TX4Runner 20x18 Garage Setup

[TX4runner]

Figured it was time to stop lurking and introduce myself.

I've been pulling ideas from all the great builds on here for the last 6 years and have tried to make my garage a little more useful, comfortable, and enjoyable over that time.

My wife and I moved into our house in 2012 and I knew I wanted to make the garage my space from day one. I've always been a car guy, and my prior condo really had been a 2 car garage with an attached living space. I didn't really do anything with that space beyond store vehicles, but with a real driveway, I wanted to do more with the garage area in the new house.


I knew I wanted floor covering, so within the first month I had ordered a race deck style blue and white flooring tiles, and hung the vacuum. Talk about a blank canvas. Back when new and shiny.

Over the next two years I tried to get organized, and added shelving in "dead space" borrowing ideas from garages I adored while flipping through garagejournal. I added a shelf for long term storage items above the garage rail, and shelved on the car wall by the garage doors for detailing items.

2015 brought the need for more light as the single light figure wasn't cutting especially when detailing. Thinking I was going to be using the far bay I installed 2 4ft T8 light strips on that garage, and 1 4ft T8 light strip on the other bay by the walking garage door.

Man, did I think I had a lot of light.

Unfortunatly when my dream car arrived, I switched sides of the garage with the wife, so now the cobra would be in the dark

 

[TX4runner]

With the cobra in the garage, I wanted to get more stuff up off the floor, so took to tips I saw here with baskets and hooks, to get lawn equipment up out of the way and try to get tools more organized.
Organized patio cushions, electrical plugs, and towels.

folding chairs went up in the air versus on a shelf.

weedeater went on the wall.

Gloves and hose attachments in baskets, and a basket for common used tools.

This got me on the right track

 

[TX4runner]

As it gets hotter and hotter here in Texas this year I wanted a little air movement so I got two fans and built mounts so I could slide them on the rafters and position them where I needed them based on the car I was working on. One 2x4 was enough to make both mounts.

I also planned on finally getting light back on my side of the garage. Garage update went into overdrive this summer as a tree near our power light got hit by lightening and blew out our garage door opener for the second time (took alarm, A/C & cable as well). This created the opportunity to have the guys over to install a LiftMaster 8500 and add light to my side of garage. Which turned into replacing all the lights with 6 45000 Lumen LED strips for uniformity of color/brightness.

Garage looks so much bigger without the motor and chain hanging down in the middle. I now feel a lot more comfortable running electrical wiring.
Just finished up installing the LiftMaster 8500 today.

 

[TX4runner]

I wanted to get a lift, but don't have the height, so I got QuickJack 3 years ago, and have been loving them. Just slide them up against the wall (taking up floor space )

Thanks to all the originators on here that I have borrowed ideas from. Some of you guys have some truly stunning setups.

I hope to be able to contribute more and update this thread as I get new ideas for improving.

Gerald

 

[ap2002]

good improvements, just an idea, I also live in Houston area, I had so much stuff just taking up floor space aswell till I finally bought a shed for the backyard, now all my landscape stuff goes there including the "long term storage" stuff like ice chests, kids bicycles etc... that was the best move I made in the process of my garage clean up, now I have nothing sitting on the garage floor and nothing on the walls, bought a few garage cabinets on sale and it cleaned up the overall look, leaving perfect space for vehicle storage..

how about that wall vacuum? good review results? brand?

 

[TX4runner]

good improvements, just an idea, I also live in Houston area, I had so much stuff just taking up floor space aswell till I finally bought a shed for the backyard, now all my landscape stuff goes there including the "long term storage" stuff like ice chests, kids bicycles etc... that was the best move I made in the process of my garage clean up, now I have nothing sitting on the garage floor and nothing on the walls, bought a few garage cabinets on sale and it cleaned up the overall look, leaving perfect space for vehicle storage..



how about that wall vacuum? good review results? brand?

Unfortunately I live inside the loop with zero backyard so no space for a shed. I would love to move all the lawn stuff out of the garage.

The wall vac is an AirVac-Red Series. It was an engagement gift from our car friends. Used mostly for cleaning out the cars and the garage. It has good suction.

Now I’m trying to figure out if I should insulate the garage doors. Would it help with heat in the summer.



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[sean Buick 76]

Very nice progress! AND cool car!!!!

 

[themiller]

...
Now I’m trying to figure out if I should insulate the garage doors. Would it help with heat in the summer....

YES. I just moved from my garage of 5 years with insulated doors into a rental with no insulation. The amount of heat I can feel (even in Seattle's climate) coming through is staggering.

 

[TX4runner]

YES. I just moved from my garage of 5 years with insulated doors into a rental with no insulation. The amount of heat I can feel (even in Seattle's climate) coming through is staggering.

Is the recommendation just to use the foam with foil stuff and just cut to fit in all the cavities?

Will insulating the door cause the outside of the door to be even hotter since the heat is being radiated back?

Sean- Thanks. Having a cobra kitcar has been a dream over the last 20 years. Such a cool iconic car with limited computers/electronic stuff. Stark contrast to my DD with probably more computer processing power than the Mercury Rocket program.

 

[rattle_snake]

Is the recommendation just to use the foam with foil stuff and just cut to fit in all the cavities?

Will insulating the door cause the outside of the door to be even hotter since the heat is being radiated back?

yes just cut foam chunks to friction fit in the door. You could paint the foil or cover it and/or the other side if you want a clean look. Yes I would think the outside of the door would be slightly hotter as the inside isn't radiating as much heat. The outside of my doors get to 180* in the sun.

 

[TX4runner]

yes just cut foam chunks to friction fit in the door. You could paint the foil or cover it and/or the other side if you want a clean look. Yes I would think the outside of the door would be slightly hotter as the inside isn't radiating as much heat. The outside of my doors get to 180* in the sun.

Thanks. That will be the next project, just as the temps start to drop. We recently had the house and garage painted from an off white to a dark navy, so the door is definitely absorbing more heat with the darker color.

 

[TX4runner]

A little update for 2018. I did install some insulation on the garage doors. So many small little Styrofoam balls that I was blowing out of the area I cut the pieces for weeks. lol. With the color change to the house last year, the insulation on the doors helps in reducing the heat from that direction. Also installed some shelves above the garage door for infrequent use items.

I also mounted up a tire storage rack to get my spare wheels up off the ground. I like having the extra floor space, but I forgot how heavy the wheels were. Lifting them up a ladder and then over my head took some balance. Good thing I only change them out 2-3 times a year for driving events.

Happy with the reduction of stuff on the floor!!

 

[TX4runner]

Not a lot has changed with my garage over the last few months. Too much work and life to play in the garage. With the downtime of the holidays, I got a few projects done. Replaced the floodlight with a Ring floodlight. I'm pretty happy with it, I like being able to manage the motion detection zones. I did see someone coming all the way up my driveway to throw his dog poop away in my trash can. Bold to come up someone's driveway in Texas.

Also made a sign to show my pride in "playing with cars". Next to the helmet you can see my new bottle opener. Bottle Breacher from a .50 Cal slug.

For those who know about Texas BBQ, you know about Goode Co BBQ and their Pecan Pie. I took one of their shipping boxes and made it my tape roll holder.

I also added an old shelf by the power outlet to turn into my music/ net hub. Bluetooth speaker and charger for watching DIY videos on the ipad.

 

[4Kings]

Think about putting a 1" lip on those shelves above the garage door. I had storage like that in the first house we bought and found that the vibration from opening and closing the garage door would shift items around. You sure wouldn't want one of those jack stands to come crashing down on your cars.

 

[Jo3l]

I did see someone coming all the way up my driveway to throw his dog poop away in my trash can.

Haha! Well my neighbors usually just leave it in the front yard.

I really like your floors, and Nice Cobra! What kind is it?

 

[TX4runner]

Think about putting a 1" lip on those shelves above the garage door. I had storage like that in the first house we bought and found that the vibration from opening and closing the garage door would shift items around. You sure wouldn't want one of those jack stands to come crashing down on your cars.

Thanks. I had been thinking about that for all shelves. I'd be very unhappy with anything falling on the cars.

Haha! Well my neighbors usually just leave it in the front yard.

I really like your floors, and Nice Cobra! What kind is it?

Thanks for the complement. It's a Superformance Cobra. They are made in South Africa as rollers, and then you just put in your choice of motor/******. Took some of the worry out of buying used as less fear about someones assembly skills. lol.

The floor isn't as pristine as in the first pictures, 6 years ago but I may try taking it out to power wash to see if it cleans up. I'd still do it again. love the look.

 

[Purist]

Any updates for us? Maybe some more photos of the Cobra and E92...

 

[TX4runner]

Not much new in the garage this spring. Put in a raised vegetable garden by the side of the driveway and also a rain barrel to feed the plants.

Did some work on the M3 at a friends house (ac in the garage). Had to replace the throttle body actuators as the gear wears out and the car went into limp mode about every third start. Replaced with upgraded actuators so I shouldn’t have to do that again. Not hard to change out. Just label the connectors and take off the intake as they live in the valley of the V8. We did find someone's socket down in the V while taking it apart. I guess a mechanic at the dealership couldn’t be bothered to find it when he dropped it.
Remanufactured actuator with upgraded gears.


Also helped my nephew install sway bars, steering wheel, and a few other goodies on his Subbie. My wife liked this pic.


Had the cobra out the other weekend. Such a blast to drive even driving slow.


Need to get the M3 up on a lift to assess summer maintenance schedule. I know I need an oil change and to replace the felt undertray with a metal one but at 70k miles want to check motor mounts, guibo, coolant system and other consumables.


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[TX4runner]

This weekend I installed an Orbi mesh router (RBR50) to our AT&T U-Verse modem. I was having weak spots in the house, garage, driveway and backyard. I thought about an extender but was doing research and they often create a second network that you have to switch too if roaming as well as cut signal speed down by half. With the mesh network the satellites maintain signal strength and stay on the main network. i put one of the satellites near the side of the house and it broadcasts a strong signal to the garage, driveway and our small backyard. I had full signal on my iPad while looking at youtube videos in the garage on Sunday. Will make researching and music playback even easier in the garage or driveway even if my phone (and cellular signal) isn't outside.

Setup was straight forward, but did have to set it to access point mode and turn off the radios on the At&T modem to get everything working. Also had to "reinstall" all the devices onto the new network. The plus of that as I saw each device as it was added, so I could rename it in the Orbi app so that if I want to control it's wi-fi access I'll know which item is which.

I'll admit, my nephew did help point me in the right direction about mesh and Orbi systems.
https://www.netgear.com/Orbi/rbk53S.aspx

I'm happy so far!!

 

[odj]

The Orbi stuff is slick. I installed a pair for my company's owners recently. I've been considering picking them up for my place as well.

Dig the work so far on the garage, and the cars. Ex Texan here who doesn't understand how anyone can function outside during a Houston summer.

 

[Purist]

Had the cobra out the other weekend. Such a blast to drive even driving slow.

Damn this car is pure ***!

 

[TX4runner]

Not in my garage this week but garage work was done. I have a friend with a full built out garage with lifts, tools and A/C so for big jobs we go to his house.

Brought the M3 over for 7yr/70k mike coolant refresh. Older BMWs are knows for snapping the plastic radiator necks. It happened to the wife’s E36 so figured we would preventively replace it and change out all the front hoses and belts and tensioner while we were in there.

Up in the air and stored while we were waiting for more hoses we didn’t think we originally needed.


So many plastic parts. The coolant expansion tank and powered steering reservoir/filter also got replaced.

The void in front of the engine when the radiator and fan came out and access to the belts and pulleys.

Shiny new all aluminum radiator. We’ll see if there are any actually performance gains the next time it goes to the track. But piece of mind was the main goal.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Back in the car and new hoses installed. Barely can see the radiator.

All new fluids and clean bill of health in prep for road trip to Ofest


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[dykstra]

Looking great!!

 

[TX4runner]

It's about time to start Garage 2.0

Haven't posted in years as I've been wanting to move, in an effort for more space in the house, garage and yard. After some convincing my wife was also on board with moving and getting significantly more yard space by moving out of the city center. After a long search we finally found our dream home, and should be moving in a few weeks. Some of the major positives for me were the dedicated home office and the 4.5 car garage.

I'll have to get the house situated first, but the garage will be a huge upgrade from the current 2 car garage, so that I can store most of the fleet indoors, and have space for tools and lawn equipment in the 1/2 bay. So much possibility and research to try and set it up correctly the first time. The garage doors are on the long side to the right with 2 double doors for the 4 full bays and a single door for the 1/2 bay.

So more to come in September once we have moved in.

 

[DeeDubz]

congrats on getting the garage you wanted / needed.

 

[TX4runner]

First load of fragile stuff and cleaning supplies dropped off at the house last night. Lots of projects for the house but eventually I’ll get to work in here. Since it already has lights in the ceiling I may replace with larger LED tubes to create more brightness without having to have exposed wires or drop more lines. And the test out the speakers and make sure I can have separate music from the main house

 

[TX4runner]

Got all the pets and all the cars moved in. Need to organize the house and then I can start to organize the garage. Did do some looking around in the attic and it looks like there isn’t anything built above the first two bays of the garage, I could potentially bump it up to gain some height to put a lift in. The ceiling right now at 10 ft so raising a car high enough to even stack, let alone work on them would be right even with the two lowest height vehicles. It does mean getting in there to add more lighting should be too bad since it’s accessible.

Unfortunately the week wasn’t all roses as I was T boned leaving for work last Thursday. Feeling fine but the truck is going to need some work

 

[TX4runner]

Garage lighting arrived today.
Barrina 5000k lights.

Picked them up during the Amazon sale last week. Got 2 of the 8 ft 10 packs. We’ll see how bright we can make the garage. We’ll see if I have time on Sunday to install them. Then hoping I can get some Newage Pro cabinets and tile flooring next month using Black Friday. Was playing around with floor designs on Swisstrax site. Not going to do the solid tiles this time and want to try a different color than the blue and white from the last house.

This is 6 of them strung together inside the house. We’ll see how they look spread out and mounted.

 

[TX4runner]

Garage lighting installed this weekend. You can link upto 4 of these together so I ended up running four rows of four. Two linked together in the 16ft of the garage doors and then used the 4ft connector cord to connect each bay. Ran a separate light switch and added junction boxes for each row for a hardwire install. 128 feet of lighting. It’s bright . It was bright when I only had the first two outer rows up. Hoping they last as I have seen some reviews of leds goings out prematurely. Next will be trying to get the shop vac up on the wall and plan out where the wheels will go and flooring design.

 

[Purist]

Congrats on the new house and garage...I had no idea until just now. Exciting stuff, man!! Can't wait to see what the future brings for you.

 

[dcg9381]

Still waiting to see the 4runner..

 

[TX4runner]

Still waiting to see the 4runner..

I haven't had the 4Runner since 2005. It was the first vehicle I started doing modifications to. It was a '98 2WD that I eventually put 4WD suspension on it to lift a little, and then added TRD stickers on, and also updated the front bumper with a color matched lower valence with integrated fog lamps. I loved that truck. But I ended up selling it and the sportbike after a friend had a major accident on his bike and my mom who lives out of town finally saw it during a visit (the weekend I was supposed to be riding with my friend who had the accident). The bike and truck went away shortly afterwards and then I ended up with an M5 and........

Man, almost 20 years ago, in my youth. lol.

 

[dcg9381]

But I ended up selling it and the sportbike after a friend had a major accident on his bike and my mom who lives out of town finally saw it during a visit (the weekend I was supposed to be riding with my friend who had the accident). The bike and truck went away shortly afterwards and then I ended up with an M5 and........

You and I might be OK. I sold the Hayabusa shortly after having a child. I'm considering another 1L+ bike now.
The 4runner (1988) I've managed to stash away in the shop, but it largely got abandoned after a 2RZ swap where I have to pull the motor again due to an oil pan problem.. I can't part with it as it keeps going up in value, but I can't find the time to work on it either.

I was offered a "free" E43 M3 recently. I know better than to BMW.

 

[TX4runner]

You and I might be OK. I sold the Hayabusa shortly after having a child. I'm considering another 1L+ bike now.
The 4runner (1988) I've managed to stash away in the shop, but it largely got abandoned after a 2RZ swap where I have to pull the motor again due to an oil pan problem.. I can't part with it as it keeps going up in value, but I can't find the time to work on it either.

I was offered a "free" E43 M3 recently. I know better than to BMW.

I’d be afraid of anyone saying they have an E43 M3. I think you mean and E46 M3 and Purist would say go for it. The Gen 1 4Runner for me hooked when I was in high school and I wanted to get one when I got out of college and could afford something. Didn’t like the exterior body as much after the 2000 refresh. BMW means you want to know how to work on it and have friends with tools and beer. Lol

 

[TX4runner]

Thank you early black Friday deals. Flooring is supposed to be handed over to FedEx today. I guess that means I really need to clean up, so boxes of tiles don't fill up the garage for a month. Here is the color scheme and general planned cabinets. Vacuum cleaning wall mounted between two garage doors, pressure washer to the right of the door, close to outside water supply. Cabinets in the top right would be new and in front of the smallest car (cobra). Top left would be the current tool chest and big fan. Trying to not have anything in front of the cars in the center for easy access into the house, and give the daily cars extra access in the front. Planning on NewAge Pro cabinets so that most of the garage stuff can be put away.

 

[TX4runner]

Progress continues. This weekend the garage flooring started arriving so we cleaned out the garage and got the vacuum cleaner mounted up on the wall.


Tiles arrived over three days so we did some testing on Friday to see the design in the space.
Then Saturday we started laying them down and cutting to fit around the water tank. We got about 1.5 bays done on Saturday, then started back up Sunday afternoon after the remaining tiles arrived Saturday evening.
Not a lot of tile cutting needed to happen Sunday as we moved through so it only took a few hours with my nephew helping. Still need to cut a few tiles on the far wall for the complete look, but it’s looking great. My mom was the official quality checker. Walking the tiles to make sure everything snapped in. So far the Swisstrax are looking great!!

 

[TX4runner]

And the cabinets have arrived. All 2,100 pounds of them. Newage Pro with a corner setup. Looks like 1 was delivered damaged from the initial inspection and of course the damaged one is….. the corner upper which makes it hard to put the uppers in place without it. Excited about getting everything organized.


I'll need to get started as my wife is going to want her garage spot back sooner than later lol. Or I’ll have to give up one of the other spots while we wait.

1 of 2 large pallets.

Unboxed and off the pallets.

 

[TX4runner]

Happy New Year. Quick update. I’m still waiting on shipping details from NewAge on the replacement upper corner cabinet so I can start installing the uppers. Really need that one before installing any of the uppers or the lockers. Two of the four locker cabinets are independent of the corner grouping so I went ahead and leveled those two out and anchored to the walls and started initial organizing. I put 1 on the half bay garage and I’m trying to get all the garden stuff put away in there. The Stig also got put on this locker. Lol.

I put another locker in the front corner and filled it with some maintenance items like an oil change kit for the M3 as well as detailing goods up top.

I placed and leveled all four of the lower cabinets and installed the countertop so the workshop corner is coming together. Also relocated the Craftsman toolbox to this area to keep all the tools in the same area.

I need to start taking some of the electrical equipment out of the Craftsman tool chest and put it in one of the lower tool cabinets in the corner so the NewAge cabinets hold the house type tools and Craftsman mainly holds automotive tools. I’ve started drawing out the lines on the wall for the studs in preparation for installing the uppers and I’ll start putting some artwork back on the walls this weekend before winterizing the house before the expected freeze here on Monday.
Still haven’t decided where the spare tires and rack will go.

 

[TX4runner]

5 weeks later……
The upper center replacement cabinet arrived today. I can finally start installing the upper cabinets and anchoring the locker cabinets once they are leveled to the height of the upper cabinets. The uppers get lifted up onto the black attachment brackets and then also bolted to the studs and also the adjacent cabinet.

I was too excited so I started installing tonight. I got the upper center up and then started installing tonight the left and anchored the left locker.

The little dewalt furniture jack was great for lifting the locker up to adjust the adjustable feet so that I could get it level with the upper and the internal attachment holes. My garage floor is very sloped at the walls so there was lots of adjusting and repositioning to get it level and at the right height. Hopefully by Sunday I’ll have the right uppers installed and can start putting stuff away and get to the actual car maintenance I need to do lol.

So far everything is pretty level.


I also got the tire rack mounted on the opposite wall. Just enough space between the window and the other locker. We’ll see how I like this height. Will be easier to put wheels away vs my old setup which was much higher and required a ladder. This is off the ground so I can store stuff under it once everything is organized.

 

[TX4runner]

All done.


And as my buddy said. Now it’s time to get it dirty.

I has a few extra light strands so I put two on top of the cabinets so I have an addition light option and they are stored away vs on the floor.

And somehow I’ve had the Cobra for 10 years. The wife saw a memory come up from the day it was delivered. So of course I had to take it out since the weather at dusk this evening was perfect for a roadster.


In two weeks I’ll get things dirty with a brake and coolant flush on the M3 and replacement of the wheel studs.