My 2 bay snake pit

Scott L · Sep 27, 2015

After lurking here for several years, it is finally time to start my own thread. I am finally upgrading my 2 bay, residential garage. We have done a lot of work in this garage - several mustang restorations, and a Factory five build, but we have never really worked on the garage. This is a 23 foot square garage. The walls are insulated and covered with sheetrock. The ceiling is open to the rafters. The paint on the floor is 25 years old and failing.

The plan is to close in the ceiling, insulate, heat, floors, and retire my old lumber work bench and shelves. The wife has signed off on a good budget, so away we go...

And the clean out begins -

Construction starts -

Insulation in -

Passed my permit inspections. Sheetrock and plaster come tomorrow.

Plans include metal cabinets and a quality floor. Right now I am trying to decide between RaceDeck or epoxy. Grinding the failed paint off the floor might push me to the tiles

. I am reading every post in the flooring section now.

Thanks in advance for your help. I have already learned a ton.

Scott L · Sep 27, 2015

So I guess it is all about the cars. Here are the two that live in my garage.

My baby - A Factory Five Roadster

My project - 1953 Ford F100

moodubs · Sep 27, 2015

lovely cars and doing very well with the build, keep up the good work

zekeymonkey · Sep 27, 2015

Great cars! Hopefully, mine will look that nice someday. And, if you need a place to park those, I can help.

Ray-CA · Sep 27, 2015

Looks great, love the FFR.....

Here is a shot of ours...

Ray

Scott L · Oct 2, 2015

The heavy rain in MA this week has slowed us down. We do have the ceiling in, and the plaster should come in a day or two.

Some of the more valuable stuff is in the house, but most of it is under a canopy in the driveway.

The canopy is tied down to the trucks on either side. we have had 4 inches of rain over the last two days, and the wind has been blowing 30+. So far the canopy hasn't moved, and everything is still dry.

This is the outside view.

Soon to be the nicest garage in the neighborhood!

DrBobOh · Oct 2, 2015

OH YEAH. Like your F5 and F100. What motor you rockin' in the F5?

Scott L · Oct 2, 2015

The F5R has a 302.

hewey · Oct 2, 2015

Very nice pair of cars you have there. You should paint the f-truck wheels in the same colour as the Cobra :thumbup:

Marcm157 · Oct 2, 2015

I am a longtime Ford fan - Love the F-100!

Zeke · Oct 2, 2015

Snake Pit — good name.

Mr_P · Oct 2, 2015

Great speed on this build Scott L. I have some questions for you,

You mentioned ceiling, insulate, heat, floors were to be done. What exactly did you need permits for? Lighting/bucket lights on ceiling?

Also, where about in MA are you located? I mean, are those type of permits and inspections usually required everywhere? I lived in Gardner, MA, and Leominster a while back ago.

Oh, and last question, did all that stuff happen this past Sunday Sept. 27th?

Scott L · Oct 3, 2015

Happened over the previous week - If only we could do this in a day

You need permits for everything in MA. This required a construction and electrical inspection. The construction really focused on the fire code. You can't half *** a ceiling in MA - No tack on plastic / mylar, no corrugated steel, no spray in foam without a fire barrier. Believe it or not, plastered sheet rock was one of the cheaper options to meet code.

Realistically you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't ever plan on selling your place. Otherwise - stick to the code.

Scott L · Oct 4, 2015

The plaster is done. Came out great. I watched for a little while and there is a real art to this.

Should be able to get the finish electrical done tomorrow, and one more inspection. Then lots of paint. I will start with the walls and trim. In a week or so I should be able to paint the new plaster.

Scott L · Oct 12, 2015

Some progress this weekend. The wood shelves and the workbench are gone! I cut the shelves in half (horizontally) and now I have two really strong shelves for my shed. Two full loads to the dump, and I can see the back wall for the first time in ten years.

Started to paint some trim. I want to let the new plaster set for another week before I paint it.

Just about to order my RaceDeck! Look for an update when I place my order.

Scott L · Oct 13, 2015

Just ordered my RaceDeck floor - Thanks Jenn and Jorgen! I'll post some pics next week when it is delivered.

Scott L · Oct 22, 2015

The RaceDeck has arrived !

Still have some painting to get done before I can put the floor down. I need to get going, the cabinets start showing up next week.

nsogiba · Oct 23, 2015

Looks like a great start! I am subscribing!

Scott L · Oct 26, 2015

Lots of painting - Acres of white. I am spending a lot of time thinking about Saber Cabinets...

I ordered a couple of the Husky cabinets from HD. A total waste. two of the three arrived at the store damaged, and I returned them on the spot. The third will be my wife's gardening cabinet, and I am going in a different direction for the workbench components.

The Saber stuff looks like a no brainer, and it is priced very aggressively for the quality. The shipping to the east coast is killing me, but otherwise it is great deal. I will probably pull the trigger on a wall of black steel cabinets tomorrow, I just need to sleep on it.

Scott L · Oct 27, 2015

Finished rolling the ceiling last night. Almost 4 gallons of matte white, but it is finally done. Had a couple of hours to think, and I decided it is only money, so the budget goes out the window, and I am ordering a better grade of cabinets. Got a quote for eight pieces from Saber. They are a tremendous value when compared to Gladiator or other big box brands. The shipping is the real gotcha, but they look good enough that I think they are worth it. Time to give Dean a call and get this stuff on it's way.

Scott L · Oct 31, 2015

And the painting continues. Making progress, but it is a lot all at once. It took three coats of masonry paint to get a decent finish on the raw concrete.

Just got the shipping confirmation from Dean at Saber. So far, so good - my 1100 lbs pallet is on the way.

Time to finish up the paint and lights. Hopefully the Race Deck goes down next week.

What do you think about the peg board for color? It started white ten years ago, but now is a nasty yellow... Should I repaint it white to match the walls, or paint it gray to match the foundation? The cabinets will be black, and the recedeck is alloy and black. Let me know what you think.

dodge610 · Oct 31, 2015

Could you possibly paint the pegboard to match the alloy color of the race deck. Just to sort of offset the white and gray. Just an idea to think about. That way it will help blend it to the floor somewhat.

taumac · Oct 31, 2015

Love the truck. Great work on the place. Keep up the good work.

razrbak94 · Nov 1, 2015

Approval on the rides and the pit, from a former Masshole.

Scott L · Nov 3, 2015

Finally over the hump on the painting. Nine gallons into the walls, ceiling, and concrete apron. Some finish painting and a little carpentry to get ready for the cabinets left to do, but most of the hard work is done. With most of the painting done, I had to see how it would look with the floor down. I put down about 200 sq feet of Race Deck just to see what it will all look like. The tile goes down super easy, this patch took less than an hour to put down.

Jorgen - My garage makes me happy!

Really happy with how it all looks. Can't wait to see the black cabinets from Saber. Hopefully they will be here by the end of the week. Lots of little stuff to do, but I feel like I am on the back side of the hill.

55cadillacking · Nov 3, 2015

Oh yeah, that's looking pretty. Lots of paint, but it was well worth it. Amazing how nicely the floor finishes things off.

dubber · Nov 4, 2015

Sweet project you have there sir. Those rides are also bad ***. Your truck looks similar (to me) to the RaceDeck Truck. Have to post some pics on the new flooring when done.

quadrcr87 · Nov 4, 2015

Its going to look great with the cabinets in. I like the simple paint scheme with the checkered floor.

fergus · Nov 4, 2015

Nice man. I like that the thread title didn't disappoint...I was hoping for something with a Cobra namesake. Shop is looking good.

1/2 Cup · Nov 4, 2015

Looking fantastic Scott L :thumbup:

C_F · Nov 5, 2015

This is a really nice looking transformation so far!
Your ceiling looks much higher from the interior shots, than it appears from the outside. Nothing wrong with that.

Are you going to also be utilizing some of your vertical space somehow?

M-technik-3 · Nov 5, 2015

Great looking project, hope you have been taking advantage of the late Indian summer we are having this week. I know that I have been trying to do so in my garage.

My neighbor two doors down has an old Ford pick up like that.

Scott L · Nov 6, 2015

Yes - the weather has been great for getting stuff done. Off to the lumber yard today for the wood needed to mount the cabinets.

The ceiling is 11' 2" from the floor. Once I recharge the bank of SWMBO there will be a raised door and a two post lift. There always needs to be a next project...

Scott L · Nov 7, 2015

Made some more progress this week. More of the floor is down. Cut most of the tile for the trimmed edges, and finished the storage area under the stairs/mud room entry to the house. I used a table saw for most of the cuts, and this worked great. For the more complex cuts, I used a jig saw with a fine metal blade and it cut very well. I also hung some lights, and I am almost ready for the cabinets. They should arrive on Monday. The last bare patch of floor is for the pallet of cabinets. No reason to take chances with the new tile. Once the cabinets go in, I will finish this last spot

Scott L · Nov 10, 2015

My cabinets were delivered today! They look great. Unpacked one, and I am super happy with my decision to go with Saber. Dean was great to deal with, and the cabinets look great!

With tomorrow being a holiday for me, I suspect I will get a few more of these together.

56rpm · Nov 10, 2015

Very nice job on the garage. I too must compliment you on your choice of vehicles.

Scott L · Nov 12, 2015

The march of the cabinets continues. These take some work to put together, but they are really well made. The cabinets are nice and strong once they go together, and I am really happy with how they look and feel.

One more base cabinet to build, and then four uppers to follow. This should leave me with a ten foot long bench, and plenty of storage.

Scott L · Nov 14, 2015

The first project on the base cabinets is to build the uppers. With some cardboard as a top, the height is really good. I want the workbench top to span the space created by the concrete apron, back to the sheetrock. At its widest, this gap is almost 6 inches. With the base cabinets set to a height of about 37 inches, I can cleanly tie the bench top into the back wall all the way to the sheet rock. This leaves me with a final bench top that measures 10 feet X 30 inches. I think this should be plenty, and I think the extra six inches of depth will be great. I am still debating how to mount the uppers. At first I was just going to lag a couple 2X6's into the wall studs, and then mount the cabinets to the 2x6's. Now I am thinking I should turn the 2x6's on their sides and build a box frame to bring the uppers out 6 inches. This would maintain the relationship between the uppers and lowers, but it will be more work. Oh well, I can think about this while I put the next two uppers together...

Scott L · Nov 17, 2015

There is always something about a project that adds complexity. For my garage, this is where the cabinets meet the concrete. The foundation comes up about 33 inches, and there is a 6 inch step between the foundation wall and the wall board where the sill sits on the foundation.

This creates some issues aligning the cabinets - especially the uppers and lowers.

Above and beyond the step, the foundation has some issues, and there is almost 1.5 inches of variability (top to bottom) in the 33 inches of height. A 2x6 against the sill gives me a nice straight edge to align the base cabinets, but now my uppers would be set back about 6 - 7 inches from where they belong. If money was no object, I would redo the back wall to create a flat surface, but that just isn't in the budget. So instead, I thought I would try to bring the upper cabinets forward.

I built a box out of 2x6's to push the uppers out from the wall. While this will not be exactly the spacing of a flat wall, it should be close enough to keep everything in alignment. I will need to make a little fill panel for behind the tall cabinet, but otherwise this should give everything a more finished look.

I finished painting this before I left for work today. Hopefully it will be on the wall tonight. This lines up with seven studs in the wall, so I have 14 1/4 inch lag bolts to hold it up. This should be plenty strong to support the four upper cabinets.

jwhcars · Nov 17, 2015

You're making good progress on the remodel.

My 2 bay snake pit

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