As you are reading this, chances are that Chad and I are face deep into projects. In my case that means probably lying flat on my back in the driveway. In Chad’s case that may mean he’s working on something at Westech, in the garage at his house, or also in his driveway…on some days it is all three. We know that everyone out there has a little bit of a different situation when it comes to their wrenching environment. Some of you guys have a nice shop with a lift and luxuries like a roof. Others of you may be hammering on your stuff in an assigned parking space at your condo or apartment complex. While Chad and I both openly fantasize back and forth about the shops we want to own and be messing around in some day, we’re not down on our current situations either!
So, do you spend your wrenching time doing it in the pits, the shop at home, a place you rent, your driveway, parking lot, the side of the street, what? We want to know where you are wrenching and as a bonus, we want to know what your ideal wrenching spot would be. Part of me thinks that while a home shop would be the stuff, a shop a couple miles down the road from home could have its advantages as well because we wouldn’t be essentially living in it like Howard Hughes. The danger in the home shop is that once we had it, we’d never leave it!
BangShift Question Of The Day: Where Do You Do Most Of Your Wrenching?
(here’s three examples from my 2012 travels)
I feel great that I finally have a single car garage – but most people are grossed out by it…its old, grotty, filthy and its a great place to have the stereo on and just take your time fixing stuff without getting rained on. Years ago my wife’s old toyota crapped an engine and I bought another car for $50 and pulled everything out of that. Dead of winter, pissing down with rain, laying on your back with a cold….thats why I now love my grotty garage…
I have a small 1 car. It is my 1st house with a garage. It’s small fit’s my 80 malibu wagon with a little room in the front.Most of the time I’ll pull the car outside and do my work out in the driveway. Got it fixed up some sheetrock,heat, fridge,stereo etc. At least I can keep my stuff out of the weather!
I have a drive in basement. One car wide with an area for my tools
and a workbench. It is deep enough for the Impala and Regal. I
don’t like to to much fab work inside though, I usually go outside
for anything that makes a lot of sparks. It’s not really heated but
it stays a comfortable temp.
I am extremely fortunate–and grateful–that I own a 2,500 sq. ft. garage with Backyard Buddy hoist. I’m too darned old to lie on a large piece of cardboard under a car or truck.
I nicknamed my work place “The Ghetto Garage,” or GG, for short, a structure conducive for work and and an abundance of b.s. with fender lizards who drop by whenever they can, which suits me fine.
Driveway.
No garage here. All work in done in the driveway.
Fortunately, this is N.California, so the weather is usually OK.
I’ve done engine swaps outdoors in a single wide carport in 16*F weather, drivetrain and exhaust work in the snow on my back, and now I’ve finally hit paradise with a 60’x64′ barn that has a small patch of concrete and a wood stove. $12-20k worth of concrete and I might move into it!
My house in NJ had a 3 car garage. Now here in NC stuck with only a 2 car but will be installing a car lift. Too old and fat to work on the ground!
I have a two car garage which is usually too full of stuff to pull the car in, so out on the driveway it is. I’ll be out there whenever I have dry daylight and 40 degrees plus. I’m too much of a wimp to out there in snow and freezing temps.
I have a 960 square foot shop, behind my 990 square foot house. I dont have a driveway out to the shop, and the shop is full, so I use my dad’s driveway or suck it up and work in the grass.
I have a six thousand square foot shop. Yeah right. It’s the driveway under the carport on hot days……I’ve done my fare share of work on gravel driveways, in the mud and in the rain. One too many days in the blazing sun and humidity. My dream garage would have walls. A wood stove would be nice though…..
My last few thrash sessions have occurred in the driveway.
My garage has enough problems in it already.
Currently in the “backyard” of the place I’m renting. I try to time most of my work so that I can do it at my parents’ when I’m visiting. Sure it’s a dirt floor, but it’s where I’ve done most of my work, and has just about any tool I’ll need. I’m also in the process of buying a house. Three of the 4 have garages of course. One even has a pit. All three are concrete. I can’t wait.
I’m bless with a 1800 sf garage with (bathroom,phone, tv) 10,000 lb lift. No more laying on my back pulling transmissions or working with frame stands in the cold and wet weather. Now if I could just get my sons to over and help work on the race car.lol
Last fall I moved into a house with a free standing 750 sq ft garage. It’s still full of stuff, but we’re making progress on setting up the house and clearing the garage.
We downsized on the house, so the garage took up the overflow. So, decent space for tools, etc, but the work gets done in the driveway. That will change over time.
Beats doing an engine swap in the parking lot of my apartment complex when I was in vet school. My wife forbid me to rebuild the engine in the apartment (I have to concede that she was right about that), so I bought a short block and stripped everything down to the shortblock and swapped all the parts over after dropping in the new shortblock.
Finished on a saturday night, then drove from FL to NC the next day to break it in, to start an externship on monday morning.
I have a 3 car garage
***** Were do I do most of my wrenching.?**
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In the gravel drive way the grage is full of other projects
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In the driveway.