NickGT
Member
First of all, I'm brand new to the forum, so let me introduce myself. My name is Nick and my car (toy) is a 05 Mustang GT (Hence the username). I was born, raised and live in Calgary, AB. I've been through several mustangs and just hit the golden age of 30. I practically live in my garage every spare moment I get. I had a feeling I wasn't the only guy out there obsessed with garage projects. But I can't believe I stumbled onto a forum full of you guys. Awesome! Some of your projects and ideas have honestly blown my mind and inspired me. But enough about me.
So a let me tell you a little bit about my "garage background" before I get into my current project. My first garage was back in 2005. It was a double attached to a townhouse. It wasn't mind blowing by any means. But it was my first attempt creating a space for tinkering on random things and detailing my car. Here's a snapshot. I wish I had more but it's the only one I could find.
I lived in this house (mostly garage) for 5yrs before packing up to make my first move. After going through it then (and again now) I have decided moving *****. Regardless, I was SUPER excited to start my next garage. It had higher ceilings and a little more space. I dug into the project as soon as I finished unpacking. To be honest I never really "finished" this garage before I moved. But sometimes that's the way it goes. When I left this house, the garage looked like this:
Alright, if you've managed to make it to this part. Congratulations! This is where my life took a turn for the really awesome. I met a wonderful girl (that's how it goes) and we decided to settle in an older more established community. I left my second garage and brand new home in the rear view and moved into a home built in 1966 with a HUGE (to me) over sized double garage. This was a smaller house and larger garage. Perfect! It measures approx. 26' x 24' with almost 12' ceilings. Heaven!
This garage needed work though. The previous owner, as you can see, cheaped out with a smaller garage door, and simply filled in upper portion with some vinyl siding. Bah. That won't do. But that wasn't the worst part.
Step inside and I saw this:
It was dark, dank, and COVERED with mold on the walls. It also smelt of cigarettes as this was the previous owners smoke shed I guess. What a waste. It was nasty. But I parked my mustang inside and saw potential.
First things first, I suited up for some mold remediation and gutted the whole thing. What a mess.
Next my electrician buddy came in to do a little wiring for me. New panel, Recessed Lights, new wiring throughout.
The old furnace you see inside was rusted right through and a carbon monoxide hazard so that would have to go eventually. It was summer so I wanted to deal with that tiny garage door. I wanted more light and a proper finished look. So out came the door and in went a larger one equipped with a side mounted Liftmaster operator. Boom!
Back to the furnace. It was rusted right through. I traced the source of the water leak back to the roofing detail and and water running down the stack into the furnace.. So you know what happens next. New roof.
With the water staying on the good side (the outside) Back inside I went to work. Time to insulate and upgrade the furnace to a roof mounted lennox unit.
All of the above took the better part of 2012 to complete. Which brings us to 2013. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drywall or not. It's quite the job for one man. So I called around to get some prices. After 8 different phone calls, nobody wanted the job. They were simply to busy or didn't respond with a quote. So that settled it, I decided to take on the job myself.
I've done a little taping and mudding in my previous garages. But I have no experience in doing a space of this size from the ground up. Well after watching a lot of how-to videos on youtube on cutting around pot lights and taping/mudding techniques I went to work.
After a lot more mudding, fanning out my **** joints, and a little sanding I was tired and done with mudding. I through some primer at the walls and my first coat of paint.
I'm VERY happy with results. Arguably nicer than the interior of my house actually. This is where the story stops for now and brings us to the present date. I can't wait to get my next coat of paint on so that I can start hooking up my lights and other random things.
Thanks for checking out my thread. Look forward to reading more of all of your threads for ideas. I still have a laundry list of things to-do so I'll update more as things happen.
So a let me tell you a little bit about my "garage background" before I get into my current project. My first garage was back in 2005. It was a double attached to a townhouse. It wasn't mind blowing by any means. But it was my first attempt creating a space for tinkering on random things and detailing my car. Here's a snapshot. I wish I had more but it's the only one I could find.
I lived in this house (mostly garage) for 5yrs before packing up to make my first move. After going through it then (and again now) I have decided moving *****. Regardless, I was SUPER excited to start my next garage. It had higher ceilings and a little more space. I dug into the project as soon as I finished unpacking. To be honest I never really "finished" this garage before I moved. But sometimes that's the way it goes. When I left this house, the garage looked like this:
Alright, if you've managed to make it to this part. Congratulations! This is where my life took a turn for the really awesome. I met a wonderful girl (that's how it goes) and we decided to settle in an older more established community. I left my second garage and brand new home in the rear view and moved into a home built in 1966 with a HUGE (to me) over sized double garage. This was a smaller house and larger garage. Perfect! It measures approx. 26' x 24' with almost 12' ceilings. Heaven!
This garage needed work though. The previous owner, as you can see, cheaped out with a smaller garage door, and simply filled in upper portion with some vinyl siding. Bah. That won't do. But that wasn't the worst part.
Step inside and I saw this:
It was dark, dank, and COVERED with mold on the walls. It also smelt of cigarettes as this was the previous owners smoke shed I guess. What a waste. It was nasty. But I parked my mustang inside and saw potential.
First things first, I suited up for some mold remediation and gutted the whole thing. What a mess.
Next my electrician buddy came in to do a little wiring for me. New panel, Recessed Lights, new wiring throughout.
The old furnace you see inside was rusted right through and a carbon monoxide hazard so that would have to go eventually. It was summer so I wanted to deal with that tiny garage door. I wanted more light and a proper finished look. So out came the door and in went a larger one equipped with a side mounted Liftmaster operator. Boom!
Back to the furnace. It was rusted right through. I traced the source of the water leak back to the roofing detail and and water running down the stack into the furnace.. So you know what happens next. New roof.
With the water staying on the good side (the outside) Back inside I went to work. Time to insulate and upgrade the furnace to a roof mounted lennox unit.
All of the above took the better part of 2012 to complete. Which brings us to 2013. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drywall or not. It's quite the job for one man. So I called around to get some prices. After 8 different phone calls, nobody wanted the job. They were simply to busy or didn't respond with a quote. So that settled it, I decided to take on the job myself.
I've done a little taping and mudding in my previous garages. But I have no experience in doing a space of this size from the ground up. Well after watching a lot of how-to videos on youtube on cutting around pot lights and taping/mudding techniques I went to work.
After a lot more mudding, fanning out my **** joints, and a little sanding I was tired and done with mudding. I through some primer at the walls and my first coat of paint.
I'm VERY happy with results. Arguably nicer than the interior of my house actually. This is where the story stops for now and brings us to the present date. I can't wait to get my next coat of paint on so that I can start hooking up my lights and other random things.
Thanks for checking out my thread. Look forward to reading more of all of your threads for ideas. I still have a laundry list of things to-do so I'll update more as things happen.
Last edited:
, Welcome.
