[Closed] Garage Transformations.....

First thing paint the floor.

Decide how/where your bikes will go.

Build/install a bench.

as B W said then add a radio, table tennis / Foosball and mini beer fridge!

Add some motorbikes.

I thunk it was Stoner who posted a link to a portable wood burning stove that will fit into a man cave real nice, cheap too.

+1 to br.
Get the floor painted 1st, will be a pain once everything is in...

Seal/paint floor if it's bare concrete (doing it before moving anything in will save a lot of hassle later). Doing the walls white will help a lot too.

Decide on layout - add any extra power sockets you might need and get those wired in. May well be worth adding extra lighting too, particularly over a workbench.

Get security sorted out too while you're at it, the locking bolts that stop it being opened from the outside are ideal if you're just using it as bike workshop/storage and have access from an internal door.

Loving it so far!
Not sure if the missus would love it when she goes to grab her bikes and she saw a mini Olympics set up!!

😀

Ground anchor, big chain and padlock!

Then build yourself a nice workbench, fix a couple of boards to the wall to hang your tools off.

If you have power, buy a fridge and put beer in it.

Take a cow shed, fit a new beam and block floor in, re-clad the gables and re-roof it, build a work bench from some old stone slab crates, add a sprinkling of electricity and light and dont forget the wood stove.

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As you know Mark, I'm a man who is already quite well 'shedded up', but that's giving me a dose of man-envy 😉

I have yet to come and shed-off with you Al. We must remedy. Do you still "work from home" like wot I do?

Stoner,
That Cow Shed is mint!!!!!

Shows what can be done with a bit of imagination. Where did you get that Gucci stove from?

All the best,
Lee.

http://www.campingsolutions.co.uk/stoves/frontier-stove/

has been a great friend this winter whilst tinkering. I have also draught-proofed the shed a bit now so it's even cosier. The stove is portable (the flue packs into the firebox) so will come with me to the coppice for camping weekends this summer for cooking on, and maybe a bit of gratuitous wood burning of an evening.

Edit: actually from here, free P&P
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380540854254

I hope to own a garage in a few months.

Its of a concrete panel construction and only has the main 'up & over' door. It has a single glazed window. I have had a couple of my own ideas but also some questions -

1) I want to increase security but as there is no separate side door how can I do this discreetly?
2) I am going to put ground anchor in for bikes but there will be other stuff in there like white goods and camping gear.
3) Will a 'wireless' burglar alarm set up in the house accomodate the garage too? I don't mind getting a hardwired one done.
4) I may put film on the window to obscure the view, or thick mesh / bars across the window.
5) why paint the floor? Is this just to brighten the place up?
6) Painting the walls, does it need to be masonry paint or will regular emulsion be ok? I'm going to be running a tumble dryer in there so don't want all the paint flaking off in a year or so.
7) any idea if its possible / economicla to retro-fit a door to a panel garage? I guess every build will have its own specific way of doing this and think that it will cost a lot to do.
8) The garage is quite a way from the road and eats in to my garden space (although the garden is rather large).I may build a fence and gate across the driveway that leads up to the garage as there's plenty of driveway and unlikely to ever park a car in the garage. The gate / fence will give me more 'playroom' in the back garden but also make the shed less obvious to prying eyes in the street. The fence can also be easily taken down compared to a wall.

Ta Muchly

[i]why paint the floor? Is this just to brighten the place up?[/i]

Cuts down on dust.

Where are you moving to?

Inner suburbia - Norton Lees.

Any thoughts on Newfield school? They seem to have a good strategy in for taking corrective action but will it pay off in 10 years time?

I'm quite happy with mine

[IMG] [/IMG]

4) I may put film on the window to obscure the view, or thick mesh / bars across the window.

I got some frosted, security film to go across the side window on my garage - easy to fit and does 2 jobs. I found it difficult to find simple bars to fit.

Storage
Workbench
Sofa
Fridge
Heater
Music.

Nice andy - where's the rest of your weights? 😉

They're made from polystyrene 🙂

I've (almost) got a former blacksmiths forge in my back garden, it's as big as the house. Is going to make a great retreat for me once I've got the house fixed up and can crack on with it.

Planning to run water and gas out there so I can heat the place and setup a compact wetroom. Idea is to be able to come in from a ride covered in mud, straight into the wetroom to shower mud off clothes, off me and off the bike. Also thinking about casting some concrete worktops and setting up a section of the ceiling that winches down to floor level with the bikes, so they're all hidden out of the way. Obviously extending my network out there and putting a PC in etc.

Unfortunately, I have to leave at least one of the garage spaces for car storage, but there should be plenty of space to use it as a film room and as somewhere to sit on the rollers too as well as for practical man stuff.

Don't tell the girlfriend, but I'm more excited about this than the rest of the house!

I want to increase security but as there is no separate side door how can I do this discreetly?

i have heard two scaffold poles, one across the top of the door, one across the bottom (both on the inside!) work a treat.

just need to fabricate / buy some brackets for them to slip onto, and cut a couple of slots in each pole

Insulate; add radiator.

Nice Andy did you get a builder to do it any tips? Like the flooring I want mine to be insulated and heated. Gym kit to. Turbo in living room atm 🙂 Weights bike, rower and bike maint area

It was a simple double garage with a concrete floor. The laminate was left overs that my folks didn't want. I could've painted the floor but it wasnt very smooth and the laminate is a bit more comfortable and homely. The only building work was to replace the delapitated rear door with a toughened safety glass window and put some blinds on it. Mates said the laminate would warp and get knackered in no time with any damp tha came under the tin up-and-over front door but it hasn't happened yet and its been down for 3 years. I put pipe lagging along be front edge of the flooring for the door to but up against when it closes, makes it tidy and keeps the draught out.

Only problem I have is that it doesn't stay tidy for long. 10 minutes of tinkering with associated tools and bits left on every surface seems to take weeks to clean up. Currently got brake fluid all over the place too.

Seriously considering one of those portable wood burners for it...chisel a hole out one of the walls for a chimney...

Laminate will be fine. Might delaminate in a few years.

Ive just thrown a bunch of laminate out thats been sat in the garden for 6 months during renovations. It was in the same condition i threw it nto the garden in , probably could have laid it again.

My oak floor in the living room on the other hand , the fires dried it out needs pulling back together.

"Only problem I have is that it doesn't stay tidy for long. 10 minutes of tinkering with associated tools and bits left on every surface seems to take weeks to clean up. Currently got brake fluid all over the place too."

I know that feeling . I have a double garage worths of workshop in a single ( moved from my parents double to my single. I have to move stuff to get at other tools and stuff .... One day ill get my extension built out knock down the xisting single and new garage to the full extent of planning - 1 3/4 width and 2 long and 4 ft taller to make the roof the same as my upstairs floor, if they let me with upstairs for a master bedroom and en suite off the gable end of the house.

All good advice on man-caves 😀 ...Just make sure that if any scroat gets in there that they'll need an angle grinder and a six man team to get out with any kit 🙂

Pieface - I have a wi-fi alarm set up in my garage which works fine.

My garage has water ingress from outside (was a thread a few months ago) and I am getting a mastic floor installed after a couple of other jobs are done. Some good tips on this thread. I might *need* a wood stove as well 🙂