2 Car Garage Upgrade

[bonecrrusher]

Long time lurker here - used this forum for many projects in my garage - and finally have the time to post a thread here.

I've got a 2 car garage that is attached to my house that really wasn't much more then a dark and dreary spot that previous owners did not keep there cars in.

I bought my house 4+ years ago now - and this thread is about the upgrades that I have done over the years.

Here is a pic showing just how dark it was in there:

After moving in - and getting the Vette home:

One of the first things that I did was before I moved all my stuff to the house - I epoxy coated the floor with Griots Garage "No Lift" Epoxy.

The epoxy project took the better part of 3 or 4 nights after work - it wasnt too bad - cleaning off the floor and using the muriatic acid was the worst part.

 

[bonecrrusher]

The second garage project was adding some shelving for all the the car parts and garbage that I have collected over the years - got to love the fancy painters tape to measure off and setup my layout.

I got these Gladiator Garage works units from Sears on Black Friday - they where $90 each on sale.

Starting to decorate the wall's a bit:

After owning the C6 for a few years - and realizing it ***** to change the oil using jack stands - I picked up some Race Ramps online for like 280+ shipping to the house:

 

[bonecrrusher]

So in 2010 - I bought my house and totaled my daily driver all in the same month - a lowly '99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - nothing special about it besides the fact that it was supercharged.

So I picked up a 2008 Pontiac G8 GT as my new daily driver. These car was built in Australia as a Holden Commodore - and I always liked the Holden brand ever since they brought over the 04-06 GTO/Monaro.

I met 3 guys on the Power Tour in 2010 that imported there cars for the event - 3 HSV Maloo's. 2 of the cars where supercharged and all where RHD.

After drinking some beers with the Aussie's they gave me a contact for one of there buddies that would ship Aussie parts to the US - so I used the contact and ordered some HSV racing shirts and flags for the garage. Can't be too many garages in the US with Holden Racing flags in them.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Of course I had to put some of the other junk that I had been collecting on the other wall:

Then i decided I needed more room for tools/parts and a work space - so I bought these assemble yourself Gladiator Garageworks floor cabinents.

I got one from Lowes - and the other from Sears. The one from Lowe's - not sure on the price but they did price match the unit to a price I found on the internet - and they beat the price on the composite top that mounts the 2 units together.

I think the whole unit was probably $300-$400 all together - far better then prices I saw online for these.

Also just realized my first Craftsman toolbox is in this pic - that was another Black Friday special - I think it was $200 for the whole set.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Finally - big project time - time to bust out the power tools and summon my inner Tim Taylor skills.

Like I mentioned in the first post - my garage was always dark and dreary - not a place to go work on your car/hangout at all.

Here is the one of two lights that was in my garage from the day it was built - you literally couldn't see a damn thing in there.

So I bought 4 - recessed twin T8 housings @ Home Depot - after sitting around in the garage for a year - i finally starting planning and cutting holes in the ceiling. The housings where something like $50 each.

I had originally planned on using the legs that swing out from the housings and attach those to the studs in the ceiling - but they are ~24" apart and no way in hell that would have worked.

So I ended up cutting some 2x4 into ~24" lengths in 3 sections - and tied them into the ceiling studs with screws at a 45* angle or so.

I then took the housings apart - removed the cover in the middle and used the mounting holes in the housing to tie into the studs that I had put in.

I had carefully cut the ceiling apart - so I put in the sections that I had to cut apart back together - taped, mudded and started sanding.

The biggest pain in the *** part of the project was the drywall part - if I never have to tape/mud/sand again - I'd be glad to not to.

Now - with the new lights on - you can actually see what you are working on!

 

[bonecrrusher]

So after I finished up installing the lights - I decided to retape and mud all of the seams on the ceiling.

The builders did a terrible job when the taped off the seams - some spots didnt even had mud on it.

After a couple days of mudding/sanding - I bought a 5 gallon bucket of white primer and used that to paint the ceiling 3 coats later - the ceiling was done.

After I finished up the ceiling - it was time to invest in some proper tools - and tool storage.

I picked up a used 80 gallon air compressor from a friend who had rebuilt the motor - I also picked up a stainless Kobalt toolbox from Lowes as they where discontinuing the model on clearance.

Yes this is the model with the beer fridge, the radio, and speakers in it.

I found a portable AC unit on clearance from Newegg.com - they had these going for $200 shipped.

Now this style unit requires an exhaust vent to go outside - and since I did not have a door to run a vent tube through - I picked up a dryer vent off the web since it was all metal construction. After some careful measuring I cut a hole through the wall with a 4" holesaw.

The unit is rated for 14k BTU - which should be good for the space but I can't say it works all that great. It cools the garage a bit - but the most that I have noticed is that it pulls the humidity out of the air - and down here in the south that is really helps out a lot.

 

[bonecrrusher]

The air compressor sat around for awhile before I decided to finally hook it up. We had to run 220 wiring for the compressor - and I needed to decided what I wanted to do with the the air hose real.

I picked up a 50' 3/8" line from Harbor Freight for like 60 bucks.

Many trips to Lowes/HF later - I got all the fittings straitened out and got the air hose reel working.

I cut a 8' section of 2x11 and screwed that into the studs.

I then took 1/2" anchor screws and screwed those and the hose reel into the 2x11.

I later picked up a retractable power cable - and mounted that on the 2x11 next to the air hose reel.

After I got the compressor and the bigger tool box - I of course started picking up more tools - and that of course means you need more storage.

So another Black Friday came by - and I bought 2 more of the Gladiator GarageWorks 30" cabinets at Sears., the tracks for them, and I bought one of there pull out worktop stations as well.

I got the work station at Lowe's and saved some money by finding one of those 10% off moving coupons - and printed off a better deal on the web that they price matched.

 

[bonecrrusher]

I also found out that Gladiator makes a beer bottle opener - so I picked that up at Sears for pretty cheap and added it to the wall:

Celebration beer in order!

 

[bonecrrusher]

At this point - I thought I was done with getting stuff for the garage - well I was leaving for work one morning and I closed the garage door - and I noticed that the door wasn't closing.

So I went back inside - tried the button from the wall - still didn't work - I'm like WTF...

So I pull the emergency release cable for the door - and closed it and looked up and noticed that the spring had snapped in half!

So I called a local garage door service company - and 2 new springs later the door was fixed up... or so I thought.

I don't know if it was the fact that I went from 1 spring to 2 springs on the bar above the door - but the opener crapped out no less then 2 weeks later.

The crappy Craftsman unit was original to the house so it was 12 years or so.

I pulled the opener apart and found that the plastic gear inside of it crapped out.

I called around - everyone wanted to replace the unit as whole since it was so old.

I did find a few companies online that sold the gear set for like $60 or so plus shipping.

So at that price - I wasn't sure if I would fix up the old unit for the motor just to **** out - or just replace the whole unit.

I called around for estimates on getting a side jack opener from Liftmaster - I got quotes from $1200 - $1500 installed. I was shocked by how much they wanted for that!

So I started to scour the internet - looked on Ebay/Amazon/etc - and found someone on Amazon had it for $275 shipped to the door.

Now mind you - I have never setup or installed a garage door opener before so I was pretty nervous about ordering it online. After reading the install instructions from Liftmaster - and watching a few videos on Youtube - I pulled the trigger and ordered the Liftmaster sidejack unit.

I ended up ordering it from Amazon and got it a few days later.

The install went pretty smoothly - I read the instructions a few times - and had no real problems.

Putting the opener itself on the end of the bar above the door really takes a second pair of hands to help steady it.

The install took most of a Saturday - running all the wiring for the sensors and what not is pretty tedious and time consuming.

But for less then 300 bucks - and lot less then then $1200+ quote - I replaced the garage door opener and have had no problems with it since.

This unit came with a remote light that turns on when you open the door - or the button on the wall sees you with the infrared sensor. Also the button the wall has a clock and thermometer on it.

A few weeks after the install - I decided to remove the old opener - and fix the ceiling where the old one was mounted to it.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Some of you may wonder why I went with the sidejack opener vs a traditional opener - and some of you with keen eye's may have seen the yellow arms in the pic above.

Through a friend of a friend I caught word that someone was selling a Danmar MaxJax portable 2 post lift.

So after a few email's back and forth - I got more information about the lift and its condition.

A deal was made - and after borrowing a truck from a friend - we drove up to Greensboro to pick up the lift.

The lift was brand new and never installed - the guy had it sitting in his garage for over a year and never once used it.

So for $1200 bucks + the 70 bucks in gas to go back and forth in the pickup we had - I had the lift in my garage.

I only have an 8.5' ceiling in my garage - so I have limited height in the type of lift that I could use. A 4 post wont fit and most 2 post lifts are 10' in height or taller.

Plus this portable lift can be disassembled in 30 mins - pushed to the side and I can use my 2 car garage for what its mean for - storing 2 cars!

So I bought a hammering drill - read the instructions/referred to Youtube videos - and starting drilling!

4 hours later - praying that my concrete pad was thick enough - I got all 14 holes drilled.

My concrete pad ended up being 6+" deep - and the install kit calls for mininum thickness of 4.5" or so.

I then assembled the lift - poured in the 14 quarts of ATF fluid - and bled the hydraulic rams.

I've used the lift to change oil, install swaybars on Vette - and did a big brake upgrade on my G8 with it.

I am very happy with it and I am glad I can get off my back laying under a car!

I can sit under the car with my rolling stool and work above me.

 

[bonecrrusher]

I picked up this unit for 50 bucks @ Harbor Freight - pretty cheap - but I know what I paid for - the construction honestly isn't all that great - but I will have no problems cutting this thing down since my lift only goes up to 44" or so in height and the lowest setting of this thing is around 38" - I will adapt it to fit my needs.

 

[bonecrrusher]

A few months back I decided to buy one of those expanding hoses - after some research on the web - I decided on the X-Hose Pro - this one has brass fittings and thicker hose - and it comes a shut of valve built into it.

The fitting quality is better then the cheap ones you can get at the box store since they are brass instead of plastic. My only concern is that I question how the hose is attached to the brass fittings - it just looks like it might wear out over time.

After using my hose setup and my foam gun one time - I immediately found a problem. When using my foam gun - I found that the water nozzle part of it absolutely ***** for rinsing off the car since you can't adjust the spray settings after scrubbing off the car. Now I did like that the Foam Gun that I own has those quick connect fittings on them.

So I had seen quick connect fittings on the popular detailing sites - and thought that was a pretty good idea. They offer them for 10+ shipping which I thought was a bit much - so I found the same set of quick connect fittings at Lowe's for 6 bucks.

I put the quick connect fittings on the garden hose, the foam gun, and my cheap adjustable spray nozzle.

This new setup makes washing off the cars pretty easy - I just notice that I fly through a lot more soap now, haha.

Pics of my setup:

 

[bonecrrusher]

Last October - I went on a 10 day trip to Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic.

We went to the town of Nurburg - and rented a race car and I drove 3 laps around the Nurburgring.

I picked up a track flag from there gift shop - and put that up in the shop:

 

[bonecrrusher]

Later on - I happened to get an email from Home Depot telling me they where starting to carry the Gladiator Garageworks brand. I looked at what they had and liked there dual wall units that come in a kit. There price was 30% off which wasn't bad - but being the thrifty guy that I am - I took the part number and cross shopped on Ebay, Google Shopping, Craigslist.

I happened to find a Sears outlet selling a set on Craiglist locally - which I'm not sure if its against Sears corporate policy to be posting on there - so I kind of questioned the whole deal.

I drove up there and sure enough - the dual unit was on the floor - marked down to what the Craiglist ad had said.

So I bought the set - and came back home.

I assembled them on Thursday and hung them up on the wall.

I also hung a Gladiator shelf unit that my GF had bought me for my birthday (which was back in Februrary and yeah I've been procrastinating a bit) - LOL.

Now for teh pics:

 

[bonecrrusher]

Also back in October:

So I've been looking for a vehicle that I can tool around in towing stuff, throw stuff in the back - and not worry about screwing up my leather seats. I had to borrow 6 trucks last year on separate occasions - so I started searching for a good affordable rig.

I started off looking at 2000+ Silverado/Sierras with the 4.8L V8 and 5 speed/4WD combo - but after talking to my friends with trucks the group consensus was to get something bigger as that 5 speed trans is pretty damn weak, and the 4.8L would struggle carrying anything including the Vette.

So I started looking at 2500 HD Silverado/Sierras. I wasn't sure if I wanted the 6.0L V8 Gas burner, or the Duramax.

I ended up finding a 2005 Sierra 2500 HD SLT here in Charlotte not far from my house at a GMC dealership.

We negotiated the price down - and I drove it home the next day.

So welcome my newest edition to the fleet.....

 

[bonecrrusher]

Back in December:


I've been wanting a real workbench for a while now, and while I had the Gladiator composite top holding my rolling storage units together - it was not sturdy enough to do any work on it, and I couldn't attach a vise to it.

So after waiting/searching for Black Friday - I found that sears had a Gladiator 6' adjustable height maple top work bench for half off. So while I was in Detroit for the holiday - I ordered it online, and picked it up in the local NC store on Saturday after I flew back home.

Assembly took an hour or so - and I highly recommend you have a buddy to help you offload it from your truck, and lift it up when you are ready to flip it upright.

I adjusted the height to be 1 notch above my rolling storage units and now I have a good work surface finally.

I know the wall decorations are behind the bench, that will be dealt with later, haha.

Bench:

I also picked up a new set of jackstands for the truck, as the 2 ton jack stands I have now will barely reach the frame. HF had there aluminum 3 ton jack-stands marked down to $39 instead of $50, I used there 25% Cyber Monday coupon on the stands and got them for $29 - can't complain about that.

 

[bonecrrusher]

I just finished up a long term engine upgrade project on my C6 - and used about every tool in my garage.

My GF got me a set of 2 ton tripod stands to use under the car when it is up on the lift.

They are from Greg Smith equipment -and weren't priced too bad.

They are made in China and the hardware used to put together is pretty cheap - as I stripped out one of the bolts just assembling it - but they look pretty sturdy and I wouldn't have an issue putting a rear axle assembly on them - but I am not sure I would hold up an entire car with them - but for what I would use them for - hold up an exhaust pipe or something - they should be perfect.

Some pics from the Vette build:

 

[vette66bob]

Very interesting evolution. You should be very proud; I am impressed with your planning, patience and your pursuit of values. Looks to me that you are a pure GM man, using that theme in your build. You have created a very functional clean organized area. Keep up the good work and I am sure you will never be done.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Vette Bob - I have a lot of family members that work for GM - so I try to stick with their line up.

I never really planned all these projects - they kind of came up over time as needs.

The epoxy, the lights, the storage - I had those in my mind when I started on this garage over 4 years ago.

I never thought I would own a lift - but the opportunity presented itself - and was too good of a deal to pass up.

I am not going to lie - the lift was a lift saver installing the heads, cam, intake, long tube headers - and coilovers on my c6 over the winter!

It won't lift up my truck - but that is a 7k lb beast with the Duramax in there.

I actually have another Gladiator box that I bought on sale - that I need to assemble and put in the garage - but that motor project took just over 2 months to finish up and I just took down the lift.

 

[jim1987]

This is probably going shock you, but can you post more pics of that beretta? Looks like a raspberry z26 in very nice shape. I know, I'm special to over look the Bette and garage to ask about a beretta..

 

[bonecrrusher]

That is actually a Cayenne Red z26 - and you probably know the owner.

Jim from Ohio - where you Beretta.net?

I can think of a couple Jim's from Ohio - one put a Beretta shell on a C5 - and may have even supercharged his 3.1 like forever ago.

 

[jim1987]

I may recconize his name. Sorry the picture made it look raspberry. Thanks for the reply.

 

[jim1987]

Neither one if those are me are me though lol

 

[captain14]

Not clear on the lift assembly. Can you park two vehicles in the garage now with the lift in place or do you move them when not in use. Nice to be comfortable and not lying on your back working overhead.

 

[s.gaspar]

This garage is amazing!!! Great job really utilizing the limited space. I was unaware of the portable life and have been wanting a lift but don't have the space for a fixed lift so I really like this. Once again excellent job


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Clutch71]

Great garage, and I appreciate your skill at bargain hunting. To me, that's nearly as satisfying as using whatever you bought. Like the Holden posters, too. I didn't like the 2004-06 GTO's at first--thought they looked like a fat Cavalier. Then I drove one. Very under-rated tourer IMO. After 10 months of searching, I finally scored a deal on a 2006 GTO in Brazen Orange Metallic with a 6 speed and Corsa exhaust with only 11,235 miles. Great car, hate that Pontiac got the ax just as they started putting some great cars out. Recently drove a C5 Z06 and I'm really wanting one of those, too.

Have been wanting to see if a Max Jack would be worth it in an 8-foot tall garage. Glad to see that it is. Think I'll start looking for one if my concrete is thick enough.

 

[gtr cook]

Great garage, really like what you have done.

How did you find the race ramps?

 

[bonecrrusher]

Captain - the car basically becomes a one car garage when the lift is in place.
I simply don't have the width to park another car to the left of the lift.

Clutch - The MaxJax was the perfect solution for my 8'5" garage ceiling height - I don't have the height for a 4 post or other type lift.

I have enough height to lift the Vette and the G8 all the way to the top.

When I am done with lift - it takes about 20 mins to disassemble - and I move it to the sides of the garage.

I have Corsa on my C6 - and my G8 - best LS aftermarket exhaust out there IMHO!

GTR_cook - just find the Race ramps part number - and start shopping using Google Shopping.

 

[dubber]

Wow, great job with the documenting. Felt like we saw the whole progress of yours space. Really enjoyed the journey. There is definitely a lot to like in your garage, loving the addition of the 'ring'.

 

[jeepinjz]

Good looking garage I like that style lift

 

[PCMusicGuy]

Thank you very much for sharing. You've done an impressive amount of work to an in the garage. What year is the vette? 2006? Also, fill in your profile so that all the stalkers on here know where you live.

 

[bonecrrusher]

dubber - yeah that has been the evolution of my garage for the last 4 years. Started off as a dark, dimly lit place - and now is where I do all of my mechanical work.

PCMusicGuy - my car is a 2005 Corvette Z51 package with way more done to it than I care to admit. This last engine project - with tune - put down an additional 75 RWHP over the stock setup.

 

[Rich]

Nice job...you made some good choices.

 

[navin]

How has the DAP XPRO Hose held up for you? I've never seen a product get so many negative reviews on amazon, but at the same time I want one still..

 

[kyle@hcb]

Nice job...you made some good choices.

I agree. Nice looking space! I really like your layout.

 

[bwitt]

This is probably going shock you, but can you post more pics of that beretta? Looks like a raspberry z26 in very nice shape. I know, I'm special to over look the Bette and garage to ask about a beretta..

I noticed the Beretta right away, too. I also recognize your handle, bonecrrusher, from the Beretta.net forums, if my memory serves me correctly.

If that Cayenne Z belongs to the Jim I think it does, I thought he sold it a long time ago. Jim's a cool guy; I still have all the prints of the old Beretta ads he sold at Beretta Fest. Seems like forever ago; I kinda miss that car...

 

[gtr cook]

Sorry, I meant how are they to use? Any good for access under the car.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Navin - the Xhose is a decent product - I've used it for a year with no issues.
Its pretty nice just to disconnect it - let it shrink down and throw in a bucket.
No need to use a hose reel or any of that ****.

Brian Witt - I remember your name - that car belongs to Geoff M. from MI - he's been in the Carolinas probably 8 years now.

GTR - They are very easy to use - and they have a lip on the end that prevent you from driving off of them. Just line them up - put the car in D or 1st gear - and drive up on them. With the epoxy coated floor - you can make the car push them but thats only if your being a ***** and giving it wayyy to much gas.

 

[bwitt]

Brian Witt - I remember your name - that car belongs to Geoff M. from MI - he's been in the Carolinas probably 8 years now.

Sure, I know Geoff and that car. He put a lot of work in to it; he did a 5-speed swap on that one, didin't he? He had it painted, too, and it's just a beautiful finish. Always liked the wheels, too.

It's Craig, right? Got a nice of collection of GMs, there. Since the Beretta I've owned 4 GMC Sierras, with the latest being a '09 All Terrain with the 6.0.

 

[bonecrrusher]

Brian - yeah this is Craig.

Geoff has had that car painted twice - had an incident with an animal - and did the 3400 5 Speed a long time ago.

Small world!