Hi from NW Chicago

[Urban cabin]

I have been hanging out for a while trying to get ideas for my space. I have a three car garage with a lift that is full and I need more space for cars and the things that go with them. My current garage is fairly basic with an epoxy floor a couple of wall cabinets and a Gladiator storage cabinet. My workbench is in the basement. For the past two years I have been working on getting more space and finally settled on an industrial condo unit of 2,300 sq ft.

The space is completely open but I need to add a bathroom and a triple trap floor drain. I plan to epoxy the floor. Here is the proposed layout which is fairly locked in because it has been submitted for permitting.

The car in the plan is not representative of anything in particular, it just shows how a car would fit in the space. I figure I can get 6 or 7 cars in and be able to get one out without moving another. I also plan to have a four post lift for small maintenance and eventually storage.

My current conundrum is I want to get a cabinet for the utility sink along the bathroom wall. Ideally it would be 3' wide so I can have space next to it for a small frig or washer. I have been thinking about a Moduline sink unit. It looks like I can get one for about $600. I would probably get upper cabinets as well. I like the Moduline because it is made to be a sink cabinet and I would like to have red cabinets. I don't plan to do anything heavy in this space so I will probably just get a black Fomica counter top with a Gray sink. I already checked out Lista and Baldhead. Lista sizes didn't work (and are probably too expensive) and Baldhead seemed similar but more expensive than Moduline. Are there other decent cabinets that I could consider for this space?

I will share some of my ideas on the workbench and tool storage in later updates as well as progress pictures.

Thanks for looking. This is a great site.

 

[HOTFR8]

Welcome to the GJ.

 

[drivesitfar]

UC: i don't have the answer for your sink situation, but curious if you are sort of using it like a kitchen or more for washing hands and parts?

welcome to our forum and i'm sure if you read some threads you'll find your answers because you are not the only one that wants cabinets and a sink in your garage shop.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Hello and welcome to the forum, looking forward to following your progress..

 

[rburke65]

Urban....I'm thinking the 2,300 sq. ft. will fill quickly! Sounds like a great space. Welcome from Ohio!

 

[Bill Bowman]

Welcome from the South Suburbs.

 

[STANIMAL]

Yo !

 

[1nterceptor]

Welcome aboard, that's a huge garage!

 

[ambenz]

Welcome Neighbor, Welcome to the GJ!
I like the idea of owning a industrial condo, it's a stable expenditure as you never have to worry about rent increases, you can deduct taxes on depreciation, and you decide how to make it your own.
What are the dimensions of that 2300 squares you setting up to use?
38x60 ?
Is the unit built already?
I ask because I am wondering if you have a choice of amperage at the breaker box, how do they provide you metered water, and do you have to provide to emergency lighting, signage, and extinguishers, fire alarm system?
Then there gas and heating/cooling, is that provided?
I am guessing they provide all emergency systems and possibly security through your monthly fees for property maintenance.
I am also guessing your fixed on 100 amp service and they do provide heat..so the water pipes don't freeze.

I suppose I am just curious about industrial condos and you don't have to answer any of my silly questions.
I am hoping if you get a chance to take some pictures, you'll post them up.
Enjoy the forum!

 

[themiller]

Welcome!

 

[Urban cabin]

The dimension of the space is 30' x 76'. I am required to have a utility sink and the triple trap drain. In the bathroom I even need sprinklers. Way more is required of this type of space than a personal garage. Unfortunately I couldn't work out space near the house to build a garage, so it was either move (which we considered) or buy commercial.

The unit is part of an 8 unit building and was once part of a unit that was half the building. A concrete block demising wall was built to separate my unit into its own space. There is a 200 AMP service, outlets along both walls, a heater, an exhaust fan on the rear wall and it even has pipe on two walls that was once used for compressed air. There are relatively new lights with motion sensors and and two small ceiling fans.

I pay my own gas and electric, not sure about water yet. The November/December gas usage was zilch because I had set the heat to 50 and the heater never needed to run. So I pay the base monthly. That will change once I start using the space.

Since I will be using this as a second home as such I want to make it as livable as possible. I will definitely have a workbench and storage as well as a desk. A couch, TV, etc. is even a possibility.

I am not a mechanic but plan to do minor work and lots of detailing.

 

[drivesitfar]

UC: are you a plumber or just getting educated so you can talk to one? with living spaces above your garage/shop there should be very stringent rules so those folks living above you can be a little safer.

you might want to start a thread over in a different section because this section only gets a few of us that want to help new members navigate and use the site. yes we do have some skills and i could probably do the plumbing on my entire next home, but it sounds like you need permits and real plumbers for a sprinkler system.

can you take any pictures of your space because it sounds like a 2000 sq ft basement, but not sure? how high are the ceilings?

 

[Urban cabin]

This is just an open space. I expect to spend a lot of time there, hence second home. I am not performing any of the work myself to fix this place up. As a matter of fact I was shocked by some of the bids I got, especially for the plumbing alone. I finally settled on a guy who has done work for me in the past but it is taking longer than I expected. However, I heard today that we might have the building permit this week.

Once we get the permit it will be cut the floor, install the plumbing, fix the floor, wait for the concrete to dry and then epoxy the floor. After the floor is epoxied the bathroom will be built on the epoxy floor. I plan to have the entire space painted as well. Maybe it will be done by the end of March.

 

[STANIMAL]

What part of town is this in ? Looks like a great space.

 

[skulldrinker]

Hi from the SW suburbs.

 

[bowlofturtle]

Hi from northside of chicago.

Loving the pictures.

 

[drivesitfar]

UC: for some reason your pictures are not enlarging. do you know why or maybe you can save them in a different format? i take most of my pictures from my cell phone then send them via email to my laptop where i save them to post. i also have a digital camera that i load pictures directly to the laptop.

that space looks huge and better than average construction, but hard to tell with my old eyes looking at the inch x inch picture.

good luck with the plumber

 

[skulldrinker]

UC: for some reason your pictures are not enlarging. do you know why or maybe you can save them in a different format? i take most of my pictures from my cell phone then send them via email to my laptop where i save them to post. i also have a digital camera that i load pictures directly to the laptop.

that space looks huge and better than average construction, but hard to tell with my old eyes looking at the inch x inch picture.

good luck with the plumber

drivesitfar are you aware of Dropbox? It will take your pics from your phone and immediately upload them and you can view them on your laptop in a matter of seconds. Not only your laptop but every other computer you install Dropbox on.

 

[drivesitfar]

SD: yes i have a drop box account and i'm sure there are easier ways to do what i do, but I'm old and it's hard for me to change my ways. also i hate when programs start running my laptop or cell phone because I've had many bad experiences in the past with issues from those sort of things.

thanks for the suggestion though

 

[skulldrinker]

oh you're old why didn't you say so. lol

me too

 

[drivesitfar]

SD:

 

[Urban cabin]

The space is in Crystal Lake. What is the best way to attach pictures? I took these from a camera and downsized them but didn't have much luck copying them into the post. I see how the attachment doesn't allow folks to get much detail.

 

[drivesitfar]

UC: are the pictures saved to your computer? did you use the paperclip method that is just above where you are writing your posts? it's like attaching a picture to an email. if you attach a full size picture that way it should come up in a thumbnail on your post and then all the reader has to do is double click to get it to full size.

some members use Photobucket or flicker and then pull full size links over from there that they put the links directly into your posts. its a tougher process for me to describe if you don't know how and sometimes the pictures are actually too big.

keep trying and ask if you still need more help.

cool garage BTW

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Hello and welcome to the Garage Journal.
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