My new Garage

Thanks David. I have been garage-less for many years and I have had garage envy of anyone with a garage! This has been the fulfillment of a dream for me! Who would think, something as simple as a heated garage could be so great, huh? It has been a long road building this thing, but a lot of fun along with the hard work.

Birdman

 

Looks great! Very nice and I'm jealous. Have you painted yet? I'm pretty good with a brush.

 

Oh Sure, NOW ya tell me!

Here's where it stands as of last week. Heater is running, place is painted. Since then I got the trim up and cleaned a bit. It's pretty much done except for some Ferrari art...and that's on order!

Birdman
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Looks great.

 

When we mean "art" does it involve WOMEN IN BIKINIS?

 

Just a suggestion go with mural of the pransing horse or shield for some of art for the garage. This adds just a little custom feel to the garage. I have a thread of pics of my garage please check out the shield mural. Great looking garage good luck and post pics when your finished....BEN

 

Looks great- but...where is the Mondial? Are you standing on the old girl to take this picture?

 

Hey Birdman, are you back yet??? How about a update. With photos too.

 

Birdman,

The garage looks great. I finished mine last spring and added a Modine heater this past fall. If your looking into flooring, I used horse stall mats. They work great, are easy to clean, and soft under foot. I have some Racedeck also, but I like the rubber mats better.

Here are some pics if you want to check it out:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49091&referrerid=6158

 

While Christine (Birdman's wife) calls the new garage the 'man cave', the art better involve Ferraris sans bikinis if he doesn't want to sleep there as well.

Last I heard, the Mondial was in a CoverIT beside the house, but he mumbled something about pulling it in before the snow (aka blizzard of '06) hit. Of course, he s/b able to pull it in now that the blizzard's results are 'history'...

 

WOW, I could not beleive what I saw..it is spotless and I ama just talking about the underside ofo the car...you guys have to check it out esop. sincne this is no billionaires gaarage showplace it is really tidy, esp thte lift..(since I just got one I am figuing how to set up the layout of the garage

 

what a big job birdman...this is liek building your own spot in heaven...if youo only knew thte disaster garage I have to deal with...anyway I got tired of doing oilchanges on my f-car in on the shoulder area of the westside highway...NY'ers know what I mean itt is quiet and man what a view ! I love doing work myself and NY is such a tough spot to e a car guy....many years ago in queens there was a place that you could go and rent lifts by the ehour and thtey had parts there and a mechanic to give advice..it was heaven to work on your car...like a clubhouse...long gone now...birdman what a garge...curious any tips on storing a f-car outside for the Northeast winters...you must be the expert...best cover etc..

 

I don't want to get Birdman in trouble . I keep forgeting you guys are married. And me being single thats all i think of. (women in bikinis)
If he does get thrown out i got plenty of room at my place.

 

I've stored several cars for several winters outside, & even stored my 308 outside for most of a couple of winters.
I use a CoverCraft:
www.covercraft.com
Evolution fabric cover made for the specific car model.

Covercraft makes excellent car covers, tailored for each model, & also offers them in a wide choice of fabrics.

The Evolution is a heavier fabric than most other covers. It doesn't flap around as much, & provides excellent cushioning against dings.

My son has their NOAH which is also a highly rated cover, but I don't like the way it flaps against the body in the wind.

It's very important to have something under the car that will dry off quickly, & block moisture coming up from the ground. Parking on a blacktop surface isn't too bad, but it's better to put a tarp or sheet of heavy plastic down as a vapor barrier. I've used various schemes to raise the edge of the plastic up enough so that the car cover overlaps it, thus keeping the entire car dry.

Hope this helps.

BTW, suggest you fill in your profile, at least the Ferrari model you're driving so we can provide model specific advice.

 

this is really important...otherwise you have to have teh bay doors ope and it gets damn cold...when I worked in a garage they had this hose they put over the exhaust and vented it out the other end through a special duct in the wall...these exhaust fumes are deadly reall fast and build up esp. if your bedroom is upstairs... I think you are on your wat to the ultimate garage just a air compressor and did anyone ever think of putting in a "pit" in their yard or garage..they seem to be very popular in the UK but very rare here in the US...

 

In cold weather, I've used a couple of flexable metal clothes dryer ducts to vent my car on the very rare occasions when I have to run it in the garage. I put some 4x4s down across the garage doorway with a gap between them for the ducts. Then lower the garage door down onto the 4x4s the door isn't completely sealed, so the garage eventually cooled down, but it did keep the temperature tolerable..

I've only had to do this a couple of times in the last 5 years tho, & never with the 308!

Birdman's garage doesn't have any provisions for venting yet, suspect he doesn't see a need for it.

 

How will you protect that gorgeous concrete slab? raceprep? tiling? I saw this advertised ucoatit.com some kind of DIY epoxy paint system... This garage thread has really caught my interest...kinda like how artists become fascinated with art studios I guess.

 

Hi judge,

this is your garage? if yes i like the color on wall, did you do that alone?

A+

 

it s terrible, the garage looks fanstastic, and the 308 line is defenitively
an untemporal style.

 

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all the comments! Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation with the family and I'm just settling back in.

Chris, I'm married and all I think of is women in bikinis too, so I guess nothing changes! Thanks for the offer though, if she throws me out, good to know I have someplace to sleep that is warmer than the shed. My wife is pretty cool about these things, I don't think she would mind some bikini artwork, as long as I didn't mind her making fun of me about it! It would have to be SOMEWHAT tasteful, as I have a small child roaming the place! I did order a bunch of cheap unlicensed Ferrari flags, etc. from eBay and it helps the look.

As for my floor, yes, I need to paint it with some kind of epoxy paint in the spring. Such a pain, I need to remove everything from the garage and clean the floor within an inch of its life first. Ugh. You should see how much sheetrock dust and spackle got ground into it during that phase of construction.

The place is looking pretty darned good right now. As soon as I get it cleaned up a little from all the work I have been doing in the sunroom, I'll post some pics. I definitely need a Ferrari mural but first I need to find an artist, because I can't draw or paint.

As for winter storage, the Mondial is in the "deep freeze" in the CoverIt outside in the yard, permanently barricaded behind a giant wall of plowed snow until spring. We affectionately refer to the CoverIt as the "tent" but I have to tell you, it's cozy in there. It's dry, I have the car on a trickle charger, and the car is fine. It's just cold. I used Verell's technique and put a tarp on the floor, pulled up and tied to the coverit on all sides, so the car is not sitting on the damp ground. Then I put plywood over the tarp for a floor. I also have mouse traps and poison everywhere. Not taking any chances.

I have no experience with keeping a Ferrari under a car cover. Before I had the garage I had the 308 stored at my mom's house in her garage. Boy was she glad to get her garage back when I moved it!

caz-nsx, got a link to a source for the mats? Nice looking garage you got there. It's so great, isn't it????

I go into the garage, turn the thermostat up to 60 and within 10 minutes I am working on the car in a short sleeved shirt. I JUST FREAKIN' LOVE IT!! Turn on some tunes, fire up the lights, lift the car, and I can tinker for hours. Soon I'll have my old laptop out there on a stand. With wireless internet, I can surf Fchat while working on the car. REAL TIME photo updates!

Birdman

 

Birdman,

Finishing my garage was one of the best home improvements I have done. The Hot Dawg heater is great.

Check out http://www.rbrubber.com/ for a local retailer. I have the Tenderfoot Stall Mats. They are 4' x 6' x 3/4", weigh about 100 lbs. They do not interlock, but the weight keeps them in place. They cost about $1.60/ft2, ~$1000 for a 25' x 25' garage. My local Agway has them in stock. I know this sounds like the strangest solution for garage flooring, but I would not have done it any other way.

If you take a close look at my pictures I have the some Racedeck. It is expensive and slippery when it gets wet. The rubber mats are soft under your feet, you can spend an entire day in the garage without killing your legs.

I looked at epoxy also. It is almost the same cost to get the highest quality that will not flake after a few years.

The only disadvantage is black is the only color.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

John

 

John,
I like the mat idea, & it's in the affordable price range.

How resistant are those mats to oil, coolant, & parts cleaner?

I've got a 4' x 3' 1/2" thick w/grooves mat made from recycled tire rubber in my garage. Hadn't realized some oil had been spilled on it until a 6" circle bubbled up last summer. I'm either going to have to cut it down by a foot, or toss it. Must say that it really beats standing on concrete tho.

I've got a couple of the RustOleum epoxy kits that I"ll be painting my garage floor with next summer.

 

Yes, it was two days of work when Spicy was out of town one weekend. I'll be back in that house on Tuesday, need to get a picture of two Ferraris in the garage sometime.

 

Verell,

These mats are made out of recycled tires also, one of the reasons they are cheap. They are very dense, not soft to the touch, but give a little under foot. I have spilled oil, coolant, various other liquids on them and they clean right up. Maybe it would bubble if something was left on it for an extended period of time. Worst case just buy a new mat for $40.

The mat vendor that I used also has an interlocking version that is used on fitness club floors. Most gyms that I have been in use some type of rubber floor, I believe they are 1/2" versions. The 1/2" thick fitness versions are more expensive than the 3/4" thick horse stall mats. I guess because you have to go to a special fitness supply company for their version, more markup. Whereas, the horse stall mats are sold at local feed stores like Agway, less markup. Same product, different market and price.

I researched epoxy systems. From my research, all typical store bought versions will all flake up, over time, under hot tire areas. The commercial versions hold up better, MuscleGloss is an example. The prep has to be perfect, and they will eventally flake also, just much longer. MuscleGloss was going to cost me about $800. Racedeck quote was around $1800 for comparision.

These mats will last well beyond my lifetime. They can be removed or replaced at any time. I do wish they would be offered in multiple colors. Some of the Racedeck and epoxy floors I have seen look great.

Here is a link to the original post that got me looking into this flooring option:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showpost.php?p=406635&postcount=18

As much as I like my garage I would prefer Steve's.

John

 

I had the privilege of meeting "The Birdman" aka "The Fuse Box King" aka "Lady's Man" (well, I don't know about that part ) and also to check out his nice, big garage. Oh man is it sweeeeeet. Plus he's also a cool dude.
Thanks for having us over.