To Make a Garage

MightyBobo

***IF YOU WANT WORK DONE IN MY GARAGE, GO HERE: The Rules of my garage***

So I'm finally a proud homeowner after moving out of the 'rents' house about 10 years ago. After 3 years of living in military dorms, 2 years of roommates, and 4 more years of living in base housing by myself, I got tired of pissing my money away with nothing to show for it.

Rather than clog other threads with my photos of my progress, I'd rather just make a thread for it, and talk about my experiences with tips and tricks for others who are interested.

I'll be splitting this into multiple phases with posts for each, and updating accordingly.

Phase 1: Floor Sealant
Phase 2: Wall Paint
Phase 3: Shelving/Workbench
Phase 4: Lighting
Phase 5: The Little Things (details, random stuff)
Phase 6: ???

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

Phase 1: Floor Sealant

My first thing (practically a day-one house mod, really) I wanted to do in my house over almost EVERYTHING, was to take my still like-new concrete in the garage and epoxy seal it properly, for a nice, durable and long-lasting finish. Obviously I'm a big DIY-er, so I went the Quikrete route. Each kit is ~$75 at Lowes, handles a 1-car garage per kit, and they make many colors of your choosing. I went with "Lazy River", a fairly commonly chosen color (for good reason) that is a light grey/blue.

Also, the kits you buy come with the tan/black/white flakes, which are friggen worthless if you go with any decent color - it's just a way for them to force you to get a more desirable combination. I chose to go with Graphite, which are black/grey/white flakes. Those are ~$8 per container, and I only used half of one to get plenty of coverage to suite my desires. Any more, and I thought the floor would be too "busy".

You start by doing a THOROUGH cleaning of the floor with water and a stiff brush. If you have oil stains or other extremely grimy stuff in the concrete, you need to remove all of this before proceeding. Once this is done, you squeegee the floor to remove puddles and prepare your acid etching liquid (each kit comes with some to mix with water, and its good for a 1-car garage obviously). They recommend to use a flower watering pot to distribute the mixture evenly, which I had mixed results on (was too easy to dump a lot before you could really spread it out). If you mixed correctly and your concrete isn't jacked up (previously sealed, excessively dirty, etc...), the liquid will foam when it hits the concrete for the first time.

I worked on 1/4th of the garage at a time with the mixture, working the liquid into the concrete with the stiff brush very thoroughly. This gets very tiring, quickly, FWIW. Once done, you rinse well, and proceed until the whole garage is done. After that, you MUST make sure to rinse all of the garage WELL - if you see a suds appearing kinda like soap, you need to keep rinsing and working that acid out of the concrete as much as humanly possible. It'd probably be helpful having a 2nd person brushing with a clean brush while you rinse to work it out, but none the less. The cleaning portion easily took a couple of hours I'd say - more people helping would be priceless.

After all that, you need to again squeegee the garage out, and let it sit OVERNIGHT (or at least 12 hours or so) to dry out COMPLETELY. Your concrete should feel kinda like a pumice stone if you did this all correctly. This was my garage after I completed it:



Assuming you did all of this correctly, your concrete should be coated AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - any dust, dirt, grime that lands on your concrete at this point is simply going to degrade the epoxy's ability to adhere correctly.

The epoxy comes in 2 cans: the epoxy itself, and the hardening agent. Once mixed, depending on temperature and humidity, you have anywhere from 1 hour to 2.5 hours to use ALL of that mixture, before you are supposed to discard it. PLAN WISELY - again, this is a portion where extra help is VERY VERY useful, especially for trimming. Also if desired (and I do recommend this), you can add a non-slip agent. In winter or when wet, without that stuff, the epoxy can be VERY slippery. I intended to avoid that, and added it in during the mixing process...its about $7 or 8, and 1 bag handles 2 gallons/kits.

So, once mixed and stirred properly, you begin by trimming. Instructions say you can mix your second batch after trimming is complete, but I don't recommend this for newbies doing this solo. If you have help with trimming and painting the floor, then go ahead and mix the 2nd batch as soon as the trimming is complete.

Trimming is the process of using a good brush (I recommend a 2.5-3" ANGLED TIP brush and/or tiny roller) to get all those hard-to-reach places, such as where your floor meets the walls. A large roller simply won't do it. This was DEFINITELY a bit time consuming - be liberal when putting it on, and work it into all the tiny holes (nice and deep preferably...huh huh...deep...) as much as possible to give a good finish/seal. If your floor/wall meet at a nice, fine angle and then goes up to drywall, I'd recommend using painters tape on the drywall BEFORE mixing your liquid, and painting that ENTIRE area. My garage, sadly, has odd angles at the foundation so I didn't bother going more than an inch or two up the side. No pics of my trimming since the clock was running for me (hot day, and only an hour to get it all on...).

As soon as trimming is done, you are ready to start the floor. Get some nice rollers, and 2 days before performing the job, THOROUGHLY wash your rollers! This will remove lint and other junk from new ones. It takes a good 2 days to dry them out, but I recommend wrapping some paper towels around them and squeezing to get as much moisture out before just letting them sit - the water just goes to the base and sits there, even after sitting overnight...

I worked in ~3'x6' sections - main reason for this being, any more and it'll be difficult to spread your flakes around. Put the epoxy on LIBERALLY - both my friend and I did the same thing: we felt we weren't sure if we were putting too much on, and we'd run out before finishing even half the garage. WRONG - I ended up with 2/3rds of a gallon left out of 2, EASILY. You WILL have enough!!!

Try to do long, even strokes (perverts) - get full coverage, and use firm pressure to work the epoxy into all those little cracks and crevices. After doing one solid 1st run, go at it again with even MORE epoxy, and get it on there. If desired once complete, shake some flakes on there.

Here's my in-progress picture:



Now, something I wish I'd done: Instead of simply putting epoxy directly next to the epoxy I'd just laid down, I wish I left walking paths all over my garage to get to all of the sections. This would have let me put down tons of epoxy WITHOUT putting flakes down immediately, and I could have judged how much epoxy I was going to have left to make sure to use it all. Then, flake the sections and epoxy all of my little walkways, eventually retreating out of the garage with the whole floor complete. It all worked out in the end, though.

Complete:



It looks uneven, but it has since dried and matched perfectly across the whole garage. The flakes are dense enough for me, and are a fantastic touch - a neighbor has the exact same color as me WITHOUT flakes, and his looks boring, IMHO.

Flake density:



In the end, I'm EXTREMELY pleased with the quality of the epoxy. Only time will tell on how long it lasts, but I've read many good reviews and in the end, they all say that it comes down to your prep work. Do good, and it'll last a long time. For $150 for both kits, it was all well worth it!

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

Phase 2: Wall Paint

Making my floor look good and last a long time was just the first step - I didn't want my garage to have that horrifically ugly, non-finished look of drywall. Paint is relatively cheap, and your own labor is free. I think it could have cost me about $60 or 70 for both gallons of paint to do this ENTIRE paint job (I have 8' ceilings from the baseboards, btw), if I hadn't bought an extra gallon of the paint thinking I had 10' ceilings on accident...

I tend to like bold, high-contrast colors - many wouldn't think a solid dark or light color to be too exciting, but combined (and with an interesting hue), they can look fantastic. I opted to go with Valspar's "Drizzling Mist" (4006-1C) and "Chimney Smoke" (4010-1) as my colors of choice, in a satin finish. Don't go with a matte finish - every bump and brush you do on the walls will leave ugly marks, likely, whereas satin is the nice compromise without having ridiculous glare.

I opted for two colors also for another purpose: the lower layer is going to be dark, because god knows anything dirty and grimy that's going to hit anything, will likely be hitting the wall at the bottom portion. I intended to hide that as much as possible.

I decided from 0'-3' (measuring from the top of the base trim) would be Chimney Smoke, and from 3'-8' would be the Mist. I've yet to decide on if I want to get some type of center stripe to split the colors, but I'm strongly thinking of doing some type of vinyl and sticking it there for a clean, straight look.

Measuring the painters tape, and then doing it in one solid piece along a long wall practically requires a helping hand. Even then, it will likely not be perfectly straight. It may be easiest to use a string to mark your line, since that wont sag as easily - then you can follow that. In the end, my line is a LITTLE wavy, but I was more than happy with it, since it's a damn work garage anyway.

Tips for painters tape: make sure whatever surface you're putting it on is clean and dry. Take a damp rag, run it over the base trim to get all that gunk off, or it simply doesn't stick.

Trimming up:



Tips to not look lazy: REMOVE YOUR GOD DAMN LIGHT SWITCH AND POWER SOCKET COVERS BEFORE PAINTING. I can't BELIEVE people still try to paint around these - its lazy, ugly, and a pain to remove the plate in the future without causing eyesore damage!

After I trimmed all that, I used my 3" brush and laid down a nice coat around the hard-to-reach areas. I was NOT worried about paint bleeding down a little (it did in the end a little, btw), as I knew my lower coat would be practically black, and would cover it easily. If you are worried about this, I recommend simply using a small roller CAREFULLY, and do NOT load it up heavily with paint. Work on a nice, light coat, barely covering it, and then finish it off with a second coat - this should limit bleed down. Furthermore, a little tip: use a putty knife to put pressure along your whole edge (don't do it so hard that it rips the painters tape...) to get a nice seal. Also use the putty knife to work your tape into corners such as trim around doorways.

First step in painting:



This was definitely a bit time-consuming. I recommend a seat for the lower portions, or risk your back KILLING you. A stool for high places is obvious, and you'll be moving it frequently . Thankfully the coverage on this paint was EXCELLENT, and I was able to do all the trimming work with a single solid coat (again, wasn't worried about bleed-down).

The rest went fairly quickly - with another clean roller, work your paint on in sections (I generally would do 3' wide sections or so at a time, ensuring full coverage. Tips for painting: DON'T load your roller up, or risk 1) spraying paint all over, 2) dripping paint all over, 3) putting too much on the wall and missing it, causing it to run down the wall. You'll need to apply good, even pressure, and just work the roller up and down over the same areas a good bit until you get your full coverage. Once you do, move on to the next area, and keep applying as such.

Honestly I learned a LOT through trial and error with painting with a roller - I hadn't done it since I was a kid, that's for sure. Another tip: if worried about getting your paint in the area below/above your painters tape, I'd recommend at least running a second row of painters tape. I didn't care much since my chimney smoke is so dark, but a lighter color might let that show through or ruin the tint a bit. For my Chimney smoke, I DEFINITELY did a double layer, and it came in handy quite a few times.

I calculated I'd need 2 gallons for 7' vertical of painting surface, but I didn't even need a full gallon in the end due to only needing 5' vertical. I even did a good second coat, and still had some paint to spare.

First coat:





Second and final coat:




Even though Valspar advertises it's "all-in-one" paint (primer and paint mixed in), I still recommend doing at least 2 coats. I'm even thinking of doing a 3rd coat, since my wall was so thirsty for paint, I'm not getting that nice "satin" look on the finish in all locations.

The finish on this color was fantastic, and I've received many comments on how it's beautiful - its not a run-of-the-mill grey at ALL, even though it looks it. I fully intend to use this color elsewhere in my house...

This completed Phase 2.1

Phase 2.2

Next step is the lower half. I first waited a solid 2 days before continuing my painting, to let the top half dry before I put painters tape on it. This half did NOT quite go as expected, but more on that later...

I didn't waste time taking pics of just my painters tape - the long and short? I doubled up on my split point to make sure I didn't go too high. You'll see right away that this came in handy at one point, during my second coat.

So how did this not go as expected? Well, the paint definitely had a different texture - I saw it right off the bat while stirring it. Painting it was a different experience, too - no matter how hard I tried, a good 1st coat with FULL coverage was NOT possible. Don't even bother trying - there were so many little white streaks, it just wasn't happening. I was planning on doing a 2nd coat anyway, and I'm glad - it needed it.

First coat (note, many areas show-through):





Second and final coat (for now):





It looks uneven, but it's really just wet. You MUST wait a good hour or two after the first coat to successfully put the second coat on with this paint! I tried to do it right after I finished the first, and it was still so wet that I had no difference at all. It needs to be tacky to put more paint on.

Will update this tomorrow once I peel the tape off and its dried. Beforehand I'll evaluate on if I need a 3rd coat, but I don't feel I will. VERY EXCITE.

Phase 2.3: Trim/Doors - TO BE CONTINUED AT A LATER DATE

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

Phase 3: Shelving/Workbench

Current plan is to pick up 2X Lowes 1000lb shelves. They have a clean look, and should match well. Not cheap, but I also had no urge to BUILD a shelf.

Pickup should hopefully be today.

After that, I intend to build a mobile workbench on casters with a cheap, easy to remove/replace topper and a proper vice built in. This will give me the great flexibility to easily move it out to the driveway if need be.

*UPDATE*

Shelving has been purchased, built, and semi-stocked. Still needs to be organized a LOT, but its better than nothing. The 2 wire shelves in the back, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep in the garage or not, but they are ok for now...





STICKERSSSSSSSSSS

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

Phase 4: Lighting

Current plans: 4X 2x48"-long-bulb fluorescent light setups. The odd bump in my ceiling will make this interesting and unfortunately change my ORIGINAL plans - I was going to go with 2 pairs of the bulb housings set end-to-end, to make 2X 96" long housings with 8X bulbs each. Not possible, sadly. My fall-back is now going to be simply putting them in-line with the garage, and arranging them at approximately each 1/4 of the garage, width-wise.

See attached pic for a quick sketch of my plans - old being at the top.

I predict I will be doing this install sometime in June.

Attached Images

lights.JPG (7.0 KB, 24 views)

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

Phase 5: The Little Things (ongoing)

All sorts of ideas for stuff going in - some confirmed, others not.

Preliminary plans:
-Awesome Steve McQueen poster I got YEARS ago (since he IS the King of Cool, and all) - CONFIRMED
-Medium-sized plastic Nissan banners I would like to grommet and hang properly - UNCONFIRMED
-Large, plastic Grassroots Motorsports banner I'd also like to grommet/hang - CONFIRMED
-Diamond-plate light switch/power socket covers with black switches/sockets - CONFIRMED
-Paint a 6 sq/ft-sized square of dry-erase onto my wall and nail a frame around it, for ease of noting maintenance intervals. Also great for drawing pictures of pen15's when bored/drinking. I think this idea is REALLY trick, and would look awesome. Kit is a bit expensive though (~$90 I believe). - UNCONFIRMED
-Garage Computer: I have some really cool ideas I'm considering: first, is to come up with a self-contained hanging box with a drop-down front door. When you open it, attached with velcro would be my keyboard, and inside would be the monitor on a wall-mount that can be pulled out. I see this as being absolutely priceless when working on a car, since pulling up DIY's and searching for info is awesome when you're stuck.

The other idea is to get some clear acrylic and build my own case, with all of the parts exposed, and simply hang it right on the wall with the monitor on a wall-mount. I'd likely add a flip-up/down shelf with my keyboard and mouse attached. I think this would look pretty slick, but we'll see. - CONFIRMED
-A short-post lift. I'm still very torn on this, as it truly is a luxury that is pointless for me until I pay the car off and start hitting the track more. - UNCONFIRMED
-A good tire rack, to store track/street tires. I'd LIKE to find one big enough to support 2 sets (eventually getting some summer tires for my truck rather than running all-seasons at all times...), but we'll see. At minimum, the Z's tires must make it up there. - CONFIRMED (but still far off)

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

MightyBobo

reserved

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

XwChriswX

Phase 6 : Appliances

Fridge
Microwave
Sink??
TV
Stereo/Radio

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Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall!
R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

Isamu

this is awesome! showing the wife when she gets home!

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黒子 ('Kuroko')
Project: SuperNova Owner/Operator and Lead designer @BlackGuard Aeroworks

Boost_lee

nice thread idea for us folks that love our garages! looks good so far

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My TT Z

m4a1mustang

Phase 7: Inviting everyone over for housewarming party.

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- Steve

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Mike

looks great, congrats on the purchase!

When we bought our current house, we went right from the closing to the house and immediately did the floors and walls in the garage too! Neighbors thought we were crazy. I did hi-gloss finish on the walls so they would clean easily.

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NISSAN: 75 280Z / 86 300ZX GLL /87 Sentra SE / 03 350Z / 23 Z
Porsche: 93 968 / 23 Macan GTS / 93 968

cdoxp800

Nice.. sub'ed

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2011 Brilliant Silver NISMO 370z. #: 0046.
PPE LTH | MillSpec Cats | F.I Exhaust | Akuma Intakes | Rotora 6/4 Brakes

MightyBobo

The only reason I didnt quite literally do this the same weekend I moved in, was the fact that my garage was my staging area for much of my stuff. It took a good bit of effort to get it moved around, and my friend has a good chunk of stuff in his garage still that is mine.

I'm stopping at Lowes on the way home today, hopefully, to get the 2 sets of shelving that I'll be going with for the garage.

__________________
I don't own a car anymore.

b1adesofcha0s

Looks awesome man

Phase 5 is definitely "invite Shahid over for an awesome modding session"

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Project: b1adeZmobile (2009 370Z) | Uprev Tune by AAM Competition | Berk Exhaust
Project: b1adeZmobile 2.0 (2014 C7 Z51) | Corsa Xtreme Exhaust