Barry's 18x20 Garage

q20v · Dec 25, 2009

Hello GJ,

I think now is an appropriate time to introduce myself and my newly acquired garage/townhouse. I've recently been handed the keys to my first place after years of waiting. I'm moving in alone and at 2000sqft it's a bit big, but I plan to grow into it. The best part is obviously the garage: 18'8" x 20'2".

I've been into cars since my parents bought a 1996 Lexus ES300 (back in '96), something clicked and now I'm stuck with the disease. In 1999 I bought a 1987 Honda Prelude but quickly switched to a 1990 Audi 90 quattro in 2000. I still have the car now and have done everything from a basic stereo install to full on engine rebuild. I race the car occasionally at winter/summer Solo2 events, but it's mainly my daily driver. I have a full thread on another forum just for the car so I'll stay focused on the garage here.
For anyone who cares, here is the link:
http://www.motorgeek.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10590&highlight=barrys+1990+audi

My intent with the garage is to make it a work place for the car. I have big plans for this car including a repaint and additional upgrades to the engine (bigger turbo!!!).

Here's the short list of big items for the garage:
Racedeck (ordered, it should be here in the next few days :bounce:

)
Finish the walls and ceiling
Approximately 10 4ft T8 lights
Hand built work bench
60 gallon 5hp compressor in the basement, with copper lines running into the garage
Craftsman 3/4hp belt drive garage door opener (just got it on sale at Sears!)

I'm going to be setting up the basement as a work area as well, along with several storage shelves to keep the garage clutter to a minimum. This summer I'm going to build a storage shed in the backyard for all the outdoor stuff.

My job involves a lot of travel so unfortunately progress will be very slow until summer/fall. I'm expecting the Racedeck to arrive on the 29th, and I think I'm more excited for this to get here than I was to get the house

Wellll ok maybe not, but I still think I'm going to do back flips once it's installed

Alright, on to some pictures!

The FIRST thing I did when I got the keys to the house was park the car in the garage! I can't BELIEVE how much room there is!!! (I'm coming from my parents' stuffed 2 car garage)

The house

Me, and the love of my life

A shot of the car after some paint touch-ups

The engine

The old work area when the garage was busy

Tearing up the track!

Annnd some Buick content. My brother has the same bug I do, except he's into the Buicks. Here's a link to his thread
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46883&highlight=10x20

More to come... :beer:

HAMAR · Dec 25, 2009

Congrats

This is one beautiful townhouse and a great garage :thumbup:

Laredo · Dec 25, 2009

Nice "to-do" list, you're off to a great start. :thumbup:

Keep us posted on your progress.

PhantomEB · Dec 25, 2009

Check out 89Vert's thread, he'll give you a lot of great ideas to incorporate into your small spot. I have learned so muc from this site, that I still could build a buggy on 40s in the same area as you. Upper storage is your best friend!

racerboy000 · Dec 29, 2009

Are you running snow cross again this year?

Cobra4B · Dec 29, 2009

That's a great looking townhouse. I really like the stone veneer and the tan siding :beer:

q20v · Dec 29, 2009

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the compliments!

Today my dad and I finished installing the door opener. I'm really impressed at how quiet it is. It's a 3/4hp Craftsman belt drive, and the only thing you really hear are the door rollers in the tracks. I didn't have my camera but will grab some pictures tomorrow (hopefully take some pictures of a new floor as well

)

racerboy000 - Unfortunately I don't plan to snow cross this year, I'll be working on the west coast in Jan/Feb. If there is enough snow left when I get back and they are still having events, I'll definitely try and make it out!
Do you participate? What do you drive?

q20v · Jan 1, 2010

Yesterday a nice delivery came to the door; over 400 Racedeck tiles! I had them delivered to my parents place because my neighborhood is fairly new and isn't really mapped yet... anyway, we wasted no time is getting them to my garage and installed!

A pallet of goodness

Loaded and ready to go

Getting started

More...

At this point my dad's bad knee was acting up from stomping the tiles in, so instead of fire him we agreed he would lay the tiles out for me to stomp.

Laying out the pattern

We removed the stairs and tiled underneath

Stairs back in place

Back wall

Near the door

Other side

Front edge

Side wall

Finished product!

Testing it out!

And finally, getting it dirty!

Overall I'm really impressed with the product. Installation couldn't be easier, with my dad laying the tiles out and me following behind stomping them into place we quickly got them in. I measured and marked (with a scribe) the tiles that needed modification and my dad was running the saw. I would say it probably took us about 6-7 hours from start (sweeping the floor) to finish (parking the car). Obviously this includes taking breaks, removing/modifying the steps, figuring out the pattern in the center, etc... If my brother was there we could have cut that time down, unfortunately he had better things to do

I'll definitely be testing the durability of this floor over the next few years, but the fact that tiles can easily be removed/replaced doesn't have me worried if I scuff up a few of them.

I'll be building a wood working shop in the basement this summer and will be using racedeck tiles down there as well.

Boosted1 · Jan 1, 2010

I know it is a bit late for this, but instead of stomping all of those tiles, a dead blow hammer would work great for that task.

Cobra4B · Jan 1, 2010

Nice work... pattern is a but busy for my tastes (would have done all checkerboard in the interior), but overall it looks great.

q20v · Jan 1, 2010

Using a hammer sounds like it would work, but there were no issues stomping them in, for me anyway.

With regards to the pattern, if I were to do it again I'd delete the outside red border, I think that would open it up a bit, if that makes any sense?

Warg · Jan 2, 2010

q20v said:
Using a hammer sounds like it would work, but there were no issues stomping them in, for me anyway.

With regards to the pattern, if I were to do it again I'd delete the outside red border, I think that would open it up a bit, if that makes any sense?

I think I would do it the other way around... Knowing myself, I would remove the inner red border, and extend the outer red border to make it wider. This would be a reminder for me that it's strictly off limits to store stuff in the red area...

Anyhow, you got a really nice garage there! I wish mine was that clean and nice.

racerboy000 · Jan 2, 2010

q20v said:
Hey guys, thanks a lot for the compliments!

Today my dad and I finished installing the door opener. I'm really impressed at how quiet it is. It's a 3/4hp Craftsman belt drive, and the only thing you really hear are the door rollers in the tracks. I didn't have my camera but will grab some pictures tomorrow (hopefully take some pictures of a new floor as well )

racerboy000 - Unfortunately I don't plan to snow cross this year, I'll be working on the west coast in Jan/Feb. If there is enough snow left when I get back and they are still having events, I'll definitely try and make it out!
Do you participate? What do you drive?

I didn't run last year going to run a bit this year with my rally car.

larry4406 · Jan 2, 2010

Nice garage. I would be a little mad at the plumber for the way he ran the gas line in your shop. Should have been in the walls. However, it does make it easy for you to tap into it for garage heat.

viper522 · Jan 3, 2010

sweet jesus that looks cold!

q20v · Jan 3, 2010

Thanks again for the compliments, guys. At the moment it's only a colorful floor and empty space; I'm very anxious to get started on the bench and cabinets.

Larry, it's funny you mention the gas pipe. The day we installed the racedeck we noticed a gaseous smell, turns out one of the fittings was leaking. The utility company came in a repaired it within a couple hours while we were installing the floor.

I'm leaving on a work assignment out of town for a couple months, so there will be no more progress until I get back.

And yes, viper, it's been REALLY cold lately!

Ripcurl · Jan 4, 2010

Hey spools nice floor! I am jealous just looking at the pictures and once I step foot on it, I cannot guarantee that half of them will not go missing while you're away. Looks like it went down nice and easy, wish I was there to help, but I am sure I'll clock many hours in there building other things.

I was talking to the girls this weekend and they were looking for different types of counter tops... and came across polished/stained concrete. I completely forgot about how nice they can look, and not to mention durable. Only problem is the limitation to change afterwards. Just something to think about while you're away.

q20v · Apr 23, 2010

Hey guys,

It's been a long time since my last update and I've been very busy in the garage. I was going to do a big update but got discouraged when I looked at all the pictures I'd have to upload and the time it would take. So I'll do this in smaller chunks.

I'll start with a fairly minor project I completed a few weeks ago. The hose bib in all the houses around here are located at the back of the garage so that they are less likely to freeze in the winter. I wanted the hose bib closer to the front of the garage, so that I didn't have to run a 20' hose through the garage. I made sure to angle the pipe downward and put a drain valve at the end so that I could drain it in the winter. Anyway, here are some pictures:

This is the old bib and where it came through the wall.

New pipe. 3/4"

Having shown you that, this is what the garage looked like less than a week later:

More to come!

odj · Apr 23, 2010

Looking good

How much did the Racedeck set you back, if you don't mind me asking?

Love the 90 btw. I had 93 CS (auto

FWD

) that I inherited. Is that a 20vt?

q20v · May 13, 2010

odj: Yes it is now a 20vT. Scroll to the top for a link to my Audi project thread. To Racedeck a 20'x20' garage it will run around $1200 (assuming $3/tile and no shipping). I paid a bit more because I went through a Canadian supplier and they also charged me for shipping. If I were to do it again, I'd buy directly from Racedeck and have them ship to a US address (close to the border), and pick up the package from the US.

q20v · May 13, 2010

The next project for the garage was not expected. The plan was to install a few more outlets on a weekend, but after discovering no insulation on the two exterior walls, I decided to tear down the drywall and start from scratch. This started over a month ago and is still not complete.

This is where I discovered the builder had not insulted the side walls.

Shortly after..

Other side

There is a bedroom directly above the garage, but it does not extend all the way to the front. I took this opportunity to make the ceiling all the same height.

I also insulated the wall space around the garage door. Every little bit helps!

Insulated, and a couple more lights added.

Other side

I used the Racedeck to quickly measure the vapor barrier.

I decided to re-sheet the walls in 5/8" OSB.

Last weekend the temperature outside was 0C, and the garage was a very comfortable 14C! I will definitely be adding a heater before the coming winter.

I also ran all the necessary wires to install a 5.1 surround sound system in the (near!) future. There are now 12 outlets throughout the garage. I originally had 3.
Next up I will be finishing the ceiling drywall and painting everything.
Following that will be stereo, cabinets, shelving, lights, etc etc. It never ends.

Thanks for looking

Motown 454 · May 13, 2010

Good idea on the insulation it will be worth it to be comfortable. It looks good.

Lawson4450 · May 13, 2010

why are you doing the insulation did you ask for it when it was built or they just didnt do it when the built it? I dont get why they wouldnt do it when they know it gets cold lol

51rider · May 14, 2010

q20v said:
This is where I discovered the builder had not insulted the side walls.

Is this a peculliar Canadian practice? I'm happy to insult them for you, where shall I start? :bounce:

Looking good. Any reason you didn't use the drain tiles? Seems it would have made alot of sense given your location.

q20v · May 14, 2010

Lawson - I didn't think to ask the builder to insulate the garage at the time. Even if they did do it, they use inferior materials and don't do as good a job. Besides, this way I got to run the electrical exactly where I want it (outlets, lights, and speaker wire).

51rider - There is no reason for the builder to want to insulate the exterior walls of a garage, especially in a townhouse. It is not code, and when they are building thousands of houses it saves lots of money to not do these little things. I'm probably the only one in my neighborhood who would care about this sort of thing anyway. They have done a great job overall, but the only person to finish the garage to my satisfaction is me.

Re: Free flow tiles. No specific reasons. Incorporating them into the floor design based on where the cars would be parked would have been difficult at the time of purchase. I might look at adding them in the next couple years, once I'm fully set up. I also plan to use the garage mainly as a work area, rather than a daily parking spot. Well, we'll see what happens when winter rolls around...

:beer:

51rider · May 14, 2010

Thanks for the info but I was actually making fun of a typo..... a bit lost now as you missed it! :headscrat

Nevermind, put it down to the English sense of humour.......

Garage still looks good & I'm loving that floor!

q20v · May 14, 2010

Yeah ok, I see it now! I lived in England for a year and completely understand the sarcastic sense of humor (no 'u'

) you guys have. I was trying to figure out what you were saying in that post... got it now!
Thanks for the compliments and have a good weekend!

68roadrunner · May 16, 2010

q20v said:
Yeah ok, I see it now! I lived in England for a year and completely understand the sarcastic sense of humor (no 'u' ) you guys have. I was trying to figure out what you were saying in that post... got it now!
Thanks for the compliments and have a good weekend!

Hey,wall,why are you stood there doing fcuk all?!! and you,insulation,go s
stand against that fcuking wall---NOW!! :lol_hitti

Seriously,watching your build Barry,I have a similar size garage to yours so its interesting to see how this progresses,good luck with it,nice floor as well

q20v · Aug 18, 2010

Hey guys,

Time for a quick update! I've been out of town for the past few months so progress with the garage has been slow, but I was home for a week and managed to paint (most of) the garage. The reason I say 'most' is because I've only painted half the ceiling.

I used Behr exterior Mat finish paint, using red and grey Race Deck tiles as colors (brought them into Home Depot and they matched the colors). The roommate and I literally finished at at about midnight and I was flying out of town early the next morning. There are still touch-ups and cleanup to do, which I will be able to do in a couple weeks. I'll also get some better pictures at that time!

The paint looks glossy in some of the pictures because it was still wet!

Some before shots

Painting the red stripe

Finished product

So, once I do some serious cleaning I'll start planning out the cabinets and possibly consider a revised workbench.

Thanks for looking :beer:

RUMBLON · Aug 18, 2010

Looks great!!!!!!!

Ripcurl · Aug 19, 2010

Love the paint progress pictures:

"Painting the red stripe"
"BAM! Finished product!"

looks fantastic :drool:

q20v · Aug 19, 2010

Thanks Rumblon!

Love the paint progress pictures:

"Painting the red stripe"
"BAM! Finished product!"

Hehe, several times during the masking/other colors I thought about taking more pictures but never got around to it. I was in the zone!!!

jktruck150 · Aug 19, 2010

I like the paint job! Great looking garage!

cdrewferd · Aug 19, 2010

That paint looks really good. Did you primer the OSB? That's what's on my garage and I'm going to paint soon so any tips would be great.

Zengineer · Aug 19, 2010

Great coverage on the OSB... I'm surprised! How many coats to achieve that?

q20v · Aug 19, 2010

Thanks guys. I started with the red and needed 6 coats on the OSB (no primer). Keep in mind I'm relatively new to painting, especially OSB. For the rest, I primed then painted. BIG difference.

For the white, primer + 2 coats of white.
For the gray, primer + 1 coat of gray.

The OSB texture doesn't really show in the pictures, but you can definitely see it 10 feet away. Once the cabinets, shelves, wall art... are up, I doubt it will be noticeable.

justin_c · Aug 19, 2010

Hey there neighbour, the paint job looks awesome. When your back hopefully mine should be all painted.

q20v · Aug 19, 2010

Hey Justin! Don't copy my stripes!!! haha
Do you have any idea what colors you're going to use??

justin_c · Aug 19, 2010

Ya I want the same theme as you minus the black stripe.

q20v · Oct 2, 2010

Hey everyone,

I took some pictures of the garage last weekend, see below.
Since the last update I've mostly just tidied up, painted the door, added some wall art and bought a shelf and half a tool box (lower half will be added shortly).

Next I have to sort out wall shelves, lights, stereo, get rid of that pile of wood, mount the grinder and vise, welding table... etc

Barry's 18x20 Garage

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