Projects Garages that are too small???

Who else is building their car in a garage that feels too small? I've got my parts stacked to the ceiling on my hanging storage rack, in the trunk of the car, on the roof of the car, and on my front patio now. They are scattered all over my work bench in and around all my tools, and mountain bike parts also. I live in a small condo, but at least I have a garage. It's getting a little overwhelming doing this type of work in a space this size and I feel like I could use some motivation from others in the same situation. Let's see them!

 

I think they all feel too small. My 1320 sq ft shop is too small to work in, my 1200 ft parking garage is stuffed full.

You're getting work done, so it must be big enough?

 

Before and after; they're NEVER big enough!

 

My current garage is too small but not as small as my last garage. LOL

We built the Pusher in a 10x24 and literally had to crawl under the truck to get from one side to the other or raise the garage door.

my current garage is a little bigger and I still have to do things like roll the bike out or the A to work in there. When it gets far enough for me to actually sort the chassis out I will have the sedan body on the deck behind the house, the fenders are already out there.

 

I don’t have a picture of it but imagine Quad Al (4 Allison engined creation of Jim Lytle) being built in a small home garage. I seen it and am still impressed by his doing it, that was around 1962 or 3.

 

Unless you have an airplane hanger, they are all too small...
I have to move three or four things before I can do something. I can barely walk around my vehicle and I have a 2 car garage. Garages are made for parking in, not working in. Everyone need to build a work shop.

 

Two car garage too small?

You need to get rid of some stuff,I built several cars in a single car garage and a few in the yard.

This was just a step up from working in the yard,dirt floor,extension cord run from the house,no heat in the winter and wasp in the summer.HRP

 

I've worked on cars in a one car garage. You have room enough for a fridge so I think you're doing ok. Car looks great so far.
You must have cool neighbors and HOA. Usually working on cars in a Condo is an issue.

 

Mine is 24' x 25' but jammed up pretty bad. I have a separate 10' x 16' room in it where all my machine shop stuff is and that is crammed as well. I can't walk around the back of the car, need anything on a shelf on the back wall.. the car has to go forward 3'. Got access on one side, the other I can barely walk past the car. Try that with claustrophobia. I have trouble working under the car unless I take it outside.

I have a pretty bad habit of piling things on top of the car, largely in boxes. To the left side front of the garage, I have room to work. Did I say I lose things all the time? I put them in "safe" places and can't find them. Lost the top clamp to my AFCO battery box and its not that small.

 

This is my current situation. It's tight and I usually setup my tools in the garage and work on it in the driveway, but at least I have one.

 

I work in a small shop as well, and get a few people in there and it is real cozy. LOL. I just try to make creative and good use of my space. That can also turn into a project, but it is kind of fun, moving things around, and improving what I have for space. Wish I had a bigger shop, maybe in the future. This is one of my bays, two bay garage with a wall between . Has been re- organized since this pic. Have fun with what you have, thats what I try to do.

 

I built stock cars out of my dad's 1.5 car garage. Another crammed to the rafters deal. But when you've had NO garage, the place is a palace.

Google Earth, I found a shot from last year with my car in the driveway... garage was a no-go at the time.

 

Back then especially in SoCal it was common to use the garage for storage and work in the driveway, you pushed the car out so you could either work in the shop or on the car and you cleaned up your mess and pushed it back in when you were done.

I personally in the last 45 or so years have built more cars in the street or on the driveway than any other way.

LOL my retirement place has a little garage in the basement (model T sized more or less) but it has a large (30x40) pole building out back. I am still going to build a loft in one end for storage. I sure wish they would quit changing the Social Security laws so the missus could retire and we could get moved up there.

 

Do you share your condo garage with someone?
That thing looks huge compared to my house garage.

 

Looks like everybody agrees....they're never big enough.

 

Every car guy's garage is too small man!

 

ah yep never to big

 

yep, never enough room - in part problem is that when you have a "empty space" most feel like you have to fill it up. watch TV shows with big bucks guys and most of their shops are packed full too. just like $$, never enough.

 

I have a one car garage... and a basement... and a tiny room behind my garage.. I make it work. the key is to build small cars.


in the garage.


basement

 

This is perfect guys. Thanks for all the replies. So I'm not alone! I wasn't expecting this many replies. I'll just get a little more creative with my space, clean up more, and keep my head to the grindstone.
Yes my neighbors are all pretty cool about it. Some of them have stopped by to check it out and seem to think it's pretty cool I'm doing it all myself. And I try to keep the noise down when I can. I'll close the garage door when I'm doing really noisy cutting and grinding.

 

No it sits behind and under my condo.

 

I used to have a 62 Cadillac, my garage at the time was about 5" longer and maybe 2 feet wider than the car. the door was maybe 10" wider than the car. lucky for me there was a cement slab in the back yard for me to work on. nowadays that garage wouldn't even hold all my tools, let alone a car.

 

our shop where we run our business is an old barn, uneven broken concrete floors.. all of the equipment is inside but alot of stuff gets built outside... our motto is "handmade in the shade" thank god for the trees... except when the leaves fall on freshly painted whatever.....you work with whatcha got.....

 

I have a one car 14x23 garage .I work in the driveway for bodywork and stuff then push it back in!I was thinking about a pole barn .Ive got the room.Im on 1 acre.

 

Sounds like where I built my first car, dirt floor extension cord and all, but mine was more of a shed with a low wall at one end, I had to push the car outside to work on both ends.

 

I started building the Peter Beater in (kinda) an 8x8 shed. Thoguth I'd died and gone to heaven when I built a 10x16! Now I have a 28x28 with an additional 20x16 added onto the back. Still not enough room.....

 

^what he said^ - build smaller cars haha.

I have a small 10'x20' "storage" garage that the landlord (an old, semi-retired guy at the time) told me I could do whatever I needed to do to get my project done in there. They have changed property management companies several times since then, and nobody's ever said anything to me, so I just keep on going!

I added a storage loft in the rafters with a boat winch mounted up there to get things up and down, which has also worked to get the engine in and out of my project several times lolol. I also added shelving around most of the garage, and I store stuff up there if not being used - even tools. Out of all the schooling over the years, THE most valuable courses I ever took were Occupational Safety and Lean Manufacturing - those were unintentionally structured to open up my imagination of what was possible!

Anyway, enough rambling. The garage:







And the car while it still somewhat resembled a vehicle:

 

LOL he probably won't see this thread because he doesn't log on much these days much, but I know for a fact that KCTA Chris built his '39 Deluxe in a rented storage unit.