diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_images.yaml b/.github/workflows/build_images.yaml
index ad26d22..f72e649 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_images.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_images.yaml
@@ -35,6 +35,18 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         image: ${{ fromJson(needs.setup.outputs.images) }}
     steps:
+    - name: Maximize build space # free up space for building images
+      uses: easimon/maximize-build-space@v10
+      with:
+        root-reserve-mb: 512
+        swap-size-mb: 1024
+        remove-dotnet: 'true'
+        remove-android: 'true'
+        remove-haskell: 'true'
+        remove-codeql: 'true'
+        build-mount-path: '/var/lib/docker/'
+    - name: Restart docker # restart the docker service
+      run: sudo service docker restart
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
     - name: Login to DockerHub # increase pull rate limit