{"id":1069,"date":"2010-03-30T18:18:55","date_gmt":"2010-03-30T23:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/2010\/03\/30\/work-around-the-garage\/"},"modified":"2010-03-30T18:18:55","modified_gmt":"2010-03-30T23:18:55","slug":"work-around-the-garage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/2010\/03\/30\/work-around-the-garage\/","title":{"rendered":"Work Around the Garage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2010-03-30<\/a><\/p>\n

I wouldn’t consider myself to be especially handy.  I can change my own oil, and know how to run a few power tools.  But, these are not indications of how handy I am, but rather point out just how cheap I am.  I refuse to take my car to the shop if it something I think I can figure out on my own (and after 10+ hours, with plenty of busted knuckles, I either get it figured out, or I have screwed it up so bad that I have no choice but to take it in).<\/p>\n

Case in point: I broke the steering arm on my riding lawn mower, which effectively meant my wheels were falling off and I could only change directions by kicking the tires while they were moving.  Did I take it to the shop to get fixed?  No.  Did I get someone to weld me a new support arm? No.  Instead, I decided to fashion a replacement out a 2×4, metal brackets, cut washers and .some furniture sliders.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a> <\/p>\n

After a few adjustment, it works like a charm.  Now lets just see if I can get it to last through the summer.<\/p>\n

Suspended Shelving and Fold-down Workbench<\/h4>\n

My most recent project has involved building some shelving and a work bench in the garage.  I needed to be able to get our outdoor gear out of the way, store my tools and have a workbench to complete projects on (the top of the deep freeze just wasn’t cutting it anymore.)<\/p>\n

The first piece I completed was the suspended shelving.  I knew I wanted to build it out of plywood and 2x4s (for easy of construction and cost) and I did not want to have massive supports jutting out.  So I came up with a design that utilizes 2×4 cleats screwed to the studs and then a 3\/8" threaded rod supporting one corner<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/p>\n

I started by marking the height I wanted the shelf and then screwing in two perpendicular 2x4s.  For my garage, it made sense to hang the shelf 48" from the ceiling.  [NOTE: I should have attached the shorter cleat first to maximize the number of studs it could screw in to.]<\/p>\n

I then constructed the shelf itself.  I screwed 2x4s along two sides of 1\/4" (2′ x 8′) plywood.  [NOTE: Be sure to leave room for the cleats you previously installed.  I forgot to do this on the short side and had to notch the cleat.]  With someone’s help, hoist the shelf up onto the cleats.  One or two strategic screws should hold it in place while you complete the project.  I waited to install the final screws until I had the rod installed to help support the weight.<\/p>\n

Next I installed a 90 degree bracket to help hold things together and to spread the weight distribution.  By drilling a hole through the apex and using a large washer, I was able to provide a good support for the connecting rod.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a><\/p>\n

I passed the threaded rod through this support and secured it with a large washer and two bolts.  I left roughly six inches below the bolts in case I needed to adjust things.  The rod then passed through the drywall in the ceiling where it was secured to a 2×4 passing over multiple joists.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a> <\/p>\n

Besides being less obtrusive, the main advantage to using a threaded rod to support the shelf is that you can adjust it after installation.  Once the rod was secured on both ends, I was able to use the bolts to ensure everything was perfectly level.  I then cut off the excess bolt.<\/p>\n

The only thing remaining to complete the project was to include supports.  I added 3 by tapering a 2×4 down to 1.5" and securing from the top.  These were then affixed to the cleat.  [NOTE: If I had planned ahead, I could have attached these to the cleat before I installed it and it would have resulted in a much more stable design.]<\/p>\n

Once I had the suspended shelving complete (and the resulting clutter out of the way), I could turn my attention to building a work bench.  One thing I had to consider was the depth of my garage.  Because things can get cramped, I wanted to be able to have get the workbench out of the way if I needed to.  I decided on a two part design with a permanent section and a folding section.  I built the surface out of the other half of the plywood from the shelving project.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a><\/p>\n

The permanent section was relatively straightforward.  I built a one-legged frame out of 2×4’s and then attached it to the studs in the wall.  I used brackets to attach the support to the leg.  I then screwed the work surface onto the frame (there is a center support to help distribute weight that is built into the frame).<\/p>\n

The drop-down section took a bit more thinking.  I began by attaching a 2×4 cleat flush with the permanent section of the workbench.  Then, along the furthest-most stud, I attached a perpendicular 2×4 to anchor a hinged support. <\/p>\n

I built the drop down section out of the remaining plywood with a 2×4 frame.  This time I did not use center supports because the whole section is not designed to support a lot of weight.<\/p>\n

I used heavy duty door hinges to support the whole apparatus.  I notched the support cleat as well as the work surface so that it could remain flush with the other work bench.  <\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a> <\/p>\n

The hardest part was trying to align the hinges when attaching the workbench to the wall.  To do this, I attached a 2×2 on the permanent section to help support things then held the fold away bench against the cleat while trying to get it level.  I had someone else go under the bench and mark where the bottom of the hinges were.  I then took a spare hinge and used it as a guide to pre-dill the holes.  From there it was relatively easy to screw the hinges into place.  <\/p>\n

The hinges were strong enough to support the workbench temporarily, but I needed to build something more sturdy.  For that, I used the same style hinges and fashioned a simple support out of 2x4s that secured into place with a basic latch.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/p>\n

When not it use, the support and table top can fold flat against the wall.  I used another latch to secure it in the up position.<\/p>\n

\"2010-03-30<\/a><\/p>\n

The whole project took about $60 in materials and 10 hours in labor.  I probably could have done it much less time if my miter saw had been working and I had thought through my final design a bit more.<\/p>\n

If I value my time at even minimum wage, I doubt I saved much.  But, just like with the home made diaper sprayer<\/a> we installed, there is just something rewarding about completing a project on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wouldn’t consider myself to be especially handy.  I can change my own oil, and know how to run a few power tools.  But, these are not indications of how handy I am, but rather point out just how cheap I am.  I refuse to take my car to the shop if it something I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[530,1],"tags":[521,532,534,533,535,531],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-projects","category-random","tag-do-it-yourself","tag-garage","tag-lawn-mower","tag-lumber","tag-shelving","tag-workbench"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kickert.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}