British Garage for Classic Cars

[Rich5ltr]

Spent today building some racking so that I can unpack more boxes after my house move. First thing I found were my Castrol oil cans

However... I also found that a mouse had been in one the packing boxes nibbling away at a few cleaning cloths. Fortunately nothing important but all the same, I don't want him in there!

I am hoping that once i have the whole garage swept out and clean and the floor painted there will be less to attract them. Anyone have experience of mice in their garage?

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: when we had a rental out in the country the mice would come in the garage and basement everytime we opened the garage door and only way to really stop that is to get a good cat or maybe 2 or 3.

here's a mouse trap you can set up in a corner of your garage that might help if you don't want a cat to take care of them. simple to make and i think there is actually a thread on these in Free Parking or General Garage.

if you lay out poison sometimes that will take care of the problem but don't let any of your other pets or visiting animals get that. also what would happen in our rental house was they mice would crawl into the insulation and die and really stink up the place so pick your poison as they say.

i'd vote for CAT then PEANUT BUTTER and 5 gallon bucket next before poison.

good luck

 

[Rich5ltr]

I properly swept out the garage and removed anything that may be of interest to them so hopefully they won't be so attracted to being in there. I also raked the gravel but I'm sure the mouse won't care about that!

Moving on, I starting to plan the improvements I want to make and an obvious one is to seal up the huge gaps around the door frames. The issue is that the lower course of red bricks are a different size to the main bricks which are reclaimed old stocks. As a result there's a gap of about 3/4" in places that needs sealing. Clearly this is too large for door frame mastik and I don't want to pump in expanding foam sealing because I don't want it spreading out and staining the bricks. I have thought of getting some 1" quadrant and sticking it to the wall and door frame with silicone sealant. That grips to everything. Any thoughts?

Finally, I got one of my toys back yesterday. So the TVR Griffith 500 is now in it's rightful home.

 

[Rich5ltr]

The gaps at the base of the door frames...





And finally, my Griff 500 which is known as "Grizzly"

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: yep the mice will come inside even if only to get warm and dry so sealing up the sides and bottoms are a must. i live in city and used to get a few little mice and occasionally a big rat would visit and if i had boxes placed on a shelf too high they'd get in the rafters and then the poison would have to come out.

are you going to keep the color of your garage doors the same? the reason i'm asking is because i think you can silicone and maybe tack nail a few pieces of wood molding up on the edges and paint them the same color as your garage doors now or the color you plan to use in the future and i bet they would blend in nicely.

putting some sort of rubbery plastic runners on the bottom of your garage doors or on the floor also work well to not only keep little critters out, but also water when it's raining with wind trying to push it inside.

here's a member's shop (Slodat) that doesn't have as many cool cars, but he's filling up his shop with cool stuff you might want to put in your working shop if you build one and a few months ago he had water issues inside his garage and i think his issues are solved.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292204&highlight=eastern+washington

good luck

isn't it nice when the little ones come home especially the 4 footed ones.

cheers

 

[stillp]

A can of expanding foam will fix those gaps. Maybe stuff some steel wool in first, mice don't like gnawing it.

Pete

 

[Rich5ltr]

Yeah it would but as I said I don't want to use expanding foam because it will ooze out and look ****!

 

[stillp]

Easy enough to trim it back. Gaps don't look any better.

Pete

 

[sawduststeve]

Evening Rich.

Small timber trims, scribed to the brickwork both sides of the frame with either, silicone, sand and cement or expanding foam behind the frame, your choice.
Btw,foam done properly should never get all over any face surfaces and should always be hidden when finished.

Nice to get the TVR back, I bet, all running well I trust.

Steve.

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thanks for all the advice chaps, I will set to with the scribe!

TVR going perfectly thanks... It's had an irritating wheel wobble at between 75 and 90 for ages however new tyres (Toyos) and a light refurb for the wheels has totally cured it.

 

[Spider68]

Hello Rich

What a lovely garage you have there!

And the cars are just gorgeous. Strangely enough a friend of mine who live sin darkest Kent has similar taste in cars as you - he ha a 1935 Aston martin and a 1936 Lagonda.

Love the Griffith - my favourite TVR!It's obviously a 5-litre from the plate - a brutal beast
but such a looker!

Best, Spider

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thanks Spider, yes a 500, had it from new. Your friend, is he called David?

 

[sawduststeve]

Thanks Spider, yes a 500, had it from new. Your friend, is he called David?

Haha, good call Rich , every bodies got at least three mates called Dave.

Steve

 

[Spider68]

Thanks Spider, yes a 500, had it from new. Your friend, is he called David?

Hi Rich

Yes indeed he is David.

I thought you may know him, being he is an active car club member.

I saw him a couple of weeks ago he drove the Aston to our meet. Maybe seeing him next weekend hopefully.

Small world!

 

[Rich5ltr]

Small world indeed! - I had the garage wired up to the house alarm today (well when I say wired up it's all wireless stuff) - I feel happier now.

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thought I'd just apologise for not posting in this thread for ages. Since we moved in 3 years ago we've completely landscaped the gardens and been updating the house, 3 new bathrooms, completely decorated all the upstairs rooms and now we're doing downstairs, new wood floors, new kitchen etc. the list is endless! However by Spring 2021 it will be finished and I can turn to working on the garage. I did cure the mouse problem with expanding foam and rubber strips along the ground that touch up tight to the bottom edge of the doors. Other than that, I've just been driving the cars - well less so this year thanks to lockdown and all the events being cancelled. Meanwhile here's a couple of shots of the cars outside the garage.

Bessie & Ruby Feb 2019 by Richard Branch, on Flickr

IMG_20180528_1248213 (2) by Richard Branch, on Flickr

 

[ZRX61]

Lived in Pompey for a while, parents are in Waterlooville, sister lives in Cosham (& works for the Inland Revenue so you probably want to avoid her)

 

[Rich5ltr]

I'll avoid your sister then! Used to be a great brewery near Waterville, Gales. Loved a pint of HSB.

 

[ZRX61]

HSB was the finest damn beer ever brewed. Traveling from London to Pompey usually involved 2 or 3 stops to test the quality, including the Ship & Bell & ending at the Still & West. Fullers make it now, apparently not quite the same.

 

[Rich5ltr]

I can see it's been another 5+ years since I added anything to this thread. Since 2020, my Aston went in for a rebuild and so with space available, I decided to turn the garage into somewhere more to my liking. I checked our two-pack epoxy paint and rubber tiles but in the end decided to use wood effect laminate flooring to give a more natural look. Also, I got a great deal on enough to do the whole garage for half the price of epoxy paint. Fitted it over the course of a week and I'm really pleased with it.
I then panelled the roof with 3mm white hardboard using a nail gun to pin it up, bit of a job because the distance between each rafter was slightly different. Fortunately the board cut easily enough with a Stanley knife. I also created a storage area in the roof, that's what the ladder is for!
With the floor and ceiling sorted I turned to the electrics, although there was a dedicated supply and consumer unit there was only one socket and a couple of old fluorescent tubes. I put in a complete new ring with numerous sockets and six LED batten lights with three way switches on each door. I've also added a TV and Sky mini-box picking up from my house so I can watch TV or YouTube in the garage, oh and a CD/radio for music.
Finally I splashed out on a decent set of cabinets and cupboards with a solid bench and lighting. Not that it's a workshop but I do tinker in there, like removing and refitting the engine from the Lagonda last year. A few posters and pictures and it's more or less done.

 

[kbuhagiar]

LOVE the BRG (British Racing Green) on the cabinets!

 

[tvrlr]

I can see it's been another 5+ years since I added anything to this thread. Since 2020, my Aston went in for a rebuild and so with space available, I decided to turn the garage into somewhere more to my liking. I checked our two-pack epoxy paint and rubber tiles but in the end decided to use wood effect laminate flooring to give a more natural look. Also, I got a great deal on enough to do the whole garage for half the price of epoxy paint. Fitted it over the course of a week and I'm really pleased with it.
I then panelled the roof with 3mm white hardboard using a nail gun to pin it up, bit of a job because the distance between each rafter was slightly different. Fortunately the board cut easily enough with a Stanley knife. I also created a storage area in the roof, that's what the ladder is for!
With the floor and ceiling sorted I turned to the electrics, although there was a dedicated supply and consumer unit there was only one socket and a couple of old fluorescent tubes. I put in a complete new ring with numerous sockets and six LED batten lights with three way switches on each door. I've also added a TV and Sky mini-box picking up from my house so I can watch TV or YouTube in the garage, oh and a CD/radio for music.
Finally I splashed out on a decent set of cabinets and cupboards with a solid bench and lighting. Not that it's a workshop but I do tinker in there, like removing and refitting the engine from the Lagonda last year. A few posters and pictures and it's more or less done.

Beautiful garage. The laminate looks great, I might do that in mine. Love the cars, I currently have a !951 Allard, a 1994 TVR Chimaera, and a 1963 Land Rover 109.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Last summer the Mrs, our son and his family spent ten days in England. After they went home to return to work we stayed for another 7 days and were in your neighborhood if I can read a map. We were overnight in Winchester. Here in Cincinnati, Ohio USA we have a little bit of British quirkiness here in our garage with a 1970 MGB. We tend to watch mostly British TV here too and one that I always like is Poirot. I especially like the scenes where Poirot’s trusty sidekick Hastings is driving his Lagonda. Yours looks very much the same except his seems to have a fabric body. Is that such a thing? I can really imagine what you are experiencing driving down the hedgerows and in little villages as I just did that last year! My son had rented a nine passenger van, so I was taking up most of the road. By the time we were in Winchester we had switched to a small hatchback. You really should update your thread more often than once every five years along with some beautiful photos of your surroundings. We here enjoying the GJ would be certain to tune in. Cheers

 

[littlebean]

cabinets look great, sure I've seen them on the internet but can't remember the company.......
love the Aston, spent a lot of time in the Newport factory as a kid and worked for the GpC race team for a while

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thanks, yes Winchester isn't too far away, maybe 45 mins drive. Capt Hastings' Lagonda is a couple of years older than mine. A 2-litre as you say, with a fabric covered body and cycle wings. Mine is a 1933 with a metal body and Vanden Plas swept wings.
Promise to update more often!

 

[Rich5ltr]

The cabinets are from this. Company
Garage Furniture - HEC Showman https://share.google/QFoTVenfX2nIzGCud

 

[littlebean]

that's the ones - I knew I recognised them, looks like a really good setup

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Beautiful place & cars, thanks for sharing & updating - otherwise I would have never seen this gem of a thread!

I was going to comment after seeing #4 that it’s giving me full blown Poirot vibes, but I couldn’t quite lay my finger on it. Glad I continued reading.

I agree, please don’t wait another 5 years for the next post.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[LXCam]

LOVE the BRG (British Racing Green) on the cabinets!

Agreed, that’s a proper touch.

Love the garage and the collection OP.

 

[Rich5ltr]

Nice company to deal.with.

 

[GrabberOrange69]

Nice garage and great taste in vehicles. While looking through your wall photos and such, I was reminded of a January visit to Shelby American in Las Vegas where I snapped this photo of an obvious recreation paying homage to the '59 overall win at Le Mans:

 

[littlebean]

Nice garage and great taste in vehicles. While looking through your wall photos and such, I was reminded of a January visit to Shelby American in Las Vegas where I snapped this photo of an obvious recreation paying homage to the '59 overall win at Le Mans:

second place I worked had the sister car (along with an AM Nimrod, Volante & Vantage) to that in the reception...........

 

[Rich5ltr]

second place I worked had the sister car (along with an AM Nimrod, Volante & Vantage) to that in the reception...........

I believe the DBR1 in the Shelby museum is a very good replica rather than either of the 1959 Le Mans cars.

 

[littlebean]

Wasn't there that I worked, was a race team in the UK

 

[GrabberOrange69]

I believe the DBR1 in the Shelby museum is a very good replica rather than either of the 1959 Le Mans cars.

I agree - that's why I called it a "re-creation".

 

[Rich5ltr]

Littlebean, are you able to say where that was? I know some of the race teams that look after the DBR1s.
Silverstone based perhaps?

 

[littlebean]

Sure it was a long time ago, Proyes Technology - was the Aston Martin group C race team

 

[littlebean]

Proteus not Proyes, shows what happens when you type tired the car was the AMR1