Close



Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 35

Thread: New garage

  1. #1
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default New garage

    I usually post about working on my cars, but I've been busy with this project for the last few months. I figured I would post a few pics, since it was built specifically for my foxes.

    Name:  received_681151465935829_copy_1000x750.jpeg
Views: 278
Size:  241.4 KB
    This is the most recent outside pic I have. I've since done a little trim work, but otherwise, that's how it sits. The garage is 24' deep and 36' wide. Walls, including block, are about 9' 4" high and ceiling is around 14' at the highest point.

    I really tried to find a small piece of property to build on. I wanted to do a basic metal building or pole-barn style. I just couldn't seem to find anything close to the house that was reasonably priced. I was also worried about theft and vandalism, especially since I work out of town for several weeks at a time (which is also why the build took a little longer). I finally caved and just built it in the front yard. Since it is right out front, I decided to build it to match the house. My backyard is all hillside and building there was out of the question.

    Here's a fairly current pic of inside.
    Name:  20210113_212252_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 285
Size:  198.2 KB
    I have several more pics and will try to upload a few during the build. My buddy/neighbor brought his excavator over and he did the prep work. I hand shoveled for several days, as well. I had a contractor frame it and do the windows, roof, garage doors, concrete, and siding. I did the electrical, insulation, drywall, and paint, and some trim work (I still have plenty of trim work to do).
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Name:  received_701636977157828_copy_1000x750.jpeg
Views: 283
Size:  270.2 KB

    Name:  20201225_164626_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 305
Size:  256.9 KB
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  3. #3
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    I got a 12 pack of 4ft led lights....5000 lumens each. They just plug in to a regular socket, so I wired in a few outlets in the ceiling and ran them to a switch. They put out a ton of light. I'll be doing the same thing in my attached garage. They are made to daisy-chain (up to 4 lights.) I just wired up 4 outlets, so that's 3 on each outlet. They draw very few amps.
    Last edited by Broncojunkie; 01-13-2021 at 11:45 PM.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  4. #4
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Name:  20201106_171416_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 295
Size:  254.4 KB
    I put in a ton of outlets. They're cheap and my other garage only has a couple outlets, which drives me nuts.

    Name:  20201106_171611_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 291
Size:  312.9 KB
    I added a 20" exhaust fan and a couple decent-sized windows in the end farthest from the house. I'm hoping I can open the windows and turn the fan on to get rid of paint fumes during the occasional bodywork session.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  5. #5
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    I pulled every inch of wire by myself, along with all of the insulation. I couldn't begin to tell you how many trips up and down that scaffolding I made. There were several mornings I had trouble getting around, from my 47-yr-old joints complaining.

    Name:  Screenshot_20210113-235703_Gallery.jpg
Views: 311
Size:  293.9 KB

    I did have a bit of help here and there. The wife mudded all the screw heads for me while I taped. I finished the rest of the drywall. A buddy came over and helped me paint the topcoat, after I did a couple coats of pva primer. The drywall work isn't perfect, but it turned out way better than I planned. Hanging the upper sheets by myself wasn't easy.
    Name:  20201231_230235_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 281
Size:  194.1 KB
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  6. #6
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    It's getting pretty cold here in West Virginia. We don't have natural gas on my road and I didn't want to fool with firewood, pellets, or propane. I have one of these ceiling-mounted heaters in my attached garage, so I figured I'd use them in the new space. I purchased 2 of them. One is a 5000 watt 230v unit (you can see it in one of the pics above). I haven't got a chance to mount and wire the other one yet, but it's a 7500 watt 230v unit with remote. I figured one of the heaters would keep it fairly comfortable, but I wanted to be able to cut the heat way back and just crank them both up if I needed to heat it up quickly. I guess the insulation is much better here than in the attached garage because this little 5000 watt heater is doing a fantastic job. I'm still going to install the other one, but I'm in no hurry. They're really cheap and I've had no issues with the one I've had for a few years now.

    I will add that I also installed a fairly large ceiling fan. My theory was that the heat would collect in the high ceiling area and the lower part would stay cold, so a fan would keep the heat circulated more evenly. I couldn't have been more right. I was out there working tonight and it was chilly, since I had turned the heat off this afternoon (I had the garage doors open while moving some items over from the other garage). Tonight, I turned the heat on and forgot to turn on the fan. It was still pretty cold and the heat wasn't helping much at all, although I noticed it was kicking on and off. I finally realized my mistake and flipped the fan on. Within 2 minutes, there was a very noticeable difference!

    Shortly after the concrete was poured, I stumbled onto a deal on a roller 82 capri that I couldn't pass up. I didn't really have room for it, but I went ahead and brought it home. It really created some problems, but now that the garage interior is just about finished, I'm glad I got it. I also plan on working on my 82gt, which was starting to look worse for wear after spending a couple years in my buddy's yard. I also started working on a 79 cobra for the wife, early this summer.
    Name:  20201109_205256_copy_1000x750.jpg
Views: 315
Size:  214.1 KB
    Last edited by Broncojunkie; 01-14-2021 at 12:26 AM.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  7. #7
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Here's another bit of info you might find helpful. The electric is completely separate from the house. I ran a new 200a service entrance, because of the electric heat, 220v air compressor, and the fact that I may also run another 220 for a welder at some point (I did install a couple 20a outlets for my little mig welder). My problem was that I wanted a couple outdoor lights, but I didn't want to have to walk out to the garage every night and every morning to turn them on and off. There are probably a few different fixes for this, but I found a very simple solution. I found some led bulbs online that have built-in sensors. They operate as dusk-to-dawn lights. So far, they work great.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  8. #8
    FEP Member scgreysvt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Spartanburg, South Carolina
    Posts
    166

    Default

    That's a nice garage. Great job
    86 GT (Owned since 87)On going project
    86 #64 Saleen
    86 Coupe
    1980 Coupe(2)
    2003 Cobra
    2015 F-250

  9. #9

    Default

    Very nice.

  10. #10
    FEP Super Member mmb617's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Altoona, PA
    Posts
    4,249

    Default

    That is a really nice garage! I know the satisfaction of doing a lot of the work yourself as I built my own garage close to 20 years ago, and it's still the most memorable project I ever did. My original garage was the same size as yours at 24x36, but I didn't plan on a lift at the time and only had 8 ft tall walls, so a few years later I added on a bay with 12 ft walls to accommodate one.

    Are you planing on a lift at some point? It looks like you have enough height. If you are 47 now I can promise you a lift gets more important with each passing year. I'm 69 now and sure wouldn't want to be crawling on the floor under a car. I'm so spoiled now I complain about having to bend over to set the arms.

    You were smart to put in plenty of electrical outlets. I thought I did the same and still sometimes wish I'd have put in more. As you mentioned the price of adding them during construction is low but adding them later is more money and more work.

    Aren't LED lights great? Originally I had T12 fluorescent lights in the garage but later converted them to 4 ft LED's in the same fixtures. Way more light for less energy, they made quite a difference.

    Anyhow here's a big thumbs up, I'm sure you'll always be glad you took on this project.
    408/T5/3.73's

    We're not fast racers, we're more what's known as half fast racers.

  11. #11
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mmb617 View Post
    That is a really nice garage! I know the satisfaction of doing a lot of the work yourself as I built my own garage close to 20 years ago, and it's still the most memorable project I ever did. My original garage was the same size as yours at 24x36, but I didn't plan on a lift at the time and only had 8 ft tall walls, so a few years later I added on a bay with 12 ft walls to accommodate one.

    Are you planing on a lift at some point? It looks like you have enough height. If you are 47 now I can promise you a lift gets more important with each passing year. I'm 69 now and sure wouldn't want to be crawling on the floor under a car. I'm so spoiled now I complain about having to bend over to set the arms.

    You were smart to put in plenty of electrical outlets. I thought I did the same and still sometimes wish I'd have put in more. As you mentioned the price of adding them during construction is low but adding them later is more money and more work.

    Aren't LED lights great? Originally I had T12 fluorescent lights in the garage but later converted them to 4 ft LED's in the same fixtures. Way more light for less energy, they made quite a difference.

    Anyhow here's a big thumbs up, I'm sure you'll always be glad you took on this project.
    Thanks! And yes, I do plan on putting in a lift at some point. Due to the increase in the price of materials, due to the pandemic, I had to cut out a few things. For instance, I would have really liked to close in the last bay...furthest from the house. It would create a storage loft area and a makeshift paint booth. I still may do that, but it will have to wait till lumber prices go down. I was lucky when I first started building because I got a quote for materials before prices went to crazy. They were still high, but went much higher right after that. Of course, my quote was only for the lumber, sheeting, block, and windows/doors. I still paid a premium for shingles, drywall, insulation, electrical supplies, and other stuff. Some of that wasn't too high, though. Lumber is way up there, though. For instance, regular 4/8 sheets of 7/16 osb went from about $10 to $27 each.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  12. #12

    Default

    Great garage! I’m jealous lol
    79 Zephyr, 4.6L 4v/4r70w swap, with team z front and rear suspension, 8.8 and upgraded brakes and coil overs. Running Holley Terminator X Max.

  13. #13
    FEP Power Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    San Mateo, CA
    Posts
    2,271

    Default

    Very nice garage. My first house came with a 30x70 garage. Big but needed work as it was built in 1912. The roof was a never ending project to repair. The place was in nice shape when I sold it. Next house the detached was 30x40 due to town restrictions and a pole barn. Fast forward to CA, land and garages are hard to come by here. We found a place with a 30x30 garage. We added 2 lifts for storage. We get by with most of the time.

    You can never have enough garage space but you can have too many expenses for the garage. It’s all a trade off for what works for you. Plan ahead if you can.
    Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
    84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
    88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
    03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
    14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles

  14. #14
    FEP Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Posts
    721

    Default

    Looks great. We have a pole barn at our new house, but the garage part is not insulated so it isn't very awesome to work out there in the winter right now.

    Where did you get the LED lights with the light sensor in them? We had light sensor sockets that screwed into the light fixture at our old house that turned the exterior lights on/off. I loved those things. Now we live in the country so we leave our external lights off most of the time.

    Lumber and building supplies in general are ridiculous right now. Glad you got yours ordered before prices got jacked up.
    '89 XR-7 5 Speed
    '95 SC 5 Speed
    '91 Crown Vic P72 351W
    '97 Thunderbird
    '85 Ford LTD Squire

  15. #15
    FEP Super Member webestang's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    St. Louis, MO.
    Posts
    5,208

    Default

    Garage looks fantastic!!!!!

    Man, I sure hope this is the year I buy a house that has at least a 2 car garage (or a garage that has a house....LOL).

    Scotty
    1985 Fox Notch 4-banger Ranger tube header Eastwood Royal Blue
    1988 Fox LX 5.0 AOD Vert BBK 170mph speedo Candy Apple Red
    1999 Mustang Coupe V6 Auto Chrome Yellow -Daily Driver.
    Past Pony's.....
    68 Coupe Inline-6 3-Speed-Man. Primer
    78 II Hatch 302 3-Speed-Auto Sunroof Black
    81 4-Eye Coupe 4-Banger 4-Speed-Man. White

  16. #16
    FEP Senior Member gt4494's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Chas. SC
    Posts
    613

    Default

    Garage is Great! As you will find out its never big enough though!! LOL
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
    Albert Einstein

    1984 20th Anniversary GT350
    Almost "Stock"

  17. #17
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KevinVarnes View Post
    Looks great. We have a pole barn at our new house, but the garage part is not insulated so it isn't very awesome to work out there in the winter right now.

    Where did you get the LED lights with the light sensor in them? We had light sensor sockets that screwed into the light fixture at our old house that turned the exterior lights on/off. I loved those things. Now we live in the country so we leave our external lights off most of the time.

    Lumber and building supplies in general are ridiculous right now. Glad you got yours ordered before prices got jacked up.
    I got the bulbs from Amazon...prior to cutting ties with them, of course lol!

    Ebay has them, as well. Just search "LED dusk to dawn bulb"
    Name:  Screenshot_20210114-191832_eBay.jpg
Views: 205
Size:  106.4 KB
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  18. #18
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gt4494 View Post
    Garage is Great! As you will find out its never big enough though!! LOL
    Already finding that out! My biggest problem is storage. I built a storage shed a few years ago and it's just about out of room. Once I start making some progress on these cars, it should get better. I have several doors, hatches, hoods, engines, transmissions, and rear ends lying around. All are going to be used in the cars, though. I hope to start making some headway this spring!
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  19. #19
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by webestang View Post
    Garage looks fantastic!!!!!

    Man, I sure hope this is the year I buy a house that has at least a 2 car garage (or a garage that has a house....LOL).
    It would have been cheaper and more feasible for us to have purchased a large garage and build a small house beside it lol!
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  20. #20
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KevinK View Post
    Very nice garage. My first house came with a 30x70 garage. Big but needed work as it was built in 1912. The roof was a never ending project to repair. The place was in nice shape when I sold it. Next house the detached was 30x40 due to town restrictions and a pole barn. Fast forward to CA, land and garages are hard to come by here. We found a place with a 30x30 garage. We added 2 lifts for storage. We get by with most of the time.

    You can never have enough garage space but you can have too many expenses for the garage. It’s all a trade off for what works for you. Plan ahead if you can.
    Property here in WV is WAY cheaper than CA.... but then again, our average wages are way less. In fact, the difference in wages is probably significantly more than the property cost difference. A good way to look at it would be to ask yourself what % of your income are you spending on housing (or expenses, in general). All I know is that we have a higher poverty % than most states. I think Alabama was the only state in worse shape than us lol!
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  21. #21
    FEP Power Member Broncojunkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Barboursville, WV
    Posts
    1,773

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by massacre View Post
    Great garage! I’m jealous lol
    Thanks! And thanks to the rest of you guys who complemented it, as well. I should have made this happen 15 or 20 yrs ago, but life just gets in the way sometimes. It's a far cry from lying in wet gravel with my hands freezing cold.
    79 Pace Car - 331, t5
    79 Pace Car- 302, 4 spd
    79 Cobra - working on 351w, t5
    82 Capri- working on 302, t5
    82gt - working on 408w, c4

  22. #22
    FEP Super Member mmb617's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Altoona, PA
    Posts
    4,249

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Broncojunkie View Post
    Lumber is way up there, though. For instance, regular 4/8 sheets of 7/16 osb went from about $10 to $27 each.
    That OSB was $3 a sheet when I built my garage.

    Quote Originally Posted by Broncojunkie View Post
    Thanks! And thanks to the rest of you guys who complemented it, as well. I should have made this happen 15 or 20 yrs ago, but life just gets in the way sometimes. It's a far cry from lying in wet gravel with my hands freezing cold.
    I know exactly what you are talking about. We moved into our house which had no garage in 1979 and I wasn't able to build the garage till 2003. The house we bought was a textbook fixer-upper and it needed everything. The garage had to wait.

    I still remember changing the clutch on my '72 Demon, outside, in the winter as it was my only transportation to work. My hands are just now starting to thaw from that incident 45 years ago.
    408/T5/3.73's

    We're not fast racers, we're more what's known as half fast racers.

  23. #23

    Default Yep

    Quote Originally Posted by Broncojunkie View Post
    It would have been cheaper and more feasible for us to have purchased a large garage and build a small house beside it lol!
    Have a guy I work with that is into Alfa Romeos. He has a 1750 sqft two story garage! He bought the garage and a house came with it!

  24. #24
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    5,141

    Default Our sanctuarys pics for thought and dreams

    Nice nice nice congrads. That is what we work for. Excellent lighting and space. HVAC a big plus.
    Interesting floor no seams to catch rolling wheels.
    I only have a shed but has a halogen outside light controlled with a good old X10 system keychain remote.
    Plenty of correct lighting for car work is so important and adds safety too. Stage and doctor lights are too much.
    Patterning after assy line lighting, including side lighting. Walking into assy plants always gives me energy and good mood.


    Pit lighting
    Name:  dap pit lighting.jpg
Views: 114
Size:  12.5 KB

    Storage can be managed with movable hd 2' deep racks, shelves, bins, wall cabinets to hide items.
    Floor clutter is a challenge. Every season needs different item access priority. Mowers, snowblowers, bikes.
    In warehouses, everything is marked for quick pick access and inventory. The cleaner the better.
    Last edited by gr79; 01-27-2021 at 10:38 PM.

  25. #25
    FEP Supporter
    82GTforME's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    4,855

    Default

    I wished I had space to build a larger space. Someone's bedroom looks to have a bad view now.

    You did practically everything I would have done and also do a lot of it yourself! We have natural gas so that would have been the natural choice for me. I'm curious on the two single doors. Is that better than one double? You said you wanted the left (far) bay to be walled in so a separate access?

    LED lights are nice and getting cheaper. Seems the tubes and ballasts are going by the wayside in favor of panels but those look nice. You can never have too much light! Especially if doing bodywork and painting!

    I did lol at the "cold" in WV comment. I worked up in the panhandle in Weirton for a lot of 2019 and into March 2020 and the winter was milder than I expected from what I am used to!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •