Garage project!

Malt_Vinegar · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:28

Well, since my girlfriend moved in with me, i have a need for a lot more storage space, i am de-cluttering my house, and garage, and trying to make it into a much more usable space.

I have a few things i want to do to get it all up to scratch!

After the initial de-cluttering i will be doing a big dump run, then i will need to find storage for all the rest of the stuff.

So, the project goals are:

1- De-clutter
2- Board Loft
3- Install ladder flush to wall
3- Epoxy floor paint (smooth and shiney, hopefully!) (something like This)
4- High level shelving
5- Paint/cover/carpet walls
6- Plumb into house electrical supply (I think i will get someone in to do this part)
7- Fit lighting/sockets

I have boarded my house lot before, and was pretty happy with the results, so i will get some tonge and groove stuff together and knock that up in a day or so.

I have some questions though...

What is the best way to paint breezeblock and bricks?
How much will it cost to get someone in to stick a cable underground to the garage, is this even possible/legal? Here is the layout courtesy of Google Maps.

Has anyone ever epoxied a floor before? I dont see many in the UK, why is this, are they too slippy in the UK's colder climate!!
Anyone know where i can get a flush mount wall ladder?

jaybee · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:31

Whats the gargae going to be used for then ultimately? i.e. Is it going to be an additional room of the house with heating, or just storage? Do you need to be able to work on cars in there?

Scania · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:32

This belongs in the D.I.Y. forum......

Malt_Vinegar · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:36

jaybee said:
Whats the gargae going to be used for then ultimately? i.e. Is it going to be an additional room of the house with heating, or just storage? Do you need to be able to work on cars in there?

I suppose it will be multi-use really. I do work on my car but the thing is too small to do a lot in there!

I would want all my power-tools easily accessable on shelving, at a decent height so my car can be stored in there each night. Which is most important part, as it means i can get my GFs car where mine is now (parked infront of the garage) and mine inside.

There will be no heating, Its at the end of a walk-way at the bottom of my garden.

So, primarily storage for stuff thats currently on the floor in the garage, and to make room for my car and make it look a lot nicer in there!!

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
This belongs in the D.I.Y. forum......

Pffft - its for my car mainly

Housey · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:40

Get some proper steps built into the ceiling would be my advice and some power points too. My garage is not part of my house and was built separately in a block when the house was built. I got the builder to board the floor as my house does not have a loft due to a very low roof line and we had a full set of pull down ladders installed to make entry to the loft in the garage easy. It means we can put most things up there and its dead easy to get in and out of. I viewed it as a potential other room so planned it in such a way and the ladders have paid for themselves many times over.

Malt_Vinegar · 13 Oct 2008 at 14:49

Thanks for the advice, i have appended a photo of the layout to the OP.

I would also be interested in anything anyone else has done to their garage to make it more car/storage friendly.

Show me your garages too!

Malt_Vinegar · 14 Oct 2008 at 23:37

Ok, so here was the garage as it was on the morning of the first day - WHAT A MESS

The roof area was a mess too! The plyboard my brother had placed up there was good for nothing, and had sagged and could not take anything more than the odd small bag or two.

After one dump run, and some shifting of bits and bobs. Some progress, although u cant really see much!

Cleared out some more stuff, including the Golf VR6 bonnet and other random car parts.. Wait, is that some floor i see?!

So wth some space on the ground i took to clearing up the roofspace and giving me some room to stick in the loft boarding!

Work in progress on boarding!

Section 2 completed (Yes, I know there are gaps, I ran out of boards, and I quite like the airflow they give when you are up there!!)

Malt_Vinegar · 14 Oct 2008 at 23:37

So, after 1 day - here we are. Long way to go yet!!

kaiowas · 15 Oct 2008 at 09:10

Ooh, will be watching this with interest. Our garage looks to be a very similar design to yours and I was planning on boarding the roofspace and putting some kind of ladder in at some point.

Do you feel it gives enough useful space? With the slope of the roof and the amount of beams in the way I've been unsure exactly how much useful storage would be gained from the exercise so a bit of feedback would be useful.

Also are you planning on putting additional lighting up there? I guess it'll get pretty dark once you've boarded most of it.

Malt_Vinegar · 15 Oct 2008 at 09:27

Its already given me a massive amount of space! Getting the boards down in at the ends was difficult, so the last one is wedged in by the one next to it as i cant get te drill/screws into the corners because of the slope. I have all my camping equipment up there now, and its amazing how it has all hidden away into the sloping roof areas

I am debating about going any futher with the boarding. I think I might fill the gaps, and then take it up the to existing roof cross member. I want the space to lug big things up there, and a little hatch would make it difficult. I also like the open roof space at the end to hang a few things from (like the chairs)

At the moment I just have a portable tube light hanging from some hooks in the loft, and that should be enough for up there. I am planning on getting some sockets installed to power that and other things, as at the moment I have to run an extension out of my back door around the walkway and into the garage.

I have a tube light to put up in the main garage area, which will be done towards the end of the project, but untill I have the power installed (again, towards the end), there is little point

lordrobs · 15 Oct 2008 at 12:21

I've got a tandem garage but don't make the most of it due to the leaky asbestos roof... which I would get changed if the panels weren't half way over the neighbours garage too

and to make it worse that place is rented

x 2

Malt_Vinegar · 15 Oct 2008 at 12:41

If its rented, cant you force the landlord to fix it? Whats the ruling on Asbestos in rented housing?

kaiowas · 15 Oct 2008 at 14:16

I was thinking about maybe having a strip of the boards resting on the joists and held in place by surrounding boards but not screwed down which I could quickly and easily pull up for moving big things about whilst still giving plenty of floor space when I'm moving around up there.

chippie · 15 Oct 2008 at 20:24

Not sure about the shiny epoxy floor stuff, but I used International Concrete Floor Sealer International Concrete Floor Sealer

and International Floor Paint on the floor.

The breezeblock walls I put on some stabiliser, then just normal plain enulsion once that had dried.

lordrobs · 15 Oct 2008 at 23:02

Malt_Vinegar said:
If its rented, cant you force the landlord to fix it? Whats the ruling on Asbestos in rented housing?

Not sure. I think as long as its intact then they have no obligation to do anything about it on a garage. If it was damaged and dropping dust everywhere though... *strokes chin*

TripleT · 15 Oct 2008 at 23:07

Think my parents have the epoxy stuff. Remember the guy coming to do it, was brilliant. Box it off and then pour the gunk in the middle and it level's it self off. Must have been done about 10years ago and it still looks great now.

Skeeter · 15 Oct 2008 at 23:23

Malt_Vinegar said:
... i will be doing a big dump run, ...

Anyone else LOL...

No... Just me then.

ZG002 · 15 Oct 2008 at 23:27

As for getting power to the garage. It is possible to dig a trench and run a armored cable across to the garage.. as for cost. well how long is a piece of string? digging it up yourself will save a few man hours and save abit id imagine. Just get some local firms in for some quotes. The other option is to run a catenary wire high level from the house with the cable tied to that. Would look messy tho.

pinkaardvark · 16 Oct 2008 at 01:35

For the cabling you can get DIY armoured cable kits, that's what I used on mine. I put a small junction box in garage with a couple of sockets and a light feed and then on house end externally a waterproof socket before the run into house which just plugged into a socket with an RCD. That way if you wanted to sell the house you can just unplug the garage. Armadillo is the name of the kits I think, I just got one of those and added a few bits like the lighting circuit and the external IP55 rated socket.

Oh and I wouldn't walk on that roof boarding or put anything heavy up there. Those joists were calculated on a computer to bear the roof weight at minimum cost. When selling a surveyor would point this out in a survey to potential buyers.

Malt_Vinegar · 16 Oct 2008 at 09:19

TripleT said:
Think my parents have the epoxy stuff. Remember the guy coming to do it, was brilliant. Box it off and then pour the gunk in the middle and it level's it self off. Must have been done about 10years ago and it still looks great now.

Thats good to know, i might look to get someone in then, if the DIY option looks a bit tricky!

ZG002 said:
As for getting power to the garage. It is possible to dig a trench and run a armored cable across to the garage.. as for cost.

Yer, I think i will do the digging myself if i get someone in to do it. However, i will see if i can do pretty much the whole hog if i can get a nice kit for it!
http://www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk/BradshawsSite/product/JLOP.htm - that looks pretty good!

pinkaardvark said:
Oh and I wouldn't walk on that roof boarding or put anything heavy up there. Those joists were calculated on a computer to bear the roof weight at minimum cost. When selling a surveyor would point this out in a survey to potential buyers.

Cheers, i didnt know how accurately it was measured. Its been taking my weight ok (11 stone) and seems to be ok with what is up there now. Is there anything that can be done? Can i add some form of steel crossmember to breezeblock walls to prop it up and make it weight-bearing?

Skeeter said:
Anyone else LOL...
No... Just me then.

I had another dump run foiled yesterday

I raced to the dump after work at 5:50, and the bloke had closed the gates and claimed his boss would not let me in, as it was too close to 6pm.
Blimming website says nothing about limited entry after any particular time, it states the opening hours quite clearly as open to the public to 18:00. I was rather miffed!