It’s a numbers game. The lion’s share of the budget usually goes to the workshop building. If there’s anything left, it can be used for finishing off the interior – and a big need there is for storage.
The best way to approach this challenge is to avoid it in the first place. Pre-fabricated metal buildings used for workshops are generally far more cost-effective than traditional construction. Many, such as the designs offered by Miracle Truss® are made for a DIY assembly – so you’ll save even more. But, let’s say you’ve already bit the bullet and gone with a more expensive alternative. Here are some inexpensive ways you can furnish the interior with tool storage solutions.
PVC Can Be Your Best Friend
It’s available in many diameter sizes. You can find it just about anywhere. It can be easily trimmed with a chop saw. And it’s very inexpensive. We’re talking about polyvinyl chloride pipes, more commonly known as PVC. It’s the standard replacement for metal piping in commercial and residential plumbing.
It’s easy to transform PVC piping into a multitude of storage solutions for your workshop, especially because of the range of sizes. One of the best examples that shows PVC’s versatility for organizing is using cross sections to create an organizer for brooms and long-handled tools. Just seeing the idea, and realizing it can be created with PVC and a couple pieces of 2×4 lumber, should start to get your organizational creative juices flowing.
Woodworkers and anyone with a profusion of hand tools will also realize that PVC repositioned vertically and installed on the underside of shelves also creates an ingenious “grab-and-go” scenario for your drills.
Taking a Page Out of Great Storage Ideas
A good workshop – whether professional or at the hobby level – is an organized one. That’s easily achieved when things are organized because they’re put away where they belong. But that means they need a designated home in the first place.
We’re all familiar with pegboard. Here’s an example of using it to create 32 square feet of vertical hanging storage space, but which takes up only about 6.7 square feet of wall space. Magazine-style pegboard storage is definitely you way to go if you’re short on floor space.
Look Up!
Many workshop owners do have the problem of limited floor space. If you can’t use the walls because all that space is taken, you’re left with overhead storage solutions. It’s easy to take a cardboard concrete form and suspend it from the ceiling to create storage for long pieces of wood trim, edge banding, or even small-diameter pipe.
Think Storage Before You Start
Right now is the time to plan out your storage solutions if you’re still in the process of deciding on a structure for your workshop. You’ll need to budget for them, and it’ll help you determine what you can afford to spend on the workshop’s structure. We can help with the last part. Check out our current building specials.
