Small single car Garage, Needs some work.

[kowitz]

Hey everyone!

Been lurking on here for a little while, and finally decided to register and post up my "garage". I consider it more a shed, but Im hoping to change how I view it.

I purchased my 1st house just this past November and a 2+ car garage was very high on my list, being a car guy, but that didn't happen. The housing market around the Denver area is crazy, and the rest of the house was great.

So here I am with my not dream garage, but at least it's my own and my 1st garage. Im hoping to take some inspiration from the great single cars I have seen on here, and make me happy until I can build a bigger garage on my lot!

Onto the Pictures, and then onto my goals for it!

And the layout with sizing and stuff.(the rectangle in the lower left, is raised about 3" more than the rest of the garage floor, and has that little room pictured.)

My plans initially are to:

Clean it up, get a real garage door, get windows, fix siding...etc. Give it the TLC it needs.

Then my plans include:

-Insulation
-Drywall
-Paint
-More electrical outlets and lights
-Tear down that little room so it feels more open.
-Maybe some race deck flooring

Basically make it a place I can have as my own, and a place to park my next weekend/fun car.

And maybe look into if it would be feasible to raise the height of the ceiling, currently only about 7'2" tall.

Any insight would be awesome!

PS: Please excuse the mess. I have been really busy with work, and with my Son, who is now about 11 weeks old. So unfortunately the garage has become the place to store out junk. This WILL be changing.

 

[WeekendWarrior83]

That reminds me a lot of my situation and my garage: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6338484#post6338484

I'm currently deciding whether to fix it up (it has good bones but is very small) or rebuild. I'm also a car guy so I would like to have the space to fit a car and have some extra storage as well, something I can't do with the current footprint.

Definitely interested to see what you end up doing with your garage. Best of luck!

 

[-Brent-]

With your lot it might be worthwhile to make it work for as little investment, as possible, and put up a little larger new garage in its place.

 

[MG30]

Small its beautiful too. Good luck on the challenge. I'm here waiting for news.

 

[kowitz]

That reminds me a lot of my situation and my garage: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6338484#post6338484

I'm currently deciding whether to fix it up (it has good bones but is very small) or rebuild. I'm also a car guy so I would like to have the space to fit a car and have some extra storage as well, something I can't do with the current footprint.

Definitely interested to see what you end up doing with your garage. Best of luck!

Thank you! I'll try to keep it updated as best as I can. It's still winter here, so progress might be slow.

With your lot it might be worthwhile to make it work for as little investment, as possible, and put up a little larger new garage in its place.

Yeah, I don't plan on going too crazy. But it will be good practice for when I eventually build a bigger garage. Which could still be a few years away, so I might as well work with what I have currently!

Small its beautiful too. Good luck on the challenge. I'm here waiting for news.

Thanks! I am definitely finding good inspiration on this forum. And hopefully this will keep me content for the next few years, while I save money and plan for a build.

 

[Bib Overalls]

I'm with Brent. Do as little as you can to make it secure, weather tight and comfortable to work in. Look for used material on Craigslist and newspaper classified ads. If you buy something new, lets say a window, get one that you can use in your follow on structure.

You will not find an overhead garage door that will work with a 7'2" ceiling height. 9' is the minimum. Raising your roof is doable but it will require more effort and material than you might think.

You might look at a plan that can be done in stages. First, a one or two car garage, then an addition, and, when need and funds balance out, even more space or interior upgrades. I can not over emphasize how important it is to do new construction using the correct materials and without cutting corners. Remember, no matter how long you live in a place eventually you will leave. You want any improvements you have made are something that a future owner will want to buy.

 

[kowitz]

Thank you for the info on the door. Something I was quite curious about. Perhaps I can do a sliding door. I would have the room for a door that slides to the left, allowing me to leave my ceiling height alone in this garage.

I definitely plan on getting stuff that can be used in the follow on garage, whenever that day may be.

 

[Bigdukaaa]

Nice garage. Took me 11 years to get a garage after we bought our house. the 1 car garage that is attach to my house has never been used for a car or normal garage stuff.

 

[Bigdukaaa]

Nice garage. You will get it the way you can enjoy it. Took me 11 years after we bought our house to get a garage. The 1 car attached has never been used for car stuff or any other normal garage stuff.

 

[kowitz]

I'm not sure "nice" is the correct word for this garage, but thank you!!

 

[jp828108]

Looks like the shop has some potential. What are you options for expanding in the future? That could make a nice workshop space, and expand for a car storage and working depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

 

[69bigblok]

You can do a lot with your space. I like it! Keep the pics coming!

 

[kowitz]

Looks like the shop has some potential. What are you options for expanding in the future? That could make a nice workshop space, and expand for a car storage and working depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

After looking at this forum, I definitely see more potential with it, than I did when I purchased my house.

As far as expanding goes. I have room on my lot to build a good size 2 car, or maybe even a 3 car, with tall ceilings. But, it would require getting rid of my current shop, so I could extend my driveway to the back of my lot, where I'd have the room to build.

You can do a lot with your space. I like it! Keep the pics coming!

Thank you! That means a lot, coming from maybe my favorite garage I have seen on this site so far! Definitely have some inspiration from your garage.

 

[jp828108]

After looking at this forum, I definitely see more potential with it, than I did when I purchased my house.

As far as expanding goes. I have room on my lot to build a good size 2 car, or maybe even a 3 car, with tall ceilings. But, it would require getting rid of my current shop, so I could extend my driveway to the back of my lot, where I'd have the room to build.



Thank you! That means a lot, coming from maybe my favorite garage I have seen on this site so far! Definitely have some inspiration from your garage.

Would have been nice to be able to keep the existing structure. But at least there is room to grow in the future. There are one or two craigslist garage builds I have seen. May be able to find some inspiration or ideas there.