5 Affordable Luxuries for a Hard-Working Garage
Just having some time alone in the garage is a luxury for most of us, so building our dream shop with all the bells and whistles often stays a dream as we focus on simply enjoying what we have. Just because we can’t have 2000 square feet, a mill, a lathe, and a lift does not mean we should ignore little touches of luxury that make our projects more enjoyable—or, at least, more tolerable.
A luxury does not have to be a big-ticket item, merely something that makes you look forward to your time in the garage or that makes your projects run a little smoother. With that goal in mind, here are five affordable upgrades for just about any space.
Affordable Luxury #1: Good Lights
Lighting technology has come a long way in recent history. Compact and efficient LED work lights are easy to hang, run tens of thousands of hours with little maintenance, and sometimes can even be put on a dimmer. That last feature may seem a little absurd, but I don’t particularly enjoy how surgical my garage can feel when I want to just hang out with friends.
Hardwired, battery-operated, or plug-in, lights are great options that can fit anyone’s needs at almost every price range. Consider lighting an investment. It might feel like a decent chunk of change now, but most lights will last years, and they will make working on just about anything more enjoyable.
Affordable Luxury #2: A Decent Stereo
The jury has been split 50/50 here whenever I bring up having a television in the garage, but it’s pretty much universally agreed that a good stereo is a must-have. While the Panasonic boombox purchased with Pepsi points in 1996 might still be cranking out the tunes, if you care about sound quality at all, a good set of speakers and a decent amplifier are very affordable, and they allow you to advantage of any music format you might prefer.
Obviously, no one would want to keep records where they use an angle grinder, but not every garage is focused on fabrication. After I splurged for in-ceiling speakers and a tidy wall-mounted amplifier, it became so much easier to listen to music, and the sound doesn’t change much no matter where I am in the space—and my setup cost about $200. Do what works for you, and make it sound good.
Affordable Luxury #3: Sturdy Shelves
Even the most minimal workspace must include storage. The prices of sturdy, strong, and decent-looking shelving are budget-level when you consider that it takes a lot to wear out shelves. Similar to the lighting above, good shelving is a buy once, cry once decision. Adjustable shelving can be had for just a couple hundred dollars, perfectly suited for the projects and parts you store currently. It can even leave you room to grow or change the space in the future. For the same price, you can also buy materials and build custom shelves for your space.
Affordable Luxury #4: Reels
If your garage is bigger than a closet, the addition of extension cords or air hoses is less about convenience and more about necessity: Overhead or wall-mounted, retractable reels make it easy to keep tripping hazards to a minimum. These have gotten budget-friendly as of late—just be sure the wire gauge is appropriate for your use.
Some of the low-end, cheap electrical reels can be 14-gauge or smaller, while most heavy-duty plug-in power tools are best served by 12-gauge. Roll out the length of hose or cord semi-regularly to inspect for imperfections or damage. Cables and hoses that live on the floor pick up debris and, if those bits are rolled into a reel, they become grinding compounds that can damage cords over time.
Affordable Luxury #5: Rugs
Okay, maybe not a rug. We couldn’t imagine a garage with wall-to-wall carpet, but something that people can wipe their feet on, or a standing mat at your workbench are little things that go a long way to make a workspace feel less industrial and more like a place you enjoy being in. Use them to inject a little personality into your space, if you want: Novelty door mats can say just about anything, so we won’t give you any ideas.
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For the air compressor and than hose reel: a sturdy enclosure, fitted with acoustic tiles. This will aslo protect one from the unlikely by potentially fatal even of catastrophic tank failure.
For those of us north of 49th would add portable 1500 watt heater for those that don’t have a heated garage. The extension cords have to be construction grade so they remain flexible below 5C (41F). Upgrade from fluorescent to LED overhead lights made a huge difference working from November thru to March.
There are so many things a modern garage needs it too extensive to list, however in addition to those mentioned here I would add the installation of a Split unit heat pump / AC system. They are very reasonably priced, and some can be installed without a HVAC pro.
I just finished my install if a 18K BTU unit in my 3 car garage. It’s so nice to work in climate control and the latest units are so efficient that they cost penny’s a day to operate.
Insulation & work-friendly temperatures and plenty of light are basic requirements…I’ve had a TV & stereo, and they’re good for atmosphere, though sometimes I’d find myself watching the TV. In any case, neither cranked so loud that I wouldn’t be able to hear what I was doing; think dropped clips or things you need to hear while checking their operation. Organization, cleanliness, and an absence of hazards are also mandatory in my space. I’m really only lacking a lift, and I sure wouldn’t mind another parking space…and yes, those could be a “2 birds, one stone” proposition.
Adult beverage cooling station, but I’d never get anything done that way !!!
Skip the stereos and TV’s. I don’t want distractions when working. A computer close by is more useful to be able to look stuff up. I have good lighting, a retractable drop light (would like an LED cordless though as more convenient these days) and a retractable air hose reel. I have a closet with heavy shelves. You don’t need a huge amount of stuff. Don’t be a parts ‘collector’. Keep some spares for the common fixes and hard to get stuff and only store what you need for the project at hand. Hoarding hurts the hobby as people can’t get the parts you have stashed for ‘some day’. Nothing worse than a car enthusiast dying and his/her heir tossing all your collected stuff into the scrap bin. I would LOVE to have the ceiling height for a lift. Getting too old to be crawling under cars.
I have a pretty nice shop. About 4200 sq ft. Two two post hoist. And two four post hoists. And a frame rack. But my wife will not let me put a TV in. She says I will never come home if there’s a TV here LOL
How about that refridgerator full of brewskies to celebrate a completed job? 🙂
Tradition matters!
I like the idea of a TV in the garage, especially on weekends when either NASCAR or football are on. Instant Replay was invented for this purpose. Most of the time you can just listen to what is going on, but if/when something exciting happens, you can stop working for less than a minute to see 14 different angles of what transpired and then go back to what you were doing.
Exactly!!!
I have one of those anti fatigue rubber mats if front of my work bench, it insulates your feet from cold concrete and helps back and foot issues when standing in front of your bench for hours at a time.
My recommendation is get some mats whether you think you need it or not. My 7 decade old knees do now need the cushioning and maybe had I been kinder to the knees years ago, they would be nicer to me now.
All of these are great additions. We went nuts on our shop, with full 3.5 ton HVAC, sprayed insulation, twin 14 ft’ doors, and a tastefully appointed bathroom. The bathroom features artwork and a “Wall of Shame” with broken boat propellors from ours and friends boat over the years. One thing I have found indispensable is having a computer in the shop for looking up parts, info such as torque settings, fluid capacities, etc. I run an older iMac, and it is networked to the house via fiber to the house so I have my entire Music library available on the shop stereo. I also toss video, YouTube, etc. to the shop Vizio TV w/Roku Stick via Airplay. The Vizio even has it’s own stereo system:-) (I do audio for a living. Music is king here) And never forget the obligatory Beer Fridge. There is nothing like a summer evening with friends, the doors open, the stereo playing, baseball on the Vizio, and someone’s car being molested as a team effort. And of course, plenty of beer, chairs and bar stools. Did I mention beer?
I had several stereo units in the garage. I very soon learned that if you are doing any real serious dust creating treatments that the dust kills a CD or tape and player. So I resorted to an Ipod with a small speaker system/ charger unit. I even tried building a cabinet for the stereo units with no luck.
I have my old turntable plugged into the computer, and am gradually transferring my albums (and tapes and CDs) to MP3s. Then I can play them back on my laptop from anywhere, or from a media player app on the ROKU. Or on a thumb drive plugged into the console of my truck. But that also makes the WiFi, or an ethernet cable to the garage more important.
I got an Echo Dot plugged into my ancient stereo. With Amazon music, you can listen to anything you want. make your own playlists
A two or four post lift is close to the top of my list. I installed a used (they are cheap) two post a few years ago and I couldn’t have guessed how much it helps. Much faster and easier to work on anything. Safer; no jack stands. You have a much better perspective of everything when it’s not 6″ from your nose. I rarely have to use a creeper anymore and that alone is worth the money.
Air conditioning! If you live in a hot, humid climate in summer, it’s essential if you expect to get a lot of work done in season. I installed a window unit in the wall sixteen years ago, and it’s one of the best things I did for my work space. I need to do the reels for extension cords.
Wifi is definitely worth having. Don’t have the rugs but I do have the floor expoxied so stains are easy to wipe up.