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New Kid in Toronto

Firm

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
Messages
14
Location
Toronto, ON
Hi all. I just signed up from the Toronto area and thought I'd post a bit about my garage. My fiance and I bought our first home last year; it's just a typical suburban starter home with a double garage (silly how little 1/2 a million $ will buy you in this joke of a city). I've got two jobs, 7 cars and a long list of reno projects so my time is spread pretty thin and progress on the garage has been a little slower than I'd like, but it's finally starting to shape up.

The goal is to maximize the limited space and make it very functional for car repairs and restoration work....We (by choice) daily drive old vehicles, so I need the ability to pull a car into the garage in the middle of winter and get it fixed so we can get to work the next day! We also don't intend to stay here much more that 3-5 years, so I am trying to avoid investing a ton into the garage, unless it's something I can take with me when we move.


I don't have the greatest pics, but here's some of the progression since last winter when we moved in.

The beginning, this is a couple weeks after moving in:

DSC02377.jpg


In the spring I epoxy coated the floor, painted the foundation, hung some posters from work, did a lot of organizing and setup a cheap work bench and a half decent compressor. Also, built a shed to get all the garden **** out of the garage.

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https://scontent-a-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10258958_10152102165160778_2642440269678523045_n.jpg?oh=d6ad0964e97cde46bb7f859c9ddf11c8&oe=55171BE5

Next I ran some extra outlets, did some more organizing and had a high lift conversion installed on the garage door.

https://scontent-a-ord.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/16394_10152424888575778_5235410685375070718_n.jpg?oh=38275755078ea58741f547e4100bcd43&oe=54DED953

Finally, after months of agonizing over the measurements and researching lifts, and then worrying about whether I was going to like it; I finally had my Direct Lift Pro Park 8S installed! I couldn't be happier with it, it was worth all the hassle. I was finally able to get the Spitfire in out of the weather :)

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Next on the list is to upgrade the electrical in the garage because my lift and compressor have a tendency to overload the sole 15A circuit that's out there. I also want to add some better lighting, a propane heater and I am debating finishing the drywall and painting the walls.
 
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1/2 Cup

Member Emeritus
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Messages
19,283
Location
Shepparton. Victoria. Australia
Welcome aboard from downunder as always, enjoy.
You don't necessarily have to spend heaps to make it workable, you will find plenty of great examples of this here.
Thanks for posting.:thumbup:
 
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LX-Markham

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 27, 2013
Messages
2,930
Location
Markham, Ont.
Welcome!
I'm just north of you.

I'm in the middle of my garage project also. Soooooo many great ideas on this board.

Love the Spitfire!
 

dubber

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
5,326
Location
Canada's Capital
Hello from another Ontario resident! This looks like it could be a great thread. Get the mods to move it to the Garage Gallery and you can keep contributing to it along the way.
I've got a couple questions:
Are you going to be finishing that wall on the left side?
Planning on painting afterwords?
Can you share the garage measurements, including ceiling height?
How much did the high lift conversion set you back?

Thanks!
 

AMCguy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
2,022
Location
Sunshine Coast, BC Canada
Welcome. It looks like you already have a pretty nice space there.

If you time is a already spread thin, you have made a mistake joining. Now you will have NO time. This place is addicting.
 
OP
F

Firm

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
Messages
14
Location
Toronto, ON
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone, I really like the place already, lol. And yes, if a mod sees this and can move it to the garage gallery, please do. If not, I'll create a new thread sometime.

Dubber, I already drooled over your garage earlier today, so the least I can do is answer your questions:
-I will be finishing the wall on the left...Hence the drywall sheets sitting next to the Sonoma in the photo. I wanted to do it before the lift came, but I ran outta time and I needed to get the cars inside for the winter - I have a few projects on the Spitfire I need to burn through this winter.

-Painting would be nice, I just know it would take a lot of time to finish it to my standards, and I don't have that sorta time right now. Maybe in another year or two.

-Dimensions breakdown as follows (it's actually what I consider a "tight" two car...boo)
*ceiling height: 124"
*Length: 231" (19.25ft)
*Width: 192" (16ft)

-High lift conversion cost me $600, but that excludes the typical side mount opener, it wouldn't work for my application (not enough width available to mount it) so we had to make due with my existing overhead opener. I would NOT recommend the company that did the work, it took them 3 very unprofessional visits over the course of a month to get the job done.
 
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