remodeling the man cave...

[sirsloop]

Bought my home about 6 months ago and have been mostly working inside where its warmer. With the break in the weather, I decided to man up, tear the garage apart, and get it redone!

So, pre-purchase back in Oct, this is what it looked like:

A lot of potential! The concrete was in decent shape, the walls and ceiling was already insulated, and most of the walls were already sheet rocked. There was this sorry *** excuse of a workbench made half out of scrap wood and the rest being held up with a bathroom vanity. Anyways... Decided to tear pretty much everything apart and build it out my way!

The plan:

1. Move all the toys into the basement

2. Tear the **** work out. Remove the "workbench". Remove the cheesy plywood that was nailed to the wall. Remove all the 2x4's nailed to the wall with more hangar nails pounded into them. Remove the ugly wire shelf. Remove the scrap wood radio stand. Remove the flimsy wooden step. Remove the cinder block step. Remove the useless door going into the basement area.

3. Finish all the drywall on the rear wall, under the overhead storage shelf, and on the front wall. Tape and mud the joints. Repair all the dings in the existing drywall.

4. Roll on one coat of primer on the walls

5. Install slatwall board

6. Roll on two coats of finish

7. Pressure wash the block foundation and floor

8. Paint the block bright blue... probably going to be two coats.

7. Apply bond, finish, flake, and high gloss clear coat grey Ucoat it

8. Build 4x8 workbench

9. Move in my new toolbox and a heavy duty shelving unit

10. Fix some stuff!

 

[sirsloop]

Ok... so tearing stuff apart was fun.. Found lots of cob webs, sawdust, and stubborn nails. Pretty much gutted the room down to sheetrock and concrete. New sheetrock went in and got mudded. All of the brown drywall is old... white stuff is what I installed. I'm pretty happy with myself after drywalling under the overhead shelf by myself. I put two screws in the wall studs, lifted the drywall overhead, placed it, secured it, then removed the screws. IDK... I guess thats the only way to drywall by yourself without some fancy equipment?

 

[sirsloop]

Taped and put up primer. Totally made a difference with just one coat!

 

[sirsloop]

going grey...first coat of finish. Solo installed the a 4x8 sheet of slatwall. I added a little project board under the left window... my 8' work bench is going to reside right there, so I figured I would put up a little extra storage.

 

[sirsloop]

removed the remainder of items... ready for the last few steps. Pressure washed the floors (took FOREVER btw!). Dried, taped, and painted blue on the block.

waiting for bulk pickup!

 

[sirsloop]

1st coat of blue goes on!

Degreasing a few problem spots... getting reay for the ucoatit!

...so this is where im at currently. I'll be laying on more blue tomorrow then letting it dry. Saturday morning i'm starting on ucoat it. Sunday night I should have a completed floor... Monday I can walk on it! Looking forward to making my work bench this weekend and wheeling in my nice new $150 massive craftsman professional toolbox!

 

[chiefav8r]

Man o Man, that is quite the undertaking, great job, it is going to look super.

 

[Boosted1]

Nice transformation in the making.

 

[Jpfreak33]

Very nice!! What an improvement. Which door gores where?? Any reason they built the enclosure around the one door? The walls and block look awesome!! Are you going with a gray floor with blue flake?

 

[sirsloop]

Thanks!

I have a finished basement that's setup mother/daughter. The rear doorway, on the angle, was intended to be locked to keep tenants out of the garage area. I don't have a tenant, so I took it off the hinges and superman lifted the door into the rafters! HA!

I bought my ucoatit kit like 6 months ago... tried to get it in before the winter but the damn inspectors took forever in the house and I was worried about them telling me I had to remove that rear foyer area. Anyways... better off now cause I redid all the walls, etc. At the time I got light grey ucoat it, deco flakes (red/white/black), with the high gloss finish. I'm debating going down to lowes and getting myself some different colored flakes for the floor. I kinda changed my mind on the room color last minute. I was going to go with a grey/red/black scheme.

Think black/white/red will look good with blue block and cool grey? One thing to note... I'm putting a 6x10' american flag up in the rafters... so that could go well with the red flake on the floor.

 

[tmoneyr007]

Awesome job so far, just one idea, in the future maybe raise the doors to open higher or drywall/finish the ceilings on the angles, it would make the room seem so much larger. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[sirsloop]

I thought about finishing off the ceiling drywall. That's a little beyond my ability without an extra guy to help me hold up drywall. It wouldn't cost a ton, but man what a pain that job would be!! HAH!

The doors are pretty much limited to the ceiling height in the basement... they are already floor to ceiling down there...

 

[jeffharbert]

Great progress so far. I dig the exposed rafters and reflective insulation. That storage shelf in the corner is a great idea.

Are you going to take out the corner entry completely? How big is the garage?

 

[sirsloop]

oh... another thing... I'm going to put some privacy film on the garage door windows. I live on a relatively quiet street, but I don't want the random passer by to see me working in there at night. Who knows... someone could decide the break in and take tools, car, whatever.

 

[sirsloop]

Great progress so far. I dig the exposed rafters and reflective insulation. That storage shelf in the corner is a great idea.

Are you going to take out the corner entry completely? How big is the garage?

I'm going to leave the corner entry in place. I actually like it.. makes getting into the basement from outside easier. No down/up. It also provides a nice bonus storage area on top. I'm thinking about mounting my 32gal compressor up there outta the way and installing copper pipe for delivery to the rear work bench and front in between the garage doors.

The garage is 24x24...large enough for two cars, a work bench, fold up trailer, and a ridic amount of storage up top. I have a 10x12 shed out back... that keeps all the yard tools/mowers outta the garage!

 

[Jpfreak33]

Think black/white/red will look good with blue block and cool grey? One thing to note... I'm putting a 6x10' american flag up in the rafters... so that could go well with the red flake on the floor.

I think it will be just fine!! All your Craftsman stuff will be red and black so it should tie in great actually. If your going to add any shelving you could paint those red or black as well. Cant wait to see the floor done

 

[sirsloop]

I think it will be just fine!! All your Craftsman stuff will be red and black so it should tie in great actually. If your going to add any shelving you could paint those red or black as well. Cant wait to see the floor done

I do have a bright red mustang and a silver/blue cop car

 

[kizer]

I think the one thing that stands out is that shelf you made next to the double window. You should paint the wood to match your walls so it doesn't stand out so much up there.

I personally like the colors. I was thinking of doing the same very thing in my garage when I get some walls actually finished.

 

[sirsloop]

good idea on the wood frame up there... should be easy to touch that up. I can do that when I bust out paint for the steps...

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

sirsloop,
Impressive work...and a LOT of it too.

I agree with painting the edge of that shelf, but since you went to the trouble of applying drywall to it, how about mounting can lights in it to lighten up that space below it? Maybe cans would be too long to fit in the 2x4 framing (too bad) but a fluorescent fixture would fit in a space you could create. Just a thought.

Then, maybe a Jack Olsen-esque drop down auxiliary work table there to utilize the focused light?

(It's so easy to spend another man's time and money!)

 

[rockchucker]

Huge improvement! Good show!

 

[sirsloop]

Yeah, I think you're right about the light under there... I could always put up a 2 bulb florescent fixture under there...

 

[sirsloop]

Man... my wife and I spend like 4 hours degreasing, etching, rinsing, more rinsing, more rinsing, more rinsing...lol... seemed like I poured 1000 gallons of water on that floor! HAHA!

bond coat.... gettin there!

 

[nolatoolguy]

Its looking good. Keep us posted.

Besides the hard work whats your wife think about it

 

[sirsloop]

Finish coat is down! I opted to blue/white/black/grey flecks. I would have been kicking myself if I just used that stuff with the red. Totally happy I made that move... $17 extra. Big deal. Man... I love how they make this **** look easy in the video. I ****** busted *** today!! Possibly the hardest day out of all of them. Its a lot of labor working in all that degreaser, pushing water, pushing rollers, worrying, etc etc. **** was nerve racking at the end when I ALMOST ran out of finish coat. I mean I was down to like one rollers worth.

I think the fleck went on pretty well. My wife helped throw it out... pretty much told her to do small handfulls and throw it higher and farther than she thought she had to. That usually results in a perfect throw. I opted not to tape anything... I screwed up some paint with tape on one wall... so I figured I would **** it up and touch up the blue in a few days. No big deal... I have like 1/4 gallon left and can get more.

Umm... wife didn't see me for like two weeks or so... that was probably the worst of it. Total cost for everything is right around 1K, so it wasn't overly expensive. The ROI makes it COMPLETELY worth it. Put 1K into the garage and the place is instantly gold for any man if/when we decide to sell.

CAN'T WAIT TO WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING AND TAKE A STROLL BEFORE CLEAR GOES ON!!!!!!

 

[sirsloop]

zzzz

 

[sirsloop]

Glossy clear is on!! Went on pretty easy besides the MASSIVE buzz from the fumes!! WHEWWWWW! I little blue touch up, 1 week so cure, and the floor is a wrap!

I applied the grit **** only in a small area just around the two steps. Basically helping to prevent someone from busting *** when stepping up/down.

Used to look like this! WOWOWOWO!!

 

[sirsloop]

Built me a bad *** work bench! Its like 95% done. I gotta attach the rear board, attach a long power strip under the front lip, attach it to the wall, and install my vise. I may throw a coat of deck sealer on top too. This is a 2'x8'x43.5" bench... I'm 6'9"

 

[Grizz1963]

Great progress, that workbech rocks.

 

[Dmaxman]

A little hard work pays off awesome. One of these days i need to clean up my walls and floor. Thanks for sharing

 

[sirsloop]

Got a little flag action going on. I probably should have done this before... but I removed a bunch of garbage the previous owner had stashed up in the rafters. Some of it was good items like extra siding... but a lot of it was pure forgotten junk. It really opened up the ceiling... kinda surprised how much actually was up there!!!

Got some flag action goin on! I attached the rear board on top of the work bench and got brackets to attach it to the wall studs. That gets done tonight. I replaced the electrical outlets with new ones, and added a lighted switch for the overheads...so I can see it in the dark. I also got 2x6's for replacement stairs... those get cut up tonight and will get topped with a 2x10... 3/4" lip on the front. Its starting to come together!

 

[nathank]

This is looking great! What a transformation. Good work, and lets see more pics of your foxbody.

 

[intimadatorsquizz]

great job it looks a 1000 times better

 

[slopecarver]

I'm sure the labor for the ceiling would cost a case of beer and some sandwiches from the wife. Your garage would seem twice as bright with a white ceiling, better insulated and there would be less places for bugs and dust to accumulate then fall all over your projects. I urge you to reconsider.

 

[sirsloop]

I'm sure the labor for the ceiling would cost a case of beer and some sandwiches from the wife. Your garage would seem twice as bright with a white ceiling, better insulated and there would be less places for bugs and dust to accumulate then fall all over your projects. I urge you to reconsider.

and me busting *** for like another week while I lay down plastic, drywall, mud, prime, paint.... my head is hurting!! AHAH! Probably costs $250 in supplies after it was all said and done. Maybe a project for the future? I don't see myself getting up in the rafters any more than I have to now. The ceiling is already reflective silver backed insulation... so really any light that goes up there gets reflected back down. The room is already MUCH brighter after painting the walls and floor.

 

[Spaggs]

Great job! Keep up the good work.

Great job in spreading the flakes, too. It looks like you individually placed each one.

Spaggs

 

[ddawg16]

You almost got the picture right.......

You need to have one leg cocked up into the air....like your resting it on an imaginary stool.....you know, the Captain Morgan comercials....

But your garage is a great example of how you just a simple thing like drywall and paint can make it look so much better.....

You will also find that it's easier to keep it clean and organized.....

 

[sirsloop]

Lol.. yeah... I usually go for that photo after a few homebrews! HA! I did notice right away that the floor is MUCH easier to sweep up! The clear coat on the epoxy is like glass... really takes the grit away from the concrete. Very very easy to sweep up now!

 

[StriderTB]

Where'd you steal the NJTP sign from? My parents both work for the Authority, so it's kind of the family business.

Looks excellent! I'm planning on doing the same project on my unfinished garage this summer, and looking at your pictures makes me want to get started right now.

 

[sirsloop]

All that **** in the first photo belonged to the previous owner. He took all the signs and left me a bunch of junk

Edit: He left the radio that actually works, but I hooked up some speakers that don't sound like they came from a 1981 chevette rear door. I placed one up top in the storage shelf, and another across the way on top of the basement foyer thingy.