Sortainer for shop build out

[iamnothim]

In two weeks I am rebuilding my garage workshop.  It’s one bay of a three bay garage.

Before I go on more here’s my question….
I’ve decided to build Systainer bays instead of base cabinets.  The bays will be fixed with pull out trays for the Systainers. I know many have done this.  Besides the Systainers for the power tools which “Drawer Type” Sortainers do you find most useful and what do you keep in them?  Do you think I can get away without building any traditional drawers?

I read part of a huge thread on an amazing shop build with modular bays an an counter that’s an MFT top on stand-offs.  I didn’t book mark it ..
I may do this but I already have two MFT/3’s

I’m also thinking I’ll have a SS sink under a removable counter that drains to a 5 gal bucket.  For cleaning the HVLP and brushes.

For the uppers I plan on building cabinets with vertical lift doors.

I’ve been considering all types of flooring for the shop area then I circled back to good old fashion hardwood floors.  200 sq ft.  Probably hickory.  All the old shops were in barns with wood floors.  The rest of the garage I’ll get some sort of epoxy finish.

I’m also looking at this metal pegboard system for the wall  Laundry Room.  Any feedback on this stuff?  Thanks

 

[nclemmons]

I have several sortainers that I use for storage.  They are fine for smaller items, but there are a lot of things that I want to store that won't fit in them without wasting a lot of space.  So I would go with traditional drawers.

Here's a few reasons why:

- I have sharpening stones, rolls of adhesive sandpaper, chisels, drill press accessories, planes, etc in drawers that just are not conducive for storing in Sortainers. 
- My drawers are on full extension glides and pull out around 18", so they give you a lot more depth than what you can get out of a Sortainer.
- Building your own drawers lets you size the drawer to the items you want to store.  Not possible with Sortainers
- Drawers will hold a LOT more weight than what you can put in a Sortainer.  Fill up a large Sortainer drawer with hinges, or electrical supplies and I think you'll find them to be pretty heavy to easily open.
- On lower levels, visibility to the small drawers will be limited.  You'll be on your knees looking for things whereas larger drawers with containers let you look down into the drawers and grab a container that you need.
- Far cheaper to build your own drawers than go with Sortainers

I'd take an inventory of what you have now and think through how well they will fit in a Sortainer and make the call.  You may find that you want a Sortainer or two, but I think you'll find the drawers that you make could be a better option.

Let us know what you decide and share with photos

neil

 

[iamnothim]

Great advice....

 

[nclemmons]

Thanks Lanothim...

A couple of other thoughts on your plan.

Vertical doors... are you thinking like a roll-top desk?  One advantage of hinged upper cabinet doors if you are building your own is the opportunity to design the doors to store items on the inside of the doors hanging - squares, chisels, calipers, saws, etc.  There is an incredible amount of storage you can put in a door on the inside if you support it with the right hinges.  I use piano hinges full length.  So think about whether that might be a consideration for you.  Plenty of examples on finewoodworking or wood.com or wordsmith.com or shopnotes.com, etc.

If you can do hardwood, it's a great choice for a floor you are standing on all day.  I'll defer to others here on how you lay hardwood over a concrete floor and whether you need sleeper joists or can lay on the concrete.

neil

 

[iamnothim]

Thanks Lanothim...

A couple of other thoughts on your plan.

Vertical doors... are you thinking like a roll-top desk?  One advantage of hinged upper cabinet doors if you are building your own is the opportunity to design the doors to store items on the inside of the doors hanging - squares, chisels, calipers, saws, etc.  There is an incredible amount of storage you can put in a door on the inside if you support it with the right hinges.  I use piano hinges full length.  So think about whether that might be a consideration for you.  Plenty of examples on finewoodworking or wood.com or wordsmith.com or shopnotes.com, etc.

If you can do hardwood, it's a great choice for a floor you are standing on all day.  I'll defer to others here on how you lay hardwood over a concrete floor and whether you need sleeper joists or can lay on the concrete.

neil

Good thought on the cabinet doors Neil.
That's a classic shop cabinet.
I was thinking of minimizing the upper cabinets and leaving a lot of wall space to hang hand tools and put some bins up.  Perhaps a long narrow shelf for battery chargers.

I'm thinking the uppers would be longer and shorter with a tilt up door.  It's out of the way if you want to leave it open.

I'm in So Cal and all the homes are slab.  I have a lot of hardwood in the first floor.  It has a vapor barrier and 3/4 plywood below 3/4 T&G hardwood.  I have maple in the house, I thought hickory would be cool for the shop area.  I might not finish it at all.... like a barn.

 

[shed9]

I'm a little confused, the thread title states sortainers but the description is systainers?

 

[Stone Message]

I agree with neilc - you will need normal drawers for all sorts of things.

Peter

 

[iamnothim]

I'm a little confused, the thread title states sortainers but the description is systainers?

This is actually not as confusing as most of my threads.  [smile]