Work Area Impovements

On the sly, I've been making our workspace in the garage a whole lot better over the past several weeks. It was a bit of a domino effect upgrade.

I added a second pegboard wall and installed an upper shelf and even did a little paneling to make it look good. You can see how I build the workbench here and here and the first pegboard install here.

It all started with this pile of scraps from my former picnic table (R.I.P.). I couldn't let this beautifully patinaed wood go to waste.

The wall above the concrete here was just plain ugly so that seemed like a perfect place for it. There is a shear wall behind the drywall here in the garage so I was able to nail into that as well as the studs to try to get these warped boards as flat as possible.

As you can see, I still haven't repaired the ceiling from the rat escapades. I left a small gap where the gypsum can slide in when we repair it. Repairing the ceiling has been on the list for a year now and really needs to be done, I'm just not sure I'm up for the job and need to figure out if I can get smaller cut sheets of the fire rated stuff at DBS, my favorite local place. Ideally I'd repair the ceiling and paint the whole thing but ooof, that's a big job. 

I made the shelf from the 1" ply off cut from the picnic table top. I rolled out both sides in leftover black high glass Rustoleum but left the edge unfinished. This piece of ply is pretty warped, I'm hoping it flattens over time.

I got these no nonsense steal brackets from my local Ace. I installed them upside-down to avoid having to drill into the concrete wall. Having the bracket cross the shelf was a worthwhile design compromise to avoid the much dreaded drilling into concrete. Obviously the wall screws had to go into the studs -they had to be super long to go through the paneling, drywall, shear wall and then to the stud.

I attached the shelf by drilling completely through the ply and using a bolt, nut and washer.

I'm using this shelf to store random hardware, of which I have jars and jars...

Next up was installing the pegboard. I had a piece cut down and bought some 1/4" shims to back it. (ICYDK, You've got to have clearance behind the board for the hardware to poke though). 

I've seen some people use double stick tape (that turbo 3M bonding stuff) to affix their pegboard and shims to the wall. That would be a whole lot easier in this case, but I am still a sceptic about the long-term hold of that stuff (I just don't have any experience with it). So I drilled. into concret. which is a. pain. in. the. ass.

  

When drilling into concrete or doing any major house DIY, adhere to the woodworkers mantra which is "use the right tools for the right job and things will go great". In this case, "great" is relative term because it's still loud and unpleasant. However, want to experience utter misery? Try drilling into concrete with a regular drill. (I know, I have, in a moment of complete, desperate, weakness).  The hammer drill is the only way to go and also only use a hammer drill bit for masonry so the thing doesn't snap on you. I know, I know, no one wants to lay out cash for these completely unsexy items, but it is so, so worth it. Also as a technical tip, always vacuum out the concrete dust prior to putting in screws, the dust really builds up in there.

I painted the pegboard the same matte black as the other.

My son Ethan installed this very cool fluorescent light fixture he made to the bottom of the shelf. I like to have my workspace lit like the sun. 

I'm storing all the woodworking tools on this side, whereas the other side holds all the bike tools.

 Looking good, right?