Garage / Workshop / Mancave essentials and ideas please

I’ve got an integrated double garage as a blank canvas.
I’m going to put storage hooks up for bikes and racks for skis.
I have a work bench, tool storage including board and plans for a desk with computer in there for you tube tutorial vids and possibly a turbo setup 😯
I’m considering an insulated roller door.
What else / show me yours for the ultimate bike cave?

Sofa and a TV

Insulated door sounds like a good idea to me.

Cage for the gimp?

A vice, coffee machine and beer fridge. Sorted

A vice, coffee machine and beer fridge.

Sounds good + sound system

Things I appreciate in mine

Wifi
Plenty electric sockets
Workbench with kitchen cupboards above as storage
Led strip lighting
Air compressor – mine is twin outlet so retractable cable reel at door for car tyre pressures, other outlet at bench. Air gun very useful for blowing crap out of cassettes etc
Beer fridge
Good stereo
TV
Burglar alarm
Foam matting on floor
Pegboard behind workbench
Bench grinder- grinder and a wire brush wheel
Good quality vice

What I would really like is a sink and running water. Thought an old Belfast sink with garden tap above would be ideal

Air compressor is another good call
Might need to source an old kitchen for units.

More lighting and heating than you think you’ll ever need. I worked for ages with a single flourescent tube, never realised just how crap it was til I put up 3 more, now it’s actually nice being in the garage

This^
You cannot undestimate the need for sockets and light, spec many morE than you think.
In a single garage I have 4 double sockets and three big strip fluorescent lights, paint everything white too, it helps no end with brightness.

I have big 10×3 beams holding up the roof so I cut the leg section off an old bike workstand and bolted it upside down to one of the beams so it hinges up out of the way to the ceiling and locks out down when in use, works great.
Got a big old TV mounted on the wall with a Raspberry Pi behind it running Raspbian as a desktop for my YouTube etc, also got Kodi on it for the music and MTB films.
Got a Karcher permanently set up in the corner nearest the roller door with a long hose so it’s always ready to wash the bikes.
Loads of ground anchors, big chains and good quality combination padlocks so locking the bikes is quick and easy, less likely to forget.

From my perspective get the functional stuff done first then you can always add or change bits.

Storage … specifically some that fits bike sized bits like bars and seat posts on one side, mechs and shifters in the middle and screws, bolts etc at the small end? I always end up with stuff like bars sat on top of a workbench ..

“Sealed floor … ” against small grub (screw) ingress…. just make sure small screws, seals etc can’t bounce under anything .. especially true if you have the beer fridge …

I’m lucky to back onto the laundry room where I put in a spare sink. The hardest part was the outlet .and getting it to drain .. but good to have a sink I can fill with greasy and filthy parts and keep degreaser and swarfega etc. next to the sink and not need to go rummaging with filthy hands
A big paper towel dispenser would be nice ?

Lots of lighting but even then some portable clip on lighting is great

another +1 for air compressor. As above – lots of sockets around the walls, then portable, clip-on lighting I found invaluable. Comfortable flooring – my workshop was used primarily for spannering on my old Mk1 MX-5 so plenty of time on my back underneath…

Paint everything to reduce dust. White is good from a light perspective. Lights, sockets, lots of. Insulation made a huge difference to my detached garage.

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/garage-essentials/rolson-6-piece-floor-mat-set-120-x-180cm

https://www.drapertools.com/category-products/3470/Magnetic-Holders

A separate shed to keep all the garden stuff and kids stuff, my double garage is stuffed full of all sorts of rubbish.
Once you let your guard down the garage becomes a dumping ground.

^A salient point.

A separate shed to keep all the garden stuff and kids stuff, my double garage is stuffed full of all sorts of rubbish.
Once you let your guard down the garage becomes a dumping ground.

This, this ,this.

A line in the sand is the garage. To the point where I put the shed together for the garden stuff.

As said before put sockets everywhere a light above the work bench and paint the floor properly while it’s empty (wish i’d epoxyied or 2 packed my floor).

Great points, deffo get it painted white, good floor paint down and some led lights and then it’s a perfect blank canvas to then do what you like. Keep an eye out for deals on halfords tool boxes

pretty much all above covered. I could do with enhancements for my shed but it’s not bad.
Dehumidifier if you’re going to wash stuff or leave kit / bikes that are damp.
definitely sink for water, my LBS has a big old bath they use for hosing stuff, with shower guard as well.
workbench space and storage obviously. I still have stuff chucked away too far to be handy, as above bars, saddles, seat posts take up much more awkward space than brakes and so on. cranks are another thing that don’t sit easily..

Have one ceiling light on a PIR sensor, so that when you walk in carrying something bulky or heavy the light switches on automatically.

Have one ceiling light on a PIR sensor, so that when you walk in carrying something bulky or heavy to collect the Malbec the light switches on automatically.

What sort of weirdos sit around drinking beer and watching TV in the garage?

Do you not have a fridge and TV in your house?

Man-cave?! Sounds more like a “teenage boys cave”

What sort of weirdos sit around drinking beer and watching TV in the garage?

Do you not have a fridge and TV in your house?

Man-cave?! Sounds more like a “teenage boys cave” 😆 Trollalolalol, lolololol

What sort of weirdos sit around drinking beer and watching TV in the garage?

The sort of weirdos don’t want to watch strictly-cum-reality on the TV in the house?
The sort of weirdos who’s spouse/partner finds sticking a bike and turbos in front of the TV for two hours on Zwift disrupts them watching Emmerdale Street Enders ?

Watching this thread with interest. If all goes to plan I’m moving in September to a house with a bigger garage. My current ‘dad den’ is fantastic, but small and a bloody mess. Wife has signed off budget to make sure the new one is mint!

I painted mine white throughout using a masonry roller
I have kitchen cabinets along the back wall, work top on that with a vice bolted on.

3 big fluorescent tubes in the garage, I have a guard over the one over the bench as I have a tendency to hit them with stuff I am working on.

Roller cab with all the tools in.

3d Super woofer for listening to capital gold

Racks along one wall

Brush guard under the door

fitted an electric opener to the door, this has a courtesy light on it which is handy for quick visits.

Bikes are largely up on the wall out of the way.

two double sockets over the bench, one double mid way and another double by the door.

I have carpet throughout, every time a friend or family re-carpets I get a fresh/old bit

Need to get some insulation for the door and wifi extenders from the house.

I also have an alarm

Its a bit tidier than this at the mo.

I have a couple of 50w led security lights with PIR’s which is great as no need to fumble for a light switch in the dark – open the door at the front or back and the lights come on.

Decent flooring that you can keep clean – I have interlocking rubber tiles from Big Bug, easy to vacuum and mop.

DAB radio with bluetooth connection

Roll cab so all tools are tidied away.

Label maker so you know whats in your roll cab drawers and any storage boxes you have.

I try to have everything off the floor apart from the roll cab obviously. Bikes are all on wall mounts and I built a mezzanine level for storage.

Magnetic box for holding a box of latex gloves – this sticks to side of roll cab. I also have spray can holders, screwdriver holders and allan key holder on side of the roll cab.

Blue toll dispenser on the wall.

Big tub of hand wipes.

I had thought about a tv but it’s highly unlikely I would ever watch tv in the garage unless I ever bought a turbo. If I’m in there I’m working on something. And if I want a beer I’ll go inn the house.

Clutter is the enemy so don’t have stuff in there that you don’t need.

30amp socket is what I put in mine.

Not even sure what I can put on it other than my arc welder but it looks pro.

* adds blue roll holder to the list

A separate shed to keep all the garden stuff and kids stuff, my double garage is stuffed full of all sorts of rubbish.
Once you let your guard down the garage becomes a dumping ground.

So much this. My wife wants to make a doorway through to ours (currently only accessible by going outside and opening the roller door) and I know she will just use it to dump more stuff.

If you are going to turbo in there…working my way through the below plan…mostly there

big TV, ps4, firestick, laptop holders and decent BT headphones. Big fans on smart plugs so you can turn them on remote. Mule bike setup with turbo on thick base with lockable casters so you can easily move it into position and out of the way.

Other things to add to the big list abovet…

If you have windows ikea blinds are cheap and do a good job of keeping out prying eyes.

As well as burglar alarm I have a number of alarmed padlocks and chains – target is the brand I’ve used so far.

If you are really going to town a separate showeroom so you can get changed before you spray mud/sweat over the house.

You can never really have enough storage
Drawers are more useful than cupboard
Filing cabinets are ace – strong, heavy, robust, deep
Proper professional style tool units are excellent, peg boards also helpful for quick stuff
You can’t have too big a work table, mine keeps filling with junk, need to have a good sort out
Lots of light and sockets
Think about security early – sensors, locks
I love my electric door, I use my garage everyday and it makes life so much easier

My garage isn’t painted or clean, it’s absolutely filthy. It has dirt and dust on the floor, and a leaky (to wind) front and rear. But it does mean I can ride in and leave a wet/filthy bicycle/motorbike and know it’ll dry out and not have to worry about it

You can never have too big a garage!

Sorry flooring is from Big Dug, not Big Bug 🙂

and a leaky (to wind) front and rear

I’m the same, but only at the rear 🙂

things i have learned.
kitchen cabinets in garages are beyond useless. put one large thing in it and it is full. get or make some proper metal shelves with 18mm floorboards and 20mm box frames. much better.

it’s not a proper man space unless it has a strong bench which is bolted down and you have a record vice with quick release.
you cannot have enough lights, get led battens from screwfix and get more than you think you need
same with sockets
it goes without saying the minimum requirement is a lathe, a mill, a bench grinder, mig, tig and compressor

You forgot pillar drill.

Every mancave needs a parts washer sunk into a worktop, makes bike fettling/cleaning much easier.

I made a blue roll holder using some old curtain pole mounted horizontally and one side of a shimano bb to keep the roll from falling off.

i use the quill on the milling machine if i need to drill something, much rather have a vertical manual mill than a pillar dril, especially if the mill has a dro

I made a blue roll holder using some old curtain pole

I just bought one, it was only £20 including 6 rolls 🙂