Fitting out a garage :)
 

Hi folks

We're due to move house before Christmas (fingers tightly crossed!) and for the first time in my life I will have a double garage to play with :D unfortunately it's not a massive double garage, so getting 2 fairly chunky cars in with any hope of the Mrs getting one out without running it down the door frame are subject to review when we move in!

The garage is integral to the house, and has the boiler mounted on the back wall, with access through to the house on the same wall. No need to mess about with the garage door as it's already a double width and electric - yay £3k+ saved!

In the current house I've made fairly ingenious use of cheap materials to increase storage space (x2 kitchen worktops on a 4" timber frame that allows a car to drive under the worktops) and I've lined the walls with offcuts of carpet screwed to the walls wherever needed. Similarly x2 bikes mounted on one wall. As it's an apex roof I've also been able to hang stuff from the rafters and put some boards down to use the space above.

For the new place I don't want it to look bodged/cheaply done, but I do want to be able to lift one car on a jack inside the garage if I'm rotating wheels etc without wrecking a fancy tile floor i.e. it'll be a working space as well as storage. I don't feel the need to fill it with expensive tool cabinets, but some metal wall mounted kitchen style units on the back wall seems a much nicer idea than open shelves for hiding away the multitude of tools and car cleaning parafernalia I've accumulated over the years.

I'm also toying with the idea of some kind of reflective finish on the far wall up to eye level in the car, to make judging the position of the car easier as going in front first makes sense - possibly polished stainless steel?

Has anyone here come across UK suppliers that sell the sort of stuff I think I'm looking for, but struggling to find through random Google searches?! I'm wondering if going along to the Autosport show might be the best way to see some options, as memories from years ago are that there's quite a few suppliers of that type that attend.

Tips/ideas based on practical experience are very much welcome +++

Adrian

Congrats on getting a double garage. +++ It'll be a bit of a change from your previous experience IIRC? Didnt you have to crawl out through the ski hatch in the boot - or something? ;)
The garage guru must surely be 47P2 (John) whose garage thread on this forum is an epic read!
I have NO garage so, whilst unable to provide useful practical advice, I will follow this thread with interest. +++

Thanks David - my single garage is a pretty decent size, by modern standards, at 5.2x2.5m. Unfortunately its usefulness for car storage is limited by coins sticking out halfway down the garage, precisely where you end up with a big car fully in the garage, so you can't get the doors open!

With the S8 I did need a decorator's pole to press the brake pedal to get the car into neutral to pull it back enough to get the door open against the carpeted wall....

The house we're moving to currently houses a Bentley Continental GT, which isn't a small car, and will take his wife's big Mini at a push at the same time, but they also have plenty of crap in there.

I remember John's garage thread - his is rather more spacious than mine will be!

Costco do a nice range of garage cabinets

Click +++

Good luck on your garage!

Hi Adrian
Can you Pm me your new address and phone number, assuming you are staying in the local area.
Good luck with the move +++
David

Thanks all

Found this, which looks interesting (based on the link above to Costco) - particularly like the floor tiles and wall racking. Still not found anything I would consider suitable as a wall 'bumper' cover to protect the doors. Thinking neoprene or similar?

https://www.garagepride.co.uk/

David - will do, once we know it's definitely happening +++ It's in Pease Pottage, so other side of Crawley from where we are now

Adrian

Pipe lagging works well, is cheap and is easy to fit, if you just want a strip rather than to cover the full wall!?

Good quality carpet underlay stuck to wall with silicone or "high grab" glue. +++

For posts and edges we use cheap yoga mats from pound shops and wrap them around all edges +++