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New garage space

Lickers

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
56
Location
West Midlands - UK
Hey guys

I'm finally about to close on my first house so I'm preparing what I need to get stuck into the garage space.

I'm hugely excited as the space is very unusual for the type of house/setting it is and it's very big. Well, for the UK that is. Stateside, you guys have amazing spaces.

The garage building has been accented by other buildings over the years. The previous owner used it as a machine shop for his business so there were two extensions added to the original garage.
It's full of his machines and associated **** at the moment so it's difficult to see it for what it really is. Nevertheless, the garage measures 13' 3" wide by 20' 10" deep with a utility room that is 7' 9" wide x 10" deep which will become part of the garage space once I extend the shallow axis out to run flush with the garage wall to make the building almost 30' x 13' for my space.

The garage has a pit which I shall be putting to use as there is no space for a lift - plus lifts are pretty expensive. It's got a full on power supply - both 13 and 32 amp which I believe is single phase to run his existing lathes, mills and drills.

After reading a lot of journals, I've been hugely impressed by the spaces some of you guys have created - especially those on a budget and with space restrictions. Until I see it empty, it's hard for me to visualise what the layout will be, but I'm currently working on the look of the surfaces in terms of the walls, ceiling and floor.

You guys have a completely different infrastructure in the US for what you have at yoru disposal, but I'm hoping I can get a few pointers (based on your experiences) with what I can do with the floor.
The garage will house my pride and joy, as well as be a full on working space for my other cars and projects. I do want to keep it very clean and in order though as I see it as an extension of my house. Jack Olsen's build is probably the best example I can think of for this duality of space and what I'd like to achieve.

At present, the floor is plain concrete. I like the idea of having it a light grey colour so any dropped bits are easily found, but it obviously has to be hard wearing and easy to clean.
The real dirty work will be done over the pit (fluid changes on the cars etc) so I figured the painted approach would be a sensible option as it would be cheap, easy to maintain and should give the finish I need for a tidy but utilitarian working space. I'd like to your suggestions as this is my first real garage space so I'm staring from scratch. Here's a couple of pics to give you an idea.

This is at the back of the garage space looking towards the garage door. The door has been sealed up and the partitions you see have made a stock room in that area. These will be the first to come down to open the space up properly.

IMGP0643.jpg


This is from the back of the whole building. This room will be taken over by my girl for her studio.
Through the wooden doors at the end is the utlility room which opens on to the garage and will eventually become the new garage space. The cupboard space on the right will probably be used in the main garage space.

IMGP0647.jpg
 
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Falcon67

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Jun 11, 2009
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Location
Merkel, TX
Looks like a great space to me, with lots of potential. Pretty good size I think for your side of the lake?
 

IH82BL8

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Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
500
Location
Bowie, Md
I'm very pleased for you. What is your pride and joy? I, for on, like Limeys but do you know how that name originated?
 
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L

Lickers

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Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
56
Location
West Midlands - UK
Cheers. My pride an joy is a recently restored Alpina B10...E34 variety.

Re: Limeys. I seem to remember a connection with British Sailors who carried huge amounts of lemons on board their vessels to combat scurvy. They tried limes first but lemons have a higher vitamin c content.

Any thoughts on which is the best way to progress with the floor?
 
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bazzateer

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Oct 8, 2009
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6,075
Location
Watford, Great Britain
Hi Lickers, good space you have there. I'm still in the planning stages for mine down in Watford. Why not start a thread in the gallery once you get started? Mine's several pages long and I haven't even broken ground yet!
 

regguy1

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Dec 15, 2009
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4,053
Location
On Mount Olympus with Zeus
Lickers Cheers. My pride an joy is a recently restored Alpina B10...E34 variety.

Re: Limeys. I seem to remember a connection with British Sailors who carried huge amounts of lemons on board their vessels to combat scurvy. They tried limes first but lemons have a higher vitamin c content.

Any thoughts on which is the best way to progress with the floor?

*******************************************************************
You can't beat epoxy for ease of cleaning
If you could find a way to do epoxy I think in the long run you'll be much happier with it. I see you have old paint on the floor which will need to be removed if you do epoxy. Are there many lower priced epoxy kits there?

I used this stuff, low priced yet reasonably good quality:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=138905&searchTerm=supercoat flooring
$65.00 for 250 Sq Ft. coverage.

Here's the thread posted when I finished:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66867

Here's a before and after photos
 

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m.james

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Sep 27, 2010
Messages
230
For flooring a lot of people use epoxy, floor paint or tile decks. It really comes to personal preference along with cleaning time. I used floor paints and so far so good.
 

IH82BL8

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Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
500
Location
Bowie, Md
Any thoughts on which is the best way to progress with the floor?

Sorry, I got off topic. I'm in the same position as you are. I have a bare concrete floor that will need lots of prep work before I can put anything on it. I think I'll go with two-part epoxy. I don't know whether I'll use the color flecks in it or not. I like the way they make the floor look but, like you, I'm concerned about being unable to see small parts if I drop them.
 
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Lickers

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Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
56
Location
West Midlands - UK
Thanks for the input guys.

Bazzateer
I certainly will do. I'm really looking forward to knocking it into shape.

Regguy1
Thanks for the pics. The after pic certainly looks like what I want to achieve. Given the cost involved vs the net result, it's well worth it. I'll do some research on some local suppliers.
 
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