New garage / garden project

[g8jka]

Nice to have a gap one end to get something tall in if needed - press etc

Yes, I'm thinking the right hand corner. That will be where my winter wheels are going to be stored I think plus I need to hang the hardtop somewhere. Although I have been looking at a stand for it which would sit nicely in the corner but that takes up more space than if it's hung up.

 

[colb]

I got rid of an old wardrobe I had at the end of my garage to the left of a workbench, and put in an ebay sourced double row wheel rack to store my spare sets of wheels off the Z3 and Z4, fitted the gap and freed up the floor space previously taken with the wheel storage trolly I had with the Z3 wheels on and found a home for the Z4's wheels that needed storing.

 

[g8jka]

I got rid of an old wardrobe I had at the end of my garage to the left of a workbench, and put in an ebay sourced double row wheel rack to store my spare sets of wheels off the Z3 and Z4, fitted the gap and freed up the floor space previously taken with the wheel storage trolly I had with the Z3 wheels on and found a home for the Z4's wheels that needed storing.

I have my wheels currently stored in my Mums shed on a rack that I made. It was my original plan to have a rack on the wall at the back of the garage but looking at how it would have to hang it would be too low to sit above a bench which is a shame as it does free up floor space like you say. I think if I keep the space above the bench it maybe handy to fit some shallow kitchen type cupboards above.

 

[ktnez99]

Few pictures of the roof, gone with tinted polycarbonate sheets. This means they let plenty of light in without the need to turn the lights on throughout the day. It does get warm in there though, especially with the temps being as high as they have been the last few days. Although being tinted it's not as hot as it would be if they were clear. They came as 3 big sheets which needed to be cut in half, then cut down to width for 3 panels each side leaving 6 sections in total.

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First section in place

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One half completed

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All panels in place

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And all secured down via the glazing bars that sit between the panels plus the additional fixing pins. Then the centre section was sealed up and cover with some half round guttering turned upside down, then held in place with some more fixing pins. The end caps on the guttering have since been trimmed back so they sit almost flush with the end caps that fix to the glazing bars that hold the sheets. And you may notice it's had some paint.

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Next up was the electrics. I put my socket back boxes and some of the conduit in place ready for the wiring to go in. 3 doubles at the front (1 up high for the door power), 2 doubles each side, 4 doubles at the back and a single on the roof beam (for the hardtop hoist) should cover me for anything I may want to plug in Oh and a single outside on the rear.

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A new 3 way consumer unit was fitted and connected into the armoured cable that was installed months ago and they are now all connected up and working. The wiring for the lights is in place and I have fitted 4 downlights outside which are connected up and working. It's now hammering down which is the first rain we've had since fitting the roof so I'll find out if it's leaking at all

More pics to follow, unless it gets washed away...

You’ve missed a vertical strut or two there, without sockets

Looking great...re: temperature, did you think about putting in roof “windows” like in a greenhouse to open?

I’m thinking of having a polycarbonate greenhouse this autumn or very early next spring so this is another interesting aspect of your build.

 

[ktnez99]

Nice to have a gap one end to get something tall in if needed - press etc

Or fridge freezer for drinks?

 

[t-tony]

Next thing you know he'll have a squatter . . . .

Tony.

 

[g8jka]

You’ve missed a vertical strut or two there, without sockets

Looking great...re: temperature, did you think about putting in roof “windows” like in a greenhouse to open?

I’m thinking of having a polycarbonate greenhouse this autumn or very early next spring so this is another interesting aspect of your build.

I don't think a window is going to make a huge difference. It's the same in the conservatory which gets really hot, open all the windows and it doesn't make much difference. If it's a problem I'll just stick a fan or two in there, but generally the amount of days per year we get over 20 degrees are not many!

I can imagine a polycarbonate greenhouse getting extremely hot in this type of weather.

Or fridge freezer for drinks?

I do have a small fridge which holds about 5/6 cans and an electric coolbox which holds around 10 cans which is perfect to use on a couple of them sockets

 

[g8jka]

Well it's not washed away despite the rain we had last Wednesday night which flooded the front garden and almost came up the steps through the front door. No leaks in the garage though

Following on from the last post, all the electrics are now in and working. 4 double sockets along the back.

A couple either side. Plus a couple of breaker ones either side at the front not pictured.

Outside socket on the rear.

Indoors we have the consumer unit and some relays hidden away to control the lighting. I have a 'sonoff' unit which allows it all to be controlled via an app, or Alexa. I also have a scene set up so when the door opens the lights come on or when the door closes the lights go off. The patio lights also have this option and are set up on a timer. I can override all lighting with the wall switch incase I want the door open and lights off (daytime) or door closed and lights on (evenings etc). The standard light switch is on the left, which is also where the door controls will sit and the sonoff unit on the right meaning I have controls for everything either side if I'm not using the app or I can't be arsed to walk to the opposite side of the garage

Temporary lighting hung in place, 3 units in total. These will probably get changed next year for slimmer units.

It's all been painted up outside with some Ronseal which didn't do what it said on the tin! Apparently 3 coats were needed on newly planed timber, it took 6. And the trims finished in white for a bit of contrast. I trimmed the finial down and angled the edges.

Plus a little update on the garden, got the slabs for the rear pathway to the back of the garage down and a couple behind the garage for the bins to go on. The slabs on the pathway were the closest match I could get to the old ones without paying £10 more per slab. They are supposed to be grey but don't look it so hopefully after it's all been cleaned it may match a bit better. The 2 for under the bins are just some plain old things.

The gravel has been put down between the driveway and garage, looks great now and no more mud pit. We also put some log roll down the side as some of the fence panels are higher and the gravel boards are held in with bricks. This just covers the area and we will fill the gap with something to neaten it up. I made a fence panel to cover the gap between garage and fence panels to stop the dog sneaking down there and winding next doors dog up

A couple of pics of the outside lighting at night.

And the inside lights at night.

My poor zed hasn't been parked in a garage since November last year. Guess what, it fits

The door should be here next Monday so hopefully next week it will be a proper garage! Still got to paint the floor, I put another 2 coats of sealant on it earlier as I had some left. And then a few odd jobs on the garden to complete.

 

[t-tony]

Very impressed Dave, you've done a grand job there mate (with your apprentice, that is) If I can make one observation, it would be with all your lights fitted cross ways, the sides of your car and the area near to the sides will be dark(er). Some lights along the sides might be better.
I parked our Mini in my garage on the first night after my dear old dad helped me put up the walls, with no roof. So no doors is fine!

Tony.

 

[g8jka]

Very impressed Dave, you've done a grand job there mate (with your apprentice, that is) If I can make one observation, it would be with all your lights fitted cross ways, the sides of your car and the area near to the sides will be dark(er). Some lights along the sides might be better.
I parked our Mini in my garage on the first night after my dear old dad helped me put up the walls, with no roof. So no doors is fine!

Tony.

Yes I reckon when I upgrade the lights I'll get some at the sides also. I think we will put some either side following the angles of the roof, so the point towards the middle but are near enough to the sides to also light them. I'll find out what's best once I start using it when it's dark.This was the only way them lights could hang otherwise they would sit quite low.

Haha I bet a Mini looked tiny in your garage, you would probably get 4 Mini's in there! Mine hasn't spent the night in there yet, still got the old roof panels which I had to shift back to the side of the house until I get rid of them so can't get the zed in and out easily.

 

[t-tony]

The whole project looks very nice mate

Tony.

 

[t-tony]

Had a new Heating oil tank fitted today and have some wood from the concrete shuttering to get shut of, and also make some panels to disguise it from view. On the up side we ended up with a place to stand the 3 wheelie bins out of sight. Another little job.

Tony.

 

[Althulas]

Quite impressive actually.

 

[gookah]

Quite pleased with it considering a few weeks ago it was just plain lengths of wood...

 

[t-tony]

You've done a great job Pete. I hope you're both pleased and proud of it mate.

Tony.

 

[gookah]

You've done a great job Pete. I hope you're both pleased and proud of it mate.

Tony.

Proud of my helper too,
Couldn't have done it without all the expert assistance I had at my side all along,
The one that kept an eye on things, kept me grounded and happy.
I can't take the credit, with such a star by my side:

David, on the other hand....




.

 

[t-tony]

Ha,Ha. Why was I expecting that?

Tony.

 

[ktnez99]

WOW!!! What a cracking looking home for your Z @g8jka and @gookah great to read and I can’t wait for the next gripping episode of the door being fitted.

 

[Synclare]

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[g8jka]

Well the door arrived back on Aug 24th and was fitted that evening. Things have been a bit slow recently as I've finally gone back to work. We got the majority of the garden sorted just in time also before I went back, apart from a couple of odd jobs I need to sort.

Firstly, despite surviving the torrential downpour one evening a few weeks ago we had a day of steady rain the following week which caused me some issues. I went in to find damp patches on the inside of the cladding. It's not leaking from anywhere in particular but seemed to be getting through the knots in the wood despite having 6 coats of 'weather resistant' Ronseal I didn't click at first that it was coming through the knots and it was mostly the back panel. The back panel was built with the longer cladding than the sides and I noticed a lot more knots in these panels. It enters through the knots and down the vertical beams. I was pretty pig sick when I saw this.

I went and picked up some water seal from Screwfix and treated the whole garage to a couple of coats. Since doing this it seems to have cured the problem. The water beads on the surface now instead of penetrating into the knots. I was amazed as I didn't think it would work, it's almost like I've put a couple of coats of meguiars on the garage Next time it gets painted I'll use water resistant stuff.

I built some supports for the bench at the back, plus made a space for the winter/summer wheels to live and a shelf above them. This was the best option I could work out to maximise space without losing much. The top will have a laminate kitchen worktop across the width of the garage.

The floor has had a couple of coats of paint and now looks great. How long it will stand up I don't know, it's already chipped in a couple of places but it apparently fully cures within 7 days,. This was done last Monday so the car should be OK to go in now but I've emptied the conservatory into there so everything is all over the floor at present.

The laminate worktop has been notched out to fit flush against the back wall and secured to the legs. I've also put a kitchen wall unit up for a bit more storage and a shelving unit for all my detailing gear. I did have to raise the rear light as high as it would go so I could open the cabinet doors. Plus I've started hanging a few things, everything is on the floor at the moment ready to be sorted and then the car can go back in.

And here's the much awaited door. Works via remote, app on phone or Alexa. Plus the standard up/down unit which comes with the door. I have a scene set through the app for when it's dark which activates the lights when the door opens and turns them off when the door closes.