bmwpower's garage build

[pirana]

bmwpower, i've been following this thread about your build. That garage kicks ***!. Thought you might get a kick out of this belt buckle I made. I'm into BMW's too, the two wheeled variety.

 

[Nefarious7907]

Nice Bimmer collection, I am an E30 too

 

[Ryan M]

Nice build. Following it for a while.

Couple of questions, if you don't mind.

On your floor. Did you use any sort of anti-slip? How slick is the surface?
I used S/W Shield-Crete with no anti-slip and it is very slick. Very tempted to re-do my floor.

Also, do you have any pics of the block wall? I bought their block filler also, but haven't used it yet. Wanted to see what to expect.

Thanks again
Ryan

 

[bmwpower]

Nice build. Following it for a while.

Couple of questions, if you don't mind.

On your floor. Did you use any sort of anti-slip? How slick is the surface?
I used S/W Shield-Crete with no anti-slip and it is very slick. Very tempted to re-do my floor.

Also, do you have any pics of the block wall? I bought their block filler also, but haven't used it yet. Wanted to see what to expect.

Thanks again
Ryan

Thanks. No anti-slip on the floor, I wanted it to be easy to clean. My floor is rough to begin with (lousy finish job) but it still will get slippery if you're not careful. I would not go with anti-slip.

I will have to see if I can dig up some picts of the wall. It came out pretty good.

<edit> found some.

I also used some Kilz stain sealer/primer stuff over all rust stains BEFORE I coated with the block filler. This suggestion came from a painter friend of mine to avoid the bleed thru of any rust stains.

 

[ron k]

Bmwpower,

I'm on the verge of ordering some Listas. Did you consider the pallet truck base? It looks like you have just the regular base. Any trouble with that choice?

Thanks,

Ron

 

[Old Moparz]

I think I had read some of the first posts, but obviously missed more of this thread than I had thought. (21 pages!) Very well thought out garage, & very nice too.

I'm giving serious thought to heating mine in the near future & like the attic unit you have. My garage is also detached from the house & I'm not in it everyday, so hot air makes sense. If you get a chance, how has the heating unit been working? Is it directly vented to the roof?

Thanks

 

[bmwpower]

I think I had read some of the first posts, but obviously missed more of this thread than I had thought. (21 pages!) Very well thought out garage, & very nice too.

I'm giving serious thought to heating mine in the near future & like the attic unit you have. My garage is also detached from the house & I'm not in it everyday, so hot air makes sense. If you get a chance, how has the heating unit been working? Is it directly vented to the roof?

Thanks

Thanks!

Heating has been working great. I used it much more than the A/C. For high ceilings like mine I definitely recommend fans to push the air down in a forced air system. The hot air tends to stay up high if I don't have the fans on. With 100k Btu (80%) is heats up really quick and stays comfortable.

It is directly vented thru the roof.

Bmwpower,

I'm on the verge of ordering some Listas. Did you consider the pallet truck base? It looks like you have just the regular base. Any trouble with that choice?

Thanks,

Ron

You pay extra for the pallet base, or for any base for that matter. With 8 floor cabinets it becomes a significant add on ($). I didn't need the extra height and moving them, although a little harder without a pallet truck base, was easy enough with a pallet truck and a buddy.

Picking your height is the important thing. If you are happy with the base cabinet height + countertop height, then I would stick with that. Only use the pallet and fork truck bases if you need that extra couple of inches....my 2 cents.

Good luck! And post back when you get the cabinets!

 

[DHill]

Any other updates on this garage? It is perfect.

 

[diverdown]

Hi
I’ve got a step out in my wall like yours at the bottom. Leaving a ledge But my ledge is of arc styrene blocks for insulation cause of the radian heat in the floor. My question is when you place your cabinets back against the wall, your cabinets had to be off from the back wall at least 3 1/2 inches or more did you just extend your cabinet’s tops to the wall and leave the space behind them or did you have the cabinets build out from lista to set on the step I’m to jealous to comment on how nice your garage looks right now

 

[bmwpower]

Hi
I’ve got a step out in my wall like yours at the bottom. Leaving a ledge But my ledge is of arc styrene blocks for insulation cause of the radian heat in the floor. My question is when you place your cabinets back against the wall, your cabinets had to be off from the back wall at least 3 1/2 inches or more did you just extend your cabinet’s tops to the wall and leave the space behind them or did you have the cabinets build out from lista to set on the step I’m to jealous to comment on how nice your garage looks right now

I had the tops custom made to fit, so they extend to the walls, covering the space behind the cabinets.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[ersatzs2]

I had the tops custom made to fit, so they extend to the walls, covering the space behind the cabinets.

Thanks for the comments!

And since I've got your 'extra' tops, I get the same benefit! Seriously, I love how wide those tops are. It's amazing how much you use the extra depth. I've got less 'step out' than you I think, so I'll actually have some dead space behind each cabinet. Well worth it to have the extra counter top area.

 

[gregoryd3]

how can I get some of those BMW rosetts (sp?)/corner blocks for my garage?

 

[PAToyota]

Had to go back and take a look through the thread. I remembered seeing the BMW rosettes, but couldn't remember seeing them actually installed. Couldn't find any pictures. So, how did they work out?

 

[bmwpower]

Had to go back and take a look through the thread. I remembered seeing the BMW rosettes, but couldn't remember seeing them actually installed. Couldn't find any pictures. So, how did they work out?

Haha...still waiting to get them made. I wanted to make some design changes and since then lost touch with my friend who was going to make them. The cost was expensive, so I put it off. That and I didn't need the trim for inspection, so I delayed...and delayed...still don't have trim or rosettes installed!

Let this be a reminder for me to get the darn trim and rosettes installed.

Actually, I don't think I could get the trim installed right now. Too much damn **** in the garage.

 

[stinkythings.com]

bmwpower : WOW .. What an amazing shop ! My toes curled reading about the build !
I am sold on your Lista cabinets with SS tops.
Sorry I dont make BMW rosettes, I do make BMW Air Fresheners. PM me, I will send you some you deserve them !
Cheers

 

[ratman2]

Bmwpower,
I'm curious as to what they did with your building permit after the town screw up. Usually here I think building permits are only valid for a year from the date of issue. Did you have to reapply?

 

[L79racer]

Bmwpower, how has your floor held up? Does it scratch easily when you drag things across it? does it chip or crack when you drop tools on it? If you leave a car on jack stands does it dig into the epoxy? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Vinny

 

[checkthisout]

Bmwpower, how has your floor held up? Does it scratch easily when you drag things across it? does it chip or crack when you drop tools on it? If you leave a car on jack stands does it dig into the epoxy? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Vinny

All the answers would be yes except for the Jack Stand one.

The strongest expoxy floors cannot stand up to heavy machined parts drug across them, it will haze or sometimes dig just like clearcoat on a car, when you drop something heavy and sharp you are just cutting right through it and even causing the concrete under it to chip which of course allows it to flake off.

 

[L79racer]

All the answers would be yes except for the Jack Stand one.

The strongest expoxy floors cannot stand up to heavy machined parts drug across them, it will haze or sometimes dig just like clearcoat on a car, when you drop something heavy and sharp you are just cutting right through it and even causing the concrete under it to chip which of course allows it to flake off.

I see race shops with epoxy floors. I thought they would hold up. If epoxy chips or cracks in these conditions I would have to say the vct tiles are the way to go if your going to do repair work in your garge. I have 10 gallons of 100% solids epoxy from Kelmar I was thinking of using but its too soft. Its for parking garage decks with a aggregate. What about armorseal 650 hb? Anybody use that?

 

[bmwpower]

bmwpower : WOW .. What an amazing shop ! My toes curled reading about the build !
I am sold on your Lista cabinets with SS tops.
Sorry I dont make BMW rosettes, I do make BMW Air Fresheners. PM me, I will send you some you deserve them !
Cheers

Will do, thanks!

Bmwpower,
I'm curious as to what they did with your building permit after the town screw up. Usually here I think building permits are only valid for a year from the date of issue. Did you have to reapply?

Permits in my area don't expire. You just have to show progress over a 6 month period, which I had no problem doing.

Bmwpower, how has your floor held up? Does it scratch easily when you drag things across it? does it chip or crack when you drop tools on it? If you leave a car on jack stands does it dig into the epoxy? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Vinny

I abuse my floor and it's held up great. It's usually fine dropping tools on it unless it's a sharp tool from a high drop. I did have a heavy hose reel leaning up against one of my cabinets and it feel over and the hard pipe attached to it dug into the floor a bit. No worries though. Sure, there are a lot of scars - it will scratch if you try hard enough.

I don't use jack stands directly on it due to the PSI exerted on the floor. I did have a chassis of a car on jack stands and it turned out fine, but the chassis was pretty light. If I had AC type jack stands I would do it without question since they have base plates on each jack stand leg.

 

[dykstra]

way cool garage

 

[checkthisout]

I see race shops with epoxy floors. I thought they would hold up. If epoxy chips or cracks in these conditions I would have to say the vct tiles are the way to go if your going to do repair work in your garge. I have 10 gallons of 100% solids epoxy from Kelmar I was thinking of using but its too soft. Its for parking garage decks with a aggregate. What about armorseal 650 hb? Anybody use that?

Expoxy chips and scratches but it's still superior to floor paint and in my opinion, to snap together tiles and such.

I can't see using something like race deck in a commercial setting.

In the shop that I manage which has been expoxied for about 6 years, the area below each tech's rack is scraped and chipped like heck. Out in the middle where the cars drive, it is hazed with the only scratches being from turning on it with studded tires.

Man those things are evil!

 

[diverdown]

BMWPOWER i was wondering what the measurement was from the floor to the bottom of your electrical outlet boxes around the cabinates. I'm following your lead on most of your garage info building mine but my ceiling in the garage is 12' tho

 

[Davegt27]

Hi I just had to tell you hats off to your nice garage build
I am in the military and almost all of are stuff is lista, its super expensive
So much so I can’t even imagine a civilian owning any of it

But most likely we got the special military rate ha ha
Good thing about our Lista stuff is no one knows how old it is
I'm guessing it was bought back in the 80's. The stuff still looks great.

Thanks for the ideas

Davegt27

 

[bmwpower]

way cool garage

Many thanks!!

BMWPOWER i was wondering what the measurement was from the floor to the bottom of your electrical outlet boxes around the cabinates. I'm following your lead on most of your garage info building mine but my ceiling in the garage is 12' tho

Woh, sorry for missing this. I'll be out there tomorrow so I will check if you still need that info.

Hi I just had to tell you hats off to your nice garage build
I am in the military and almost all of are stuff is lista, its super expensive
So much so I can’t even imagine a civilian owning any of it

But most likely we got the special military rate ha ha
Good thing about our Lista stuff is no one knows how old it is
I'm guessing it was bought back in the 80's. The stuff still looks great.

Thanks for the ideas

Davegt27

THEY'RE NOT THAT EXPENSIVE! Well, I have to be honest I have not priced them since I bought mine. I bought mine right before a string of pricing increases, which I'm sure have gotten even worse since then. However, -when you compare to Lista to Snap-On, etc. they come out WAY cheaper.

And yea, the government either got an incredible discount or it was one of those $25k toilet seat deals.

Thanks for your comments and your service!!

 

[diverdown]

bmwpower that would be great if you could check those measurements for me i'm going to be doing my wiring soon and would like the outlets to set the same way yours do with the cabinets thanks

 

[Sidekick]

Hi
I’ve got a step out in my wall like yours at the bottom. Leaving a ledge But my ledge is of arc styrene blocks for insulation cause of the radian heat in the floor. My question is when you place your cabinets back against the wall, your cabinets had to be off from the back wall at least 3 1/2 inches or more did you just extend your cabinet’s tops to the wall and leave the space behind them or did you have the cabinets build out from lista to set on the step I’m to jealous to comment on how nice your garage looks right now

I made my counter tops go to the wall and used the space behind the cabinets to run my airlines and my 3" vacuum lines so it is all hidden. At 10 ft intervals I used a clean out in case something got stuck. This is a garage to die for.
Well done.

 

[larry4406]

Very nice build, I just scrolled thru all 23 pages. I have to ask, why no urinal or bathroom? Or does the sink do double duty?

 

[bmwpower]

Very nice build, I just scrolled thru all 23 pages. I have to ask, why no urinal or bathroom? Or does the sink do double duty?

Haha I was just out there yesterday talking with my father-in-law about this. I will likely be putting on an addition some in the distant future that will take care of this. Until then, the woods or a milk jug seem to work. If worst comes to worst, I run in the house to do my business.

A bathroom just wasn't gonna fit in the floorspace I wanted.

 

[diverdown]

Hey bmw power heres a pic of my garage my brothers and I are building I was wondering if you had a chance to get those measurements for the outlets around your cabinets thanks. hope i fig out how to load a picture right

 

[bmwpower]

Hey bmw power heres a pic of my garage my brothers and I are building I was wondering if you had a chance to get those measurements for the outlets around your cabinets thanks. hope i fig out how to load a picture right

Just measured...roughly 44-1/2" to bottom of box from floor. 35-1/2" from floor to top of stainless top.

 

[Miter Wrench]

Absolutely fantastic garage! Kudos to you for the detailed documentation over the years with pictures & plans etc.

 

[GunMoto]

I abuse my floor and it's held up great. It's usually fine dropping tools on it unless it's a sharp tool from a high drop. I did have a heavy hose reel leaning up against one of my cabinets and it feel over and the hard pipe attached to it dug into the floor a bit. No worries though. Sure, there are a lot of scars - it will scratch if you try hard enough.

I haven't checked back on this thread in a while, just wanted to say this is one of my favorite garage builds.

To OP, I'll reiterate, it's nice to see that floor getting some abuse (and holding up) with the work that gets done in your garage!

 

[babzog]

A bump for a super nice garage!

I'm only a light maintenance, do it in my attached garage kinda mechanic (using that sacred word VERY loosely), but I love the lift! That... is sweet!

I'm very interested in the floor coating. After sopping and mopping up yet another spill from a oil change with barely an inch of space to turn my beak, I'd love to coat the floor with something that lets oil just... wipe up. The floor has been in place for 18yrs and has a spot where it's a bit lower (had to bust out a section to seal the electrical service entrance) and therefore rougher and there're a couple of spots on the walls where the salt they put on the roads in the winter has leeched in and seriously pitted the concrete. I saw no vapour barrier when I busted out the concrete.

Would you suggest the Armourseal product? Any thoughts on prep work? Would I be in trouble having no vapour barrier?

Thanks for any thoughts and tips! Again, great job on your man cave - post some new project pics (and still waiting for the trim work pics!)

 

[bmwpower]

Absolutely fantastic garage! Kudos to you for the detailed documentation over the years with pictures & plans etc.

Thanks!

I haven't checked back on this thread in a while, just wanted to say this is one of my favorite garage builds.

To OP, I'll reiterate, it's nice to see that floor getting some abuse (and holding up) with the work that gets done in your garage!

Someday I will sit down and update this thing. Not too many changes, but might as well update it.

It gets MUCH abuse. I can't remember the last time I cleaned it. When I spill something I clean it up relatively soon (most times ). Like I said before, the first mark was hard to stomach, but it got easier along the way.

A bump for a super nice garage!

I'm only a light maintenance, do it in my attached garage kinda mechanic (using that sacred word VERY loosely), but I love the lift! That... is sweet!

I'm very interested in the floor coating. After sopping and mopping up yet another spill from a oil change with barely an inch of space to turn my beak, I'd love to coat the floor with something that lets oil just... wipe up. The floor has been in place for 18yrs and has a spot where it's a bit lower (had to bust out a section to seal the electrical service entrance) and therefore rougher and there're a couple of spots on the walls where the salt they put on the roads in the winter has leeched in and seriously pitted the concrete. I saw no vapour barrier when I busted out the concrete.

Would you suggest the Armourseal product? Any thoughts on prep work? Would I be in trouble having no vapour barrier?

Thanks for any thoughts and tips! Again, great job on your man cave - post some new project pics (and still waiting for the trim work pics!)

Thanks!

I know, I know. Got to get ahold of my buddy for the trim. Still NOT in installed.

As far as prep work, it's really the same as anything else...make sure the slab is "dry", "clean" the surface in someway (mechanical or chemical or both) and coat it. For your slab, place a plastic bag down on the floor. Tape the sides to the floor. Let it sit for a day or 2. Check under the bag. If there is moisture, you're likely to have a problem. There are some product that are more tolerant to water from what I recall. Best to visit the Flooring forum and do a search or start up a new thread. Many experts in there.

 

[bmwpower]

Running water and air pipe

I can't take it anymore. I'm going to run copper pipe for air and water distribution.

Water pipe: Only problem is where my water stub comes into the garage and the way I would have to run the pipe to get it near the garage doors where I would like to put a water hose reel. The stub is near a door so I'd either have to go up and on the ceiling OR up and around the door (lots of joints). The ceiling would be fine, but I'm worried about condensation forming when running the water on hots days (dropping on nicely waxed car, etc)..and it's freaking 14 foot in the air...gonna be fun.

I'm assuming I can wrap the pipe? Chemical plant and labs I used to work in had pipe wrap with an outer white platic coating - looked decent and did the job. Not sure how much this will cost...gotta research.

The stub is 1/2" copper now. Going to remove the 1/2" tee and put in a 3/4" like should have been done originally (my stupid fault). Then 3/4" to hose reel somewhere near the doors.

Any code regulations about running water pipe near light switches?

Air pipe: No idea what I'm going to do here. Gotta sit down and design things a bit. I've got several hose reels now that I can use. I will probably run 2 reels in this garage and save one for the attached garage when I run pipe over there (ala ron in sc) - too convenient not to run air to the place where the daily drivers park. As for the shop, I will run 2 hose reels. Haven't decided where. Any ideas?

Going to likely remove the regulator/filter I have near the compressor and run individual filter regulators at each drop. Thanks to the way I designed the cabinet layout (center tall cabinet is offset from the wall), I will be able to run a stretch of copper all the way across and under the upper cabinets so I can have air at the sink or anywhere along the back wall. Sweet.

From what I've read, making a continuous "loop" around the shop will equalize pressure vs. running an incomplete loop, so I will likely do that. I want to run air to the attached garage, so I need to exit the garage somewhere near the man door and get it into the ground. Rather than put a drain somewhere in the ground (ala ron in sc), I was wondering if I could just put a ball valve just as the copper comes into the detached garage but on the high side, before the regulator. Then when I want to clear the line of moisture, just open it wide open and let the air carry out the moisture. With the force of the unregulated air (125 psi) coming out of the ball valve, this should carry any moisture up and out of the line, no?

 

[bluesman2a]

Re: Running water and air pipe

Air pipe: No idea what I'm going to do here. Gotta sit down and design things a bit. I've got several hose reels now that I can use.

BMW, I just recently went through this myself. I got on a kick where I decided to at least MOUNT all the reels. Then once they were up, I decided to at least hook them up temporarily. My ceiling is still open on one side, so that made things a little easier. But I cannot tell you how much of a difference it's made!!! Even if you just temporarily plumb the reels with another hose. Makes it MUCH easier to clean up, ratrher than tripping constantly over air-hose, and in my case, it was super nice being able to have air in all three bays at the same time.

I think when I do my system permanently I'll use copper with the shark-bite fittings. That seems to be the best commonly available solution for expandability.

 

[kbs2244]

You can buy pipe insulation at any of the stores.
It is a grey foam tube split lenghtwise to be slipped over the installed pipe.
It is pretty cheap.
It is use both to eliminate condensation on cold pipes
and on hot water pipes to keep the water warm.

 

[bmwpower]

You can buy pipe insulation at any of the stores.
It is a grey foam tube split lenghtwise to be slipped over the installed pipe.
It is pretty cheap.
It is use both to eliminate condensation on cold pipes
and on hot water pipes to keep the water warm.

Does it have a plastic coating?

 

[Der Bugmeister]

We've got chilled water running through copper pipes onboard the ship. When they installed some new pipes, it was amazing how much condensation was on them. If you didn't know better, you'd swear the pipe was either perforated or a seam was leaking and the water running down the length of it.

They covered it with a grey foam material, slit on the topside for installation then glued to provide a sealed perimeter. I think they were supposed to go further with proper lagging around it, but they never got that done.

From what I can tell, it stops at least 95% of the condensation, and what it doesn't stop from forming doesn't weep through the foam at all.

So the earlier suggestion of grey foam insulation should fit the bill to save the cars from drips!