The deal with my wife was finish the kitchen, bathroom, and a few home improvement project - then - i can start on the garage.

Before we bought the house:

So the first thing I did was the driveway. I wanted a sweet looking stamped concrete. The colors we picked out were much darker as seen in the first finished picture. the colors ended up running and it turned blue. So we have to stain it back to the color we want.

During and after the driveway pour - 2 full weekends 12 hours each day

Next I bought the lift. I didn't plan on buying the lift until after everything was done, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity for $1400 delivered.

After the 5 hour lift install

After installing the lift, I enjoyed the lift for about 8 months. After working in ±40º weather for 8 months I finally got the funding together to insulate and drywall the entire garage. I couldn't go though another winter with conditions like that.

I found some pictures on-line of other finished garages and figured out what i liked and didn't like about other peoples garages. I used this picture as a "inspiration room" and based my garage project of it:

Inspiration Garage

Since my garage was much taller than the inspiration picture, I decided that extra storage inside the over hangs (aka built in cabinets) and up top would be perfect, so I built them extra beefy. No one ever complained about too much storage.

So I started building the over hangs. Before I put the insulation in, I had to rewire everything, put in new outlet where my work benches were gong and wire in all new lights. So I proceeded to rip every wire in the garage out. I had the entire garage rewired. (Thanks to Dirt McGirt, who gets free lift time for life) During this process I put patio lights on the outside, ran speaker wire, RCAs for the stereo, and coax for the cable. I also made sure there was extra wire from the panel just in case I needed to wire in caned lights for the over hang / built in cabinets.

Finished the built in cabinets, installed all the insulation and most of the wiring done - 1 month work

So after all that was done, it was sheet rock time..... Lots of fun, NOT.

72 Sheets of rock - 2 trips with a 87 Toyota Pickup and a Isuzu Trooper

Started installing the sheet rock on the walls, not too hard, Just very time consuming.

Drywall going up 1-1/2 weeks of work

After installing all of the sheet rock on the walls, it was ceiling time. Some coworkers told me to get a few 12' 2x4s and use them to prop them up to the ceiling........... Uh, Yea. they've never done it on a 12' ceiling. So after one hour (thanks Freezermink) installing one 4'x8' sheet of drywall, I went and got a drywall jack at Homedepot.

After 6 hours of installing with the drywall jack

6 hours of work the next day - finished

So after this, I decided to spend my money some place else to make the garage look better from the outside. (plus I was tired of lifting and cutting drywall for 2 weeks). My wife wanted a new garage door and windows, if you see picture #1 above, it looks like a crappy old industrial park garage. So I also had to make her happy and get something for her too.

Morning after the garage door install

So I couldn't put the mudding and taping off any longer. Bigglesworth use to mud and tape for a living, so I traded him lift time, hour / hour trade if he would tape it all and get it ready for texture. 24 hours later, the garage was finished and taped. Thanks to Bigglesworth for all the help. Freezermink and I did all the 2nd and 3rd coats of mud, and did a lot of sanding.

After tape, mud & texture

I wanted a color that was neutral so it reflected color well, but not too much. Working for a printing company, we paint all our walls with Munsell gray #7. This color both reflects and absorbs that same amount of color and light - perfect detailing and lighting conditions. I also wanted black on the bottom so any hand prints from grease or dirt would not show up as well. Also in case something brushed up against the wall you would not see the marks as much. Chair rail in red would also be a nice accent color.

After paint

Black paint

So now it's race-deck tile time. Unfortunately I was out of money. So white_r!ce suggested I take a pool in the Pac NW forum. I said "no way is anyone gong to give me money for a floor" (early last year the same thing happened and the Pac NW bought rootrider a Nikon D50) So white_r!ce says, 'They bought rootrider a camera, why not you a floor), So I told him, if he wanted to post it, go for it, in exchange I will give free lift time for ever $20 people gave.............. 7 days later, they raised the $2000 and the race deck was ordered.

Race-deck was delivered by Jessica, a smokin' hot chick

http://www.yourgaragesolution.com/

Time for install (My 30th Birthday!)

Before

During

All it took was 5 hours to install then the drinking began!

All done

All that I need to finish now is install the rest of the brushed aluminum ceiling tiles and build the cabinets doors for the built in cabinets.

Modified by MEISTER at 8:52 PM 8-29-2008

First time Ive seen drywall hung like that though. I take it no professionals were involved in that process?

Couple of things that jump out though - normally ceilings get drywalled first, then walls. Also, it's better to stagger joints.

Quote, originally posted by SinisterMind »

Nature doesn't sugar coat.

I dream of having a garage like yours one day...

Quote, originally posted by e_andree »

First time Ive seen drywall hung like that though. I take it no professionals were involved in that process?

Uh,No. Not by any means... Like I said: I Work for a high end comercial printing company. But it works and You won't be able to see any of the seams because the brushed aluminum ceiling will cover it up.

Good Job Dave!

The New GTI 16v

haha. NORMALLY, you let people that know what they're doing do that kind of stuff. turned out well though. besides the poorly framed walls (nothing we could do about that) the whole thing turned out just about perfect. about time for the upper storage doors, eh? whats goin on this weekend?

Didn't see this earlier. Good to know for my upcoming project.

Makes it easier to tape and mud that way, Then you don't have 4 seams going 4 different directions.

Much better structurally (sp?) as well.

edit: spell check says its good.

BPCDubs »

i need to buy a house

Buy my awesome parts
Cleaning out all VW parts; great prices
I am NOT interested in trades

The amount of seams would be the same though.

Yea, but it's harder to mud a 4 way seam because you have 4 different directions the mud is going. Getting it nice and level is much easier on a 3 way seam. Trust me, if you ever mud, you'll find out really quick.

Oh, I understand what youre saying. but only 1% of drywall hung is the way you did it

All In all I would take the garage no problem!

BounceThem Image Storage

More pics!

Quote, originally posted by momoVR6 »

Nice work Meister. You can't leave out all of the work done to the yard and house though, the garage is only half of the accomplishment, well maybe 51%. More pics!

MEISTER - do you have a thread detailing the improvements on your house? Given your style and quality on the garage, I'd like to see what the house looks like too!

Some day I hope to have a garage half as nice.

F@#%!RupertMurdoch

WTB: mille miglia chronos
WTB: Borbet Type E center caps.

Syracuse, Juventus
PVW 2/09

It holds up very well. The tiles are very hard. I have a 55 gallon drum of oil that is almost full, it wieghts around 600lbs. it rolls and sits on the tile just fine and does not dimple it at all.

To tell you the truth, I don't have floor jack..... Why would I need one, I have a lift. That's my joke I say to everyone. (but I have come to the conclustion I do need one for getting those low ass Porsche and Ferraris on the lift and working in the driveway)

Only thing is you can not weld and cut metal on it, (obviously), but I have a hug piece of carpet that I roll out when I'm welding exhaust or what ever. Luckly the carpet stays a little damp from being outside so it won't catch fire when slag lands on it.

I will have to do that one day. I have any pictures of the Kitchen and Bathroom I completly gutted.