Reviving an Old Garage

[Kane]

Hi folks,
I am getting ready to revive an old garage to be put back to use as an actual garage / workshop. I would love to hear about and see pics of similar projects and garages. Any thoughts and advice is greatly appreciated!
The garage is 18’x11’, detached from our 1928 Spanish style house in Southern California. When we moved in 10 years ago the garage was put to horticultural use, mostly for mushroom production. It’s no longer needed for that, and I am really looking forward to having a dedicated workspace for wrenching and whatever else. It should be enough space to have a decent workbench and the Guzzi inside with room to get around. My tools have been spread out between two sheds and a spare bedroom, and the best workspace space that I’ve had since moving here has been under a carport, not an ideal situation, so this is an exciting project for me. This morning I got the last of the old ag junk out, and I am about to vacuum the walls and scrub the floor. I am leaning toward the idea of painting the walls to cleanup and brighten the space, but am not sure if I would leave it as exposed studs or install some sort of paneling.

 

 

[Kane]

[Kane]

[fotoguzzi]

I like the rustic wood look and if you don't need insulation I'd leave it. Just get good lighting.

[docc]

Oh, what fun! A place to pin all manner of memorabilia to the walls (old brake discs, spare sump gaskets, stolen road signs. . .)

+1 on the lighting. Also, worth having a nice, smooth floor for the motorcycle lift. 

[KINDOY2]

cheap and easy way imo...rent a sprayer from home depot...spray it all white inside to seal the wood, , make sure you have enough outlets, get a staple gun and put up some insulation, put white pegboard over all walls.., build a solid work bench,  put up some shelves and put up some good lighting..install a small refrigerator for beer...and comfortable chair.

Oh yeah..get a nice Moto Guzzi sign for the wall...:-)

 

[Kane]

Thanks, fotoguzzi. This home is overall pretty “rustic”, and that’s putting it euphemistically. Keeping the raw wood look is cool, but how would you go about giving the wood a deep cleaning? This room saw a lot of interior humidity with mushroom spore and other crap floating around. I was concerned that the wood may been damaged from this, but it looks ok, however it’s dirty. That was part of the appeal of vacuuming away the cobwebs and giving it a coat of paint. Is it safe to hose down the walls, or is that a bad idea?

[Kane]

3 minutes ago, KINDOY2 said:

...install a small refrigerator for beer...

 

I have one waiting in the wings!

[footgoose]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Thanks, fotoguzzi. This home is overall pretty “rustic”, and that’s putting it euphemistically. Keeping the raw wood look is cool, but how would you go about giving the wood a deep cleaning? This room saw a lot of interior humidity with mushroom spore and other crap floating around. I was concerned that the wood may been damaged from this, but it looks ok, however it’s dirty. That was part of the appeal of vacuuming away the cobwebs and giving it a coat of paint. Is it safe to hose down the walls, or is that a bad idea?

Sand blast it. It'll be beautiful. In lieu of that pressure wash it.

[Lucky Phil]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

Hi folks,
I am getting ready to revive an old garage to be put back to use as an actual garage / workshop. I would love to hear about and see pics of similar projects and garages. Any thoughts and advice is greatly appreciated!
The garage is 18’x11’, detached from our 1928 Spanish style house in Southern California. When we moved in 10 years ago the garage was put to horticultural use, mostly for mushroom production. It’s no longer needed for that, and I am really looking forward to having a dedicated workspace for wrenching and whatever else. It should be enough space to have a decent workbench and the Guzzi inside with room to get around. My tools have been spread out between two sheds and a spare bedroom, and the best workspace space that I’ve had since moving here has been under a carport, not an ideal situation, so this is an exciting project for me. This morning I got the last of the old ag junk out, and I am about to vacuum the walls and scrub the floor. I am leaning toward the idea of painting the walls to cleanup and brighten the space, but am not sure if I would leave it as exposed studs or install some sort of paneling.

 

 

Panelling for looks, insulation, light reflectivity, cleanliness, dust mitigation and some additional security. Plus it just makes for a nicer working environment.

Ciao 

[docc]

@hammershaug got such a nice result with his «Temple of the Guzzi». An inspiration!

[Bbennett]

Looks pretty good to me.  I'd put some epoxy paint on floor, add lights and concentrate on re-building and re-mounting those doors (retain orig design).

[gstallons]

Pegboards painted light color and hang everything on the walls. Good LED lighting , a good worktable and get a good used upper/lower toolbox . You can buy used SnapOn , Cornwell etc. Someone is trading up all the time . You will save $$$ buying good stuff the first time .  Same with tools . Shop around for used deals..... Shop around for a used bike shop stand .  You are going to enjoy working at waist level instead of laying on the shop floor . 

[docc]

[leroysch]

37 minutes ago, gstallons said:

Pegboards painted light color and hang everything on the walls. Good LED lighting , a good worktable and get a good used upper/lower toolbox . You can buy used SnapOn , Cornwell etc. Someone is trading up all the time . You will save $$$ buying good stuff the first time .  Same with tools . Shop around for used deals..... Shop around for a used bike shop stand .  You are going to enjoy working at waist level instead of laying on the shop floor . 

I expanded an existing shop space using white peg board compared with the old space which used dry wall and brown pegboard. I was pleasantly surprised by how bright the new space turned out!.

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