Updated 5/6/22
There are many benefits to having auto repair services in your home. First, you save time by not searching for auto repair locations whenever you want your car repaired. In addition, there are new and efficient technical advances in vehicles and their parts, thanks to technology. For this reason, the quality of auto car mechanic services has changed drastically.
Hiring an auto car mechanic now means that they have a greater understanding and knowledge of what is broken, how it broke, and how much it will cost to fix. The risk of your mechanic misunderstanding what you are asking for is also minimal because they only repair one aspect of the car.
Another benefit of bringing an auto mechanic to your home is that they can do the repairs faster. There is not as much distraction or noise at an auto mechanic store. This also means there is more work for a lot less money. Having an automatic car repair section or repair services done at home also means you can make sure the mechanic you choose has a good reputation.
When having an auto workshop in your home, ensure that the mechanic is licensed and insured. Having the mechanic in your home means you can see everything they do. With this, you can easily make sure they are not trying to rip you off.
Nothing is more aggravating for a true car enthusiast than paying a mechanic for a job that you could do yourself. If you’re passionate about cars and you’ve been trained to handle repairs and work on auto body issues independently, taking your car to someone else can be frustrating. Furthermore, it’s often expensive. Once you’ve tackled a repair on your own, you’ll know exactly how much money mechanics add to the installation of a new part. They add the additional charges to cover labor and make a profit, of course. But if you can take on this labor yourself, why take a car to a mechanic in the first place?
The answer for many people is a lack of space for tools and the labor itself. Mechanics have plenty of room which they can use to work on vehicles and store equipment. Not only does an auto body shop need to accommodate cars, but it also needs to provide the space that a mechanic needs to work. They have shelves and storage spaces they can use to keep their tools close by and the ability to organize their equipment. You may have the technical space necessary to handle auto repairs, but you probably don’t have your own garage workshop. Why not change that?
As car enthusiasts and home mechanics are staying home now more than ever, now is the time for them to start considering the best garage workshop designs. Though creating a garage workshop may seem to be a drastic response to the issues surrounding taking a car to a mechanic, we’ll explore the reasons why it could be one of the most beneficial decisions you’ll make — not only for your car but for your house, as well.
Right now, car owners also need to consider how best to sustain the lifespans of their vehicles. With the average age of households’ cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks increasing from 10.1 years in 2007 to 11.3 years in 2012, we’ll soon be dealing with cars that will show their wear and tear without proper maintenance. If you want to not only maintain your cars but improve them, or even build your dream car, creating a garage workshop can be one of the best decisions you could make. Let’s explore this potential addition further below.
Why Should I Create a Garage Workshop At Home?
If you’re a true auto enthusiast, cars aren’t just a hobby for you. They’re something that you devote a significant amount of time to learning about and working on. You likely already know where to buy auto body parts and you may even have contacts through which you can buy used parts more affordably. It goes without saying that maintaining cars, especially classic cars or sports cars, costs money. Vehicles are long-term investments. You may be balking at the idea of spending money on the best garage workshop designs, but think about how much you’re already spending on your car. Bumping up your garage into a true garage workshop, or converting your additional home space into a garage workshop, is simply a further investment into your cars.
Once you invest in the best garage workshop designs, you’ll be able to repair and improve your vehicles on your own, rather than taking them to a separate mechanic. Why not take advantage of your own skills? Furthermore, you’ll be able to save on more than just practical maintenance. You’ll have the space to paint your car or to replace the upholstery, the windshields, and the windows. If you really wanted to work on a car and resell it, you could do so out of your own garage, making even more money than you would save simply through repairing your own vehicle.
Now, keep in mind that your garage workshop should be for your own personal use. You shouldn’t see this as a way for you to create a professional auto shop. That’s starting a business and you’ll need a lot of qualifications before transitioning from an enthusiast to a professional mechanic. Rather, this is taking your personal projects to the next level. If the damage is beyond your skills, you can still take your car to a mechanic. Keeping a personal garage workshop simply means that you don’t need to do that if you’re ready to tackle issues yourself.
Of course, you benefit from the best garage workshop designs in more ways than one. Adding a garage workshop to your home actually raises its value. Think about how often homes come off as homogenous. How similar is your house to the other houses in your area? A garage workshop is a major value add, offering more finished space to potential buyers that could potentially be repurposed in the long term. You may not feel as if you will be selling your home anytime soon. But in the future, you may need to consider selling a home quickly. These unique and valuable features can move the selling process along and give you something to advertise to potential buyers.
Keep in mind that when considering the best garage workshop designs, you have multiple options at your disposal. You could convert an existing room into a garage workshop or update your existing garage into a garage workshop. However, you could also add a new space to your home in order to expand it and create an entire new area for your auto projects. This would increase your home’s square footage, and though it may require more of an initial investment and extra time, it could give you greater results in turn. Consider this when debating whether or not to add a garage workshop to your home’s layout.
What Should I Prioritize When Creating a Garage Workshop?
First and foremost, you need to take a look at the best garage workshop designs. You can utilize containers and shelves to create storage space, but it’s even important that you have room to move around, to lift your car off its tires for work on the undercarriage, and to move big pieces of equipment in and out of the shop. Consider how many cars you would like in the shop at one time. A two-car garage may be a worthy investment, especially if you plan on housing your cars inside the garage when you aren’t working on them. You also need to have the proper lighting and outlets in which you can safely plug different machines. This is why you should have an electrical service provider out to assess the project before you get started and ensure that you can extend your electrical wiring to your garage workshop safely.
After hearing bids from different contractors and decide whether or not to convert a preexisting space into a garage workshop or add on a new space, you can set to work. If you’ve decided to convert an existing garage into a garage workshop, you’ll need to consider which repairs are necessary to turn your normal garage into a blank space in which you can work. You should definitely invest in garage door repairs if they’ve sustained any damage. In fact, you may want to consider replacing your residential garage doors entirely. This would enable you to invest in more updated garage doors — ideally, those that are automatic and are therefore more difficult for thieves to break into.
This brings us to our next point. When you create a garage workshop, you may become more of a target for burglars. This is just a natural part of keeping nice equipment and great cars in your garage. Therefore, you’ll want to enhance security. Maybe consider adding some security cameras around your garage to ward off intruders. Change your locks and look into a key cutting service to make keys just for you and your family. A garage workshop is a major investment, so you need to make sure that it’s protected.
Once these preliminary items are out of the way, you can move on from choosing the best garage workshop designs and leap into the fun part. It’s time to start considering the types of tools you’ll need for your workshop.
What Should I Keep In My Garage Workshop?
When selecting the tools and equipment for your garage workshop, you need to think about what is most important to you. Do you want a space where you can make repairs? Or is your goal to buy car kits to build your dream muscle car? You may also want to restore damaged vehicles, or completely overhaul them. Obviously, you’ll be working with limited space. Therefore, you need to consider your investments carefully.
If your goal is to have a practical workshop wherein you can maintain your car, you probably already have a lot of the prerequisite basic tools — like sockets, pliers, wire cutters, and mallets. However, you may also want to invest in some more advanced pieces of equipment, like a tire fitting machine. If you like to take your car on tracks, this is particularly beneficial as you’ll be changing your tires frequently. Jack stands, air compressors, and torque wrenches should be on hand for more intensive projects. If your goal is to restore a used Ford F150, for example, you’ll want to make sure that you already have as many necessary tools in your garage workshop as possible. When it’s time to take the project on, the last thing you’ll want is to pause just to run out and grab a tool that you’re missing.
If you’d rather work on the more cosmetic parts of a car, you still need to buy a good amount of equipment. It just might not be available at a typical hardware store. Think of grinding and sanding supplies, paint spray guns, dent repair tools, gear for vehicle window tinting, and protective masks to keep yourself safe from chemicals and debris. You may also want to invest in welding equipment, depending on how heavily you want to work on a car. The best garage workshop designs can accommodate equipment for both practical repairs and body shop projects, but you need to consider how much you want to have of either type. This is because the type of design that you settle on may ultimately affect the amount of storage space that you have in your workshop.
How Can I Maximize Storage Space In My Workshop?
Clearly, a key component of the best garage workshop designs is storage space. But if you’re working with a preexisting garage, you’ll only have so much to work with. Cars naturally take up a great deal of space on their own, never mind the equipment you’ll be adding to the workshop. It’s particularly important that you keep more hazardous materials out of the workspaces.
Think about, as previously mentioned, installing shelves on the walls to keep smaller tools out of the way. If you’d like to minimize obstruction even further, use bungee cords to hang tools like wrenches on the wall. PVC pipes can be used to keep tools with long handles, like brooms and rakes, out of the way. Furthermore, if you install a workbench you may wang to keep a cabinet with drawers beneath the bench. That way, you can use the bench to sit and work while at the same time storing tools.
To recap: adding a garage workshop to your home not only makes it easier for you to save money and work on your own cars but adds value to your house, as well. You need to work with contractors to narrow down the best garage workshop designs to accommodate your needs and maximize your space. Furthermore, you also should consider exactly what you want to get out of your garage workshop. It’s not enough to create a glorified garage; you’ll want a workshop that services all of your specific needs as a car enthusiast.
A garage workshop is a great way for you to save money and indulge a hobby that you already love. Think about taking the steps to make this addition to your home!
