I've finally decided I need a garage more than I need an extra living room. i hate working in the driveway and scrambling to clean up when it starts to rain or gets dark.

This house was the model home and the garage was finished into office space. Fortunately, there is a frame from when it was going to have a garage door. Hopefully it won't be too much of an undertaking. I already got all of the carpet and tack strips up, soon to be cleaning in preparation for expoxy floor coating.

closets are taking up a bit of space but they will be used for storage
fireplace will come in handy in the winter

heres a picture of the space

10/29/2014 12:35:51 PM

son, I am excite.

10/29/2014 1:09:39 PM

fireplace in the garage? badass my friend.

10/29/2014 1:33:05 PM

a climate controlled garage with a fireplace? i'm jealous

10/29/2014 1:47:41 PM

10/29/2014 1:52:04 PM

No updates yet

But here's another angle

Hopefully there will be enough room to work on the little car in the back while my mazda parks near the door.

10/30/2014 8:54:38 AM

10/30/2014 3:25:58 PM

have time to kill before the garage door gets installed on the 19th..so i started organizing and put up some pegboard.
filled holes in concrete, can't decide if i should wait for the garage door to come or if i should epoxy the floor while i am waiting..
anyway here is a pic of my pegboard

11/2/2014 4:16:01 PM

I too, have that Fuel kit!

...except I bought mine on ebay and didn't notice someone had swiped the fat batteries for a pair of thin ones.

11/3/2014 7:22:52 AM

I really love these m18 fuel power tools. They are beastly.
Just added this monster to the stable today.
Made quick work of the fireplace hearth removal

11/4/2014 12:50:21 PM

haha, I LITERALLY have those 3 exact tools. that sawzall is fucking fun!


Also, register them for the warranty. I had to have the switch assembly replaced on the drill, and even though I bought it on ebay the warranty coverage was still accepted.

[Edited on November 4, 2014 at 1:14 PM. Reason : -]

11/4/2014 1:13:13 PM

shit..i should get that warranty sent in
got the impact and drill several months ago though..

thanks for the advice

11/4/2014 1:27:48 PM

do it online, it goes by purchase date and serial number of the component.


https://www1.milwaukeetool.com/HeavyDutyClub/Join.aspx

[Edited on November 4, 2014 at 1:35 PM. Reason : 0]

11/4/2014 1:34:32 PM

nice. cant wait to see the final look

you should get a scissor lift.
or hell, get lucky and find a hydraulic one for cheap

11/4/2014 4:59:55 PM

^He probably wants the car in his garage, not in his upstairs bedroom
A pit may be somewhat doable alternative, but definitely not as convenient as a lift

11/4/2014 5:24:16 PM

a scissor lift is perfect.

my friend has a hydo lift in his garage that he picked up super cheap off craigslist. not high enough to stand under, but it def helps.

11/4/2014 5:36:21 PM

The ceiling is just over 8ft, I was researching the Maxjax lift which could work but it would be tight. Has a lot of accessibility under the car compared the some of the scissor lifts I have seen.
built a set of crib blocks for now..

11/6/2014 10:31:17 AM

I'm a few weeks from buying a bendpak 4 post. Will let you know how it turns out. I've got 12 foot ceilings at my advantage.

11/6/2014 6:33:06 PM

yes, please let me know

I'm curious how the install goes..


been researching my options
..this one looks pretty neat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkGbqC9YWhM

11/16/2014 11:22:55 AM

I installed a bendpak 4 post HD-9 a few years ago when I built my shop. I took my time and did it by myself. Took about 8 hours total. I helped a friend install his a few months ago and with 4 guys working with 2 of us having installed them before it took about 2 hours. They are very easy to install, especially with more than 1 person working. The hard part is just moving the ramps and columns around.

For your ceiling height I would look hard at the maxjax. They seem to get really good reviews over on garagejournal.com

11/16/2014 2:10:00 PM

^thanks for the info..thats the one i have been looking at but I think i will be holding off on it for a while.



So..tomorrow is the big day..garage door gets installed

a friend and I took down the front wall ..i made a time-lapse with my phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55GNbAsZ4R8

and here is a pic from the outside ..and one from the inside after finishing framing it out

11/18/2014 8:53:22 PM

Boomski

11/19/2014 12:08:51 PM

How are you going to isolate/plug the HVAC vents?

11/19/2014 12:15:51 PM

why does he need to?


he should just make sure that the door from house to garage is a sealed exterior door and that appropriate insulation was installed in the wall, right?

11/19/2014 12:20:38 PM

Per code, and for good reason, there can't be unsealed access between a garage and living space.

[Edited on November 19, 2014 at 12:26 PM. Reason : or maybe NC is for fire ratings only; I don't remember. the other issue is fumes entering the home]

[Edited on November 19, 2014 at 12:26 PM. Reason : though I don't know about garage hvac vents and fire rating issues]

11/19/2014 12:23:36 PM

dur, i don't do residential anything and wasn't even thinking about that

can he just install a gravity/backdraft damper, i'm not familiar enough with residential code. that would be a cheap solution to giving him a conditioned garage space.

11/19/2014 12:29:17 PM

The ac return is sealed off

11/19/2014 12:33:19 PM

I don't know the [residential] code well enough, but you may want to look into the supply vents as well. Fumes and smoke can still travel through those and into the house. Deadly recipe there, and certainly a red flag if you sell.

^^one would think so, but it's out of my realm of knowledge. It wouldn't surprise me if the answer is no.

maybe ctnz71 knows... at least he should.


[Edited on November 19, 2014 at 12:36 PM. Reason : .]

11/19/2014 12:34:52 PM

I could seal those too ,.


I need someone who builds houses to come look at this for me
Bc I also need help trimming up the outside

11/19/2014 12:37:45 PM

yeah, i was talking about supply. seems like you'd want a backdraft damper at the very least. (which should be like $20)

11/19/2014 12:38:04 PM

^agreed. sealing off the return is an absolute must, so gg there. I just don't know if/what kind of supply duct dampers are allowed in this situation. I think one issue with using backflow preventers is the high fail rate... though I'm familiar with them on the water side, not HVAC side. I seem to recall reading that garage HVAC had to be completely isolated from living space HVAC.

11/19/2014 12:44:40 PM

Good idea
ill pick some up after work

11/19/2014 12:44:56 PM

I can remove all ducting to this room if necessary

This room started as a garage when the house was built, I would assume converting it back can't be so complicated

11/19/2014 12:47:10 PM

True. I'm just trying to save you headaches later on, while saving time, effort, and money now. I think talking to an inspector or contractor would be your best bet to see what's up to code.


I'm assuming all of the walls are now insulated, so it would be nice to keep the garage conditioned, if possible.

[Edited on November 19, 2014 at 1:05 PM. Reason : .]

11/19/2014 12:57:58 PM

thanks for the heads up, i will get someone to come take a look at it

11/19/2014 5:02:41 PM

laid down the epoxy today


pretty happy..although it started to set pretty quickly making it hard to spread

11/30/2014 2:51:40 PM

^ epoxy looks nice, I'd like to do that as well. Any concerns on the concrete and air temperatures being high enough long enough for the epoxy to cure?

and to reiterate what others have said, from my experience in talking with multiple HVAC contractors, your HVAC needs to be completely isolated (even supply) between garage and living space to meet code in raleigh.

11/30/2014 3:40:08 PM

don't worry about the damn HVAC unless you are going to sell it. it's fucking nanny state bullshit protecting idiots who would run the car in a sealed up garage for too long. just don't let a car sit in there and idle for a long time.

11/30/2014 3:51:14 PM

Thanks I sealed off both supply and return from the house.

As far as curing, i spent the last week or so prepping the floor and waiting for warmer temps.
I went with a 100% solids epoxy from epoxymaster.com
There is no shrinking due to evaporation of solvents, it's pure resin and lays down very thick. Can be walked on in 16-18 hours and driven on in 24hr
The lowes and Home Depot floor epoxy kits are much thinner and water or solvent based, the 100% solids lays down much thicker and is used for insutrial applications. its definitely worth it to buy 100% solids epoxy( they make any color you'd like also)
I need to order a little touch up epoxy..
Just walked around on the floor and there are a few little craters from popped bubbles. Also, my dog decided to try out the floor before it cured so I have about 7 little footprints by the door

[Edited on December 1, 2014 at 8:36 AM. Reason : .]

12/1/2014 8:12:48 AM

before and after:





[Edited on December 1, 2014 at 8:17 AM. Reason : .]

12/1/2014 8:13:40 AM

12/1/2014 8:52:45 AM

^^ nice, i just ordered a epoxymaster.com kit as well

12/1/2014 4:32:58 PM

I'll be honest, it took me until yesterday to realize that the room doesn't have two curved walls.


Work sure has me distracted lately.

12/1/2014 4:37:18 PM

no way i would've given up an air conditioned workspace

12/1/2014 5:58:37 PM

i sealed off both feed and return vents from the garage but if i decide i want some ac in there i could remove the plugs that we made for the vents and the air handler

So one thing about this epoxy floor that I have noticed is that is scratches and scuffs very easily. The high gloss floor will eventually look dull over time.

I ordered a aliphatic polyurethane top coat to protect the epoxy and encase all the color chips.
Not sure if polyurethane is more slip resistant than epoxy, but its definitely more abrasion resistant.

I can't decide if i want to include some sort of antislip in the polyurethane. Havent had a wet floor yet to see how bad it is, but my dog can't even stand up out there with the new floor (she is old as hell, but still)



[Edited on December 3, 2014 at 8:08 AM. Reason : testing out the new floor...oh so smooooooth]

12/3/2014 8:03:04 AM

I sanded the epoxy floor and applied a polyurethane top coat for scratch resistance...also made the floor extremely glossy

Might actually use the garage soon...

12/9/2014 3:54:40 PM

sorry for the pics and multiple posts (not my fault..you guys dont reply in my thread )


but i had to post more pics, this floor looks showroom quality now






definitely do the polyurethane..better abrasion resistance..shiny as fuck

12/10/2014 8:26:24 AM

you should paint the walls glossy white

12/10/2014 8:41:05 AM

sploosh.

12/10/2014 10:28:09 AM

very nice

12/10/2014 11:15:28 AM