21 x 19 My First Garage

[CustomCareDetailing]

I purchased my first home right about in June 2011 and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. After a year and a half and almost a complete remodel upstairs it's now finely time to get working on the garage. Before this whole project I had zero "handyman" experience but as soon as I stepped into the house I got bit with the bug!!!

This thread is probably going to be a slow and ongoing process due to budget and skill limitations but I decided it's time to go ahead and get it started. I only wish I would have found this forum and the wealth of knowledge I've obtained from it sooner. I probably could have saved myself from making a couple mistakes in the design already but I can only move forward.

This is the picture directly from the house listing and I threw it in here to show my new found disgust for 2 car garages with seperate doors. I never knew how inconvenient they were until now.

Started off with two unfinished walls and a pieced together workbench, shelving, and peg board the previous owners so generously left me. Please excuse the mess you are about to see.

 

[CustomCareDetailing]

Got everything pulled off the walls and most of the junk thrown in the shed... That's a mess I've got to deal with at a later date but I think it will prove to be fairly useful.

Had my uncle come in and wire an 4 more receptacles and swith the single bulbs to 4x4ft T8 fixtures. I wish I would have put the receptacles up at counter height and went with 2 bulb fixtures and added 4-6 instead of just the two.

Fast forward in time through putting up insullation and drywall and this is where I'm at now. Still need to finish final coats of mud then on to paint. I think I'm going to go with the overly used grey, white, and blue color scheme. I'm thinking something along the lines of a dark grey vinyl base with the doors and trim painted to match, lighter grey bottom half with white upper and a blue stripe between. Still haven't come to a solid conclusion though.

This picture really shows the lack of light in the front of the garage.

I used foam to seal and the studs before insulation and drywall

The posts that the garage door tracks screw into are pulling away from the wall at the top so I need to figure out the best way to reattach them.

The previous owners did most of their cooking in the garage so the grease stains were pretty bad in some spots. Tested the Behr concrete cleaner in a couple of the worst spots and it made a night and day difference. Will clean the entire floor before either epoxy or Racedeck

 

[CustomCareDetailing]

The next steps are paint, figuring out a storage solution, and building my first work bench.

Came across this and am thinking about building a couple of the individual units to go along the interior wall.

 

[John in OH]

Looks as if you will have a nice garage when finished. Don't skimp on lighting or outlets ... put up as many as feasible.

I can see why you are not happy with the two O/H doors. The garage dimensions of 21x19 don't really accommodate two separate doors ... forces you to park too close to the sidewalls. This is a builder's trick to make a garage appear bigger than it really is.

IMHO, it is a crime for builders to build garages less than 24x24 and claim them as "two car" garages. I know it is a common practice now, but it's a ridiculous size ... the real estate and building industries should should establish clearly defined minimum dimensions for single-car and two-car garages that are generous enough to allow parking, access, and typical yard tool storage. And, in no case, should a garage be less than 24' front to rear.

 

[Oldbear]

Looks as if you will have a nice garage when finished. Don't skimp on lighting or outlets ... put up as many as feasible.

I can see why you are not happy with the two O/H doors. The garage dimensions of 21x19 don't really accommodate two separate doors ... forces you to park too close to the sidewalls. This is a builder's trick to make a garage appear bigger than it really is.

IMHO, it is a crime for builders to build garages less than 24x24 and claim them as "two car" garages. I know it is a common practice now, but it's a ridiculous size ... the real estate and building industries should should establish clearly defined minimum dimensions for single-car and two-car garages that are generous enough to allow parking, access, and typical yard tool storage. And, in no case, should a garage be less than 24' front to rear.

I can fit two in my 15wx25L - if the second car comes in at 120km...

Your off to a good start. Nice high ceilings. And do you have access to the attic? Always go with more plugs and lights then you think you need. 1.8-2 watts/sqft is good for lighting - and after tripping over extension cords for awhile - you want to install more plugs - I'd go with cord reels on the ceiling.

 

[jose's garage]

The next steps are paint, figuring out a storage solution, and building my first work bench.

Came across this and am thinking about building a couple of the individual units to go along the interior wall.

built these for my garage they are awesome, cheap and easy to build.

 

[John in OH]

The next steps are paint, figuring out a storage solution, and building my first work bench.

Came across this and am thinking about building a couple of the individual units to go along the interior wall.

Are there plans for these units in a woodworking magazine? They do look very nice and could be readily customized to fit your specific needs.

 

[CustomCareDetailing]

John: Yes I got the plans here http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-P...torage/garage-storage-backdoor-storage-center

Oldbear: I've got attic access and you've inspired me to make my first trip up there today. I've got 4 outlets along the back wall and one inbetween the garage doors. I wish I would have drawn up a real plan before heading into the project but that seems too much like right for me. Also, I was just in the garage trying to figure out a way to get some more lights in there. I'll take some pictures and maybe sketch up a couple ideas I've got in my head and put them on here to get some feedback.

 

[CustomCareDetailing]

Got a little work done in the garage over the weekend. Finished mudding and got the first coat of primer down. After doing so I decided against going with a vinyl baseboard I had picked out do to the cement lip. It sticks out about 3 inches from the drywall on the exterior and back walls but is pretty much flush with the interior wall. I think I'm going to just caulk the gap and paint over it. I think I've finalized the colors and paint scheme for the garage I just need to decide on interior or exterior paint and what finish to go with for the different colors.

Two tone paint with light grey all the way around on the bottom, white on the ceiling and up top on bothsides, blue up top on the back wall, and paint the cement lip, doors and trim in the darker grey. May even do a strip between the two colors in grey, either just paint it or do something like simple chair rail or even just a painted 2x2.

The garage is a little brighter with the primer up but I still need to figure out some additional lighting.

I want to build in some storage for scrap wood above the garage door on onse side and a place to mount my ladders on the other but I almost think it would be better to just run two more of the lights like i have above the garage doors to solve my lighting issue... If I wasn't so OCD about stuff matching i'd just get a couple of the cheaper 2 bulb 4' T8's and put those up instead. I'd probably get a better spread of light that way. This whole learning as I go thing *****!!!

 

[shooting4life]

I have a simalur sized garage as you (18 wide by 23 deep). Just this last weekend I installed 8 4 foot two bulb T8 lights. We just moved into the house in September and I am not handdy at all, but like you I am learning alot. My wife says that you need sun glasses when going out into the garage, I told her it is to help her sort the laundry since the washer and dryer are in the garage THe last light is being blocked by the ladder in the picture.

 

[CustomCareDetailing]

I have a simalur sized garage as you (18 wide by 23 deep). Just this last weekend I installed 8 4 foot two bulb T8 lights. We just moved into the house in September and I am not handdy at all, but like you I am learning alot. My wife says that you need sun glasses when going out into the garage, I told her it is to help her sort the laundry since the washer and dryer are in the garage THe last light is being blocked by the ladder in the picture.

Shooting4life. I was looking at your safe cabinet just earlier today and the above picture takes the total of things about your garage I'm jealous of to 3. Lighting, just having a single door, and the safe you've got :Bowdown:

The more I look at it the more I regret getting the 4 bulb fixtures that I did. It seems like I lose alot of the light spreading with the way the bulbs are enclosed. I may just take the loss and pull them down and replace the with open 2 bulb fixtures. A buddy of mine told me he had some extra fixtures that use 4 4' bulbs but pair them up length wise. I'll have to check them out when I get a chance.