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My wife and I have been half-seriously checking availability of some houses out of state. Most of what we are seeing will have a 2 or 3 car attached garage with some kind of additional building. The other building may be a simple 24'x24' garage or 80 year old barn something else. Many examples...

I have some hand-me-down tools (screwdrivers, ratchets, sockets, wrenches, etc.) that I now want to add to my "regular" tools. These older tools are in pretty good shape but could use some simple cleaning as their storage has allowed some mildew and the mice have used them as a toilet. There's...

I've always kept my tool chest against the wall in my garage. This also goes for grinders, saws, workbenches, etc. But recently I started thinking that putting it in an appropriate place towards the middle of the garage would be a more efficient place. My garage is just over 1000sq. ft. so the...

None of the local hot tub maintenance places will answer the phone. It's like they don't want our money. That means my wife will try to drain and clean our hot tub herself. I just assumed that you open a drain at the bottom and let the water run out like a bath tub. But apparently you have to...

I have a wooden sign that will go outside the house. But I want the lettering/graphics to be seen when people drive up at night. My thought would be to fill in these graphics with some kind of paint that will reflect a car's headlights and then polyurethane the whole sign. Has anyone done...

I would like to add a wheel chock to the front of my motorcycle lift. I've been looking into these two styles: Motorcycle Wheel Vise Motorcycle Wheel Chock Does anyone have experience and/or opinions on these two? Pros/cons?

Not actually garage but I thought I would tap the knowledge base here. I want to replace some fence boards that a tree has pushed through. I can cut down the tree but I am having trouble finding replacement boards. The actual dimensions of the wood is 6" x 11/16". I'm not picky on the thickness...

I've been out of the garage/wrenching/tinkering hobby for about 20 years due to "life". I kept all my tools and have lugged them around with me from house to house. But now we built a decent garage and I'm ready to get back into it. Back in the '90's, having an air compressor in the corner was...

Have any of you purchased and mounted the Lithonia CLX 48" LED strip lights to a drywalled ceiling? According to their technical support I can either 1) screw the housing directly into the ceiling or I can 2) purchase their hangers to hold the fixture. Option 1) would require that I disassemble...

I'm curious what the opinions are on installing gutters on a garage. Positioning downspouts for my garage may prove a challenge so I want to know if you guys added them to your builds.

The title is based on all the years that I've spent wanting to start this project. Background After 18 years of living on a small suburban lot with an impractical garage, in 2019 my wife and I bought a house in a very unique area of Chicagoland. Large lots, mature trees, and a small town feel...

It's time to decide on overhead doors for the new garage build. There are two 9'W x 8'H and one 16'W x 8'H. I have quotes from two different installers. One quoted Clopay and the other Haas. Both quotes include doors, hardware, LiftMaster 8500W, and installation. The prices are within $200 of...

I am having a garage built with a vertical foundation and the slab inside of that foundation. The slab will have in-floor heating. Insulating underneath the slab is understood and 2" foam will be used there. But I have a contractor telling me that the edges of the slab do not have to be...

I'm trying to decide if having windows in the overhead doors (the top panel having some glass) has more pros than cons. My wife likes the extra light that these would let in and she sees a benefit in being in the garage without turning on the lights. My view is more practical and I see windows...

I’m in a situation now where I have to designate about a 14' x 4' area of my upcoming slab for a 2-post lift. This area would be devoid of PEX tubing and have 6" thickness. My problem is I'm not sure where, front-to-back, I should place this. The interior garage depth in the bay that I am...

Have any of you used a civil engineer for your garage or home builds? My municipality requires an engineering site plan regarding the location of the garage relative to lot setbacks. But the quotes I have been getting also include other work such as a topographical survey and grading plan. I'm...

Have any of you converted an existing garage into living space? I'm mostly curious how you handled the floor. Did code in your area specify that you had to build up the floor above grade? If so, how was that accomplished?

Most garages are big rectangles. If you have your "shop" area on one side or one corner of the rectangle, where is your preference for air compressor placement? Do you prefer to have it in/near your shop area for easy access or as far away as possible to keep things quiet?

I'm trying to understand what level of commitment concrete contractors are willing to make by standing behind their job. What aspects of a concrete foundation/slab has your contractor warranted? What is a "typical" warranty for concrete work? What should my expectations be for the contractor...

I am planning on in-floor heat for a future planned garage build (about 1100sf). It has been suggested that I add a small room in the garage to contain the boiler. I wasn't planning on a mechanical room and I would lose floor space flexibility if one were there. My thought was that the boiler...