# Making the most out of an ordinary single garage



## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

I thought it might be of interest to show my recent and ongoing single garage refurbishment. We moved house a few months ago and after searching high and low for a decent house with a big garage, it became clear that I could have one of the two things - but not both within budget. In the end even I had to admit that the house was more important, so a single garage it has to be. The other problem with our chosen house was that there was only one door into it - through the up-and-over, which was a real pain. At least the size of the garage was OK (ish) at 8'8" x 18'6" - the Clio should fit in there OK.

The project started with a little bit of boxing in around the consumer unit and a coat of white paint in some areas. Next I had to move an overflow pipe which would be in the way of a new side access door. 

















Out with the angle grinder and cut the hole for the door. Only a single layer of brick to cut through. 

















My Dad helping with the door installation:









Next job was to get my electrician brother-in-law around to sort power and lighting. Two way lighting comprising of 2 x Fluorescent fittings with 2 x daylight tubes in each and 3 downlighters at the far end over the workbench area. A double light switch at the side door and a single switch for just the fluorescents at the up-and-over end. A few sockets in key areas as well as a 110v socket for my US voltage DAs. This socket is switched at the workbench end which in turn switches on the transformer in the roof space.

































I decided to dob and dab the far wall where the workbench will be for a smoother finish.

















It didn't look nice above the up-and-over door so a stuck some more plasterboard to finish it off:

















A skim of filler on the plasterboard:









Plenty of white paint followed, nearly 20 litres in the end.

Finishing touches include a big acrylic framed print from a genuine Renault dealership. This needed a fabricated bracket to hand properly:

















Also an Ikea kitchen rack proved to be an excellent towel drying rack:









I opted for a G-Floor garage floor mat (ebay bargain for £90). This didn't go full width so I used garage floor paint to finish. 









Cheap Ikea pictures frames were used to hold some lovely pencil drawings of competition Renaults. These were give to me at a Renault World Series event where I display the Clio regularly. Some aluminium stand-offs give the frames an expensive look. Also, Ikea hidden bracket shelves hold my more regularly used detailing products.















]









I have still got to seal the new door properly and purchase and fit gloss white kitchen units at the far end with a real wood worktop. All the other detailing equipment will be held within these draws and cupboards.

The car in it's new home (excuse the extension lead - bleedin' xmas lights!


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## tim (May 2, 2006)

Thanks for sharing, that's a tidy little garage you have there! 

Tim


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

Very nice and clean. How long will it stay that way???


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## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

That's very nice :argie:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Looks great mate :thumb:


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## Lupostef (Nov 20, 2011)

Simple and clean i like  hopefully what mine will look like in a few months :thumb:


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

Cracking job mate but shouldnt there have been a lintel above the door cutout to spread the load rather than the weight just resting on the door frame, I not picking fault but thinking of future problems for yourself. All my windows and doors at my house have lintels abouve them


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## dazfr (Dec 23, 2011)

Lupostef said:


> Simple and clean i like  hopefully what mine will look like in a few months :thumb:


and mine aswell once iv got a shed for all my junk to go in


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## ford nut (Dec 12, 2011)

Cracking transformation, well done on the fantastic fit out..:argie:


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## dazfr (Dec 23, 2011)

Shinyvec said:


> Cracking job mate but shouldnt there have been a lintel above the door cutout to spread the load rather than the weight just resting on the door frame, I not picking fault but thinking of future problems for yourself. All my windows and doors at my house have lintels abouve them


i spotted that but didnt want to say lol


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## herbiedacious (Sep 27, 2010)

:argie::argie::argie:
Garages are for putting cars in???:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Shinyvec said:


> Cracking job mate but shouldnt there have been a lintel above the door cutout to spread the load rather than the weight just resting on the door frame, I not picking fault but thinking of future problems for yourself. All my windows and doors at my house have lintels abouve them


Thanks for all the comments. One layer of brick above the door, then a huge wooden beam supporting the roof. Lintel not needed.


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

No worries then mate :thumb:. All these fancy garages really make me want to sort my cave out as its a bomb zone at the miute


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking work matey, looks like a proper man cave now


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## A210 AMG (Nov 8, 2008)

Looking good.

I would put some rubber bump stops to help when you open the door,

Also watch for that jack when you reverse


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## Ben1413 (Jul 1, 2009)

Fantastic job!

I'm going to be tacking my garage in the New Year. The trouble is my wife keeps trying to fill it up with crap!!


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Ben1413 said:


> Fantastic job!
> 
> I'm going to be tacking my garage in the New Year. The trouble is my wife keeps trying to fill it up with crap!!


That's what sheds are for.

The crap not the wife!


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

A210 AMG said:


> Looking good.
> 
> I would put some rubber bump stops to help when you open the door,
> 
> Also watch for that jack when you reverse


second this too, cracking garage ya have looks nice and tidy


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## leost (Jun 15, 2010)

Stunning set up bud


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## Lars Z (Jul 20, 2011)

Looking really good, now I really need to get my garage sorted.:wall:

Would you be able to do any detailing in there? Would you have enough space to get around with a DA or rotary?:buffer:
Just asking cause my garage is only slightly bigger and I find it a bit of a squeeze.(picking up the courage to ask SWMBO to remove her stuff from the garage).

Lars


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Stunning wee garage.


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## deanquartermain (Jun 28, 2008)

Nice garage mate


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## sean20 (Jan 17, 2011)

nice garage very ocd :thumb:

iv got to get my garage sorted in the new year but sadly it aunt big enough to detail in


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## NorthernNick (Mar 23, 2011)

beautiful garage matey, looks really clean and a nice place to be


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## ShampooEfficient (Jan 19, 2008)

Very nice - will have to sort mine out in the NY.

Sadly because I have odd taste in cars, I have precisely 1" clearance at each end of the garage when I close the door...


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Lars Z said:


> Looking really good, now I really need to get my garage sorted.:wall:
> 
> Would you be able to do any detailing in there? Would you have enough space to get around with a DA or rotary?:buffer:
> Just asking cause my garage is only slightly bigger and I find it a bit of a squeeze.(picking up the courage to ask SWMBO to remove her stuff from the garage).
> ...


I could work with a machine doing one side at a time. But anything bigger than a Clio, forget it. However, I have no intention of doing this as it would be very uncomfortable. Much prefer to put a coat of wax on in there.


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## JasonPD (Jan 8, 2010)

Really smart garage there, love the ikea rack idea for the drying towels


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## gregb (Feb 1, 2009)

All you need owns an electric garage door opener :thumb:


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## uzi-blue (Mar 16, 2011)

Nice work, Great space. :argie:


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Just to show it's not all polishing in the garage but maintenance as well. This is the car at the moment whilst I fix a xenon light fault. It also gave me an opportunity to replace a cracked fog lamp whilst the bumper was off.


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Really good mate, thats a superb garage I envy you.


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## SCOTT1 (Apr 14, 2007)

cracking write up and garage mate, well done, cant believe how clean the car is for a 53 plate.


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## JB052 (Mar 22, 2008)

Well thought out garage, like it.


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## Footballer (Dec 7, 2010)

My friend, a fantastically well thought out Garage and one to be proud of too! :thumb:

Certainly given me some inspiration to sort mine.

Thanks for posting and enjoy!


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

lovely man cave!!


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## *MrB* (Feb 20, 2011)

Great looking garage :thumb:


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## joshhatton (Jan 10, 2010)

Really like that!


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## slineclean (Dec 23, 2011)

aww bet your well chuffed , very envy of you :thumb:


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## jamie crookston (Aug 30, 2010)

Fantastic garage mate. I really really like the renault touches. The 172 ain't bad ethier!!


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Stunning man cave, I hope mine's like that when I finally get around to building it


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## dazzyb (Feb 9, 2010)

nice lookin garage and car too

not tht i am biased much


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

want!!! lovely motor too


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## davesei (May 13, 2011)

well gel ..
lovely garage chap id love one just like that in the near future ..top job


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Thanks for all the feedback. I've finished the door off today using some 30mm UPVC cloaking trim. Covers the gap between the wall and door frame.
Before you can see the foam:









to this..









Much better.


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## Soapie (Aug 26, 2009)

that is so nice, first class job

jealous


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## 7sins (Oct 6, 2008)

Got to say, thats top work for making the most out of the space! Wish I could do the same bud my garage is for storage and in a different street :/

Anyways, top marks on that one!

Steven


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Final update on the garage. I got hold of some second hand kitchen carcasses off a friend and fitted them with new B&Q doors and some handles off the web. A nice cheap (£30) worktop from Wickes finished thing off nicely. 
















That's the project finished. I may install a few LED flood lamps in the future so I can machine polish.
Hope the thread has been of interest.


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## howie parks (Jun 5, 2006)

What is the flooring?

Good effort!!


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

To tidy for garage lol 

are You happy with halfrauds tool box ?? I'm after one but unsure about quality


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## m00k (Mar 22, 2007)

Fantastic job... Tried doin similar when I moved in to our pad but block walls are too hard to paint :-( and only single block so wud get damp drawn in wi plaster board


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Great update very tidy in deed


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

howie parks said:


> What is the flooring?
> 
> Good effort!!


Thanks. The floor is G-Floor.


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Alzak said:


> To tidy for garage lol
> 
> are You happy with halfrauds tool box ?? I'm after one but unsure about quality


I've had the tool box for 2 years and it's been perfect. I'm only a hobby mechanic so it suits my needs. Keep an eye online as you can get limited time offers and pick up the bottom and top boxes on a reserve and collect for £200.


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## Dan1587 (May 23, 2011)

I want your garage mate so I can keep my Clio in there.

Loving the Ikea towel rack idea 

Monaco friend


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## AliBailey88 (Oct 13, 2009)

Properly nice!


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

thats come up very nicely!! well done my friend


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## w00044 (May 17, 2009)

vecbtb said:


> Thanks. The floor is G-Floor.


Where did you buy that from in the UK?


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

w00044 said:


> Where did you buy that from in the UK?


I got it off ebay for £90. There is a UK company on ebay doing it for around £200. My brother ordered his from there with no problems.


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## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Cracking garage mate :thumb:


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## TubbyTwo (Apr 14, 2011)

Clean and simple, Love it!


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## jake4 (Sep 21, 2011)

Looks great fair play


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## abbacus (Mar 24, 2011)

This is what you call making the most out of a small space. Looks like a very homely mancave! 

Awesome! :argie:


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## S Garbett (Jan 20, 2007)

Looks Great


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## XxHarDinGxX (Sep 24, 2011)

That looks superb!


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## w00044 (May 17, 2009)

vecbtb said:


> I got it off ebay for £90. There is a UK company on ebay doing it for around £200. My brother ordered his from there with no problems.


Cheers, i'll take another look, when I looked the other day they only seemed to be in 1.2m wide.


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

w00044 said:


> Cheers, i'll take another look, when I looked the other day they only seemed to be in 1.2m wide.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/G-FLOOR-D...UK_Flooring&hash=item3a6a97aa9e#ht_834wt_1191


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## wedgie (Apr 5, 2008)

Thanks mate, you have gave me some ideas on what to do with my new garage :thumb::thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

very impressive mate well done


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Looks great smilier to mine i find having a roller door is a great bit of kit


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

Quick pic of the car in the garage. The carpet mats prevent the tyres staining the flooring - it's something to do with a chemical reaction between the tyre and floor.


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## m00k (Mar 22, 2007)

fantastic garage... love what you've donw with it, looks super clean and organised and very nicely finished!!!

i moved into my house nearly two years ago and started to try and transform the garage, its 12 ft 2 by 15ft 8 so not a bad size for width but with a 4 door saloon in there it just fits and no more... also its only single block so i find it gets quite damp with no insulation etc...

anyhows i'm planning to attempt summat similar to yours over the summer if i dont decide to extend it... one quick question where do you get the 'stand off's' for the pic frames?

if you have any details i'd appreciate it


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## vecbtb (Aug 3, 2007)

m00k said:


> one quick question where do you get the 'stand off's' for the pic frames?


Do a search on ebay for aluminium stand offs - ignore the ladder extensions!


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## m00k (Mar 22, 2007)

Superb... Thank you


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## m0bov (May 2, 2007)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Gar...0781439214?pt=UK_Flooring&hash=item27c35df4ee


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## Bunji81 (Apr 28, 2010)

WOW what a cracking transformation  proper little man cave 

What size is the Garage?


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