My Humble 21 x 21 remodel

Hello Garage Journal! This is my 3rd post here after reading about 1000 threads. I want to start documenting the progress of my own garage now. I've already done a few things that I didn't get great pictures of, but I'll try to do better for this thread.

The "short" of my garage. I bought a short sale in late May 2013. The garage was the last item on the list due to priorities inside. Now that the rest of the house is in order (and all new) it's time to put some focus on the garage. My wife is on board to get everything cleaned up so we can host a very welcoming HALLOWEEN intro to our neighbors and their trick-or-treating kids in our driveway and garage.

The first order of business was getting started on some very minor drywall repair and paint. I'm not done just yet as there are a ton if items on some very crude shelves that I need to organize and hide.

To do that I needed these:

They are 31" tall (inside the box) and 28 1/2" wide.







I snagged some scrap sheathing from my work as they were tearing out some old shelves. That is what my first ever cabinet box was made of. Once I learned how to build them on that one and tested my measurements I moved to the good plywood. I figure the "scrap" cabinet will hold my detailing stuff (waxes, spray bottles, tire dressing, etc.)

Total investment including renting a table saw from Home Depot for $40 (four hour rental) was only $114.00!!!! You can't beat that!

I still need to spend a little more for hinges and a backer board, but you could TECHNICALLY leave the backer out and just use the back of the wall you mount them to if you're really tight on funds.

As far as the plan for the rest:

1. I'm going to enclose the space where the A/C is at and hang a bi-fold door for access.

2. I'm going to build at least one (possibly up to three) fold away benches and mount to the walls. (You can see the frames in one of the pics above leaning against a wall-o-stuff.

3. I'm going to coat the floor and put in my 3.5' wide vinyl decals for my car's emblems. I have a 2001 Camaro SS and a 2005 Corvette Z-51.

Here's the layout of what I'm thinking:



4. I just bought 2 4' fluorescent fixtures that hold 2 40 watt bulbs each. I'm going to wire those with the main switched light.

5. Once all the cabinets are built and hung around the entire outside of the garage - against the ceiling - I'm going to put some sort of under cabinet lighting for a trick look or low light when needed. (Hopefully switched, but I need to figure that out...)

That's it for now. I'm sure it will evolve as I run into issues and better ideas.

This is an exciting time for you. Getting to plan and start with a clean slate is an awesome time and experience. Like you, I read and read the threads on this site before starting because there is such a wealth of knowledge here and I am old enough to learn from others mistakes for a change. Keep posting pics....

Welcome to GJ! I think everyone peruses about a million posts before starting a thread, but it's addictive!

Ambitious and resourceful, looks like you've got those 2 traits so you should do just fine. Cupboards and fold down benches are also really good space savers, and help keep things clean and organized. I like the floor idea too, make the space your own.

This looks like a promising thread.

Are you gluing and nailing your cabinets together? You have me thinking about multiple fold away work benches now. I still have some scrap lumber to use up while I am clearing out garage space.

Looks like you are on your way to a nice looking garage.

Thanks for the welcome positive feedback!

Mitch - your build is massively impressive as well as inspiring. I'm subscribed and find your story telling abilities top notch!

my68spit - I am using wood glue before 18ga 1 1/4" finish nails. I'm new to this woodworking stuff, so I hope that is enough! Time will tell. They can't be any weaker than the Ikea MDF **** that is holding up what seems to be hundreds of lbs of cd's, dvds, photo albums etc. in our living room.

Welcome to the GJ, looking forward to following your progress.

Welcome to the group!

I ran into a problem already! Last night I made a trip to Lowes to pick up some wood to use for the back of the cabinets. Since I no longer have my truck I was ASSuming that I could get the panel cut down to a very basic size to fit in my car. That's where I went wrong.

The panel saw at the store is so bad I think a beaver could have chewed a cleaner cut. Not to mention that the dimensions were over an inch different from the top of the board to the bottom!

Needless to say I didn't buy the board and decided that today I'll just stop by HD and get it done correctly. This is a major downside to selling my truck and not having the tools I need (YET).

Anyway, I wanted to see a cabinet on the wall so I mounted the "scrap" one up where it will stay. It doesn't have doors mounted yet because I need a router for the correct hinges to mount inside the doors. But at least it's up and holding some detailing (light weight) stuff!

I also put the first coat of stain on the sheathing. I think it might look pretty cool with a few more coats to darken it up.

What do you know - HD can cut a straight line! I went and picked up the backer board that I needed for the rear of the cabinets yesterday. I got home, nailed them to the cabinets and hung up the rest of the boxes. Today I'm taking the doors to a guy at work who will cut the relief holes I need for the hinges.

While I was out there last night I did some cleaning up, a little trim painting and some organizing. I really can't wait until I can tackle the floor. It would make such a difference already.

Here's a shot of the organized side of the garage:

Good luck, and very smart to prioritize documenting your progress. Others will enjoy it and its an excellent way to see how far you have come and be able to easily reference what you have done.

Thanks Dubber.

Yesterday I gave the cabinet doors to the guy who is going to cut the reliefs (Correct term???) for the hinges. Hopefully he gets them back to me sooner than later.
I can already tell that my biggest frustration for this project is going to be my monthly budget allocated for it. I'm done for this month already and it's only the 3rd!

What would some of you recommend for the next month's work?

A: More cabinets to clear the clutter
B: Audio/Visual stuff (stereo or t.v.)
C: Lighting

I'm torn between the lighting and the audio/visual stuff myself. I'm tired of not being able to see very well without a drop light and listening to music from my phone's speaker... But I also want to finish the cabinets and be done with that part of it.

Having been a part of a number of home remodeling projects, I would suggest finishing the cabinets first before moving on to something else. Get it done and you will feel great about it and it will give you the motivation to keep going. If you quit on part of the project, you open yourself up to "putting it on the back-burner" for a very long time. Then before you know it, you have a pile of projects "on the back-burner" that are all about half way done and you can't feel good about anything, the self-pity party starts, and you can't figure out where to start up again to finish those projects.

I would suggest getting the cabinets done first. Get the place organized and cleared out. Then get the lighting done so you can admire your awesome cabinets. Then worry about audio/video stuff so that you can go out there and chill in your newly organized and well lit space while you decide what to do next .

Just my $0.02.

Welcome to garage journal. Looks like your moving and shaking very well. The cabinet work is looking real good. The garage interior seems to be in great shape so your not having to do a lot of wall repairs, etc.
We are interested in your progress and we are a picture hungry bunch, so post as you can. You will find a lot of good friends here. Always glad to see your posts!!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

Thank you for the warm welcome HSpencer.

I just had a thought. I like things to be a little different, but tasteful - what would you all think about painting the cabinets with a truck bed liner type paint? It would be a tough look, but if done right and finished with brushed aluminum pull handles I think it would be pretty cool.

I was looking online for folding shelf brackets and even tho I found some that will be great for only $40.00 from Ace, I had this thought hit me like a truck! Does anyone else think this would work? I think it would be cool to build my own space saving bench with my own design. The wood would screw to studs in the wall and the wood framed bench would slide up and then lay down to be "pinched" in place. No brackets, no legs, just a floating bench that has it's own holder against the wall.

What do you think? Excuse the crude drawing... I wanted it on paper right then...

I'm not sure what your intended uses would be, but the major limiting factors would be weight capacity, and general stability. Any time you were to bump the work surface upward it may want to fall back or simply tear in to the wall surface. Also, there would be a shear plane created at your bottom support, leaving your work surface to bend and/or fracture. It would work in theory, but I'm not sure for how long, or if it would ever be to your satisfaction.

I think the best designs I've seen on this site tend to emulate what Jack did for his 12 gauge garage. And though I can't find the thread, another member made small triangular supports that swing out on door hinges. This might be better than the $40 option from Ace. All of these designs support the work surface further away from the wall and transfer the weight back to the framing.

I like your idea, just not sure it would work using wood, perhaps if you constructed it with aluminum or steel plate instead. Though the cost and weight would tend to be excessive at this extreme.

Ridri - I think you're right, I'll just get the brackets that I know will hold.

I made some progress this weekend. Mostly cleaning and organizing but I re-painted my very beat up tool box and it cleaned it up pretty well. I used a flat black and charcoal grey color scheme since that's what the rest of the garage will be. Now to do the cheap red tool box to match.

I also sourced the tall cabinets that I'll be using for the area where the garage door track prevents me from using the ones I built. Those should be in by this weekend hopefully. Then I can organize the rest of the "stuff" and get started on the minimalistic look.

The only pic I took... I'll try to remember to get "before" photos before I do any more little projects.

jusstin4171 said:

Thanks Dubber.
What would some of you recommend for the next month's work?

A: More cabinets to clear the clutter
B: Audio/Visual stuff (stereo or t.v.)
C: Lighting

I'm torn between the lighting and the audio/visual stuff myself. I'm tired of not being able to see very well without a drop light and listening to music from my phone's speaker... But I also want to finish the cabinets and be done with that part of it.

Click to expand...

Lighting is definitely a priority, then add audio as the budget allows.

Oh, I failed to mention I took an old receiver and speakers and got those up and running this weekend too. Not a great set up, but it's good enough for now... not to mention that there was no expense as I already had this stuff. Finally got around to doing a little more unpacking!

A few progress pics:

I got these cabinets from my Father in Law because he ordered some new metal cabinets. They're in great shape and I plan to paint them along with the cabinets that I made:


First order of business was to make room for them. They will be taking the place of these shelves and hopefully hiding everything that is there.


Removing all items from the shelf so I can remove the brackets, do minor drywall repair work and paint the rest of the wall.


Here they are in place! You can also see that I made good use of the brackets that were holding the shelves and hung my first workbench. The frame was pre-made from where I got the wood, so I just used it as is for the bench. I managed to get 3 studs and I can assure you it is solid!


Here's another angle. Still much more to do, but progress is progress!


Here is another product that I found at HD. Has anyone used this? Not just for garage flooring, but anywhere else that has concrete?

Looking good, and welcome to GJ. Be prepared for the ride of your life when it comes to the garage. "Do I want this, do I want that?". It's a hard row to hoe.

As far as your cabinets, you need some facing boards, or commonly called rails and stiles. These are your suppors for your shelves. If you look at the left hand side of your cabinet, you can see the bottom bowing some. By adding rails, those will support the shelves. The stiles mainly build out the sides to match and let you mount your door hinges to. Here is a quick web grab. Other than that, things are looking good. It doesn't take a lot to make what you need as far as tools go. Just make sure you have a good compound miter saw and a good circular saw and you will be good.

Thanks Kevin. I'll have to figure something out since I've already bought the brackets that mount inside and against the cabinet so you can't see them. I was thinking about building a frame under the cabinets that's just big enough to hide some under cabinet LEDs that I found. I'll paint them to match and it might be a clean look. ???

I have made lots of progress, however my micro SD card in my phone crashed (again) and the pics are locked up for now.

For Halloween I had the florescent lights wired so I could use 4 4' long black lights. It was a great effect with the fog and strobe and animatronic swinging zombie girl! Some kids stayed away...

I'll post up some pics as soon as I can recover them.

Here are a few pics of our makeup for Halloween... almost a month later.





There is a new dilemma now. I detailed a friend's Tundra and for payment he was going to give me a whole kitchen's worth of cabinets that I was giving to my Father in law for his reloading room. I should have spoken up, because Father in law bought all the cabinets he needed on day two of the detail. I guess my home-grown cabinets will be short lived and I'll hang up what I get. Pictures will follow once I get them up and painted. For now, more organizing and such.

New cabinets are coming. A friend of mine is a GC and is doing a kitchen remodel. I get the tear outs! He says there's a lot of them so we'll see. Small progress that I need pics of include two 4ft twin bulb florescent light fixtures and the dark grey stripe with red pin striping. It's looking better but so slow due to work. Pics to follow