First Time Homeowner, What To Do With Garage?

[M1N1ON]

Hey Guys (and girls),

Just recently purchased my first home, I enjoy working on both cars and wood working so i am trying to figure out what to do with my garage. It is a 2.5 with a "shop" on the back (sorry, do not have dimensions). The garage has the drywall roughed in and finished in some areas along with a gas heater and thermostat.

I want to finish the floor but not sure how to go about this since it has several large cracks in it. I also want to finish the ceiling, not sure what to do here. I know the right thing to do is drywall it out but i kinda just want to get some 1/4" OSB and put it up myself without having to tape/mud.

Here are some pictures, i still have some organizing and purging left to do since the move.

 

[AldeanFan]

Wow, great first garage!

First question, what's under the car cover, mustang?

Is the roof insulated in the last pic? I had a friend who did this to get height for a hoist.

I'd start by laying out all your tools and build a good work bench.
When I bought my house the first thing I did was build a shed to get the lawnmower out of the garage!

Good luck, looking forward to seeing what others have for advice

 

[M1N1ON]

Wow, great first garage!

First question, what's under the car cover, mustang?

Is the roof insulated in the last pic? I had a friend who did this to get height for a hoist.

I'd start by laying out all your tools and build a good work bench.
When I bought my house the first thing I did was build a shed to get the lawnmower out of the garage!

Good luck, looking forward to seeing what others have for advice

No mustangs. Its an E39 M5. Carbon black on caramel interior. Here is the only picture i can find on my photo bucket of it:

I also have an 86 civic in next to the BMW that I bought to DD. Has 46k original miles. Its too nice to drive through the winter so ill probably just fix it and sell it.

The roof is insulated. However, the insulation is falling and looks pretty ratty. I really want to know what the best solution is for this. Like i said above, i think i want to put up OSB.

I plan on building a work bench along the back wall. I also plan on building a "island" that will hold my table saw and miter saw along with a vise. I recently started getting into wood stuff. The old lady wanted a kitchen table and i thought i could build the same $1200 table we saw in the store. Came out pretty close.

 

[M1N1ON]

oh and there is a shed out back as well. It has a snow blower and lawn mower in it. The one in the garage is an old Work Horse that i dug out of the grandfather -inlaw (is that right?) barn. He said if i could get it out, i could have it.

Im going to fix it up. If the motor is seized, Ill put a R1 motor in it or something

 

[NUTTSGT]

First of welcome to GJ.

Secondly, update your profile with a general location. This will immensely help your fellow members giving you advice like you're seeking.

Third, spend several evenings looking through the gallery section to gather soem ideas. Nobody here will care if you rob their idea and use it for yourself....just give them the credit for the idea.

Is your garage attached or detached ? If it's attached, I'd retain atleast part of the drywall for fire protection between the garage/living quarters.

I wouldn't use 1/4" OSB. It can be too wavy and will bow if you lean on it. 7/16" will be alot stronger for the walls. Every time I checked out the 1/4" price it was only a buck or two more a sheet. Well worth the added expense for the thicker product.

If you're pulling drywall, get your electrical up to snuff before you add insulation. Personally, I would put a ceiling in on the bottom chord of the rafters and insulate it too. Once that is done, make sure you have plenty of roof vents to get the heat out inthe Summer, it will make your garage alot more tolerable.

Ask plenty of questions. The guys here are very knowledgeable and will give you great advice, if you are appreciative.

 

[AldeanFan]

Cool cars!

Think ahead for any wiring, cables and pipes you will want in the walls/ceiling before closing them in.
I'm not a fan of osb on walls but that's just me, lots do it and are very happy with it, just be prepared for how much paint and primer it ***** up.

 

[Trey T]

Make improvement on the floor. I moved into a new house and I immediately put epoxy down. I wanted to improve my previous garage but that was very tough because of the amount of stuff on the floor

 

[theoldwizard1]

Update electric, if needed, especially for 240V appliances (compressor/welder).

Build/buy some benches.

If you want to work in there in winter, you will need more insulation in the ceiling. The cheapest solution to working on cars in cold weather is a portable heater, a dry garage floor and a couple layers of cardboard !

 

[finn]

I used 1/4" osb on a 10' garage ceiling and wouldn't recommend it. It's wavy and looks like ****.

Mine is unpainted and therefore doesn't reflect the light so the garage isn't as bright as I want it to be.

I installed white metal in the other part (12' ceiling) of the garage and will eventually cover the osb with the metal too. Looks 100% better, and really brightens up the space.

In your case, I'd bite the bullit and install sheet rock on the ceiling since it's an attached garage by the looks of it.

Sheet rock isn't difficult unless you are **** about the seams. Just buy or rent a drywall lift and have at it. It's really not that much more difficult than installing, priming, and painting osb in my opinion. Flat white paint hides less than perfect joint work.

 

[Cyberbear]

You have lots of options and I have no idea what to do about that floor. Simple patching won't help much long term other than jacking it out and doing it over properly. Thin sheeting on the ceiling w/o proper joist spacing will eventually lead to sagging and look bad. I suggest taking your time, doing it right and be happy with the results, instead of a cheap quick fix that you'll be living with a long time.

 

[M1N1ON]

Make improvement on the floor. I moved into a new house and I immediately put epoxy down. I wanted to improve my previous garage but that was very tough because of the amount of stuff on the floor

I want to epoxy the floor but i have concerns about the cracking. Is there a good solution to this? I live in IL and it seems like every house we looked at had cracked garage floors. This isn't the worst...

Update electric, if needed, especially for 240V appliances (compressor/welder).

Build/buy some benches.

If you want to work in there in winter, you will need more insulation in the ceiling. The cheapest solution to working on cars in cold weather is a portable heater, a dry garage floor and a couple layers of cardboard !

I have a built in heater that runs off the gas from the house that also has a thermostat. It heats the garage up pretty quick. I venture to say i will probably leave it on 45-50 degrees on the days it gets below 10.

I plan on building some benches soon!

 

[M1N1ON]

First of welcome to GJ.

Secondly, update your profile with a general location. This will immensely help your fellow members giving you advice like you're seeking.

Third, spend several evenings looking through the gallery section to gather soem ideas. Nobody here will care if you rob their idea and use it for yourself....just give them the credit for the idea.

Is your garage attached or detached ? If it's attached, I'd retain atleast part of the drywall for fire protection between the garage/living quarters.

I wouldn't use 1/4" OSB. It can be too wavy and will bow if you lean on it. 7/16" will be alot stronger for the walls. Every time I checked out the 1/4" price it was only a buck or two more a sheet. Well worth the added expense for the thicker product.

If you're pulling drywall, get your electrical up to snuff before you add insulation. Personally, I would put a ceiling in on the bottom chord of the rafters and insulate it too. Once that is done, make sure you have plenty of roof vents to get the heat out inthe Summer, it will make your garage alot more tolerable.

Ask plenty of questions. The guys here are very knowledgeable and will give you great advice, if you are appreciative.

I've gone through a lot of threads and gotten some good ideas, the big thing i want to do before anything else is the flooring. However it is getting cold here and do not think i can lay epoxy down and get good results.

The electric is actually really good. I need to have an electrician come out and wire in 220 for my compressor and future welder. I do plan on running a drop down to the middle of the garage for air though.

As far as the OSB, are there any other options such as metal (like the member below suggested) that are both reasonable in price and look decent? I am REALLY bad at hanging drywall... The garage is detached so i am not as concerned about the fire suppression capabilities.

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Cheers.

 

[Yourfired]

Great looking garage, you can do a lot of adjustments in there. My first advice would be too check out the ceiling and fix the floors.

 

[HandItOver]

About 8 years ago my parents built a 3 car garage with one bay separated as a shop. We did all the walls and ceiling with 1/2" OSB. I had a friend help me and we knocked it out pretty quick. We then painted everything a light gray. I didn't notice it sucking up paint too much, though I'm sure it used a little more than Sheetrock. We put the shiny side out so the extra paint would just be in the small pits. Everything still looks great! My dad isn't known for taking great care of things so I wanted something durable that wouldn't be full of holes in a few years.

It looks like you have some pretty wide gaps between the lower spanners. I would imagine everything is going to sag if you don't add some supports. If you wanted to go tight up against the rafters you need to be concerned with the amount of insulation that will fit. Looks like you have either 2x6 or 2x8 rafters and they are now saying you should have up to 18" of insulation these days for northern climates.

My opinion would be to add a few spanners to the bottom(or run something the opposite direction of what's there) and rent a Sheetrock lift and go to town with Sheetrock for the ceiling. I'm yet to use one of the lifts but I imagine they make the whole task much much simpler. My last garage had Sheetrock everywhere but was never mudded or even painted (until I got there) and that stuff still looked fine, even after 30+ years. I'm not a big fan hanging Sheetrock but it's cheaper and will hang just like any other sheeting.

Good luck with the build! I love the separated shop area.

 

[Trey T]

I want to epoxy the floor but i have concerns about the cracking. Is there a good solution to this? I live in IL and it seems like every house we looked at had cracked garage floors. This isn't the worst...



I have a built in heater that runs off the gas from the house that also has a thermostat. It heats the garage up pretty quick. I venture to say i will probably leave it on 45-50 degrees on the days it gets below 10.

I plan on building some benches soon!

Ask your question in the flooring section and let the vendors help you. They're very competitive to gain your business. I've seen a floor similar to yours, maybe the crack isn't as wide, that gets repaired and epoxied.

 

[rayra]

I've got a two-car attached suburban garage, with the same general issues / uses. I'm in the middle of an effort now to re-arrange and better organize my storage and workspaces, mostly with the goal of relocating my woodworking efforts to the front and one side of the garage so I can better isolate the mess from the rest of the garage's contents.
I have a hobby / reloading bench a the west head of the garage, floor to ceiling shelves on the north wall (full of stored goods, holiday decorations etc), the south wall is a general workbench, lawn & garden, W&D and a chest freezer. I am right now re-working that side with more cabinetry and a high self, 2' deep, 17' long. I've been posting a few pics in the 'what did you do IN your garage today' topic.
I also have a 40"x8' rolling worktable, built the same height as my table saw, used as an outfeed support when needed. That rolling table also has a router table set flush in it. I'm also about to rework the top of that rolling table using Ron Paulk's portable workbench design (YouTube), converting my existing table into a chassis for it, and shortening its legs so the top of the Paulk bench design is still flush with my tablesaw. And remains portable for using at other work sites..
And I have various other woodworking tools on movable stands.

My intent is to get all that woodworking clustered in the front quadrant and build some sort of curtain wall a la an Emergency Room curtain, which I can readily slide out when the wood chips / dust are flying. Instead of coating everything in the garage as I've been doing for decades.

I've been doing some projects at ExpeditionPortal using materials from ripstopbytheroll.com ripstop nylon is very affordable and available in a wide variety of colors, materials and weights. With very little fabrication work, some sewing and grommets and the like, I expect to build a ~25'x8' curtain wall for under $250. small fishing weights sewn in the hem, shower or regular curtain hooks / rollers at the top, and some sort of aluminum channel affixed to my ceiling joists.

Here's some pics of my 'hobbyist' woodworking
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rayra/albums/72157647976429985

 

[kv501]

First question I have is what is your budget? (not trying to be a smart *** at all)

There are people here with disposable income from hundreds of thousands, to just hundreds.

If we knew a ball park range of what you want to spend we can eliminate a lot of ideas and probably give you a better idea of what we'd do.

Welcome to GJ!

 

[FordTruckWench]

If you wanted to go tight up against the rafters you need to be concerned with the amount of insulation that will fit. Looks like you have either 2x6 or 2x8 rafters and they are now saying you should have up to 18" of insulation these days for northern climates.

The pictures show he already has insulation up between the rafters. I suspect this isn't installed correctly! The backside of a roof needs airflow. Otherwise, on a hot day it will just bake itself to failure.

One solution is to install a 2x4's worth of insulation with 2x6 rafters, or 2x6's worth with 2x8's, and so on. Then vent the resulting gap at both the eaves and the ridge. The search term for this is "cold roof".

It may be easier for the OP to add some ceiling joists (to fill in the big gaps), sheetrock the underside of them (i.e. the bottom chord of the roof framing), and lay insulation above the ceiling. And then make sure the resulting attic is vented.

 

[NUTTSGT]

As far as the OSB, are there any other options such as metal (like the member below suggested) that are both reasonable in price and look decent? I am REALLY bad at hanging drywall... The garage is detached so i am not as concerned about the fire suppression capabilities.

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Cheers.

Ribbed metal siding can be put up for a ceiling. It's light and fairly easy to install, especially with the assistance of a drywall lift. I used OSB in my garage ceiling but used metal in the house garage. I wish I would have put metal in my garage. Keep in mind, that you don't have to do it all at once.
Getting started


attic access

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Some people would use metal roofing for a ceiling. It is rigid, and will make that span. An added plus is that it is pre finished. You can price it out. It won't be as cheap as OSB, but it isn't killer.

If I were using OSB, I'd use the 7/16ths board, and I would put plastic down, and pre paint it on the floor with a roller, then lean it against a wall with spacers to dry.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I've gone through a lot of threads and gotten some good ideas, the big thing i want to do before anything else is the flooring. However it is getting cold here and do not think i can lay epoxy down and get good results.

The electric is actually really good. I need to have an electrician come out and wire in 220 for my compressor and future welder. I do plan on running a drop down to the middle of the garage for air though.

As far as the OSB, are there any other options such as metal (like the member below suggested) that are both reasonable in price and look decent? I am REALLY bad at hanging drywall... The garage is detached so i am not as concerned about the fire suppression capabilities.

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Cheers.

Wow, big garage space to have, makes my one car look like a shoe box....

Might want to re-think the floor. It appears you have a lot of construction type work to do and the moving around of equipment that is going to damage a new floor coating.....

If it were mine, I would get the construction done, get all the wall hanging objects/tools hung, get the movables parked and staged. Look at everything and be sure it suits and adjust as necessary. Then, I would roll my wheeled equipment vehicles out of the way and start working on the floor last. JMO though. Good luck on your project

 

[ddawg16]

I'd hold off on the floor. It's too easy to damage it while you're trying to get the garage the way you want. Put it off to the last task.

It looks like you need more electrical.

I'm not seeing the pic of your ceiling...but what I do see in the first pic shows no drywall. I'd put drywall up....along with the lights you want. Now is the time to run electrical. I have 18 6" cans in my garage (see the link in my signature for pics)

Next....paint. Semi or high gloss exterior paint will do wonders. I'd suggest high gloss. Saw dust does not stick to it quite as well.

As a fellow wood worker....I think you're headed in the right direction with the island idea....put it on wheels. I'm getting read to build one now based around my Ryobi table saw. I picked up wheels from Rockler....it will let me lift the island up and roll it around...then pop it down for a secure footing.

 

[ZRX61]

Damn, lot of potential there. I'd love to have that space.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I wouldn't use 1/4" OSB. It can be too wavy and will bow if you lean on it. 7/16" will be alot stronger for the walls. Every time I checked out the 1/4" price it was only a buck or two more a sheet. Well worth the added expense for the thicker product.

If you're pulling drywall, get your electrical up to snuff before you add insulation. Personally, I would put a ceiling in on the bottom chord of the rafters and insulate it too. Once that is done, make sure you have plenty of roof vents to get the heat out inthe Summer, it will make your garage alot more tolerable.

I definitely agree with the 7/16" OSB over 1/4". 7/16 will be rigid enough to not bow, and will support some weight for hanging lightweight stuff in between the studs if you choose to.

When I rewired my garage, ran romex in the walls prior to insulating. If I were to do it again, I would insulate the walls, seal them up tight and install OSB, then surface mount the panel and all the wiring in conduit. Easy to upgrade or change in the future (you never know what you'll want next in a garage), and less penetrations make for a better sealed and insulated wall. Just my opinion though, may not work for everyone.