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A few weeks ago I moved into my first house. With it, my first garage. Well, the first garage that's all mine. I have been unable to determine when it was built, but by looking at the some of the fixtures and wiring it's definitely a good 40-plus years old. I may try and find out at the town hall, but until then I can only guess. Based on its condition when I moved in and speaking with neighbors, this garage has never been used for anything other than storage and the occasional project.
This garage is going to get a makeover. Over time, I am going to upgrade and improve it top-to-bottom. I decided to make a thread about this so people can see some of the things I do and maybe learn something or get ideas for their own garage.
The garage is full of old-ness. It has a broken Genie garage door opener which is about 25 years old, and you can see the ancient light socket and wiring. That bulb was the only light in the garage until I rigged up some flourescent fixtures (more on this later). You can see the old wiring with the socket as well as the main light switch. Fortunately, other than the switch and light socket, the wiring to the outlets (including a 220 socket in the back) is relatively new. One problem is that only one of the outlets can push the power needed to run my compressor. Another problem is that the garage power runs off a 20+20amp circuit from the main house circuit breaker. The breakdown is a 20 amp fuse to the lights and outlets, and another 20 amp fuse just for the 220 plug.
Since my neighbor is an electrician, I will be working with him to address the electrical issues.
This is what the garage looks like right now (I'll get a better pic soon):
I'm still trying to figure out the arrangement of things. Organization is ongoing as I am sorting all my tools and things that got scattered during the move. I am not going to customize too much just yet, though.
Here is a basic list of what I intend to do, in no real order:
- Rehab electrical. Rewire and add outlets and switches. Still waiting to consult and work with my neighbor on the specifics.
- Insulate/drywall. This is what will turn it into a real building. I need to determine whether or not the rafters will be left open, get the pros and cons.
- Lighting. Finalize lighting layout. This will be based on where the ceiling ends up.
- Ventilation/heating/cooling. A ventless propane unit will probably be used for heat, an exhaust fan will be cut into the top of the wall, and/or to really get freaky- possibly install a wall AC unit somewhere.
- Garage door opener(s). I need to remove the old one, and install one or two new ones. I'm leaning towards only one being powered, since I only plan on using the garage for a single car on a regular basis (my B13).
- Shelving/cabinets. I need to extend my workbench. I will build this myself. I also need to figure out some good shelving and a few cabinets. I also want a pegboard somewhere.
- Floor. Right now, it's tar. This is the one aspect about my garage that makes me sad. Removing it and replacing it with concrete looks to be very expensive. I haven't factored out Race Deck or some other modular flooring setup. This is not a priority right now, which is why it's last on my list.
Feedback, ideas, discussion, and anything else is welcome. I will update this periodically as I get things done. I will also have lots of pictures all along the way. Otherwise, this project thread would be lame.
Someone come take that kennel away. I don't need it and will be ripping it out.
well almost, we have a side door (man entrance). ours was built in 1950 (like our house) and is not as nice as yours. looks like you dont have the nasty 50 yr old drywall i have to tear down - mouse\mole holes, spider nest galore, etc. previous owner had a TV mounted up high and fire stove for the winter.
There's a garage floor paint, that way you could fix the minor details and then give it a couple of hands of paint. I don't remember the name but it's always on NascarChannel.
Floor paint works wonders, and makes cleanup a breeze. Make sure to use harsh chemicals and scrub the crap out of the floor before coating it. That would be one of my first (mods)
Mike
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I've always wanted a RWD SE-R, maybe after I win the Lotto.
I wish I could just epoxy it. My options are limited with tar like that. I still want to pressure wash the floor and give it a scrubbing, just to make it clean. I haven't had a chance to do that (my pressure washer needs a new hose). As for painting things white, you're right. The problem currently is that between the tar and dark wood, it's a damn black hole in there. With insulation and walls, white will be all over. Maybe someone makes a really thick latex epoxy that I could paint on the tar to make it smoother and tougher. Does anyone know if a tar epoxy exists?
For your walls use some paint called DTM ,direct to metal its high gloss and will make your walls and ceilings virtually waterproof. Its soo elastic that your can paint it on tinfoil , when its dry wad it up and then open it back up and it still looks like new... With some new lights and high gloss paint it will be bright as day in there...
Great project... I can't wait to one just like it when I get my first house.
Last weekend I picked up a great book that I think you (and anyone else planning on building/converting a garage) would find VERY useful. It's all about building a garage workspace the right way. It's called "Ultimate Garage Handbook" by Richard Newton and is published by Motorbooks International (MBI Publishing Company). It cost $20 at my local bookstore but was well worth it. There's also a companion coffee table book that is chock full of pictures of some of the best garages in the country. These are cost no object garages and are fun to look at and get ideas... but the how-to book that I bought is much more geared towards the average guy trying to fix up his space on a budget.
A little off topic, but another great book I highly recommend from them is "High-Performance Handling" by Don Alexander. It's a must have for a performance enthusasts library.
Exactly how did you drive the black SE-R into the garage??? Nice garage, btw: looks like it has a lot of potential. It looks like you have enough room to install a hydraulic jack, even.
Exactly how did you drive the black SE-R into the garage???
It was pushed in trunk-first. I wanted it the other way but gave up when I was halfway there. I didn't have any help and was tired of pushing it. Talk about 1,000 point turn.
There haven't been any real updates recently. The floor got pressure washed last week and the car is now only taking up the left bay. I'm in the process of organizing all my tools and chemicals and taking measurements for insulation. I have no idea what my options are just yet, but I want to get the info now so I have it when September rolls around and I'm ready to insulate.
you know, a full-car lift can be installed, without having to tear up the floor to countersink lines. My friend has one called "Titan." (pics somewhere in this section) He got it off of EBay. Not too shabby, actually... we installed it, then thought about epoxying the floor (oops! too late...)
I'd do the floor and walls first. Then I'd install a lift and a couple of air-hose reels in there w/ a compressor. (Obviously, I'm not paying for it, since that's like $3500 right there.)
///H
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...another thread invasion from Harry, who came back and noticed that everything was suddenly fcuking different. What happened?
Not on the forum much lately since neck injury - we'll be back at it soon, babying the n00bies.
JWT S4, HS 6, Home Depot Intake, Hypercoil 2s w/ KYB "GR-Poo", CF Sunroof Delete panel, and other crap - where's my interior?
kick ass! Well you have several things in your favor. Having built two 5000+ sq ft shops, Ill give you some advice.
Good news, there is no drywall, so you can run new electrical outlets any where and everywhere.
First big mistake for garages, dont skimp on electrical outlets. Put one every 3 to 4 feet, and make sure they are 20 amp service outlets. Gang only 2 to 4 outlets per breaker. Im assuming your putting in a new service panel. Get at least a 100A service from the house and put in a dedicated breaker box. A kill switch prior to the breaker box is handy to have as well.
Run a dedicated line to your compressor. Also, run 3 more 220V lines to each of the three walls. It really sucks if you have a 220V machine and cant get it close enough to work on the project. Or get a really big extension cord for that.
WHEN you insulate, and if you can afford it, put up 5/8" drywall. This adds a level of sound insulation for when you create the dungeon for the nights you get freaky...
On the pegboard, dont get the crappy pressed hard board. Lowes has this white plastic pegboard in 2x4 sections, this stuff rocks. Goto Home Depot for the mounting hardware, they have these trick spacers for mounting the stuff.
For super nice shelving, goto Sams Club and buy the Gorilla Rack shelving. This stuff is easy to assemble and hard core. If you want to carry spare motors and stuff, they offer a 24x70x70 industrial type shelving.
For the compressed air, I just noticed Lowes carries 600 psi rated PVC piping, im gonna install this in my shop and see how it works out, at $2ish a 10' section you'd be hard to beat that for running hard air lines around the garage from your compressor.
On the floor, good luck, couldnt you just pour a 3"-4" slab directly over the asphalt?
As for the ceiling...id say do a suspended one, its not the cheapest, but you can put in drop in lights virtually anywhere and put blow insulation above that. Or you can drywall it as well, thats definately cheap, but lots of work.
Damn, youve got a lot of work ahead of you man, but CONGRATS!!! its yours to do what ever you want.
Yeah, I've been so busy that spending time in the garage doing ANYTHING has been difficult. I'm planning on rehabbing the electric this fall, as well as putting up insulation and drywall. Don't worry, that will get a large update when the time comes.
I've also been alerted to a tar epoxy product, which I'm trying to get more information on. This might be the miracle product I'm looking for so I can have a solid floor which doesn't make my clothes black when I am under my car.
i go through girls, like i go through tires, and i'll never stop 
