Downsized but Upsized

[36couper]

I'm a long time lurker and was just waiting for the day to post something here. I am a long time member of the HAMB but never felt I had anything worthy to post on GJ. That is, until now.
Since all of our kids have moved on, my wife and I sold our house in the city (in less than one day) and bought a property in the country.
It's a smaller house (downsized) but a big 20 X 50 garage with a second floor.

I can't take credit for the upgrades to the garage since the previous owner was a real car guy too.
It' s bit of a mess right now since I'm in the process of installing the whole collection Home Depot cabinets and storage units.
In the garage you will see a 1963 Corvette, 1936 Ford 5w coupe (LS2) and my newest addition, 1940 Ford pickup (very rough but it runs).

Not sure what to do with the second floor other than use it as overflow storage.

Thanks to everyone who has posted their garage. I gathered a lot of ideas from you and I hope to make more improvements with pictures in the future.

 

[IOWNJUNK]

Yeah, I'd call that worthy.

 

[madoc1]

wow! nice find. where are you located? more pics and info please.

jim

 

[36couper]

We are about 1 hour west of Toronto.
I will take a few more pictures once I clean it up today and get it a little more organized. At the back of the first floor there will be a small little lounge area with a sofa and chairs and a large screen tv.
Ideally, I'd like to have the lounge area on the second floor but since that floor isn't insulated it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
The man door at the front of the second floor does create a nice breeze when it's open.
We don't have any grandchildren yet but when we do, I will put a guard/railing up of some type in front of the door.

 

[akdiesel]

Whether you built it or not it is yours now and it is nice not to mention your collection.

 

[36couper]

I'm all settled in and now planning for installation of a lift.
The problem is, the garage ceiling height is about 8' and I need at least 10' for a lift.
The second floor of the garage is used for storage. If you think of the garage divided into quadrants, I want one quadrant to be where I install the lift (4 post).
In the centre of the garage, running length ways, is a steel beam. I assume the joists rest on this steel beam. I need to figure out how to cut away the second floor joists so I can increase the height to accommodate a 4 poster.
I suppose I need to talk to a structural engineer to make sure I do this correctly.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? How did you solve it?
Here is a shot of what is currently occupying my garage.

 

[dubber]

Wow! You won the garage lottery! Congrats!

 

[vekster]

36couper...awsome garage.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Nice, real nice

Thanks for sharing..

 

[Gentle_Ben]

What about lifting the entire garage instead of increasing the ceiling height in one area?

 

[36couper]

What about lifting the entire garage instead of increasing the ceiling height in one area?

I really need the storage upstairs for misc parts and overflow from our house.
Also, the lower level is insulated and drywalled. Second floor has no insulation and isn't finished.

 

[36couper]

Above my '36 coupe is the area I want to open up to accommodate the lift.
Also a shot of my small lounge area. Need some ideas on how to make it look more like a lounge and less like a sofa and carpet

 

[36couper]

I am now pretty well settled in our new house and garage. I insulated half of the second floor. Since the back half was an addition, it's separated by a door and wall from the original half.
One of the things I'm struggling with is how to do some 'dirty' work on the first floor. As you can see from the pictures, it's not really a working garage.
I have a 40 Ford pickup that needs some serious body work. I removed the fenders and running boards and I can work on them on the insulated second floor.

Any suggestions on how to separate a section of the garage for the dirty work? Currently I have cardboard under the truck since it's a leaker. the frame needs a clean up and paint but I don't want to make a mess of the black and white tile floor.
Has anyone else encountered this problem?