New member, new garage. Advice?

[Derry]

Hi. I’m from Norway, and this is my first post.

We just bought a “new” house with a detached garage and a nice flat (for those evenings with the boys. Just bought a billiard table ).
Nearly nothing is done inside the garage, and I would appreciate some opinions from this excellent board.

I’m planning to epoxy the floor. The whole floor is electrical heated, but I can’t see that causing any problems.

I will put in some cabinets, but I’m not sure which wall I should use for the cabinets. I’m leaning to alt. 2. Opinions?

On the walls that will not be used for cabinets, I’m considering using slatwalls

I’m not going to use it for heavy repairs, but mostly for private detailing, some electronic works, and general house repair.

Ps. Those two cars are my wife’s BMW 3-series Compact and my Mercedes W211 E-class

 

[dink]

Welcome to the board....my opinion is putting the cabinets against the back wall....more access for the cars on the side......by the way beautiful garage and i love the grass on the roof....how do you go about trimming that grass???

 

[Derry]

......by the way beautiful garage and i love the grass on the roof....how do you go about trimming that grass???

Don't know yet, but concidering one of these:

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, how DO you trim that grass.... I see we have a CAD user here too... What do you do to own a program like that anyway? They are big$$$

based On what Ive seen in that picture, I love norway already. Make sure you register on the "garage junkies OFFICIAL map"

Jim

 

[ringer]

I think I would put the cabinets in front of the vehicles. I have found bench space to be convienent there.

By the way...I DEMAND PICTURES OF YOU ON THE ROOF WITH A PUSHMOWER AND WEED-EATER!!

HeHe, that roof is just too cool.

 

[Luckydevil]

That roof is awesome! Is that a common thing over there? I have never seent hat in the states.

 

[dink]

That roof is awesome! Is that a common thing over there? I have never seent hat in the states.

I saw it a few times in and around Seattle once when I was there

 

[kartracer55]

Theres a restteraunt around here that has a concrete type awning and they have bushes and plants up there... its pretty cool

 

[dink]

I think Carabbas does it

 

[Craig Balzer]

Derry

Great place you have there. I lived for a total of 14 years in Europe and never made it to Norway. My bad.

I notice you have received only a comment or two on the work bench design. Most people seem fixated on the roofing system you opted for.

You asked about epoxy floor covering. There is an absolutely fantastic step-by-step description here: http://www.garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=748 complete with photo coverage. Not sure if you have access to a large tool rental outfit and/or the brand name epoxy that was used, but you can't go wrong following that thread even for general instruction.

Regarding the workbench: I would recommend the back wall as well. That seemd to be the way you were leaning in the first place. What is the narrow aisle walled off from the main part of the garage? Is that storage or where the utilites are kept or maybe the "pen" for the the four-legged lawn mower?

Craig

 

[Derry]

Thanks for all comments. As Craig said, the attentions seem to have been drawn to the grass on the floor. Here in Scandinavia, we use it a lot, mainly on mountain cabins. But it’s actually a very old building technique. Today it’s mostly decorative, but in the old days it was found to insulate in cold winters, and cool down the house in hot summers.

Here are some pictures from other places in Norway:

Before the grass start growing:

Last, but not least. This is the mountain cabin belonging to the richest man in Norway. Wonder how many goats he will need.

What is the narrow aisle walled off from the main part of the garage? Is that storage or where the utilites are kept or maybe the "pen" for the the four-legged lawn mower?

Yes, it’s a storage room that I intend to use for snow clearance equipment and other things so I don’t have to fill up the garage. And it’s a good idea where to store “the four-legged-lawn-mover” as well!

 

[l_bilyk]

I am 'green' with envy

 

[DynoDave]

Welcome to the board! That's an excellent looking shop you have there.

Personally, I'd go with the cabinets at the front. For myself, I do a lot of mechanical work, so tools and supplies at the front of the car just makes sense. Also, when I drew my floor plans, I left enough sweep on the side to fully open the cars doors (that's a whopping 4 feet on some of my larger Chrysler products!). I'm not sure you need that much room, but measure to be sure before you decide.

And yes, the grass roof is cool! Just as an FYI, check this out....

Ford Rouge Plant