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DIY Cheap Garage in SE Michigan

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scrapmetal57

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
After two years I figured I should document all the work I have done to my garage.
Up to date album of all my pictures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sRNyyoR6GKSpxc8NA

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Quick overview: I bought my house in 2016 mostly for the garage and wasn't planning to do that much to it. Unfortunately, the previous owner caused me all sorts of problems. He removed the metal work benches and didn't wire the garage correctly.

The first year I installed gas line and a furnace.

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The second year I had to completely redo the electrical. I decided to insulate, and I'm working on drywalling right now.


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I scored a 7k Bendpak lift for cheap that will be going in soon.

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I am trying to do it all correctly and to code. I plan to put all my findings and learning together, answer any questions, and hope to get some advice from the experts on GJ.
 
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Bert_

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Dec 24, 2016
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NW Iowa
Agreed panel looks really nice. Might not like it so much if I had to pay by the hour for it :)

I'm going to call you out on that conduit going to the furnace. The cover on the box in the wall can't be removed. Should have used flex with that cover or an extension ring with the conduit.
 
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scrapmetal57

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
That has since been changed. But it did pass inspection with the emt. It sucked to install that's for sure. c3d51fd64e3758852d2ba01e75479efa.jpg

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scrapmetal57

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
More drywall done. I'm hoping to finish up this corner to I can put my workbenches back and start moving all my tools back into place.
I really need to finish so I don't run out of time on the permit.
Heater is also fixed and it is great working in a warm garage.
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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
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41
Location
Waterford, MI
Finished the ceiling, got the workbenches in place, and put some outlets in.
I read somewhere that it is good practice to flip the outlets upside down so that if you drop any metal on a plug you hit the ground before the hot. So I flipped all the outlets too.

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scrapmetal57

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Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Got some more drywall up and outlets installed.
I forgot how many 240V outlets I wired. I think I have 6 total in the garage. Two are on this section. I'll probably just block them off until I figure out what receptacle I'll need.

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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Update on progress. I had some friends come over this weekend to help finish up the big pieces of drywall. All the walls and ceiling are done. Just need to finish up the boxed section for the lift and above the garage door. That isn't needed for the final inspection so I'll get to it later. All the outlets are wired and working.
Tomorrow I'm going to finish up the drywall in the box and get my LED lights mounted on the ceiling. Then I need to hang the garage door track and I will be done for now.
I also figured out how I'm going to wire the lift. There was a surprisingly little amount I could find on the internet about how to go about it for my application. I'll take some pictures once its all done. The plan is rigid conduit to a junction box on the top, then an SJOOW cord with a plug to the receptacle in a box on the top of the ceiling. I'm going to use an L14-20 plug since the motor is rated at 15A and I have a 20A breaker. And 4 wire means I could add some outlets right onto the lift if I never need to.

More pictures!

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1953mercury

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Nov 25, 2012
Messages
701
Location
Steamboat Springs CO
A little late to the show here. First, your place is looking great, and you've come a long way. Secondly, a little late to help you, but for those not to this point yet and following along, a 6 mill vapor barrier between your stud wall and sheetrock is a definite should do, and it is pretty much SOP to stagger your sheet rock joints at half sheet intervals to prevent cracking along your joints. Same as you would for exterior sheathing for strength. Looking forward to seeing your continuing progress. Mike
 
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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
1953mercury said:
A little late to the show here. First, your place is looking great, and you've come a long way. Secondly, a little late to help you, but for those not to this point yet and following along, a 6 mill vapor barrier between your stud wall and sheetrock is a definite should do, and it is pretty much SOP to stagger your sheet rock joints at half sheet intervals to prevent cracking along your joints. Same as you would for exterior sheathing for strength. Looking forward to seeing your continuing progress. Mike
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Thanks for the suggestions. You aren't the first person the suggest staggering joints. I have not decided whether I will tape and mud the joints yet, and if I do, its a garage so I don't care about hiding the joints.
As far as vapor barrier goes, I used Kraft-faced insulation (got on sale). From what I researched, you can either do unfaced with a vapor barrier, or faced by itself. My priorities were lowest cost and time spent, so that was my solution.
 
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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Some more updates.
Passed inspection. Finished all the outlets and got the cover plates installed. Drywall is complete (except for above the garage door, but that is low priority).

Whole garage:

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Ceiling outlets and lights:

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Wall outlets complete:

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Twist Lock plug for the lift:

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Bendpak lift feet could use some love. I may sandblast and powdercoat them later. I got new rubber pads for them.
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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Made a lot of progress over the last few days.

Added two more 4' LED light fixtures over the workbench.
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Installed the garage door brackets. I was worried about the withdrawal loading of the lags going into the bottom of my trusses. I used the American Wood Council Calculator and consulting with a civil engineer friend. Each 3/8 lag is into the truss 2.5", and should hold at least 300 lbs. The whole 16'x10' garage door should weight less than 400 lbs. There are two lags on each bracket, holding at most a quarter of the weight of the door. I'm confident the brackets will hold fine.

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With a lot of help I moved most of the garage stuff into place and got it organized.

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Those yellow and black boxes are filled with my tools that used to be on pegboard behind the workbench. I need to figure out where I'm going to put them now.

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Enough room to pull in the FJ and do an oil change before our Christmas road trip!

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jacric2005

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Dec 21, 2018
Messages
114
Location
Lane County, Oregon
I sure like the idea about not taping and mudding. I'm doing fiberglass bats and OSB painted white on the walls. Based on what you're doing, I think I'll do fiberglass and sheet rock on the ceiling. Your's looks really good!
 
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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
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Location
Waterford, MI
jacric2005 said:
I sure like the idea about not taping and mudding. I'm doing fiberglass bats and OSB painted white on the walls. Based on what you're doing, I think I'll do fiberglass and sheet rock on the ceiling. Your's looks really good!
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Thanks! I have so many projects that have been on hold while finishing the garage so taping and mudding is low on my priority list. I would have loved to do OSB or plywood on the bottom for a more durable wall and something to screw into, but it was too expensive.
 
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scrapmetal57

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Got the Bendpak 7,000 lb lift bolted to the concrete.
I still need to connect the hydraulics and equalizing cables, and install the wiring to the power unit. I should also move the trip stop tube down under the ceiling. Eventually I want to paint or powdercoat the lift arms but that is low priority. I can't wait to get a vehicle up on this.

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I know the orientation of the lift is weird. This seems to be a very early version of the asymmetrical lift. Here are some pictures of where they were installed in the Toyota Dealers Service Shop.

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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Ran the electrical for the lift power unit.
I ended up leaving the routing of the overhead lift off switch wire into the power unit. I put 10 AWG THHN from the motor through flexible liquid tight conduit into the switch box. The switch is a 30A DPST switch just as a precaution. Then 1/2" EMT up to another box on the top of the post where the SJOOW cord goes into the twist lock receptacle on the ceiling. I tapped 1/4-20 holes for the boxes and conduit strap and cut the bolts down to be flush with the inside of the post. I offset the conduit to the left because the safety lock blocks are welded to the inside edge of the post (the right side of this post).
All that's left is to clean the bottom of the posts and put the arms on!

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scrapmetal57

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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Bib Overalls said:
Nice setup. I like the ceiling recess for the lift. A 120V outlet on the posts is useful and keeps extension cords out of the walk space.
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I was going to do that. But to do it properly, I would have needed to run a separate 120V circuit above the lift to drop down. I have a bunch of outlets on the walls and will set up a cord reel overhead. Maybe on the next lift.
 
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scrapmetal57

Active member
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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
41
Location
Waterford, MI
Lots of updates.
Tried out the lift on my WRX and my buddies Chevy HD. The truck doesnt quite fit in the garage which is too bad. I probably could have moved the lift more forward but was thrown off by how it is oriented. A 19' long truck would be tight in my 25' long garage anyways.

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I pulled out my old work benches and installed a set of kitchen cabinets that I got for free on CraigsList. They needed a lot of shims to fit but I'm excited to have some drawers and covered storage space. Where the sink and stovetop were had false drawer fronts so I am going to retrofit actual drawers in there. The plan is 3/4" plywood for the sides, 1/2" for the bottom, and ball bearing slides. Could use a fresh coat of paint but I don't plan to do much.

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