[aviator]

After selling our XLR and my C-4 Corvette, I decided it is time to begin preparing the space for my next cool ride - whatever it may be. What about the spot where your XLR lives?

As it stands now, my garage is 25 x 45 - or about 1,100 square feet, fully sheetrocked, insulated, and has four double insulated Pella windows. Only two garage doors, however, so it is like a 2 x 2 garage on steroids. I could easily put 6 of my bride's Mini-Coopers in there.

My Garage Mahal will have, in addition to my workbench and tool chests:

1) Full A/C - trying to decide on central air or a "split unit". No window units in my neighorhood are permitted. Gets hot here in Texas.

2) 44 in flat Screen HDTV with surround, Satellite and TiVo to record my favorite episodes of Monster Garage, Rides, as well as them Astros. There will also be a small seating area for times when the game gets really intense.

3) A wall-to-wall grey and silver checked Swisstrax floor.

4) Track lighting with dimmers to replace the five buzzing flourescent fixtures. (I hate flourscent lights).

6) A small fridge - hopefully nestled inside an antique gas pump.

5) Stainless steel industrial sink, my workbench, and just maybe.....

6) A "Scalectrics" digital slot car track.

I'll try to post pictures as the project progresses.

What about you? I am interested in hearing about your Garage Mahal!

 

[bumbleent]

I love the name "Garage Mahal". My XLR has been crowded out by a sail boat, a 220 SL, lawn mowers, tillers, etc. I hope to clean out the junk to make room for it.

Bumbleent*

* That's short for Bumblebee Enterprises

 

[1_XLR]

I've got the typical 3-car garage with 1+2 door. The single side I completely walled off for the XLR to keep the mastiff away. It's like a closet with hardly enough room to open the doors. The double side is my workshop, mostly woodwork, and as little storage as possible.

 

[mswaim]

I also have the standard CA garage, although we designed the house to change the 2+1 to a 2+2 option. The C6 and H2 fill the first section and my 03 Cobra takes up most of the second section. The rest is filled with two Bowflex units and one treadmill - all three are a total waste of time and space. We keep a car in Carmel and my Jeep at our place on Cabo, but I don't have a a flat screen, air conditioning or Swisstrax flooring.............but I do have a Jeep in Cabo and a patio view of Lands End. :cheers

 

[Ed and Sandra]

We would love to add the SwissTrax type flooring to our garage, but more about that later. The primary floor space is approximately 910 sq. ft. and there are three single doors. The ceiling is 15’ high and has 6 4-tube florescent light fixtures. The walls are completely finished and fully insulated including the one adjoining the living area of the house. Windows on the front side are two Caradaco twin 2852 with elliptical arches. There’s a conventional set of Caradaco double windows on the backside. Also on the backside is a pedestrian door leading to the deck area. Adjoining the main garage area is a separate, finished 155 sq. ft. workroom with double doors. Lighting in the workroom is provided by 2 4-tube florescent fixtures. In the main garage area there’s a 3.5’ x 8’ built-in storage cabinet with double doors for gardening equipment and supplies. Additional storage is provided with a generous number of vinyl clad wall cabinets. The downstairs washer / dryer are located there. A very large, deep stainless steel sink is housed in a vinyl clad floor cabinet and the spigot is a high arch stainless Hamat with flexible metal hose pull down nozzle head. Controls for the 24 station grounds irrigation system are mounted on the main garage wall. Bose stereo speakers are connected to the home entertainment system in the living area. There’s a full size refrigerator which is mostly stocked with different varieties of beer. And a particularly neat feature is a vinyl clad door mounted on a wall which matches all the other cabinets. But, it’s not a cabinet – it’s the access door to the rear of all the home entertainment equipment housed in a built-in cabinet in the Great Room on the other side of the wall. Makes wiring changes a pleasure!

We keep the Escalade, the XLR, and our other “open air” vehicle in the garage http://home.carolina.rr.com/esgeneral/Workhorse.htm . Unfortunately an older Mountaineer we use just for hauling things (mainly gardening related and bird feeding supplies) has to reside outside.

Now, more about that SwissTrax stuff. Very recently Ed was about to order such a system and have central a/c and heat installed in the main garage area (the workroom is heated and cooled with one of the existing house systems). But then Sandra said “Wait a minute. Don’t you want to consider adding a new wing to the house which includes a 4 or 5 car garage? And then that discussion led to “Shouldn’t we consider just building a new house?” Currently, we’re at a complete impasse all because of wanting a nice garage and now don’t know what we want to do! Interesting how one thing leads to another.

Best regards,
Ed and Sandra

 

[jackewells]

I thought I was the only "nut" in this area. My neighbors think i'm crazy.But....the garage is my room and i'll have it the way I like.Epoxy floor (with speckles) drywall ceiling and walls, pictures appropiately hung and no junk laying around.

 

[Guest]

Picture later

OK, now I have to take a picture of my o so clean garage with two XLR's and post it. You guys have to stop bragging so much.:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :cheers

I thought I was the only "nut" in this area. My neighbors think i'm crazy.But....the garage is my room and i'll have it the way I like.Epoxy floor (with speckles) drywall ceiling and walls, pictures appropiately hung and no junk laying around.

 

[Guest]

OK, guys are you ready? That would be epoxy on the floor. I move the cars and then I blow it out with a leaf blower and then swab it with a mop and commercial bucket hid in the corner. No ants or spiders where hurt in the making of this film.
Bob

 

[upstate]

Was the epoxy put on the floor when it was new or a floor that had been around for a while? Does it stick to the cement without flaking off? Is it slippery when wet?

 

[Guest]

Bill,
It was put on about 10 years later. I've had it for over three years and it's like the day they put it on. I should say the 3 days they put it on. It takes that long to clean then seal the concrete and then start the process of laying down the epoxy and shaking on the flakes at the same time. Then it has to set for 2 days. I let it set for 4 days to be sure. They also ran in up the side about one foot as a sealer to keep it dry and then went behind the screen door and closet and did that area too.
It is slippery when wet, like any smooth service, but here in California it's not something we worry about. This was the better application and was $1,600, but they do have a grey epoxy with two color flakes for about $800.
Bob

Was the epoxy put on the floor when it was new or a floor that had been around for a while? Does it stick to the cement without flaking off? Is it slippery when wet?

 

[upstate]

Thanks Bob, something to explore further.

 

[Red V]

Nice Bob, our garage is 2+1 my moms car and the family car in the 2 and the V in the 1 garage but it is so tight




adam

 

[Guest]

Boy, Bill, it's like we can't wait to spend money on our toys. I have always wanted to have this kind of a garage and a lift, but that's not going to happen at this point. The nice part is how easy it is to keep clean or even wipe up oil which can't penetrate the epoxy.
Bob

 

[BigBucksT]

Boy, Bill, it's like we can't wait to spend money on our toys. I have always wanted to have this kind of a garage and a lift, but that's not going to happen at this point. The nice part is how easy it is to keep clean or even wipe up oil which can't penetrate the epoxy.
Bob

Hey Standby do you ever feel the urge to move out of California? The state tax is getting way out of hand. My father wants to move us to Florida. You could save about 9%.

 

[upstate]

Boy, Bill, it's like we can't wait to spend money on our toys. I have always wanted to have this kind of a garage and a lift, but that's not going to happen at this point. The nice part is how easy it is to keep clean or even wipe up oil which can't penetrate the epoxy.
Bob

Bob:
Up until 2002 I owned my own business and I had at one end of my building around 3500 square feet for my cars. It was two rooms one could hold four cars like a showroom with tile floor and many director lights from above with dry wall and a glass wall in the front. The other room was more like a garage area with a lift and things like a 55 gallon drum of oil. Mind you we never worked mechanically on them it was for looks and the lift was to look a car over. All I have left is the 55 gallon drum of 10/40. I miss that building more than the business! Here is a picture of the showroom area.

 

[Guest]

Hold on to that oil, it may be worth something some day, I like the Mustang, I had a 69 Mach 1 428 Ram air with sunshades on the back window, air dam and my first wing. That one would really run, but it was to light. I put traction masters on it to hold it down but it gave me a bad ride so I had them taken off. Traded it 3 years later for a 69 Caddy Eldorado...........Now that was dumb
Bob

 

[aviator]

Hey Standby do you ever feel the urge to move out of California? The state tax is getting way out of hand. My father wants to move us to Florida. You could save about 9%.

No state income tax in Texas, but don't count on a tax break in the Lone Star state. In its place is a 3.3% annual property tax in the city. Mine is 2.5% on Lake Conroe. Tack THAT onto California property values, and you may find that taxwise you're better off in California. Property taxes serve to hold a lid on property values - at least here. :banghead

(Did really I just write that???? Is that the hoofbeats of the Texas Rangers riding in to string me up?) :rolleyes

Of course, you guys have got to figure out a way to pay for that million dollar, 2,200 sq ft, 3-2-2, with no air conditioner! :confused

Seriously, I have a sister-in-law in La Jolla, and she always says you don't need an a/c out there. Don't you believe it for a second! :nono :eek :nodno

But I digress.

Love that Mustang, upstate.

 

[Ed and Sandra]

We keep the Escalade, the XLR, and our other “open air” vehicle in the garage http://home.carolina.rr.com/esgeneral/Workhorse.htm . Unfortunately an older Mountaineer we use just for hauling things (mainly gardening related and bird feeding supplies) has to reside outside.

Now, more about that SwissTrax stuff. Very recently Ed was about to order such a system and have central a/c and heat installed in the main garage area (the workroom is heated and cooled with one of the existing house systems). But then Sandra said “Wait a minute. Don’t you want to consider adding a new wing to the house which includes a 4 or 5 car garage? And then that discussion led to “Shouldn’t we consider just building a new house?” Currently, we’re at a complete impasse all because of wanting a nice garage and now don’t know what we want to do! Interesting how one thing leads to another.

Well, we've just discovered car lift sytems for home applications - didn't know there was such a thing! Looks like something of this nature could solve our garage space problem, at least for the near term.

Here are two products we found:

http://www.e-autolifts.com/pf/pf.html

https://www.backyardbuddy.com/store/categories.asp

Does anyone have experience with these things and any advice to share? It would be appreciated.

Best regards.
Ed and Sandra