Just closed on my first home, 4BR, 2.5BA, with attached 2 car garage.
A bit of background about me; I'm 25, engaged to be married in 2014 (on my birthday ironically). As an engineer I design and build medical device production equipment for a living, while my fiancee works in the medical field as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Tinkering/fabricating/fixing everything/getting my hands dirty comes naturally to me and I've been immersed in automotive culture as long as I can remember. With each vehicle I've had the projects have gotten more and more complicated, from basic bolt on installs to the last project, which was a full blown drivetrain swap. The swap was completed on jackstands in an un-insulated 1.5 car garage over the course of a brutal Buffalo winter, with a small propane heater helping me out. So, with that winter fresh in my mind, interest rates being low, and being at the right point in my personal life, we decided to take the plunge into homeownership.
The swap is a 6.0 "LS" motor and T56 into a 2001 BMW 540i Sport, and it's a daily driver from April - November. I had a blast doing the swap and learned many new skills, but one thing I regret is not taking better pictures and documenting my work. I'm going to do my best to put down the camera phone and use my "nice" camera to document progress.
Speaking of the swap, see the following link. I need to make a thread about it on here for those that aren't members on other forums.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1879712-6-0-LQ4-into-E39
The garage's existing specs, and my thoughts on what I want (mostly for reference, because I know I'll forget everything)
Electrical:
1 electrical socket at the front. Would like to install a strip of sockets for my workbench and have a hanging extension cord reel as well. The house has 220V power which is from a now defunct hot tub, and will be perfect should I ever decide to upgrade welders from my 115V MIG.
Lighting:
2 naked overhead bulbs. I have about 4 or 5 fluorescent strip fixtures from my old place that can go up, but I'd also like some track lighting/LEDs that will accent the workbench area and possibly the walls.
Aesthetics:
The garage is currently fully drywalled and (I assume) insulated, which is a huge plus, much less work that I have to do. It will need some mudding to cover up some trouble areas on the walls, and definitely primer+paint. The idea is to have a stripe theme like many of the garages on here, but with a few personal touches centered around our type of cars. I'm a big German car fan, hence the name.
Floor: Concrete in excellent physical condition. Some staining from water and rusty shovels is present but overall it's smooth and crack free, which is most important to me (I spend most of my time laying on my back on the ground). Sloped to a center drain which will be a huge plus for washing/rinsing the floor. Although Racedeck looks fantastic I beat my floors up, and I need something that won't look like **** after a few years of my abuse. The floor will regularly see fluid spills, welding, grinding, and heavy equipment rolling around (floor jack, jackstands, engine cranes), so I think some sort of polyurethane coating will be best. My best friend is a project manager for a great little flooring company and will advise me when the time comes. The driveway itself has an extra row to the right of the garage, continuing all the way to the street. I probably could fit 9 cars in the driveway/garage without blocking the sidewalk. It's handy as I drive an old Subaru in the wintertime and will store it on that pad during the summertime.
Work area: In front of one of the bays is a recessed portion in the wall which I'm sure was used to store garbage cans and lawnmowers by the previous owner. Luckily, we have a sizeable shed in the backyard, so I'll be able to put all the lawn equipment, bikes, and all other **** back there to keep my space free. The recessed area is split by a vertical drywalled beam which makes fitting existing equipment in there a bit more tricky, but I will work around that. The plan is to have my rolling toolbox, air compressor, and welder on one side, with the work bench on the other. In the past I used to have to bring down my laptop for quick reference while working on cars, which was clumsy and awkward. I'd like to incorporate a small, maybe 20" display mounted on the wall, with a desktop tower tucked away under the workbench. A wireless mouse and keyboard will go with the setup and can be stowed away in the toolbox when not in use, since everything that stays on the bench somehow attracts a layer of dust and grease. A couple of speakers mounted up in the corners of the room will provide tunes, controlled by the computer.
And what everyone came for, pics:
Just a few days after closing:
The rear of the car is about a foot forward of the minimum distance from the rear door, and I still have a lot of room in front of it. This will come in handy if/when I pull the motor out of the BMW for service. Pardon the piles of **** as we're just moving in.
Garage floor is in good shape.
Insulated garage door, with opener
General views:
Whew, long first post! We are in the process of moving, so updates will be slow, but I'm very motivated to get going and get functional in there. I will leave you with our mascot Finn, who is 15lbs (more to love) and doesn't want to go.
A bit of background about me; I'm 25, engaged to be married in 2014 (on my birthday ironically). As an engineer I design and build medical device production equipment for a living, while my fiancee works in the medical field as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Tinkering/fabricating/fixing everything/getting my hands dirty comes naturally to me and I've been immersed in automotive culture as long as I can remember. With each vehicle I've had the projects have gotten more and more complicated, from basic bolt on installs to the last project, which was a full blown drivetrain swap. The swap was completed on jackstands in an un-insulated 1.5 car garage over the course of a brutal Buffalo winter, with a small propane heater helping me out. So, with that winter fresh in my mind, interest rates being low, and being at the right point in my personal life, we decided to take the plunge into homeownership.
The swap is a 6.0 "LS" motor and T56 into a 2001 BMW 540i Sport, and it's a daily driver from April - November. I had a blast doing the swap and learned many new skills, but one thing I regret is not taking better pictures and documenting my work. I'm going to do my best to put down the camera phone and use my "nice" camera to document progress.
Speaking of the swap, see the following link. I need to make a thread about it on here for those that aren't members on other forums.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1879712-6-0-LQ4-into-E39
The garage's existing specs, and my thoughts on what I want (mostly for reference, because I know I'll forget everything)
Electrical:
1 electrical socket at the front. Would like to install a strip of sockets for my workbench and have a hanging extension cord reel as well. The house has 220V power which is from a now defunct hot tub, and will be perfect should I ever decide to upgrade welders from my 115V MIG.
Lighting:
2 naked overhead bulbs. I have about 4 or 5 fluorescent strip fixtures from my old place that can go up, but I'd also like some track lighting/LEDs that will accent the workbench area and possibly the walls.
Aesthetics:
The garage is currently fully drywalled and (I assume) insulated, which is a huge plus, much less work that I have to do. It will need some mudding to cover up some trouble areas on the walls, and definitely primer+paint. The idea is to have a stripe theme like many of the garages on here, but with a few personal touches centered around our type of cars. I'm a big German car fan, hence the name.
Floor: Concrete in excellent physical condition. Some staining from water and rusty shovels is present but overall it's smooth and crack free, which is most important to me (I spend most of my time laying on my back on the ground). Sloped to a center drain which will be a huge plus for washing/rinsing the floor. Although Racedeck looks fantastic I beat my floors up, and I need something that won't look like **** after a few years of my abuse. The floor will regularly see fluid spills, welding, grinding, and heavy equipment rolling around (floor jack, jackstands, engine cranes), so I think some sort of polyurethane coating will be best. My best friend is a project manager for a great little flooring company and will advise me when the time comes. The driveway itself has an extra row to the right of the garage, continuing all the way to the street. I probably could fit 9 cars in the driveway/garage without blocking the sidewalk. It's handy as I drive an old Subaru in the wintertime and will store it on that pad during the summertime.
Work area: In front of one of the bays is a recessed portion in the wall which I'm sure was used to store garbage cans and lawnmowers by the previous owner. Luckily, we have a sizeable shed in the backyard, so I'll be able to put all the lawn equipment, bikes, and all other **** back there to keep my space free. The recessed area is split by a vertical drywalled beam which makes fitting existing equipment in there a bit more tricky, but I will work around that. The plan is to have my rolling toolbox, air compressor, and welder on one side, with the work bench on the other. In the past I used to have to bring down my laptop for quick reference while working on cars, which was clumsy and awkward. I'd like to incorporate a small, maybe 20" display mounted on the wall, with a desktop tower tucked away under the workbench. A wireless mouse and keyboard will go with the setup and can be stowed away in the toolbox when not in use, since everything that stays on the bench somehow attracts a layer of dust and grease. A couple of speakers mounted up in the corners of the room will provide tunes, controlled by the computer.
And what everyone came for, pics:
Just a few days after closing:
The rear of the car is about a foot forward of the minimum distance from the rear door, and I still have a lot of room in front of it. This will come in handy if/when I pull the motor out of the BMW for service. Pardon the piles of **** as we're just moving in.
Garage floor is in good shape.
Insulated garage door, with opener
General views:
Whew, long first post! We are in the process of moving, so updates will be slow, but I'm very motivated to get going and get functional in there. I will leave you with our mascot Finn, who is 15lbs (more to love) and doesn't want to go.
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