Suburban Assault: Your Typical 3-Car

Scoobyvroom · Apr 24, 2011

First post here!

Hi my name is Chris!
This is going to be a long babbling post so hang in there.

Alright I had an epiphany about 6 months ago. I had finally gotten the 3-car garage I wanted. However something was still missing. I didn't want a garage I wanted a work shop. What does a workshop mean exactly? I'm still not sure but I have an idea.

Here is what I currently have: About 750 sq feet.

So here is what I plan to do.

1. Add an attic lift; I want to make it much easier to get things up into the attic, where my "long term" storage is

2. Add a hanging furnace; I am planning on a Mr Heater Big Maxx 45,000 BTU furnace

3. Add nice looking, sleek storage. ; I would like to have everything not be hidden, but have a spot and be able to close doors to make it look less cluttered. Thinking Ikea here.

4. Re-do some electrical and air lines; Move some stuff around so it makes more sense.

5. Epoxy Floor system; I think I have this narrowed down to Epoxy Coat. After doing some comparison it seems this is the best way to do it. Better product and cheaper!

If you have one the above items and live in Minneapolis I would be interested in hearing your thoughts, and maybe seeing your setup, floor, heater, whatever!

Thanks guys, hope to have more in the future!

TurboCup87 · Apr 24, 2011

Welcome to the board Scoobie! Originally from Bloomington. GL with your project. Kyle

Jack Olsen · Apr 24, 2011

You're on the right path. That's a good space to work with.

pattertj · Apr 24, 2011

Cool, another MN Subi owner. I am in Eden Prairie now, soon to be Savage.

I have none of the things you are looking for, but want them all. As for #3, I too have been thinking the Ikea route a la:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/secondary_storage/10896/

I think I prefer enclosed storage though, as it seems you do too. Did you have any specific ideas for storage?

StatGSR · Apr 24, 2011

Chris, are you on MNSubaru? welcome to the forum!

Scoobyvroom · Apr 24, 2011

Jack Olsen said:
You're on the right path. That's a good space to work with.

Yeah it should be just the right size, and once heated can serve me year round!

pattertj said:
Cool, another MN Subi owner. I am in Eden Prairie now, soon to be Savage.

I have none of the things you are looking for, but want them all. As for #3, I too have been thinking the Ikea route a la:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/secondary_storage/10896/

I think I prefer enclosed storage though, as it seems you do too. Did you have any specific ideas for storage?

I was thinking more like the Ikea kitchen cabinets. I'll post up some screenshots later, more like tomorrow its already late.

StatGSR said:
Chris, are you on MNSubaru? welcome to the forum!

Yes I am. If you see the name Scoobyroom and the Corgi that's me!, I try to make it easy.

Scoobyvroom · Apr 30, 2011

Alright they didn't have a blue floor, but the blue tile floor I think is pretty close.
On the left is a door, you can see that in the pictures in my first post. But here is my plan. All the lower cabinets have all drawers. I like drawers, because I am tall, and hate climbing down to grab something in the back. I plan on having a bench that goes out on the right there and up against the right wall will be my tool box. That way I can have a stool and have something to sit down at to work.

goodfellow · Apr 30, 2011

Welcome -- nice to have you on the GG. You definitely have a place with great potential.

Not All There · May 1, 2011

nice to have another subie owner on here! welcome

Scoobyvroom · May 9, 2011

Update: Garage Attic Lift
So I got my Harbor Freight 880lbs hoist. Used my 20% off coupon and got it for 95 If I remember right. Used a 4x4 to mount the plate to. Used 3/8" diameter bolts with some large washers on top side, Had to carve a bit out on the sides to allow me to get the mounting hardware for the winch back in.

All I have left is to make the platform, and the mount up the guide rails.

Gareth · May 9, 2011

I will be interested to see how you finish this, as it is a great idea. I have a similar situation and I was hoping to find a pull down staircase at a reasonable price, but all I have found so far are the narrow and steep attic ladders which make carrying difficult.

Have you started downstairs yet? I sourced lots of stuff from IKEA and I have been very pleased with the quality and price. Here is a shot of mine, and I don't think it looks too domestic. Wall units across the back wall will follow when funds allow.

I have mixed it with some industrial/commercial salvage and a good quality tool chest, and it is not out of place in my opinion, and is as strong as you would expect. I did beef up a few areas with steel angle section though just to be safe, and used a solid wood top rather than chipboard laminate.

Good luck.

Scoobyvroom · May 20, 2011

Alright Got the floor done. Used Epoxy Coat and it turned out pretty darn good. My only downer is I had some bubbles show up over night. I put it down around 1p.m. Finished about 3p.m. and made sure there where no bubbles then. I had a few like 2 dozen in random spots all over. I went for a motorcycle ride and got back around 9 p.m. I opened up the inside door to check it out. There where a couple of bubbles maybe 10, again in random spots. So I just left them and went to bed. Went to work on Tuesday and when I got home noticed I had a ton of bubbles.... So now I have these little ring things all over the garage. Overall I am pretty happy with it. The flakes and the coating went down very easily. I would defiantly suggest getting the spike shoes it makes the whole deal a lot easier. I got mine for 9.99 at Northern Tool.

Here is a before shot:

Staging everything:

MKIII is KING · May 20, 2011

might have to steal your hoist idea.
i have a lot of 'long term' parts that need storing too.

Scoobyvroom · Jul 5, 2011

Update....

So I got the drywall done. Found a guy that had a sign in his front yard. Stopped at the sign and called turned out the sign was in his yard. That day he followed me to my house checked it out. Asked if I wanted a Quote or just pay an hourly wage+materials. Told him just hourly was fine. Told me it would be about 6 hours worth of work. Said he would show up on Saturday. Sweet. So he showed up worked for 3 hours. Told me he would let it dry then show up on Monday. He did and finished up the second coat. Said he would come back Tuesday to sand. Wed he was done. total time 6 hours plus one 5 gallon bucket of mud... 6 x 25 an hour + 10 for mud = 160 bucks. Best money I ever spent. He was also nice enough to show me some little tips, so next time I should be able to do some smaller drywall jobs.

If you are in MN and want his info let me know.

On to better things...

Did some painting..

Subarus *** scraping the ground.

It's like an Ikea bomb went off in my garage...

For storing hardware I found these at Cabelas. 13 bucks, for 4 of them... Nice like a gentleman!

I'll take some more pics when I get farther along.

sbhockey · Jul 5, 2011

Sub and scribed. I like where this is going. Interesting choice of colors on the wall.

PhantomEB · Jul 5, 2011

Thats a great idea for nuts n bolts selection in small quantities!

As well as other small items.

Scoobyvroom · Jul 6, 2011

PhantomEB said:
Thats a great idea for nuts n bolts selection in small quantities!

As well as other small items.

There was a thread in another sub-forum on small parts storage. Someone had made a tall storage rack with nothing but these. I really like the idea because you can move the dividers around as you see fit to create larger or smaller bins. Besides then you can have all your electrical connectors all together and just grab one thing.

jimmie jam · Jul 6, 2011

i'm in. nice redo!

Wingnut65 · Jul 6, 2011

Nice work Scooby. Its coming along great. I snagged a bunch of the Plano boxes and have them stacked. I love your idea of vertical access to them. Gotta make room for them in my shop...

Does the counter selected to match the wall, or the paint to match the counter??

BTW, did you notice your level wasn't?? Looks great though.

ChristopherLutz · Jul 6, 2011

FWIW - I use the tackle boxes from Bass Pro for exactly the same thing - I made labels out of blue masking tape and try to have a boxes with a single purpose - e.g. "electrical wire nuts".

This makes it very easy to grab a box or two for projects around the house. Since the boxes are only a couple of bucks, I try to have extras on hand if/when I come up with new hardware that doesn't fit one of my existing labels.

Scoobyvroom · Jul 6, 2011

Wingnut65 said:
Nice work Scooby. Its coming along great. I snagged a bunch of the Plano boxes and have them stacked. I love your idea of vertical access to them. Gotta make room for them in my shop...

Does the counter selected to match the wall, or the paint to match the counter??

BTW, did you notice your level wasn't?? Looks great though.

The Counter top is only temporary. I bought one of the cheap Menards pre-made ones, then sanded it and painted it, then coated it with poly-acrylic. My problem is that the top drops down into the way of the drawers. I can't put spacers under it because then it will be in the middle of the outlets. So I ordered a new one from Menards that will take about 10 days. Should have just done that in the first place.

What do you mean my level wasn't? Wasn't what? The 5 cabinets on the wall above the bike aren't mounted just yet. Still adjusting those.

Wingnut65 · Jul 6, 2011

That makes sense. I was going to be very impressed if there is a paint company and a laminate company that can match colors that perfectly. Another way to solve the problem is not to use a backsplash. Since it is a small counter, the wall should be relatively straight and a bead of caulk may be all that is needed. But if it's already on order...

Scoobyvroom said:
What do you mean my level wasn't? Wasn't what?

I was referring to the paint lines on the wall. The level you were using at the time, wasn't level... At least for a couple of the lines... But they are straight! Seriously, it does look nice having a little variety to the paint scheme. Another accent to tie it all together could be colored cabinet handles.

BTW, Nice panoramic.

Scoobyvroom · Jul 6, 2011

Wingnut65 said:
I was referring to the paint lines on the wall. The level you were using at the time, wasn't level... At least for a couple of the lines... But they are straight! Seriously, it does look nice having a little variety to the paint scheme. Another accent to tie it all together could be colored cabinet handles.

BTW, Nice panoramic.

Ah got it, sometimes jokes don't quite make it across on forums. Yeah I think it just adds something extra. Nothing too crazy. I really like it. With the door closed and that extra bank of lights shinning it's so damn nice. I can't wait to get the floor cleaned up and everything off of it. Plan to start putting some stuff in it's place today.

frank1380 · Jul 29, 2011

Hey, I've seen these photos somewhere else...

*S*
(sushi chef)

Lloyd115 · Aug 1, 2011

I seen these Pictures around too. Somewhere.....

(ThSavageOne)

AR-Trvlr · Aug 1, 2011

How well do the ikea cabinets hold up? I'm about to buy a small 1-car garage with attached house, and will need to do some serious organizing to make everything fit.

55cadillacking · Feb 7, 2013

It would appear this thread went silent before the final unveil. Is there any way we can see how things turned out?

ich_liebe_meine_arbeit · Feb 15, 2016

Bumping this to the top as another member on here with the pallet rack motorcycle garage said it turned out very nice. Also curious what is lie king in the walled off third bay. I assume motorcycle storage.

jimmie jam · Feb 15, 2016

Wow, this is an OLD thread....he might not even own the home anymore...5 years.

Scoobyvroom · Jun 7, 2017

I'm back!! Wow, yeah so when I first started this project my wife was 11 months pregnant. Obviously we had our first kid, and a second. Sorry I never got around to posting some final pics. I'll have to see if I can find some. After all this time my only complaint is the floor is starting to peel up in places. If I where to do it again I would have hired it out and gotten the 1/8 thick stuff that is bomb proof. I'll try to check back in.

Thanks everyone!

*S* to Sushi and Savage!

sean Buick 76 · Jun 8, 2017

I really like everything you are doing so far! keep up the great work!!

nicholam77 · Jun 8, 2017

In for pics of how it turned out, too! Another Minneapolis (well... Saint Louis Park) resident here btw. Nice space you have.

-Nick

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