My multi-purpose (small) garage - In Norway

MrQuiet · Nov 9, 2017

My (small) multi-purpose garage - In Norway

Here is a thread on my small "2 car" garage. Or rather I call it a workshop you can drive a car into. The garage is integrated into the body of our two family home. And we are located just outside Oslo, in Norway.

I guess someone would wonder why I put so much effort into a small garage. And there is a long line of reasoning why this is the case. But for now I suffice to say that it has to do with our line of work, housing prices, travel time to work, school districts and family life. So we plan on living here at least 15 more years, until my two sons have left the nest. And possibly even longer

We moved into this home a year ago, but signed the contract 1,5 year before we moved in. The house was built as part of a larger multi-home development, so I was able to add some features to the garage as it was being built (floor heating and OSB behind drywall), but there were no opportunities for increasing size or changing layout.

Currently the homes in and around Oslo are being built with minimal storage space, and this includes our house. So the garage has to double as a shed. It has to hold the family bicycles, our array of skis, camping gear, gardening tools and other stuff. So many of the storage solutions revolve around the multi-functionality of this combined garage, workshop and shed.

Another challenge is that I was not able to build the garage before we moved in. So all my upgrades, building, painting and outfitting is being done while all our stuff is being stored inside. It is really time consuming and frustrating doing just that. Not recommended.

The garage is not very big, as it only is 5.5m x 6m x 2.4m (18' x 20' x 7'10"). Our neighbours (with identical homes) use it as a small 2 car garage. But with the plans I have, there will only be room for one car. And I am maximizing functionality and utilizing every square centimetre of my available volume.

Since I have built and outfitted this garage over the past year, I'll use a few posts to "go back" and describe the processes and reasoning I've made and describe the solutions in little more detail.

Here is a list of solutions so far:

Fully insulated, as temperatures vary between +25C to -15C (77F to 5F)
Insulated garage door
Fire safe towards living space (2 layers of 12mm (1/2") drywall)
Gas-tight towards the living space
External & visible electrics (To not puncture the drywall, regarding fire and gas)
Electric floor heating
Polyurethane flooring with anti-slip (Flowcrete Deckshield - http://flowcrete.com/)
OSB boards behind drywall, for anchoring
Fibreglass felt on top of drywall, for added surface toughness
Extra ventilation (Passive openings)
Wall mounted shelves, to be able to store "mobile" stuff beneath (http://www.elfa.com)
Euro-system sized plastic crates/boxes
Car wheels on trolleys
Large plastic crates on trolleys, for car parts
Ski racks (http://mira-racks.no/)
IKEA cupboards
Quickjack lift, stored on wall

Here are some of my plans/dreams:

Workbench based on IKEA modules. But add strong support structure from worktop to floor
Cupboard with glass doors, for die cast models, Lego models and prizes
Even more lighting, as I am "pushing fifty"
Small leather sofa, for my kids to crash on
Music streaming possibilities
Dedicated garage laptop computer
Gogogate2 garage door controller

Attached is a (poor) picture on the state of things. I'll add more pictures of both the process and solutions later.

Hope some of you find interest in this thread

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MrQuiet · Nov 9, 2017

The beginning

After having looked for a new home for a year or so, these twelve homes were put up for sale. To be ready for moving in within 1,5 years. There were six two-family houses, and they were located just 300 meters from where we lived at the time. And it was in the same school district, which was important for us.

We signed the contract in October 2014. And the planning commenced. On upgrades to the flooring, bathroom tiles, the electricals, and everything else that was possible to adjust or upgrade. And some of the time was spent on the garage as well.

I realized of course that the garage was small. But it was twice what we had before, and I saw potential.

Here are some illustrations from the sales prospect.

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MrQuiet · Nov 9, 2017

The initial plan. And realizing the actual (small) size.

My initial plan was to create a layout where it would be possible to both storing a "hobby" car, as well as having the family transporter in the garage during winter. At the same time. And keep only the hobby car in the garage during summer. So my initial plan was to place a workbench in front of the cars and have storage in the inner corners and up on the walls.

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But seeing the inside of the garage for the first time, I realized that the prospect of having two cars in the garage at the same time, was not really possible. And I realized that with the moderate depth of the garage and a workbench in front, would severely limit the space for working at the ends of the car.

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And the nail in the coffin for my initial plan came when I see the end result of the drywall box constructions around the plumbing. As this is severely limiting my possibilities for effective storage in that area of the garage.

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I realize a change of plan is needed. And that this is -not- going to be 2 car garage. The family car has to live outside. Always.

MrQuiet · Nov 10, 2017

I spent multiple week-ends in the fall of 2016 building a deck at the other end of the house. Snow fell for the first time, only a week after the completion.

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MrQuiet · Nov 10, 2017

We needed to extend the parking area in front of the house. Both to allow the parking of our small trailer, the family car and guests. Without blocking the entry to the garage.

So... Plans were made to transform some of the lawn up front, to car parking. And adding a touch of style, using set stone in that area. To somewhat limit the cost we kept the asphalt directly in front of the garage. Unfortunately the entrepreneur damaged the edge of the asphalt, so we needed to patch a little.

The set stone and detailing really lifted the entire experience of arriving at the house and going to the front door.

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MrQuiet · Nov 10, 2017

With a more complete understanding of the somewhat blank canvas that was handed over, the new plans began to form. I moved the workbench to the corner with all the plumbing. And dedicated the entire other side to storage.

I was frustrated with the size of the drywall box construction that covered the plumbing. As they had an excessive size for what they should do. So I pulled them down and built much slimmer boxes. Then covered the drywall in that area with fibreglass felt wallpaper, to crete a tougher surface. And painting it all.

Then I modified IKEA cupboards in the top, to fit on the outside and around the plumbing. This was a very time consuming task. But in the end it was highly satisfying to see the result. As the plumbing didn't "steal" that much of the available storage in the cupboards.

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As you can see I needed to cut the sides, the top and the back of every cupboard module. And re-position the bracket holding the module to the wall.

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At that time I did not continue by building the workbench, as the flooring was not done. I needed to wait until spring, when the temperatures in the air was well above freezing, to lay down the polyurethane flooring.

DynoDave · Nov 10, 2017

Cool shop, nice Porsche. lots of interesting details. Thanks for sharing.

MrQuiet · Nov 11, 2017

Due to the requirements regarding fire and gas tightness, all the elctrical installations need to be technically on the outside of the drywall. Thus it will be visible. To clean it all up I decided to place it all within larger electrical system profiles. The profiles are built around the top of cupboards.

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I positioned the cupboards slightly lower than the ceiling, so the doors would open just below the profile.

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The condit (?) from the fuse panel enters the garage above the cupboards and are led into the system profiles. The profiles are 110x70mm and ended up pretty full. I have two seperate 16A circuits for use and for lighting and a seperate 16A circuit for the electic heating in the floor.

I added extra empty conduits for possible 3 phase power to potential machines or for charging a future electric car.

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I have 2x4 outlets above the workbench and generally spread outets around the garage. 3x LED panels over the (future) workbench and 5x double 28w in the ceiling.

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The 15m (45') rolling (?) extension cord sits near the garage door, for ease of use both inside and outside the garage.

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MrQuiet · Nov 17, 2017

I wanted some sort of epoxy or polyurethane coating on the floor. So I contacted a local company that came recommended. They suggested using a polyurethane coating solution, that they had good experience with. Both in private garages and in larger commercial parking garages.

I Googled the product they suggested, called Flowcrete Deckshield. And I found this to be used all over the world. And it seemed to be just what I wanted from my flooring.

Price wise I was fortunate, because 1 bucket or can of each of the ingredients of the coating was just enough to cover my garage.

The process was as follows:

Grind down the top surface using a diamond grinder (?), to smooth out the surface and open up the pores of the concrete
Apply base layer
Sprinkle fine sand into the wet base layer
After primary hardening, brush off and remove loose sand
Lay the top coat within 24h from the base
Wait 48h before use
Wait 1 week before rough use

Initially I was a little disappointed with the somewhat varying visual appearance across the surface. This was due to the slight variance in top coat thickness. Resulting in a variation in how much the sand sticks out of the top surface.

But having used the floor for some time, it is just what I wanted. The flooring is tough. And it is easy to maintain and clean. The roughness of the anti-slip sand is nice as well. Rough enough to not be to slippery when wet, or with snow under the shoes. But not too rough to make it hard to keep clean.

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MrQuiet · Nov 17, 2017

DynoDave said:
Cool shop, nice Porsche. lots of interesting details. Thanks for sharing.

Thx! The Porsche in first post is actually sold. But it was soon replaced by an almost identical model. This new Porsche is an original and untouched '87 Carrera 3.2. Will post a picture of it after the winter is gone

tdott · Nov 17, 2017

Floors good great, looks like you are making efficient use of the space too, the cabinets were probably more worth but worth it for the clean look.

MrQuiet · Nov 19, 2017

tdott said:
Floors good great, looks like you are making efficient use of the space too, the cabinets were probably more worth but worth it for the clean look.

Thx! There is actually a bit of storage space in the cupboards. But a clean look was important too

MrQuiet · Nov 19, 2017

Installed a display cabinet this week-end. There are some racing prices, RC electric touring cars, the Certificate of Authenticity on the '87 3.2, some die-cast Porsche's and my boys' Lego cars.

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MrQuiet · Nov 26, 2017

Got a small used sofa. Primarily for my two boys (9 & 11). For them to be around their old man, even if they show little interest in what I am doing in the garage. But at least they can hang out in the sofa with a pad or a magazine, being somewhat exposed to cars and other stuff.

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MrQuiet · Dec 3, 2017

The floor of the garage is falling 1:100 towards the garage door. And for some reason the technical solution has led to the Radon gas membrane being visible at the edges of the floor.

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I contacted my neighbor that has a sheet metal business. And he helped me make and fit baseboards made from gray sheet metal. Glued both to the floor and to the walls.

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I am very happy with the end result. Both functionally and visually. And I got a friendly price as well.

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MrQuiet · Dec 3, 2017

I needed to maximize storage inn the inner corner of the garage. I opted for one of the larger ski storage racks from a small company called Mira Racks. I found these ski holders by chance, and immediately was conviced by the down to earth video presentation by the owner:

(Concept presentation, in Norwegian)
https://www.facebook.com/MiraRacks/

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I built a simple holder for the QuickJack using som oak wood and extra strong clothes hooks.

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Now that the winter has properly arrived, I moved the skis we use the most to the smaller rack that is next to the side door. This is much more accessible, as the smaller kid have cross country skiing practice a couple times a week. And we usually either do cross country or alpine skiing most every week-end during winter.

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MrQuiet · Dec 4, 2017

So why did I choose wall mounted shelves for storage, and not closed cabinets? So… Here are my pro and con considerations for the storage shelves:

Pro - Shallow total build depth. Out from wall. 50cm
Pro - Bicycles, spare wheels and other large stuff can be stored underneath
Pro - Car doors can be opened under bottom shelf
Pro - Stuff can be moved around on the floor, if I need extra space very locally
Pro - Can utilize full height of garage
Pro - The garage door opens over parts of the shelves
Pro - Can be re-arranged depending on my needs

Con - Somewhat expensive. But good quality.
Con - Visual clutter
Con - Not protected from dirt or dust

From before we already had ELFA system shelves around the house. And I found this system to be flexible and sturdy enough for the garage. And most consumer building supply stores stock this system, so extra parts are readily available outside office hours.

http://elfa.com/nb-no/oppbevaring/velg-rom/garasje

There are drawers, hooks and other modules for the system. That can be added at a later stage.

And I got some euro system sized storage crates, to create a somewhat uniform system and look. And this type of crates do not create the dead space between boxes that have rim and draft on the sides (Like the two transparent boxes in the image)

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Here is the side rail for the garage door, that move over the shelves.

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MrQuiet · Dec 29, 2017

This is at the local Porsche car club. So it's not my garage, but it is my car

My '84 Porsche 944 Cup club racer (Naturally Aspirated) had been running smoothly for two and a half season. But the engine showed signs of wear at the last two races. Thus I have made an agreement with a Swedish 944 trans-axle specialist, that will rejuvenate the engine.

I had never previously removed or assembled an engine, from any car. But I have had the front suspension in molecules. And a few friends have tackled this challenge themselves, and the stories weren't that intimidating.

I had booked the lift for two days, but 6 hours later the engine was out. I took the engine out from the bottom, so much of the front suspension needed to be removed. But a couple hours later, the car was on its own wheels again. Engine sitting ready for transport.

A good day!

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gaetano · Dec 29, 2017

Very nice house and I think you did a great job with the garage.

Cris B · Jan 1, 2018

Great garage. I really like the sheet metal baseboard - it really ties the floor into the rest of the room. The display cabinet is neat too.

MrQuiet · Jan 1, 2018

gaetano said:
Very nice house and I think you did a great job with the garage.

Thanks! [emoji3]

Cris B said:
Great garage. I really like the sheet metal baseboard - it really ties the floor into the rest of the room. The display cabinet is neat too.

I am very happy with the baseboards myself. [emoji106]

Planning on building a work bench this winter. Really looking forward to having a proper place to lay my tools and other stuff when working on a project.

MrQuiet · Jan 18, 2018

Received info from the specialist workshop, rebuilding the engine for my Porsche 944 NA club racer.

Apparently the lower balance shaft was incorrectly indexed. And this has led to increased vibrations, most likely causing many of my mechanical issues last season:

2x Cracked fuel rails
Broken alternator adjustment strut and holder bolt
Cracked oil pickup tube
Broken compression piston ring (Possibly)

The engine has been torn down and cleaned. All bolts checked. Will receive all new gaskets. Cylinder head resurfacing. New main bearings, belts, clutch, clutch release bearing, exhaust valve guides, valve seats and semi solid engine mounts. Replacing the oil pan with one from a later model engine, with stronger and improved oil pickup, oil scrapers, modified with oil pan baffle.

It was annoying to realize that a bodged belt job (By a local shop) last winter was the cause of most of my mechanical problems last season. But really looking forward to a reliable and non-sweating engine.

Hopefully the number of DNF's will be a lot less this year.

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old-air-performance · Jan 19, 2018

nice garage, and beautiful 911.
Are you using the 944 as a track car or rally car?

Kind regards, Toon

MrQuiet · Jan 19, 2018

old-air-performance said:
nice garage, and beautiful 911.

Are you using the 944 as a track car or rally car?

Thanks!

It’s primarily a 944 Cup track car. But it’s still roadworthy.

I guess the car looks a little funny right now. Like a rally car. Tall in front, without the engine. Sitting on the more narrow studded winter tires. And without spacers.

We like to drift around in the snow and sometimes drive on the frozen lakes here in Norway [emoji846]

drivesitfar · Jan 19, 2018

Mr.Q: I'm 100% Norwegian and i've never been there so your thread's name really caught my eye. that said i've took a little quick look at it and i'm very happy i did.

lots of cool stuff and ORGANIZING and i'll be back. i'm getting ready to start an organizing thread myself so if you might want to get a few other ideas that maybe you hadn't thought of come on over and take a peak cause i get a 9x15 portion of our 2 car garage to use and i've got more than a little bit of stuff so no car has been in mine for over 20 years now.

cheers and keep up the great posts and pictures of Norway would be great too if you have some favorites and time to post them.

thanks

MrQuiet · Jan 23, 2018

A month old picture. But this is what it looked outside the metro station at work, one afternoon in mid December.

This is Majorstuen in Oslo.

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70datsun · Jan 23, 2018

Very nice garage with clever use of space. I also like the posts about your cars and bits about life in Norway. I have an American friend who lives in Oslo and would love to visit some day.

I love Porsche transaxle cars so I appreciate the updates about your 944 Cup racer. Very cool! And I've been guilty of getting those balance shafts wrong, on my previous 968. Makes for a thrashy engine! Looking forward to seeing pics of your Carrera. The dream Porsche for me, but sadly out of reach now.

drivesitfar · Feb 5, 2018

Mr.Q: thanks for the picture of Oslo and that sky is amazing. any more pictures of your beautiful country you'd like to post please do and of course if you might have any updates on your small garage that works too.

I started a thread showing how i'm trying to organize my 9x15 foot portion of our 2 car garage if you might need a few ideas cause i have a lot of stuff and i'm trying to eliminate my 10x20 and 20x20 storage units. the link is in my sig line.

how do you like your lefsa heated or cold and with brown sugar and butter or do tell?

MrQuiet · Feb 11, 2018

70datsun said:
Very nice garage with clever use of space. I also like the posts about your cars and bits about life in Norway.

Thx! This winter is a proper snowy winter here in Oslo. I try to keep the snow away from the front yard, and it is a good workout to do just that. But now the snow has dumped on us for a month. And now we have enough of the white stuff

Here is a pano shot.

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And then there are some cross country ski races for my 10yr old kid. This image is from the last this last weekend.

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drivesitfar said:
... and of course if you might have any updates on your small garage that works too.

Not a big update. But I finally got going on the workbench. Based on IKEA modules. But using some steel legs I found at the hardware store. Planning on using the space under the IKEA modules as storage for medium length (and not so voluminous) stuff.

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And I received the some light weight buckets for 90mm Hella light modules for my 944. Not mounted yet, just a trial fit.

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Dividing Creek · Feb 11, 2018

What color is the new 3.2 ?

Had two schwartz 3.2 turbo's.

MrQuiet · Feb 12, 2018

Dividing Creek said:
What color is the new 3.2 ?

It is dark blue metallic, with all burgundy leather interior. Looking forward to the spring.

Turbo is a dream. An expensive dream [emoji6]

Matias · Feb 12, 2018

Nice garage, and I like the details you have provided. Do you have any daily driver with snowtires in the garage? Was wondering how the garage floor is keeping up?

I like your Ikea workbench, and I will be building one in a year. Any more details and plans for it?

Love the Porches, had a 944 NA myself for some time.

MrQuiet · Feb 12, 2018

Matias said:
Nice garage, and I like the details you have provided. Do you have any daily driver with snowtires in the garage? Was wondering how the garage floor is keeping up?

I like your Ikea workbench, and I will be building one in a year. Any more details and plans for it?

Thx!

During winter our daily driver is sitting on non-studded winter tyres. And it drags snow, water and salty crud into the garage. But the floor is holding up nicely. No signs of wear so far. But sometimes it is properly wet on the floor, and then I pull out the wet/dry shop vacuum cleaner, for a quick shine. Much nicer with a dry floor, when you have some projects in the garage.

The Porsche's are both stored elsewhere during winter.

I plan for the workbench to fill that entire corner of the garage. The three IKEA modules are just at one end. The worktop should in total be approx. 3,8 meters (15') in length. In the corner I support the worktop to the wall and one supporting leg. Planning on having a small fridge and being able to roll the tool trolley underneath.

drivesitfar · Feb 22, 2018

MrQ: looks like your country is doing well at the winter Olympics. have any more cool pictures or information to share?

MrQuiet · Feb 23, 2018

This week there is school winter holiday here in Oslo. So we took Thursday and Friday off to enjoy the nice wintery weather we have here right now.

Yesterday we went cross country skiing in the local hills. Just a 10 minute drive from home.

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Today we went alpine skiing at Norefjell, 1.5h drive north from Oslo. The youngest (now 9yrs) is quite adventurous. Here we are out of bounds on an un-prepared slope, used during the 1952 olympic downhill. Properly steep and full of moguls.

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MrQuiet · Feb 23, 2018

But after a day on the slopes, I spent a couple hours in the garage this evening. Finally finishing the workbench. It ended up a bit more extravagant than planned, with quite a bit of oak

The major reason for leaving the corner "open", is that the box (and door) in the corner are hiding the water mains pipe. So to maintain proper access I need to keep things stored under the worktop on wheels.

Happy with the end result. Looking forward to actually using the workbench.

Here are pictures of the end result, and some construction details.

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drivesitfar · Feb 24, 2018

Q: looks like your son is saying let's go DAD. nice looking shop and i like that you made a cart with casters on them for your plastic containers so you can pull them out easily. great looking bench and use of that corner that needs to be accessed.

thanks for the pictures and post up more when you have time and let us know when your son gets in the Olympics.

cheers

BlueBomber · Feb 24, 2018

Nice garage, Mr McQuiet! I was just in your capital last week on a business trip. I like the wood tones of the oak bench top. I plan to make a similar one for the workbench I have yet to buildin my new shop. Congrats on transforming your garage space!

MrQuiet · Feb 25, 2018

Thx for the kind words, Drivesitfar and BlueBomber!

MrQuiet · Feb 25, 2018

Things are falling into place following the completion of the workbench

The brand new Ridgid Peddinghaus vice is mounted. It is mounted directly above the cabinet interior walls. And right above one of the legs. Thus the downward forces are transmitted in a straight line to the floor.

The garage computer and and some speakers have moved in. And I got two fire extinguishers placed in the front-most corners of the garage. One with foam, the other with powder.

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My multi-purpose (small) garage - In Norway

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