The Garage Thread

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yeah I thought that was pretty high as well.... He mentioned needing to go through and sanding the entire garage. Seems like the skim coating and sanding alone is $2,200 in labor while painting labor is $800. I'll have to get additional quotes.

The flooring seems reasonable. ~$3,100 for the Swisstrax is roughly what I calculated for 635 sqft, and he's charging $600 for labor.

Obviously I've not seen the walls, but that tape job looks like shit. It might be better to just re-rock the walls with 1/4" drywall and retape it. Looks like enough room to still get base board trim around the bottom and have a recess above the wall block at the bottom. That should be a 3-day job for a two-man crew at most. And $800 for paint labor? Are they not just going to spray the walls?

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Obviously I've not seen the walls, but that tape job looks like shit. It might be better to just re-rock the walls with 1/4" drywall and retape it. Looks like enough room to still get base board trim around the bottom and have a recess above the wall block at the bottom. That should be a 3-day job for a two-man crew at most. And $800 for paint labor? Are they not just going to spray the walls?

I'm not sure - I don't know anything about construction work I assumed they would just use rollers to paint the walls with multiple coats?

These are the general dimensions of the garage:

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Elmilaren

Hey @Efthreeoh and @wtwo3! I was reading your discussion about the garage walls, and it seems like you both have some valid points. The tape job does look a bit rough, and re-rocking the walls with 1/4" drywall and retaping could be a good option for a cleaner finish. As for the paint labor, they might use rollers instead of spraying the walls.

I reacted a bit to the number because I'd be DIY'ing the finish work on the garage walls and have a professional epoxy floor coating installed. If it were mine I'd just retape the joints. Sand and seal it then paint and trim out the covebase (toe molding). It's a garage, it doesn't need to be living space grade work. $4,200 seems awfully high to me, even post-covid. Like I said earlier, that seems like a 2-BMW price to me.

[NorCalAthlete]

I'd go with the Swisstrax and get the Ribtrax variant. It's similar to the flow-through tiles but you can just hose the whole thing down periodically without pulling it up to sweep underneath. Obviously won't quite be 100% but probably 90% as good as sweeping and more than sufficient I'd think.

[wdb]

It's a garage. Use some Killz sealer and texture paint.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I reacted a bit to the number because I'd be DIY'ing the finish work on the garage walls and have a professional epoxy floor coating installed. If it were mine I'd just retape the joints. Sand and seal it then paint and trim out the covebase (toe molding). It's a garage, it doesn't need to be living space grade work. $4,200 seems awfully high to me, even post-covid. Like I said earlier, that seems like a 2-BMW price to me.

Buddy of mine did tell me to hide the cars somewhere else when they came out to provide a quote

I'll be getting another quote soon so let's see how that shapes out.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Buddy of mine did tell me to hide the cars somewhere else when they came out to provide a quote

I'll be getting another quote soon so let's see how that shapes out.

Can't say I've ever made a higher quote due to what people have. BMW isn't even that high-end of a brand, it's a normal car anymore. I have customers with true exotics and the price is still the price. If you think your contractor does that then it's time for a new one.

I too feel like the quote is way out of line. Might not want the job or you or it is getting the PITA price.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Our03z4

Can't say I've ever made a higher quote due to what people have. BMW isn't even that high-end of a brand, it's a normal car anymore. I have customers with true exotics and the price is still the price. If you think your contractor does that then it's time for a new one.

I too feel like the quote is way out of line. Might not want the job or you or it is getting the PITA price.

I think we were saying that more tongue in cheek. But at the same time I don't think 2 six figure cars can be considered "normal car" unless you live in places like south beach or beverly hills - or maybe you're just balling out of control. I've had pretty much everyone who provides any sort of service to me make a comment about my cars, from lawncare folks, pest control tech, etc. Hell just last week I had to get my torsion spring above my garage door replaced and the installer made a comment about my M3... .right before providing me an absurdly high quote for the work.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

I'd go with the Swisstrax and get the Ribtrax variant. It's similar to the flow-through tiles but you can just hose the whole thing down periodically without pulling it up to sweep underneath. Obviously won't quite be 100% but probably 90% as good as sweeping and more than sufficient I'd think.

Isn't the ribtrax the same as the flow-through tiles?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Isn't the ribtrax the same as the flow-through tiles?

I got to thinking, how about rubber interlocking barn mats? Used for horse barns. $4 sq/ft. I use one in front of my work bench. Indestructible. Great on your feet. Looks clean.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I got to thinking, how about rubber interlocking barn mats? Used for horse barns. $4 sq/ft. I use one in front of my work bench. Indestructible. Great on your feet. Looks clean.

Do you think those would be better than racedeck? Racedeck is also $4 sq/ft

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Do you think those would be better than racedeck? Racedeck is also $4 sq/ft

I just want to say I have no experience with garage floor coverings. Any knowledge I have is from Googling on the subject matter. I reviewed the RaceDeck products on their site and a garage journal article. I found out the products are made from high-strength "copolymers", which is just a fancy word for "plastic".

I do have experience with rubber barn mats. I have one at my work bench to stand on and my wife owned a horse for 15 years and we boarded it where rubber barn mats are used. The rubber barn mats are up 3/4 inches thick. Heavy as hell and fiber reinforced and come in 4' sheets. It's a tough flooring material. If I were to put flooring in my garage, I'd go with barn mats because I park my 8,500-pound small-frame farm tractor in the garage. Ag tire tread puts a lot of pressure per square inch on the ground for traction, which I think would tear up plastic RaceDeck or a similar product; which is why I thought of barn mat. The other concern I have, because I live in the woods, is detritus build up in an open-face design of some of the garage flooring systems. I literally sweep my garage with my leaf blower. I would think an open face design would be a complete pain in the ass to keep swept clean.

If you are going for aesthetics and a fancy floor pattern, then black mono-colored rubber barn mat is not going to fit the bill.

[NorCalAthlete]

Pics to come, but for now:

- Stripped all the old wooden shelves and cabinets out
- Reinforced studs with more 2x4s
- foam insulated all around
- bat rolls of R13 insulation on top of that
- 1/2" drywall over that
- ProSlat slatwall going up over the drywall

Got 2 sections done, basically 95% of one wall. Ended up having to redo a bunch of the wiring too, so got all new outlets, new romex, new switches, new breakers, etc.

1 wall still needs the full insulation / drywall treatment before I can put the slatwall up on it, the last wall already has insulation and drywall and just needs the slatwall. Will post before / after shots and such soon!

[wdb]

My 4-post lift decided to go for a short walk, so yesterday I walked it back where it belonged and dropped 4 anchors -- 1 for each post. Took me hours! I don't know if it was the bits (tried 2), or the hammer drill I have, or the hardness of the concrete, but it was one long, slow, slog. I was so beat afterwards that I left the cleanup for today. Which reminds me, I'd better get out there...

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by wdb

My 4-post lift decided to go for a short walk, so yesterday I walked it back where it belonged and dropped 4 anchors -- 1 for each post. Took me hours! I don't know if it was the bits (tried 2), or the hammer drill I have, or the hardness of the concrete, but it was one long, slow, slog. I was so beat afterwards that I left the cleanup for today. Which reminds me, I'd better get out there...

Honestly, if you're not using one of these Hilti's as your hammer drill, you're killing yourself. Holes go in like butter. Drilled 300+ holes in a few hours.

[ShopVac]

Maybe I'm just old - but I swear there was a garage thread in the lounge? Maybe it was just the home improvement thread...who knows.

Mine has been a work in progress. 3 car garage, with the one isolated. On the single car side, the concrete was so beat up, I thought it best to toss in some SwissTrax. This was the progress of that side.

[ShopVac]

For the twin garage side...I still need to work out what I want to do with the floor. Feel that swisstrax would get damaged with all the work I do, and I'm scared that if I go epoxy, it will be something that constantly needs redone.

I built this part of the garage myself...but screwed up the concrete some (rookie move). I have water that holds in certain areas when I wash my cars.

Needless - here's the progress on that side.

[IcewaterPete]

Originally Posted by dscabra

I got invited to come see my neighbor's new shop today along with some of the other guys in the neighborhood...

I love this country!

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

For the twin garage side...I still need to work out what I want to do with the floor. Feel that swisstrax would get damaged with all the work I do, and I'm scared that if I go epoxy, it will be something that constantly needs redone.

I built this part of the garage myself...but screwed up the concrete some (rookie move). I have water that holds in certain areas when I wash my cars.

Needless - here's the progress on that side.

What slatwall is that? And what shelves in those last couple pics? I'm hunting for some shelves that will work with my ProSlat stuff. Need somewhere to put motorcycle boots / gloves, plus some storage bins full of random camping shit and whatnot.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

What slatwall is that? And what shelves in those last couple pics? I'm hunting for some shelves that will work with my ProSlat stuff. Need somewhere to put motorcycle boots / gloves, plus some storage bins full of random camping shit and whatnot.

The slatwalls, cabinets, shelves, etc...all from NewAge Products

Cabinets

They have 2 levels - slat walls that I got are just the PVC, they do have steel...just thought it was overkill for my needs

Slatwall

[wdb]

I'm probably nuts but I don't get slatwall or other wall "systems". I hang something on the wall once, and there it stays. I don't see myself ever rearranging it. It's a garage, I'm not going to worry about its feng shui.

I do have one small piece of the stuff because a shelf I wanted required it; I looked into making something up on my own but it was simpler just to buy a chunk of their "system".

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by wdb

I'm probably nuts but I don't get slatwall or other wall "systems". I hang something on the wall once, and there it stays. I don't see myself ever rearranging it. It's a garage, I'm not going to worry about its feng shui.

I do have one small piece of the stuff because a shelf I wanted required it; I looked into making something up on my own but it was simpler just to buy a chunk of their "system".

Well, for me it was a way to hide the ugly cmu blocks, since the walls were painted, peeling and even had tar on them. Drywall wasn't an option since I wash my cars in the heated garage...even in the dead of winter.

It works for what I needed

Looking at the single garage, I think it's night and day