*NFB* - Extreme Makeover - Garage Edition

[Dave M]

This summer or fall I'd like to finish my garage. As is right now, it's a large two-car garage with a good sized (24 X 15) attached shop. The shop is insulated, but not finished off in any other way. The garage itself has nothing, just bare studs. It also has lots of shelves hanging from the studs for storgae, and shelves lining the back wall. I'd like to insulate the garage and finish it with drywall and paint it, either drywall the ceiling or put a drop ceiling in it. I'd also like to put down tile over the concrete. In the end make it look like the garage from horepower TV or something like that. I've got lots of signs and banners to hang up on the walls, too. What colors do you guys think I should go with? I was thinking just your standard black and white checkered tile floor and white walls, but I don't really know what kind of options are out there.

Has anybody done this or looked into it... can point me in the right direction for some good products/colors?

What would you guys like to see in a garage, or what might come in useful. When I'm down I'll be reinstalling the shelves (although probably nicer ones instead of bare wood) and a fridge, and probably a TV and stereo. What do you think?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Another option for the floor is an epoxy paint. We use it in the machine shop. It stops oils from seeping in. It rolls on with a paint roller. One word of warning it is slick when it gets wet. They make a stuff that you can sprinkle on it as it is drying to give some traction to it.

Some links to look at.
http://www.ultimategarage.com/
http://www.ultimategarageworks.com/
http://www.tugc.com/

[95TransAm]

I'm not the best when it comes to designing, but i can tell you what i will have in my garage one day....hopefully.

For the floor, i want that epoxy stuff...I've heard good things. Probably would have the walls white, with a decent amount of shelves and cabinets here and there. I too would have a couple banners and other things just for decoration. I would also wire my garage so i have outlets everywhere. I usually work on my car in my buddys grandpa's garage. The previous owner of that house/garage was an electrician, and put outlets everywhere in that garage. Around the walls, in the ceiling, and i couldn't tell you how handy that has made things. I would want space for my tool chests, and there would have to be a work table. If space provides, a small sofa or loveseat would be good, with a fridge (a must), wall mounted television, and a decent stereo. A lathe is also something that i would want in my garage. My buddys grandpa was a machinist for years, and he has a lathe and a jigsaw in his garage....came in handy several times. Good lighting is also a must....many of those long cylindrical light bulbs (cant think of the name for them lol). But what i want in my garage more so than anything would be my own car lift. Of course you would need a big garage to house all of this, but hopefully one day i will have enough money to where i can get my garage built for me, and have it built big Thats about all of the ideas I can come up for now of my dream garage one day.

Good luck and let us know how it comes out!

[Camaro84Berlinetta]

Dream garage...i love to hear about this stuff it excites me i love it when someone tells about what they have in planning in there car..dont know why...but yeah i love what your sayin in that i wouldnt mind doin the same..

[Injuneer]

A friendly reminder.... when posting "off topic" items, please use an "NFB" prefix in the topic.

Thank you.

[Dave M]

garages aren't f-body related?

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

I have planned out my dream garage many times in my head. Mine would be very similar to waht you guys mentioned, i.e. Epoxy floor, finished and painted walls, painted or drop ceiling, car lift, stereo & tv, lots of cabinets and counter space, lots of electrical outlets, also a large air compressor and air lines run around the garage with quick release fittings to where I could connect pneumatic tools conveniently. I would also want it to be long and wide enough to where I could have 4 or 5 feet of space on all sides of both (or more) cars.

Anyway, as far as colors, if I were you I would just go to the paint dept at Home Depot and ask one of their people. They are usually good at suggesting color schemes and stuff.

[RocKin1967]

kool thread man, well im gonna start doing my garage soon too i have come up with it all already and just need some time off work to go buy the supplys, and maybe a lil extra money ill proabbly be doing it with some buddys, so this is how it goes..... im going with the epoxy floor(of course) already got my cabinets and work table so as for the walls im gonna put diamond plate on the walls about 4ft wide and havent checked length yet and then the walls will be light gray(so it wont get too dirty) with orange flames painted as if they were coming out of the D plate, then a nice stereo in their and a mini fridge, and for lighting a few of those florescent lights on top and then ill be getting a compressor too and that should be it...ofcourse a car lift would be sweet too lol

[95TransAm]

also a large air compressor and air lines run around the garage with quick release fittings to where I could connect pneumatic tools conveniently.

Good one...also a must

[Dave M]

My garage already has a recepticle for a welder. Too bad I don't know how to weld. It would be sweet to have a lift and compressor. While the compressor may come someday, the lift is a little out of my price range. And by a little, I mean a lot.

[94 formula]

My grandfather made the dream garage for my brother and I. We helped to build it but we used drywall for the sides and painted them white. I'm not sure of what its called but the ceiling is like drywall lined with a silver cover that helps retain heat for in the winter. We have a nice heater, also we use floor jacks and are hoping for a lift soon. I'll admit I am spoiled but it makes it so nice in the winter to be able to go in about an hour before I'm going to work on my car and turn on the heater and have it nice and cozy when I'm ready to go work. I just got done pulling the timing cover off tonight and am installing a new timing cover seal as well as new crank, opti, water pump seal, and putting on a new opti as well as putting a new dash in my car. It is really nice during the winter because I don't drive my car but have a nice area to intall new mods and stay warm doing it.

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

Right! That is awesome, man! That was something I forgot to mention in my post: insulated and heated! A must, especially for people living above the mason dixon line.

[pete]

Since moving down from the great white north last year, my garage has been stuffed to the gills with the remains of a 4,000 sq. ft. house stuffed into a 2,200 sg. ft. house with no basement. I have been getting rid of my skis, snow shoes, parka's etc..

However, over the past year I've gotten kitchen cabinet "tear outs". You get them for free from the kitchen guys, but you need to ask real nice, otherwise they do just tear them out and they become junk. I've lined the two side walls with these cabinets, and made a long work bench for the back wall. I even reused the kitchen sink and have hot and cold water and a sanitary drain line connected since the hot water heater is in the garage. I kept another sink, and plan to set it up in a counter as a parts washer.

The back wall has a few cabinets, but also a 4 x 8 peg board for hanging tools. The corner above the fuse box has a 19" TV wired into the cable with remote. I've added 110 vac outlets in double boxes every 5' all around on multiple circuts and one 50 amp 220vac plug at the back wall, and another up front.

The ceiling is a problem. Currently I have exposed trusses, and I've stored stuff like fishing poles, garden tools, kitchen chairs and some lite stuff up there. But I do want to get a lift. The bottom chord of the truss is at 9' above the floor, and will need to be revised to follow up the slope of the roof,(in order to lift a car up) as well as the double wide overhead door. Once I get the roof trusses sorted out, I'll be hanging (3) 8' long flourecent lites to brighten it up.

Instead of heating it, the problem is heat during the summer. The garage is attached to the house, and the garage's truss space is connected to the attic for the house. So during the summer, even with the doors open, during the day its miserable in there, I need to add some fans to make it liveable, otherwise all my work will be third shift.

Just a work in progress as is everything else.