My Garage Transformation

[Re-Tread]

I call this a garage transformation, because it didn't start out as a garage, and I didn't build it from scratch. It's actually a school gymnasium built in the 1950's that I am in the process of converting to a garage. This gym started out with a collapsing barrel-style roof that had been leaking for over 10 years. It was a haven for bats; it smelled like urine and was full of bat dung and mildew. Here are some pics of the process.


In the beginning:

I have to get in here:

Open Sesame:

Looking out:

Off with the Old:

The other end:

Looking up:

The stage is set (literallly):

The 1st truss goes up:

2nd truss up:

Half way there:

One end done:

Ready for sheating:

Sheating:

Roof is up:

I have a garage:

It's certainly not the end of the story. It's got a concrete floor. The wood floor was destroyed by termites years ago. But I'm ready to begin fulfillment of my dream - to restore an old panel truck.

 

[Requin6]

Wow. So let me get this right, you bought this old school gym with the intention of making it a garage?

Awesome progress so far! Can't wait to see how it turns out on the inside.

 

[Re-Tread]

Well, I bought the school (that you can see in one of the shots through the new doorway) and the gym. I didn't originally buy it to make a garage, but it was a mess, and everyone that I contacted wanted at least $50K to even tear it down and haul it away. That would have left me fifty grand in the hole with no building. So, I decided to make it a garage, but still rebuild the stage and keep the basketball hoops up, so it's going to be kind of a multi-purpose building. Been living in the school and renovating it for 3 years now. It's all a lifetime project.

 

[GRN96WS6]

That's awesome, how does one buy a school and have it zoned to live in? I couldn't imagine your electric bills.

Where are you located?

 

[ambenz]

Subscribed!
I am just north of ya and am green with envy!
What a Awesome garage!
I get down to Mazon for work once in a while and thought there grade school and gym would be cool to live so I can imagine what your doing.
Just awesome!
Hope your making 6 figures so we can see all the toys your going to be storing in your garage!!!!

 

[allinon72]

Wow that is so cool.

 

[968944]

Wow..nice place now. Did it cost you 50k to put the roof on or did you come out ahead on that?

 

[Re-Tread]

Haha! Well, one probably has to have more enthusiasm than common sense. It's a huge undertaking. Actually the heating bill isn't all that bad - now that I have replaced about 70+ inefficient drafty windows, and put on a metal roof. The steam boiler went out years ago. The radiators have all been removed. There are now two 130,000 BTU gas-fired furnaces heating the school. There is 18 inches between the outside brick and the interior wall, so once it's heated it doesn't take all that much to maintain it. Now, summers are a different story. We open the windows.

 

[Re-Tread]

Wow..nice place now. Did it cost you 50k to put the roof on or did you come out ahead on that?

It put me about $10K in the red, but I think it was worth it. I've got 6,000 square feet of usable space now, and I think I'm going to use every bit of it.

 

[Re-Tread]

Subscribed!
I am just north of ya and am green with envy!
What a Awesome garage!
I get down to Mazon for work once in a while and thought there grade school and gym would be cool to live so I can imagine what your doing.
Just awesome!
Hope your making 6 figures so we can see all the toys your going to be storing in your garage!!!!

I'm afraid I'm more of a functional grass roots kind of guy. There won't be too many more toys than I already have in there. I've got a couple tractors and motorcycles and the 59 Panel Truck I'm restoring; I think that's enough of a collection for me. I just have to make them prettier.

 

[Sunbimmer]

This is impressive man , can't wait for interior pics, preferably lots of them

 

[lmb]

Wow, what a great space. Love what you have done with it so far. Will enjoy seeing your updates as you make further progress.

 

[enginewizard1969]

Wow to buy a school thats amazing. I will be watching this on to see how the garage turns out. I am so jealous would love to have a garage half that size!!

 

[dladcock]

It put me about $10K in the red, but I think it was worth it. I've got 6,000 square feet of usable space now, and I think I'm going to use every bit of it.

What's that, like 1.66 a square foot??? Yeah, that's a deal. No, that's an unbelievable deal/investment.

I want to see the school "House". I love it when someone has what it takes to revitalize an old structure. It's not for everyone, but for those that can pull it off, I say HOORAY!!!

Good job!

dla

 

[dubber]

Wow, what a project, good on ya! i was actually just recently reading a story of a somewhat local guy who bought a whole school and made it his house and part rental storage facility.

 

[Clubber]

Big undertaking! Has definite cool factor to it. I will be watching as well. Nice to see old buildings be put to good use.

 

[shawnhorton2960b]

got some more pics of the panel>

 

[AndrewnTX]

Big undertaking! Has definite cool factor to it. I will be watching as well. Nice to see old buildings be put to good use.

Yes that is really remarkable. I like seeing former small downtown centers revived but left with their character, some restaurants and small businesses, the old buildings put to good use, I like to see that as well.

 

[rrudd2]

Subscribed!

We're going to need pictures.... lots and lots of pictures. Of both the school and the garage-nasium!

 

[ODIS]

Good for you! Beautiful job and looking forward to the interior work.

Ody.

 

[theoldwizard1]

AWESOME !

I'd love to see some before and after pictures of the school also !

 

[crazytrain]

MORE, MORE, MORE PICS PLEASE!!!

Very cool rehab I would love to see more of the gym/garage and the school/house. This is a totally cool idea! Subcribed

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Hell yes, we want more pics of the school (then & now), and of course, the ongoing transformation of the gym!

 

[Tarnished]

^^^what he said^^^ Great project! Keep us posted.

 

[Re-Tread]

Thanks Everyone! I will post some before and after (during) pics of the schoolhouse itself as soon as I can figure out what forum it should go in. It's definitely a lifetime project; it's not progressing as fast as it does on HGTV. If I don't work, I don't have the money. When I work, I don't have the time. Age old conundrum!

 

[dubber]

Thanks Everyone! I will post some before and after (during) pics of the schoolhouse itself as soon as I can figure out what forum it should go in. It's definitely a lifetime project; it's not progressing as fast as it does on HGTV. If I don't work, I don't have the money. When I work, I don't have the time. Age old conundrum!

When you do, add the link to your signature so its easy to find for all of your fans, which include myself!

 

[Re-Tread]

When you do, add the link to your signature so its easy to find for all of your fans, which include myself!

Good tip, Dubber! I hadn't thought of that. That's why there's all these HTML links on everybody's signatures!

 

[Re-Tread]

OK, I've figured out how to add links to my signature, and have now posted some more pics of the truck, and a Frankenstein Trike conversion that I did. Going to take me a bit longer to compose the School Transformation pics. That will probably take a day or two.

 

[dubber]

OK, I've figured out how to add links to my signature, and have now posted some more pics of the truck, and a Frankenstein Trike conversion that I did. Going to take me a bit longer to compose the School Transformation pics. That will probably take a day or two.

 

[draider]

Holy ****! Thats one of the coolest garages ever! We need more pics!!!

 

[buiboy]

That's fantastic! I can't wait to follow this project. Keep us posted.

 

[swiss]

Sign me up for the fan club newsletter! Awesome undertaking.

 

[henry29]

Did you go to school there?


What size is the gym?

 

[tommyxgun]

Updates?

 

[saceone]

Amazing project, subscribed

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

"I will post some before and after (during) pics of the schoolhouse itself as soon as I can figure out what forum it should go in."

We're looking forward to LOTS more pics!

 

[dladcock]

Update?

 

[m5hor]

wow I would kill to have a place like that. your lucky

 

[Re-Tread]

Shame! That's the feeling I have for trashing my Blackberry and forgetting the link to this site. I actually found it again by accident, looking for other restored '59 panel trucks. LOL! There hasn't been much progress on any of these projects; seems something has always come up. Just changed out the trans on my daughter's 2005 Taurus, and I never want to work on a front-wheeled drive car again. Wife had surgery on her foot and I have to be nearby when I get home from work. And, I promised not to work on the panel truck until I finished making and installing the new kitchen cabinets, so I probably won't have much to update for a couple months yet. This site is pretty cool. Almost wish I didn't work for a living, so I could spend more time looking at all these fantastic projects on this site. Later!

 

[Kevin54]

I don't know how I missed this thread.

The transformation you did on the gym looks great. And with redoing a complete roof, you did nothing short of bringing up the value of it and the neighborhood it's in. I'm surprised that the town or city let it sit so long in disrepair. Do you have a lift in there yet? If not, is it on your list?

I know what you mean about heating it. A friend of mine lived in a one room schoolhouse that was converted over to a house. They added a second floor and a huge garage. He would use less than 250 gallons of propane each heating season. The sun would heat the brick up during the day and radiate the heat out in the evening. Very comfortable in the wintertime. His walls were over a foot thick.