I just bought a house with an old 20x12 garage that needs some TLC. As of right now I'm replacing the rotten wood siding with board and batten, going to wire in a sub panel with 4-5 outlets and 5-6 4' lights. Insulate and put up aspenite inside. I even have a wood stove to put in. I also want to do a 6' steel work bench with overhead cabinets. I need some suggestions as to what else I should be thinking about as far as garage setup? The space is obviously limited and I'll be working on and storing my KTM and many mountain bikes in this shop, but it will sure beat working in a 10x10 laundry room and hauling my KTM up stairs to ride.
Don't know if you're going to be doing any welding or cutting in there...but with a wood stove this might not be a bad idea anyway. I've had a couple of friends/neighbours have their garages burn to the ground when sparks got under the internal siding and smoldered away behind the wall. To help prevent this, put a steel flashing at the bottom of the inside sheeting, something like 1" X 2" angle, with the high side going up behind the sheeting. This makes it very difficult if not impossible for sparks to get under your sheeting and at the plastic and wood behind it.
Where'd you buy? Still local? Good locks, and lot's of lighting. A ventilation fan is important for when you're working on the 2 smoke, and handy on hot summer days. My shop gets really hot in summer, but I have a small fan running at night to pull the cool air in, then close the window during the day. It works.
Make sure your insurance co is ok with a wood stove. I have heard of people being denied a claim as the stove was not on the insurance policy. Every once in a while I have my insurance agent "drop by " to see if we have had any changes to the property. I have a high end alarm in my shop that cuts my rates enough that it almost pays for the monitoring.
I bought in Simcoe, it will take some adjusting to living in town vs. out here in the sticks. I like the ideas for the flashing and the ventilation fan as I will be doing a fair amount of brazing in the shop ( I braze weld custom bicycle frames) and other various oxy /acetylene processes. The insurance co is cool with the woodstove, if they should get pissy over it in the future I might find myself a gas radiant heater. As far as locks and such go...... I'll be installing armored pad locks on the garage door track and a steel bar across the man door. Bars over the windows, motion sensor lights, I'll also be using 2 disc locks on my bike.
If the wood stove doesn't work out, you can occasionally find used nat. gas furnaces converted to propane, for the right price. I paid $100 for my 80,000 btu, and run it off a 30 lb bottle. I found a used a 24" barn ventilation fan, and made a box frame for it using 2X6's, with hardware screen on the front, and back. It's either 1/4, or 1/3 hp, so it moves A LOT of air, and I can put it where I need it. Good luck with the new house.... and living in town
I'd also recommend a video monitoring system such as those that can be bought for about ~$500 at places like Tiger Direct. Have at least 4-6 cameras mounted to cover the shop/house from several different angles(incl. inside the shop), with the video stored in a hidden place on the property& backed up wirelessly somewhere else. If there was a break-in & you've got good pics of the faces of the tards - it's a lot easier to catch them.
Don't forget to hire a security guard and purchase a pack of German Shepherds to patrol the perimeter. You guys are serious about security! It almost sounds like an episode of "A-Team".
I was thinking that a grizzly bear inside the garage would keep the thieves out :lol: The video system is out of my price range right now, maybe in the future. I'm going to armor up the doors enough that the scum bags will have to make alot of noise to get in and hopefully move onto the next house.
If wanted you can get a door alarm cheap. On my door frame I put in 3/8 2 X 2 angle all the way around. The dead bolt goes well through the angle. With this setup it would be quicker to cut through a wall then the steel door.
Randy, better hope your ins agent doesn't read this thread....where you are telling burglars how to get in! Eric, might I suggest that to lighten the mood, you might consider some turtle pools with icecubes and cold bud light lime, opened and served by bikini clad bud light models. We'll all come over and help out with your maintenance tasks and garage improvements anytime!
I'm not sure about the bud light girls but I might be able to strike a deal with the "c" squad at the gentlemen's club a few blocks away. Not sure if they're bud girl material though :lol:
If they're that bad, they may work better as a 'security system' (ie. keeping folks away), rather than as entertainment....... Might work better than all the other ideas posted earlier in this thread......??
Looks like the wood stove is out of the question now. Insurance company is giving me too much grief. Thinking of going with a portable propane radiant heater..... anyone have any experience with these? Not sure how big I should be looking to heat my shop (240 sqft)
I used one of those radiant heaters that screwed into the top of a 20lb BBQ propane tank. I puts out lots of heat, I melted my gloves trying to warm my hands. But, it doesn't really heat the garage as much as what ever is in front of it. Its OK to warm the area you are in, but did nothing to heat the engine in my old Lumina while I was changing the head gasket in the dead of winter.
I've got a kerosene heater I was going to put in a yard sale if you are interested for a $20 investment. Its a box type, about 2'W x 1.5H' and ignites with 2 D cell batteries (included). Never used it, it came with a few other items in the garage when we bought the house. Just have to dust it off and fire it up to make sure it works.
