BMEP's garage rennovation

[BMEP]

My wife and I moved to the Sacramento, CA area from Illinois last December. When we were searching for a house, one of the (well okay, not so much "the" as "my" ) criteria was a 3 or 4 car garage. We didn’t want to live in the boonies so a house with a separate shop building was pretty much off the table – at least in our price range.

We found a house with a 1,110 sq ft 4 car with 12’-4” ceilings. Awesome! I have to say, I’m a very lucky man to have found my wife. This house really isn’t what she would’ve chosen but she was completely behind buying it since I was so excited about the garage. Life is good.

Here are some before shots: Like an idiot, I forgot to take pictures when we first moved in and the garage was empty. I was very busy with life and work right after we moved in so I didn’t get a start on the renovation until late May. Here are the plans:

• Paint the walls & ceiling
• Install 240V electrical
• Add more lights
• Enlclose the water heaters
• Install a 2 post floor lift
• Install cabinets
• Make one 2 car bay the "work" bay and the other car parking (or at least my wife's car)
• Install HVAC
• Finish the floor (as in epoxy, tile, etc. - not yet decided)
• Insulate the walls, ceiling and garage doors
• Change the "work bay" overhead door to a "high" type with a jackshaft opener
• Enjoy and get back to the hobbies!

A little background on the photos: In order to start working on the space, I moved everything to one side to clear some floor space. Other than filling it up with stuff, no changes had been made when these photos were taken.

 

[BMEP]

First up: Water heaters

"Why do people call it a hot water heater? Hot water doesn't need heating!" - George Carlin.

First up in the garage rennovation project: cover these water heaters. Why? First, they're gas so they present a fire/explosion hazard. Gasoline, paint fumes, who knows what... I don't want to blow myself up, at least not by accident Second, they're ugly.

My plan is to enclose them and put in vents for combustion air from the outside.

You can see the "Sawzall" there... okay, so this isn't quite "before" but more like an early "during".

Notice the "earthquake straps"... Hmm, how come we didn't have those in Illiois? Guess we're not in Kansas any more.

Here's the early during shot:

 

[flybefree]

Wow, huge garage...this one should be good!

 

[rsa]

We found a house with a 1,110 sq ft 4 car with 12’-4” ceilings. Awesome! I have to say, I’m a very lucky man to have found my wife. This house really isn’t what she would’ve chosen but she was completely behind buying it since I was so excited about the garage.

Big garage, understanding wife?

Any chance of an outside pic of the garage sometime down the line? I'm curious how the tall walls integrate into the home's design.

Congratulations!

 

[BMEP]

Big garage, understanding wife?

Any chance of an outside pic of the garage sometime down the line? I'm curious how the tall walls integrate into the home's design.

Congratulations!

Thanks!

This is the only one I already have - I'll take another from the front.

 

[tinbender 66]

That's nice and big for an attached garage!! Nice Cobra too!!

 

[rsa]

This is the only one I already have - I'll take another from the front.

Thanks! That's perfect.

I'm having a difficult time wrapping my mind around how harmoniously 12' garage walls can integrate with the scale of "normal" home walls.

 

[BMEP]

To enclose the water heaters, it's necessary to provide combustion air. The code calls for an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top (I assume to allow for both combustion air and gas leaks). I needed a horizontal duct on the bottom and chose to use a vertical duct on the top. The requirement is 1 square inch of horizontal duct area for each 2,000 BTU. With 2 x 36k BTU heaters, that means I needed 36 square inches of duct area. I couldn't find anything suitable so I made a setup that has 40 square inches. The bottom vent is out the side of the house (through the veneer stone) and the top is into the open attic space. This took WAY more time than I hoped but hey, what else is new

(Click the images for larger versions)



Here it is framed up:


Had to redo the pressure relief valve discharge lines since they used to just sort of hang over the edge (I'd already cut them off in the eary post)

 

[Easterlake]

This will be fun to watch. Good luck!

 

[BMEP]

That's nice and big for an attached garage!! Nice Cobra too!!

Thanks tinbender! I've been working it for longer than I want to admit. I haven't touched it for over a year due to the move but once I get this garage done, I'll get back to it. It's a Factory 5. I've driven it but there's still quite a bit of work to do.

Awesome plane in your avatar, BTW. Have you worked on it?

 

[tinbender 66]

Awesome plane in your avatar, BTW. Have you worked on it?

No but I've drooled on it. It's P-51 racer "Strega" (Italian for witch). I'll be sad if they cancel the air races.

 

[csp]

I'm having a difficult time wrapping my mind around how harmoniously 12' garage walls can integrate with the scale of "normal" home walls.

Looks like there are several stairs leading into the house, so the elevation of the garage floor must be a few feet lower than the finished floor level of the living space.

 

[Zelatore]

A little over 10 years ago I moved from Indiana to the Sacramento area. I think you'll find it's a little better out here!

Just curious - I'm guessing you must be east of Sac? Looks like some hills and trees in the background. I'm a bit south in Walnut Grove. Nice little town on the river, but the big drawback is it's totally flat here in the delta. We're currently planning a 40x60 (hope to meet with county planning people Friday) but I suspect in the end we won't be able to do it on our property. In that case, we're also planning to meet with a Realtor later that same day to start looking at property options. Either empty buildable lots over 1 acre or something with a small existing home we could rent after building our shop/apartment.

If you don't mind, where did you land? While I'd LOVE to get out 50 toward Placerville, it's not realistic from a work standpoint.

That garage is amazing for an attached unit. Must have been built for a guy with the right mindset from the start!

 

[BMEP]

Looks like there are several stairs leading into the house, so the elevation of the garage floor must be a few feet lower than the finished floor level of the living space.

Right you are - it's 2' lower than the house and the house has 10' ceilings.

 

[Nighttrain]

Very nice! I like the front of the framing of the water heaters. Making room for the fuse box. Really like the FFR Cobra. Been looking at those since the early 90's. The wife said the kids have to go to college first. She can be such a "Strega" sometimes. LOL thanks for the new word Tinbender.

 

[jktruck150]

Man you have a lot of space in there! Looks good though! I am looking forward to see you finish all of your improvements. Your cut in the veneer stone looks great! I would always end up breaking a lot of the stone if I had to cut through it.

Nice cobra too!

 

[ChevyMan23]

Nice place, and nice FFR. I like seeing other FFR's out there.

 

[BMEP]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Zelatore, I don't mind at all. We're on Orangevale, so you're right - East. We like it. Our place in Illinois was on 2.5 acres so this does take a little getting used to. I'd originally hoped to find a place with more land and maybe an out building but it seems the choices were either really (really) expensive or further away than we wanted. Some of the places we looked at were in the Rescue area so not far from where you were talking about. It was too far for my wife to commute. I work from home and travel so it was also pretty far from the airport for me. I'm happy with this place and consider myself fortunate to have a garage at all, let alone something like this.

I'm itching to get back to work on the car. It's nice to see that some of you know FFR. ChevyMan23, do you have an FFR product?

Here's a photo that motivates me to get this garage done and get back to the car.

(click for larger image)

 

[BMEP]

Here's the water heater enclosure, almost complete. There are seals on the doors to separate it from the garage.

Still to do: wall texture & paint. I'm painting the entire garage white to make it as bright as possible. I'll also make a cover for that water distribution setup (which never was covered).

I'm trying to post this project in order so once I got to water heater enclosure mostly done, I made a drawing of what I was going to do with the rest of the garage. These aren't perfect but they're very close to what I'll end up with.

click the images for larger versions










Next up: Wiring!

 

[ChevyMan23]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

ChevyMan23, do you have an FFR product?

Here's a photo that motivates me to get this garage done and get back to the car.

(click for larger image)

My dad and I built a roadster a few years ago, and are now in the process of a Daytona Coupe. We're waiting on the body to get back from paint.

 

[BRIANBB]

i guess you are relying on the cracks around the doors to allow air to the water heaters for combustion? May want to install an air intake louver? Looking good otherwise.

 

[BMEP]

i guess you are relying on the cracks around the doors to allow air to the water heaters for combustion? May want to install an air intake louver? Looking good otherwise.

Thanks. Check out post #8 above. I installed a 40 square inch (code and the water heater manufacturer calls for 36 square inches) duct on the bottom, vented to the outside and a 38 square inch vent duct on the top, vented to the attic which has many vents to the outside.

Much of my reason for doing this is to completely stop any air flow between the garage area and the water heaters.

 

[mebedave]

Here's the water heater enclosure, almost complete. There are seals on the doors to separate it from the garage.

Still to do: wall texture & paint. I'm painting the entire garage white to make it as bright as possible. I'll also make a cover for that water distribution setup (which never was covered).

I'm trying to post this project in order so once I got to water heater enclosure mostly done, I made a drawing of what I was going to do with the rest of the garage. These aren't perfect but they're very close to what I'll end up with.

click the images for larger versions










Next up: Wiring!

BMEP......... PLEASE VENT THAT WATER HEATER ENCLOSURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you get a gas leak, the gas has no where to vent off. This allows the gas to build up inside the enclosure until a spark comes along, then BOOOOOOM!!! There goes your house and a few neighbors’s as while. You need to place a vent all the way at the top near ceiling to prevent a pocket. I see your post#8 lower vent but you need an upper vent.

something like this http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/447373344/vent_louver.html

 

[BMEP]

A little clarfication on the vents:

Three folks have voiced concern about the vents on the water heaters. First, thanks for sharing your concerns! That's always a good thing.

I believe the heater enclosure is properly vented. By "properly" I mean according to both the water heater manufacturer's install guidelines and the 2010 California Title 24 building code (Chapter 5, 507.4.1 "Two permanent opening method"). The manufacturer's instructions and code calls for the same venting specs, BTW.

They call for 1 square inch of vent per 2,000 BTU for horizontal ducts (the bottom vent duct has both a vertical and horizontal component so I based the size on the more restrictive horizontal requirement) and 1 square inch per 4,000 BTU for veritical ducts (the top vent is vertical). I have 2 x 36,000 BTU heaters so by my calculations, I need 36 square inches on the bottom vent and 18 square inches on top. I have 38.4 square inches on both. The horizontal portion of the bottom duct is 8" x 5" so the 40" square inches is actually slightly larger than the round portion. The duct openings also comply to code in regards to their location (no more than 12" from the floor and ceiling).

The bottom duct goes directly to the outside of the house and the top vent goes into the open attic space. The open attic space is heavily vented and as such has "free communication with the outside air". For what it's worth, the ducts also meet the specs of having the opening at least 12" from any obstructions (ground, roof) , having the net free opening area of the same size (or greater in the case of the outside duct) and having a screen with the proper mesh (not finer than 1/4").

I was really careful about the venting because I don't want to blow my house up anymore than the next guy does

This setup was also inspected and passed by the local building inspector.

 

[mebedave]

Good Job !!

 

[JMURiz]

Awesome space, I like the heater venting. Looks way 'cleaner' than louvered doors...way to think outside the box!

 

[MIB]

Some people too busy looking at pictures to read...

 

[mebedave]

Some people too busy looking at pictures to read...

Sorry, I did read just missed the upper vent and I was late for work, worried BMEP was in danger

 

[Dan'sGarage]

Wonderful amount of space. Wow! I'm hooked and want to see what you are able to do with it. Wish I had that much space but it would entail moving to the country and getting a few acres of land. Wife grew up outside of NYC in Tarrytown and not into the country thing. I grew up in Kansas with our house just on the outskirts of the country and loved all the pole barns, shop buildings and all. Anyhowm, your wife is awesome to go let you get this garage. Lastly, I love the Cobra too. Would love to see your progress on both the garage and the car!

 

[sam 8]

Welcome to NorCal...I am up in the mountains to the east of you.
You are doing nice work, enjoying the thread.

 

[BMEP]

Electrical

The garage had a number of existing receptacles at a 42” height but unfortunately, they are all on a single 15A circuit. There was also no 240V power in the garage. Interestingly, my main power panel is on an outside wall of the garage. I’m told this is common practice in California but it seemed strange to have your breaker panel on the outside of the house. That is actually good news since I don’t have far to go for runs in the garage. The panel is a 400A panel but was almost full so I opted to install a sub-panel.

One wall of the garage is 16” thick (really) – it’s actually a pair of 2 x 4 stud walls with a big air space between. That was an ideal spot for the new sub panel.

The plan:

• Install new 100A sub panel in garage
• A few 20A receptacle circuits
• 30A 240V circuit for new mini-split AC and heat pump
• 40A 240V circuit for air compressor
• A couple 50A 240V welding receptacles
• 20A 240V circuit for lathe
• 30A 240V circuit for lift
• 20A circuit for lights

In addition, my plan called for adding an 8' long, 8' tall wall where the bench will go. On the other side of the wall will be grinders, chop saw, buffer, etc. - the abrasive stuff. I wanted a bunch of receptacles on this wall (both sides) for the bench and for the grinders and such. Since this wall protrudes into the middle of the shop (see plans earlier in this thread), I decided it would be a good place for a welding receptacle.

I drew up plans, got a building permit, took out a second mortgage so I could afford the wire (kidding... sort of) and got started.

Photos and more details to follow...

 

[BMEP]

Here's the current main panel (no pun intended ). It's too full to add the number of circuits I want but fortunately, there's enough space so I can add a 2 pole breaker for the new sub-panel.

I cut a hole in the garge interior wall to get access to the back of the existing main panel:

Hole cut at top so I can fish the sub panel feed.

Here's the hole cut for the new sub panel and raceway. This wall is 16" thick (really). It's a pair of 2x4 stud walls with a bunch of space between. This was ideal for my purposes!

I built a raceway out of 2x4 and 2x6 lumber. I covered the open back area with 1/2" plywood which isn't in this photo. This made a very nice place to run wires into the attic space. It's also going to be accessible later when I need to add more circuits.

Here you can see the "bench wall" I built. It's a 2x6 wall, anchored to the floor and the wall. I hope the floor slab doesn't move much, but I didn't have much choice so I'll take my chances. Since the wall is only attached to the other garage wall and the floor, I covered one side on plywood (glued and screwed) for strength. There's 1/4" drywall on one side and 5/8" on the other. There are a bunch of receptacles (2 x 20A circuits) and a 50A 240V welding receptacle on this wall. You can also see the holes I had to cut on the wall above to run wires through the plates. Because the walls are 12' tall, they did a "wall stacked on a wall" type of construction. As such, there are a pair of 2x4 plates that run horizontally that I hade to drill through to run wires. Running these wires wasn't fun since there was very little space in the attic between the roof and the top plate where I had to run wires.

Also in this photo is the tube run to the outside for the lines to the mini-split. The indoor unit will hang over this hole.

 

[BMEP]

Here's the 30K BTU LG mini-split I went with. At this point in the project, I was trying to the the wiring finished up but decided to go ahead and finish the HVAC since it was summer and HOT in the garage. It works well. There's no insulation in the walls or ceiling and on a 100 degree day, it had no problem cooling the garage. I've pondered insulating the garage but doing the walls would be a mess since there would have to be so many holes to patch (the walls are textured). I may just do the ceiling and call it done.

I also couldn't find a bracket that mounted the outdoor unit far away enough from the wall (to meet the requirements in the manual) so I made this one. I used the DiversiTech SpeediChannel system to cover the line set and it turned out great. After these photos were taken, I painted the SpeediChannel the exterior wall color and it hides it fairly well.

And the inside unit - which also shows the old lights.

 

[BMEP]

Okay, time for some light. I wanted it nice and bright. I used the "Visual" software listed on the Lithonia Lighting web site resources page. The software is free and works great! I decided I wanted at least a 1,000 lux. Using the software, I worked out exactly how many fixtures I needed.

I'll post more details on the fixtures I used - gotta look it up first.

I used the 4 tube, 8' tandem (4 x 4' tubes each fixture) Lithonia lights from Home Depot. For 1,100 sq ft, I have 22 x 8 footers and 2 x 4 footers.

I rented this lift for a weekend to do the lights... it was absolutely indespensible. I can't say enough how nice that lift was to work with. It was also very tricky to figure out where all the studs (really bottom chords of the trusses) were to mount the lights - and, to keep the lights in nice straight rows. It turned out really well. I also took the opportunity to use the lift to paint the ceiling and top part of the walls. It was a busy weekend!

Here's the lift. At this point, you can also see that I have the "bench wall" done (drywalled, mudded, textured to match), complete with bull-nose corners, since that's what the rest of the house & garage has. I also have pegboard up and threw a few tools up just to get them out of the way. The rest of my tools are still in boxes (still from moving) and it's driving me crazy.

 

[BMEP]

Let there be light! This is 22 8 foot fixtures and 2 four footers for a total of 92 four foot tubes. I went with 5000K color temperature lights and am very happy with it.

 

[Crzydmnd72]

Good general light. Will you have additional task lighting over your bench also?

 

[BMEP]

Good general light. Will you have additional task lighting over your bench also?

Good question. I'm going to wait until I start actually working on things to see how well the overhead lights work. I did put a receptacle at the top of each side of the bench wall with the intent of putting up lights directly over the bench and grinder area if needed. IMHO, you can never have too much light.

 

[rmckee]

I have to voice my anger towards you........ for introducing me to FFR. They're actually only an hour from me, but I'd never heard of them before. I think I just found my next project (once I've got the barn built to put it in!) This could be dangerous!

On topic- garage looks great. You're lucky to have a wife that was in agreement for the space! Looks like you've done a good job at cleaning things up and turning it into a real room without the distractions of water heaters sitting in the corner!

Look forward to seeing more.

 

[BMEP]

I have to voice my anger towards you........ for introducing me to FFR. They're actually only an hour from me, but I'd never heard of them before. I think I just found my next project (once I've got the barn built to put it in!) This could be dangerous!

Believe me, it only gets worse. As soon as you buy a kit and get started, you'll be surfing FFR specific forums and finding a whole bunch of things that you didn't know existed but can't live without!