How to Make a Basement Workshop

Ron: Now some might say my friend Jim over in Trumbull, Connecticut is a pack rat. Well, as for me, I can understand where he’s coming from. There are lots of things that you just don’t want to throw away cause you never know when you might need them. Then again, well, maybe it is time for my buddy to purge and go neat. His wife, Barb, could be leading in that direction. I guess the only way to know for sure is to head over to his place and check things out.

Barbara:

It’s a mess. Um, it, it, well, it’s just a me-, you’ll see. Um, so, you can’t really use it, that’s the biggest problem and he has a lot of stuff and um, it’s not in a usable form. That’s my opinion but he would probably disagree with me.

Ron:

Morning Barbara.

Barbara:

Oh, hi Ron.

Ron:

Where’s the mad scientist?

Barbara:

He’s downstairs, he’s been waiting for you.

Ron:

Oh, in the laboratory, huh?

Barbara:

Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Ron’s here, Jim. Jim, where are you?
Jim:

What Barb?

Barbara:

I gotta go, I’m go-, I’m going to work.

Ron:

Good morning. I wasn’t sure if you were really down here.

Jim:

I was hiding as you can tell.

Ron:

This is quite a space.

Jim:

Well, it really is a great space but unfortunately it’s sort of become like my garden. It’s gotten overgrown.

Ron:

So let me ask you, how do you even know what’s under here?

Jim:

I generally have a pretty good idea though there are times when I come here and I keep looking for something and I can’t find it. So I think you’re arrival is really very timely right now.

Ron:

Alright well, listen uh, let’s just start by cleaning some of this out. My thought would be to get this down to pretty much a bare space and then we can decide what to put back.

Jim:

That’s great. That’s great. I really appreciate it.

Ron:

So uh, I’ll grab this and you wanna just maybe get the stool there and we’ll just take it all out.

Jim:

Very good.

(laughing)

Ron:

You really use the pegboard?

Jim:

Yes, I do very much.

Ron:

So you might want to go back to a version of that, huh?

Ron:

Well, it’s empty, it’s neat, and it’s clean.

Jim:

Looks like a new room.

Ron:

That’s the problem, isn’t it?

Jim:

That’s right.

Ron:

It’s lacking some character.

Jim:

That’s exactly right. Like that hi-, that history that I had here.

Ron:

Yeah, we gotta get some of that back in here.

Jim:

That would be nice.

Ron:

But I think we should start though, with giving it some really solid space that you can organize this stuff in so you can find it when you need it.

Jim:

That, that would be a really good idea. That’s terrific.

Ron:

So um, come on over here, I’m gonna show you something. This is uh, some software called sketch-up. It’s really very easy to use. I thought we’d start over here on this wall with a couple of wall cabinets up high.

Jim:

Right.

Ron:

And then probably in between them and down below, maybe go back with the pegboard. And then I was thinking about bringing in a couple of base cabinets on top of that, I would put this uh, counter top right up in here.

Jim:

Right.

So now you got a work surface on the top, you got plenty of storage underneath, you got storage above and you got your pegboard. And then maybe down here on this end wall, maybe we put this tall cabinet. This one right here.

Jim:

Replace where the old shelf was.

Ron:

Yeah.

Jim:

I like the design.

Ron:

Well, this is your first wall cabinet.

Jim:

It looks like a good beginning.

Ron:

It is, it’s part of actually a whole storage system by Stanley. I think you’re gonna like this. And we’re gonna hang this up here on the wall. So first of all uh, we gotta drill a hole in the wall. Do you have some uh, safety glasses?

Jim:

Yes, I do.

Ron:

Let me see those.

Jim:

Oh.

Ron:

Turn thi-, Turn thi-, turn this way? They should have one of those noses that goes with ‘em and a mustache down here. You like those? Here, try-, try, try these. This is the-

Jim:

These are a little foggy.

Ron:

This is the contemporary version. I’m not trying to sell, I mean, cause I kind of like these myself. Let me try these. This is a hammer drill.

Jim:

Right.

Ron:

Which you know, hammers as it drills. Good for masonry, you got a masonry bit in here. And so here’s your mark. See that cross-hair right there? You’ll probably need to go in about, about an inch.

Jim:

About an inch.

Ron:

Right? Uh, you, if you’ll go ahead and drill one right here, I’m gonna run out to the truck. I’m gonna get some concrete screws.

Jim:

Very good.

(drilling)

Jim:

I think we’re done.

Ron:

Slow going?

Jim:

Yes it is.

Ron:

Can I give you one tip?

Jim:

Yes, please.

Ron:

Which might, which might help you?

Jim:

Sure.

Ron:

Um, what I do is uh, put one hand in back behind here and then you can actually kinda lean on this a little bit cause you need to use some pressure on this and sometimes you can use your body weight.

Announcer:

Using the holes we’ve just drilled, we’ll next attach mounting brackets to the wall with hardened steel concrete screws.

Ron:

Now this cabinet just hangs right on those two clips. So, let’s look kinda high and uh, we’ll just bring it down slowly, we should engage those clips.
Jim:

How are you from…

Ron:

From the wall, closer that’s right. Ok, good, good.

Jim:

Excellent. I think that’s it.

Ron:

Let’s uh, measure and put up number two.

Jim:

You’re on the edge there?

Ron:

Yeah, I’m on the edge of the foot.

Jim:

Ok, so we’re gonna do 96 over all.

[Music]

Ron:

Alright, cabinet number two, headed for home base.

[

Ron:

Well, we’ve cleared up Jim’s clutter and started putting together our version of do-it-yourself nirvana in his basement. Let’s rejoin the game.

Ron:

So, we can sort of begin to get a feel now for how things are gonna work. There are two more clips that go down here, just to keep these from pealing out so let’s pop those on.

Announcer:

Jim likes hanging his tools on pegboard so we’ve included a section in our workbench design. A coat of black paint will provide a handsome contrast to the wall cabinets.

I must say you did a really nice job with painting it black on this side. This,

Thank You.

This is a nice touch. Now, uh, I’ve got 1 by 2 like this all the way around uh, the outside.

Jim:

Right.

To sort of allow this to stand away from the wall. I want to just put this last piece on here.

Announcer:

We apply some glue to the 1 by 2, slip it underneath the pegboard and attach it with screws.

Jim:

I hope this fits.

Ron:

I hope. Ho, ho. Very nice

Jim:

They say measure twice, cut once?

Ron:

Is that the way it is? Same thing, concrete screws. We are making progress huh?

Jim:

Absolutely.

Ron:

These are your base cabinets and this is what’s gonna support the worktop.

Jim:

It’ll go from there all the way down then?

Ron:

You got it.

Jim:

That’s terrific.

Ron:

So uh, if you’re ready, let’s go ahead and start working on it. A Hoosier countertop. And I think it was a good idea to make this a little bit deeper.

Jim:

I think it’s better to work, 

Ron:

Yeah.

Jim:

With, that’s absolutely right.

Ron:

Now, what uh, what we need to do is to put a backsplash on it. A couple, reasons, so things won’t roll of the back and also, it’ll kind of stiffen this up a little bit.

Announcer:

We applied glue, set the 1 by 4 flush with the edge, clamp it in place, then drive in screws from beneath. Say, how bout a little healthy competition?

Drill down in three, two, one, go.

[Drill]

Jim:

Pretty close to a draw.

Ron:

One countertop, coming’ home.

Ron:

Now, my feeling is, Jim you can never have too much storage space so, here’s a tall cabinet that I think will fit in here very nicely you know and we can, we can attach that to the wall for stability but yeah, ok. And I’ve also got another base cabinet I think we can put over here.

Ron:

Let’s shed some light on this subject.

Jim:

Ha, ha, I like that.

Ron:

You like that line? Let me just screw this up into the joist over here.

Announcer:

Now, the workbench is not the only place light is needed down here in the basement. Jim is an enthusiastic gardener and he gets a jump on the growing season by starting his seeds indoor under artificial light. The light needs to be kept about four inches above the top of the plants so he needs a way to make adjustments, as the seedlings grow taller.

Ron:

Hey Jim

Jim:

Yes, Ron.

Ron:

Look at this, it’s a sawhorse that goes from 30 inches up to 37 inches so as your plants get bigger, it can get smaller.

Jim:

Oh, that’s a great solution.

Ron:

And, just unfolds like this. Grab that one over there.

Jim:

Sure.

Ron:

So we can use this for the base of the table, it’s totally adjustable. On top of that, piece of plywood and I’ve got this plastic sort of liner here to catch any dripping water.

Jim:

That’s a great idea, it really is.

Ron:

So now, we just have to solve your lighting problem.

Jim:

That’s right, that’s right.

Ron:

Why don’t you go take a break, I’m gonna see what I can come up with.

Jim:

Very good, thank you.

Ron:

Little plants, big plants, little plants, big plants. You think that’ll work for you?

Jim:

Talk about being creative Ron that’s, that’s fantastic, it really is. You got me covered on both ends.

Ron:

I do, so if they get really big, you can run this all the way up and you can drop the table down. So that be able to, should be able to cover most of it, unless you’re gonna grow corn.

Jim:

No, I ha-, I have a bunch of happy plants in the future, I’m sure.

Ron:

Let me show you around, um couple of things I really like. These are storage bins that sit on a rail right here. So you can just and uh, and there’s more rail, you can extend this as far as you want to. You’ve got drawer storage, tons of that. You’ve got door storage and shelves bein-, behind, down here. You’ve got tons of pegboard and not just what you see here but on the inside of the door here, more pegboard and pegboard on the sides of these cabinets.

Jim:

That’s fantastic, that’s great.

Ron:

Just one thing. We gotta bring that radio-arm saw back.

Jim:

Huh, ok.

Ron:

Let’s grab that. So long have you had this?

Jim:

About 20 years.

Ron:

You ever used it?

Jim:

Nope.

Ron:

Why?

Jim:

There’s no blade.

Ron:

Well, I started to put it together and I ran into a couple of problems.

Announcer:

Now, I was going to set up Jim’s 20 year old saw for him but instead I decided to give him a surprise.

Ron:

Stop right there. Ready? One, two, three.

Jim:

Ron! Where’s my old saw?

Ron:

You’re that attached to it? You want that one back?

Jim:

No, this one looks like it might even work!

Ron:

Brand new, state of the art, adjusted, ready to cut. There’s one string attached, I get to come over to your shop and you know, build some stuff with you once in a while.

Jim:

You’re on. That’s a deal, that’s great,
Ron:
You can come to mine.

Jim:

Thank you. Thank you very, very much

Ron:
You’re welcome.

Jim:

I appreciate it.

Ron:

Enjoy this and uh, I’m kind of envious but, I’ve got a pretty good place of my own.

Ron:

Someone once said to me if you can’t find something it’s like not having it. Well, that won’t be a problem from now one.

Barbara:

Hi, I’m back. Oh, this is beautiful!

Jim:

Take a look.

Barbara:

Oh, my God. Oh, everything and I can even reach it!

Announcer:

Well, isn’t it grand how a ship-shape workshop contributes happiness and harmony to a marriage?

Barbara:

I am so happy for you, it’s so beautiful. You should enjoy it in good health