Home / Garage Upgrades 67
I've made improvements to my home's garage over the years to make the car hobby more enjoyable. I've slowly worked on improving my home's 2-car garage over the years. With the things I do myself, work usually goes very slow. But, it's starting to shape up and the end result makes my car hobby more enjoyable.
- at purchase #1
When I first bought my home, it was obvious that the garage was seriously neglected. - at purchase #2
It had no insulation in the ceiling or walls, but had a storm door into the house (why?). - at purchase #3
It had only one electrical outlet, two light sockets, and an extension cord to the door opener. - first thing - walls
I started the project by adding electrical outlets, insulating the walls, and covering the walls with basic OSB. - adding gas
Natural gas was T'd in from the outside. - cooking with gas
Some additional bracing was added to the joists so that a ceiling-mounted natural gas heater could be installed. - heater plumbed
Lag bolts, electrical, exhaust, and gas - not too complicated as a DIY. - exhaust
The heater was vented to the outside. - no ceiling
Once the walls were done and painted, it was time to address the ceiling. - ceiling insulated
Insulation was hung between the joists. Replaced the door to the house and added windows to all the doors. Added 2 more light sockets to the ceiling. Replaced garage door with a high-lift model. - ugly stained floor
The garage floor had seen the worst over the home's prior 30 years - it was seriously cracked and stained. - tolerances?
The wooden steps in front of the home's entry door were pulled to reveal an undersize concrete step that had seen better days. - cracks
There were a number of cracks in the floor too. - stains
Any fluid that ever touched the floor stayed there. On very humid days, the floor 'sweat' was oily and slippery. - salt damage
Road salt dripping off cars each winter damaged the concrete surface. - no saving it
I wanted to do something to make my floor nicer but it was clear that this one couldn't be saved. - out it comes
The floor was torn out. - thickness
Wow, look at that variation in thickness. - prepping the base
The sand/gravel base would be leveled and compacted. - insulating under the floor
My biggest complaint of working in the garage over the winter is very cold feet regardless of the temperature of the air. High-density XPS insulation should allow the concrete temp to be a lot warmer. - insulation & vapor barrier
Two inches of high-density XPS insulation went down with a vapor barrier and reinforcement wire. - pouring the slab
The new slab was poured. The pros sure make quick work of it. - floor curing
The slab will have to cure for a week before anything further can be done inside the garage. - starting the ceiling
Next up was the ceiling. The old insulation was removed and 9 light boxes were put in place. - drywall starts
The ceiling insulation was reinstalled, a vapor barrier added, and drywall hung.