John Tanglewood's 1-Car Oasis

[John Tanglewood]

Hey guys,

I just joined this forum, but I have been poking around here and there since I purchased my new home on July 1st. I am a first-time homeowner which is pretty damn scary, but I am ready for some DIY projects (although I am not very DIY-inclined)

Anyway I lusted after a house with a 2-car garage to store my baby, but with housing prices in Connecticut being positively ludicrous I had to settle for a house with a 1-car box..... My car is low and wide, so I won't have too too much space on the sides once it's parked there.

As this is the "Gallery" I knew I couldn't post until I had a picture of said garage, so here she is below.

The space is 23' L x 11' W. Overall it's got a good amount of space for a 1-car. Unfortunately it has NO heating or cooling and NO windows, so in these summer months it's close to 100 degrees in there.



I am not much of a wrencher , but I would like a basic space that will contain the following:

• Heavy duty workbench
• Place for general automotive and home tools
• hanging hooks for bikes
• Concealed storage for junk
• Storage for Car-Cleaning items
• Possibly TV/cable setup
• Possibly window install

I have lived in clutter for much of my young life. My father was a hoarder, so my goal is to basically never let myself go down that path. For this garage I would like the exact opposite....a space where I can do anything I need....from cleaning my weapons - to storing my car cleaning supplies, wheels and tires, and all the other junk we tend to accumulate.

....and the kicker is that I would like as much stuff as possible OFF the floor. If I can get everything in cabinets that are off the ground, my dream will come true. Hoarders tend to place things on the floor and leave them there...and as things pile up you end up creating little "paths" to walk through. I would like to avoid that completely by keeping almost everything off the floor. The back wall can contain any standing cabinets and the workbench, but everywhere else must have above-floor fixtures.

I have a small shed in the back for all my lawncare and home tools, so luckily this space is just for the car, me, and the things I enjoy. It's a small space but it's a cool blank canvas.

I am having the floors coated in epoxy today and tomorrow and will be excited to show you guys the results! Cheers and happy to be here!

 

[NewEdgePerf]

Welcome.

I used some Sears Craftsman VersaTrack (Home Depot Husky brand is identical) around most of the perimeter. It is designed to accept wall cabinets, various hooks, baskets, shelves, etc and is quite versatile and easy to reconfigure. There are many other brands as well.

Slatwall is also quite handy to keep items up off the floor.

I hope this helps.

Tony D

 

[smokey0810]

Welcome to the forum John. U have a nice blank canvas to work with. I would look into getting some nice cabinets from Sears (craftsman, gladiator, etc) or Lowes or Home Depot. U can build yourself a nice bench or get one from the store. I would also add some more lighting to the area, and consider a ductless mini split for heat/air purposes. Look forward to seeing your garage turn into something really special for you to work in.

 

[JT-3]

Welcome, a great canvas to start with. Perhaps add some radiant barrier on the inside garage door to help with the heat.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Welcome from downunder, certainly a blank canvas.
Looking forward to see how you progress..

Regards

 

[John Tanglewood]

Thanks for the quick replies and encouragement gents!

I really would love to do a MUCH smaller back wall that looks very similar to member bdamico:

Welcome.

I used some Sears Craftsman VersaTrack (Home Depot Husky brand is identical) around most of the perimeter. It is designed to accept wall cabinets, various hooks, baskets, shelves, etc and is quite versatile and easy to reconfigure. There are many other brands as well.

Slatwall is also quite handy to keep items up off the floor.

I hope this helps.

Tony D

Hey Tony! Is this the Home Depot track you speak of?

They also have a "Gladiator" gear track, is that similar?

Welcome to the forum John. U have a nice blank canvas to work with. I would look into getting some nice cabinets from Sears (craftsman, gladiator, etc) or Lowes or Home Depot. U can build yourself a nice bench or get one from the store. I would also add some more lighting to the area, and consider a ductless mini split for heat/air purposes. Look forward to seeing your garage turn into something really special for you to work in.

Thanks smokey! I will follow up with questions regarding both of those ideas! Lighting is a MUST so I have already started looking at alternatives. Would love the lighting to come down from the soffit cabinets.

Welcome, a great canvas to start with. Perhaps add some radiant barrier on the inside garage door to help with the heat.

YES! I was wondering what that stuff is called. Thank you!

Welcome from downunder, certainly a blank canvas.
Looking forward to see how you progress..

Regards

Will be a long and laborious process but I am looking forward to it also!!

 

[dubber]

Welcome! I can vouch for the challenges of a single, check out my thread to glean some ideas. The key definitely is to get things up high or at the end of the garage. Yours is actually 1 foot wider and a few longer then mine, huge bonus! Home Depot sells the Husky line of wall tracks and all accessories, i'm a big fan of those.

 

[John Tanglewood]

Welcome! I can vouch for the challenges of a single, check out my thread to glean some ideas. The key definitely is to get things up high or at the end of the garage. Yours is actually 1 foot wider and a few longer then mine, huge bonus! Home Depot sells the Husky line of wall tracks and all accessories, i'm a big fan of those.

Dubber it's so funny -- I have 2 member threads permanently tabbed at the top of my browser.....bdamico and you.....you guys (amongst many of others here) seem to epitomize what I am trying to achieve.

I think your (prior) space (you just upgraded, right?), most accurately represented the size of mine and therefore I can definitely use some of your tricks in helping to plan mine. You had some CRAZY issues to deal with like your 3-tier ceiling heights, luckily I am working with a pretty blank canvas with not many oddities.

Either way I appreciate the support and I hope you will be patient in dealing with any questions I may have. Thanks again

 

[John Tanglewood]

May as well provide a first real update.

Construction on the floors has started. Had some major cracks along the middle and also towards where the door is.

The entire floor was stripped and the cracks were filled with a binder that had to rest overnight to bond completely:



I decided to go with a "Granite like" epoxy floor coating. This seemed like the best alternative for both hiding dirt (so I don't drive myself completely mad all the time) and maintaining a nice clean finish. It apparently can also be hosed down if I ever need to give it a good scrubbing.

I am still confirming the brand and the name of the exact color choice I went with. Because the room is so small I decided to go with a flake that has a white base, with some tan, various greys, and black flake. Here's a preview:



I believe the workmen are just finishing up today, and the garage cannot be walked on for 2 days, and driven on for 4 days, in order to allow the epoxy to completely set and cure.

 

[LutzTD]

that floor is gonna make a world of difference. great step one

 

[John Tanglewood]

So the floors are finished. They are going to take approximately 4 days before I can drive on it (2 before I can walk). Something about the sealer drying completely.

What I thought would be a quick process is leaving me without a place to park my baby for 6 days.

Anyway I have some solid details on the setup.

Apply 5 layer “Polyaspartic Floor System” to garage floors including:
Floor grinding with diamond grinder
2 coats of “color”
Full broadcast of ¼” vinyl chips
2 coats of clear polyaspartic sealer
Color: B-715 Nightfall (lighter sample)

I have seen some pictures of people using flake, and the flake seems spread out with solid colored floor gaps in between. Almost like they didn't want to cover the entire floor but instead just wanted it sprinkled all over.

Needless to say mine floor is ALL flake, no gaps, no open spaces. I have some pictures but I am waiting for better light to take them. Guess another excuse to add light to the garage!!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Sounds great, lets see some pics!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking forward to see how the floor has turned out..

 

[Lord Vader]

"Its not the size mate, its how you use it" - Nigel Powers

The floor should turn out great if done well. You didnt mention what car you had other then low and wide, so you should look into small cabinets you can mount high up on the wall, or ceiling storage options.

 

[TahitianGreen]

Pics of the car that shall call that space home?

 

[taumac]

That a nice size for a one car. That back wall should allow for a nice u shaped work space. Best of luck and looking foward to seeing how you lay it out.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

 

[oldtimer50]

Can someone tell me the manufacturer of the blue cabinets and work desk above"

Thanks

Ben

 

[John Tanglewood]

Can someone tell me the manufacturer of the blue cabinets and work desk above"

Thanks

Ben

Ben, check out member bdamico's workspace and build threads. He's got the blue cabinets pictured. They are made by Saber and his build thread for them can be found here

Sounds great, lets see some pics!

Looking forward to see how the floor has turned out..

Yes I know I have been slacking in terms of getting you guys pics! Very sorry. I have other home improvements (just did new roof and also did flagstone patio with custom firepit) i'm doing, and all while trying to unpack as we moved in July 1st -- I mentioned that my father purchased the floor for me as a housewarming gift, as he was having one of his garage bays done at the same time....so I'll have pictures of both mine and his this weekend for you guys.

"Its not the size mate, its how you use it" - Nigel Powers

The floor should turn out great if done well. You didnt mention what car you had other then low and wide, so you should look into small cabinets you can mount high up on the wall, or ceiling storage options.

Yes I am looking into custom soffit cabinets but as I literally have no woodworking skill that I know of, it's going to take some guts to attempt a custom build. I'm extremely green when it comes to all things home improvement so I am looking forward to learning.

Pics of the car that shall call that space home?

Sorry - I just got rid of my 2011 M3 which was my baby - fully modified and supercharged. I just sold it and picked up this from a really cool guy in Houston (more pictures will come later). I just got done doing a Capristo 3-valve exhaust on it....aaaand now I am broke again.

(the R8 is pictured at my father's house. Directly behind the rear of the car you will see a 2-car garage that was actually JUST built as an addition to the one that was connected to the house. While I don't have any pics of the actual build, I'll be sure to get you all pictures of the finished product because it's absolutely amazing)

That a nice size for a one car. That back wall should allow for a nice u shaped work space. Best of luck and looking foward to seeing how you lay it out.

5 Stitches Garage
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=211899
Florida GJ Group
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=117

Thanks so much for the links, there are a couple issues with the back wall and protruding floor that I will address later, but for now I see lots of opportunity!

 

[dubber]

Great progress already. Looks like your dad's place has room to keep your car for a couple of days hahaha...A buddy took me for a ride in his dad's v8 R8 the other day and lets just say it was an exhilarating experience...... a drop of pee might have escaped hahaha.

 

[John Tanglewood]

Great progress already. Looks like your dad's place has room to keep your car for a couple of days hahaha...A buddy took me for a ride in his dad's v8 R8 the other day and lets just say it was an exhilarating experience...... a drop of pee might have escaped hahaha.

Haha it's true! Where do you think my car is while the garage floors are being worked on!! I'm fortunate he's only a 10min drive down the road.

 

[John Tanglewood]

As I said I moved into the home on July 1st, and since then I have been VERY business with some additions.

I have a privacy fence going in next week and I just had a new roof installed, but for now I'll just share a couple picture of the "pièce de résistance", the patio. I have always wanted a nice outdoor patio and firepit to relax on with the significant other and the dog, and that dream has become a reality.

Unfortunately the stonedust used to fill the cracks is quite messy....can anyone recommend anything better or something that I can put on top of the stonedust that's already there?

Note that the entire patio area before was just grass. Here are the only "before" pictures I have:




And now finished! Although I need to plant new grass all around it (another thing I have no idea how to do):









Just had the first fire in it last week, I need to brush up on my boy scout "fire starter" skills haha.

 

[John Tanglewood]

Floor pics!

Okay time for some floor pics!! I am still hesitant to walk on it, so all pictures were from either the door or the garage entrance.

Unfortunately the workers got some flake all along the bottom of the drywall, and since I am planning to paint soon that's no good because I have no idea if it will sand off or I can just paint over it. I have the guys coming back next week to see how they can handle it. For the price of the job they better make damn sure it's perfect.

For now I have done my best to show the most accurate color....my garage lighting is SO bad that it's actually really difficult to do, but here they are nonetheless:







(just realizing now how dirty my garage door is!!)


They even added a nice touch by painting the entrance slab of concrete to match my house:


I will leave overall impressions when I am ready to walk on it and do a final inspection. For now it just looks awesome. Luckily I am not a mechanic because I would NEVER find dropped hardware on this floor.

 

[BearsFan315]

That Floor LOOKS Great !!
are you happy with the results ??

Also Nice Patio, looks like a great place to kick back and relax

what's Next on the GARAGE LIST ??

 

[John Tanglewood]

Father's garage floors

...and because I am really picture-happy today, below are some pictures of my father's garage the same workers did the floor on.

My father choose a color very similar to me only darker, which he can get away with due to having a larger space. His turned out great but he noticed some imperfect bumpy areas so he is having the guys back over to fix them:









I will have more pictures of his garage addition soon as I'm sure the forum will be very excited to see the work and attention to detail that went into planning it!

 

[John Tanglewood]

That Floor LOOKS Great !!
are you happy with the results ??

Also Nice Patio, looks like a great place to kick back and relax

what's Next on the GARAGE LIST ??

Hey BearsFan, still angry at you for the 07 Conference Championships (I am a Saints fan as I went to college in New Orleans and lived there for 7 years during)!!!!

Anyway thanks for the compliments. I'll have a better impression of the floor once I am able to walk around on it and drive my car on it. Not sure how well it will hold up to abuse but I'll look forward to testing it out. Luckily because of the flakes I think it's going to be VERY forgiving in terms of dents/nicks or other damage.

CABINETS:
Regarding future plans, I am learning how to use Google SketchUp so I can really nail my measurements when looking for proper cabinetry and accessories. I'd love to do 2 huge cabinets along the back wall with a workbench in between and hanging cabinets above.

WORKBENCH:
I love to detail my cars, but the workbench I think can be used for other household projects -- I love tinkering/repairing watches, and I also love cleaning/maintaining my pistol. I am actually thinking about finding a way to incorporate a hidden gun pull-out tray/safe into whatever cabinet I will be choosing, so if anyone has any ideas for that PLEASE let me know. It's a very raw idea at the moment. I plan on increasing my pistol collection to 2 or 3 more pieces in the next couple years, so I'd like a safe, polished, discreet place to keep them and clean them....I love James Bond so I would love a James-bondish secret storage area (who wouldn't? )

PAINTING WALLS
In the meantime I am going to plug/mud the walls, primer, and do a 3-tone paint job to really set off my color scheme. I have actually never prepped, primed, and painted a wall before, so I am a little nervous about filling in the holes, spackling, sanding, etc.....but I'll grab a buddy and I'm sure it won't be a big deal.

STORAGE/LIGHTING:
I really want to find ways of making the space 'laboratory-bright' with the option to isolate the workbench area for times when I don't need to light the entire garage. I am also VERY short on electrical outlets (I only have 1, 2-holed outlet) so the whole idea of adding additional lighting makes me a little anxious.

I am getting married in September so I REALLY hope I can keep this thread up until then.....if for any reason I cannot, I will be back in mid-October to continue.

Oh I almost forgot. Aside from my fiancee, here is my other partner in crime and best friend in the world. His name is BREMBO.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Great job all round on the floors, really sharp.

I really like the fire pit and the out door area, you have "done well'.

Picture happy is good...Regards

 

[John Tanglewood]

Great job all round on the floors, really sharp.

I really like the fire pit and the out door area, you have "done well'.

Picture happy is good...Regards

Haha thanks.

I do see the garage as being my "hands-on" area where I can get down and dirty in doing all the work myself.......so here's to mistakes being made and lessons being learned!

 

[jwhcars]

I like how your floor looks. Keep up the good work.

 

[TahitianGreen]

Patio is gorgeous and the floor looks great. R8 isn't bad either.

Brembo is the best part of this thread thus far, one handsome fella.

 

[ajohno]

As above with the comments.

I think you might need a new garage door.

Thanks for sharing

 

[tez929rr]

I know what you mean about getting stuff off of the floor. I have insisted that we use open shelving instead of cabinets at our firehouse because when you put it behind a door, stuff just sits there when it really should be disposed of.

I recently redid my smaller 2-car garage and I took down all the shelving I had built and now have just those wire racks on wheels. I probably tossed half of the stuff that was on the old shelves.

 

[John Tanglewood]

I have insisted that we use open shelving instead of cabinets at our firehouse because when you put it behind a door, stuff just sits there when it really should be disposed of..

It's true, stuff will sit --- but it looks so much cleaner when behind a door!!!

 

[dubber]

Love your dog's name, that is epic! Might have to poach that if i ever get another dog.

 

[John Tanglewood]

Started messing around on Sketchup, realizing that with such limited space I REALLY need to plan properly before I jump.

Of course the cabinets that I am considering (home depot Husky) DO NOT EXIST in the incredible Sketchup component database......So I made them myself, true to size. I'm actually really impressed with myself as I am normally horrible with programs like this.

Now how can I get an R8 to scale in there? Every single one I download is enormous!!