Making the Ultimate Home Garage
Are you building a new home garage from scratch and are working from a clean sheet of paper? If so, you’re very lucky! That means you can incorporate everything you need to be equipped like a pro. Even if you aren’t completely redoing your garage, though, that doesn’t mean this list of must-haves for a dream garage isn’t for you. We have many great tips and ideas, so check out our list, and there might be a few ideas that inspire you!
Here at North American Auto Equipment, we know a thing or two about how to fill a garage. We have spent years building our business by listening to professionals and individuals and adding the right equipment and tools to our catalog. Our team is always ready to help, so read through our list, and then let us know how we can help you choose and order the perfect items for your dream home garage!
Here at North American Auto Equipment, we know a thing or two about how to fill a garage. We have spent years building our business by listening to professionals and individuals and adding the right equipment and tools to our catalog. Our team is always ready to help, so read through our list, and then let us know how we can help you choose and order the perfect items for your dream home garage!
10 Must-Haves for Any Dream Garage
While we could think of 100’s of things we’d like in our dream garage, we thought we’d narrow it down to the top 10 must-haves for your dream garage:
- An auto lift: Let’s start with a big one! If you have the space, an auto lift is the ultimate home garage piece of equipment. A lift allows you to get your vehicle to the right height for every job, whether you’re tinkering on your engine, dropping your transmission, repairing the body or simply storing your car for the winter. Here at North American Auto Equipment, we have a large selection of car lifts for the home mechanic that are suitable for your garage.
- Space: Ah, all the space you need to move around! While we can't all have a 20-bay garage, leaving yourself enough space to work and move around your vehicle is important. If you can't push the walls out, make sure you're not storing too much junk around your vehicles or in your automotive workspace. If you are building a new garage, include ample room to maneuver around your car when it's parked or on a lift
- Workbench: We're talking a large, uncluttered, dedicated-to-auto-work-and-nothing-else workbench! Every dream home garage comes with a workbench that gives enough space to lay out parts and tools without constantly having to remove or rearrange them. A workbench is also a great place for drawings, sketches and repair guides when your projects start getting complicated.
- Lighting: Even the most spacious and well-equipped home garage suffers if it's poorly lit. While you're planning your ultimate garage, include ample fixed and portable lighting. Overhead lights at strategic points above your vehicles and workbenches are helpful, as are portable lights on cords or with flexible necks so that you can position your lights exactly where you need them for underhood work.
- Toolboxes and chests: Adequate storage for your tools is next on the list for any dream garage. You don’t want your valuable tools lying around where they can get lost or broken, and a properly organized toolbox or chest makes it easier to find what you’re looking for quickly. We have a large range of storage solutions for your tools here at North American Auto Equipment, so check out our online catalog.
- Ventilation: This is something that many people forget for their home garage. All professional auto body garages have ventilation to keep fumes and smells down when they're working on their vehicles, and you should, too. Make your dream home garage a more pleasant place to work by installing general ventilation for your garage as well as a tailpipe vent to the outside if you need to run your car with the doors closed.
- Internet access: While this could be used to post pictures of your automotive projects to social media, there’s another great use for the internet in a home garage: It gives you access to a wealth of tips, photos, diagrams, videos and forums. Find answers to car-related questions and watch how-to videos on automotive repair projects without having to go inside your house.
- Storage space: We’ve already mentioned including adequate storage for your tools and equipment in your dream home garage, but what about storage space for car parts such as summer or winter tires, spare body parts, removed parts and accessories or maintenance items like oil, filters and bulbs. Add as much storage space as you have room for to keep your car parts organized and readily accessible.
- Compressed air: Ask any professional if they would like to do their job without access to compressed air, and you’ll get a resounding “no!” Pneumatic tools make quick work of many automotive jobs, especially if you’re doing body and paint work. Choose a portable compressor for occasional jobs or plumb your dream garage with a fixed heavy-duty compressor to ensure you have all the air you need.
- Tools: What home garage would be complete without a full set of tools? If this last point seems vague, it’s because every home mechanic needs a unique set of quality tools to do their job. Choose the tools that suit the type of automotive work you do. Also, include all of the specialty tools you might not need every day, but that can save you tons of time and headache when you finally do require them.
We don’t know about you, but we are all excited to start planning our own home dream garages now! Thanks to our years of experience working with auto body professionals, our team here at North American Auto Equipment can help you choose
the right tools for your dream garage.
It doesn’t matter if you’re running a large garage or simply starting out with your own modest home garage. With the right tools and equipment, your garage can become dream garage, so browse our online catalog and start selecting what you need. You can always
contact us online or by phone to get some advice or to learn more about our excellent selection of equipment and service parts.
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