Paul's 17x20 2-Car

[Requin6]

Been lurking for a while. Love the forums here, lots of great discussions. My garage build has been in progress for the past 2 years. We bought a new build townhome in the Fall of 2010 and I have been tinkering around in the garage ever since. I am a longtime wrencher on all types of vehicles and other home projects. I am glad to say that my collection of mostly Craftsman tools have been acquired prior to their move to Asian made. Our previous home did not have a garage at all, so a garage was on the must have list for this home.

I am a huge DC Area sports fan and by the blessing of my lovely wife she allowed me a room in the house for all my memorabilia. With that said I went with more of an 'automotive' theme for the garage.

With the garage being on the smaller side I have had to keep floor space at a premium. I find it important to park 2 cars in the garage every night so I am having to use wall and ceiling space as storage.

On with the pictures...

Getting Started

Primered

Top Color

Bottom Color

Taping the stripe

 

[ToddGrossman]

Nice work thus far. I'll be following along. I just started to tape a paint line and lo and behold, the old paint peeled off like paper. My whole freakin' house (three years since we bought it) has been like this. Seems the original crew did no proper prep and all the paint on the smooth, untextured walls will peel right off. So I spent today peeling and mudding. Anyway, keep it up!

 

[Requin6]

Stripe

A little over the door storage

Air hose reel

 

[HSpencer]

Wow that is going to look great! I love the colors you chose and I especially love the brickwork over the front of the garage. Looks classical. I guess behind the double doors would be the furnace and water heater? Nice they are hidden and not just stuck in the garage like usual. Would be nice to use some of it for brooms, mops, etc.
It is going to be nice!

 

[ToddGrossman]

Lovin' it!

 

[Requin6]

Work bench area

Socket layout

 

[Requin6]

Wow that is going to look great! I love the colors you chose and I especially love the brickwork over the front of the garage. Looks classical. I guess behind the double doors would be the furnace and water heater? Nice they are hidden and not just stuck in the garage like usual. Would be nice to use some of it for brooms, mops, etc.
It is going to be nice!

You are correct! I've got my shovels, extension cords and other misc stuff in there. It stinks not having the wall space that the doors create but much better than the alternative of having it all out in the open.

 

[55cadillacking]

Alright! Another sweet double! I see you have some RD samples down in a few pics. What's the plan for the floor? I'll be following this one for sure! Welcome to the GJ.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Very nice!

 

[mdkingsley]

Very nice, looks like you are thinking things out very well.

 

[FRS FAN]

Looks great! Can we see it with 2 cars parked inside?

 

[JimVonBaden]

Very nice and functional for a small two car townhouse garage! I had a one car, and it just wasn't big enough!

Jim

 

[NCAudi]

Looking good. Really like those colors, the grey with red stripe looks great. Also the black trim turned out great. Makes me wonder if I should paint all the white trim work in my garage black as well. Also interested to see what you do with the floor.

 

[Requin6]

Looks great! Can we see it with 2 cars parked inside?

It's a squeeze on each side, but I like to park as close as possible to allow a nice walk way to the interior door.

Here is a little perspective of the front of the home...

 

[Requin6]

On the floor...

I have tossed around every possibility I can think of from epoxy to racedeck to VCT to PCV flooring to polishing the existing floor and I can not for the life of me come up with a decision. I like it being bare for working reasons but aesthetically its not as cool. Right now I think a black/grey PCV is where I am leaning. Who knows!

 

[Requin6]

Alright got a chance to get some things squared away in the garage this morning. My dad was nice enough to get me a Reelworks extension cord reel for Christmas and I got around to putting it up today. The reel action on it very nice I must say. Also scored some heavy duty bins on sale at Lowe's today to store some things that aren't used regularly up in the overhead storage.

I'll also include some pics of a couple different perspectives.

My ultra scientifically engineered bike hanging system.

 

[Requin6]

I guess while I'm updating the thread I'll include some shots of mine and my wife's daily drivers. My black/green Maxima consumed nearly every day of my life for several years. From building, wrenching, fixing, drag racing, auto-x, road coursing and daily driving, it was another full time job all in itself. I have scaled back the past couple years on it and just drive it and maintenance it now a days.

The silver Maxima I bought while the green/black one was down for a few months. My wife's Honda Civic with nearly 300,000 miles on it got to the point to where I was tired of fixing it all the time so she drives this one daily now.

 

[55cadillacking]

We have the same scientifically engineered bike hanging system! I'm impressed with a lot of things in your garage. How did you go about roughing it in for air? That's the most impressive to me.

 

[dubber]

Nice set-up, your maxima looks like a killer.

 

[Requin6]

We have the same scientifically engineered bike hanging system! I'm impressed with a lot of things in your garage. How did you go about roughing it in for air? That's the most impressive to me.

Thanks Rick. Not much in the way of plumbing for air. Just hoisted my semi portable air compressor up to the overhead storage and got a 10ft Goodyear hose as a lead in to the hose reel. I just plug the compressor in when I need it! Its not a huge compressor so it does cycle more than I would like it to but for space saving its the most ideal for my size garage.

 

[55cadillacking]

Oh yes, how did I miss that? That's very similar to what I have done with my little Fat Max Stanley compressor, except instead of overhead, it is on the bottom on a rolling cart. The mounted reel sure makes things convenient, doesn't it?

 

[Kevin54]

Thank God for smaller cars today. Nice use of space and nice transformation. It sure looks wider than 17' with the way you park. I take it momma gets wet though if it's raining while you're parking

 

[Requin6]

Thank God for smaller cars today. Nice use of space and nice transformation. It sure looks wider than 17' with the way you park. I take it momma gets wet though if it's raining while you're parking

Haha you are correct. Luckily she doesn't mind too much.

 

[Requin6]

Oh yes, how did I miss that? That's very similar to what I have done with my little Fat Max Stanley compressor, except instead of overhead, it is on the bottom on a rolling cart. The mounted reel sure makes things convenient, doesn't it?

Yeah the hose reel is a must. I can't believe I messed around with loose air hoses all these years.

I just ordered one of those TireRack tire racks. I went with dedicated snow tires this year on my wife's car and I'm excited to get the extra set of wheels out of the workbench area and up on the wall!

 

[Requin6]

Nice set-up, your maxima looks like a killer.

Thanks! Your VW's are looking pretty nice as well.

 

[Pitbull711]

Very nice set-up..and nice rides

 

[55cadillacking]

Yeah the hose reel is a must. I can't believe I messed around with loose air hoses all these years.

I just ordered one of those TireRack tire racks. I went with dedicated snow tires this year on my wife's car and I'm excited to get the extra set of wheels out of the workbench area and up on the wall!

You will love having them up and out of the way. My only issue is the wheels for my SUV are heavy, awkward, and very hard to get up and down on my own, and there never seems to be an extra set of hands around when I need them. But, I like that I put them as high up as I did. It's just the two times per year I struggle with.

 

[BMW_Garage]

Great work! Keep it up!

 

[UN4GTBL]

Very nice!

Maxima's are clean too

 

[1299]

This is a really sharp looking garage. I've got an attached 20x20 that I'm playing with and the colors look really good.

 

[Requin6]

Alright got 3 things knocked out this evening after work. My tire rack only took one day to come in from the Delaware TireRack shipping facility. So I decided to install it tonight so its not laying around taking up space in my garage.

Install was very straight forward and only took about an hour. Most of that was deciding on which slots to put the support rails. Being height challenged (5'8") left me with a predicament on how high to mount the rack. I decided on this height because I can get the wheels on and off by myself using a step stool. Didn't want to have to walk them up the ladder to get them on and off. On the good side, I can stand underneath without any trouble! If it becomes an issue I still have another 7-8 inches that I can move the rack up.

As seen in the pictures I also got a light mounted underneath the cabinets. A huge difference when working on the workbench!

A couple weeks ago I was wandering through the tool department at Sears (as I often do) and noticed some signage stashed in the corner. I worked up the balls to ask the tool guy, who I have become chummy with over the years, if they were just going to toss them out after a while. Long story short he said to make way with it. Score! Of course it found a nice little spot on the wall. I know Craftsman has been getting dogged on this forum but nearly all of my tools bare the Craftsman name and I have nothing but good things to say about them. Granted they are mostly American made but even still I find the Craftsman brand to be a pretty good value for the enthusiast/weekend warrior.

Pics...

 

[Requin6]

On a side note, as I was mentioning in a previous post, I went with snow tires this year for my wife's car. I must say even in the light snow we have had here in the DC Metro area snow tires make a huge difference. I also have a 4x4 Ford F150 for getting around but I took her car out just to see how they handle and it was amazing even compared to nice all-seasons. I went with the Dunlop Wintersport 3D's, being a performance snow tire they don't compromise as much dry handling and ride pretty nice and comfortable on clean roads. One compromise is that I had them mounted to the stock wheels so the wife doesn't get as many looks while she is out driving.

 

[KissMyWhiteSS]

Garage is looking great. I like the simple set up and how you have utilized your space wisely. Your maximas are sweet too. Those have always been one of my favorite cars baring a Japanese name.

 

[dubber]

On a side note, as I was mentioning in a previous post, I went with snow tires this year for my wife's car. I must say even in the light snow we have had here in the DC Metro area snow tires make a huge difference. I also have a 4x4 Ford F150 for getting around but I took her car out just to see how they handle and it was amazing even compared to nice all-seasons. I went with the Dunlop Wintersport 3D's, being a performance snow tire they don't compromise as much dry handling and ride pretty nice and comfortable on clean roads. One compromise is that I had them mounted to the stock wheels so the wife doesn't get as many looks while she is out driving.

Yes being from up North (canada) winter tires are a must up here for sure. Night and day difference. I really wish i had room to get one of those tire racks, it looks mint. I like that your showing the nice wheels without bags as well.

 

[MSRTom]

Hoping to put the same G35 wheels on my S13 someday. Which Nissan centercap did you get to fit?

Garage is looking great. I like the simple set up and how you have utilized your space wisely. Your maximas are sweet too. Those have always been one of my favorite cars baring a Japanese name.

Hey there, I'm in Summerville as well!

 

[Requin6]

Hoping to put the same G35 wheels on my S13 someday. Which Nissan centercap did you get to fit?

They are the stock center caps from the stock wheels. My maxima is a 'Titanium Edition' so the finish matches perfectly. I think they are pretty standard on a lot of Nissan wheels. 2in in diameter. The Rays G35 wheels should look great on your 240! I actually haven't seen too many with that setup.

 

[Requin6]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am torn on what to do with the floor. I work on either my cars or family and friends cars regularly so I have to take that into consideration.

I was all about the 'standard' Racedeck until I got the samples and started walking on it. The 'plasticy' sound that it omits is a deal breaker. It looks great and the colors are great but the sound would drive me crazy.

I like the idea of an epoxy coating but don't want to have to deal with potential tire lifting, chipping, flaking and discoloring. Seems like a ton of prep work and even with all the prepping the potential for failure still lingers.

I have done several tile jobs in my day (20-30) so the thought of doing a porcelain tile floor doesn't bother me at all. I have all the equipment and knowledge to do it but for some reason the thought of it being permanent is my reservation.

PVC rubber tiles are high on my list for ease of installation, no maintenance other than mopping it, and quiet when walking on it. It does seem to lack color options although the black and grey I have seen in the stores fit my color scheme. They just seem to lack the wow factor though.

Leaving the floor bare provides the best function but it looks a mess! Adding some sort of floor would just set it off nicely but is obviously more for aesthetics.

Just got some samples of the Racedeck freeflow and I am liking what I am seeing. Virtually no sound when walking on it, colors are brilliant, I like that it can get wet and me and my wife wont fall on our rear when walking on it. (She has bit it once or twice on the bare wet concrete ) I was able to roll my floor jack on it with out too much trouble. I would have to most likely lay down a piece of wood or the sample racedeck I have for when I use jackstands. I would most likely do a black outer boarder, single red inner rectangle and either graphite or alloy inner.

I guess I am just thinking out loud on this one. This is proving to be a challenge for me for some reason as there are a ton of choices out there. The cost for them are all in the same $/sqft range unless I go with a bargain porcelain/ceramic tile that doesn't 100% suit my taste.

Any input? I have some pics of the samples I have. Honestly I am leaning towards the freeflow at this point.

 

[55cadillacking]

I am quite partial to the black/red/alloy RD FreeFlow pattern. As far as the "plasticy" noise you mention, I have never found that to be an issue. In fact, I don't quite know what you mean.

 

[Requin6]

I am quite partial to the black/red/alloy RD FreeFlow pattern. As far as the "plasticy" noise you mention, I have never found that to be an issue. In fact, I don't quite know what you mean.

The freeflow does not have the noise. Its the full body diamond or cointop Racedeck tiles that emit the sound.

 

[dubber]

I would hit the check out button with your current thought, do it! I'm close to pulling the trigger as well for the same Free Flow Race Deck, but I'm thinking of doing alloy outside with the red rectangle and alloy inside.