Our Shop Build - Just In Time for Winter

[JacobZ06]

Last spring, we bought a house with a 3 car garage plus an RV carport. My immediate reaction for the carport was a future shop with a lift.

Following is a brief history of the build from early fall to the present.

House before we took possession:

Carport employed as a wash bay in the early days:

Varying stages of build:

Finally inside, just in time to beat the winter rain (and snow):

Our next item will be the lift, most likely a 4 post. After the lift, we can complete a few finishing details. The shop is 26 x 12 with a 13 foot ceiling. We end up with about 12'-6" clearance when the door is up. We have a Liftmaster 3800 operator, two 1000 watt baseboard heaters, water and phone. A basic shop, but very nice to have in the winter.

Over the winter, we will get rolling on the 3 car garage using the same theme.

Jacob

 

[ka41]

Beautiful. I love the theme and whats stored inside.

 

[greg]

Awesome job on closing it all in .

 

[JeffreyJames]

Cool shop, beautiful home, you've got in made in the shade my friend.

 

[Pappa Ugg]

Beautiful house and nice garage.. enjoy

 

[Cryptic1911]

****, that's pretty damn awesome! was great as a wash bay too! I want one

 

[TRC51]

Man.... I love that car. Nice shop... and garages... and house.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Awesome house, existing carholes and Corvette house.

 

[Mark-in-NH]

That is a Beautiful house indeed, Very nice lines, tastefully landscaped. The neighbors are to close for my liking but that is still a beautiful home.
Excellent job on the carport to shop renovation, it looks great.
The LiftMaster garage door opener push button in one of your pictures. Is the digital clock just that or does the clock serve some type of purpose like a timer etc. ? I have never seen a remote button like that with a clock in it. I like it, very modern and stylish.

 

[foss]

Awsome shop. A real beautiful set-up you have.

 

[Basskiller]

great job. Like the car too.

 

[JacobZ06]

That is a Beautiful house indeed, Very nice lines, tastefully landscaped. The neighbors are to close for my liking but that is still a beautiful home.
Excellent job on the carport to shop renovation, it looks great.
The LiftMaster garage door opener push button in one of your pictures. Is the digital clock just that or does the clock serve some type of purpose like a timer etc. ? I have never seen a remote button like that with a clock in it. I like it, very modern and stylish.

This is the standard door opener which comes with the Liftmaster 3800. It has an alternating clock and temperature display, motion sensor for a wireless plug in garage light, as well as setup options for the door.

Most of the 1/2 acre property is in the rear, which is completely private from the neighbours.

 

[tstang90]

very nice job.

 

[autoist]

Is it possible to walk across the street & replicate that 1st photo of your hous & garage together?

 

[JacobZ06]

Is it possible to walk across the street & replicate that 1st photo of your hous & garage together?

I will when the weather turns decent.

In the meantime, here's a photoshop version:

Jacob

 

[autoist]

Nice - thanks...

 

[badhst]

Very Nice Job !!! The colors really blend well.

 

[Rhetorical1]

God I love the island!

 

[T VETTE]

Nice job. Came up from Ca a couple years ago, put the Harley on a ferry and drove around a bit. May go back again.

 

[autoace]

Nice, it was great you could use the existing structure and slab, saves alot of money, what do you have for heat.............I foresee maybe a propane heater suspended from above to keep floor space at the maximum.

My bad, I just saw the base board type heaters in there.

 

[autowerks9]

Wow looks great..keep us updated on the progress...

 

[Cobra4B]

Beautiful space and nice Z06, but it looks a bit narrow to do real work, maybe it's just the pics?

Not sure what camera you have but the colors really pop.

 

[JMURiz]

You need an update, just saw some pics on the HHR site, WOW!

 

[JacobZ06]

A little slow getting around to it, but here is an update, posted on the HHR SS forum:

Before winter, we finished the basic garage build up to pre-lift status. A summary of that project can be seen here:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48782

In February, we ordered a BendPak HD-9, where we continue the project:

Lift transport:

The tilt deck tow truck lowered the lift into the garage where I did the assembly using an engine cherry picker, floor jacks and profanity as required.

Levelling plates were added to counter the 2.5 inch slope on the shop floor:

The Z06 needs additional ramping to clear the rocker panels:

The Z06 which is lowered about 1 inch, is too low for the front end air dam to clear the RJ-45 rolling bridge, so the car is backed onto the lift, so that the rolling jack (stowed at the rear of the lift) clears the rear suspension and can be rolled up to the front end when required.

Business end of the shop:

Addition of the daily driver:

My favorite shot:

We have had a few teething problems with the BendPak HD-9, but Jeff Kritzer
at BendPak was very instrumental in helping to get resolution rolling. I was impressed that someone at such a senior level in the company would not hesitate to jump in to provide assistance. We are still sorting out a problem with primary safety lock operation, but I'm fairly certain this will get resolved.

Jacob

 

[JMisora]

you sir have an amazing view out the front of your home

 

[anythingfastxxx]

Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to go with a 4 post vs a 2 post? Ease of racking? It looks like your primary goal was to maybe be able to park 2 vehicles in there and do some basic maintenance. I was just wondering.

Garage looks like it turned out awesome.

 

[JacobZ06]

Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to go with a 4 post vs a 2 post? Ease of racking? It looks like your primary goal was to maybe be able to park 2 vehicles in there and do some basic maintenance. I was just wondering.

Garage looks like it turned out awesome.

Your guess is on the money. We use the shop for basic maintenance and park 2 vehicles there when we need the space in the other garages.

 

[driptruck]

What is the inside width of your lift? I want to park my boat on or under mine. I need between 8' 6" to 9' Your place looks great.

 

[anythingfastxxx]

Your guess is on the money. We use the shop for basic maintenance and park 2 vehicles there when we need the space in the other garages.

Well then that makes sense. I was just sitting here thinking that a 2 post would be more practical (for me). But I suppose our needs are not the same and I can see how great that's working for you!

 

[JacobZ06]

What is the inside width of your lift? I want to park my boat on or under mine. I need between 8' 6" to 9' Your place looks great.

Try this website for all the dimensions:

http://www.babco.ca/Automotive-Equipment-Products/BendPak-Vehicle-Lifts/BendPak-HD9

Looks like 106.75 inches.