I blame Jack

[Norm01]

I say that with the upmost of respect, as a Porsche enthusiast I came accross an article of Jack's car. I was impressed, however not only about the car but as much about the garage.

A little about my new garage, I have an attached double on the house and needed more room to work on the car, my limitations as set by the city were 430q.ft. and 15ft. high, so I chose 16' x 26'10" and maximized the height. I wanted enough width to work comfortably around one car and the depth left reasonable room at the back however it was clear that this was a small space and needed to be used carefully.

99% of the work was done by myself with friends and family but mostly my father who is 76 now and puts most younger guys to shame. The first picture was to move a maple tree I didn't want to loose. Next is the digging and forms.

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Footings are about 16" deep x 15" wide, 2" of Styrofoam on sides and bottom. Due to the boxes we needed to do two pours.

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[Norm01]

Slab is fully insulated with 2" styrofoam, re-bar on 24" centres including under those boxes, more on that later.

Here you see the first pour done, the inner forms removed, backfilled and then remainder of Styrofoam and vapor barrier done. The vapor barrier is overkill due to the properties of the Styrofoam but at this point, why take a chance.

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Slab was cut early the next morning.

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Just off to the right you can see the maple tree we moved.

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Ten foot door on the front, eight on the side giving into the yard.

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That strap is holding the tree up and is anchored to another large tree in the back yard. It probably didn't need it but better safe than sorry.

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[Norm01]

A few more details. Flashing under the strapping and siding, extends to 8" below grade to protect the styrofoam.

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Steel beam rated for 2 tons.

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Garage door opener, absolutely the best one out there.

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[Norm01]

Picture of the lift and final poor in the pit boxes to get the height just right. Used a laser level and it came out perfect. Final shot is of the exterior nearly done.

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[Norm01]

Side exterior shot. Did all the aluminum myself, siding is Canexel "country red". I like the look and contrast to the white.

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I had to bring in it's own electrical entrance as my main panel was tapped out. Heating consists of a heat pump and 2 infrared heaters.

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Porcelain tiles (imitation hardwood) went in and a cherry slatwall in the back.

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[zkling]

Great place, love the in floor twin pad lift. Can you give a little detail on the final flooring and the garage door layout?

 

[Norm01]

View from back to front, lifts once down leave no interference.

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The P-car finally makes it in. It's a 68 SWB 911T with a nice 68 S engine.

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Work bench in the back is bamboo with a linseed oil finish

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[930dreamer]

Nice work on the shop build.

 

[Norm01]

Last one for now. P-car makes it on the lift.

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Fuchs I am slowly refinishing.

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[Norm01]

Great place, love the in floor twin pad lift. Can you give a little detail on the final flooring and the garage door layout?

The flooring is a porcelain tile 6" x 24". The front garage door is 10' wide and gives into the driveway / street. The idea behind the side garage door is to open it up in summer and work peacefully in my yard. Landscaping next summer will provide privacy with a hedge and shade from that maple tree I moved.

 

[Norm01]

I took a lot of great ideas from this site and hopefully this thread can give some back.

 

[Money2536]

This is fantastic. I love the floor and the lift!

 

[chenthu]

Love the flooring and the cherry slatwall.....looks great!

 

[jesse72]

Nice looking shop!

 

[jon72vega]

Very Nice!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Wow, I really like a lot of things about this garage! Keep us posted, the floor is AWESOME!!!

 

[dubber]

You have the modern version of his garage, love it! Looks like two single garages in a perpendicular layout, perfect in my mind.

 

[venturesomerite]

Looks good. My only criticism is the color of the slat board, makes the garage feel dark, atleast in the pictures.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Nice looking space and it looks like it will be your little place of heaven.

 

[Sunbimmer]

Wow, I really like a lot of things about this garage! Keep us posted, the floor is AWESOME!!!

Yep, my thoughts exactly very nice P car.

 

[Squankum]

I was confused by the buttons and lights on the blue box and was going to ask, "Do you know Captain Pike?"

But then I eventually figured out it's the control panel for the lift tables. Hydraulic pumps are inside there, too?

Why two lift tables? Safety? Access to the center tunnel?

 

[Norm01]

Looks good. My only criticism is the color of the slat board, makes the garage feel dark, atleast in the pictures.

Brian, it is dark and my other choice I liked was maple coloured however I really liked the warmth of the cherry and thought it would blend well with the bamboo bench. At the end of the day I compensated the dark floor and cherry wall with more lights.

 

[Norm01]

I was confused by the buttons and lights on the blue box and was going to ask, "Do you know Captain Pike?"

But then I eventually figured out it's the control panel for the lift tables. Hydraulic pumps are inside there, too?

Why two lift tables? Safety? Access to the center tunnel?

Yes, it's the control panel for the lifts. Pump and oil tank are in there. Below that box is a 4" pipe that connects to the lifts. The reason for the two scissors lift is exactly that, it lifts from the rocker panels and leaves the centre tunnel free to work on as well as the wheels. When it's stored, it's flush with the floor so no posts to speak of in the way. The full rise of the lift is approx 5'7" or so. As a bonus, you can raise just one of the two making for a great adjustable height work table when the car is not there.

 

[dykstra]

Beautiful garage!!

 

[dave911]

Is that an EAE EE-6503 lift? Who is your source??

 

[Norm01]

Is that an EAE EE-6503 lift? Who is your source??

The EE-6503 became too expensive when an intermediate got involved and prices went up about $1000 overnight. Within the same thread on this board of the EE-6503, someone had found a DY-QJY3.0S which you can still order direct from the manufacturer at a reasonable cost.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35433&highlight=ee-6503

 

[Norm01]

Learning from Jack on how to make multiple uses of areas in a small space.

This is the table I just made, with the wood top on it matches and rolls up to the permanent workbench.

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Remove the wood table top and this is now my welding table.

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It can be rolled around the shop to be used anywhere.

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This last picture is a hole in the bulkhead that will eventually hold a ventilation hood.

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[GBsnoopy]

A nice clean simple layout. Looks great.
Its a shame the lift doesn't go a little higher than 5ft7.

 

[Fredriz]

Nice garage

i like the floor

 

[vegar]

Great garage and 911. I would like an SWB, but the prices have sky rocketed the last couple of years

 

[dubber]

I'm digging that multifunction table, very cool!

 

[Norm01]

A nice clean simple layout. Looks great.
Its a shame the lift doesn't go a little higher than 5ft7.

Keep in mind that you lift with blocks, so if you use 4" blocks between the lift and your vehicle you will be closer to 6' to the bottom of your chassis.

 

[Norm01]

Great garage and 911. I would like an SWB, but the prices have sky rocketed the last couple of years

I know what you mean, I picked this one up a few years ago for still good money but harder to buy now. 20 years ago they couldn't give these away. Don't think I'll be able to afford another one now and the market is now less driven by enthusiasts but more by flippers trying to make a buck.

 

[darren.a.roberts]

Great build - very jealous of the lift. Great idea re the welding table.....

 

[Mr. 360]

I'm with everyone on the floor, looks great and adds a ton of depth. The multi-functioning table is a great idea too, are you going to "fill" it with storage?

I'm also a fan of the outside layout and the scale of the place, nice and compact but designed to be very usable. Great work!

 

[AndrewnTX]

Very nice! The layout and design is clever. I like the floor too, the close up shot with the welding table/bench shows the color better. The long planks are a good route too. Do you have another full on picture of the empty garage with various lighting and/or times of day? Love the vintage Porsche, and the wheels. Great place to chill out, work on your ride and relax!!

 

[Modern Jess]

Very nice build! You done good.

And I have two of those Whalen rolling toolboxes in my own shop.

 

[PT Doc]

I like the table that rolls up. Good thinking.

 

[Backlight]

Awesome garage, great work, love the floor!

 

[Denwood]

"Zen and the Art of Porche Maintenance". Awesome use of the space. The side door costs you some storage space, but the extra access is excellent. Your shop on a warm breezy day is likely perfect?

The fact that you chose to move the maple as opposed to cutting it down says a lot about you. From one tree hugger to another . I have "Doug the Happy Arborist" over every two years to manage the forest on our 60x150 lot. We have a butternut (rare in this area) which hosts a tire swing for the girls and shades my shop quite nicely.

Very clean and considered space!