Knaves Garage

[saz9961]

I brought the house 2 years ago, but started addressing the whole garage/ driveway situation just before COVID hit.

First an introduction to the garage. Its a typical UK brick built single garage, circa 1975. But the driveway is very steep and its built into a hill

The fleet is a 2004 Jaguar XJ8 Sport and a 1996 Mazda MX5. There is no way on earth the Jag fits in the garage, so its sits on the drive.

The garage

Only storage are two rather sad shelving units left behind, plus my beaten tool chest.

I used to have 2 MX5s, both were lowered on adjustable coilovers. One was lower than the over, but not crazily so. Nevertheless, couldn't get it in the garage

Yes, it grounded out on the slab. Only (cheap) solution was to cut a lump out of the slab

That car's gone now though, so that issue went away.

The remaining car fits in ok, but I'm going to have to be imaginative about doing brake work, given I can't use the drive.

I plan to put in a bench, mainly for hobby type work on this car. But its going to be a narrow (depth) bench.

 

[saz9961]

The first major gob was to sort out the driveway/parking situation. The long concrete drive was cracked, plus one car had to be moved everything to use the other.

Plus a rubbish set of steps to the front door.

So, decided the whole front garden had to go, and drive installed.

The sequence

Finally retrieved the MX5 from the garage, was a bit dusty.

And then there was lockdown.

 

[saz9961]

Lockdown revealed a few issues that needed to be sorted sooner than expected.

Firstly theup and over door. Its 45 years old, dented, pelling paint, but was functional. During the first week of lockdown, it decided to fall onto the Mazda. Thankfully, the damage was limited to a scratch. The wooden faming had rotted, allowing a long and rusted coach bolt to pull through, loosening the tensioning spring. No hardware stores were open, so it was a matter of going through the odds and sods box, yielding a bit of slotted angle iron, a metric Mazda gearbox bolt, a non-metric nut, and some washers and bits of plumbing pipe. The bodge is ugly but works, and things are holding together.

But a new door is needed fairly soon. I favour a manual roller door, and getting rid of the frame to gain some valuable inches.

Later on over the summer, the UK experienced some horrendous tropical-like rain, which revealed the other shortcoming. The roof.

The flat roof was worn out, and had been previously patched. The backwall was a bit damp to touch, but the garage seemed basically dry.

But it wasn't.

So, a new flat roof is in hand; replace the board, point the brickwork, and fit a rubber roof.

Then new door

Rewire the garage electrics. The feed is ok, its fused, the wiring in the garage looks sketchy, and includes Bakelite fittings, which are older than the house. Likely that will come in the new year

For the benching, storage, I plan a timber worksurface, wall to wall. I want to look at roller door storage units, perhaps some steel Tambours

 

[corey.griffin2]

I like where this is going! Great looking driveway! Subscribed.

I can appreciate the small garage. Mine is 12x16

Sent from my LM-G850 using Tapatalk

 

[loganb]

In for the ride, think I enjoy following the small garage builds more due to the forced creativity that is required.

And I always enjoy learning another cultures common phrases..."odds and sods"!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[saz9961]

Getting way ahead of myself, I fancy a garage door like this, with my house number on it.

[Mount Panorama, Bathurst]