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  1. #1
    FEP Senior Member droopie85gt's Avatar
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    Default Making the most of your garage space

    Since my wife can't be convinced to move until the youngest is at least a 12th grader, if not out of high school, I am looking for ways to max out my space.

    Anyone care to share pics of how you max out your space? I have a 2 car attached garage that is on the small side. It's roughly 21x21. I try to keep things from putting cabinets and stuff below the top of the car height, but that's pretty hard to do. I have a stainless work table on one side wall and 3 tool boxes along the front. 2 are my brothers and maybe one day they will be gone, but I'd have to buy a 2nd one as soon as that happens for all my stuff. I have wall cabinets on 2 sides and LOTs of shelves. I am thinking of making or buying some kind of shelving that goes over the garage door when it is in the open position. But something that is wire mesh so that side of the garage isn't super dark when the door is down. I've got 2 very small sheds (strict HOA) but don't like the thought of storing parts or randomly used tools out there, from a moisture or theft standpoint.

    So anyone have some super coll HGTV type ideas?
    1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes

  2. #2
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Hardest to face are facts we only have x amount of space, square/cubic feet to play with.
    i see many things i want/need, but no more large space unless something goes.
    Am between a saver and a pack rat. Is organized, sorted. No garage, basement, attic.
    Shoot. Where did i put that spare 60's Cox P-19 model airplane rudder i now need?
    When one uses most everything, at one time or another, nothing can go easily.
    Large parts can be a problem. Spare rims, sheet metal, engines.
    Then there are home related items. Lawnmowers, tools, furniture.
    Bully stupid concept perfect world sterile HOA's no help. That's what condo living is for.
    Own property, but cant use it your way. The Look. Renting storage costs too much.

    Attic and or basement? When floor space maxes out, have to go up/down or out. Or cull within.
    Storage is a constant battle. Like doing a puzzle. Warehouses, stores, factories face the same situations.
    Being a material handler by trade, moved plenty of everything at work and home. Constant.

    Rotate accessible items according to season, project, everyday use.
    Frequently needed items get front row prime real estate access.
    Some 2' deep shelving, 2' h, can hold a good mix of items. Flexible shelf height spacing is desirable.
    If items are stored on wire mesh they will block overhead light. HD wire mesh for steel rack shelving is strong.
    Large plastic totes can be stacked and wont scratch anything.
    Any closed container could use a label with current contents on the outside of it.

  3. #3
    FEP Senior Member Dave9052's Avatar
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    Depending on amount of space between ceiling and door, the shelving idea above the door may work out well. I have seen them used in several garages and depending on space between, that is what will determine amount of storage capacity. You will probably have to move lights below shelving unit even with wire mesh as whatever you are storing will also block light.

  4. #4

    Default

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    I prefer stacking to the ceiling with no real Name:  20181007_151207.jpg
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Size:  109.2 KBorganizational properties at all. I do have some off the shelf cabinets from lowes next to the tool box and some long 2x4 osb shelves on both sides of the garage for piling stuff. I did just add a small gas heater with a nearly useless fan on it.Name:  20181007_151731.jpg
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Size:  105.4 KB this is my view sitting on the top step to the house, as you can see this 20x 20 "garage" is full

  5. #5
    FEP Senior Member ddx77's Avatar
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    Default Making the most of your garage space

    I’m thinking we’re all in the same situation. And believe it or not my svo was in here last weekend.

    There’s a 85 GT under there.












    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #6

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    That looks about right.

  7. #7

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    For the small sheds, maybe you can put job-site steel job-box inside? Home Depot has some small ones.

    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-32...RDHU/303540674
    Husky 32 in. Heavy-Duty Job Site Box Red
    Built tough for construction work site
    Provides 7,856 cu. in. of storage
    Provides maximum strength and durability
    $ 299




    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Trinity-...0502/206892086
    Trinity - 36 in. Job Site Box, Gray
    Interior box dimensions 32.5"W x 15.5"D x 12"H
    Matte rust-resistant powder coated finish
    Box can be mounted to a truck bed and forklift accessible
    $157

  8. #8

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    From what I've seen, those just make it handier for theives

  9. #9

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    10yd dumpster is apx. $300

  10. #10
    FEP Power Member dagenham's Avatar
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    Can you dig dowm�� Put a basement under the garage��
    Current Mustangs
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    1984 SVO 9W
    1985 Saleen #132

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammer Down View Post
    10yd dumpster is apx. $300
    You should update your profile.
    Fwiw, not everyone lives 3miles from you.

    Some FYI on dumpster and trash removal:
    A 10yrd dumpster is ~$500-$600+ in most of Mass and Conn.
    For Mass and Conn people, don't forget that many dumpster prices do not include any weight, nor taxes. Also, tires and mattresses are extra. There are also banned items - like CRT monitors and TVs.
    And, so on.

    I'm doing remolding (two houses) and clean-out. I've rented dumpsters 5 times in the past ~3 years. So, I know what the real prices are, not just the BS web page or "quoted" prices. No, I did not fill up the whole dumpster each time.

    I've had "quoted" phone prices, then have the actual bill be more. After a lot of wasted time on phone calls, etc, they gave me "most" of the difference. So, be careful of the lowest price "quotes" or web prices.

    Some places will give a discount if less than half of the 10yd dumpster is used.

    For one dumpster, Junk King gave me a "quoted" web price. The local agent charged me a lot more after the pickup. Again, phone calls, wasted time, wait for bla-bla bill/charge to clear (huh??), email again, etc.

    The bagster (3 yds) pickup prices also vary a lot through out the Country.
    In some places, some dumpster places have their own "bagster" like option, that is often a little cheaper. Per yard, it's much more than a 10yd dumpster. But, the convenience and taking as much time as you want to fill it, makes it attractive in some cases.
    Plus, not every cleanup needs a 10yd dumpster that will f******** up your yard or driveway.

    Plus, some of us have a lot of stuff. So, we need storage - even after throwing away a bunch of stuff. And, storage units are expensive.
    Last edited by stangPlus2Birds; 10-07-2018 at 09:04 PM.

  12. #12
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    My garage is not small but we have 12 vehicles. I have added a second lift next to the first one. You only need 60” for each car.
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    Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
    84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
    88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
    03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
    14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles

  13. #13

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    I have a 2 car garage, maybe a few feet longer than a standard size but the ceiling is only 10 feet. I was able to fit a hoist in to keep the Capri up top and my daily driver below it. I've got enough room along side the car for my tool boxes and benches and some room in the front as well. My wife's Explorer still fits on the other side with no issues. Anyone that sees this is amazed you can fit this in a normal garage, best thing I ever did.
    HAD
    14 Mustang GT
    94 Mustang GT
    93 Mustang LX

    HAVE
    81 Capri - 302 with 351 heads, 4 speed top loader
    68 Mustang Coupe - 351W, 5 speed tremec

  14. #14
    FEP Super Member mmb617's Avatar
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    When we built our original garage we didn't make provisions for a lift as it only had an 8 ft ceiling. Later we added on another bay that was 13 ft to the bottom of the trusses so I could put in a lift. Knowing that there is no such thing as too much storage space I wanted to maximize usage of what would normally be dead space. What I did was run a 2 ft wide heavy duty shelf along one side and the back wall. This shelf was cantilevered 8 ft off the ground so it wasn't in the way of anything I do in the garage. We use it to store items we don't need often and it's been really helpful. I also cantilevered the workbench I put on the back wall so I could store things underneath without having support posts in the way.


    Here's the shelf I'm talking about:





    Another thing I did was to put everything possible on wheels so it could be easily moved out of the way when not needed. I have two metal wheeled carts that store under the workbench and one of them has my drill press mounted on it. I also have the hydraulic press on wheels and of course the mig welder, acetylene outfit, spare engine stand and tool rollaway were already on wheels. I made a couple shelf units that fit in the corners of the garage door and they also are on wheels.














    I don't know how those of you who can't have backyard sheds ever have any space in your garages. I have all my outdoor equipment stored in sheds otherwise it would take up a whole bay of the garage. Not counting the garage I have a total of 5 outbuildings, and they are all well used and not just to store junk I never use either.
    408/T5/3.73's

    We're not fast racers, we're more what's known as half fast racers.

  15. #15
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Back home in CO, I am lucky in that I have a 4 car tandem car, so better than most. Although as someone that has 6 Foxes at the house as well as two other muscle cars in addition to all the daily drivers, I am a bit short on space. In addition to that I probably have enough spare parts to build at least two additional Foxes.

    So what I did was add plenty of shelving on both sides of my garage. This is the area on either side of the garage doors. This allows me to pull cars in and out, but does limit access on those sides. I have a row of shelving and work bench at the front of the garage as well as some additional shelving. The other things I added are the overhead storage racks. Similar to these: https://newageproducts.com/ca/overhe...4aAn_HEALw_wcB I didn't put mine over the garage doors, since they would block too much light and with it being Colorado I don't open the doors up much once the weather gets a bit cooler. Admittedly having both heat and cooling in the garage does help.

    I set my racks up so that two of the larger totes from Home Depot will stack on the shelves and allow me to maximize my space as much as possible. Also allows me to store those hard to store parts such as interior quarter panels, etc. Up and out of the way, but safe.

    You can see my storage racks on the one side wall in this picture.

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    Here you can see the overhead storage racks when I was first moving all my crap into the garage and trying to make space to actually fit a car.

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    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
    1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
    1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
    1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts

  16. #16
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
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    I have to say, I feel much better now knowing that I'm not the only one with this issue. I give parts away left and right, throw stuff away and it still seems like it's a never ending battle. I built a decent sized shed out back and it's full. I have a pile of wheels piled up in the yard behind the garage. I have parts stashed in the attic above the garage. I have cars filled with parts. I have parts under the cars that are filled with parts. I can barely walk through my garage and every time I have to do something out there, I have to spend an hour playing tetris just to get into position to work. I got so sick of it, I took a couple months off from working on the cars. I can't stop wrenching, though...so I bought a couple old 4-wheelers that I've been fixing up. My 4-wheeler work area is our back porch (covered). I just finished clearing all the tools and parts out of that area the other day, but only because I had to refinish the decking and we did some painting out there. I have 5 fox bodies, one of which is currently at my neighbor's house. Luckily for me, he's taking his time putting floor pans in it. Not sure where I'm going to park it when it comes back. We have 2 grown boys that moved in with us...one is in school, the other one is bouncing around to different jobs and doing hoodrat stuff. So we currently have 4 fox mustangs, an old 91 full size bronco parked out beside the house, my truck, the wife's car, and the boys suv's. We have two boxer dogs, one of the boys moved back in with his dog, and we're watching my neighbor's problematic boxer pup to keep him from having to go to the pound. I'm starting to realize why some people just snap and loose it out of the blue lol!

  17. #17
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
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    This just popped up on Facepalm...
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  18. #18
    FEP Senior Member droopie85gt's Avatar
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    Wow...did this post strike a nerve! Love it. Actually I'm jealous of a couple of you and using all of these pictures to get the wife off my back! LOL!!!

    Actually, my HOA allows sheds, but they must be wooden and somewhat match the house and the plans have to be approved before you start. I have one of those waist high rubbermaid things with double doors and sliding top and it fits like a glove right behind fence between the gate and the house. My mower, gas cans, fish fryer and spreader go in there. Also I think there's part of a Fox exhaust. Last year I bought a little 5x5 or so, 6 ft tall metal shed. UH OH, metal sheds are forbidden, but you can't see it from the front so F them. Patio furniture and basketballs and some more exhaust parts in there.

    I've looked at that shelf kit HD has for about the door. That's where I got the idea. But it's expensive. I think I can get some wire mesh from work and then I think I'll find some out garage door strut or buy some, but make a shelf like that for a lot less.

    My big problem is I have 2 huge boxes in the way right now. One is a Magnaflow exhaust for a Dodge Dakota I no longer have. I've listed it several times on CL, but no takers. I hate to throw it away, but it's coming to that. The other is a factory Ram dual exahaust off a Hemi Ram that I am going to put on my V6 truck, but I am looking for a bumper with the duals cutout. That will free up some space. I have the space above both rows of cabinets packed out. Probably can get up there and throw some stuff out I haven't touched in years.

    I'd like to get a small hydraulic press and a flux core welder, but that's MORE space. I wish I could get a car lift but there's a lam beam running across the center of the garage. I think the ceiling is 10' but that thing is 10" thick, so I think the floor to beam height is only about 9'.
    1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes

  19. #19
    FEP Power Member
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    [QUOTE=droopie85gt;1892620 I wish I could get a car lift but there's a lam beam running across the center of the garage. I think the ceiling is 10' but that thing is 10" thick, so I think the floor to beam height is only about 9'.[/QUOTE]

    Actually, you only need 10’ to clear the roof. If you position the beam over the hood, less space is needed. I use a piece of foam as a safety barrier.
    Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
    84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
    88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
    03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
    14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles

  20. #20
    FEP Senior Member droopie85gt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KevinK View Post
    Actually, you only need 10’ to clear the roof. If you position the beam over the hood, less space is needed. I use a piece of foam as a safety barrier.
    The beam runs left to right pretty much centered up so no matter which way the car is facing, I don't think it would clear....and I am pretty sure I couldn't hide that box from the wife! lol

    I need to slide my 85 over to the middle more so I can get the drivers seat out and yank out all of the Holley Commander 950 wiring and ecu and replace it with the Holley HP wiring and ECU. She not going to like that. SO I am waiting for the weather to break so hopefully I can do that swap in one weekend and she isn't the wiser.

    If she's noticed the huge Borla box that has the Ram factory exhaust in it, she hasn't said yet. We both make about the same, so neither of us can say much to the other about spending as long as the bills are paid. But she does kind of nudge me when she says, damn honey, there's a box everyday coming from Amazon, Ebay or RockAuto. WTF?

    I say, I gotta get the Mustang running if I ever want to sell it. And at my pace, that story will work for 2 or 3 more years!!!
    1985 GT, Sunroof, 5 Lug, Rear Discs, 01 Graphite Bullets, 88 forged piston shortblock, 2.02/1.60 Alum heads, Weiand Stealth, Holley C950 TBI, BBK Long tubes

  21. #21
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    Man sized shelf. It’s comoletely free standing. Sits on 4x4 posts at each corner that anchor to the sill plate. Three 2x10’s per truss with tin screwed to it and shot with construction adhesive then screwed together the stack. 2’ stringers go between each beam. I’ve had crap loads of weight dead center and there’s no give. Spans 26’ and is a 5’ wide shelf. If I had it to do over I’d go 8’ shelf depth

    gettibg ready to move so most of the stuff I had there is now in a storage unit.
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    Last edited by erratic50; 10-09-2018 at 10:15 PM.

  22. #22
    FEP Power Member richpet's Avatar
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    Wow. I don't even have a garage. Just a carport, and a shallow one at that. Someday...
    83 5.0 GT. Quicker than it looks! 10:1 (or just over) 306, Motorsport a332 cam, 140A alt, t5 conv, 8.8 w/ 3.27's, Edel rpm, alum rad, very worked e7's, Holley SA carb, etc... SOLD IT!!!!

    Now an 1981 Granada! .040 over 302, Edel E-street heads... Currently building a 347 because, why not?

    "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"

  23. #23
    FEP Senior Member ddx77's Avatar
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    I like that setup! I'd like to do that and get a roll up garage door and eliminate the opener and the rails.

    Quote Originally Posted by erratic50 View Post
    Man sized shelf. It’s comoletely free standing. Sits on 4x4 posts at each corner that anchor to the sill plate. Three 2x10’s per truss with tin screwed to it and shot with construction adhesive then screwed together the stack. 2’ stringers go between each beam. I’ve had crap loads of weight dead center and there’s no give. Spans 26’ and is a 5’ wide shelf. If I had it to do over I’d go 8’ shelf depth

    gettibg ready to move so most of the stuff I had there is now in a storage unit.

  24. #24
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    I wish i would have thought of a lift sooner. It would have worked.

  25. #25
    Venomous Moderator Hissing Cobra's Avatar
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    I have a very small 15' x 25' garage so I have to make the most of all space. I built my Cobra in this garage so small spaces can work but you've got to maximize what you have. I do not keep anything that I will not use - ever. I either sell it, give it away, or throw it away. The only exception that I make is if a part is no longer available and I think I can use it in the future. Things like used alternators, power steering pumps, bellhousings, rotors, calipers, steering racks, solenoids, voltage regulators, etc.... I always keep because you never know when you'll need one. With that being said, I built shelving on top of my rafters in the garage to keep things in check. I also built the workbench but sized it so that I could fit my toolbox, air compressor, battery charger, refrigerator, etc... nice and neat. I do not keep anything on the side walls of the garage because I do not want anything falling into the side of the car. Here's some pic's.


    Here's my work area.

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    Here's where I store all my mechanical parts, it's above the work area.

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    Here's where I keep my spare body panels and race tires.

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    Since this is FEP, I've gotta post one with the Cobra in the nest.

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    Pete Slaney

    1979 Mustang Cobra

    347/T-5/4.30's
    420 rwhp/380 rwt (New Motor)
    11.49 @ 121.86

    306/T-5/4.30's (Old Motor)
    307 rwhp/278 rwt
    12.38 @ 111.38

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