Readying the Garage

[Ruttager]

I'm renovating the garage in preparation for a westy purchase in the next few months. The garage is a single skin detached double. When I bought the house the first thing I did, whilst it was empty, was prime and paint the floor and gave the walls a coat of white paint(god that took ages). I sorted out decent lighting and a heavy duty workbench at the back. In the following 5 years it fell into a bit of a dumping ground and has become home to a washing machine, 2 freezers a fridge and numerous pieces of furniture that I've been promised are going to be up cycled. There is also my woodworking tools such as a table saw, router table and vac. So, a lot of stuff to sort out. The washing machine and freezer will be sold though the big fridge freezer stays. (it holds beer, wine, ice and meat). The furniture has been sorted and not taking up much space on the side wall. I may even use it to sore bits in. If you were setting out a garage for the first time what would you recommend? What do you wish you had more of/less of. Any tools/equipment that are must haves? (I have the normal compressor, torque wrenches, ratchet spanners etc.) any good storage solutions out there? I seem to collect so much stuff it's unreal. I am in the process of getting rid of a lot of it..

Looking for some guidance based on your experiences. 

[Thrustyjust]

Are you buying a kit or a built car ? Either way, I would get decent flooring down , as working on our cars invariably either breaks your back bending over or more than likely kneeling down and working on it. So best to insulate against the cold concrete floor . Not sure what the roof of your garage is, but I boarded and plaster boarded it out, so I had storage and also helps stop dirt and dust building on everything in the garage. Just a couple of ideas anyway.

[TAFKARM]

Soft flooring.

[Tony Smiley]

8 minutes ago, RussH said:

Soft flooring.

+1

I completely re-wired mine with numerous power points and a 16Amp outlet to connect my welder.  Look at how you are going to heat it (and insulation as mentioned above) it's hard to get motivated if it's minus 5 in there and it takes an hour to get to a reasonable temperature!  Look at your lighting - the white walls are ideal, did you do the ceiling too?  You may need to look at a dehumidifier to keep all the parts in good condition (if you are doing a kit).

Tony

[Ruttager]

I'm going to buy first. I'd love to build one but I want to experience owning one first. 

 

What to do about flooing. Can I just put a good mat or something down where the car is going to be? 

[Ruttager]

Ceiling was boarded by previous owner (pretty badly but it does) and I put boards in the loft space so I have more storage up there. 

[Thrustyjust]

17 minutes ago, Ruttager said:

I'm going to buy first. I'd love to build one but I want to experience owning one first. 

 

What to do about flooing. Can I just put a good mat or something down where the car is going to be? 

You can put what you want there on the floor. I initially got some carpet tiles and they seemed to work as it wasnt a crossflow engine in my car, so oil leaks werent an issue 

[corsechris]

If you have the space, budget and inclination, one of those mini-lift jobs is handy. A friend has one and it makes working on his array of low-slung cars very much easier on the back. Even more useful if later end up building. Budget around £1k

[Ruttager]

27 minutes ago, corsechris said:

If you have the space, budget and inclination, one of those mini-lift jobs is handy. A friend has one and it makes working on his array of low-slung cars very much easier on the back. Even more useful if later end up building. Budget around £

Got a link? I've seen some but as the lift itself is directly under the vehicle I wondered how good they actually were for the money. 

[M@r]{]

Would you mind giving me some tips on painting the garage walls and floor, it’s something I want to do

[Ruttager]

Not sure about tips but I can tell you how it went for for me. I started with the great idea that I could just wizz round with a big roller and it would be looking great in a few hours.... Err no. The roller was next to useless and it was supposed to be a masonry one. In the end I binned it and bought a big brush and did it that way. Took the best part of a day but the results were worth it. Just used the cheapest white paint from bnq. 9.99 for 10l or something. Probably used 20 litres. It was not a fun job but it really does make a difference. 

 

As for the floor, mines concrete and really dusty. I borrowed the hoover and after sweeping it as clean as possible I ran around with the hoover to try get as much dust as I could. I then put down some concrete sealer/primer (I forget what it's called) once that had cured I put 2 coats of floor paint down. (I'd have to look up what I bought, ronseal from memory) 1 thing I do remember is that I had 2 tins and I mixed them based on some feedback from another forum. Glad I did as the colour difference was huge between them. (my floor is a rather fetching green). I tried the roller trick again. It'd have been fine if the floor was smooth. Mines not. It's lumpy. So back to the brush to get the job done right. Back breaking but I managed almost 3 coats (went over the more traffic heavy areas with what I had left) and it's only flaked in a few places in the last 5 years. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Ruttager

[Kevin (Mr T)]

3 hours ago, Thrustyjust said:

You can put what you want there on the floor. I initially got some carpet tiles and they seemed to work as it wasnt a crossflow engine in my car, so oil leaks werent an issue 

You're obsessed man!

[Ruttager]

10 hours ago, Thrustyjust said:

You can put what you want there on the floor. I initially got some carpet tiles and they seemed to work as it wasnt a crossflow engine in my car, so oil leaks werent an issue 

Initially? What did you change it to? Full wall to wall luxury carpet with underfloor heating? 

 

I'll have a think about something soft on the floor. For the bike I used to throw down an old duvets/sheet or whatever I could find and work on that. 

Edited November 7, 2018 by Ruttager
Quoting woes. Or just too early

[Andy Banks]

13 hours ago, Ruttager said:

The washing machine and freezer will be sold though the big fridge freezer stays. (it holds beer, wine, ice and meat). 

Most folks have sensible ideas, but this pretty much nails the essentials I think....

[Thrustyjust]

I currently have button rubber flooring on there, which is glued down, but after 6 years is bubbling up in places, so will probably go with rubber flooring sections that click together that are 10 to 12mm thick.