Modest 2 Car Garage in Brisbane

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

Probably like many others, I came across Garage Journal while looking for garage ideas; and was impressed not only with the many great ideas, but also with the level of detail and enthusiasm people had for their garages.

For my modest 2 car garage, I'm thinking I might need to start back at the beginning, as this has been, and still is, an ongoing project.

When we moved into the house in 2006, it was raised on stilts, with a garage door and a concrete slab for one car underneath. The rest of the space under the house was void. You have potential to build in underneath, we were told.

This is how the then-garage area looked:

In 2008 we had plans drawn up to build-in underneath, which would be for both extra living areas, and an enclosed garage:

Work then commenced in 2009, after we contracted a builder to undertake the work.

Here the new lower foundation had been installed, and some blocks had been delivered:

The block work starting to be laid in the lower section:

And how the site looked at that time:

Earth was being moved to establish the lower level:

Further foundations being set in place:

And then the lower level slab was poured:

Looking back from the new slab to the front garage section:

...tbc

1/2 Cup · Mar 5, 2015

Hi and welcome to the GJ, good to see another Aussie on board.

You build is looking great Andrew. :thumbup:

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

Thanks 1/2 Cup. :beer:

I'll add add some further images.

Formwork and preparation in place for the upper slab, being predominantly for the garage itself:

The upper/garage slab after having been poured:

View from inside the new upper/garage slab, while work was taking place on the internal wall framing:

At this point I made a quick decision with what was deemed to be a storage area on the plans. I asked the builder to change this corner area from having external to internal access. Turned out to be a good move, as this subsequently became the small workshop space.

More internal framing work completed inside the garage area:

Now the structure is starting to resemble a garage:

Particularly with the new garage door in place:

...tbc

1/2 Cup · Mar 5, 2015

Nice, real nice in fact.

Regards

ajohno · Mar 5, 2015

Looking good.
Will look nice when finished.

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

1/2 Cup said:
Nice, real nice in fact.

Regards

Thanks again. :beer:

While the building was taking place under the house, garage-type items had to be stored elsewhere for the duration of the build.

I'd stacked a few things up on the back deck during this time:

Once the internal building work was complete, the new bridging section of the driveway was poured:

And we finally had a proper garage to park the cars. This is from inside the garage, looking out towards the driveway:

And at this stage it was a relief to be able to park under cover again, and a relief to finally have the building work completed (which to be honest was quite a stressful period).

We were also able to tidy up around the house, and move things back downstairs.

Most of the store room space was taken up by the lawnmower and a few other bits and pieces. And that's how things stayed for a couple of years.

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

ajohno said:
Looking good.
Will look nice when finished.

Thank you Aaron :beer:

The building work as pictured was completed in early 2010; but like any garage I suppose, it's always going to be an ongoing build.

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

In around 2011, I wanted some workspace, but hadn't then come across this website.

I made up a workbench based on how i thought it should look, as opposed to researching any designs or techniques.

It at least gave me a flat surface to work on, which was more than what I had available during the last 6 or so years.

I also put up a large pegboard in front of it, thinking it was quite purposeful.

To make room for this workspace, I was able to move the mower (along with the whippersnipper and a few other things) into their new home, being the space under the internal stairs.

And from that point, up until around mid-2013, that's how everything remained; with me being happy that things were now mostly clean and organised.

I guess too, in hindsight, I was just appreciative of the fact I no longer had a dirt floor and one-car concrete slab as my 'garage area'.

The garage in use, circa 2013:

AndrewP · Mar 5, 2015

What happened next was I came across Garage Journal, saw plenty of great ideas (thanks all here :thumbup:

), and started to realise where I could do things better.

The first few things I did were in the workshop area.

I framed and painted the pegboard, and installed a shelf underneath it:

Next I strengthened the work bench with some upright fence posts, which made the whole thing much sturdier.

I had oodles of green interior paint leftover from painting an upstairs bedroom, so painted the underneath parts of the bench as well:

Once all tidied up, the workshop area started to look a little nicer:

I'd also got hold of a tool chest, which fitted right in under the work bench:

Next I added a budget drill press, and installed a crude door to hide the items being stored within the bench:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

Continuing on, the next project was mounting an air hose reel to the roof:

And ran the air hose line along the joists to the corner where the hot water cylinder resides:

The next project was an idea I saw on this site, where somebody painted their exposed roof black.

I started with the workshop area first, to see how it looked:

Not too bad I thought, so I continued with painting the main garage area:

A few before and after shots:

Exposed pipe work before:

And after:

Main roof area before:

And after:

Another before:

And after:

Looking back before:

And after:

Exposed pipe work before & during:

And after:

Bib Overalls · Mar 7, 2015

Well thought out and well executed. It looks like the changes you made to the front of your house tie in nicely and add "curb appeal."

1/2 Cup · Mar 7, 2015

As above, I am with Bib Overalls on this one, looks fantastic. :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing Andrew

4xdog · Mar 7, 2015

The black ceiling and white walls look good. It would be great to see a wide angle shot when you have a chance. Thanks for letting us see the project.

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

Bib Overalls said:
Well thought out and well executed. It looks like the changes you made to the front of your house tie in nicely and add "curb appeal."

Thanks Bib Overalls - we wanted the downstairs section to look the same as the existing upstairs section, even though there would be a 13 year age difference between them.

We kept the footprint the same too, which left some odd spaces in the garage, but it gave the outside a flush appearance.

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

1/2 Cup said:
As above, I am with Bib Overalls on this one, looks fantastic.

Thanks for sharing Andrew

Thanks again for your interest & your comments 1/2 Cup.

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

4xdog said:
The black ceiling and white walls look good. It would be great to see a wide angle shot when you have a chance. Thanks for letting us see the project.

Thank you 4xdog.

I did borrow the idea from someone here, but can't remember the poster or the thread.

Walls are actually a light green colour, but do tend to look a little white in the pictures.

I should have mentioned initially I'm not the best photographer, and that some of the earlier shots were taken on an iPhone 3, so they're not as clear as later ones.
I've got some more to come, which may hopefully link it all together better.

madoc1 · Mar 7, 2015

that turned out really well, but how do you access the upstairs? thru the laundry room?

jim

arz71 · Mar 7, 2015

Looks great what type of paint did you use on ceiling?

Matias · Mar 7, 2015

Looks nice. Great job with the garage!

HSpencer · Mar 7, 2015

Just simply fantastic from start to finish. I like all aspects of the garage and workspace.
I could not help seeing the fishing rods and reels stored in the ceiling! They are out of the way, yet calling you to go and use them.
A perfectly superior job on your garage and shop sir!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

Ford52PU · Mar 7, 2015

looks good, enjoyed the pictures, like the ceiling black also!

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

madoc1 said:
that turned out really well, but how do you access the upstairs? thru the laundry room?

jim

Thanks Jim.

The internal stairwell runs beside the laundry (it's an 'L' shape), but not into the garage area. Rather, it connects the two living areas together.
You can sort of see this on the plans, 2nd picture down in my 1st post.

But it does intrude into the garage as a 45 degree bulkhead, and the underneath part is where I am able to store some bulky equipment.

Here is the under stairs area, used for storing gardening equipment:

And further into the 'L shape', I'm able to store spare tiles, paint, and other bits and bobs:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

arz71 said:
Looks great what type of paint did you use on ceiling?

Hi arz71 - Thank you.
It was a British Paints product, primer & paint combined:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

Matias said:
Looks nice. Great job with the garage!

Thanks Matias :beer:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

HSpencer said:
Just simply fantastic from start to finish. I like all aspects of the garage and workspace.
I could not help seeing the fishing rods and reels stored in the ceiling! They are out of the way, yet calling you to go and use them.
A perfectly superior job on your garage and shop sir!

Best Regards
Herb Spencer

Thank you for your comments, Herb.

It's more of a situation of making the most out of a small space, and trying to gain some efficiencies where possible. Needless to say, this website has been very helpful.

Our whole block is only 405 m2 (484 square yards), and I suppose we are trying to achieve most of the things which would otherwise come with a larger space.

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

Ford52PU said:
looks good, enjoyed the pictures, like the ceiling black also!

Thanks Ford52PU :beer:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

Catching up along the timeline now to last year, and I had a set of wheels and tyres which needed to be moved up off the ground.

I decided to build a platform above the hot water cylinder area.
Was able to access 6 stud points, and used 6 heavy-duty angle brackets for the support:

And used a piece of pine as a tyre stopper:

After completion, and in use:

And this left the floor area much tidier - the wheels were previously stacked where the red trolley is here:

AndrewP · Mar 7, 2015

And another idea I found on Garage Journal was for clamp storage, which I duly borrowed:

I found clamps are surprisingly difficult to hang up, when there is not much room to do so.

AndrewP · Mar 11, 2015

This next update covers most of the last things done to date.

I put up a shelf along under the door guide, to put the radio and a few other items.

Although it cannot been seen, the top of the shelf is varnished; while the side and underneath are the same light green as the wall colour.

Then I purchased a few cupboards from Aldi when they were on sale, after realising I wasn't really capable of making anything like them on my own.
They were probably the cheapest cupboards available anywhere, but fine for me and what I need them for.

They were supposed to hang from two hooks at the back IIRC, but as that looked a bit flimsy, I screwed them into the wall studs.

After I had put 2 cupboards up:

And then 5 of them:

And then 7 of them:

Next I painted them, using the same slightly darker shade of green used in the workshop area (which I had plenty of).

LHS:

and RHS:

AndrewP · Mar 11, 2015

The cupboard handles were silver, but I spray painted them black, to better tie in with the existing 'theme'.

Here are the LHS cupboards with their handles installed:

And the RHS units:

And this is how the LHS units currently sit along with the 'radio shelf':

The next thing I need to think about is the floor, and now summer is over, I will hopefully have some time to look at doing household projects again.

The floor is also a prerequisite for other garage project ideas, so it's kind of holding me up from starting them.

See how things go from here.

1/2 Cup · Mar 11, 2015

Top job on the cupboards Andrew. :thumbup:

AndrewP · Mar 11, 2015

1/2 Cup said:
Top job on the cupboards Andrew.

Thanks 1/2 Cup :beer:

Truth be told, I've picked up quite a few items from Aldi for the garage.
Most of them being really quite good, especially considering their price.

The red ramps on the wall (last picture) would be my latest purchase - intended for caravans; but are 2 tonne rated each, and a perfect fit for lowered cars.

1/2 Cup · Mar 11, 2015

AndrewP said:
Thanks 1/2 Cup

Truth be told, I've picked up quite a few items from Aldi for the garage.
Most of them being really quite good, especially considering their price.

The red ramps on the wall (last picture) would be my latest purchase - intended for caravans; but are 2 tonne rated each, and a perfect fit for lowered cars.

Nothing wrong with buying stuff at Aldi, truth be know they all come from the same place in any case, the cupboards do look great. :thumbup:

My Dad brought a welder there and for what he was using it for was ideal.

Regards

AndrewP · Mar 11, 2015

1/2 Cup said:
Nothing wrong with buying stuff at Aldi, truth be know they all come from the same place in any case, the cupboards do look great.

My Dad brought a welder there and for what he was using it for was ideal.

Regards

I seriously considered picking up one of their welders, I think when it was being reduced even further.

But finding further storage space for it, plus needing to do a welding course, kind of got in the way of that idea. For the time being anyway

ajohno · Mar 11, 2015

Looks great Andrew.
You must like your Fords?
Also agree with 1/2 Cup and yourself as I also get stuff from Aldi.

AndrewP · Mar 11, 2015

ajohno said:
Looks great Andrew.
You must like your Fords?
Also agree with 1/2 Cup and yourself as I also get stuff from Aldi.

Thanks Aaron. :beer:

Yes I am indeed a Ford fan.

On the subject of Aldi purchases, I probably should have said 'a lot' instead of 'quite a few'. But they seem to be suitable for home-type jobs, and that's all I'm ever really doing, or hope to do.

BBChevro · Mar 15, 2015

Nice work Andrew, and good to see that the "build in underneath" project appears to have been done properly.

I know that it wouldn't have been inexpensive, but it should have added value to the property in a HUGE way (and of course, made it much more liveable for now).

You've made good use of the available space and the Aldi cupboards look good too.

And finally, welcome from another Queenslander (I'm actually in Redland City - but I figured that only locals would know where that was - so I listed my location as "Brisbane").

code4pay · Mar 16, 2015

Yeah most of my wood working power tools are also from Aldi. All work fine. About time they ran another DIY special I reckon!

AndrewP · Mar 16, 2015

BBChevro said:
Nice work Andrew, and good to see that the "build in underneath" project appears to have been done properly.

Thanks Mark :beer:

We tried to make the renovation as seamless as possible, so that it looked like it was all put together at the same time. Kept the ceiling height, doors & fittings all the same.

I know that it wouldn't have been inexpensive, but it should have added value to the property in a HUGE way (and of course, made it much more liveable for now).

You're right, in that it was similar to building a small house.
But timely too - it was completed just after we had started a family.

You've made good use of the available space and the Aldi cupboards look good too.

That's been the challenge - using space as efficiently as possible. Will hopefully be able to nut out a few more ideas as I go along.

And finally, welcome from another Queenslander (I'm actually in Redland City - but I figured that only locals would know where that was - so I listed my location as "Brisbane").

Thanks Again.

Interestingly there is a Brisbane in California, and a Queensland in Canada too.
But maybe only one Redland City?

AndrewP · Mar 16, 2015

code4pay said:
Yeah most of my wood working power tools are also from Aldi. All work fine. About time they ran another DIY special I reckon!

There seems to be a pattern to the specials - some things appear around the same time every year, others possibly more frequently.

Modest 2 Car Garage in Brisbane

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