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I've been encouraged to start a thread on my new garage. Relevant to the 928? It sure is to me, since it all stems from my purchase of a vintage Porsche in September, 2014. Madness? Of course it is.
Those attending Camp 928 this past summer used this site for parking:
I was having the driveway leveled with new stone in early June, and thought "Why not at least prepare a site, in case I get serious about building a garage?" I was up to four vintage cars, spread all over the place, and mechanical work had taken over a space meant for other things. Oh, and I had ordered a Macan, much to the approval of Dave's Car Chick (her Macan is in the photo above). I cleared the trees. The excavator dug up the stumps and large rocks, and put in two or three feet of gravel from his own pit - cheap.
I took the next step: drawing up plans and getting permits. That took two months, during which I was hit with new requirements - not just to me, but an experienced builder I was talking with. I needed drawings stamped by an engineer ($1000). I would need continuous insulation, meaning 2" foam everywhere, including in the ground to keep frost from getting under the slab. It did allow 2x4 walls, making them easier and cheaper - 2x6 walls with (discontinuous) R19 insulation had become the norm. 28x40', with scissor trusses that go up about 14' inside.
The trick to building is finding good, local guys who don't advertise. The excavation company was like that for the site prep. I got a tip for some concrete guys, who moonlight from a big company and do their own excavation. I was lucky and they came the next day after I called them, the day I finally got a permit. It was to be an "Alaskan" slab, or monoslab - they have 22" haunches all around. I chose 6" for the thickness, for greater peace of mind under a lift. 4000psi. This was early September.
I had my first lumber order delivered Sept 20 and started in on the walls. The general idea was that I'd be doing the General Contracting and all other work I was capable and/or willing to do with little or no help. While I was greatly worried about getting it closed up before it got cold, it was miserably hot working on top of the slab.
It felt like I was making great progress, getting these walls up, but it's really almost trivial. The next step was trusses, roof boards and the steel roofing. I went over to a major building company, owned by a friend, and I hired a crew for that stuff. I've fallen off a roof before; it's painful. They worked fast and were a lot of fun. I asked them what they would tell people about my walls - "Perfect!", they lied.
It's great when rain no longer falls on your stuff inside your garage. They came back when the steel, or "tin" as its often called, came in. I like a steel roof since it will outlast me. I normally like that snow slides off it, but you really can't have that happening in front of garage doors - I'll be installing snow stops.
The building code inspector came by to approve the rough framing. It was time to do the electric. I've done a lot of that, but studied up on how to wire up a 100A service. Why so much? Like it or not, you'd better be able to charge an electric car inside a garage - that's 50A or more right there. There's a big debate on whether #8 or #6 wiring is needed (copper). I chose the big stuff - I only needed 40 feet to get to the pedestal where the meter is. Something new is that every outlet in a garage must be GFCI, even in the back, even in the ceiling. I put in three 20A GFCI breakers. The outlets around the back alternate between two circuits. The lifts require a 30A 240 circuit. I put in another 10/3 cable to a corner - air compressor? welder? This had to be done and inspected before going on with insulation.
And, though I'd like to forget about it, the insulation. You may wish to avert your eyes. I offered lift credits to anyone willing to help, but there were no takers.
Don't forget about the foam on the outside, too. One more inspection, plus garage doors, and the drywall could go in. I hired people to do those things. Gosh, the doors were expensive, but the openers mounted on the sides of the torsion bars, giving a bit more clearance. And get this: one of the installers once owned a 928.
I had put the windows and man door in previously, so it's now closed up! December 1. I had gotten another tip about a drywall outfit, and they'd already had the drywall delivered. They started the next day. The head guy was known as "Fast Johnnie". His crew looked pretty scruffy, but they turned out to be entertaining, and very good. They also played good music - this was a country music-free job site.
Much painting ensued. Everything above 8 feet got ceiling white, to spread light around (more later on this). The lower walls got a two tone treatment of greenish grays, with a dark green stripe. Bertrand's avatar of his garage was the inspiration. I carefully consult Nancy on colors. What about the floors? you ask. This would be the time to clean 'em, grind 'em (the concrete guys insisted on a cure sealer), and slather on $2000 worth of paint. Well, I can only say it didn't happen, and it's now extremely unlikely that it ever will. I will regret it for the rest of my life, I'm sure. Leave me alone!
I did the finish electric, implementing my lighting plan. There are more elaborate ways to spread light around evenly, such as installing 16 or 24 four-foot fixtures, but I choose to put in 8 "Big Bulbs". Together with all the ceiling paint, it seems to spread the light around pretty well, at 31 lumens/square foot. The bulbs shine in all directions. When you walk in, there is one switch to turn on two lesser bulbs, and another to turn on the brights.
So, it's December 22 and the inside is pretty much done. Except for moving Nancy's Smartcar in from the shed, I can't move in until the lifts are installed. After pondering the lift possibilities, I've chosen a wide and long 9000 lb four-poster, and a 10,000 lb asymmetric two-poster. They're somewhere on a truck headed my way, from BendPak. They'll get put on a boom truck at my lumber yard, and they'll set them inside the garage, maybe next week. The rotary hammer is ready for some holes.
Oh, a heating system will be nice. I'll probably order a Mitsubishi mini-split, one that heats and cools, with a heat pump that works down to pretty cold. I think I have the right manifold to pump the lines down, but I'll have to get a flare tool.
Despite the cold weather lately (2°F as I write this at high noon), I've been slowly putting up some siding. Vinyl is final. Muskoka Green. Muskoka is a region of Ontario, and indeed, the siding is made there.
I'll be able to put up the siding faster when it warms up; 20°F would be terrific. I've gotta get that ugly foam covered up. Moving the Bugeye Sprite over from across the road will require better conditions, too. The focus must soon shift to my long list of things to do on the 928, starting with the torque tube.
But I'm pleased that it should be all done before the 2018 edition of Camp 928.
I joked with one of the concrete guys, after they set out the forms, that the garage wasn't going to be big enough. He replied "They never are". How true. In fact, I found out after marking out where the lift posts would go. I thought the best place for the two-post lift was the far stall, stall #3. That's because #1 would be for the car most often driven, and #2 would have another car ready to go (underneath). But the far post of the lift in #3 would be just 1'5" from the wall - that's a tight squeeze for me when the lift is at mid-height, or impassable if the pump and controls must be mounted to that post. I might have to switch them. I didn't have a door opener put in for #3; I'd have to switch that, too, or get another.
I looked into cabinets this morning. There is to be a line of cabinets on the near side.
Another four feet in width would have been nice, for that far post and also the near side. A little more money, sure, but another 14 batts of ceiling insulation might have killed me.
There is some discussion at the end of the 2017 Camp 928 thread, mainly on lighting. I think I've addressed Dr. Bob's suggestion of a light-colored floor. An excellent idea, but it's going to be "Grey Cementa", with "Leka Black" spots. What about tile? Ha! Erik showed us a 10,000 lumen LED bulb, which makes my 4275 lumen Big Bulbs look puny. But this points out another advantage of just putting up a bunch of $2 bare bulb fixtures: more flexibility than 4-foot LED-equipped fixtures.
There was some exciting local news last week: a Harbor Freight is coming to Glens Falls! Not soon enough, however. I shall be taking the truck down to Albany for a shopping spree soon.
There is a red and black thing lurking in the corner . . .
Oh, yes, there was a question on that in the other thread. Answer: this garage could house 16 Smartcars. Nancy would have 16 of them, too, if she treated them like shoes. It was parked in the shed for the winter, but I took pity on it. We'll try not to drop a lift post on it.
It's a cool car. Like the 911, it has a rear engine and staggered tires. It freaks out other drivers, so they give Nancy a wide berth. And, of course, she can create a parking space anywhere.
Excellent shop! Space is always the dream, and making it comfortable to be in (for both vehicles and persons)! For the floor, have you looked at cheap vinyl roll? I used this in my 12ft wide space, and really like it. Easy to wipe up spills, you can slide on it easily in clothes, but shoes don't slip, and it has a tiny but of cushion compared to concrete.
12-29-2017, 01:08 PM
New garage, aka Camp 928 Clubhouse
