r/garageporn

Converting my 3 car garage to an extension of my house.
Starting with the back corner as an office. The rest will be a wood shop.

Just need to finish the trim here and add a hanging light.

Any advice or experience would be very much appreciated. The intended use is to finish an ongoing e30 engine swap and do regular maintenance on the rest of the cars at home.

Edit: Engine is already in.

I originally installed these Vevor vented floor tiles last August. The first pic was sometime last fall when I finished my garage remodel.

The pics after are from today when I finally found time to clean the main area I park; both the tiles themselves and the floor underneath.

I was impressed with how easy they were to remove in such large sections. I just picked a line and unsnapped them and pulled them out in 2 large sections. For the tiles themselves I sprayed them with my pressure washer, hit them with some APC in a foam cannon, gave them a quick scrub with a stiff bristle brush, rinsed and then set in the shade to dry out.

For the actual garage floor I swept, rinsed, foamed with the same APC, quick scrub and again rinsed.

The first dustpan is what I swept up from the sections I removed. The second was what pulled out with the tiles and was left on my driveway. Pretty impressive considering we had a snowier than normal winter here in northern Illinois.

Full disclosure, I don’t do much dirty work in my garage. I detail in there. I do not drive on any dirt or gravel roads. I don’t do metal work, wood work, etc. I have changed my oil a few times and took precautions to prevent oil from getting through them but some did. I simply unsnapped where the oil was and cleaned it up. Simple as that.

I get it; THESE FLOORS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE BUT THEY ARE GREAT FOR MY NEEDS. They might not be ideal for you, and that’s ok.

7 month progress and still much more to come! Any suggestions let me know!

Almost done with my miter saw station. 31 feet in length. I decided on 2 miter saws instead of one in the center. now I can can cut both ends of an 18' piece without flipping the piece. Then decided to add a router lift in the center. I did all the work. made the cabinets, doors and drawers. did the black laminate tops with 1/4" aluminum edges and aluminum back splashes. sprayed the paint. The slatwall is from Proslat. I did not do the floor coating.

Looking for input to give this garage a makeover. Very cost conscious so budget ideas are appreciated.

Most of the year we use it as storage in and out for toys and lawn tools.

Goals:

1. Ability to park two cars if needed (snow storms etc)

2. Storage for outdoor toys

3. Storage for lawn mower and snow blower (only used seasonally so can be tucked away)

4. Miscellaneous lawn and home care items

5. Sport and camping gear

6. Work bench and tool storage

7. Thule roof box storage

8. Refresh paint, floors?

My chemical collection in my Gladiator cabinet was becoming a pain so I got some under sink organizers and man have they helped. Being able to pull out the drawer rather than reach blindly back there to see what a bottle is is a game changer. Highly recommend it!

Details: The black ones are https://a.co/d/0hd6DMeB and the white ones are https://a.co/d/05TUerVi they have provisions to mount via bolt or adhesive. I chose adhesive as I didn’t want to drill the cabinets. After cleaning with alcohol they adhere really well, and the constant weight of the items on the adhesive keep it firmly stuck. It’s not pulling against them load wise!

I have two separate two car garages, so I converted one to living space. Did flooring, texture, lighting, paint, and mini split.

Pic for attention
I recently built an extension on my garage for a woodshop. I use programs like sketchup for projects and want to bring my computer out there. But dust is obviously a problem.
I see some pretty crazy garage builds on this thread.
Someone has surely solved this problem without getting an industrial grade dust cabinet, right?

Share your wisdom with me.

Desperately need help. I’ve been trying to figure out where the studs are on this wall for days. All the “studs” I’m finding are soooo inconsistent and seem not real?

There’s popped screws at the top of the wall, which is where the studs seem to line up and I successfully installed a utility hook where I thought studs were with a cheaper stud finder.

When I installed a second utility hook below the first one, I was able to pull it out of the wall easily.

Today I just got the expensive stud finder and it will light up green in a spot, but then red in the exact same spot and it’s very inconsistent.

This is a “newer construction” home built around 2004. I’m wondering if anyone knows maybe the garages were built with a different material that throw the stud finders off? Or do I not even have studs? In the house, I can find them very cleanly.

Also this is in a corner and there’s an outlet behind the fridge, so I don’t know if maybe there’s more metal beading or something over there? However all the walls in the garage seem to have the similar inconsistent issue.

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! I just want to install a Gladiator gear wall panel and hang my tools already 😫😫😫😫😫😫

Here are some pics of my new pole barn garage I had built for retirement. Had the building put up , I did the drywall and finish work. Just get to the last of my crap moved in. Condensing the other garage and a basement workshop into the new garage. Everything is in it except the snow blower and one more Harley.

I’ve been working with a GC on & off for 6 months to get my garage finished out. It’s a 30 x 30 detached garage which will mostly be used for some car detailing, light mechanic work, and general piddling around. I’ve posted on here for electrical and design help.

Just applying the finishing touches on the walls and about to get started on flooring. I have decided to move forward with porcelain tile with the following attributes: PEI 4, full color through body, some slip resistance, outdoor rated, and something that hides dirt relatively well. I have a top notch tile guy lined up who’s gonna do it for roughly $3,600, which includes repairing minor cracks, thin set, grout, tile install, and clean up.

Few questions for anybody who has done porcelain til before!

Question 1: any concerns before I buy 900+ sq ft of this: Harbor Gray 12-in x 24-in Matte Porcelain Floor and Wall Tile ( 1.95-sq ft Piece ) https://www.lowes.com/pd/STAINMASTER-Antimicrobial-Harbor-Gray-12-in-x-24-in-Matte-Porcelain-Stone-Look-Floor-and-Wall-Tile/5005585715

Question 2: any brand recommendations or specifications on the grout?

Question 3: how do you deal with the garage door step? I’m talking with my GC and a dedicated tile guy about grading the step so that it can be slight slope. I’ve heard of some schluter ramp options, but not sure what will be safe long term.

Question 4: which direction of the tile? Parallel or perpendicular to the garage door?

Question 5: should I pay extra to tile the perimeter trim? Or utilize some sort of rubber piece? Concerned with rubber will be that it will need to be cut as the back of the garage is 2” and the front is 4”+

Anything other insights would be greatly appreciated!

Picture 1: garage before the work commenced
Picture 2: current state
Picture 3: gray with white striations is the tile I’m considering
Picture 4: garage door step I’m concerned about.

Mini split AC and LED strip lights (not honeycomb) on ceiling installed in a few weeks. Will probably paint the door to match the walls. Super pleased with how it turned out.

I need help!

I have plenty of bin storage and over head racks.

But I am struggling to keep my daily use hand tools and cordless tools handy.

I am using tackle boxes to sort and store mixed hardware. It’s a pain to get screws or bolts.

Don’t get me started on extension cords, irrigation builds and heavy duty tools.

I’m overwhelmed. Where do I start?

My metal garage is 20 x 30 with no insulation, what kind of wall mounted A/C can I install to keep it cool, how many BTU’s, model, etc? Not looking for mini split, would prefer a traditional window A/C, also how high should I mount it?

Along with bike maintenance and woodworking...