GTIDriver's Single Car Basement Build

Hey all, new here but thought i'd start a thread to chronicle my garage/shop build. Recent homeowner without a whole lot of building know-how, although I do consider myself pretty handy. This will be a major learning experience and I'm looking forward to it. Very inspired/awed by some of the builds here; you guys are insanely skilled. We'll see how I measure up.

This will likely be a fairly long-term project as time permits, so I'll keep the thread updated as I go. I encourage any and all advice/suggestions/constructive criticism you guys can throw my way.

Onto the garage itself: This is a very tight space. It's a basement single car, meaning it's within the foundation footprint of the house under the main floor. Dimensions are roughly 12' W x 20' L with a ceiling just over 7' high. No doubt about it, space is going to be limited.

At this point I don't plan on parking my car inside full time, although I want to retain the capability to work on it and when we occasionally need extra driveway space. At some point I'd like to get some sort of (compact) project car situation going in there. This will also serve as my main workshop area for any woodworking or general house/hobby work. At present I can fit my car inside with enough space to stand at a 24" deep workbench in front, and still fit a pair of garbage/recycling bins and snowblower behind.

Can't wait to get started!

Here's what we're working with:





Ripped down the old disintegrating pegboard. This will be replaced with new metal:



It was nailed to the wall via old strips of 70s style woodgrain veneer. Chopped and bagged it up:



Looking in, the left/inner wall and back is drywall and the right/outer wall is concrete foundation. All 3 walls and the ceiling are covered in this nasty plaster popcorn texturing. No idea why this was ever a popular idea.



You can see where at some point they just sprayed the coating on over the whole wall, shelf brackets and all:



Out of an abundance of caution I had the popcorn tested for asbestos..came back negative, so it's time to start scraping:



All 3 walls fully scraped. Feels newer already.



I'll deal with the ceiling later. Not looking forward to that.

For cheap lighting improvement, I'd pick up 4 LED worklights, then pick up a porcelain bulb fixture with a built in outlet. You can daisychain the worklights together, and then they will operate from the wall switch. Simple/quick/easy/effective.

Thanks. I have similar ideas on lighting; more on that later. Do you have any specific LED worklights you'd recommend?

Latest update: Powersanded all 3 walls and the garage door surround. Boy, that created a lot of dust. I managed to cover up most of my stuff with a tarp, but it looked like the garage was on fire with the white dust cloud billowing out the opening. Once it all settled i shop vac'd the floor as best I could and managed to get a good amount of dust up. Yes, I did wear a dust mask and safety goggles throughout.

The kitchen/dining room is right above the garage; when I went upstairs there was a light coating of plaster dust on the floorboards along the cabinet/dishwasher/stove edge (a few feet in from the outside wall). More on this issue later.

I have Costco LED lights and am pretty happy with them. For dust, instead of a vacuum, next time try a leaf blower and just blow it all outside.

Welcome! I think you will enjoy this site; tons of useful information and inspiration. I was in a similar situation when i first joined here, first time home owner and not much know-how / building experience.

P.S. Lets see the car that will be calling this home

Thanks man, gotta say I read through your whole single build thread and that provided a lot of inspiration! You did an awesome job; it feels like a showroom. I just wish my ceiling was a little higher so i could take advantage of some of the storage ideas you had.

Regarding the car, it's a 2015 GTI SE in Carbon Steel Gray; 6 speed manual with the Performance Pack, Lighting Pack and Dynamic Chassis Control. Pretty much stock at the moment apart from some sticky Continental ExtremeContact DW summer tires. Once the garage is sorted maybe we can start on some mods. I'll try and get some pics up later today.

Alright, been a little while since i've been able to get any work done. Too busy. Maybe you guys can give me some advice here.

The garage ceiling is directly below the kitchen and dining room. It doesn't seem to be insulated too heavily, as over the winter time the kitchen floor is noticeably drafty and cold compared to the rest of the house. Also, the floor/ceiling doesn't seem to be air sealed very well…every time i've sprayed some PB Blaster or other type substance in the garage the entire first floor smells for days. I even sprayed a rusty vice outside in the driveway, brought inside a few hours later to sit/soak and the smell wafted up through the entire first floor. Same happened when I spilled a little bit of gas on the garage floor; entire first floor smelled like gas all weekend.

Is this just an unavoidable byproduct of having an in-basement garage, or is there a way to fix it? As you can see in the pics above, there's a small gap along the right side ceiling edge, as well as a gap where the pipe cuts into the drywall. There's also a small gap at the between the bottom edge of the drywall and the concrete floor (no baseboard). Would the fumes be coming up through these gaps, or also permeating through the poorly insulated ceiling itself? Air definitely comes up through that gap because when I sanded the wall there was sanding dust on the kitchen floor right above where that pipe is. I'm not sure if closing that hole will get rid of all the fumes though.

I am getting closed cell spray foam insulation installed in my attic next week. My thought was that I could rip down the old ceiling drywall and insulation, have them spray foam the entire garage ceiling to completely cover/insulate/air seal it, and put up new drywall over it. Before I cover it back up I could also run new electrical wiring in the ceiling for lighting, garage door opener, outlets, etc.

Does this sound like a good idea? Should I be concerned about spraying foam over any pipes, electrical or other? I'm not sure what's up there. The kitchen sink is above the right side wall (outside wall of house), so presumably any pipes would just go straight up the basement wall and not under the floor itself. What about moisture getting trapped from spills on the kitchen floor? You guys think this would solve the fumes/smells issue?

Caution required. You need to get the garage sealed from the house itself. If you parked a vehicle that suffered run on or self starts, you will fill the house with Carbon Monoxide. I lost a buddy 25 years ago when he parked his Land Cruiser in the basement garage and it had a run on condition. Killed him, his sister , his mom and the two dogs. I would have a professional look at it and give you advice on what needs to be done.....Silent Killer there

Good point. I would think it would be more dangerous in its current state though, with all sorts of drafts and fumes coming up from the garage as opposed to if I sealed the ceiling off tight with foam…right?

Either way i plan on getting a good fire/CO2 sensor installed in the garage.

Bump for the morning crowd.

Sweet, I'll be watching this thread for sure. Some of my favorite threads on here are the smaller spaces with the biggest / most inventive transformations.

Nice work on scraping the walls, looks much better. Not sure what the proper fix is for the fumes leaking through the ceiling, but re-insulating and replacing the drywall sounds like a good idea to me. Plus then you won't have to scrape the ceiling and like you mentioned would have an opportunity to do some electrical customization for lighting.

P.S. I've got a 2016 CSG SE w/PP + LP 6 speed. Great car. Have done a few things to it but nothing power-wise.

Cheers!

Spray foam in the garage ceiling will definitely help. However, you really need to know how the odors are getting to the first floor. It could be a plumbing penetration or HVAC issue. One way is with a HVAC smoke tester and a blower door. You should be able to find someone in your area that can perform the test for you.

Have you considered putting your shop in the adjacent basement space with a connecting door? Place for the workbench, tool chest and storage of car/hobby supplies?

Bib Overalls said:

Spray foam in the garage ceiling will definitely help. However, you really need to know how the odors are getting to the first floor. It could be a plumbing penetration or HVAC issue. One way is with a HVAC smoke tester and a blower door. You should be able to find someone in your area that can perform the test for you.

Have you considered putting your shop in the adjacent basement space with a connecting door? Place for the workbench, tool chest and storage of car/hobby supplies?

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The inner door leads to the space with the washer/dryer, furnace, water heater, oil tank, etc, and the other half of the basement is a finished TV room…unfortunately no space for a workshop outside of the garage. Could potentially use the utility section for storage, though.

I actually have an HVAC crew coming week after next to install central air in my house complete with all new ductwork, etc…i'll ask them about the blower door test. Maybe they can do an abbreviated test in just the garage area? Rest of the house is pretty tight with new windows, etc.

nicholam77 - good to see another GTI owner on here. Your place (and car) looks great…love those BBS COs!