Garage - What features would you select?

[Pete]

That's a Hayabusa. Doesn't see much action during the winter. I've put more miles on it moving it around in the shop while trying to organize. LOL. Another thing is insulation. I don't have any on the walls. I've found having the windows open gives good venting but when the sun is beating on the sheet metal it radiates in and can get pretty hot if you happen to be near the walls. Then in the winter it gets pretty cold. I went too small with the gas heater. It's only a 30,000 BTU unit. Just enough to get luke- warm. I will add insulation then take a look at the heater situation to see if I'll need to go bigger.

Pete

 

[Dave]

There are some great garages/workshops in this thread... i'm very jealous!!

 

[David Briggs]

Ron. I had to deal with site limitation similar to you,but I also had to contend with a height limitation(no higher than the roof of my home. My compressor is outside in a little shed, it is a commercial grade and runs quietly. There is a sink off to the left side, the floor is Armstrong commercial tile.
Forgive the funny little British beaters, it is now jammed with the Indy car, 2 Gt40's and only one Tiger.
It is 30' by 34' 1000 sg ft was the max the county would allow me.
Lots of light, lots of power, lots of windows and well insulated.
Heavy steel work benches, one that will support 10,000 lbs.
One thing about being small, everything is close at hand!
Dave

 

[Dave]

I stand by my previous comments on this.... That's very nice Dave.

 

[TonyM]

Lots of light, lots of power, lots of windows and well insulated.
Heavy steel work benches, one that will support 10,000 lbs.
One thing about being small, everything is close at hand!
Dave

What did you use on the floor, is it vinyl tile and how long after the concrete was poured was it applied?

Thanks,

 

[David Briggs]

Tony
That is Armstrong Excelon tile, 3/32's" thick used in warehouses and grocery stores.
It is vinyl but very durable and easy to install, the design goes all the way thru so it cleans up and polishes nicely.
I put it down about 2 months after the slab was poured.
Dave

 

[Mike Christian]

I put that flooring in my kitchen using double sided carpet tape squares in each corner so that I can easily pop out a tile. My wife likes the vitang diagonal checkerboard pattern. It wa really inexpensive. Two years later and it looks great. Cleans up easy too. I will put it in both garages I think....

Mike

 

[Howard Jones]

Another Idea. Don't you just hate trying to run electrical wires through the walls after they are sheet-rocked? Ya I know all about the planing before hand etc. etc. BUT you know you will change something sooner or later right?

Finish up the insulation and wall board and then run all the power, air, cable TV, Internet, etc through conduit attached to the wall, not in the wall. It is really easy to add outlets etc. later if the conduit and conduit boxes are exposed outside of the wall. Same with more air line drops or whatever you forgot when to did the planning in the first place.

 

[Ron Earp]

Progress is slow, but finally on again! Masons brought the wrong brick about1.5 months ago and it took that long to find the correct brick that matches my house (garage must match according to our 'hood rules). Masons outside now mixing away....

At least the third floor addition got a huge boost while the garage was dormant and is probably about 65% done. Now you folks that come for a visit can be put up in style!

R

 

[David Sturch]

Are you putting in bunkbeds Ron?
Dave

 

[Chris P.]

David - DB1 in the background? Beautiful cars - David Bruns is a great designer.

 

[Ron Earp]

Garage Progress!

It has been a busy spring around my place. I've raced quite a bit since the last time I posted about racing, I think six times. Have had some good times with the Z, I'll try to post about them in the race area. My third floor of my house is now built out and finished, came out looking great AND - the garage is just about done.

I've enclosed a few pictures of how they are coming long. It has been a bit slow, especially for some particular aspects of it like the dental trim that goes around the garage that precisely matches the house. We wanted the garage to look like it belonged with the house and the builders have done a fantastic job. The window detail matches my house, trim, etc.

Build out inside the garage isn't finished put power is run. The garage has a separate 100amp service and has power outlets every 4 ft on the walls, or less. Three 230V outlets, has an exhaust fan with auto louvers, and a built in AC unit as well. The garage will be insulated and drywalled of course so I think it'll be a good place to hide from the 90-95F that is common in these parts from late May to early October. Water is plumbed for a good sink setup.

Lighting is speced out pretty well, we've got 12 fixtures over the length of about 34 ft, so fairly close together. Also have some deep cement floor pads that were poured with the foundation that will facilitate lift mounting. And, I've got a little pipe that goes through the wall so I can hook up a flexible exhaust pipe to that pipe and vent sound/fumes outside the garage to a external muffler, or, I can hook a funnel up to it and pee through it for convenient relief.

All in all it is coming along well and I'm looking forward to moving into it in 3-6 weeks, depending on how the brick masons get on and so on. Be good to move out of the little 2.25 car garage that now house my cars, or doesn't house them since I've got one off site (Jensen, we don't talk about that one though).

So, this is basically "where my GT40 went"....at least I'll have a place to put one should I ever manage to acquire one!

PS-Greg thanks for calling about the tornadoes, we were okay although there were a few 20 miles from here. Nothing like out in the midwest though. We get them in NC each year, that is for sure.

 

[Rob]

Very exciting Ron. Looking good. One thought that I figured I'd throw out there just in case you hadn't thought of it, and just in case I didn't mention it way back when. Have you considered wiring your lights on two or three switches/circuits? Then, you can turn on lights with out turning on all of them. I have done this in my shop, and regularly use only half the lights on the ceiling. Then, when I really need all of them, I have them available with out spooling up the meter all the other times.

 

[Gordo]

Almost done...

Gordo's Garage...almost done. Cars, art, tools...on the way. Stop in when in Charleston, SC.

G.

 

[Ron Earp]

Have you considered wiring your lights on two or three switches/circuits?

Yep, we did do that and I think it'll turn out to be a good idea. I've got multiple circuits for the power and so on as well. I hope it'll be enough light. I thought at first it was overkill, but sometimes I wonder if it'll be enough - you simply can't have enough light.

I've got a separate panel and meter for the garage so we'll see how much juice gets sucked down out there. I've got a feeling a fair amount....

 

[chuck smith]

Looking good Ron.

Gordo, that is a fantastic space

 

[David Sturch]

Ron,
The garage looks nice. Lots of space compared to mine. I am finding now that as I am laying out this chassis I am building that I may need a hoist to move the chassis around as it gets larger. I am working by myself most of the time so a small I- beam in the ceiling even in one area might be helpful. You can attach a comealong or chain hoist and lift with straps or chains so you can work by yourself.
Dave
P.S. Ron if you can run a 200 Amp Service in your garage I would do it now. Price wise the panel is minimal. The wire from the meterbase is more. Welder 20-30 Amps 220V, 5HP compressor 30Amp. Air 20 Amps etc. It gives you more leeway for the future.

 

[Dave]

Gordo... could i just move in to your garage???

I wouldn't take up a lot of room..

Seriously that's nice!!

 

[Ron Earp]

Well the garage was finished up last week and I'm really pleased with it!

I still have to decorate it and move some tools in and so on. But I coated the floor with Tnemec two weeks ago and the lift was installed last week and all is functional. The AC will chill the garage down to 68F when it is 93F outside as it is heavily insulated, including the garage door.

It has plenty of power, outlets every 3-4 feet, with 230V 20A and 50A service. Exhaust fan works well and it has a good sink area. Although it has standard fluorescent lights 48 tubes in this size space is extremely bright.

Still have stuff to do to it but I moved the Lola over there and the Death Car (which I hope will have a new home soon - anyone want a Jensen Healey?). Z is up on the lift getting some new struts and prepped for Daytona. There is a double race down there in two weeks and I plan to make the pilgrimage.

The lift is a two post Rotary 7000lb model and I love it. It is small, takes up little floor space, and is extremely stable. I had it installed by a lift company here in Raleigh and all seems good with it. I feel the four posters are much better for car storage, but I think the two posters are the way to go for serious car work.

I can't believe how much time a lift saves. In under two hours Jeff and I were able to remove my 3.9 Quaiffe differential, replace with a 3.56 welded differential, put on new front bearings, rotors, pads, and remove the struts as well. With the jack stand method in the dark garage with no space the work would have taken us at least four hours. Big improvement for the racing effort.

Thanks much for all the suggestions on this thread. There are a few more things I have to do that folks suggested - air outlets along the wall, putting the compressor outside in a little hut, and so on.

 

[Ron McCall]

Looks GREAT Ron! I love the brick inside!!
Tell me about the exhaust fan. I really need one for my garage.