Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Rowan Garage

[ScottW]

You have a great location and will certainly be a wonderful investment.

We had a home on South Hill (Tahoma Vista) for over 30 years and for the most part, loved the location and the views while we were working.

On pages 6 & 7 in my thread, discussed our landscaping work and the shop space that was carved out from underneath the home.

Our best to you on your projects and your home/shop.

Odis.

Thanks ODIS, I’ve read every page of your thread but didn’t realize your previous place was on South Hill.
I had to look up Tahoma Vista and it’s less than 2 miles from where I live now! Appreciate the encouragement, hope to meet you someday and get a look at whatever nice car you are driving (you have many nice ones but I’d be partial to seeing the GT).

Scott

 

[ScottW]

These were poured about a week ago. First two pictures are the house garage, second two are the shop. Both are about 5-1/2 to 6 inches thick, almost 40 cubic yards total of concrete!

 

[ODIS]

Nice! Great Progress too! yes, would be great to connect sometime soon.

 

[ScottW]

With the slab done, we were able to frame the stairs up to the storage area in the shop. Still need to finish the under stairs closet, and railings upstairs. Builder suggested a removable railing at the top so you could carry something long up there without having to make the upper turn- good idea!

Still need to remove the post at the top of the stairs, it was temporary while we built the end wall and since we are engineered for no post we will take it out.

 

[ScottW]

Garage doors got installed on the house and while I am pleased with the quality and look of the insulated CHI doors, they were not installed with the high lift tracks I requested. It’s really only aesthetics because our ceiling is so tall, but I don’t like the look of so much empty space above the doors and the overhead tracks hanging down so far. At least they hadn’t installed the cables or jackscrew openers yet, but now we will have some sheet rock repairs to make. The shop doors are here too but it is not ready for them yet.

 

[jbrentd]

Hopefully, they'll get the issue resolved and you'll never know they had to relocate things. Did the framers provide support for the springs? I ask because I showed up as the my OHD guy was installing the door and brought to his attention that it was supposed to be mounted as high as possible. He asked about how it was framed, so I showed him some pictures I took. After looking at them, he had to make a frame and attach it to my walls to support the load of the spring and the track. Normally, the header above the door supports the load.

 

[ScottW]

Hopefully, they'll get the issue resolved and you'll never know they had to relocate things. Did the framers provide support for the springs? I ask because I showed up as the my OHD guy was installing the door and brought to his attention that it was supposed to be mounted as high as possible. He asked about how it was framed, so I showed him some pictures I took. After looking at them, he had to make a frame and attach it to my walls to support the load of the spring and the track. Normally, the header above the door supports the load.

Brent thanks for this picture and explanation of what happened with yours. Do you have your framing picture you could share as well? I’d like to compare my framing to yours and see if they might say mine is inadequate too. Thanks, Scott

 

[jbrentd]

Brent thanks for this picture and explanation of what happened with yours. Do you have your framing picture you could share as well? I’d like to compare my framing to yours and see if they might say mine is inadequate too. Thanks, Scott

Yes, here you go...

 

[ScottW]

I haven’t updated this in quite awhile because we had a big delay caused by a tragedy. Our electrician is a father & son team and in May we heard that the son (only 22 years old) sadly took his own life. So understandably nothing moved forward on the shop (the house was already partially trimmed out) for a long while. After a few weeks our gc asked him if he wanted someone else to complete our job, which I would have understood since they were partway through working this job together. But the electrician said no, he had a line on a new apprentice and would be back. Even after that it was almost another month but then he came out and finished wiring the shop, the septic system that is powered off the shop, ran the feeder across from the house to the shop, and got L&I approval. Then we went through a couple cycles of final framing inspections before finally getting approval there. It got painted last week and insulated this week, so things are moving along at a better pace now.

 

[jbrentd]

That's sad to hear about the electrician's son. I have two sons that age and would be devastated (no matter what age).

Glad to see you posting updates. Things are looking awesome!

 

[ScottW]

Slow progress, but still moving along. Sheet rock completed, got texture even though I asked to keep it smooth like the house garage (it looks fine but not paying for that!), painted the same “Extra White” as house garage. Triple-checked with GC about high lift tracks for the high bay door because the doors and tracks have been sitting in the house garage for months and if that’s not what they originally delivered I could just see a random installer coming out and installing what’s there. Noticed the installer came out yesterday, inspected what hardware was there and left, so I think I was right about what’s sitting there and it wasn’t what he needed.

 

[ScottW]

Garage doors and openers went up yesterday, I’m happy with the high track and overall install. Electrician is supposed to trim it out starting tomorrow, so the openers can be tested.

 

[rocco]

Great looking shop and house, my favourite part is how everything sits on the lot - you really hit it out of the park in my opinion.

 

[ScottW]

Great looking shop and house, my favourite part is how everything sits on the lot - you really hit it out of the park in my opinion.

Thanks rocco, I went to look at your build and can’t see most of your pictures (looks like I’m not alone lol), but I will try a few different things and see If I can figure a way to do so (different browser, etc).

 

[Leevon]

Very cool, congrats!

 

[rocco]

Thanks rocco, I went to look at your build and can’t see most of your pictures (looks like I’m not alone lol), but I will try a few different things and see If I can figure a way to do so (different browser, etc).

Yeah, I’ve had nothing but hosting issues. Started uploading them to the site instead and that’s working better.

 

[ScottW]

Thanks Leevon. Some progress- got the LED tube lights up in the high bay- Primelights Bolt-II’s around the sides and a Bolt-III along the back wall. Nice and bright with no shadows anywhere walking around the bay. Lower bay side also uses a couple Bolt IIs along the back wall where I anticipate having a long workbench, the rest of the lights will be smaller LEDs still TBD. Still need to install the lift outlet in the ceiling.

Also got some stairwell lights up.

 

[iadr]

The view through the garage windows looks like one of those mural graphics guys get for the back window of their trucks. Too perfect.

 

[dmittz]

Wonderful garage and house. Your garage in someway is similar to mine that I am building right now in that we both have a storage loft and somewhat similar exterior shape and roofline. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jayman17]

Beautiful looking place and surroundings. Getting close to the finish line...

 

[ScottW]

Wonderful garage and house. Your garage in someway is similar to mine that I am building right now in that we both have a storage loft and somewhat similar exterior shape and roofline. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks dmittz, I will check out your build too.

 

[ScottW]

The view through the garage windows looks like one of those mural graphics guys get for the back window of their trucks. Too perfect.

Thanks iadr, it’s strange I hadn’t even noticed that until you pointed it out, but you are right about that!

Beautiful looking place and surroundings. Getting close to the finish line...

Thanks Jayman, I am behind on posting some updates but will get caught up soon.

 

[Kevkx125]

Sweet build, looking forward to seeing how you outfit the detached garage.

 

[ScottW]

First the house garage- I got 9 of these off Amazon and they worked well. Nice and bright but they have covers and provide a more filtered light that doesn’t sear into your retinas if you look straight at them. Plus they are 3000K and my wife wanted that warmer light in the house garage. I did put a 4000K Bolt-II over the workbench area, but that is on a separate switch so it will only be on when extra light is needed there.

LIT-PaTH 12 Inch Square LED Flush Mount Ceiling Lighting Fixture, 22.5W (150W Equivalent) , Dimmable, 1680 Lumen, ETL Qualified

 

[ScottW]

Next the detached garage- I got the 1’x2’ flat panel LEDs off Amazon also, and while they work well in this lower ceiling area I’m glad I didn’t try them in a higher ceiling area because they wouldn’t be bright enough.

1x2 FT 3CCT LED Flat Panel Flush Mount Light, 2500LM, 25W, 3000K/4000K/5000K Selectable, Dimmable Ultra Slim Edge-Lit Ceiling Light, Built-in Driver Surface Mount Lights for Kitchen Garage, 2 Pack

Also a matching ~1’ round flat panel for the back corner area.

13 Inch LED Round Flat Panel Light, 24W, 2400lm 3000K/4000K/5000K CCT Selectable, Dimmable Edge-Lit Flush Mount Ceiling Light Fixture - White

 

[ScottW]

Finally, finished the upstairs lighting with more of the 8” halo LEDs used in the stairwell. You can also see the flooring I will be installing in the upstairs storage area. Dark gray coin pattern flex Nitro tiles from GarageFlooringinc.com. I wanted something that would be impervious to greasy, maybe slightly leaky parts, and could stand the weight of shelves right on top of them (I don’t really care if they dent but they are deemed “car jack safe” when used on a garage floor, so we will see).

 

[jbrentd]

Nice updates Scott. Lighting looks good. What are you gonna use in the tall bay?

 

[ScottW]

We had a couple day window last week where the weather was warm/dry enough to go for the driveway pour. Just shy of 100 yards of exposed aggregate poured in 2 days. When it was all in prep-gravel I kept expanding the footprint here and there because if felt small, now that it’s done it feels much larger, like a sea of concrete!

 

[littlebean]

looks really good

 

[vdub8]

Looks great! Very well thought out and executed. Very attractive finishes on the exterior of both the house and garage. Love the loft above the detached garage, too. What are your plans for that space?

 

[ScottW]

Nice updates Scott. Lighting looks good. What are you gonna use in the tall bay?

Thanks jBrent’s, I’m leaning towards an Advantage 4 post lift, probably a DX-9000-XLT.

looks really good

Thanks littlebean, it’s taken so long to get to this point that it’s hard to believe I might be using it soon. Still figuring out my plan for the concrete floors. I’m leaning towards a “stone finish” polyurea in the house garage, and maybe a clear poly over ground concrete or stain in the shop. One thing that makes me hesitate in the shop is welding around it, I would have to be a lot more careful of slag and sparks hitting the floor.

Looks great! Very well thought out and executed. Very attractive finishes on the exterior of both the house and garage. Love the loft above the detached garage, too. What are your plans for that space?

Thanks Vdub8, the loft is planned for storage of parts and rarely used tools. I will need to figure out the most efficient method of storing things up there after I get the flooring done. For safety code I need to have a rail at the top of the stairs opposite the half wall, but we’re making it with clamps mounted to the floor so it can be quickly removed if I’m hauling something long that won’t easily make the corner. I’ll post a picture of that soon.

 

[dmittz]

Looking great, love the concrete driveway!

 

[ScottW]

Got the stair top railing installed, and passed final inspection on the shop. Still have a few items to complete on the house and site before final can be given there.


Built a simple rail out of some extra cedar we had onsite.


Used these clamp mount brackets so the railing can be quickly removed if something long can’t turn the corner easily.


Inspector said this railing had to meet the same 4” safety requirements as living spaces in the house, so used some leftover balusters from the house here. Kind of fancy for a shop storage area, but it got the job done for little extra money. Getting the floor tiles down will be next!

 

[ScottW]

Decided to get both the garage floors done with PolyUrea before I start moving large items like cabinets and workbenches in. For the shop I went with lighter color chips overall than the concrete was, but kept it in gray tones (light gray/medium gray) to keep it somewhat understated. I hired a local company and it was a two day process for each garage, grinding and prepping one day, applying the floor the next. They did the shop first:

 

[jb3]

House and garage look great! I am a fan of the high position of the structures on the lot

 

[jbrentd]

The floor looks great!

 

[8Line]

this was an awesome read. will continue to follow.

 

[ScottW]

House and garage look great! I am a fan of the high position of the structures on the lot

Thanks jb3, in western Washington state we get enough rain you don’t want to be in a lowland area for sure!

The floor looks great!

Thanks jbrentd, I was really on the fence on it but just knew if I didn’t do something before all my clutter got into these spaces, it would likely never get done.

this was an awesome read. will continue to follow.

Appreciate it BLine, thanks for taking the time to read it and comment.

 

[ScottW]

The following week the house garage floor was done. We went with the “stone finish” for this one, which as far as I can tell has small color “pebbles” mixed in with chips to give more of an aggregate concrete look. Here we chose a color that went more with the house color.

 

[ScottW]

Got a 4 post Advantage lift last weekend at a local GoodGuys car show, bought the demo model they built for the show so it came assembled with the optional rolling air/hydraulic jack. Got the show sale price plus $1000 off for being the demo, delivered by the guy that installed it at the show. He readjusted and tested everything after delivering it to me after the show. It’s on some temporary pads I had because the rubber feet pads are being shipped to me. When I put those on I may move the whole thing a foot or so closer to the door- I’d have to take off the ramps with the door closed but I’m thinking it’s worth it to give me more room in the front to maneuver an engine hoist. Either that or I do something different with the workbench up front. Besides taking off the ramps isn’t a bad idea anyway, I’ve scraped myself a time or two on the ramps on my dad’s lift when they are up slightly above eye level.

Advantage DX-9000HD, 4 Post Lift w/Premium Package:
- 2 - 36" Aluminum Ramps
- 1 - Rolling Jack Tray
- 4 - Flapper Automatic Wheel Stops
- 2 - Rubber Wheel Chocks
- 110v Premium Power Unit
- Mobile Caster Kit (4 units)
- Drip Tray Kit (4 units)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- 1 - Air Rolling Jack
- 1 - LED Lift Lights - 14’ Length
- 1 - 12" X 12" X 1/2" Rubber Pad (Set of 4)