Garage Dream Come True!

[Bill D]

I never had a chance to put together a piece about my garage but I had the extra time the other evening and Photobucket is still the only real way I know how to post pics, so I included them here.



Three and a half years ago I moved into a brand new place, yes, a garage with a house attached My builder was superb in working with me in designing my garage. It’s as large as my town will permit.



Love it or hate it, the floor is painted black and white checkerboard: three coats of white first, then everything was taped, then the black was painted. Took three people to do it. Me, my construction manager,and his girlfriend who did a phenomenal job of taping everything off-without that job done well, the whole thing would’ve looked crummy.



Originally I wanted to put in a pit And it got the go too, but as I soon found out, the Florida water table would not permit it L I’d have to run a big time heavy duty pump 24/7/365 to prevent water from seeping in. Oh, and the damn town also revoked its original permit and said I’d have to have a commercial permit in order to have it. So that plan got scrapped. But if I couldn’t go down, my cars could certainly go up! A nice two post lift was the ticket! I always really wanted one.



My builder worked with me to raise the roof in the third car stall to accommodate a lift. Added a 220 line in the ceiling, and I was good to go.



My lift is a Bend-Pak XPR-10.It was installed a little bit over two years ago. Major props to Affordable Automotive Equipment out of Orlando, FL who hooked me up. This was a dream of over ten years that finally came true for me. I still have a Valvoline ad that served as an inspiration. It pictures a guy with a lift in his garage that states, “Some people take car care a little more seriously than others�. As an Autopian, ain’t that the truth! An understatement! :chuckle:



Every day, I park my daily driver between the two posts of the lift. Its kind like driving into a service station every day. Yeah, the posts can kinda be inhibiting, but when the cars are in the air, that’s quickly forgotten.



Once the Accord needs it, I’ll get some decent equipment to remove the wheels and such. I`ll eventually get some better cabinets and other goodies like that. I probably oughta get a hammock to hook up on the lift like I saw a guy on a `vette forum has. :chuckle:



I’ve done several oil changes between three vehicles, before I got rid of the Maxima, and a coolant change was a breeze. But I love detailing the undercarriages. This Fall I’d like to do a full polish of the Audi’s exhaust system.



Here are the pics. Thanks for looking!

[911fanatic]

Sweet. I`m assuming the first few pics were blurry because you were giggling like a little girl as they were setting that up. Great garage as well.

[Bill D]

Yeah, I must`ve been The guys were moving at a pretty good pace and I was capturing them in action.That day was an event!

[Accumulator]

Bill D.- Hey, that`s very nice!



I still have mixed feelings about no longer having a lift and, heh heh, you`re not helping matters any by posting pix like those

[Bill D]

:chuckle: Thanks! I`m not trying to influence you, Accumulator. This was just a ( not necessarily rational/practical, just emotional) must-have dream of mine I was able to make materialize, only after much appropriate prioritization first and just plain good timing.

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Very nice set up you have there Bill!

[ShineTech]

I agree, very nice set up.

[Bill D]

Thanks a lot guys!

[Ron Ketcham]

Super facility!

Reminds me of my AI Tech Center.

No longer can have that much, fine equipment, all ready fit two tons of manue in my one ton shop.

Grumpy

[Bill D]

Thanks very much Grumpy! Hey, love your set-up too BTW!

all ready fit two tons of manue in my one ton shop.

I like the way you put things. :chuckle:

[Ch96067]

Nice cave Bill! Can you wash in there as well?

[David Fermani]

Looks nice Bill. Very clean shop. I`d kill for a hoist in my garage.

[Bill D]

Nice cave Bill! Can you wash in there as well?

Yes. You can’t see in the photos, but off on the wall to the right is a utility sink that has a simple, laundry washing machine type hook-up for hot and cold water I use with a hose. See the pic below.



I always wash in the garage and although I don’t have a drain, it’s no problem. The floor is still pitched to residential specs and between the blowers and using a big floor squeegee, I get rid of all the excess water pretty quickly.



I’m super thankful because washing outdoors in Florida can be risky most of the time. If you’re not quick enough and/or don’t have a CRS, you could get some really nasty water etching. Unfortunately, I speak from experience

Looks nice Bill. Very clean shop. I`d kill for a hoist in my garage.

Thanks, David. Whenever you’re up my way, you’re welcome to stop by and use mine if you like. :wavey

[Brad B]

Wow! What a great shop. It`s so clean and full of light...and new! The lift is awesome. They come in handy for so many things. And you have one of the best. Congrats.



Hey, and how come it took so long to show us! Lol!

[mikenap]

Amazing! I`m taking notes off some of these recent garage threads, hopefully I`ll have mine looking half as good as these one day. Hopefully!:grinno: