What a great idea for a thread! My buddy and garage-neighbor in the loft puts some serious work into his garage as his detailing station. Home-grown stuff, though. He's going to flip when he sees this list...

 

Lots of fun ideas on here. I'm trying to keep it to reasonable products, or at least note when it's a "dream" item (more money than most would want to spend but still fun to think about for some day).
I'm glad to see when people post products that they have personal knowledge of, always helps to read about real world experience.
Annette

 

The lofts seem cool if you just need space, but how about a real car lift that allows you to work on the car w/o having to jack it up? I think that's one of the first items I would want in my dream garage.

 

I had a couple of links for mechanics lifts but the websites are no longer working. I'll do a bit more research and post when I find the new links. I know there are a couple on the Garage Store link, check their homepage.
Annette

 

A few of things I enjoy having in my garage. A good towel dispenser (I have a manual and an auto feed one), funnel dispensor, a hamper for my dirty microfibers, rolling storage for my extra wheels and overhead storage. (My garage attic is very tall, over 7' high of walking area, so I store ALL non-car related stuff up there. I have a winch above the trapdoor and can pull up anything. I installed pull-down stairs so it's all easy to acess.) A garage drain is also a great for washing inside durind hot/sunny or cold/freezing weather.

 

BradB,
Thanks for the post, I've always loved your setup.
What is the lift you've got pictured? How do you like it for ease of use, etc. DH and I would love a lift of some sort but can't do one of the 2 or 4 post varieties, at least not now. We may put one in in our tractor barn in the future, but for now will have to dream.
Do you have a link for the one you have? Pros and cons of that type of lift would be appreciated by everyone here I'm sure!
Nice MINI by the way .
Annette

 

Annette - I've bought the Tire Rack Tire Garage (http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...gauges_all.jsp). It looks a lot better than bare tires sitting in your garage plus it keeps them clean while not in use.



I've got my winter set in there now.



Chuck

 

Chuck,
I've got my webspokes stored in the same thing. Very handy. I'll add that to the OP, thanks for the reminder!
Your garage looks great. The little bits of red really make it look "done".
You did a great job on the floor, I'm so ready to get started on my floor but will have to wait just a bit longer . We wait all summer for it to cool down enough to do these jobs and then have a few short weeks to cram it all in.
Annette

 

I am SO making one of these...

 

My lift is by Eagle Equipment. It's called a mid-rise pad lift. I love it and find a million uses for it. Wheel work, brake work, exhaust, you name it. Makes less bending when waxing, too! Not a single drawback IMO with the exception that you cannot "stand" underneath it since it doesn't go as high as a post-version. But my style takes up much less space and can be moved around if you like. It's not necessary that you bolt it down. It's also very low (even my lowered Carrera fits over it) and you just drive over it and park a car like normal. Even my wife does it. Never an issue.

 

Home Depot and Lowes has these boards PRECUT and always in stock. Just get ball-bearing castor wheels, nuts and bolts and you are there!

 

Really? What do they sell them as?

 

Hum...Garage tile or lift...Tile or lift...Damn you all....I guess its paint and lift.

 

The wood? They have 3/4" plywood and 3/4" pressboard that will work. It's in the lumber section. They have circles and rectangular pieces already cut in various sizes.

 

Also at Lowes and Home Depot type places they have a hexagon or octagon shaped plastic base for trash cans with the casters already attached. They are designed to go under some large garbage cans (Rubber Maid I think) but fit a set of tires nearly perfectly.

 

i got these tire cover thingies from tirerack about 3weeks or so ago.
They looked pretty good when brand new.... recently, i noticed that the
tire sauce on the sidewall (it didn't take much) is seeping through the
silver part of the cover in a yellowish ikky color...

if you are going to get these, wipe off the sauce completely using
a cleaner before wrapping them up... mine? oh well..i'll just live with it.

 

hey, my Griot's winking trash can finally arrived today.

i'll take some picts later. i pulled it out of the box... very high
quality and nice red finish too.

 

that sounds like something you can use under a large 5 gallon wash
bucket to!

 

Lucky! I am getting ready to place the order for my cart...and metal polish...

 

They (Tire Rack) sell felt pads for them so they don't scratch when stacked. Bet it would also prevent the sauce from seeping thru as well.
I liked those cover thingies, but figured that with four tires I might as well get the garage thingie instead.

 

^^ the problem with those felt pad is they are only 20" diameter...

my wheels on the G35C are 19"... so 1/2" per side is cutting it too close
for me. The top one in my pict has no cardboard, but the other 3 below
it has cardboard with mirror sheet cut in a circle inside to protect the
wheel's finish. That's why they look flat on the tops on the 3.

so, what im going to end up doing is putting the ikky yellow one on the
lower stack and put the clean one on top.

 

umm, what is tire sauce?

When I re-do my garage this winter I'll be putting these in my new recessed area under the stairs. I've read that this is the best way to store wheels/tires if possible and since I'm getting to design my set up I'll do it this way. Also I'll mount them about 36" off the floor so it should be easier to take on and off. I'll probably get the tire totes to keep on them while the tires are hanging, good way to keep things tidy and have handles to grab them with so I don't get yucky! According to Griots, each one should hold 2 wheels.

Annette

 

BocRon- tire sauce = tire shine

here's my Griot's winking trash can. it is very cool. I put on
the vintage Texaco sticker on it to personalize. It takes standard
13 gallon "tall kitchen" trash bags.

The can itself is made by polder... it's the same brand that sells at
like Container Store, BedBath&Beyond, etc.

http://www.polderproducts.net/ProductDetail.asp?PID=117



very happy with this trash can.

 

very cool lift. When I get a garage, this is definitely something i'll consider. How is it in terms of allowing you to do anything around the middle? Also, although it doesn't look the most stable, i'm guessing you have to problems with it wiggling or anything.

the height is a bit weird since you can't lie down or stand. Do you just get a chair with wheels and wheel around under the car? =)

also, they have lifts at harborfrieght, but i have no idea on quality. I first saw it there when it seemed like something possible to actually have in a garage.

 

Did you wax it with wax or sealant of preference? looking awfully shiny over there.