2 Car Garage budget makeover... updates over time

[MagicMarker]

I've finally gotten on track to start the makeover of my (new to me) 2 car garage. It's 22 x 22 with high ceilings. As we closed on this house recently, there isn't a whole lot of money to spread around. The overall goal is to get the garage to a point where I'll be happy for a few years before I can really dump some money into it... unless this comes out good and I'll just end up loving it.

This is a budget project so I'll keep a rough tally on my spending.

>Flooring - materials, borrowed tools = $125
>Paint for concrete block wall & brush = $30
>Speakers for audio - $45 (I had the LCD and got a free receiver)
>Amazon Fire TV = $39
>Painted window trim = Free.. I already had the paint
>Fixing and painting walls = TBD
>Electrician to run extra outlets (lighting/ fans) = TBD
>Overhead Costco LED lights = $80
>Cabinets and workbench = $680 bundle sale
>Oversized 22" round clock = $22
>Sitting area? = TBD..looking on Craigslist
>Misc = TBD

Here is where I started. Closed on the house in Oct 2014.





Of course it stared to fill up with stuff from moving



Cleaned it all out and started with the floors and ended up with this. Be sure to check out my "budget floor" thread for details.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298129





I'm now tackling the foundation blocks. Scraped and vacuumed all the old loose paint and debris. Going to get some waterproof white masonry paint. What do you guys think of the flexible "office" moulding? Do you think it helps complete a cleaner look?



Here is where I am at now. On the left hand side, I'm thinking a tall cabinet then base cabinets with a work top and overhead cabinets. Then in the Fall, remove that big shelf to extend the cabinets and set up a sitting area to hang out in. Anyone else have a sitting area? Oh of course a nice size LED TV.



I'll need to get an electrician in to wire up a bunch of outlets in the future work area and lighting in/ on the ceiling... possibly some kind of fan too.

One of the biggest issue are all the drywall seams. Basically the tape/ mud and paint are literally falling off.





I'm fortunate enough to have a large storage shed for all the lawn equipment. My garage is purely for the cars, detailing the cars and an area to do minor home improvement projects.

I'll be sure to update this thread with my progress.

 

[xyster101]

Nice garage. What is your end goal? Sounds like you are planning on "hanging" out there with friends. If so get a mini fridge too!
Before you do any drywall work get the electrical done as they Marty need to tear the walls open. Instead of lower cabinets buy harbor freight tool chests. They are the same price as cabinets unless you buy the cabinets used.
Floor turned out amazing.

 

[rvieceli]

Looks good. On that concrete block where the paint is failing, sometimes that can be attributed to moisture migrating through the block from outside. You might want to take a look at the outside of the wall and figure out if you have a drainage problem and try to correct it.

 

[crab]

You'll need to decide if you want a good workshop or be able to park 2 cars in there, it's one or the other. Mine is 1 car [ precious ] and a motorcycle. That works ok because motorcycles are my thing and if I need to work on my pickup she is happy to park outside while I do that. You know, ya make the best of what you have. At 66 I aint moving unless I get run outta town and I sure as hell don't want a mortgage. Your place will be really nice, I like the windows and concrete block. A 2 car will keep you from buying a lot of stuff you don't really need, no room for it.

 

[dubber]

Sounds like you have a solid plan going forward. Nice job with the floor. Fixing up those walls will really make that garage pop. I don't have a seating area per say in my garage, however i do have two stools that i tuck under my work bench for my own use and when i have a buddy over.

 

[jbrentd]

Looks like a nice blank canvas to start with. I like the high ceilings. Looks like you already have one of your doors setup to go high...that's a plus. I think the trim looks good around the floors.

 

[MagicMarker]

Looks good. On that concrete block where the paint is failing, sometimes that can be attributed to moisture migrating through the block from outside. You might want to take a look at the outside of the wall and figure out if you have a drainage problem and try to correct it.

Yes... I have a planting bed up against that wall. Not too much moisture, but I'm sure it exists.

 

[MagicMarker]

Nice garage. What is your end goal? Sounds like you are planning on "hanging" out there with friends. If so get a mini fridge too!
Instead of lower cabinets buy harbor freight tool chests. They are the same price as cabinets unless you buy the cabinets used.
Floor turned out amazing.

The garage turns into an oven when there are two cars in there straight from work.. how will a mini fridge hold up to heat and cold? Cool idea on the lower cabinets. I currently have a Kobalt chest.... I suppose I could buy another one and put a top on it, but it seems short.

Looks like a nice blank canvas to start with. I like the high ceilings. Looks like you already have one of your doors setup to go high...that's a plus. I think the trim looks good around the floors.

Yes, one garage door has a jack opener. One day I want to put in a 4 post lift.

Sounds like you have a solid plan going forward. Nice job with the floor. Fixing up those walls will really make that garage pop. I don't have a seating area per say in my garage, however i do have two stools that i tuck under my work bench for my own use and when i have a buddy over.

Maybe I can find two car seats and turn them into chairs... that would be cool.

 

[Carp]

How tall is your ceiling? One way to get a seating area is to build a deck and then you can have a work area or a storage area under it. My BIL did this and it is tall enough that you can pull the nose of his car under the deck for parking. Basically it's an indoor man deck.

 

[Eric Rinard]

This looks like it has awesome potential!

 

[MagicMarker]

How tall is your ceiling? One way to get a seating area is to build a deck and then you can have a work area or a storage area under it. My BIL did this and it is tall enough that you can pull the nose of his car under the deck for parking. Basically it's an indoor man deck.

Holy awesome idea Batman!

I'd estimate I have ~ 14'+ ceilings. As the shelf stands, I could easily stand on it and still have a ton of head clearance.

Do you have any pics of your BIL's setup?

 

[Carp]

Asked for some, waiting on SIL to take them

 

[1FST4DR]

Great pics and thanks for posting. Im also going to be setting up my garage on a slight budget as I just closed. My garage only has 9 ft ceilings So I will be looking for a low profile lift as I do tinker with cars quite a bit.

 

[MagicMarker]

The cars waiting for the epoxy to cure so they can move back in. I'm really hoping I don't get any hot tire lift.... but if I do, I'll put down some kind of "mat" to cover it up.

 

[MagicMarker]

Minor updates.

Painted and scrapped off the overpaint on the glass. Looks a lot better then the old dingy yellow. Debating if I want to put back the old spring loaded privacy shade back on....



Added a drop down power cord. Just waiting for a short extension cord so I can plug it in. Should be useful when I'm detailing the cars.


Once this humidity breaks, gonna move all this extra wood/ molding to my shed and take down the old peg wall. For whatever reason, the peg holes are a lot smaller than standard pegs.





Getting a little side tracked as I'm working on the home office.



You can see the old house intercom I deleted... need to close up that hole.



Painted the ceiling last night with one coat... Got this at Lowes during a promo. $10/ gal.



I pulled the baseboard cover off as I need to scrape and respray them white. It has years and layers of paint on it. Some it just peeled off like a sticker. Anyone have any advice how to get all that old paint off?







Home Depot is having a sale on Garage cabinets and work benches... so time to spend a little money. I'm thinking bench and a tall cabinet is in order. That way I can work on the flooring in the office after I rip out the carpet.

 

[Hornman]

To take that paint off, invest in a quart of Soygel paint remover. Put it on with a disposable paintbrush, cover with saran wrap for a few hours, then either hose or scrape off the paint. The Soygel has no fumes and will not eat your skin. Yes, aircraft paint stripper works faster, but that stuff is no fun to use.

 

[69bigblok]

Looking forward to seeing your progress! Nice improvements already.

 

[MagicMarker]

Home Depot is having a sale on Gladiator.. while on sale the Premier stuff cheaper than New Age...

 

[MagicMarker]

So I tore down the old peg wall. Of course it wasn't painted behind it. The storage above it will be gone soon and it will just be one big blank wall. When the car is parked there, there is just enough room for the door to open and for someone to get out, so no hanging cabinets or anything. I'm thinking maybe it will just be the wall with pictures.

Any ideas what to do with this wall?

 

[CombatNinja]

If you need that wall for cars doors to open, consider hanging some top cabinets up high that will clear the doors with room to spare. I didn't want to give up storage on a whole wall so I lined the whole thing with shallow cabinets and just left out a 40" space for my door to open.Or you could do slat wall there and make a nice display of all of you detailing stuff, which would not stick out too far. Or you could do both...

Edit: just looked at the pics again. Why does the support for the garage door track extend down so far? Is it fastened to the wall below that wood shelf? I would move that up pronto...

 

[MagicMarker]

If you need that wall for cars doors to open, consider hanging some top cabinets up high that will clear the doors with room to spare. I didn't want to give up storage on a whole wall so I lined the whole thing with shallow cabinets and just left out a 40" space for my door to open.Or you could do slat wall there and make a nice display of all of you detailing stuff, which would not stick out too far. Or you could do both...

Edit: just looked at the pics again. Why does the support for the garage door track extend down so far? Is it fastened to the wall below that wood shelf? I would move that up pronto...

Great ideas... thanks so much.

As for the track extend, that was for the original door opener. Then the previous owner installed a jack opener and never shortened the support. It's on my to do list. I would just cut it, but it's that thick steel, so I"ll need to replace it with something shorter.

 

[MagicMarker]

Ok.. so not sure what to do here.

I need to remove that long solid support piece as it's no longer needed. Can the door track just rely on one support (the one with holes) on the end if I move it so it hangs straight and then cut it short?

 

[Dragoonmc]

It is possible but it might move around some. So long as it doesn't open up too wide shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise just find another piece of the material to brace it.

 

[ar2stp48]

Remove the angle iron (solid) Cut he excess off below mounting point of rail; use this to recreate the triangle brace above the rail mounting point--use a hole closer to end of ceiling piece than the angle iron is using for more bracing effect. Quick, simple, solid, and out of your way

 

[MagicMarker]

Spent some more time in the garage...

Removed all the wood into the shed. Thanks for the advice on the braces. I'll get to them later in the week.



Added some old memories when I had no responsibilities.



Gotta print some more photos and frame them for my "car" section.

 

[MagicMarker]

Cabinets have been ordered!

 

[MagicMarker]

Remove the angle iron (solid) Cut he excess off below mounting point of rail; use this to recreate the triangle brace above the rail mounting point--use a hole closer to end of ceiling piece than the angle iron is using for more bracing effect. Quick, simple, solid, and out of your way

Thanks for the advice and took care of it. Looks much better now. Now what do I do with a 5ft piece of angle iron?

 

[dubber]

Are you planning on painting the walls? I ask since you haven't already started to hang items. I know i got super excited at that stage. Just wanted to get it done. Looking forward to seeing those cabinets all in as well.

 

[MagicMarker]

Are you planning on painting the walls? I ask since you haven't already started to hang items. I know i got super excited at that stage. Just wanted to get it done. Looking forward to seeing those cabinets all in as well.

Do I want to paint the walls? Yes, but do I want to put in my cabinets now? YES!! The walls need a decent amount of prep work in order to paint, but I'm not even sure what color to go with yet. I'm thinking of painting later down as the garage layout will evolve.

First coat of white waterproofing paint on the concrete blocks... needs one more coat.

 

[MagicMarker]

Painted the concrete blocks... just needs one more coat.

 

[MagicMarker]

Officially 12 days cured... Washed both cars and went in with cool to the hand tires.

Let's see if I get any tire lift... hopefully not, then the next time the cars will go right in after work so the tires should be hot. Crossing my fingers.

 

[MagicMarker]

No tire lift from the sedan this morning (cool tires). Tonight will be a hot tire test. Will drive the car inside as soon as I get home from work.

 

[dubber]

No tire lift from the sedan this morning (cool tires). Tonight will be a hot tire test. Will drive the car inside as soon as I get home from work.

Fingers crossed! That would be brutal.

 

[MagicMarker]

Ok... things are looking so far so good... Wife brought in the SUV directly after work, so the tires should be fairly hot, but today was only the mid 80's so I really don't know if the air temp really affects tire temps.

SUV sat in there for 5 hrs before we took it out for dinner. At this point the tires are cool to the touch. Pulled out the SUV and no lift!

Tomorrow I'll pull out the sedan as I brought it in after work and it will have sat in one spot for over 15hrs. Hopefully that will pan out OK.

 

[blkguyblkmach1]

That floor came out way nicer than what I would of thought could be achieved with a kit from the box stores.

When are you hanging up your cabinets?

 

[MagicMarker]

That floor came out way nicer than what I would of thought could be achieved with a kit from the box stores.

When are you hanging up your cabinets?

Thanks... The floor is working out so far. Unfortunately, my cabinet order hasn't arrived yet. Should be sometime this week.

 

[MagicMarker]

So Home Depot calls me that my Gladiator order is in, but the tall cabinet arrived damaged. Spoke to one of the guys and he said Estes the shipper damaged it pretty bad. It's in the back of the cabinet. Grrrrr... I knew something was going to happen. Need to swing by the store to see how bad it is.

If it's not too bad, what kind of discount do you think I should ask for? He told me it's pretty bad, but it's on the back.

 

[kbab15]

I was in a similar situation and HD gave me 10% off my order. I ordered a set of gladiator cabinets from homedepot and they left out two tall gear cabinets.

 

[blkguyblkmach1]

Seems to be common theme. My tall gearbox cabinet arrived damaged as well. I called Gladiator directly and they are sending me a new bottom piece at no charge.

 

[MagicMarker]

I was in a similar situation and HD gave me 10% off my order. I ordered a set of gladiator cabinets from homedepot and they left out two tall gear cabinets.

They gave me 10% off on the reorder and free home delivery. Ended up better for me since the Premier stuff is preassembled and very heavy. I reviewed the email and it says curbside delivery... if they deliver a pallet, they better bring that to my garage door. I don't own a pallet jack.

Seems to be common theme. My tall gearbox cabinet arrived damaged as well. I called Gladiator directly and they are sending me a new bottom piece at no charge.

I went to go see the damage. The warehouse workers hit the tall gear cabinet so hard with a forklift they severely dented the backside and pushed all of the contents on the skid a quarter turn to the right nearly off the skid.

The funny thing is they even got the order wrong. They loaded up two tall gear cabinets instead of two 30" wall cabinets.... so if they didn't damage it, I could have potentially walked away with more then I paid. Oh well, I'd rather have my package in pristine condition.