# Creating my detailing studio



## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Whilst it's not quite finished yet, it seems a good time to start a thread on the creation of my very own double garage project. The aim from the start was to indulge my detailing work, so it'll be more of a detailing studio than a workshop.

I had previously had a single garage with decent Ecotile floor, painted walls, a Bott tool wall and a workbench with various boxes and tools built up over about 9yrs. All very decent stuff which served me well.

Having moved into our new house a few months ago, I was excited to say the least about the decent size double garage attached to the house. It's around 5.6m x 5.6m internally, double skinned with thermal blocks. I'proceeded to move all of the old stuff over and have spent a decent summer getting a feel for how best the space works. A couple of things immediately became clear, firstly that the middle pillar wasn't as annoying as i thought it would be due to each garage door being a very decent width, and secondly that 2 single light bulbs were woefully inadequate to light a room, especially with no proper ceiling.

So, a bit of classic man maths, and i convinced myself that i was better off doing the garage properly, in full, especially whilst we don't have any kids yet. Costing up the dream garage soon put a mild damper on things, but with a fairly healthy budget I decided it was better leave a few parts of the project off the list (namely a new double garage door, and a sunken ramp) so that I don't have to make any compromises on the elements that are going ahead.

So, what's stayed on the list:

- A full rework of the wiring, to include 6 new double sockets, multiple lighting solutions, and an outdoor charge point for my i3. 
- Boarding above the rafters and a couple of loft hatches with ladders to gain access for storage
- Insulation between rafters and ceiling created.
- All walls, ceiling and door surrounds plastered.
- Hot and Cold water plumbed in.
- Relocation of the various electric boxes, fuse board, and alarm to one wall to allow me to either hide them or at least keep the walls looking clean and tidy.
- Porcelain Floor tiles to be installed.

Having been detailing cars for some time, I knew the lighting needed to be good. I have a few led work lamps for close up use but i wanted the room to feel well lit and to create a nice atmosphere. I and have gone with 4 LED panels, supported by 10 x 15w ZEP1s around the perimeter of the room. The panels alone are very much bright enough if i wasn't doing work on a car, but i'm looking forward the hooking up the zep1's as well. Might need sunglasses though!

I've finally chosen the floor tiles which are a very light grey, which might allow me to go quite dark on the wall colours in order to avoid the standard grey floor/white wall combo.

Anyway.. enough ramblings.. some photos of the progress....
Soon after moving in:









The tool wall from the old garage now transferred across, and looking a bit lost in the space!









After the panels went in it's much nicer to work in so the builder tells me.









All boarded out and ready.









2 guys and 7hrs later and it's all plastered.









Still yet on the cards to purchase are a sink unit to put in the corner.. any ideas for something not too deep so it doesn't stick out far from the wall?

Also been looking for some cabinets to go across the back of the room to replace the tool wall. I've been to visit Dura and was very impressed with the quality and customisation options. Obviously they're mega£££ so it'll need to be a carefully chosen selection if I do go with them. They had some white ones in their showroom which looked ace! 
I haven't yet found anything similar but am open to options if people have suggestions!

So much want for these!









And maybe a sink of some description:


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## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

That looks like it is going to be epic! Is that a TVR Sagaris I see in one of the photos?


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

What I would give for a garage like this, am I jealous? Oh yes . Looking forward to seeing the finished article.


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## gav21041981 (Sep 23, 2014)

Looks to be an awesome space. Look forward to seeing it completed


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Yep it's a Sagaris in the first pic. A friend often stores his car at mine, awesome thing it is, sadly gone to a new home. 









Luckily I get my own TVR fix. It's due a full detail soon so will be testing out the new garage on this one.


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## Rae1001 (Aug 6, 2013)

Awesome work. Will be keeping an eye on this for more progress. Its very inspiring seeing all the work people put in.
Keep it up!


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

cracking space mate!

Look forward to seeing this take shape


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

transtek said:


> ... Is that a TVR Sagaris I see in one of the photos?


Wow!! Some spot there! :thumb:


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## euge07 (Jan 15, 2011)

looks great, keen to see more pics


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Only a short update but the rest of the lighting is in. Definitely bright enough in here now which means I don't have to go for white walls :thumb:


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

What I wouldn't give for a space like that... The wife can have the house, I would be quite happy to live and work in something like that.lol


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Tonights game was to figure out what pattern to do the floor tiles. Think i'm going for the first one.


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

That would be my choice as well.


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## DouglasH (Jul 18, 2007)

First one for me too.


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Ide go with the 1st one but at a 45 degree angle, after all what's life with out a few challenges.


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## WO-WO (Jun 29, 2015)

Water would be easier to squeegie out on the 2nd one - it would trace the channels?


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

DLGWRX02 said:


> Ide go with the 1st one but at a 45 degree angle, after all what's life with out a few challenges.


I go for this but with a border around the edge:thumb:


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Hmm. damn my OCD/Indecisiveness! I thought laying out another couple of rows would help me decide but i'm still up here on the fence 

Costs dictate it has to be one of these 2, no funny mosaic with pinstripe borders i'm afraid. I will be putting a 20cm upstand/skirting around the room using the same tile too.


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

Staggered pattern then would be my choice:thumb:


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## The_Weasel (Nov 23, 2006)

Definitely a staggered/offset pattern, it will help to hide any that are slightly out of line


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

Staggered imho too.


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Either way will look great. :thumb:


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## cadmunkey (Jun 8, 2015)

Would love a space like this, can't even fit my car in my crappy single garage. One day maybe, one day!!


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## Jue (Aug 1, 2016)

Staggered :thumb:


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## cossack (Mar 9, 2008)

Nearly bought that car last year, know the guy who owned it


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Progress has been slow... but we've started!










Been busy finishing the loft space boarding, and then filling and sanding all the bits of plastering that weren't quite smooth. A few cracks have appeared in the ceiling plastering which i expected (due to boarding out the rafters) so they'll need cutting out a bit and filling with flexible filler.

Once the main floor is down, i'll be using 20x60cm cuts of the same tile to be the skirting board, however i'm planning on chopping back the bottom of the plasterboard so the skirting can sit almost flush with the wall. Then it'll be onto the painting!


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## scrivs78 (Jul 26, 2014)

Very nice. How thick are the tiles you are using? Normal floor tiles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

10mm porcelain so should be fine having ground the concrete down then used some self levelling compound, then gone over it on my hands and knees to check for high spots, and sanded any back. If they crack after all that then i may be slightly annoyed


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## cadmunkey (Jun 8, 2015)

Weakest point of the tiles will probably be edge of them at the garage door where you drive in. Rest of it should be fine, porcelain is extremely tough.


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Time for a quick update! Floor is now fully down and looking good. The guy who did it mixed the grout very fluid/liquid so it filled any voids between the tiles. Downside is that I've had to go over the floor again for a second layer to bring the grout up to the right levels.

I've spent a long while chopping out the bottom of the plasterboard and cutting/fitting the tile upstands/skirting so it only protrudes about 5mm from the wall. Whilst a massive pain it'all be worth it in the long run to be sure I can put the workbenches right up to the wall.










Just a bit more to do before painting can start but I managed to get the car back in. I think I made the right choice with the lighting!! Should be a nice place to detail a car!


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## Forsh (Jun 13, 2014)

Just caught up with this great space! WOW!


Such a shame though that your mates wife found out about his Sagaris and that he was keeping it a yours!


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## jon-v8 (Jan 26, 2006)

Wow! I absolutely love this! Loads of space - I'm looking forward to see this finished!

Great work, well done!


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

General life and a new job in Feb kinda stalled this for a while but I'm back onto the last few things to finish it off. Sadly the budget I had for some nice cabinets (Dura or similar) is needed elsewhere so some temporary shelves and drawers are in for under £100!










The led panels really do feel like skylights when they're turned up! There's a nice display for my detailing kit ready to be fitted, just gotta make sure I pick some decent wall bolts as it's heavy!


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## st1965 (Apr 21, 2016)

Awsome garage you have there matey...and an equaly awsome car to go in it ! Absolutly love tvr's..not everyones cup of tea but give me a tvr any day to the majority of other supercars...much more fun...imo


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## Soapybubbles (Feb 10, 2014)

MrChips said:


> General life and a new job in Feb kinda stalled this for a while but I'm back onto the last few things to finish it off. Sadly the budget I had for some nice cabinets (Dura or similar) is needed elsewhere so some temporary shelves and drawers are in for under £100!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where did you get the 2 drawer units with the clear plastic boxes


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## robwils (Nov 17, 2013)

They look like the ones from B&Q that I got yesterday £15 a set, stackable too.

Rob


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## MrChips (Mar 18, 2011)

Homebase had the for just over £12 each, can't complain either way!

Finally fitted my slatwall and really please how this turned out now!


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## Jack R (Dec 15, 2014)

I like that, never thought of using that before for shelving at home! Lost count of how much of that I've actually installed:wall:


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

looks awesome mate, love the shelving idea for all your bottles


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Looks really very good - great space


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## Andypatio (Feb 19, 2017)

Awesome detailing studio you've created. I really like it! Very smart.


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## Hede (Nov 1, 2015)

Looking realy good &#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339;


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## simon1969 (Aug 28, 2012)

Very nice 

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## WO-WO (Jun 29, 2015)

Fantastic space!


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