Garage expansion

#1

We have two 1-car garages, front and back. Both are too damned small. The back garage houses the race car and lift, but there’s no space for the engine hoist. The front garage is largely consumed by kids bikes, spare engines, and a beer fridge.

If I need the hoist the car goes in front and gets wedged in with the bikes and other crap. If I need the lift, there’s no deciding later, “gee I sure wish I had the hoist”.

I’m pleased to announce that the boss has greenlighted an expansion to the garage. It will be 10’ longer, with some big ass doors that will open up to an additional 8’ of concrete pad.

Except that, sigh, all my spendable cash was just consumed by the Metric Mechanic trip. So even after dialing back my racing budget, I can’t get going on the fabulous garage expansion until Summer.

With this additional space, longer term I’ll have room for a milling machine and a metal lathe.

#2

Ranger wrote:

Bah, humbug! At least you have heat. My carport has been really nasty cold this winter. Any advice on how to talk the better half into letting me build a garage?

#3

Very nice!

In a cruel twist of fate the house I bought after selling my race car has a 900 sq ft three car garage with a bathroom in it. It even has 14 foot ceilings and seperate power. It would have been very nice to have when I built the car.

Make it heated/cooled. It is worth whatever it costs.

JP

#4

Fred42 wrote:

We built our garage so we could have an apartment on top for my wife’s grandmother. Of course, for the apartment to be the right size the garage had to hold 3 cars.

I wish I had forecast the need/desire for a lift. I am a couple feet shy of perfect lift-accommodating ceiling height. Thicker slab, lift, heat, TV/bar area… That woulda pushed the budget into “stoopid” range.

Even though she only lived there for about 3 years, that apartment was cheaper than assisted living… And when my daughters are teenagers and my wife is going through menopause you know where to find me.

#5

JP, we’re still hoping you’ll come back.

Fred, the trick is to turn the area around the garage into an eyesore. Stacks of tires, large car parts, jugs of used oil…whatever. Then you say “gee if I had a larger garage I could put all that stuff in there”.

#6

Easy, Fred. When the weather turns cold, staple clear vinyl sheeting around the car port and make doors out of 2 X 2 wood covered in the same vinyl. She, and the whole neighborhood, will get the message. Chuck

#7

My plan was to buy a big storage shed to shove 2 motorcycles, hoist and hydraulic press into along with random parts I don’t need. I really want to get my compressor out of the garage where I don’t have to listen to it also.

#8

As an interim solution, pour the pad that the extension will sit on. A 10x10 ez-up will allow you to work on a car sitting on the pad, even if it is raining. Since it doesn’t get cold in Savannah, working outside isn’t really a problem.

Working in the carport to the point of actual frostbite might work, but that is pretty painful. What usually works better, though is expensive, is a like offer. Something along the lines of “Maybe we should remodel the kitchen and get all new appliances and while the contractor is here we could build a garage”.

#9

This offically confirms it Levie…you are out of your mind. Bargaining with a woman is lunacy.

#10

jlevie wrote:

Dear Mrs. Levie, as much as we admire your moxie, it is very confusing to us when you log on as Jim.

#11

Scott, My only advice is to build the garage a lot bigger than you think it needs to be.

#12

Good suggestions from everyone, thanks! I have already tried the eyesore route - the carport looks pretty bad (I even tried Chuck’s idea with the plastic). But so far no luck. Maybe flowers and chocolates, hmmm…

#13

On the topic of lifts, does anybody have an experience with an in-ground lift like this:

Since 350+ days a year the lift will sit idle with a car parked in that spot, I’d like the convenience of NOT having columns to deal with. Other than the penalty of higher cost, any downsides to this style? This one is cleaner than the kind with swing-out arms like the two-post style, but blocks the rockers while the car is on the lift. Big deal?

#14

steve one of the guys on our lemons team has a scissor lift that is functionally similar, i’ve used it numerous times and it’s never been an impediment to working on the car.

#15

Replacing the clutch was painful on my scissor lift because it was hard to drop the driveshaft to move the tranny back. Pulling engine and tranny out as a unit would also be hard because it would be difficult to point the tranny down.

Next time I do that kind of work on my lift I’ll raise the car up, put something under the wheels, then drop the car back down.

Those problems would probably apply to this lift too.

Is darn pretty tho.

#16

FWIW.

http://ezcarlift.com/

Along with Shaun Wooten I got this over a year ago on a group buy. Use it all the time and can easily “slide” it from one car to the other. Very happy with it - plenty of unobstructed room underneath.

#17

sell her on the resale value!

#18

Ranger wrote:

Unless you put the car on that in-ground lift sideways, I’m not sure how you would have problems dropping a driveshaft or tilting the motor-trans combo.

I guess I look at this like LASIK surgery. I am oddly comforted by the prospect of spending more.

PS - Will - Resale value? Bwahahaha. Did she really fall for that line?

#19

yup! worked for me. my home away from home.

#20

With a two post lift you could put two cars in one spot if your lift is high enough. Good reason to fill the extra open spot with another car.