British Garage for Classic Cars

[Rich5ltr]

I am shortly going to be moving house and one of my favourite features is that it has a triple garage, perhaps common place for you chaps in the US but rare here in England. This means I will finally be able to garage my three classics under one roof; the Aston, the Lagonda and the TVR.

Because these cars are all classics I am not a fan of the ultra modern showroom style garages so I want to tidy it up and fit it out in a retro style. I plan to fit a 4 x post lift in the centre bay and fit a mezzanine roof either side for storage. Floor will be grey epoxy and obviously white walls but does anyone have any good pictures of retro-style garages I can see as inspiration for decoration?

Look forward to seeing them. Cheers Rich...

 

[Rich5ltr]

p.s. Here's the outside of the garage, I've not moved in yet so there's no interior shots!

 

[rburke65]

Wow......that's a great looking place Rich! Very nice. Love the brick. By 'retro garage' how retro ya looking for with the white walls? Garages of yesteryear were pretty much raw wood and kinda dark.

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thanks for the kind words, I'll put up a pic of the house shortly. As you say old garages used to be bare brick inside but that may be a to retro for me, I do want it to be light inside! I was thinking of old tool chests & cabinets, enamel signs and perhaps old factory lamps over the bench but with LED lights inside! Just beginning to get some ideas now.

p.s. Here's one of my favourite pictures of the Lagonda on the drive of a friend of mine.

Rgds

 

[Rich5ltr]

So here's my new garage. It's a classic traditional triple garage. The removals guys stacked a couple of hundred boxes in there and I'm only just working my way through them however I know it will be a great place to keep my cars.

It's got a double brick thickness back wall but only single skin side walls and of course the three up and over doors will lose a lot of warmth. Fortunately it doesn't seem at all damp so I have no plans to do anything to the walls, indeed I won't paint them because even internally they are lovely old stock bricks that match the house. I want to do something with the roof/ceiling to lighten it up. At the moment one just looks up at the black bitumen roll that lines under the roof tiles. I'm thinking of boarding the loft area for storage but I want to keep the centre clear in case I install a 2 post lift. To get some instant results I will paint the floor in light grey with epoxy paint.

I need to get some racking up, I need to get a decent bench. I also need to improve the security of those up and over doors, indeed I've asked the alarm company to spec out adding the garage to the circuit.

Thoughts? Rich...

 

[MarlynOC]

Waiting to see the LBC's all lined up and a few more of your friends.

 

[Rich5ltr]

LBCs Marlyn?

 

[ambenz]

*In my best cockney accent* ..."Good Lord, Governor, you have enthroned yourself a Royal estate!....
....With a Royal carriage house!"
"Well Governor, do you have a proper name for the new abode?"
As far as decorating your carrage house, it has to be fitted with the proper English style advertisements
Can't wait to see your little piece of Lord-dom! *bow and curtsy*

 

[MarlynOC]

Little British Cars.

 

[Thomas S]

Rich good luck on the new house and garage. If you don't mind would love to see more pictures of the Lagonda.

 

[johno]

Great looking garage, too bad about the ugly car.

Isn't that ceiling level low for a hoist?

 

[Rich5ltr]

*In my best cockney accent* ..."Good Lord, Governor, you have enthroned yourself a Royal estate!....
....With a Royal carriage house!"
"Well Governor, do you have a proper name for the new abode?"

Good Lord, strike a light, you might be right, me old **** sparrow.

p.s. I have called it Woodcote after a well known corner at Silverstone. I always promised myself I would name my dream house after a corner and my wife didn't like Dingly Dell, Druids or Maggots. I would always sit at Woodcote when I was at Silverstone in my younger years so that's it!

 

[Rich5ltr]

Rich good luck on the new house and garage. If you don't mind would love to see more pictures of the Lagonda.

Here's one of my favourites...

 

[Rich5ltr]

Great looking garage, too bad about the ugly car.

Isn't that ceiling level low for a hoist?

I know John, I would have to adapt the roof timbers to clear an area in the centre. Maybe I'll build another workshop for the lift?

I love my ugly cars... ;-)

 

[53PontiacSD]

You might use some tongue and grooved wood for the ceiling. Maybe a light colored wood instead of painting it white. It would give it a warm feeling.

 

[Rich5ltr]

You might use some tongue and grooved wood for the ceiling. Maybe a light colored wood instead of painting it white. It would give it a warm feeling.

I am guessing you mean somehow pin the tongue & groove up under the black bitman paper? That's not bad shout, would create a vaulted ceiling look. Nice. NOw, how to keep the T&G up there or do I just let a chippy sort that out?

 

[lowspeed_highdrag]

I am guessing you mean somehow pin the tongue & groove up under the black bitman paper? That's not bad shout, would create a vaulted ceiling look. Nice. NOw, how to keep the T&G up there or do I just let a chippy sort that out?

I had to google "British words: chippy" to find out what you meant, ha! Carpenter I assume...

 

[sawduststeve]

Thats a great garage Rich and some superb cars, i'm looking forward to seeing your progress, keep us posted.

Ambenz, you lose points on your Cockney because gov'ner, me old china, your spelling is way to good,

Regards
Steve.

 

[DJL1967]

Awesome!!! Love the house, garage and of course the car! Congrats and good luck on getting everything set up. It will look great when you have it all organized.

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thats a great garage Rich and some superb cars, i'm looking forward to seeing your progress, keep us posted.

Ambenz, you lose points on your Cockney because gov'ner, me old china, your spelling is way to good,

Regards
Steve.

Thanks Steve, so you're in Havering and I was born in Ealing so neither of us are cockneys but let's not open that debate...

 

[metalhead140]

Damn, that Lagonda is stunning! The garage looks to be a great building to start with. More car pics please!

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: I'm not sure i'd want to be working in a garage next to any one of your classic cars so if you have the funds which i'm guessing you might, the room to build a shop and your bride approves i'd build a working shop designed for the lift you like along with the space to have all your tools and stuff away from those cool cars.

feel free to post up pictures of the other cars when you have time that i think are almost or maybe as cool as the one you posted already.

also if you might need some golf tips i started a thread a while back called Golf 101 and i'd love to have some more guys from the UK on it posting about golf and pictures of your courses.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=295363&highlight=Golf+101

cheers

 

[Rich5ltr]

Thanks Metalhead and Drivesitfar,

You may have a good point about the separate workshop for the lift and tools etc. especially as I do have the land. Keep the triple as garage space and add on a workshop.

Funny you should say about golf, I'm not really a golfer, struggle to get round in under 100 strokes and using 2 or 3 balls! But my son is a professional currently living in Florida working at Lake Nona. Safe to say he didn't inherit his talent from me!

I'll update the thread as I get sorted, meanwhile here's a little montage of what's going in there. Cheers...

 

[metalhead140]

Nice toys! Looking forward to seeing what you do with the garage.

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: any one of your cars would be AWESOME TO OWN and drive and i've yet to set my foot in any of them. are they the ONES or do you still have a few more in mind that you'd like to buy or trade for?

i just saw your golf bag and thought you might play. if you need a little (or a lot) of help to play better and maybe surprise your son i'd be happy to help so just start posting and reading on the Golf 101 thread. i've helped beginners shoot under par (60's) in less than a year so for you to get from 100's to 70's is doable if you have some spare time to practice.

Lake Nona is a nice name dropper cause i think maybe half of the top 30 players in the world belong there and maybe live in those expensive homes. i've never been, but i'd love to go there some day. the real estate market crash of the 2006-2009 killed my dreams of becoming a Champions Tour player, but even though i haven't played in a while i bet i could still shoot under par on a lot of courses if i practice for a few weeks.

i like the sounds of the separate garage and if you need help on deciding what to build just ask and maybe i and a few other members can recommend a few threads. would you like steel frame maybe with brick exterior, stick built on foundation or just a pole building that looks good to save some money for some more toys?

cheers

 

[Rich5ltr]

To be honest they're all keepers. I have a hankering for something genuinely veteran, pre 1905 (a brass car I think you call it in the US) but my wife will kill me!

As for my son's golf, I had no idea Lake Nona was such a posh place.

 

[timbitca]

Subscribing to this thread, love the looks of the building and I like those old british cars.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Bib Overalls]

If you are going to use the garage as a place to park your classic cars I recommend putting in a proper ceiling. Paint it white and it will improve lighting and the overall feeling of the place. My recommendation would be different if you had a roof framed with heavy timbers and mortise and tenon joinery. But frankly, there is not very much you can do to make engineered trusses look good. Hide them I say.

 

[Rich5ltr]

If you are going to use the garage as a place to park your classic cars I recommend putting in a proper ceiling. Paint it white and it will improve lighting and the overall feeling of the place. My recommendation would be different if you had a roof framed with heavy timbers and mortise and tenon joinery. But frankly, there is not very much you can do to make engineered trusses look good. Hide them I say.

You make a very good point, plus I could use the space above as "light" storage.

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: if i was young again and had a chance to get a assistant golf professional job a place like LAKE NONA would be right up there high on the list. lots of good players to learn from and hang out with which would help when dealing with the billionaires that think they put their pants on different.

here's a link to check out some of the course until you get to fly there and see it in person when visiting your son if that's on your list. i've never been there, but that area has a few theme parks that would be fun too like Disney World, Universal Studio, ...

https://www.lakenona.club/

i like the idea of putting a ceiling in your existing garage and maybe a few mirrors and signs and maybe even a tile floor with some cool paint.

i'm very curious to know what building costs are in the UK and do you build things with cement and wood or steel and brick or do tell? any idea on how big you might want to build a shop? if you ask the members the most popular answer is how much can you afford, can it be permitted and then just a bit bigger.

best of luck and again if you'd like a few good golf swing tips just ask over on the Golf 101 thread. one of our members just played Pebble Beach and posted a few pictures of a few holes and i haven't played there since 1977 so it brought back some good memories.

just curious since it tends to rain in the UK almost as much as SEATTLE i'm guessing the old convertible doesn't get out much or does it? which one is your Daily Driver?

cheers

 

[Rich5ltr]

Ha ha, daily car is a Volvo estate...

 

[enginewizard1969]

love the garage and the toys. I agree that you need a workshop to work in as I would hate to see on of those cars damaged by a dropped tool. I'm a man talking from experience getting a tool from my roll cab it slipped out of my hand and bounced of the front wing wasn't happy!!!

 

[ambenz]

Good Lord, strike a light, you might be right, me old **** sparrow....

Thanks Steve, so you're in Havering and I was born in Ealing so neither of us are cockneys but let's not open that debate...

I am sure smiling all the way over here in the midwest!
The most culture we see from England is old Benny Hill and actor Richard Dawson.
So striking the old "proverbial" funny bone with you is fun enough for me!
Thanks for the reply!
Loving the old school autos and those pavers..."Is that cobblestone?!?!?"

 

[Rich5ltr]

Those are paviours (note the i,o and u in the spelling) it's French you see from when we were last invaded back in 1066... Actually there's a pub (sorry, should have said battle cruiser to keep up the cockney theme) in Westminster called the Paviours Arms that I used to drink in lunchtimes.

Now true cobblestones are made of granite and getting harder to find these days. I'd love a cobblestone driveway but not only are they expensive to buy by the load but you'd need a good cobblestoner, or would that be a paviour, to lay them!

There's a few cobblestone streets near me in Windsor like this one...

I'll get my people onto it!

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: you keep posting pictures of cool old buildings and streets along with your cool house, garage and cool cars i bet this might become one of my favorite threads.

thanks for sharing.

also like the bantering about the ENGLISH'S version of ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURES. i've heard some English speaking areas can't hardly understand the language from another English speaking area. and god only knows what the SCOTTISH GENTS are talking about especially if they are drinking.

cheers and hope you are having a great weekend and maybe some sunshine so you can get one of those NON DAILY DRIVERS out for a ride.

 

[4xdog]

Waiting to see the LBC's all lined up and a few more of your friends.

I'm not sure Aston and Lagonda count as LBCs, and probably not even TVR. More "thoroughbred".

Now my Triumph TR3... yep, fershure.

Great looking place, Rich!

 

[Rich5ltr]

Rich: you keep posting pictures of cool old buildings and streets... <big clip>
...hope you are having a great weekend and maybe some sunshine so you can get one of those NON DAILY DRIVERS out for a ride.

Well as regards getting out in the cars, on Saturday I had a great drive in the TVR. I took it to the specialist that looks after it for TLC, brake fluid change, new tyres and bits and bobs. I always enjoy going there, he's got a great little set-up and there's always something interesting in his workshop. As you can see, there's a TVR T400R Le Mans GT car and a Lotus Cortina up on the ramps. As for old buildings, the nice thing about his place is that although it is a totally modern equipped workshop it's in a delightful little village, appropriately called Bentley, with a typical English country pub next door! And the drive to get there is on some great roads.

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: in a few months the last of our 5 kids will be out of the house so maybe instead of just tools and stuff i can maybe start saving some funds for some fun non daily drivers. until that day comes i'll have to just enjoy the pictures of others and you certainly have a few so keep posting more as you have time.

good to see you've got a mechanic that looks like he knows what he's doing to take care of your sweet rides.

just curious what a beer costs or a decent burger or fish and chips costs at a pub in your area since i've never been to the UK or your side of the pond?

I had one of these yesterday at one of my favorite burger places and it was $9, but you can still get burgers at the super fast food places for about $3.

cheers

 

[Rich5ltr]

Decent burger & chips with coleslaw and side salad will be about £12.00 in most pubs and a pint of beer about £3.50 - fast food places are much cheaper and I guess you could get a burger & fries for under a fiver (£5.00)

 

[drivesitfar]

Rich: i bet the fish and chips and burgers are pretty tasty and making me hungry just as i'm writing this.

feel free to post up pictures of more of your own stuff as well as pictures from vacations and other fun stuff you do so you'll have more members checking in on your thread. that way if you do have any questions on design or building you might get quicker answers when you ask.

take care and have a great day!!

speaking of views here's the view out my living room that used to be better before the trees grew up, but i still like it.

cheers