The Blank Slate: Dual Garages Plus Workshop in MN

[getfamiliar]

A little less than one year ago my wife and I purchased our first home in Minneapolis. The garage situation is a bit unique and I find myself wanting to go in about 10 different directions all at once. In this thread i hope to document my madness

For starters we have an attached single stall that I am slowly converting into a personal gym and general hang-out for myself:

Dimensions: 12' wide by 20' long, 14' at the peak down to 5' in the rear.

I am REALLY peeved that I didn't take some before pics of this space before i gutted it over the summer. It was terrible. The drywall was dirt, full of holes and before the previous (foreclosed upon) homeowners departed they opted to spray paint their names all over the place... thanks @ssholes. It also had a rickety loft above where the garage door was (mis)installed.

The loft was removed, as was all of the drywall. I fashioned up some brackets to hold the rails of the manual-lift door.

I put a coat of battleship grey sealer down after quickcrete'ing a ton of small imperfections on the concrete, but I am in the process of laying some 3/4" horse stall mats over the slab for protection from falling weights.

My on-going thread asking about how to go about insulating this space is here, if you are interested: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181685

 

[getfamiliar]

Here's where things get a bit more interesting (and problematic)... We also have a two stall garage underneath our backyard with a small "tunnel" stairway leading up into the basement.

Both stalls are 11' wide and 23' deep, with 7.5' ceilings.

The floor in both stalls is rough. There are no drains and no slope so water just sits.

The stall on the right also veers off into a workshop area that is under our living room. The pathway into the shop leaks a small amount of water, even after i spent a ton if time over the summer digging up the backyard and putting a fresh coat of foundation sealer on it... I'm going to try to attack it from the inside as well.

As you enter the Workshop

And the opposing viewpoint looking back towards the entrance:

 

[justintiime]

wheres the rest of the story??? you have my full attention! lol

 

[getfamiliar]

My loose prioritization is as follows:

• Get insulation and vapor shield up in the small attached garage
• Get MDF or paneling up in the small attached garage
• Build and install a weightlifting platform similar to this: http://straighttothebar.com/articles/2009/03/diy_how_to_build_an_olympic_we/
• Finish installing the horse stall mats around the platform
• Do as much of the simple electric as I can and then bring in a professional to finish and possibly install a 240v line so i can run a big electric heater in there
• Remove the old insulation in the shop as its full of mouse turds and poorly installed overall
• Get some simple acoustic dampening materials installed in the shop ceiling, it's not terrible but one fewer reason for the old lady to holler at me!
• Frame up, insulate and panel the workshop

my hurdles:
Like most folks, money is a limiting factor.
I frankly have no damn idea what i'm doing - if it weren't for yourtube vids, reference books and wonderfully helpful folks on forums such as yourselves i'd be up sh*t creek with no paddle. Ha!

wheres the rest of the story??? you have my full attention! lol

Sorry, as a new member I think my posts are still throttled. I'll keep ranting in here when I am able! Haha

 

[justintiime]

i will keep checking back. you bave an awesome space to work with!

 

[Big-Foot]

Wow... Thats a pretty cool setup.. An underground garage with a tunnel!

What part of MPLS are you in? I just sold my old house there this month.. South side 36th st & 41st ave..

 

[getfamiliar]

Well, I haven't much in the way of progress - but i did make a couple of strategic purchases to facilitate some progress...

I snagged a little 250w work light on sale for $5

And Menard's had a sale on their propane heaters so i picked this 35k to 60k adjustable unit up for $99. With these two combined i atleast got some USE of the small garage and have gotten a few gym sessions in there.

This heater took my 25 degree garage up to 60 in just 10 minutes. I blasted it on high, then dropped it down to low and the space level out to 55.

And here's the reason for a lack of progress... Meet Walnut, aka Wally, our new 10 week old Shih Tzu Papillon mix. Should be a great little city-house dog. If I had the space I'd like to give him a giant accomplice, but such is life at the moment.