My new garage build thread.

[Exuptoy]

Thanks. Working offshore for two weeks and having a family life around it for the next two weeks tends to limit progress.
I think I’m at about 17-18 days of actual work to this point. I have however totally enjoyed the process.

 

[Exuptoy]

Can't wait until the bike is in its new home so I can get stuck into the bus once again. Not a huge amount of chassis work left to do really!

 

[addjunkie]

Thanks. Working offshore for two weeks and having a family life around it for the next two weeks tends to limit progress.
I think I’m at about 17-18 days of actual work to this point. I have however totally enjoyed the process.

Working offshore is actually why you can have the time to do such things at a good pace...weekends only off makes for hard progress on a home build!
The two weeks away actually helps as you have two weeks to fully work out the next phase of your project, lets face it, you only work a few hours a day by the time you dick about waiting for permits etc......

Many a grand project has been thouroughly planned and thought through in an oil companies time.

 

[Exuptoy]

Probably hit the nail on the head there.

 

[Exuptoy]

Just removed the old gates from the back of the garage (front?) so I’ll stick them up for sale on Gumtree and see if I can get £100 or so back for them. They’re not pretty but they’re solid and have lasted me about ten years and steel isn’t cheap to make a new set. Once the gates are out of the way I can make a start on the path around the side and finish the slab near the side gate. I still have to brick in under the roof timbers first though. Maybe tomorrow if it stays dry?

Looks better.

 

[Exuptoy]

The manual roller shutter on the front of the garage (pedestrian door) has been a really heavy door since I first bought it, but since fitting it across both doors it is a real get yourself under it to get it up affair. So, when the electric roller was fitted the door fitter advised that the best way to increase tension on the door without the roller spinning out of control while it tries to unwind itself if you lose hold, is to remove the side guides with the door fully up then add turns to the curtain, so effectively increasing the spring tension by two or three full turns. I tried this today but it pretty much made little difference so today I rung a local door firm and they sent one of their fitters up on his way home to quote for a new assister spring.
He told me first thing is to scrape out the old grease and reapply as people make the mistake of putting new grease on top of old stuff. He then scraped it out with a narrow blade scraper and I applied new grease.
Perfect. I can’t believe that’s all it was, so if anyone suffers with a stiff roller door (ooer!) there’s the answer.

 

[addjunkie]

The manual roller shutter on the front of the garage (pedestrian door) has been a really heavy door since I first bought it, but since fitting it across both doors it is a real get yourself under it to get it up affair. So, when the electric roller was fitted the door fitter advised that the best way to increase tension on the door without the roller spinning out of control while it tries to unwind itself if you lose hold, is to remove the side guides with the door fully up then add turns to the curtain, so effectively increasing the spring tension by two or three full turns. I tried this today but it pretty much made little difference so today I rung a local door firm and they sent one of their fitters up on his way home to quote for a new assister spring.
He told me first thing is to scrape out the old grease and reapply as people make the mistake of putting new grease on top of old stuff. He then scraped it out with a narrow blade scraper and I applied new grease.
Perfect. I can’t believe that’s all it was, so if anyone suffers with a stiff roller door (ooer!) there’s the answer.

If you do decide at a later date to replace the spring, in my past experience with a similar door, very little difference in price to repair a manal door or fit a motor to it, was only about 40 quid difference when I did ours.

 

[Olderisbetter]

@Exuptoy great build and a nice space, Cannot wait to see more on the VW when you are back into it.

 

[Exuptoy]

Cheers @Olderisbetter, I'm actually looking forward to being able to do work in there without stressing about covering the bikes up.
Still plenty to do just yet, I'm not gonna render the outside, I'm going to get some cream Sandtex weatherproof smooth paint after I've finished re-pointing a few bits I'm not happy with (I've bought a 115mm raking disc to clean the first 4 courses so I can do it all properly) then I'll paint the inside with white Sandtex as I want it bright in there. Next will be grey polyurethane floor paint to do the floor and probably 3 x 5ft LED batten fittings. It'll be like an operating theatre by the time I've finished.

 

[Olderisbetter]

Cheers @Olderisbetter, I'm actually looking forward to being able to do work in there without stressing about covering the bikes up.
Still plenty to do just yet, I'm not gonna render the outside, I'm going to get some cream Sandtex weatherproof smooth paint after I've finished re-pointing a few bits I'm not happy with (I've bought a 115mm raking disc to clean the first 4 courses so I can do it all properly) then I'll paint the inside with white Sandtex as I want it bright in there. Next will be grey polyurethane floor paint to do the floor and probably 3 x 5ft LED batten fittings. It'll be like an operating theatre by the time I've finished.

I painted inside my garage with Sandtex masonary white and it made a big difference to the lighting, The floor is on my to do list as it was part of the drive before i extended so it slopes down so plenty to do.

 

[Exuptoy]

I have found good reviews on the Floormaster PU Floor paint. Coverage is supposed to be 6-8sqm per litre. £35 for 5 litres but only £75 for 20!! It's what I'll be using.

https://premiumpaints.co.uk/product...concrete-paint-20-litre?variant=6839791288362

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I use 2 pack epoxy on my floor....it lasts quite a few years and one you have a couple of coats down you only need to go over it.

They do it in a light grey which is really good at reflecting the light.....I originally did it in red but made the garage to dark!

OK....so epoxy floor paint prices seem to have gone a bit mad since I last did mine!

 

[Exuptoy]

Ok, dodged the rain on and off today and got the end above the roller door filled in. Been a **** day though!
On the plus side I got £140 for my old gates!
Stuck them on Gumtree last night about 8pm and the guy saw them this morning and rung me about 8:30 and collected them lunch time. Gotta love that. That'll be the paint paid for

 

[slim_boy_fat]

It'll be like an operating theatre by the time I've finished.

Spend a few minutes on Detailing World, do search for 'studio' or 'garage' lighting and there ought to be good examples of what others have installed in their places (esp the Pro detailers) with pics - give you some pointers for layouts, sources, costs etc

 

[Exuptoy]

Cheers Slim. Had a quick look on there. The screw fix LAP fittings which I'd been looking at seem to get good reviews and they're reasonably priced. Probably go for 3x5 ft ones and maybe a 4ft one above the bench area on a separated switch. I also picked up a small emergency bulkhead fitting so I think I'll try and slave it off the roller door when it's fully up if its possible. Not too bothered about getting proper position for detailing as I'm not that much into it.
I was a member on DW a long time ago and picked up a Meguiars DA polisher on the recommendation from there many moons ago but this garage is really only for my bikes.

 

[Exuptoy]

Just found these on TLC (there's one near me in Swansea). Cheaper than screw fix too.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/KBBAT5.html

 

[Exuptoy]

Got the underside of the front of the garage roof blocked up today then it started lashing it down so a few of the joints have started to wash out. Still need to point it inside anyway as I ran out of sand so I’ll touch it up then. At least that’s it secure. Once the blocks are sealed with Sandtex that should be it water tight as at the moment the blocks are like a sponge. The water runs down the inside in to the floor!
I still need to modify the roller shutter top cowl to encompass the corner install to close it in.

 

[Exuptoy]

Just been to Wickes and spent £60 on 2 x 10l tubs of smooth masonry Sandtex. Cheapest I’ve found for Sandtex. 1 tub of Cornish Cream for the outside and brilliant white for inside.

 

[Exuptoy]

Sandtex is usually £25 for 5l. Only selected Wickes carry them though. Check your local stores online first. Tried Bridgend first to be told that Swansea, Cardiff and Caerphilly have stock but they don't do it there! Went across to Screwfix where I found out that they have stopped selling it. I asked the girl at the counter why the website was showing it and she said "oh yeah, they stopped doing that, they should remove it from the website"!

 

[Exuptoy]

Finished pointing the ends inside and out. Started blocking between the timbers but ran out of blocks! Need another 4 blocks! Have to wait until tomorrow I suppose.
All bar a little dressing back of a few bits on the outside then repointing them it’s ready for paint outside. Woohoo!

Pics are a bit boring but it’s an update!