Garage staircase alcove ??

[marley2984]

I have a rear staircase option when my home was built and the result of that was they took part of the garage. Wasnt my fault! Now as the second owner I'm about to embark on the winter garage redo. What do you do with this space??? At first I was going to take the whole thing back and just add a mudroom off the house into that space. Well that seems like a huge undertaking so now I'm trying to see what can be done here. Any ideas/pictures/etc ????

 

[ForceFed70]

Looks like a great spot to put a compressor in along with some sort of vented door to keep the noise down.

Otherwise, It looks like it could be a storage location for any number of different items.

 

[copterdoctor]

I've got something similar in my basement.. I'm making a hidden gun safe/pantry out of the space.... it will have a bookshelf door...

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

I like the compressor nook idea under the stairs, but perhaps more can be done with the alcove proper. The door on the right side of the first picture, where does it lead? Is there room under the stairs for a sealed air compressor cubby and room in the alcove proper for a work/storage bench (on casters)? Would there be a need to have full opening swing on the door on the right; if it opens into the alcove, that is? What dimensions do you have to work with? You may not have to 'fight' the alcove, it could become a unique garage 'feature'. lol

 

[Call me the Breeze]

Compressor nook would be cool, or put in a bunch of shelving and store those pesky paint cans. Shopnut has some really cool ideas in the garage gallery under "The Asylum" thread.

 

[volvo]

..
3/4" thick shelving spaced at 14" with a lower large 8" roll out box.

 

[josall]

Put your upright freezer there, then cut out a hole big enough for your small fridge right behind where your freezer is now.. That will clear off that wall space. Any space left fill'er up.

 

[marley2984]

I like the idea of the compressor nook but since that area backs right up to the living room I'd probably have to soundproof the heck out of it. Harbor Freight upright compressors are not the quietest on the block..lol. I thought about the freezer also but it doesnt fit. Some kind of shelving it might have to be. Who knows. The door to the right is house access into the laundry room. That's why I was considering taking the whole space back and making it a mudroom. Personally it's just a needless expense to do but was trying to find some use of that space in the nook and around. Here is my house plan with and without adding a mudroom. I wouldnt move the W&D though.

 

[ForceFed70]

Some of that accoustical eggcrate stuff along the living room wall will go a long way. It's cheap too. Might be worth a try and if it's still too loud you can use the space for something else.

Since it's a garage wall, it should be build like an exterior wall. 2x6" framing with insulation, vapor barrier, etc. You might be surprised at how well it blocks the noise.

 

[marley2984]

How much air circulation needs to be in there? If i were to put my air compressor inside, locate some acoustic material and figure out how to sound deaden the ply base, will a homemade door with vents be enough? I was thinking of home made ply doors with a large HVAC return vent in the doors.

 

[logical]

Looks to me like an ideal place to store shoes and maybe even some coats. You could use the very back for storing whatever seasonal stuff you have ans build a show rack/shelves/cubby that was recessed a foot or so into the alcove so you could still have a little built in bench in front of it (the current height looks about right for one) to change shoes.

Unless you are really cramped, that looks like a bad place for an air compressor. the alcove will act like a megaphone and it will be noisy in both the garage and the house.

 

[diggerrick]

I like the compressor idea also. Mine is under the stairs in the shop, but it's an out
side wall making draining a lot easier. Cooling hasn't been an issue, but I run a shop fan when it's hot.

 

[marley2984]

So after reading the suggestions posted I think I decided the route to go. The idea of the compressor nook/closet I had to think about but do think that because its would basically be sitting on a ply subfloor box, the sound would reverberate into the house too much compared to actually sitting on the concrete garage floor.

I think the space would be better turned into a bench with shoe storage, coat rack, etc with a cabinet or possibly two above. Similar to the picture below but obviously would have to be changed because my spacing is smaller. Since I was orginally going to take that area back as a mudroom I'd be essetially doing the same thing without building the new walls and getting it up to the grade of the doorway. Only downside is that I would be loosing all the space on the inside under the staircase. Thats all I got.. thoughts?

 

[mdbeck1]

I hate to be the one to bring this up but you might want to check your local building codes. I know at our office we're not allowed to store anything in that dead space at the bottom of the stairs. They say its because it would be a fire hazard but they even made one guy move his bicycle (go figure).

I would think that paint and other flammables under the stairs wouldn't be a good idea either.



About the compressor... You should run a test. Put your compressor on the garage side of the wall and turn it on. I just got through putting mine in a "closet". One of the walls backs up to the bathroom. I insulated it and put 5/8" rock on that side. In fact I insulated ALL of the walls. I also installed an old CH&A fan above the compressor just for added heat removal. Flip a switch and ALL the air in the garage moves. You can hear the compressor in the bathroom but the CH&A fan is louder than the compressor. One other difference is that I've got a concrete floor. Make sure you put mufflers on the air intake and put vibration dampers on the floor.

Oh, my compressor is a Kobalt 80 gallon two stage (230VAC). If you take the intake mufflers off it's REAL loud.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

marley2984, the only suggestion I can offer depends on the height of the door sill (on the right) relative to the 'box' beneath the stairway on the left. If they are the same dimension (or can be reworked), I would consider making a landing of the entire alcove area. With two (?) steps extending down into the garage proper; the steps being the full width of the alcove opening and adjacent to your mini-fridge. The top step void would be open (no riser) and could be used to store shoes. The bottom step itself could be hinged like a box lid to allow storage in the bottom step void. With the steps in this spot, the entire alcove 'landing/bench' could be the hinged to allow storage beneath. You lose some garage floor space for the new wider steps, but you pick up storage within them and keep the entire volume beneath the alcove 'landing' for considerable storage capacity. This way you'd still have access to the stairwell and alcove wall space for hanging cabinets as you show in the above picture. Its a tradeoff to make use of the space available to you and allow you to not have to build new walls. My description is probably 'clear as mud', but I hope it gives you another design option.

 

[marley2984]

So my second cup of coffee quite possibly didn't kick in because what you just wrote confused me as much as if you just ordered me to set 1SQ for strategic missle launch

Honestly though I kinda get what you are saying here and I started this thing because I was going to go through and take that entire space back to "living" space but figured with no construction experience I could better use that space in other ways. The doorway to the right is the same height as that alcove area to the left. Here is a drawing of the nook/alcove space as it is and the other is with the optional mudroom. I wouldnt want to move W/D anyway so that spot would be the same shoe/coat rack spot. Since I would be greating a raised platform there obviously would be a void underneath to gain back some storage. Downside is the loss of space but with the stairs located against the right wall it would minimize issues. Obviously I like this idea but creating this from scratch is an undertaking to say the least.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Sorry about my '1SQ' description. LOL
I guess my suggestion can be summed up as 'build a stage to fill the alcove, build two steps the width of the alcove. The two steps face the garage doors and extend into the garage footprint.'

Your 1st print seems to show the laundry room door positioned beyond the line of the alcove/garage wall; yes? The picture of the alcove seemed to show the door & jamb to be located within the alcove or am I not interpreting the picture correctly?

 

[marley2984]

i just went out to take a look after realizing what you were saying. The doorjamb as it sits now looks to be even or just past the left edge of the alcove. The design I posted makes it look farther out but its on it or just past. I think in the design they bumped it out to accomodate the swing of a 36" door and provide room to walk. I think I would love to create that if I can figure how far that bump out will be in the garage. If not then I wouldnt do anything and just create that psedo mudroom. I stumbled over this old thread where he created and boxed out his room

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32304&highlight=mudroom

 

[Will67]

Panic room

 

[BWS]

M/C leathers in ours on rod...with tankbags and other bulky bike related "stuff" thrown in on flr......?BW

 

[dreamingmuscle]

I like the compressor idea some two inch foam should cover the noise. I'd build up the floor as high as I could leaving the front open. Then I could slide long stuff under it. Stuff like board's, pipe or lawn chairs.

If you opened the side up. You could build shelves for storage tubs or even make drawers to hold a lot of stuff. One thing I'd want to know is whether or not the stairs would be all right with the studs under them were removed. Most likely would be but you never know.

Glen

Glen