds everyone reading it, that we don't live so we can go to work. We work so we can pay the price of living! Don't come home and fall into your chair, proud of knowing you've provided for yet another day. Come home and DO WHAT YOU LOVE!! Clean the garage so you wrench! Wrench so you can wheel! Wheel so that you can see what most never will, do what most will never do, and know that YOU achieved!

Mucho kudo's amigo. You've come a long way from "I think I got screwed when I bought this wag". ;)