I am looking to refit my garage out with benching and looking at what materials to use for the work tops.

My current options are -

38/40mm Beech Solid Wood Block or 38/40mm laminate kitchen worktop.

So, I guess the laminate may be easier to keep clean but may chip, Beech solid wood may mark up/dent easier but may be tougher in the long run plus slightly more expensive ????

Can get cheap beech untreated worktop for about £95 for 3mx0.6m and laminate for around £70 (will need 3 of them) so cost is not significantly different in the grand scheme of things.

Comments/suggestions welcome.

how about a mixture, so an easy to clean bench for the smaller fiddly stuff, and a tough bench for the heavy work

I used floor boards screwed on top of a old laminate top, very solid, it can support an engine.

I built a steel frame out of 50mm angle iron with 2 supports running front to back, bolted to the wall at the rear and legs at the front.

Then used 18mm OSB and covered the top with a sheet of 1mm steel.

The previous bench had a laminate flooring surface but if you do any hot work it gets burnt. Steel every time for me.

Ikea's cheap laminate is only £30 or £35 a length - I've been using one of there cheap ones for a few years and its actually pretty good too
(actually got it for my temporary kitchen - so I'm counting the off cuts in the workshop as free )

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/kitchen-products/worktops-worktops-accessories/lilltr%C3%A4sk-worktop-white-art-50242723/

any worktop will get damaged eventually depending on the use/abuse it gets anyway so you might as well spend the minimum and save the pennys for the car instead
even thick plywood will make a decent worktop - just make sure you sand done the edges to avoid splinters


I've got a mixture of cheap laminate, solid wood and stainless steel tops in my workshop - all off cuts and scrap with a total cost to me of about £30 (for the stainless work benches that came out of a takeaway kitchen when it was getting redone)
the mix of materials doesn't look pretty, but I can pick and chose the surface depending on whats best for the job I'm working on - and the main thing is it was very very cheap !



[Edited on 19/6/2017 by mcerd1]

my best was a pallet that a CNC barfeeder came on 12 feet long and 3 feet wide, it is 2" thick solid wood on 8x8 timbers, the most difficult part was lifting it

Thanks guys.

Currently having my garage re-built so have a bit of a free reign on what to put in it. Ordered a mid rise lift :-) and looking to probably use old pallet racking as a base for the benches, have room for one run approx. 5m and one 2m long. Was considering the laminate as it may be easier to keep clean but with a section about 1m wide covered in 2mm sheet aluminium which would cover hot work and also can easily be replaced but guess this could be stainless steel. Benches will need a bit of work to go round various pipes/piers etc along the walls.

Having plenty of sockets on the walls wired with heavier duty cable for use with a welder and also going to probably plumb my compressor into wall mounted regulators (probably 3 points). Want to do it right once, rather than keep doing lots of bits.

Also looking to use second hand filing cabinets (various sizes) as storage, think I can get a three draw until under a 1.1m high bench - like the idea of a taller bench to save my back.

In the planning at the moment but hopefully be done by the end of the summer, just ready for winter tinkering.

Will look into all suggestions.

What ever you decide, make sure it's strong enough to support a good vice, which may be battered with a large hammer from time to time.

B&Q cheap but thick laminate top was still going strong in my garage after 15 years ..moved so don't know if it's still there but did all sorts on it...

I've always used laminate worktop offcuts from my kitchens never had an issue build a good 75mm or 3 by 3 frame job done

i got a bench from a friend, angle (not sure size), topped with blockboard. Its had a hammering and is still fine.

If you are going to use it for welding then a sheet of steel for the top . I've used old filing cabinets for storage but I think decent shelving is way better especially if it can be locked.

I went to a scrappies near me that does reclaimed wood etc. and bought an old fire door for £5. Disposable at that price, 2 inches thick, and really solid. Worth a thought if you're on the locost end of the scale!

This is of interest to me as well as I am looking to kit out my tiny single prefab garage.

Shelves is the name of the game in my garage as it is THAT small. Drill through the prefab is hard work as it is full of stones so I was going to take advantage of the rough textured surface and use no more nails to bond wood battens to it. I was then going to build everything off of them.

I have the majority of my workbench already. It will be a 4" x 2" wood frame with 18mm ply or 30mm thick scaffold boards, probably the latter. If I can, I will top them with steel sheet.

I built my own out work bench:

4x2 timber frame screwed to the wall
Cheap kitchen worktop (Wickes IIRC)

Couple of evenings work and it was done.

https://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=203669&page=1

https://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/photos.php?action=g al&user=nick205&folder=Workbench

[Edited on 20/6/17 by nick205]

when my sister had a beach solid block work surface fitted in her kitchen, (and very nice it is too)
she had one of the offcuts made as a chopping board. - this board disintegrated very quickly!

if your not fussy what it looks like there is always a deal on somewhere...

this one landed in my inbox the other day:

http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/cheap-kitchen-worktops-clearance.html?utm_source=Worktop+Express+Mailing+list&utm_campaign=be1717831d-June_2017_F ree_Delivery&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_91922531db-be1717831d-84528477

[Edited on 20/6/2017 by mcerd1]

quote:

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Originally posted by mcerd1
if your not fussy what it looks like there is always a deal on somewhere...

this one landed in my inbox the other day:

http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/cheap-kitchen-worktops-clearance.html?utm_source=Worktop+Express+Mailing+list&utm_campaign=be1717831d-June_2017_F ree_Delivery&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_91922531db-be1717831d-84528477

[Edited on 20/6/2017 by mcerd1]

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This is similar to how i've been building benches for various workshops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-oQncdBgas

Except I use 25mm box and an set of legs in the middle.

I build them 8 foot by 2 foot which means a single sheet of ply will do the top and the shelf. You can mount a vice directly above the centre leg.

They are plenty strong enough, especially if screwed to the wall. Have no issues standing on them or building engines or gearboxes on them. Feel really solid.

I got a stainless steel kitchen work area from ebay and converted it to a work bench with a vice etc its great!!

PM me for pictures if you want