Building a garage 2...

[ctolladay]

Well, as I can't add to my old post I thought I would start a new one.

It's only taken me just under a year but finnally I turned this...



Into this...





No it's not a dirty pond, it's a big fat concrete bass for my baby's new home!

Just walls, a roof, some doors, some power, some water, etc to go. Easy

If any of you still have some bright ideas as to what to put in it, eg smart storage, then please post. Otherwise, just post pictures of your "man caves".

[Acidburn]

Looking forward to seeing more about this as its tempting to do good start tho.

[Flat on my back]

Whooohoaaa...

Garage meet?

I hate you, from all the crappy 'cant get a real car in that gaarage' owners!

Excellent job.

[Dpicariello]

Excellent mate, well done!

This may not be required because it looks pretty smooth and also you may not want to but the concrete floor in my garage is rippled from where the builders levelled it with timber.

If it wasn't such a major job for me then I would like to skim a thin screed that was quite smooth across the top. This is because it's a pain in the *** to move on a crawler when the surface is rough and pulling a heavy trolley jack across it is deafening!!!

I guess you still need to leave a slightly rough surface if you are painting the floor though.

It wouldn't be too mcuh of a job for you to do in it's present state.

Looking good, man caves are a great addition to any house!

[dest]

Putting a smooth screed over the top is pretty easy, you only need some sharp sand, cement, a mixer, level and float

[s20ale]

Remember to lay dpm it will pay dividens in years to come.
Hope its not too late in your case!!

Damp floors aint no fun.

[ctolladay]

It looks smooter than it is. I will be skimming it once I have made it weather tight. My mate's garage has got flints sticking out of the floor, these hurt if you push your back over them. I was thinking about tiles but then I woke up and realised that I'd not won the lottery.

I'm aiming to have this built pretty quicky but I've said that before. I will keep the updates coming as it grows.

[Dpicariello]

I looked at tiles too but agree that to get some really hard wearing ones will cost a small fortune.

I put in total, about 6 very thick layers of floor paint which has taken the harshness of the bumps out.
The paint's primary use though, is to eliminate the huge amount of dust I was getting from the dry concrete floor.

I have also looked at rubber matting from machine mart but at £100 a roll, again I have to question whether it's worth it.

[Jon441cc]

Well, as I can't add to my old post I thought I would start a new one.

It's only taken me just under a year but finnally I turned this...



Into this...





No it's not a dirty pond, it's a big fat concrete bass for my baby's new home!

Just walls, a roof, some doors, some power, some water, etc to go. Easy

If any of you still have some bright ideas as to what to put in it, eg smart storage, then please post. Otherwise, just post pictures of your "man caves".

Has Steve been their detailing the Concrete for you

[220bhp]

That tree will cause you problems in a year or two.Get rid or it will come back and haunt you

[Error404]

yup - those roots will cause a headache if left unchecked. get your axe out and kill it!!

I'm not jealous at all - i love crawling round on a wet driveway :wack:

[S2central.net]

Spook - was gonna post just that very same comment... Surprised that building control didn't pick up on that - not that I'm an expert but tree roots are generally bad news.

A nice smooth surface on that floor is very important. The lazy bahstids that laid my garage floor (before my time) must have used the timber board technique. I have painted it to keep the dust down, but those ripples get on your nerves with trolley jacks and such. The paint is good gear but inevitably chips when heavy items are dragged over the ripples.

Paul

[macspring]

Skim the floor?

Paul,

Have you checked to see if there is a suitable levelling compound to skim the floor with to allow metal or nylon wheeled trolley jacks travel more easily on the floor?


ctolladay,

A Damp Proof Course ( DPC ) is essential to avoid an "always damp garage" rather than a "nice and dry garage".

Grey or red floor paint will stop the vast majority of the concrete dust and also allow you to find dropped washers etc. and well as wipe up oil and brake fluid spills. Well worth it.

Kind regards.

[S2central.net]

Dave - I took some advise on skimming it, but the problem is you get this relatively thin layer of concrete which isn't bonded to the first layer with enough integrity to prevent it getting chipped and damaged with use of jacks and stands... I know someone that tried this - it looked great until the jacks started to do damage and was then left with crumbly dents where the top layer had perished.

The paint is a godsend though - one coat of that every 12 or 18 months should build up some more of the pretty factor

Paul

[4WheelDrifter]

Nice raft. Have you done it that because the ground is soft/made-up? Where is your DPM going?
As Paul says a thin screed won't be much good, and I'm not sure if any of these levelling compounds are that hard wearing.
Personally I'd put the DPM on top of your concrete, a layer of insulation, then at least a 75mm concrete screed on that.

I can't see where it is in relation to your house, but around here you wouldn't need building control or planning permission for that garage, as long as it's <4m high.