My new garage project

[Morrisman]

I thought I'd start a new thread on this, as a couple of people have mentioned it.

We moved house about four months ago, and one parameter for the place we bought was to have a space for, at least, a double garage to be built in the yard. This is the corner of the back yard that is MINE:

The house already has a single garage built onto the main house, so I knocked the rear wall out and put doors in so I can drive through to the back yard, and get building materials through too. Here you can see the new doors in the distance:

Original window setup:

Footings being dug, all done by hand, about 2' deep at this end and 12" at the far corner as the ground falls away a bit:

The first couple of layers of blocks are in place here. There's 6" - 9" of concrete gone in under them. The floor will be about 4" above the garden level, with block paving around the front for driving and parking on. I have yet to fill the middle bit in, but when that has happened it will be topped off with concrete to the level of the blocks. The garage will be 16' x 20', not the biggest by any means but real estate comes at a hellish price in the UK. I still have room for expansion one day......

 

[bobbarry]

That looks like a great use of space. I also have a very small lot on which to rebuild my garage (eventually), and I would like it to be a feature rather than an eyesore.

Do you have any sketches of what it might look like when it's done?

 

[JMURiz]

Excellent work Morrisman, looks like a really nice sized garage (or garages) for the UK.

I love seeing other people with 2-car garages on a small lot. That's what I'm building, my lot is about 50'x100' on a hill and I had only 35' back from my house to the rear lot-line to build, and 10' on the driveway side of the house. I'll post pics once the siding is up on a new post.

 

[Morrisman]

That looks like a great use of space. I also have a very small lot on which to rebuild my garage (eventually), and I would like it to be a feature rather than an eyesore.

Do you have any sketches of what it might look like when it's done?

I have no fixed ideas yet, but I want a peaked roof, rendered walls, a window or two, a side door and a wide main garage door at the front. Like you say, I want it to look nice in the garden, rather than a junky looking eyesore.

 

[Matt2point4]

You could tell that was the UK before I read the words.

I like the Drive Though garage idea, do you store your car in there overnight, or is it just going to be for access?

Good use of space... I should get my first ever garage in about 14 day's time! (it's VERY small!)

 

[ersatzs2]

Nice. I sympathize with your project's tight spaces. My house master plan calls for a covered 'port couchere' over the side door which will limit the future size of anything that gets into the back yard. (and hence to the garage) It was carefully designed to accomodate a standard sized trailer, but nothing over 9'6 is getting through.
I envy the UK (and europe) building tradition of masonry. It is one thing we got really wrong I guess when the colonists got here and saw all the trees... (the second thing we got wrong was telephone poles but that's a rant for another day)

 

[snorvet]

looks great! I would tear out the rest of that tree in the back since it will always need to be trimmed to keep off your roof.

 

[cdrewferd]

Looks like a great start. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Morrisman]

looks great! I would tear out the rest of that tree in the back since it will always need to be trimmed to keep off your roof.

I'm thinking of building an extension on the back some day, as that hedge is 10 ft thick and could easily be ripped out. The tree will have to go then, but for now it can stay there and clean a little air for us

The small house garage will be used for day to day storage of my hot rod, the new place will be where my next car project starts.... one day.

I went out and handballed a 2 ton of mixed ballast into the base today, and a ton or so of old broken concrete and bricks, but it was still nowehere near enough so I've ordered 3 more tons of some crushed rock stuff to get it full enough to lay 6" of concrete over.

 

[Morrisman]

I'm thinking of building an extension on the back some day, as that hedge is 10 ft thick and could easily be ripped out. The tree will have to go then, but for now it can stay there and clean a little air for us

The small house garage will be used for day to day storage of my hot rod, the new place will be where my next car project starts.... one day.

I went out and handballed a 2 ton of mixed ballast into the base today, and a ton or so of old broken concrete and bricks, but it was still nowehere near enough so I've ordered 3 more tons of some crushed rock stuff to get it full enough to lay 6" of concrete over.

This the latest, nearly ready for concrete, but I'm off to the Gulf of Mexico for five weeks soon, so nothing will happen until '07 now.

 

[Matt2point4]

Are you building it with your own hands?

 

[Morrisman]

Are you building it with your own hands?

Yes I am. Everything is done by hand, though I did hire a small concrete mixer when I did the footings. I'll get a pro in to pour the floor too. So far I reckon I've wheelbarrowed maybe 10 tons of stuff either in or out of my back yard, and carried 400 concrete blocks through too.

It would be nice to just write a check and get someone else to do it all, but I can't really afford it, and I quite enjoy building things myself, I just underestimated how much actual work was involved.

 

[chet]

Lots of work! Will be worth it in the end though. I guess you can't drive back to it? Easier than a wheel barrow!

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Yes I am. Everything is done by hand, though I did hire a small concrete mixer when I did the footings. I'll get a pro in to pour the floor too. So far I reckon I've wheelbarrowed maybe 10 tons of stuff either in or out of my back yard, and carried 400 concrete blocks through too.

It would be nice to just write a check and get someone else to do it all, but I can't really afford it, and I quite enjoy building things myself, I just underestimated how much actual work was involved.

Yep, I hear you; I know the feeling. I’m 18 months into to mine, with at least 12 months to go. I’m too embarrassed to start the posting it until I’m getting close to complete, so it will seem like it didn’t take that long.

Doing it yourself offers great satisfaction and avoids the inevitable disputes with the contractors. I consider time spent pushing the wheel barrow, shovelling, welding, etc as meditation.

Have a great break.

 

[Der Bugmeister]

I consider time spent pushing the wheel barrow, shovelling, welding, etc as meditation.

I also consider the time spent doing it myself as being money saved for more features, tools or toys...or beer!

Took me a year to build mine, next up is the house which will probably push the 2 year envelope. Guess we're all gluttons for punishment, or something!

 

[thefairlaneman]

It took me almost 2 years to complete my garage,I didnt want to borrow any money and only had about 9k cash so i had no other option. Well worth the time and I had no help.

 

[twostory]

I broke ground in late March 2006. I will probably finish the garage shell by June 2007. I hope I will only need two 3-month extensions on my building permit

It would be nice to just sub out the work, but I could not afford to pay a contractor to build my garage. It is hard work, as my wife and I are doing 95% of the work, but it will be nice when we are done, have the CO and can just use the two story garage for car working and wood working.

 

[Kevin54]

Morrisman....In this picture, whay is the rounded roof with the fancy scroll work on top? Greenhouse or an addition to the house?

Kevin

 

[Matt2point4]

That'll be a Conservatory.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Yep many English houses have a conservatory or sun room for those cold but sunny days. I'm sure we will get details when Morrisman is back.

Good to know so many of us are doing the hard grind for our dream garages, makes me feel almost normal knowing other blokes with a similar affliction.

 

[Matt2point4]

"for those cold but sunny days."

We call it "Summer" ;-)

 

[Morrisman]

Yep many English houses have a conservatory or sun room for those cold but sunny days. I'm sure we will get details when Morrisman is back.

Good to know so many of us are doing the hard grind for our dream garages, makes me feel almost normal knowing other blokes with a similar affliction.

I'm on the ship now, internet is working okay. I couldn't believe the fog here in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, and all through New Orleans area! I thought I'd left that behind in the UK.


Yes, it is a conservatory, sort of a glorified greenhouse really. I think they became a fashion trend about a decade ago and nigh on every house in the country has one tacked on the back now. Ours was here when we moved in, in July. They are useful at certain times of the year, quite pleasant to sit in and watch the garden, but they are like a fridge in winter, and an oven in summer, so maybe in the spring and autumn (fall) they are usable for a month or two. I suppose you could fit heating and air conditioning, but that sort of defeats the purpose of building the whole thing from glass.

I've spent £1000 pounds so far on the garage, (US$2000) and the concrete pour will add another £500 to that, but a local pre-fab garage place quoted me at least £4000 to do the job, (edited to add: £4000 just for the flat base, not the whole garage) and I'm sure that would have gone up a fair bit when they found the land wasn't flat!

 

[Down Under Bloke]

"for those cold but sunny days."

We call it "Summer" ;-)

I know you do, but I still call it cold. It's easy to pick to the Aussie riding up top in a open top, double decker bus, in London on a sunny August day a couple of years ago it was me.

 

[Matt2point4]

I think I saw you ;-)

 

[Morrisman]

I know you do, but I still call it cold. It's easy to pick to the Aussie riding up top in a open top, double decker bus, in London on a sunny August day a couple of years ago it was me.

I lived in the orient for 13 years before moving back to the UK. I'm NOT impressed by English summers either

I had a 12 x 14 garage built in the Philippines, and it was a real eye opener watching the way them guys over there build stuff. Pure cement for foundations, not concrete?!?! Concrete 'hollow-blocks' for the walls, that you could smash with your fist?! Flat concrete roof? (That leaked )

 

[Morrisman]

After five weeks away working in the Gulf Of Mexico I finally got home a week or so ago and yesterday I rounded up a company to supply my concrete for the garage base. Two guys wheelbarrowed 12 tons of it through to my back yard in just over an hour, and also helped me lay and flatten it off. We used an 18' wood beam to level it and tamp it, and the finsih is okay, not smooth, but slightly rough.

Is there anything I should do to it before it fully hardens? It's been down 24 hours now, but it is fairly cold (not freezing) and it is still not rock hard. I have it covered in a couple of layers of polythene sheeting at the moment to keep it warm

 

[PAToyota]

After 24 hours it should be pretty hard... Keep the surface moist for a week for ultimate strength...

 

[Bib Overalls]

Looks like you are coming along. With concrete in place you are officially out of the mud. And that means you can work on the walls and roof structure in all but the most miserable weather. Once you are "in the dry" as we say here, the worst is over and the feeling of accomplishment really starts to take hold.

As long as fresh concrete does not freeze curing in cold temperature improves final strength. Curing actually generates heat and you would be surprised at how much a single layer of poly sheeting will hold in. Leave it alone for a day or two.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Finish looks a little to rough for my liking.

My farther had his garage floor finished to a rough finish so he wouldn’t slip over on it. The only benefit I cloud see was more concrete dust, harder to sweep and skinned knuckles every time I worked under a car. Eventually he admitted its probably a little too rough; I explained that a quick concrete grind would fix it, has he done it, no, parents never listen.

 

[THX_138]

The only thing I see you can do right now, is to get rid of that tree beside your floor. It'll be nothing but problems in the future so close to garage... roots lifting and cracking your floor and possible other troubles...

The floor looks great! The only thing I would have done different would have been to lay some threaded rod around the edges in the wet cement to secure your walls to.

Keep the pics coming! Nice work!

 

[JMURiz]

Yeah, might be a good idea to cut that tree, if it's not too late.
As for the rough finish you can always grind/sand down the concrete after it's done...that'll make a great surface for a epoxy floor too.

 

[Morrisman]

I plan to lose the tree some time soon, and hope to put a smaller storage shed on the back at some stage. That hedge is nigh on ten feet thick and covers some useful ground.

I've had the tarps off today for a look, and the concrete is rougher than I first thought when it was laid. A quick grind will sort that when the time comes. I'd hate to have a tool chest topple over while being pulled across the floor, plus all the fun of sweeping dust out the grooves.

The floor sealant will be some sort that soaks in, rather than lays on the top, as I will be welding and gas cutting and stuff, so I'll probably destroy a nice finish. I saw a suitable potion in a hardware store the other day, forget the name right now.

 

[Morrisman]

Also meant to say, so far it has cost me £1600, (US$3100) which includes the 300 concrete blocks in the picture, for the walls. That figure covers concrete mixer hire, skip hire for soil and rubbish removal, cost of tarpaulins, the concrete, infill materials, the lot. Labor was supplied for free, by me.

 

[Morrisman]

I was hoping to get most all my blocks laid and doors and window placings sorted over this last week, but weather has neatly ruined my time frame.

 

[Matt2point4]

I bet you're glad you got the plastic down before the snow came!

 

[Morrisman]

I bet you're glad you got the plastic down before the snow came!

You bet! That photo was taken just three days ago, and then the rain came, and then the sun came out, and I spent all day today out there laying more blocks!

It's got four full layers of blocks all the way way round now, only 6 more to go to get me to 7' 6" tall, then the roofing starts

 

[christian]

Why are you building it just out of blocks? curious. Cheaper? I'd assume they don't insulate as well as wood/drywall/insulation.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

That would be about all the excuse you would need to watch the cricket I guess.

 

[Morrisman]

Why are you building it just out of blocks? curious. Cheaper? I'd assume they don't insulate as well as wood/drywall/insulation.

Not too sure about the heat insulation angle, but they don't burn, they won't blow over in a big storm and they can be drilled and screwed to if I need to mount shelves, brackets etc. I'd guess they'll keep the noise down too when I'm grinding and pounding on stuff in the evening

It seems to be the normal thing in the UK to build from brick or blocks, with tile roof, rather than wood and drywall. Not quite sure why it evolved that way, though rumour has it the Great Fire of London in 1666 put the fear of god up us about burning houses

 

[Morrisman]

A little more progress, once the snow and frost disappeared. I've bought a box of the small glass blocks used in another garage on this forum, (I stole the idea) but the wife took over when the decision where and how to use them came up.

My mom says they look cool, so that'll do for me.

I'm back in the Gulf of Mexico now, so no more progress for at least five weeks

The third door, on the back, is for when I build a storage shed later. that hedge is 10' thick and will be massacred in due course, as will the tree.

The mortarwork is a bit scruffy in places but it is going to be rendered on the outside and probably insulated on the inside, so nobody will see it.

I'll put another row of three glass blocks on top later. They are more to let daylight in than to see out of.

There will be a 2 x 3 block of glass on the right side, and a 3 x 3 round the front.