Two car garage shops; how do you like them?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I'm heading from a basement shop to a two car garage shop. How well does this work for you? I plan on keeping one car in there and moving it out when I'm working. Does this work in reality? I have most of the major and minor tools but never enough of them. I know I'm going to miss my basement shop with it's pretty constant temp. etc. but sometimes you just can't have everything. How bad am I going to miss my basement shop? Thanks Alan in Md.

[Gary Max]

I would think a basement is hard to back a truck into---You can build bigger things now.
Locking the door should be easier now. Just a couple of good things I could come up with.

[Tony Falotico]

How big is your basement shop? If your gaining room, could be a good move......

BUT ........ Problems with garage shops:

If it's attached to the house and you use it for entry / exit ... mucho sawdust goes in the house creating mucho complaints from LOML
Every-time I finished working for the day I had to 'pack up' and move everything to the side...... Every-time I restarted I had to set up again.

I've moved into a 20' x 28' freestanding building that's a dedicated workshop. Works great.

There's lots of variables here and it's hard to tell exactly what your situation is. Whatever you do, I hope it works for you. Tony (don't think I helped you any)

[Carole Valentine]

My shop is a two car detatched garage, but it is a second garage (the car stays in the attached garage at the house). I think it would really bug me to have to move a vehicle in there. The only problem is I got sucked into this woodworking thing without even realizing what was happening to me. Had I realized where I was headed, I would have put in insulation, drywall and some sort of climate control before I ever started collecting tools! Now, I can't stand the idea of disrupting the shop to do that. Besides, I am too "tool poor" to pay for doing that now anyway! Get everything you need done to the garage done before you set up your shop!

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Works great for me...the car only gets in during hailstorms or really bad rainstorms. The only thing better is a stand alone shop twice the size of the two car garage...

[Rob Littleton]

I started out with the car on one side and my shop on the other.

The wife got thru in a hurry with all the dust going in the car that we pushed it out and I got the whole garage.

I did use to move it in and out and that was nothing but a PITA.

Im sure you will eventually take over the whole space :-)

Good luck on your move

[Joe Mioux]

I sort of like the idea of a garage workshop. I just moved in 11 sheets of 4x8 of 3/4" cabinet plywood into the garage today. I'm glad that did not have to go down the basement with them.


joe

[Steve King]

Rob,
That is how I started out, the car is gone but now I have 2 golf carts to deal with
Steve

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I'd like to get another basement shop but the two states I may move to in the near future, Florida and North Carolina, seem to have a shortage of these. I did see one 1900 sq. ft. basement home in N.C. and I couldn't stop salivating. But it was way too expensive. I wonder if a 3 car garage would work with one of the bays was walled off for one car? I know in either state I'm going to need A/C to survive in the shop. I don't have it now in Md. nor do I need it in the basement.

Alan in Md. ( still trying to figure it all out) Thanks guys and gals.

[Don Selke]

Hi Alan:

My shop is in a three car garage..When we moved into the house from Illinois, my shop was in a one car attached garage. Now that I have a three car garage I do not know how I ever got any work done in the one car unit. I think that no matter what you get, you will fill it up. Here in Arizona, the car is in the garage during the summer months due to the extreme heat 105 to 120. Interior automobiles parked in the sun can get as hot as 165 degrees.
During the winter months the car is parked outside and I have the whole garage to myself. I sure wish I had a seporate workshop like some of the guys and gals here but I do not have the land available for that type of arrangement. On the other hand, during the winter months here in the south west, you can work all day in the shop with the garage doors open. I do have to agree with one of the other posters, It does become a pain to fit the car in the garage with all your tools. It is like having to put all your toys away at the end of the night.
Last year I installed a 14,500 BTU A/C unit in the garage but when the temperature hits the 110 range, I do not use it.

[Allan Johanson]

I have a 3-car garage/shop and one car always lives there (it's my project car with the engine pulled out). The other car that is almost always in there is my wife's baby. She wasn't pleased when a layer of dust landed on it, so I made a large curtain of sorts. I didn't want to wall off that part of the garage with a permanent structure, so I installed a bunch of that "I-beam" curtain track on the ceiling around the car. Then I hooked up a bunch of medium strength poly using eyelets for strength to the track.

When the car is in the garage, I pull the curtain around it. When I'm doing sheet goods stuff, welding, or anything else requiring space for any reason, then I put her car outside and pull the curtain to the wall to free up the entire space.

It works very well for me.

Allan

[Bob Marino]

Alan,

A garage shop that must be shared with other items (cars, lawnmowers, bicycles, etc.) isn't the most ideal situation. I know, that's what I have been doing . However, depending on the size of the garage and what tools you have and how you store them, it is not only doable, but can turn into a pretty nice place to work. Few of us have the luxury of a huge, dedicated shop.
I would suggest mobile bases for the big tools and cabinets. There was an article in FWW some months back featuring a garage shop where the owner had all tools and floor cabinets on casters and all at the same working height, which made set ups and projects a snap. All tools and cabinets then when back against the side of the garage,making space for the car. Worth a look at.
May want to look at proper heating and ac to make the garage more comfortable year round.

Bob

http:// festool.safeshoper.com

[George Summers]

Alan -

What part of NC are you considering?

George

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Are you familiar with this area?

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I have a 3-car garage/shop and one car always lives there (it's my project car with the engine pulled out). The other car that is almost always in there is my wife's baby. She wasn't pleased when a layer of dust landed on it, so I made a large curtain of sorts. I didn't want to wall off that part of the garage with a permanent structure, so I installed a bunch of that "I-beam" curtain track on the ceiling around the car. Then I hooked up a bunch of medium strength poly using eyelets for strength to the track.

When the car is in the garage, I pull the curtain around it. When I'm doing sheet goods stuff, welding, or anything else requiring space for any reason, then I put her car outside and pull the curtain to the wall to free up the entire space.

It works very well for me.

Allan

Hi Allan,

Great name but I don't know about the spelling. But seriously that's a great idea. I'll definitely keep it in mind. BTW nice machine under that plastic. Thanks Alan