Poor Man's Retro Retreat -- in 440 square feet

Dan in Pasadena · Jan 20, 2010

alberto said:
You can order them with badge delete (and no holes to fill). However, they charge you for the privilege (!)

ORDER "them"? A Porsche? :wtf:

Uh, no.

This is a "Poor Man's" retreat, remember? And I am even more poor than Jack because mine was a middy and didn't have a 3.6 in it. It was a restoration project, no ordering involved. Not sure I'd want to, even if I could afford one. My next one (yeah, I'm weakening already) will be an early car..if I can afford one. :thumbup:

Dan in Pasadena · Jan 20, 2010

Jack,
Not to bug, but I was reviewing some of the pictures on this thread and I noticed something that's not been discussed (I think) - your overhead pulley-controlled storage. It looks like a 4x8 sheet of plywood but I am wondering how the pulley system works? Does it raise and lower the plywood flat automatically, or do you have to manipulate it so it won't throw the stored stuff off?

I have seen some overhead storage systems for bicycles for cheap at Marshall's of all places and I was wondering if I could adapt one of those to this purpose? Also, the thought of raising and lowering with a cheap Harbor Freight come-along occurred to me too.

alberto · Jan 20, 2010

Dan in Pasadena said:
ORDER "them"? A Porsche? Uh, no.

This is a "Poor Man's" retreat, remember? And I am even more poor than Jack because mine was a middy and didn't have a 3.6 in it. It was a restoration project, no ordering involved. Not sure I'd want to, even if I could afford one. My next one (yeah, I'm weakening already) will be an early car..if I can afford one.

Well, I don't have first hand experience ordering either. I just know you can delete the badge because I was on their site doing "build your own".

Jack Olsen · Jan 25, 2010

Closer:

Third coat of marine varnish drying:

Dan, the suspended thing is a steel work bench. It's got a 1/8" thick top and is framed with 2" angle iron. I don't really need a ninth work surface for one guy working in a two car garage, and I honestly think it's a little crazy that I've got it suspended up there above the race car. I'll take some pictures soon, but I'd advise against other guys doing the same thing. It's dangerous.

But I'm too cheap to throw a perfectly good table away. :wtf:

bmwpower · Jan 25, 2010

Sweet. I like the design of the bench.

Are you going to go with wheels for the legs or something else?

Jack Olsen · Jan 25, 2010

Thanks.

You can't see them in the pictures, but I went with what I had lying around -- some 2" washers. I welded on nuts before I welded them inside the legs -- then I used regular bolts (with rubber caps over the bolt heads) to make 'poor man's adjustable feet.'

I take casters off more often than I put them on, since the garage is too small for rolling furniture to make a lot of sense.

Dan in Pasadena · Jan 25, 2010

Jack,
Somewhere in the past (I THINK it was an old Popular Mechanics) I saw an article on overhead suspending a 4x8 sheet of plywood with short side panels as a way of storing infrequently used (& lightweight) items, like empty ice chests and camping equipment. I just can't remember how the article said to rig the pulleys so that the sheet of plywood would RELIABLY raise and lower level, without tossing all your junk on the floor, uh...er...racecar in your case. If cheap enough, I'd add a little flair to the idea by using a cheapo HF winch to raise and lower it. I have two trailer mounted Kawasaki Jet Ski's in my garage which totally eats up my garage's usability, so this would help a LOT to give me additional clear floor space.

P.S. I forgot to comment that the stained bench tops look excellent. Almost too good, but you've got the "compliance" station to beat the spit outta stuff so maybe they'll stay good looking longer than they would in my garage. Did you use plain wood stain or a Minwax type product?

Fidget · Jan 26, 2010

Love the bench. It's amazing how such a small design change can make such a statement. Your bench paint color almost matches my car!

Dan in Pasadena · Jan 26, 2010

Leaf Green and Deep Sixes on an early car, gorgeous!

chrislehr · Jan 26, 2010

Jack - any more pics/design on the driveway storage - that is EXACTLY what I want to build along the side of my garage.

Jack Olsen · Jan 26, 2010

Chris, I'll try to dig up any more photos I have of the storage sheds. They were done in a hurry. I'm surprised they've held up so well, in fact.

In the meantime, I put in some wood shelves into one of the steel cabinets today. They're very simple, but I made them so I could fit in a set of bins I got at Ikea. Each bin is 15"x10"x9"H, and I was able to configure the 4'x6' cabinet to hold 42 of them.

(The green is wrong in that picture -- I think that one was taken without a flash.)

This picture shows scale -- that's a quart of paint -- and also the way they fit two deep.

Here it is closed.

I've got labels I can use on the bins, and I think doing it this way will mean less dead air and better organization.

On the right side, I used one of the stock shelves up top, but then made metal-covered wood shelves that allow me to have a tall section on the right where I can store my little step ladder, a couple of brooms, and hang things like a welding jacket and a pair of overalls.

A lot of the storage is temporary, right now. The gray bins are from Harbor Freight and will organize fasteners.

WhatThaFrig · Jan 27, 2010

I like the tall cabinet. Very good use of space. Plus I'm jealous!

DORIGTT · Feb 18, 2010

Hey Jack,

How has the tile and grout in the garage held up to stains? Oil in particular.

Jack Olsen · Feb 18, 2010

DORIGTT said:
Hey Jack,

How has the tile and grout in the garage held up to stains? Oil in particular.

Really great. Better than concrete, which absorbs the stuff. Oil wipes up with a paper towel and is gone. The tiles are nonporous. Grout isn't, if you don't seal it. But you'll notice I went with a dark brown for that -- a very deliberate choice.

I should know about oil, since the car has a dry sump oil system and takes about 11 quarts with every change. On top of that it's an old Porsche that's tracked regularly, which means it tends to 'mark its territory.'

There's a newer thread on the garage here.

chrislehr · Mar 16, 2010

Jack,

Still would really like to see a pic of the garage driveway storage opened or your design if you did one - its exactly what I want to do

PDACPA · Mar 18, 2011

Jack, I second Chrislher on seeing the sketches or drawings before you began. My job keeps me at a desk till April 15th (well 18th this year), but after I will be overhauling my small two car 19 x 19 garage and have been trying to sketch out a detailed design plan so I am ready to begin and give my 911 a nicer home.

ajbancroft · Apr 14, 2012

I tried to read all of the questions and replies, but I was wondering what the paint code for the green is? one post said your wife picked it out; very classy choice.

Jack Olsen · Apr 14, 2012

Wow, the old thread is back.

I'm afraid I don't have any more drawings for the garage or the shed. I made them on the fly, pretty much. The 'plan' came from this picture, which I annotated.

The green is a Sears Weatherbeater color called Tarragon that has been retired by Sears. But if you bring the name in to a place that sells Weatherbeater paint, they will have the old code in their computer. I used their semigloos exterior latex.

Weatherbeater is pretty lousy paint, so everything always has to get two coats. I brought a sample to a better paint store and got a nice acrylic version when I painted the lift.

Here's a link to a site with the formula for it, and similar colors from other manufacturers.

ajbancroft · Apr 15, 2012

Hopefully you wouldn't mind that I use the paint color, or one like it for my garage build?

The thread I just started:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146200

bazzateer · Dec 22, 2012

8 months gone! Must be due an update?

BCM · Dec 22, 2012

bazzateer said:
8 months gone! Must be due an update?

There's a new thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55006

bazzateer · Dec 23, 2012

doh!!!!

Poor Man's Retro Retreat -- in 440 square feet

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Super Moderator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Super Moderator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Super Moderator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Active member

Super Moderator

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member