Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT From a "double" to a DOUBLE

[Purist]

I've been a lurker here for some time now, with only 20 posts (at the time of creating this thread) to my name. Not quite remembering how I stumbled across this forum, I have been enamored with it since day one and have followed along with many garage builds. As I grew more and more jealous, I just knew I needed a proper garage. Which is a perfect segue to the rest of my story...(I'll apologize in advance for the long windedness, but I want to be thorough)...

After committing ourselves to paying down nearly all our debt and gaining some equity in our house, my wife and I found ourselves in a fairly stable, if not comfortable, financial position. We worked hard to dig ourselves out of the hole that our first house, wedding, and credit cards had gotten us into.

Along the way, we welcomed into the world our beautiful baby boy, Brayton, and knew the time was right to start looking for our "forever" home. While we loved our first house, a 1200 sq foot raised ranch (er, split level, for all you non-New Englanders) that was built in 1976, we were quickly outgrowing it. That, coupled with the fact that raised ranches offer little to no storage, and the unfortunate location of the house (adjacent to a fairly busy, main road), we decided to sell and buy our dream home.

And so on April 5th, we closed on our 2350 sq foot colonial (brand new construction). which ended up being not 7 minutes from our last house, so we were thrilled to remain close to daycare and my parents.

While I was somewhat spoiled, seeing that I am coming from a 2 car garage (most raised ranches in our area have a 1 car garage, if any), there were some drawbacks with said garage. Namely, the following:

• the size
• the two center support beams
• low ceiling height

Here are some photos of what I'm coming from...

And for good measure, a shot of the entire house


Before I bore you to death, let me introduce our dream home:



That photo was the one from the listing. Here are some updated shots:





If anyone specifically requests it, I can definitely share some photos of the interior. While we didn't "build" the house ourselves, we found it at near completion, which allowed us to get in at a pretty good time. We were able to pick out all the lighting fixtures, inside and out, cabinet hardware, paint colors, and appliances.

Ok, enough blabbing, right?! We're all here for one reason and one reason only. This is the garagejournal, after all. The part of the house that most excites me due to its size and potential, my brand new 2 car garage (mind the mess, these were taken shortly after moving...I've since relocated over 1/2 of the **** to the proper locations (mainly, the basement):























The dimensions for the garage are 28 x 24 x 12. Additionally, here is a basic house plan with the layout:



I have big plans for this garage, but it'll take time. Potentially a lift, new tool boxes/cabinets, etc. First, however, I need to get everything out of it, unpack all the boxes still in the house and get the house in order, oh, and get my lawn ready. They put down the hydroseed last week, so I've been going crazy watering. Photos to come later.

All this with a 6 month old and a fairly busy job = no time to breathe.

I've gotten so much inspiration from you all and hope to incorporate some of these ideas into my garage design. So, stick around if you want to see how things go. I look forward to sharing it with you, all.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Congrats on the upgrade and looking forward to the progress

 

[Bib Overalls]

Nice digs. Looking forward to updates with lots and lots of pictures. We like pictures.

 

[JCQuick]

congrats I look forward to see what you do with the space

 

[ich_liebe_meine_arbeit]

Congrats, looks like a great home! Ceilings look high enough to acommidate a lift in the future if you wanted to tuen that double into a triple...

 

[Blazinzuk]

High ceiling is awesome.

Good luck man.

Organize organize organize. Also resist the temptation to keep some stuff cause now you have more space. Do everything possible to keep stuff off the floor.

I'm still working on all those too

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Congrats on the purchase, it looks like a wonderful home and an awesome garage! Can't wait to see it all come together. It would be a shame to NOT get a lift with a ceiling that high! You'll just have to do something about those low garage door tracks. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that you do not have any openers right now, because you can go the Liftmaster 8500 route right from the get go

 

[Purist]

Congrats on the upgrade and looking forward to the progress

Thank you!

Nice digs. Looking forward to updates with lots and lots of pictures. We like pictures.

We really do, don't we?! You got it! Oh and thanks!!

congrats I look forward to see what you do with the space

You and me, both! Thanks!

Congrats, looks like a great home! Ceilings look high enough to acommidate a lift in the future if you wanted to tuen that double into a triple...

BINGO! Thank you!!

High ceiling is awesome.

Good luck man.

Organize organize organize. Also resist the temptation to keep some stuff cause now you have more space. Do everything possible to keep stuff off the floor.

I'm still working on all those too

I hear you 100%. My goal is to get everything I can into the basement and eventually, a shed. I'm shooting for no clutter in the garage. Thanks, dude!

Congrats on the purchase, it looks like a wonderful home and an awesome garage! Can't wait to see it all come together. It would be a shame to NOT get a lift with a ceiling that high! You'll just have to do something about those low garage door tracks. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that you do not have any openers right now, because you can go the Liftmaster 8500 route right from the get go

Thanks, man! I'm wondering if I can set the lift back far enough towards the back of the garage to make the low tracks a non-issue. Worst case, I close the doors before lifting a car. But I'm nowhere near being ready for a lift yet, so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

As for the openers, I'm going with the same ones I had at my last house, the My Q enabled LM 8355. Absolutely loved these openers and decided to stick with them. My guy should be here sometime this week or weekend to do the install.

But should I ever decide to go a different route, I'll absolutely look into the 8500. Thanks, again!

 

[Purist]

Hydroseed was sprayed earlier this week...man, I've never spent so much time watering a lawn before. But I know it'll all be worth it in the end, when I have a luscious, green lawn to enjoy!

 

[Mpower5266]

I cant wait to see what you do with a new place, and the cars arent back either.

 

[Purist]

I cant wait to see what you do with a new place, and the cars arent back either.

Aren't back? I follow your build and know what you drive, so I assume you mean "aren't bad"...

I may have borrowed some ideas from you. I'll definitely give credit when it's due once I get around to putting up the garage decor (signs, posters, prints, etc.).

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Mpower5266]

Aren't back? I follow your build and know what you drive, so I assume you mean "aren't bad"...



I may have borrowed some ideas from you. I'll definitely give credit when it's due once I get around to putting up the garage decor (signs, posters, prints, etc.).



Thanks for the feedback!

Aren't bad is what I meant. Haha. I can't wait to see more.

 

[-Brent-]

Love that wall!

 

[Purist]

Love that wall!

Just about all my family and friends who have seen the house have said the very same thing. It definitely adds some character and I love how it goes with the stone surround on the face of the house.

To take it one step further, I'm leaning towards going with something like this for a mailbox post:

 

[hewey]

Nice looking house, and nice garage too. Bet you're looking forwards to cleaning it up and getting it organised.

 

[dubber]

Congrats on the new home! That new space has a TON of potential. Eager to see how you set it up.

 

[Purist]

Nice looking house, and nice garage too. Bet you're looking forwards to cleaning it up and getting it organised.

Thanks, man! You have no idea!!! Got so much going on lately, with birthdays and other family events, so I'm hoping to devote a weekend to decluttering the remaining boxes in the garage and to start setting it up the way I want.

Congrats on the new home! That new space has a TON of potential. Eager to see how you set it up.

Thanks, dubber!! Your two garage builds are probably my main inspiration, so I hope I ultimately do you proud!

 

[dubber]

Thanks, dubber!! Your two garage builds are probably my main inspiration, so I hope I ultimately do you proud!

Wow! Too kind! Looking forward to the progress.

 

[Purist]

Some progress made, but the hydroseed on the lawn is preventing me from being able to get some of the bigger items around the back of the house and into the basement.

Oh and had to show off the CCWs!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TomcoPDR]

Congrats on upgrade. Amazing ceiling height

 

[dubber]

CCW's on a nice german ride

 

[Morio]

Congrats on your new place!!! Can't wait to see what you do to it!!

 

[Purist]

Congrats on upgrade. Amazing ceiling height

Much appreciated!

CCW's on a nice german ride

Thanks, dude!

Here's a shot from the fall (the overly stretched tires were already on the wheels when I grabbed them, after finding them on stanceworks...I've since upgraded to Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2's and hope to swap out my winter setup for the CCWs sometime this week or weekend):

Congrats on your new place!!! Can't wait to see what you do to it!!

I'm sure it'll be a slow process, but I'm hoping to be able to constantly make small upgrades. Thanks!!

 

[Purist]

Had my garage door guy come by yesterday to install the new openers. I wanted to stick with MyQ enabled openers, as we had them in our last house and I can't tell you how convenient the Liftmaster MyQ app truly is.

Being able to remotely open garage doors is super helpful in those instances when you aren't home but want to let someone into the garage to maybe drop something off. More importantly, being able to check whether or not you actually closed the garage doors when you get to work and can't remember if you did is probably the main reason for it. Who of us hasn't driven maybe 5 minutes from the house before thinking, wait, did I remember to shut the door?! With the MyQ technology, you can do all of this right from your phone!

As for the openers, we had belt-driven openers in the last house in hopes of minimizing the noise, since the bedrooms were located directly above the garage. Because there is only attic space above the new garage, my guy wanted to save us a few bucks and opted to go with a chain-driven model, the 7675. Being brand new, it's also pretty damn quiet. And, of course, if you keep up with the preventative maintenance on chain-driven openers, you can expect the noise to be minimal down the road.

The only issue with the openers (and I may end up creating a separate thread in the proper forum for feedback) is that the cords ended up being about 8 inches too short to reach the ceiling outlets. My guy ended up using some extension cords as a temporary solution, so we can at least use the openers for the time being. He's well aware that this isn't a long-term solution, but he's also not an electrician and can only work with what he's provided.

I did a bunch of research last night about this and it's not all that uncommon. That said, I haven't really found many solutions other than people suggesting to relocate the outlets to a lower location to accommodate the shorter cords. Wondering if it's possible to take a properly rated extension cord and splice that into the existing cords, or if that wouldn't pass code or not. Like I said, this may require its own thread, as I'd love to get this addressed sooner rather than later.

And now, the photos...

 

[dubber]

Man that ceiling height!

Tons of potential to put a lift in at some point, if you wanted to go that route. Unfortunately that then leads to other changes though like putting in a high lift conversion to the door tracks. Which would then shorten the distance between the opener and the plug

 

[Mr. Roboto]

if it were me, I'd probably make my own perfectly sized extension cords, one for each opener, with a set of male/female plug ends and some 14 gauge soow cable and plug them each into the plug right above the opener.

 

[lutter94]

Is there a reason you bought tires too narrow for the wheels that they are installed on? Were correct width tires unavailable at the time?

 

[Purist]

Man that ceiling height!

Tons of potential to put a lift in at some point, if you wanted to go that route. Unfortunately that then leads to other changes though like putting in a high lift conversion to the door tracks. Which would then shorten the distance between the opener and the plug

You've read my mind...I've made no secret to my wife about my desire to one day install a lift. This wasn't feasible in our last house, so while house hunting, I made a conscious decision that our next house would have to have a garage that could accommodate a lift.

And yes, you're 100% right about the plug/opener distance. Funny how things work out, huh?!

The ceiling is almost so high that I don't know if I'll ever even make use of the attic space above it. Not sure what I'd put up there that I wouldn't just store in the basement, somewhere. Regardless, nice to have and I'm definitely not going to complain about more storage possibilities!

if it were me, I'd probably make my own perfectly sized extension cords, one for each opener, with a set of male/female plug ends and some 14 gauge soow cable and plug them each into the plug right above the opener.

See, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to get by bringing up my issue. I'm not very handy when it comes to anything electrical, but 3 of my best friends are all electricians so I might wrangle one of them into helping me with this. In the meantime, I'll do more research on this potential solution. Thanks for the input!!!

Is there a reason you bought tires too narrow for the wheels that they are installed on? Were correct width tires unavailable at the time?

I bought the wheels used, so the tires were already mounted on them. However, I wasn't buying this set for the tires, all I cared about were the wheels, especially since I knew I was going to replace the tires, anyway. These wheels are what I was after. So I dealt with the stretched tires for a few months before going over to my winter setup. And I picked up the new, properly-fitting tires over the winter.

I just hope the new tires don't lead to any fitment issues, as these wheels have pretty aggressive offsets and I'm lowered on coilovers. Luckily, my BC Racing coilovers do allow for camber adjustments and I can always roll my fenders, as a last resort.

 

[M-technik-3]

Many of your photo's are not opening. Nice abode, huge upgrade in garage space. Is their room to expand the garage into back if you wanted?

Semi miss living on southshore of Mass, but have grown to like it here in Western Mass now. How do you like your 335i? Has it had the high pressure fuel pump replaced yet? I had been considering getting one but they just have too much electrics.

 

[Purist]

Many of your photo's are not opening. Nice abode, huge upgrade in garage space. Is their room to expand the garage into back if you wanted?

Semi miss living on southshore of Mass, but have grown to like it here in Western Mass now. How do you like your 335i? Has it had the high pressure fuel pump replaced yet? I had been considering getting one but they just have too much electrics.

Hmmm, I just checked on a few different devices and they all appear OK for me. Which ones are you not seeing?

Thanks, man! The house is actually built up pretty high, two feet above water level. The backyard is much lower than the front yard, so there's a big dropoff behind the garage to the ground, but I guess anything could be solved with $$$. So, sure, I guess there's potential for more garage space.

Where on the Southshore were you?

I LOVE my 335i...I've owned it since November of 2011 (I only remember that because I just received the title in the mail last week and I happened to notice the date before putting it away) and have had very good luck with it (hope I didn't just shoot myself in the foot). Just about all major maintenance was done prior to my ownership of the car, including two HPFP's and a new water pump & thermostat.

I was fortunate enough to have both turbochargers replaced as part of the wastegate rattle extended warranty that BMWNA was offering:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/151944416/BMW-N54-Turbo-Wastegate-Rattle-TSB-Extended-Warranty

The warranty was extended to 8 yrs/82k miles...I started experiencing the symptoms right around 81k miles, so talk about a close call. Aside from all that, I try and do all the preventative maintenance that I can do myself. I had the intake valves walnut shell blasted at 81k miles (she's almost at 95k now) and she's running great, but is due for a valve cover gasket replacement in the very near future.

With all the computers and electronics, I get the apprehension, but like most cars, if you take care of it and do the proper maintenance, you can limit the expensive repairs.

What do you drive?

 

[M-technik-3]

I used to live in Plymouth down near white cliff's but we moved to Halifax. My mom has since sold the house years back when my sisters and I moved out. Funny I went by the place some time ago and wouldn't recognize the area as so many houses have been put in the old Cumberland Farms corn fields.

Good to hear they took car of the turbo waste gate issues. And mods besides aesthetics?

I presently have two E30's one is a 325es with a S52 and a AA supercharger staged 2 with meth injection. An E30 M3 that has minor mods, but all the original stuff stashed in the barn. I had another one but sold that last year when prices started to climb and wanted to cash out some equity on it, before market comes down on them.

I have an 95 E36 M3 and a 332 Ti that is a rat in process. We have been considering looking for a newer early E90 but honestly I don't like the excessive electronics all the cars have these days. I'd love a simple electronics free car with moderate hp. I like the 135i and the newer 2 series, but yet again rather have a simple car. Kinda the reason I love the simple E30 but it's small on the road not as bad as a Miata though.

 

[Purist]

I used to live in Plymouth down near white cliff's but we moved to Halifax. My mom has since sold the house years back when my sisters and I moved out. Funny I went by the place some time ago and wouldn't recognize the area as so many houses have been put in the old Cumberland Farms corn fields.

Good to hear they took car of the turbo waste gate issues. And mods besides aesthetics?

I presently have two E30's one is a 325es with a S52 and a AA supercharger staged 2 with meth injection. An E30 M3 that has minor mods, but all the original stuff stashed in the barn. I had another one but sold that last year when prices started to climb and wanted to cash out some equity on it, before market comes down on them.

I have an 95 E36 M3 and a 332 Ti that is a rat in process. We have been considering looking for a newer early E90 but honestly I don't like the excessive electronics all the cars have these days. I'd love a simple electronics free car with moderate hp. I like the 135i and the newer 2 series, but yet again rather have a simple car. Kinda the reason I love the simple E30 but it's small on the road not as bad as a Miata though.

Plymouth is a nice area, I don't spend nearly enough time up there.

Mainly aesthetic mods, but I do have a BMS DCI intake, a Megan cat-back exhaust, and a BMW Performance short shifter. Honestly, stock, the car is plenty powerful. I may look into a tune at some point, but not needed at the moment. I would love to match the rear bumper to the front MTech bumper, so that might be something I look into this summer.

I love E30's! I've owned two in my lifetime, as well as one E36. The E30 is in a league of its own, however, for the reasons you bring up and many more.

My buddy had a 135i vert and it was a blast to drive. So much power in a small-ish car. The M2 looks unreal and I'm looking forward to seeing it in person.

You have quite the lineup, I'm very jealous! At one point, my wife and I both owned E90's and I had my 2nd of 2 E30's all at the same time. But that was then and this is now. Sold the E30, which was a money pit/project that sat for too long, and took my dad's '98 Chevy K1500 truck as my 2nd car/beater. As for my wife, we traded in her '08 328Xi for a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited - baby hauler.

 

[M-technik-3]

Yeah the misses has a 16 Subaru XV and I use a 02 Tahoe as family duties, Looking for a nicer quad cabbed truck or a newer Suburban at the moment.

 

[Cone Assassin]

Looking good Sed! I am about to close on a house hopefully this week that is the same layout as the one you are currently moving out of, except it only has one garage door (plan to make the inside a full two car width). Any tips for making the most out of the style you are leaving behind?
Well done on the new place!

 

[Purist]

Yeah the misses has a 16 Subaru XV and I use a 02 Tahoe as family duties, Looking for a nicer quad cabbed truck or a newer Suburban at the moment.

Always nice to have a dedicated family hauler and a dedicated beater. I use my truck as the dog hauler and anytime I need to transport some big *** items. Really comes in handy and the fact that my father gifted it to me makes it even better.

Looking good Sed! I am about to close on a house hopefully this week that is the same layout as the one you are currently moving out of, except it only has one garage door (plan to make the inside a full two car width). Any tips for making the most out of the style you are leaving behind?
Well done on the new place!

Thanks, dude!! And congrats on the new home. All I can suggest is the following:

• get a shed, if the new home doesn't already have one
• get as much **** out of the garage and into the attic and shed as possible
• get everything off the floor in the garage
• buy shelving (e.g. wire rack shelving) for the garage and depending on the layout (if it's wider more so than it is longer, utilize the side walls...if it's longer than it is wider, utilize the back wall) and place the shelves in the proper location
• get as much onto those shelves as you can
• get hooks and wall track systems to hang items

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[dubber]

All I can suggest is the following:

• get a shed, if the new home doesn't already have one
• get as much **** out of the garage and into the attic and shed as possible
• get everything off the floor in the garage
• buy shelving (e.g. wire rack shelving) for the garage and depending on the layout (if it's wider more so than it is longer, utilize the side walls...if it's longer than it is wider, utilize the back wall) and place the shelves in the proper location
• get as much onto those shelves as you can
• get hooks and wall track systems to hang items

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Great advice!

 

[Purist]

Talked to an electrician buddy of mine and he suggested the same thing that Mr. Roboto identified. That I just make my own extension cord for the size I need.

So I ended up going with 12 gauge SO cable and 15a male/female plug ends. For some additional security, I opted to go with the locking female end with push button so that the cord would never accidentally come undone. I'm not very handy when it comes to anything electrical and so I've never really done anything like this before, but it was fairly straightforward and I think it came out pretty nicely.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Talked to an electrician buddy of mine and he suggested the same thing that Mr. Roboto identified. That I just make my own extension cord for the size I need.

So I ended up going with 12 gauge SO cable and 15a male/female plug ends. For some additional security, I opted to go with the locking female end with push button so that the cord would never accidentally come undone. I'm not very handy when it comes to anything electrical and so I've never really done anything like this before, but it was fairly straightforward and I think it came out pretty nicely.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfect! That's exactly what I had in mind... well done!

 

[55cadillacking]

You can never have enough wheel setups! Good luck with your project.

 

[Purist]

Perfect! That's exactly what I had in mind... well done!

Thank you, sir! As my buddy put it, this is a perfectly acceptable (and safe) alternative to moving the outlet, entirely. Not to mention, easier.

You can never have enough wheel setups! Good luck with your project.

Thank you! Yet another user who has inspired me with his garage build..that thing oozes pure ***!

If I ever start to auto-x in my E90, I could see owning 3 sets of wheels one day. My dedicated winters, my CCW/summer wheels, and a dedicated track set. But that day is not today.

As an aside, polished wheels are a PAIN IN THE *** to keep clean on a daily driver. I went into it knowing that would be the case, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Now that the baby is in the picture, we'll see how this summer goes and if it ends up being more work than I can deal with, I may look into moving on from the CCWs and going with a more low-maintenance set. But man, when they are cleaned up and polished, make sure you wear your sunglasses!!!