The Dumpster Diver’s Garage – #1 Air Freight Shed

With sealed high-speed roller bearings, the steel door slides effortlessly with one finger. It is a little on the short side, though, so a spacer had to be added to the bottom later.

Making the door actually lock was a little tricky. Luckily, the end of the door has this lip, in the left photo. I screwed this C-channel to the door frame (also a salvaged piece of steel, formerly a brace for the top of the air freight boxes), such that when the door is closed, the lip slots into the channel, preventing the door from swinging out at the bottom.

Inside, this old deadbolt, which we removed when we re-keyed the house, keeps the door firmly trapped in that U-channel.

Finally secure, I made a floor from some particle board I found in the backyard (formerly a dog ramp from two house owners ago), and threw in some IKEA shelving that was otherwise headed for the dumpster. Note the use of vertical space. Hanging bikes, lawn tools and paintbrushes from the ceiling makes full use of the shed's volume without wasting its precious floor space.

Even the ladder goes vertical, resting on the top shelf in the back, and pinned to the rafters in front using half an old broom handle.

Finally painted and locked up tight, that's a lot of crap that isn't in the way of car projects any more! 

One last trick: Light! Sheds don't require building permits as long as they're not wired. That's all well and good until it gets dark. Then wiring starts to seem like a really good idea. Luckily, there are ways around the wiring problems. Now that I have room to move in the garage, I was able to dig around and find this old motorcycle battery, some wires and switches, and an HID headlight bulb and ballast. It's simply amazing how much light comes off a single, unshrouded HID bulb. I can usually get a few weeks of quick trips into the garage off the motorcycle battery before I have to drag the charger out there and fill it back up with electrons.

Ok, it's official, you've just read 4 pages of crap about building a garden shed. As a reward, here's a peek at the Miatabusa EVO II's new shaft. See if you can figure out how this solves the gear rattle problem.