As a car enthusiast, chances are you’ve dreamt of creating the perfect space at home where you can tinker with engines, change oil, and perform car repairs on your vehicle without the hassle of scheduling appointments at a car garage. If this is the case, why not turn your unused home garage into a working car garage? Here are a few ways to go about it.
Clear Out the Clutter
First things first, start off by decluttering your garage. Maybe it’s full of gardening equipment, Christmas decorations and other items that you can find a home for elsewhere. You might need to invest in a shed for your garden to move these things to, that way you have all of the space you need to work on your car. Then consider storage and organisation- wall mounted storage is always a good option as it frees up the floor space, you can even buy roof storage where boxes slide into racks fitted on the roof. Shelving and cabinets will all help to keep everything in order and keep the main area free of clutter too.
Purchasing Essential Tools
No garage would be complete without a set of essential tools. If you seriously plan on repairing and tinkering with your car on a regular basis then these are a good investment. Wrenches, a comprehensive socket set and a torque wrench for precision work are all examples. As your skills grow, you can always expand your tool collection to include specialty items.
Workbench and Lighting
Choose a workbench with plenty of storage space for tools and a durable surface for all of the tasks you might need to complete. Proper lighting is important too- most garages don’t have great lighting as standard so you will probably need to install bright LED lights to illuminate your workspace.
Safety Considerations
Working on cars involves hazards, so it’s always important to prioritise your safety. Invest in good quality safety gear, including gloves, safety glasses and hearing protection. A fire extinguisher is absolutely vital for unexpected emergencies, as well as a first aid kit in case of minor injuries. The way you store and dispose of things like fuel and oil are important too, it’s worth installing a smoke alarm in your garage just in case. Setting up a motion detection camera as well is another thing you could do, that way if any issues cropped up and you werent there you’d get a notification on your phone.
Lifts and Air Compressors
For jobs underneath the car like oil changes and brake repairs is much more manageable with hydraulic lifts and other auto shop lifts. An air compressor with pneumatic tools can speed up tasks as well, from tyre changes to impact wrench use. These upgrades do require an initial investment, but they significantly enhance the capabilities of your DIY car garage and if you’re doing your own repairs, you’ll certainly save money in the long run compared with taking it to a car garage.
Would you set up your own car garage at home? What tools and equipment do you think would be the most important to invest in?
