Garage Equipment helps you outfit your home workshop
If you’re a DIY car service enthusiast like us, you’ll know there’s nothing like having your own fully fitted out car workshop at home.
There’s no doubt that part of the attraction is planning, designing, and then outfitting your workshop just to suit you. Yet you can still benefit from some expert input when you’re putting your workshop together.
We asked the Garage Equipment team to share their top five pointers for turning your home garage into a safe and productive DIY workspace you can be proud of.
1) Make sure you’ve got enough storage
An untidy workshop is an inefficient workshop. And untidiness often stems from not having enough dedicated storage space to properly put away all your workshop equipment.
When planning your workshop storage, keep in mind that you’ll need to store not only bulky items such as tyres and wheels, but also the myriad of smaller items you’ll have on hand such as tools and hardware that need shelf space and multiple compartments.
When you’re thinking about tool storage, consider investing in rolling tool boxes. The time you’ll save in not having to walk back and forth to find the right spanner can make the investment very worthwhile.
By organising your workshop effectively, you’ll set yourself up for getting the maximum productivity from a minimal amount of space.
2) Invest in the safety of a floor jack and jack stands
If you’re tempted to try and get by with the jack that came in your car’s boot, we suggest you think again. It’s simply too time-consuming and just plain unsafe to use a small jack for anything but the simplest work under your car.
Instead, think about improving your home workshop’s safety by investing in a hydraulic car jack. You can even opt for the convenience of a take-anywhere portable car hoist like the QuickJack, which you can easily transport in your boot.
And while we’re at it, you should definitely forget about using a few scrap pieces of wood for chocking your car’s wheels too. Instead, get the security of heavy duty steel jack stands that are built especially for protecting your workshop’s most valuable piece of equipment – you.
3) Ensure sufficient lighting – in the right place
Naturally, in your home workshop you’ll be working under the bonnet of a car or truck a lot of the time. That means that if the only electric lighting you have is located on the workshop ceiling, you’re sure to be working in the shadow cast by the bonnet much of the time.
That’s why it’s important to have not only good overhead light, but sufficient lighting from the sides or on the walls as well.
Good lighting not only reduces eye strain, it’s essential to performing quality work. So if your garage doesn’t have enough natural light from windows (or if you’ll be working at night), make sure you install enough light fixtures so that you can see everywhere without shadows.
Bonus tip: Painting your workshop walls white will make a big difference in brightness.
4) Give yourself space to work with a sizeable garage workbench
At the heart of your garage lies your workbench, complete with tools and toolboxes close at hand. You can either build your own timber workbench, or opt for a purpose-built galvanised steel workbench complete with storage drawers and powder coating.
Whether you build or buy your workbench, make sure it’s designed and built to be able to withstand the tough treatment you’ll put it through. The base and legs should be sturdy and the table should not easily be knocked over. The top should be durable and resistant to dings and dents.
When you’re positioning your workbench, you’ll probably find that your garage is only about car-length deep, which means you’ll need to place your bench to one side. It can be a good idea to opt for the left side (passenger side) wall, so that you’ll have space to easily open the driver’s side door.
5) Upgrade to a car hoist as soon as you can
When you’re working around and under a vehicle, there’s nothing that’s quite so functional as a two post or four post car hoist.
Yes, a good quality car lift will cost you a few thousand dollars. But they’re definitely worth the investment when you can afford it.
A car lift is the ultimate accessory for your home car workshop. Not only will it mean you don’t have to lie on a cold cement floor any more, it can also save you time when you’re working. By lifting the vehicle to head height, you’ll have easy access to both tools and the car.
There are a wide range of different car hoists and lifts available. So to experience just how functional and efficient your home workshop can be, we suggest looking into your hoist options as soon as you can afford to.
Outfit your home workshop with Garage Equipment
We hope you enjoy setting up your ideal home workshop. If you need advice or assistance with choosing the right equipment for your needs, give our team a call today.
Talk to the experts at Garage Equipment team on 1800 777 318 or get in touch with the contact form here.
