Garage Tips

Luxury Garage for One – Because my 1971 280SE is worth it

Bob Steele – Northeastern Pennsylvania Section
 
Garage is a word that has many meanings. “Garage” was introduced into the English language  in the early 1900s shortly after the automobile was invented. Prior to the 1900s, the analogous term used was “carriage house,” where people stored their horse-drawn carriages and tack items. Today, there are many more connotations of the word garage – from a place where you store everything except your car to a man-cave where you can escape from the cares and worries of the world.

Last fall, after an excellent year of showing my beloved car “Anthracite” at various events, I decided that she needed a more suitable place to reside than our old garage, with its concrete block walls and dreary concrete floor. I also needed a more efficient place to enjoy maintaining her appearance. I was ready; I had already spent several years thinking about what I envisioned as my ideal garage.

In addition to finished walls and ceiling that would be comparable to the interior of the house, my vision for the new space included a workbench I had already acquired, a nice flat-screen TV, a good sound system, pleasant lighting, a few vintage Mercedes posters on the wall surrounded by some interesting wall sconces, Internet capabilities, a new door leading into the house, a cool floor, a new air compressor, and a couple of electric baseboard heaters.

I began the actual process of renovation by getting an estimate of what my vision would cost from a contractor who advertised on a local radio station. I was totally frustrated by the amount he quoted me and let the project sit for about two months. After all, I only needed some insulation on the outside wall, sheet rock on all walls and ceiling, a couple of new doors, some lights and electrical outlets. I had already installed an insulated steel garage door and electric door opener. I would do the paint and floor covering myself.

I was at my local lumber and hardware store one Saturday morning and asked the guy behind the counter if he knew anyone who might do some remodeling work in my garage. He thought for a moment and wrote down a name and phone number. A few days later, I had an estimate from the fellow who had been recommended that was a-third less than the first quote, so I asked the fellow how soon he could start. When he told me he could start the next day, I immediately changed all of my plans.

I worked closely with my builder as we progressed through the renovation of Anthracite’s space; she spent two months in a rental garage as we worked on the remodel. As soon as the work was completed, I painted a primer on the new sheet rock and completed the task with two finishing coats of paint on the ceiling and walls.

Being quite sure I couldn’t settle for a concrete floor, I initially considered many finishing options that included epoxy paint, RaceDeck modular flooring, porcelain tile, and vinyl composition tile (VCT), keeping in mind the appearance, cost, and durability. Ceramic tile could have cost $8 to $12 per square foot, plus installation. I had been in a garage with RaceDeck and didn’t like the clop-clop sound as I walked around on the floor. And I had read many horror stories about the epoxy paint lifting, peeling, and cracking after application.

So I was primarily drawn to the VCT because almost every grocery store I’ve visited has that type of floor and it always seemed to look nice despite very high foot traffic. The floor area in my garage is approximately 300 square feet (small, but workable for me) and an eighth-inch-thick commercial-grade VCT costs just a little more than $3 per square foot – including material, installation, black vinyl cove molding, and a transition strip under the garage door. I finally decided on a black and white checkered–flag design; the installation took less than a day.

A local glass company provided quarter-inch-thick Lexan plastic in one-foot-square pieces to rest under Anthracite’s tires to minimize localized wear on the tile. And I acquired the electronic accessories – LED TV, in-ceiling speakers, center speaker mounted below the TV and floor-standing woofer, Blu-ray player, wall sconces – all on the Internet.

Being attached to the house and located beneath the dining room, the garage temperature and humidity are very comfortable. Late last summer, outside temps hit the upper 90s with high humidity, but in the garage, it was a cool 72 F and 50 percent humidity: Perfect! Now as the days get colder, the two baseboard electric heaters provide a comfortable temperature for the winter months.

With the project finished, I can now spend relaxing hours in Anthracite’s space watching a movie, surfing the Internet, watching the Speed and Velocity channels on TV, or working on Anthracite’s winter cleanup and polishing. My stereo receiver is connected to the Internet and I can listen to 18,000 radio stations worldwide and 11,000 podcasts through the built-in vTuner application. Best of all, friends can visit to see Anthracite and the space looks just as good as she does.
 


Anthracite in her new home. When parked in the garage,  her tires rest on quarter-inch thick by 12-inch square sheets of clear Lexan to protect the VCT flooring.



Finished at last! Here’s the completed garage, sans my 280SE so that you can see all my new toys in place. These include the big rolling tool box, TV with swivel/tilt mount, wireless laptop PC for surfing the net, Onkyo 5.1 channel receiver, Blu Ray player, floor standing sub-woofer and amplifier to the left of the workbench.



These classic Mercede-Benz posters, which I framed and mounted between the wall scones, add an elegant finishing touch to the garage. After all, nothing is too good for my baby Anthracite!
 
Construction Step by Step



A successful renovation needs careful planning and installation of all the necessities such as insulation, heating and wiring – things that no casual visitor to your finished dream garage will ever see.
 


Once the new garage was designed and major fixtures and building materials purchased, the actual renovation could begin. First, the old ceiling was removed, the outside wall studded out and insulated and new ceiling can lights and wiring installed.
 


Sheetrock delivered and the corner closet framed out.



Spaghetti Junction – the baseboard heater thermostat junction box, conduit for TV cables, smaller conduit for CAT5 and electrical box for the workbench.



Right: Ceiling speaker wires installed and labeled, connecting to the workbench niche.
 


The end of the beginning: sheetrock walls installed with protective metal corner bead.
 


Primer and paint go on.



Flooring laid down, complete with six coats of wax.