steveale

Over the last couple of weeks I have been cleaning out the spare garage to make a shop housing the restore activities of my 65. As you can see just getting all of the clutter out of the way has been a challenge. We had everything from christmas decorations, to left over yard sale items. After a couple of weeks, many trips to goodwill and posting stuff for sale on craigslist progress is happening. Couple of next steps are getting all the tools, benches and storage installed. I am shopping for a used chain hoist and I-beam, which will make a good lift system for my low ceiling.

Question/Advice? Would you put down a floor coating now over the raw cement or wait until after all the work/restore is done?
Here are a couple of before/after shots of the de-junking process.

MAD IN NC

Careful - Pandora box is opening up......

re: floor coating, that is a job by itself but makes all kinds of clean up easier...

Suggest going to http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/ and checking out what options, process, cost are available....

Bluestripe67

It looks like you are making some real progress. I see the welder and the generator. I'm not sure about the I-beam thing. You have a wide garage and I don't consider your ceiling low. Mine is 7', that's low. Why not get an engine hoist and tilter? I'll bet it would cost less then an I-beam and you will surely have a greater ability to move everythings around. You might want to stick to basic needs such as a good sturdy 8 foot workbench, plus-up the lighting and after the project is done, do the floor and all the nice cabinets etc. Dennis

BADBIRDCAGE

I'm going the other direction from Bluestripe67. Do the floor NOW or you will never do it. Once you finish the car all you are going to want to do is drive it.

And you should.

JohnZ

Don't use any flammable liquids in there with the gas water heater.

VetteRed1965

Great call. I would suggest raising the hot water heater 18" off the floor, since you have pcv pipes its a prime and glue thing. Cheap insurance

mrg

In a garage, some states require that a water heater be raised so the pilot light is 18 in. above the floor. This can help prevent ignition of gas vapors that collect near the floor.

Hanging shelving (above head bang height) from the ceiling joists in a clear area will gain some additional garage storage space to make way for a work bench, tool roll-away cabinet, etc. ..

SLWRNU

Dang dude, ever watch the show Hoarders?

62Jeff

It looks like good progress.

Painting the walls a light color, combined with 4 or 6 sets of flourescent lights mounted to the ceiling, will go a long way towards brightening up your workspace.

Water heater - yeah, what they said.

Floor - If you clean and paint your floor with some sort of epoxy, it will look great and last a long time, making cleanup easier. If you restore your car first, you'll end up with a LOT of oils soaked into the cement making it more difficult to paint the floor later. If you are looking at something like Racedeck, that can go on anytime but you need special care when using jack stands.

steveale

Lol...I have seen it but my wife won't watch it for some reason :-). We don't have attics due to vaulted ceiling log homes so what you saw was a lot of what most homes have in attics. Although there was a lot of junk in their too. Lot of good suggestions...I knew the gas heat and water would be a problem with solvents and cleaners. Thanks for the hints.

vettedreamer50

Good start there Steve.
Like the others mentioned, I would be very concerned about the gas appliances and would go a step further and frame out a mechanical room. You will still need to raise the appliances and install a vent to allow them to draw fresh air. Also, if you havent already, get a few good fire extinguishers. I am paranoid about fire and in fact had a very close call a few weeks ago when an un- attended candle almost burned my in-laws house down.
Cheap to do, and it will give you peace of mind.

Rollo Lovey

Love the frying pan on the bungee cord.

Hitch

It looks like you have a good start on cleaning up. I would get it all cleaned out paint the walls and add at least 4 or 5 eight foot lights. Paint the walls and floor and then begin your restoration. It makes life a lot easier when you can see what you are doing. I agree code in most counties is now that the gas water heater has to be at least 18" off the ground. As for solvents being a problem with that setup.. I did most of my work at the last house and had the same setup as you and never had a problem. Good luck..

vt65

personally, I would leave the car the way it is, looks good!....

VetteRed1965

Steve if you by the beer, we can build an 18" stand for your water heater. It looks like your heater has a self contained flame

I m glad nobody can see in my attic

OldKarz

I would do the floor now.

steveale

ROFL....it's like one of those books my daughter has...how many oddities can you spot in the pictures. Did anyone see the digital camera hanging from the other bungee in front of the water heater?


seriously, the pictures were while things were still in progress. Many of those items are no longer there either....but hey, I little humor is always fun in these threads....

steveale

Always looking for an excuse to buy beer I am going to check the lowes website now...if I recall they sell those stands and they are fairly inexpensive. But beers still in the equation for an installation....

kskid

Just like I have read before. $30,000 car sets outside and garage is full of junk. Only in America

steveale

it was inside with the junk...look hard and you can see glimpses of it in the before photos...