Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Time Machine Garage - 32x24 with loft

[Sunbimmer]

Brick veneer, damn it looks great already

 

[Gerald O]

New BendPak lift installed. Ordered on 11/30 through Michael at --------------- and delivered and installed today!

I just hooked up temporary power and connected air from the hose reel for testing. This will eventually get connected up with hard lines.

This should help free up some working space.

 

[Gerald O]

My building permit for finishing the upstairs runs out in a couple of months. The brick veneer is going to take a lot of time to finish, so I set that aside for now.

I started doing the taping and mudding upstairs then decided to finish doing the bathroom first. This all has to be done in a particular sequence. Because of the tile installation and moisture, all the mudding in the bathroom is done with 'setting' type mud. This way it won't melt when it gets wet from the tile mortar. It's a bit trickier and more time consuming to work with because you only have so many minutes to work with a batch before it starts to set up. Then you got to clean all the tools before you can start on the next batch.

First the corners and seams get taped and rough leveled to make a flat surface for the water barrier membrane. I used a product called 'Trugard' which is a lower priced knock-off of the Schluter 'Kerdi' membrane. Only difference I can tell is the color. This goes on over the cement backer using thinset.

Then the mudding with the hot mud is continued to bring the finish close to final smoothness. The edges of the shower membrane get mudded flush with the drywall.

I used two kinds of drywall, green board for the walls that will be tiled and standard sheetrock for the ceilings. The tile needs to go up before it can be painted.

 

[Gerald O]

Made good progress with the wall tile over the holidays.

 

[camarosrus69]

Nice build, and I love all of your toys. I've been looking for a Coke machine like yours, but everyone seems to be so proud of them. Would you say your loft added about 25k to the build? I've been trying to estimate a similar garage without the loft, and was guessing about 35k.

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks. I looked for a long time before spotting this Coke machine on a local craigslist for $500.
The guy had owned it for about 35 years. It was in the back of his barn and believed it was not working anymore and didn't have the keys. When I got it home I picked the lock and turned down the thermostat inside and it fired right up. All I had to do was clean it and start using it.

Regarding cost of building the loft, it depends on whether you are talking just the shell or including the inside finish and all. For just the shell it added very little to the cost. I would have matched the roof slope to the existing house anyway, so from an exterior perspective the only thing different is the added dormer and windows.
Inside, the floor joists and subfloor and the stairs. I didn't have it priced out separately but I doubt that it even added $10k more because there was not much more in materials and labor. I'd say that if you are planning for a high pitched roof then you should at least plan for storage area above.

 

[INTMD8]

Looking nice! What are the details on the Buick (year/model). I like that body style.

 

[Styx]

Great looking place you have there... cant wait to see the finished product...

Cheers...

 

[Gerald O]

Looking nice! What are the details on the Buick (year/model). I like that body style.

Thanks. It's a 1949 Super 'Sedanet'. It's got 41K original miles and is unrestored except for a repaint done probably sometime around 1980. 1949 was a one-year body style for Buick. It was also the first year for the iconic Buick 'port holes' in the fenders. Being the first all-new design for Buick after WWII it incorporated a lot of 'fighter plane' styling queues while maintaining some of the old art deco pre-war styling.

 

[Gerald O]

Great looking place you have there... cant wait to see the finished product...

Cheers...

Thanks Styx, I'm hoping to get it mostly finished sometime this year. But are they ever really done?

 

[bry@n]

wow...what a great job you're doing. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks for the kind words bry@n. I'm afraid I couldn't do this kind of work for a living though -- too OCD, which means too slow.

Got all the wall tile up now. Next is to final skim coat the drywall and paint. After that, grout the wall tile. Then the floor tile gets set last.

 

[Gerald O]

This week's progress

Got the bathroom painting done and the floor tile set. Cleaning the excess mortar out of the joints of a zillion Hex tiles is no fun.
Next is grouting and then finally installation of the fixtures!

 

[TimNY1984]

Wow. Great build, nice job with everything! Your work looks like it should be in a book. Thanks for including so much info throughout the build. It really helps those of us who are starting to look into a build. We can know some exact costs on a build and what to expect for ourselves. Subscribed for sure!

Tim

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks Tim. Hopefully it gives you some ideas or info that will help you with your new garage project.

If you think about it, The Garage Journal does serve the purpose of a book... a very big and diverse reference on all things garage related with many authors!

I think my tendency to include a lot of info may come from my occupation as an applications engineer. I have to routinely create training courses and help documents for use by other engineers. So, I'm in the habit of explaining new things to people who are usually already pretty knowledgeable in their own experience.

 

[TimNY1984]

That's probably it. Mechanical Engineer here, I'll admit I'm not the best at explaining things to people. After finally finishing a design I've been looking at for ages, it all just makes sense to me. I tend to forget everyone else hasn't been staring at it for countless hours like I have. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see more pics on the progress.

 

[Gerald O]

I can wash my hands now, yay!
Got the sink installed and a paper towel dispenser.

 

[Jimbo..]

Love that bathroom. Great job on the tile selection and install.

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks for the compliments Jimbo. This was my first complete bathroom tile project so it's good to hear. I've done a couple re-tile projects of shower walls and bath backsplashes, but nothing like this. When I look at it I always see the defects and goofs. But I'm satisfied overall.

I was trying to get a vintage look with the tile selection while keeping the cost down. The wall tiles are off the shelf Lowes 3" x 6" American Olean ceramic subway tile. I found those on sale for $0.88 sqft. Border tiles were a bit pricy sold by the piece, but I didn't need a lot. The floor is a Merola "Metro" 2x2 matte white porcelain mosaic, with glossy black porcelain accent pattern that I added. Goes for about $7 sqft. The grout is a natural gray color.

 

[Gerald O]

Fully functional john

Got the toilet and the shower installed. Of course I had to 'christen' the toilet properly right away.

Installed an old soap dispenser and filled it with Boraxo. Found a place for the first aid kit. I still need to fill it though. Since its removable I'm thinking to mainly stock it with trauma supplies --stuff for handling bleeding and urgent first aid. Medicines can go in the mirror cabinet.

 

[Gerald O]

I had to build this chase into the corner of the bathroom for the sink drain and vent pipe to run through. So this became a cubby for bathroom supplies. Just got it finished and trimmed out. Haven't decided yet whether to put a door on to make it into a cabinet or just leave it open like this.

Son gave me a picture to put up.

Got the room door in too. All trimmed out on this side. Other side waiting for the loft sheetrock mudding to be completed. This was a cheapie slab-faced prehung door but I'm planning on doing some decorative surface treatment later on the door to simulate an industrial look.

Finally, the permanent room light switch is in. I was uncomfortable with having a standard light switch so close to the shower door, so I added a blank GFCI module to protect it, and used a touchless occupancy sensing switch. This switch operates the light over the sink, which is the one you'd expect to turn on when entering the room. The light over the shower is switched by another switch across the room on a separate circuit so you can't try turning it on while in the shower.

 

[Gerald O]

Sheetrock finishing

With the bathroom done I'm moving on to the finishing of the sheetrock in the loft. I've got the tape up and 1st coat of mud over much of it. A few more coats of mud and it will be ready for paint!

 

[redman333]

Re: The Time Machine Garage

I have about the same size garage and am considering making it a I law suite and future rental. Do you think it's possible to have a bathroom like yours and a tiny kitchen and living room/bedroom for an efficiency style apartment in the space you have upstairs?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gerald O]

Hi redman,

Yes there's definitely room, I designed it with that in mind. I was just barely able to squeeze the bathroom fixtures into the space required by building codes so I would give it a few more inches of floor length and/or width in the bathroom to make that job easier.
The other side of the wall from the bathroom sink is in the dormer area which would be a good place to connect a kitchen sink to share the same plumbing. So that would be kitchen and eating area. The far end would be sleeping area and has enough space that a wall could even be added to make it into a bedroom. The window in that end is sized for code requirement for bedroom emergency egress -- just in case.

I think to make it legal as a living space I'd have to enclose the bottom of the stairway to separate it from the garage and provide a direct outside exit door that doesn't need to go through the garage. Could be done with this floorplan.

 

[big_bake]

Just read through the whole thread so far. Great addition and garage. Your attention to detail is great. I dare say most people wouldn't have put the time in on the upstairs insulation, let alone all the other details. I am looking forward to future updates.

 

[Gerald O]

Just read through the whole thread so far. Great addition and garage. Your attention to detail is great. I dare say most people wouldn't have put the time in on the upstairs insulation, let alone all the other details. I am looking forward to future updates.

Thanks big_bake. That's the wonderful thing about these gallery threads -- they condense years' into a few pages!

I've got another couple of coats of mud on the loft sheetrock now. Did some sanding (ughh...) and ready for the last finish coat. Not sure if I'll skim-coat the whole thing or just say good enough. Do I really need a grade-5 finish in a garage loft? Downstairs in the shop grade-3 will likely be it.

 

[SiGmA_X]

The bathroom looks great, Gerald. I am not jealous of the drywall work, but with your level of precision I'm sure it will come out really nice.

 

[olopc]

This is a fantastic garage and a very nice documentation of all the precise work done. Thank you! Excellent work.

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks for the support guys! I try to be precise most of the time, but usually there's a point of diminishing returns where one has to settle for 'good enough'.

I decided at some point that the drywall finishing was good enough, and have moved on to painting. Got one coat of PVA primer on and good progress on the finish coats. Ceiling is done and the wall edges are cut in. I'm not real happy with the ceiling paint. It was supposed to be flat, but it came out shiny for some reason. Looks just as shiny as the egg-shell that's going on the walls.
I'll probably get the rest of the walls done tonight after work, then on to the flooring!

 

[texasranger]

Just read your whole build. I thought I was OCD until I see your month long insulation work. Wow! Great job!

 

[Gerald O]

Thanks Tex, I guess. Problem with OCD is that it takes forever to finish anything.
Haven't had much time lately to work on the garage. Right now I'm mudding the closet in the loft (saved the funnest for the last! )

So... no dramatic progress to post. I did get the rest of the main loft area painted.
I was kind of disappointed with the paint I used -- Olympic One in flat and Eggshell. This stuff covers well but that's about all I can say positive about it. It goes on too thick -- like painting with yogurt! Then it dries too fast so overlap areas from the roller show up as variations in texture. You can't paint fast enough and uniformly enough to avoid a streaky look. Then the stuf is too shiny. The flat is like semi-gloss, the eggshell is like semi-gloss, and the satin is like semi-gloss. I can't see any difference in sheen between all three.

Too much work and expense though to redo it.


Got the attic access hatch built, painted to match ceiling, and installed. Will try to put in a couple hours tonight. Went to the county inspections dept. and filed for an extension on my building permit, so I got another year now.

 

[DrNBody]

Damn...Impressive. Just looked through you entire thread.

I'm an architect myself and always dream of drawing up my own home and/or garage. Any suggestions or things that you came across that made you think twice or change? The thought of designing myself has me thinking that my preferences vs cost would begin to weigh in as a contributing factor for editing along the way.

Problem is, I'm not sure if I want to find an existing home/garage and modify the way I'd like, or start from scratch and find a nice piece of land. Up here by me, the second choice is not very easy to find...

 

[Gerald O]

DrNBody, of course you know as an architect that a big part of the job is finding a way that your design can actually be buildable using the materials and methods available. One thing I learned is that even the smallest details that are unorthodox can confound the builders and tradesmen. One example; I had to sketch out the individual framing members for a part of the mudroom floor and steps because the framer couldn't figure out how to do what I wanted. One contractor I had bid on the project seemed unwilling to build to my design because he thought the staircase with two turns was too complicated. Kept trying to tell me I needed to change the design.

The thing to keep in mind is that the laborers are not (usually) rocket scientists. And don't expect the foreman to be there all the time directing them. So once the design goes beyond the basic box expect to do a lot more babysitting of the job, a lot more problem solving, and a lot more pushback/friction from the builder.

One mistake I made was assuming the builder would adopt similar building quality standards and techniques that I was familiar with from my own brief experience working in the trades many years ago. Instead I learned that the subs cut corners every chance they get and you have to stay on top of them constantly to get quality workmanship.

For this build one thing I would have done differently design-wise is the layout of the bathroom. I made a lot of extra work for myself by not accounting for the realities of plumbing and fixture placement in advance. I could have used just a few more inches for fixtures and planned for the drain routing in the framing, instead of figuring that out after the fact.

Seems like having plenty of land to build what you want usually is only found in locations too far out from where you want to live. If you choose to live closer in where the lots are small then you have to get creative to do something within the available footprint.

 

[Gerald O]

Just getting started on the flooring in the loft. After cleaning all the dropped sheetrock mud from the subfloor and a good vacuuming, the tile underlayment is going in. This is a 1/4" birch plywood with a finely sanded finish. It provides a smooth surface to glue the VCT tile onto.

The underlayment joints get staggered and avoid the joints in the Advantech subfloor to minimize chances of any irregularities showing through the VCT. This particular underlayment has the fastener pattern printed on the top side. Each of those 'X' marks gets a fastener. I'm using 1/4" x 1" galvanized crown staples. Even with the pneumatic stapler it takes a while to get them all in. I counted about 412 fasteners per 4x8 sheet.

 

[texasranger]

Re: The Time Machine Garage

Does the manufacturer recommend the galvanized crown staples over untreated staples, or was that your choice?

 

[Gerald O]

Actually they usually recommend ring-shank galvanized 1 to 1-1/4" nails. But I don't have a nailer that will handle those. They recommend galvanized fasters to avoid staining getting through the tile. I don't have any prior experience with VCT tiles but apparently they are subject to stains leaching through from below. Seems every VCT manufacturer mentions things to avoid in your underlayment to avoid staining problems. The crown staples seem to be a faster alternative that is used by many or most installers based on my reading, and is listed as an acceptable, though less than optimum alternative by some underlayment manufacturers.

Sample of my VCT color currently on special order. This is called Woven Blue in the Azrock Textile line. I wanted something that looks vintage, like the streaky patterns from '50s-60s.

 

[SB440R/T]

Gerald, thanks for the idea with the staircase.

 

[Ajustable]

Your creating a great space. Thanks for sharing.
Back at the beginning of your thread you mentioned you have a MGB, with fuel injection. Did you ever to a write up on how you went about the EFI conversion. Reason I ask is that I have a 76 B and have been researching on a method to do the same.

Any way Keep up the excellent work I'm hooked now.

 

[Gerald O]

Gerald, thanks for the idea with the staircase.

Good luck on the new home and garage project. Keep us updated on your progress.

Your creating a great space. Thanks for sharing.
Back at the beginning of your thread you mentioned you have a MGB, with fuel injection. Did you ever to a write up on how you went about the EFI conversion. Reason I ask is that I have a 76 B and have been researching on a method to do the same.

Any way Keep up the excellent work I'm hooked now.

It's a homebrew EFI setup. The controller is an older generation (now) megasquirt, and the throttle bodies are adapted from a motorcycle. I posted about it in a thread on this website a long while back:

http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?1,1006921,page=5

This was a pretty long ongoing thread. My stuff starts at post 66.

 

[iceman510]

Very Nice! First time I have noticed this thread.

I love the bathroom tile scheme. I did something similar in my former house. All black and white, mixed subway and 9 x 6 tile for the shower, and smaller for the floor.