My Garage Refurb Thread
Discussion
Hi all
Back in August we completed on our first (and hopefully only) house, it's only the 2 of us so we were looking for a 2 or 3 bed but it had to have a decent garage. Previous rented house had no garage or drive so was on road parking only meaning that I had to rent a space in a car storage place to keep my Caterham in which was ok but had limited access times and an ongoing monthly cost that I wanted rid of.
After a bit of searching we found and bought a 2 bed with double drive and a decent garage, it's a bit of a strange shape as the previous owners were refused planning to build a full double so it's actually a T shape rotated 90 degrees. The large side is 4.7m x 2.6m and the smaller side 1.7m x 3.1m. I'm going to use this thread to document my progress in making it a more usable space for what I want.
To start with then a crappy Google screenshot showing the shape of the garage for reference and one of the outside drive space.
As it looked on moving day
Back in August we completed on our first (and hopefully only) house, it's only the 2 of us so we were looking for a 2 or 3 bed but it had to have a decent garage. Previous rented house had no garage or drive so was on road parking only meaning that I had to rent a space in a car storage place to keep my Caterham in which was ok but had limited access times and an ongoing monthly cost that I wanted rid of.
After a bit of searching we found and bought a 2 bed with double drive and a decent garage, it's a bit of a strange shape as the previous owners were refused planning to build a full double so it's actually a T shape rotated 90 degrees. The large side is 4.7m x 2.6m and the smaller side 1.7m x 3.1m. I'm going to use this thread to document my progress in making it a more usable space for what I want.
To start with then a crappy Google screenshot showing the shape of the garage for reference and one of the outside drive space.
As it looked on moving day
First task was to arrange the installation of an EV charger, this wasn't a straightforward install as the cable needed to come along the front of the house, all the way along the side before going under the patio then up and along the garage wall before coming out on the drive.
In preparation I had to get the slabs up and dig the trench for the cable to go in. This is where the first problem came, after lifting the slabs and starting to chip away the remaining concrete they had been bedded on a section collapsed. A clay waste pipe had been buried right under the surface with no warning signs etc.
One repair later the EV installer completed the fitment and I relaid the slabs that had been removed.
Once that was done it meant I could move on to the more important things, sorting out the inside of the garage.
I want to concentrate mainly on the larger side so I have a nice work space to do some winter maintenance on the car and I can then move onto the smaller side later.
First task was paint to brighten it up a bit, I also had 2 radiators I wanted to fit and a tv for my gaming set up. Two walls got painted allowing me to get these installed but it was still too cold in there so I've moved on to insulating and plasterboarding the roof in an attempt to keep the heat in more. Also new lights fitted both sides, 2 x 6 foot twin tube LED units which seem a decent upgrade so far.
That is pretty much where I'm up to as of today and it looks like this.
The next few days will be taping and painting the ceiling, and then back to painting the walls.
Future plans are:
Tidying up the electrics
Sealing around window and pedestrian door.
Skirting boards
Flooring
Shelves above the TV
After that I will then move on to the smaller side although I'm not 100% on the plans for this side yet. I will track my progress on here and take more pictures as I go.
In preparation I had to get the slabs up and dig the trench for the cable to go in. This is where the first problem came, after lifting the slabs and starting to chip away the remaining concrete they had been bedded on a section collapsed. A clay waste pipe had been buried right under the surface with no warning signs etc.
One repair later the EV installer completed the fitment and I relaid the slabs that had been removed.
Once that was done it meant I could move on to the more important things, sorting out the inside of the garage.
I want to concentrate mainly on the larger side so I have a nice work space to do some winter maintenance on the car and I can then move onto the smaller side later.
First task was paint to brighten it up a bit, I also had 2 radiators I wanted to fit and a tv for my gaming set up. Two walls got painted allowing me to get these installed but it was still too cold in there so I've moved on to insulating and plasterboarding the roof in an attempt to keep the heat in more. Also new lights fitted both sides, 2 x 6 foot twin tube LED units which seem a decent upgrade so far.
That is pretty much where I'm up to as of today and it looks like this.
The next few days will be taping and painting the ceiling, and then back to painting the walls.
Future plans are:
Tidying up the electrics
Sealing around window and pedestrian door.
Skirting boards
Flooring
Shelves above the TV
After that I will then move on to the smaller side although I'm not 100% on the plans for this side yet. I will track my progress on here and take more pictures as I go.
Mine were just single span joists so wasn't too bad to do. I did consider putting a hatch in in case I needed access in the future but they weren't standard spacing and all had different widths between so decided against it. There's only the wiring for the camera and the LED's above the garage doors up there anyway so worst case in the future I'll just cut a hole and patch it back in.
I did a similar thing, boarded the open ceiling with insulated plasterboard & fitted better lighting. I only have single skin walls which doesn’t help with heat retention. I then fitted a wood burner (which is good but a bit of a pain to light) and then a diesel heater ( which is brilliant).
Even on the coldest days I can be out there all day now pottering about with car and bikes.
Even on the coldest days I can be out there all day now pottering about with car and bikes.
Crumpet said:
That s certainly a unique shape! Nice to have the workshop area, though.
I recommend Duramat for the flooring and have been really pleased with mine. In fact, I d be quite happy if the wife kicked me out and made me live in mine!
Thanks. What style of flooring did you go for? Solid or vented?I recommend Duramat for the flooring and have been really pleased with mine. In fact, I d be quite happy if the wife kicked me out and made me live in mine!
So many options available but I'm currently thinking solid none textured tiles would be best.
RenPug said:
Thanks. What style of flooring did you go for? Solid or vented?
So many options available but I'm currently thinking solid none textured tiles would be best.
Solid. Vented looked like a nightmare for trapping stones, muck and gravel! The solid is just a case of sweeping out every now and again. So many options available but I'm currently thinking solid none textured tiles would be best.
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