Garage planning

So I just rented this garage at my apartment complex.

It is 26' 4" to that back wall by about 17' 5" wide and the back wall not including the entrance is 12' 5".

So far I have scored some free plywood and a counter top that was getting thrown out at work to use in building a workbench. I have 72" of countertop.

I also got a free but slightly damaged drill press.

Ok so a few problems. One lack of electrical sockets. There are three free ones. Two are on the left side wall and one is on the ceiling. I am thinking I am going to run an extension cord to the back wall and attach a power strip to the work bench to run a grinder, drill press, a light, a little fridge and at some point table top lathe. At what point am I going to start throwing circuit breakers? Also where can I find those things that you can put over chords to keep people from tripping on them? Problem number two lack of light.

I have the one light in the ceiling which isn't great and the light on the garage door opener (again not great). I was going to add a light at the work bench and I was thinking it would be great to be able to hang a light from the ceiling at that socket but I am not sure the best way to do this. The apartment doesn't mind a few holes drilled in the wall as long as you don't go crazy but I don't know about drilling into the ceiling. Any ideas?

Final problem this being a rental, they don't want oil strains. Any ideas of mats or something to prevent this?

Also any one know where I can find a Triumph banner or flag?

i'd just use old carpet, or go raid the closest cardboard recycling bin and make up some square mats in various sizes!

For lighting in the ceiling, consider getting some of those hanging florescent lights. Screw some J-hooks into the ceiling where the trusses are and hang the lights and run the cords off the outlet in the ceiling.

You should be able to find the cord "thresh hold" thingy at any of the big hardware store joints.

For oil drip control, lay down some cardboard with some carpet over it. Or go upscale with some of that fancy Trax flooring. For areas that you know there will be drips, get a metal drip pan from any of the auto parts stores.

Hope this helps, and enjoy having a garage (again?)!

Try to find out if all of the receptacles and light are on the same circuit breaker (likely). If that is the case, then you may need to be judicious when running larger power tools.

For example, if you have an compressor plugged in, you may want to shut it off before running a grinder or 120v welder as if the compressor kicks on while you're welding, then it may overload the circuit.

You can get adapters that can screw into a light bulb socket that converts or adds a receptacle which would allow you to convert the single 100W bulb into a few hanging fluorescent fixtures.

Careful with your noise level. Some apartment complexes aren't to keen on "workshop" activities. Keep the door down as much as you can.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Careful with your noise level. Some apartment complexes aren't to keen on "workshop" activities. Keep the door down as much as you can.

Not really a worry on that one since my garage is a good distance from any apartment except the one above but I figure sound won't transmit up that well.

Tarpaper or old carpet on the floor, thrift store strips or Squid cords for electrical outlets. Assimilate the neighbors, they need an outlet.

start at the breaker(s) capacity and plan out from there. add up the amps each device runs at, don't forget start amps ( usually 1.5- 3X run amps). limit the lights, tools and appliances used at the same time to each circuits capacity.

See if theres a habitat for humanity store near you - these places sell off extras/remnants/slightly used items that builders or homeowners donate. You should be able to score some hella-cheap roll linoleum for oil control.

4cylndrfury wrote: See if theres a habitat for humanity store near you - these places sell off extras/remnants/slightly used items that builders or homeowners donate. You should be able to score some hella-cheap roll linoleum for oil control.

I usually get into trouble from my wife when I go into those stores.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

The key to those places is to keep going back. I probably only find something I need about every third trip, but when I do it usually saves me 50-80% off whatever I was going to spend, and they tend to have a lot of high end products among the remnants.

I always wondered if someone made a sound canceling doodad for a room, like sound canceling headphones but on a larger scale.

Edit: just cover the inside in this!

If they'll let you drill a few holes in the ceiling - you can hook up a couple of dual tube flourescent light fixtures for Lowe's, Home Depot, or Menards - depending on where you live

You will NEVER trip breakers if you only run one machine at a time.

You can plug your grinder, drill press, lathe and any other 10 things you want all into the same outlet and never blow a breaker if you don't run them at the same time. If you have a 1 man shop, you weill probably not be running them at the same time. The plug strips will be fine.

Your lighting and your fridge are different.

The fridge should be on its own circuit if possible. If not, you can run it with other stuff and see if it blows. If it does, you can unplug it when running machinery, as long as you remember to plug it back in when you are done so your meat doesn't defrost.

If the lighting is the same circuit as the outlets, you will be a little limited on how much lighting you can add. If they are different (which is usually the case), no problem.

Lowes and HD have corded, hanging 48" dual fluorescent lights for $20 +/- that look adequate for that garage. I been using them for over 15 years no problem, plus you can move them around as needed. No big amp draw there so the cheap and light extension cords are only needed to reach outlets/ strips.

In reply to Taiden:

That is an anechoic room which is very expensive to build. Sound deading form is open cell which collects dust every well. That said you can buy sound deading here, http://www.markertek.com/Acoustic-Materials/Acoustic-Panels-Baffels.xhtml

From: http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/077355/077355012224md.jpg

Above is a sample photo but here is something that worked for my in my tiny 20x20 garage. Top mounted shelves. These shelf brackets mount the the wall header, no need to be exact with getting them in the stud because the header runs the entire way.

My top shelves are 15" wide and good for using a ladder to place items up there (big igloo cooler)

The next two shelves are 12" (jack stands stored here)

Then two rows of 6" at shoulder height. (great for cans and bottles)

I can walk very close to the wall (6" away) but then have wide storage overhead.

The best part of the whole deal is that it also leaves the floor completely free to hold other items.

I have three 6 foot sections done this way. Two of the sections meet in the back corner to create a nice L-shape. I have about $300 into the system but it is ultra sturdy. The shelves are 3/4" particle board (not OSB) and each 6 foot shelf has 3 brackets which are spaced about 27" from each other.

For your rented space, these types of shelves would leave minimum holes and those holes would be high and typically out of site.

Also, where the single light is in the ceiling in the middle - you can plug in a 2 into 1 bulb adapter to run 2 bulbs both at angles. Screw into 2 - 300 watt bulbs. This with a couple of the 48inch dual tube lights from the ceiling will be great. I have this setup in my garage at home, along with a stand up twin light stand.

TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote: Also, where the single light is in the ceiling in the middle - you can plug in a 2 into 1 bulb adapter to run 2 bulbs both at angles. Screw into 2 - 300 watt bulbs. This with a couple of the 48inch dual tube lights from the ceiling will be great. I have this setup in my garage at home, along with a stand up twin light stand.

If you do this with incandescents you could go over the rated wattage of the fixture. I have a Y adapter on a single bulb garage fixture with 2 23W CFLs in it (each 150W equivalent), plenty of light and the total wattage is still well under the 100w the fixture is supposed to draw.

When I had a 1 car garage in Denver to light up I replaced the single light socket and 60 watt incandescent that was there when I moved in with a dual wall jack so I could then run a pair of these; http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Indoor-Lighting-Industrial-Shop-Lighting-Strip-Fluorescents/Lithonia-Lighting/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbvm3ZwvZ12ky/R-202052422/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This way I could spread them out towards the walls and I had maybe $60 in the whole setup with bulbs. A few cheap hooks screwed into the ceiling and I had nice hanging lighting that was easy to remove later.

The outlet in the ceiling should get a retractable extension cord, usually with a simple twist link to hang it from the support for the garage door motor. Every garage should have this, IMHO. Use a drop light with outlets if you prefer.

For the fixture, add a shade to direct the light down (warehouse light adapters) and the biggest CFL you can find. I added those $12 shades in my barn and 100W bulbs put more light on the ground than 300W used to.

I'll second the shelving JRW recommended. When you move you can leave the top rail and take the rest with you for your next place.

Our little college garage doesn't have many (if any) outlets along the walls, so I bought a retractable extension cord that hangs from the ceiling. Worth every penny.

Ian F wrote: Try to find out if all of the receptacles and light are on the same circuit breaker (likely).

This is the first thing to do. Find out what capacity you have, and if you can access the circuit breakers in the even you do overload something (they may be in a locked room somewhere.)

In general, garages in apartment complexes are not set up for workshop space...there's probably enough electrical capacity for a light bulb and a garage opener, and not much else. It's entirely possible your garage is sharing a single circuit with adjacent garages.