Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Standard 2 car turned shop , Thanks Jack!

Hello Everyone, My name is Paul and I am newer to the forum. I live about 9 miles west of Chicago in the small Suburb of Brookfield IL. I came across this forum a long time ago and was since inspired by so many great garages. While mine by no means holds up to some of the amazing spaces I have seen on here, I hope it may inspire more people to customize their own spaces as it did for me.

I was heavily inspired by Jack Olsen’s “12-gauge Garage” which I first saw on the Petrolicous website a few years back. I am a Professional Interior Architect, always working on custom millwork designs and ideas, so I wanted a space I could do that in, yet park my weekend car. Thus, I began to transform the garage. Here is a project I did to give you an idea of the custom trim work I’m used to creating. This trim incorporates slate into each corner of the trim above the windows and doorways of this house. Those posts are also completely custom hand routed:


UPDATES AS OF TODAY 10/11/18:




OVERALL SPACE, garage is 21 x 21:




This is my desk height work station for smaller, intricate work, sitting type work:



I have my shop vac stored in a hollowed out craftsman garage cabinet I painted. My Miter saw station actually serves as a mobile "saw cabinet" and holds all my other saws and saw related accessories:



I built this cabinet with the 1/2" steel top to hold our outdoor deck furniture cushions but it doubles as a great work surface for any work I don't want to ruin one of my butcher block tops with. It also has my vise mounted to it:



My main mobile "island" work table/cabinet I built on casters and it contains my air compressor in a sound insulated box as well as holds larger tools such as my planner when not in use. I have a reeled air hose that faces the front side toward the car:



I kept everything to a standard of 4ft "aisles" between every work area to ensure nothing was hard to get by with or move around in:



I keep all my car detailing supplies on a small mobile cart and each of my built plywood cabinets have specific uses. This tall one here is my “ outdoor cabinet” and contains all gardening tools, patio table supplies, bags set and folding tables for parties:







My little logo for it:




My Daughter was born January 30th of this year so I have been busy putting in as much time as I can in between work and spending time with the kids.

Well that’s about it. I know I didn’t reinvent the wheel or anything. It’s nothing crazy or high end. In fact most of it has been made to be as cost effective as possible. It’s my little oasis though, and I’m happy with it. I only know basic building/craftsmanship skills myself, even though I design custom homes for a living. Thanks!

THE HISTORY:

I started with a blank slate 21 x 21 ft. Standard Suburban Garage. The garage had a new roof and siding on when my wife and I moved in, but other than that being done, it was pretty much a blank canvas as you see here in 2015:



First I filled in the cracks, diamond grinded the entire floor area and put down epoxy:





Next came the updated electric, new window and insulation. That’s also when I decided to spray the ceiling and rafters a flat black:



Then came Drywall:





Next I found an old sign from a dealership going out of business and painted some lines on the wall and mounted it with 3mm heavy-duty strips. The Nurburgring sculpture was something I had laying around so I figured it would be good for the Garage as well. The Garage at this point looked like a little showroom and remained that way for a little bit. My friend actually made me the display sign you see below for the garage as a birthday present:



We soon after decided to update the entire exterior of our home with Hardie, so while I put off any interior garage work, the exterior got finished I opted for black aluminum trim/soffits, gutters and Fascia and the walls panels & trim boards themselves are in Hardie Arctic White:



I soon realized though, that I needed more storage for tools and the Garage transformed more because right after my Son was born in September 2016, I was starting to work more from home, and needing to make more prototypes as well as work on projects for the house. I had decided to build the space into both a place for my weekend car as well as a small, but efficient little shop area:























THE CAR
My weekend car is a 2015 Corvette Stingray Z51. It is a 3LT and a hobby of mine. While I have had used Corvettes in the past, the new Stingray just seemed to really speak to me when I first saw it. I use this car whenever I can, so I’m not even sure why I am referring to it as a “weekend car”.
I maintain it well, but this is not a Garage Queen. This is a car I track, take on long road trips and enjoy actually driving. It’s a 7-speed Manual transmission and has 460 HP. It’s not the fastest car, but handles well and I like it.



It’s a great car for long trips, especially since it’s the 3LT trim. Heated and cooled seats, Napa leather, suede, carbon fiber and aluminum trim, I love the way it all comes together and the cockpit is very driver focused.

good job

classicharleyj said:

good job

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Thanks! I was able to get some more of the framing for the cabinets done this morning for along the back wall. I usually wake up at 5 am to put a couple hours in each morning & evening now. Its a little time consuming cause I am Kreg Jigging it all together, but I want to make sure they are solid:

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Very nice start. Is the ceiling going to be insulated? I just built a pony wall using pocket screws. First project I used the Kreg, I used a milk crate to elevate the piece and clamp jig. That seem to be time consuming and uncomfortable. On the pony wall, I put the piece in my big vise. I was then able to drill holes on both ends and the vise is at a great working height. With this setup, the process was quick easy and enjoyable.


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shortykorte said:

Very nice start. Is the ceiling going to be insulated? I just built a pony wall using pocket screws. First project I used the Kreg, I used a milk crate to elevate the piece and clamp jig. That seem to be time consuming and uncomfortable. On the pony wall, I put the piece in my big vise. I was then able to drill holes on both ends and the vise is at a great working height. With this setup, the process was quick easy and enjoyable.

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Thanks. That sounds like it’s worked out well for you. I still need to get the vice I have mounted to a work surface. I’ve been using the Kreg Clamps and then Cabinet screwing the 2x4 frames for the cabinets into the studs. Definitely solid holding.

As far as ceiling insulation goes, I need to weigh my options. I plan on doing storage above the rafters so I don’t want to do a dropped ceiling or anything. Not sure if it would be worth it to maybe even just use rigid foam between the ceiling rafters or not? Any suggestions?

Welcome from the western burbs! You are making great progress... and that is not easy with 2 little ones! I speak from experience, mine are 1 and 3.

The black fascia, soffit and trim look awesome. I painted all the interior trim in my 60's ranch house satin black (Rustoleum oil base) and I have been slowing changing over the exterior details to black as well.

Cheers,

Brad

bp460 said:

Welcome from the western burbs! You are making great progress... and that is not easy with 2 little ones! I speak from experience, mine are 1 and 3.

The black fascia, soffit and trim look awesome. I painted all the interior trim in my 60's ranch house satin black (Rustoleum oil base) and I have been slowing changing over the exterior details to black as well.

Cheers,

Brad

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Thanks! I’d love to see photos of the black trim.

I’ll post more photos of our house on here I’m sure. It’s an old cape cod that I fully gutted to the outer brick and added a rear addition onto. The 2 under 2 have me busy but my oldest Turns 2 in September. I wake up at around 4am everyday and put a couple hours in the project till the weekends. Hopefully be showing some real progress in the next few weeks. I already have a color scheme and finishes picked out for the interior.

Obviously I’m self building this not only for budget, but to gain more hands on experience. I do construction drawings daily so know how to draw what needs to be done, but actually doing so requires craftsmanship which I’m hoping to gain a bit of during all this.


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Wow. You do very detailed trim work. And your attention to details is evident in the work you've done so far in your garage too. Keep the photos and updates coming, it's a super clean and nice space so far!

RogueFab said:

Wow. You do very detailed trim work. And your attention to details is evident in the work you've done so far in your garage too. Keep the photos and updates coming, it's a super clean and nice space so far!

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Thank you. This morning I was able to get a little more done. Here’s my main bench I’ve been working off of. It was the first one I built for the garage and is on industrial casters. I plan on covering 3 sides with plywood, but it’s nice to have it mobile and hold a bunch of bigger tools underneath such as my air compressor, and so on. Obviously its a mess right now while I'm working, but I plan on keeping this one free and clear as possible as it also is the end run off table for my table saw.





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Pbindesign said:

Not sure if it would be worth it to maybe even just use rigid foam between the ceiling rafters or not? Any suggestions?

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Do NOT put rigid foam between the rafters unless you leave an air gap. You need air flow. Best bet would be to place the rigid foam on top of the rafters or use a 1.5" spacer between the roof and the insulation.

The sofit outside should be perforated to let air in, then air flows up the rafters and out thru a roof vent. If you don't have air flow, you will create ice dams on your roof if you heat the garage with anything.

Ken

Great looking place so far and I really like the car as well. As for the insulation on the roof have you looked into spray foam? I've never used it but plenty of people on here have, it might be worth looking into.
JB

74Ken said:

Do NOT put rigid foam between the rafters unless you leave an air gap. You need air flow. Best bet would be to place the rigid foam on top of the rafters or use a 1.5" spacer between the roof and the insulation.



The sofit outside should be perforated to let air in, then air flows up the rafters and out thru a roof vent. If you don't have air flow, you will create ice dams on your roof if you heat the garage with anything.



Ken

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Thank you. That’s what I figured. I definitely have good air flow through there now. I suppose if I just lay the rigid foam on the cross rafters in most of the ceiling area, that would help. Over the garage door I plan on laying some plywood as a storage shelf. Would painting the visible side of the rigid foam sheets have any negative effect?


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jbmatth said:

Great looking place so far and I really like the car as well. As for the insulation on the roof have you looked into spray foam? I've never used it but plenty of people on here have, it might be worth looking into.
JB

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Thank you. I didn’t want to have to spray anything if I didn’t absolutely have to. Hoping I can do it with a less expensive option.


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Nice progress. I like your cabinets with sliding panel doors. I have been considering doing that above my garage doors in my shop, too.

Keep us updated. Well-done, sir.

James E said:

Nice progress. I like your cabinets with sliding panel doors. I have been considering doing that above my garage doors in my shop, too.

Keep us updated. Well-done, sir.

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Thank you, will do. It's got a lot left to go. The sliding cabinets are very versatile. I like the ease of use and not having to buy hardware for them. I know some of the cabinets I make for in here will have hardware but it will be nice to balance them out.

What I'm basically doing is after each cabinet frame and shelves are built, I'm getting them organized and will then cover the sides with plywood "faces" before painting them.

Paul, because we don't deal with cold temperatures in South Florida (we do have radiant heat issues), I have always used R-19 fiberglass batts above the ceiling in the garage. Because you want to have a vaulted ceiling, you can put R-13 rigid foam (with an air space) next to the roof surface. For summer comfort, either foil faced versions of the rigid foam boards or a layer of foil-faced bubble insulation above the plain boards would help a lot. You could then paint the boards with flat black water-based paint.

Nice start!
Subscribed for updates.

This is looking really great. I'm glad to have played a small part in encouraging it -- your level of workmanship looks way above mine.

Very nice work so far Paul. I too was inspired by Jack's build as I had a small 20x20 garage and was looking for some small space ideas. For about 3 days and numerous cups of coffee I was locked onto his build going through each page. I am grateful there are people like you and Jack that like to show your work and give inspiration along the way. Over the past year I have added a 4' extension out the back of my garage to give me 20x24 which allows me to get my boat straight in and my wife's car as well. The 4' extension allows for a place to have the work bench and cabinets. Wish I had more space but lot limitations prevented me from going any further back.
What size electrical panel do you have? I see you are already past the drywall so I would guess you had you wiring done at this stage. I added receptacles every 4' on each wall plus a couple on the ceiling, a 20 amp plug for a compressor, 30 amp for my welder and travel trailer as well as I went with a 7500W ceiling heater. This literally filled my 100A panel but I have all the bases covered. I also installed 4 LED 5000k 1'x2' high bay lights that give me around 40,000 lumens as well as 2 4' florescent lights in the addition. Lighting was very important for me and now it is very nice to work in there. Just some thoughts as you proceed.

Keep up the great work I look forward to watching your progress.

I got a little more trim work done this morning. Starting to face The cabinets with 1x3 and 1x4 primed pieces of pine and then added a little bit of lap which is more of an accent in this corner, but I’m sure I will come up with something for it.
If anyone is curious on the Lazer Level I use, it’s the Leica Lino L2P5 pro. I’ve never used anyone better, but of course that’s my opinion. Keep in mind my craftsmanship is not the best but I keep telling myself it’s a garage and a place I will be working in, not a living room. I want it to look decent, but it won’t be a Museum by any means.






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Jack Olsen said:

This is looking really great. I'm glad to have played a small part in encouraging it -- your level of workmanship looks way above mine.

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Thank you Jack. Being on the other side of the coin (doing the design drawings) is a lot different then actually building it. That’s why with the garage I wanted to take this on all by myself and gain some knowledge in those trades who I work with everyday and admire their crafts. My designs and drawings are just those till someone brings them to life. In this case I’m going at it in a whole new light. But I’m learning a lot.


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DJL1967 said:

Very nice work so far Paul. I too was inspired by Jack's build as I had a small 20x20 garage and was looking for some small space ideas. For about 3 days and numerous cups of coffee I was locked onto his build going through each page. I am grateful there are people like you and Jack that like to show your work and give inspiration along the way. Over the past year I have added a 4' extension out the back of my garage to give me 20x24 which allows me to get my boat straight in and my wife's car as well. The 4' extension allows for a place to have the work bench and cabinets. Wish I had more space but lot limitations prevented me from going any further back.
What size electrical panel do you have? I see you are already past the drywall so I would guess you had you wiring done at this stage. I added receptacles every 4' on each wall plus a couple on the ceiling, a 20 amp plug for a compressor, 30 amp for my welder and travel trailer as well as I went with a 7500W ceiling heater. This literally filled my 100A panel but I have all the bases covered. I also installed 4 LED 5000k 1'x2' high bay lights that give me around 40,000 lumens as well as 2 4' florescent lights in the addition. Lighting was very important for me and now it is very nice to work in there. Just some thoughts as you proceed.

Keep up the great work I look forward to watching your progress.

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Thank you. I will have to check out your thread. Since electric was done a couple years ago, I do not have 220 or anything, but I’m never using everything all at once so I think I’ll be ok. Absolute worst case, I will update it if needed.


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Also, not sure if this is crazy of me or not, but the way I'm building most of the cabinets, I would easily be able to unscrew them from the walls and bring them with me if I were to ever move.....

This morning I was able to get more of the facing complete across the back wall and even the first few doors on.

I plan on actually subway tiling a portion of this back wall above my work surface I have planned for there. Lots more to go!:








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I like the black and white on the outside. May be borrowing this for the new property we just bought. Are your doors black also?

Pbindesign said:

Also, not sure if this is crazy of me or not, but the way I'm building most of the cabinets, I would easily be able to unscrew them from the walls and bring them with me if I were to ever move.....

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Looks like insulation ideas are covered. Smart to have cabinets modular and removable. I like the look of subway tile so looking forward to seeing that installed. Getting the hands-on experience is great. Let’s you get a feel for the process and can help with your future designs.


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BPJOOP93 said:

I like the black and white on the outside. May be borrowing this for the new property we just bought. Are your doors black also?

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I’m actually having a new black powder coated carriage style insulated door with frosted glass panels put on. I’ll post as soon as it’s installed in a week or two.

The house itself is a typical suburban corner lot. Our Alleyways here are not paved but I’m lucky being on a corner my garage faces the side street with a small driveway:



It’s an old cape cod from 1946 which I fully gutted and added a rear addition onto. The addition is sided with Hardie too with a pattern I laid out:





Here is the rear and the garage from this past Winter. The wagon wheel is from my Grandparents old house:





On the the rear of the Garage that faces in our yard, I made & planted this raised garden bed out of cedar:











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Looking good so far! I see you are from Brookfield, I am about 30 min away from you, good luck with the build and good looking house.

Nice. Like everything except the blackout on the ceiling. That has to just be a giant light vacuum. I don't get why people make any surfaces dark in garages, unless it's a showroom only. If you're doing any type of work, having reflective surfaces to bounce light back down to your working area makes a massive, massive difference. Looking forward to seeing the working area; do you have a table saw or miter? How are you storing those?

FUTBOL626 said:

Looking good so far! I see you are from Brookfield, I am about 30 min away from you, good luck with the build and good looking house.

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Thank you!


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cash68 said:

Nice. Like everything except the blackout on the ceiling. That has to just be a giant light vacuum. I don't get why people make any surfaces dark in garages, unless it's a showroom only. If you're doing any type of work, having reflective surfaces to bounce light back down to your working area makes a massive, massive difference. Looking forward to seeing the working area; do you have a table saw or miter? How are you storing those?

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No problem. I have 6 3FT LED fixtures which provide more than enough light for me and 2 LED pendants directly over my big bench and table saw. The walls of the garage will all be White so that will help reflect a lot of light. The cabinets will be going a gray-ish navy blue.

My miter saw is on a mobile Work station I built which will actually become a rolling cabinet when I’m finished and will house all my other saws ( circular / jig saw, Multi-tool etc.) I guess you can call that the “ Saw” cabinet. It’s nowhere near finished though yet, it will have a shelf, be wrapped in plywood & painted. The top being made out of just 2 2 x 12’s will get stained and varnished in the same dark walnut as my other bench:



As for my table saw, it sits on the end of my big mobile workbench and is on a collapsible folding stand so I can leave it there when not in use and fold it up. The big mobile station will be wrapped in plywood & painted also:



I can’t wait till this really starts coming together, right now I’m basically cutting all the plywood that will wrap all my cabinets and mobile work stations.




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Looking great! I like how you have all of these mobile workstations. When you have a small space you have to be efficient!

countrybumpkin said:

Looking great! I like how you have all of these mobile workstations. When you have a small space you have to be efficient!

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Thank you. Lots more work to go, but I’m really shooting for Nov 1st latest to be 100%. A couple hours every morning and a little bit of time on the weekends is helping a lot.


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Pbindesign said:

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Subscribed!

Beautiful house and great work on the garage so far. I have a lot of respect for people who do high end trim carpentry.

I have a small alley garage as well (not nearly as nice as yours!), but will be looking forward to see how you make use of the space going forward. The smaller builds are usually my favorites.

nicholam77 said:

Subscribed!



Beautiful house and great work on the garage so far. I have a lot of respect for people who do high end trim carpentry.



I have a small alley garage as well (not nearly as nice as yours!), but will be looking forward to see how you make use of the space going forward. The smaller builds are usually my favorites.

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Thank you!

I wish I could say I installed all the high end trim carpentry, but I only design it. I’m doing this so that I can be more effective at making my crude prototypes that I show my contractors before we finalize the trim outs and how it should be put together.

Today I started wrapping the main big mobile work bench. This will house my air compressor as well and I’ll be making a pass through for a reel:




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Subbing this one, great little shop coming together. I really like the Nordschleife motif on the wall, I hope you keep it up somewhere when you're done! Inspiring me to do something similar on one wall in my shop.

Pbindesign said:

Today I started wrapping the main big mobile work bench. This will house my air compressor as well and I’ll be making a pass through for a reel

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What are you plans for the air compressor cabinet? Going to do anything with sound dampening and such?

Amazing

Your shop looks great. I have as much as possible on wheels too. This was the best thing I could have done for my 2 car.

I am curious if you heat and cool with the walls insulated and the ceiling left as is. My shop has a hip roof too, and I have not done anything to it or the walls since I don't want to put in a ceiling. In this area we only really have a month or two for each extreme. So I just tough it out, but want to do something.

I was able to get a bit more done over the weekend. Here is the mobile “Saw” cabinet coming together. I basically just have the doors left to do, but as you can see it holds all my table saw/ miter saw parts as well as will be holding my other saws when not in use:



I was also able to get my back bench area started as well. This is more of desk height and will be for smaller work, and such. I have my poplar trim up and will be subway tiling down behind my drill press & above the butcher block top:



I’m at the point of finishing up trimming around my main big mobile work bench and am going to make sliding doors on that as well to visually hide what’s under there. Also finished face framing my upper cabinets, so I’ll be ready to cut plywood for those doors next: