kenchan, is there an IKEA near you? They have pretty nice countertops there. I really like their stainless units, too.

Annette

 

^^ yah, there's one like 2min from work.

i'll take a look over there too. will checkout their site too, while im
at it. ikea was never really known for robustness though, right?

 

thanks for the tip. yah, that's a great idea about looking at kitchen
tables and cutting it to size! IKEA time. lol

 

A friend of mine has one of their butcherblock countertops that he has had for years. It has served as a kitchen countertop, office desktop and is now in the basement in the workroom. I think they work on their RC cars on it now. I've known them for 10 years and it's been around at least that long.
Annette

 

^^ that's enough for me. thanks. i will stop by tonight to see
if i can find something i can use.

oh wait, i brought the civic to work.

 

I found a heater in my garage the other day. An Airconditioning/heat repair man is coming to see if it still works. No more 42 degrees PC jobs. Yay.

 

O almost to 5th gear. Don't mind me!

 

I did similar, but used 3/4" MFD and 1/4" hardboard contact cemented down with a breadboard edge treatment and top coated with Polly. Very durable and easy to clean work surface

For the substructure I use 2 banks of 3'x3'x24" metal shelving like these in the attached picture (far right side under the white cabinets):



I overlap the perimeter of the shelves with the edging to hold everything solid, but by lifting the top I can easily break it down again.

 

^ thanks smokey. my current setup is more of a light duty version
of what you have. im using a generic shelf and layered two 1/2"
regular plywood and topped with a 1/4" MDF that i replace off and on.
it's not glued, rather screwed together so i can easily remove the top
when it gets pretty worn. on top of that, i usually have a 1/2 oak
plywood that im using as a cutting board so the MDF lasts longer.
(edging is some bare wood trim i found at HD).

i use the bench only for light duty so it works and rather convenient
for the most part.

 

Found another cool site http://www.slk32.com/pages/garage/Ga...upgarageanchor

Also, BoCRon, do you think you could consolodate the links back into your first post? If thats to much work, I understand, just thinking it would make things easier for first timers to the thread.

 

^^ nice lift.

(nono, im not getting one). but i am reconsidering the tiles.

 

I still want a lift and tiles. Makes me think I will paint, save money for lift, then tile.

 

How many have read the April issue of GRM? Must read for those wanting to setup a good working area in the garage.

 

Went to Target today and found a small wire type shelf on sale for $12.99. Perfect size for putting detailing goodies in my utility room.

 

European Car Magazine is jsut starting a garage series. Defiantly my favorite car mag.

 

What's GRM??

 

hey gus- i went to sears to take a look at those gladiator workbenches.
definitely a nice solid product. can even put a vice on it
and use for woodworking.

got some extractors yesterday along with some other tools.
(used up the gc my buddy gave me. )

going to check out the other benches/counter tops later on today
and maybe tomorrow.

 

Wow, that is one heck of a garage! It would be so nice to have a lift.

 

Ok all, here's where my garage project stands today. I still have to finish phase 2, but that will have to wait for spring and some warmer weather. I don't have any of my decorative goodies up yet, I'm waiting on a few things and don't want to put up anything until I have everything here and can do it all at once.
Annette

Here's the wall you see when you drive in.


Another view, that corner wall cabinet holds oil changing gear and supplies.


Here are a couple of pics showing one of the storage hoists. The second one is getting installed tomorrow.
Lowered for loading/unloading-

Raised up above garage door for out of the way storage-


This pic shows the detailing corner-supplies in the cabinet everything else will hang on the Storewall.


The blinds on the windows are one-way, really cool. You can see out but no one can see in. Also, I love my new Metro Vac shown to the right of the workbench.
I'll take better pics in the daylight when I get my swag up!
Annette

 

Annette - Your work has turned out very well. This is a great looking, and functional garage. I know how hard you & hubby worked on this but it was well worth it. Looks great.
One question, on the lift storage, where does the cable go when it is fully raised?
Nice work!

 

Thanks!!
I still have to finish the side room, but I'm still working out the design. I also need to knock a hole in one wall for the understair storage, but that will get done when I do the side room.
The cable winds around the center pole.
Annette

 

BocRon- I like it! looks great. it has a nice elite/elegant
look yet playful. thought i was looking at a catalog!
great job!!!

 

EXCELLENT work, Annette !

You managed to combine aesthetics and functionality in your project which is pretty tricky. You gotta love all that storage you have and it looks clean and neat, too.

Can't wait to see the rest, given how Phase I has turned out.

 

Kenchan,
Yeah, they make a really nice product. I can't really compare it to anything else out there, but I would imagine it's one of the better made cabinets out there.

 

Annette, the garage looks great. I have a question about the blinds....do you have a brand, make or website I can check those out on?