DIY: Upgrading Your Garage Workshop

A garage is a perfect place to set up a workshop in. Provided that it is large enough to store your car and accommodate a decent-sized workbench, it makes for the ultimate go-to spot for all of your handiwork and tinkering needs. Whether it’s fixing up your vehicle, building things, or simply doing some home repairs, every house needs a space where loud and hazardous work can be done, with easy access to all the tools and far away from other household members.

At first, you might have found any kind of workspace satisfactory, as long as it allowed you to carry out your tasks in peace. However, with time, your garage workshop will require additional organization. After all, you’re going to amass tools, projects, and other things that can quickly turn your garage into a hoarder’s den if you’re not careful.

Another thing you’ve got to keep in mind is protecting your items, tools, and the work surface in general from changing weather. Specialists from A1 Garage Door Repairs in Nebraska have recently concluded that many of their customers called them up because of damage caused by the state’s extreme weather conditions. If they can damage your garage doors, they can also cause mischief to your workshop as well, so it’s best to weatherproof it.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your garage workshop, you’re in the right place! In this article, we’re going to provide you with some ideas on how to turn your workspace into something more professional.

DIY Storage Solutions

Once you spend some time working in your garage workshop, you’ll soon realize the tendency of items like screws, nuts, and bolts to pile up in your workbench drawer pretty quickly.

In this section, you’re going to learn how to keep these (as well as some larger items and tools) neatly organized, without having to spend a fortune on storage solutions you can easily take care of by yourself!

PVC Drawer Organizers

All you’re going to need to make these are some 1″ or 2″ PVC pipes and a saw to cut them in half. That’s pretty much it! Of course, you will also need to measure out the length of each individual organizer and cut it accordingly so that it can easily store whatever you need.

When you have all of your pipe pieces measured out and cut up, you can begin screwing them onto your workbench drawer bottoms. You’re going to end up with a nicely divided storage space for everything from screws and bolts to screwdrivers!

Overhead Storage

This one is going to take a little more time and effort to be properly installed. We advise against constructing the racks yourself, as you won’t be able to measure how much weight they can handle, so they can quickly turn into an injury hazard. Store Bought racks aren’t too expensive, and the best ones can hold up to 600 pounds worth of stuff.

The installation process is quite straightforward but will require some climbing on your part. All you’ve got to do is drill the racks onto the wall, right where it meets the ceiling. Make sure all of the screws are tightly fastened — you don’t want a heavy shelf full of tools falling on your head!

DIY Tools Storage and Maintenance

If you’re sick of tools ending up on your garage floor or don’t want rust to get to them too quickly, you’re going to want to implement some of these DIY solutions to your garage workshop. Of course, we’re not able to cover every single tool in your arsenal in this article, but hopefully, you’ll get inspired to find more information on upgrades if you don’t find what you’re looking for here.

Grease Gun Holster

Grease guns are quite nasty tools and tend to grease up any surface they come in contact with. That is their function, after all. This, however, makes them particularly annoying to store. Instead of putting them in your drawer or on the shelf, take some time to create a neat holster!

You’re going to need two pieces of PVC pipe: one with a 1-inch diameter, and a 3-inch one. Cut them up so they can easily store both ends of your grease gun. Screw your newly-created holster onto a plywood backer and voila! You’ve created a brand new grease gun holster.

Sheet Metal Workbench Cover

This one is an absolute must in any proper garage workshop. Without it, your workbench is vulnerable to changing weather conditions, not to mention getting covered in paint and grease stains.

Make precise measurements of your work surface and head on over to your nearest HVAC shop to buy the necessary sheet metal. Next, screw them on top of your work area and that’s pretty much it! For additional flair and safety, you can add another layer of steel on top of it to make your workbench extra-durable.

Regardless of whether you’ve added the steel or not, you’re going to end up with a superior workbench, able to handle heavy car parts and other heavy-duty objects without the risk of denting. It’s also going to be very easy to clean up. Whether it’s paint, grease, oil, or some other liquid, all you’ve got to do is squeegee it into a drain bucket or the gutter.

The Bottom Line

Plenty of garages have been turned into workshops in the past, but most of them end up as dirty, smelly, and overall unpleasant spaces where it’s impossible to get any work done. A workshop is just like a car — if you don’t take proper care of it, it’s going to end up ruined relatively soon. Don’t let your garage deteriorate like that as well!

The four DIY upgrades to your garage workshop outlined above are just some of the improvements you can add to your workspace in order to make the time spent there more efficient and enjoyable. There are plenty of other things you can do to upgrade your garage and whether you want to make it easy to clean, introduce another storage rack or protect your tools and garage floors from damage, remember: never pay someone else for the job you can easily do yourself!