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This easy-to-build workbench fits inside a small shed but provides plenty of workspace, storage and a pegboard.
The project
My wife is the D.I.Y. person in the house, but her little shed was a real mess with tools and things poking out everywhere and no room to work. I wanted to build her something that had some heart in it, looked nice and was practical.
The idea was for the bench to be tall enough to be a good workbench, with the top shelf low enough that you could easily store and remove items under the sloping roof of the shed.
There would be a large pegboard along the back of the workbench for the majority of storage, while two smaller pegboards would cover the front top shelf supports. The height of the bench ensured we would easily be able to store items such as the scarifier and mower underneath it. Late in the process, my dad suggested we place a third support on the frame in the middle to make it more stable and support the pegboard better.
I built the project in stages before moving it into the shed and installing it. I used the 70mm x 35mm Pine to create the left and right supports, which I secured to the walls and floor of the shed. I added the third support beam and then the two horizontal Pine pieces to complete the basic frame.
We then cut the plywood to create the main bench and secured it into place. Finally we created and installed the top shelf, including the front support and back pegboard support, and ensured that everything was level.
We then cut more plywood to create the top-shelf bench, which we finished off with the Pine moulding. We then cut the pegboard to size and installed it, using the leftovers to create a backboard (mounted using Pine DAR) to hold some of our long garden items.
I spray-painted the pegboard using Rust-Oleum 2x Ultra Cover Flat Grey Primer, I painted the frame with Dulux 1L Design Theatre Black Paint, and the bench and top shelf had two coats of Cabot's Cedar Satain Stain and Varnish. The contrast of the three colours played out nicely.
We added some LED sensor lights, which are bright enough to illuminate the shed in the dark, and turn on as soon as we enter.
We also installed two large Pinnacle Large PVC Coated J Hooks to hang up our sawhorses, and a Craftright 24" 6 Drawer Rolling Cabinet And Chest to finish it all up. We are super happy with the result.
Tools and materials
I used the following tools and materials in this project:
- Cordless brad nail gun
- Brushless circular saw
- Drill driver
- 70mm x 35mm x 3.6m structural MGP12 blue H2 Pine x 6
- 2440mm x 1220mm x 12mm non-structural C+/C plywood
- 1830mm x 1220mm Masonite pegboard
- 42mm x 11mm x 5.4m FJ splayed Pine moulding, clear
- 31mm x 11mm x 5.4m FJ Pine DAR, clear
- Rust-Oleum 2x Ultra Cover Flat Grey Primer
- Dulux 1L Design Theatre Black Paint
- Cabot's Cedar Satain Stain and Varnish
- LED sensor lights
- Pinnacle Large PVC Coated J Hooks
- Craftright 24" 6 Drawer Rolling Cabinet And Chest.
Before and after
More inspiration for your garage
Get more ideas for your garage, shed or workshop by checking out our Top 10 most popular storage projects and the Top 10 most popular garage and shed projects.
