Car Cribs, Pimp My Garage, Looking for advice & inspiration
Discussion
Thank you for welcoming me to your community. I have often surfed the classifieds but never posted before.
After years of looking and 18 months of negotiation I have finally secured a c.2,150 sq foot (c.200 sqm) part of an underground garage next door to my home in central London! It is currently laid out for 8 cars with individual access but you could comfortably fit 16 if you wanted to play tetris. Needless to say I am very excited at the possibilities.
I have a very long lease on the whole area and permission (licence to alter) to gate off my section, paint the floor, install new lighting etc... Anyone got any recommendations for a commercial grade sliding gate company? How would members recommend doing the floor? It's currently exposed concrete, I am thinking of resin coating but again advice welcome. I want to put in power for trickle charging and want to massively upgrade the lighting too, what else am I missing? The ceiling height is 2.1m.
I am really looking for ideas, inspiration and recommendations.
Many thanks,
Matt
After years of looking and 18 months of negotiation I have finally secured a c.2,150 sq foot (c.200 sqm) part of an underground garage next door to my home in central London! It is currently laid out for 8 cars with individual access but you could comfortably fit 16 if you wanted to play tetris. Needless to say I am very excited at the possibilities.
I have a very long lease on the whole area and permission (licence to alter) to gate off my section, paint the floor, install new lighting etc... Anyone got any recommendations for a commercial grade sliding gate company? How would members recommend doing the floor? It's currently exposed concrete, I am thinking of resin coating but again advice welcome. I want to put in power for trickle charging and want to massively upgrade the lighting too, what else am I missing? The ceiling height is 2.1m.
I am really looking for ideas, inspiration and recommendations.
Many thanks,
Matt
mattleeuk said:
Thank you for welcoming me to your community. I have often surfed the classifieds but never posted before.
After years of looking and 18 months of negotiation I have finally secured a c.2,150 sq foot (c.200 sqm) part of an underground garage next door to my home in central London! It is currently laid out for 8 cars with individual access but you could comfortably fit 16 if you wanted to play tetris. Needless to say I am very excited at the possibilities.
I have a very long lease on the whole area and permission (licence to alter) to gate off my section, paint the floor, install new lighting etc... Anyone got any recommendations for a commercial grade sliding gate company? How would members recommend doing the floor? It's currently exposed concrete, I am thinking of resin coating but again advice welcome. I want to put in power for trickle charging and want to massively upgrade the lighting too, what else am I missing? The ceiling height is 2.1m.
I am really looking for ideas, inspiration and recommendations.
Many thanks,
Matt
Are you going to be using it for your own use or for commercial purposes?After years of looking and 18 months of negotiation I have finally secured a c.2,150 sq foot (c.200 sqm) part of an underground garage next door to my home in central London! It is currently laid out for 8 cars with individual access but you could comfortably fit 16 if you wanted to play tetris. Needless to say I am very excited at the possibilities.
I have a very long lease on the whole area and permission (licence to alter) to gate off my section, paint the floor, install new lighting etc... Anyone got any recommendations for a commercial grade sliding gate company? How would members recommend doing the floor? It's currently exposed concrete, I am thinking of resin coating but again advice welcome. I want to put in power for trickle charging and want to massively upgrade the lighting too, what else am I missing? The ceiling height is 2.1m.
I am really looking for ideas, inspiration and recommendations.
Many thanks,
Matt
Personal :-) (or I wouldn't be so excited).
I realise I may have confused people by writing commercial grade gate. What I mean by that is proper sliding steel gate that is highly secure. I want to be able to park anything and not worry about it.
I want to completely pimp it out, I will have artwork on the walls etc...
I just tried to post pics but I am not allowed to for 14 days :-(
I realise I may have confused people by writing commercial grade gate. What I mean by that is proper sliding steel gate that is highly secure. I want to be able to park anything and not worry about it.
I want to completely pimp it out, I will have artwork on the walls etc...
I just tried to post pics but I am not allowed to for 14 days :-(
Edited by mattleeuk on Tuesday 18th July 12:23
Nice collection of cars to go in your "Garage" 
I had my double garage floor done with resin ( IIRC Flowcrete) , it's good ... but I had a few problems..had to be redone because of "gassing off " of the concrete between (which had been down for 20 years) ..Small air holes appeared and had to be done twice by the installer.... I then sealed it with Johnsons sealer ...lots and lots of cans ... I've noticed the sealer does react with petrol... not from my cars but my lawnmower
PS Finally it cost over £1,000 for a double garage , so a small fortune for that space.... I'd need a lottery win.
I had my double garage floor done with resin ( IIRC Flowcrete) , it's good ... but I had a few problems..had to be redone because of "gassing off " of the concrete between (which had been down for 20 years) ..Small air holes appeared and had to be done twice by the installer.... I then sealed it with Johnsons sealer ...lots and lots of cans
... I've noticed the sealer does react with petrol... not from my cars but my lawnmower PS Finally it cost over £1,000 for a double garage , so a small fortune for that space.... I'd need a lottery win.
Edited by glow worm on Tuesday 18th July 13:34
My thoughts....
Floor
I would not bother with resin, it always ends up looking messy and then you need to get it re-done on a regular basis. When re-done, to get it all looking perfect, you have to re-do the entire floor. Unless you are writing off tax, via maintenance, that becomes a cost as well as a chore, as you'd need to get all your cars out to re-do the floor. Also, resin looks more "workshop" than luxury.
I would either use click flooring, or, carpet tiles.
(Actual tiles would be most luxury, but greatest cost, and also if they crack a real headache)
I'd go for carpet tiles.
Both look good when down, you can easily replace a section.
Walls
As for walls. How pimp do you want to go?
Painting won't result in a great finish, as the walls aren't skimmed for a flat painted finish, so if you put a colour on the walls it will always look "rough" and very uneven. It might actually look worse painted. If you skim that whole area it will cost a fair bit.
I would clad all the walls in wood. This results in a much warmer and richer finish. It would work to offset but yet complement the 'industrial' ceiling and actually present a "designed" finish. The wood would also be a lovely backdrop for art. Lighting against the woodwork also results in a beautiful effect with shadows as well.
https://www.russwood.co.uk/interiors/ - look here for different cladding options.
Seating....
I'd put a sofa/seating area in there. Maybe an Eames chair.
Wine fridge for sure, and wine rack.
The ceiling Height isn't great in your space, so you could go projector, but might be wasted. Will you want to watch tv down there?
If you went for carpet tiles, in the sofa/seating area you could put down a really nice rug, which would make it look very plush.
I unfortunately have expensive taste...but you asked!
Floor
I would not bother with resin, it always ends up looking messy and then you need to get it re-done on a regular basis. When re-done, to get it all looking perfect, you have to re-do the entire floor. Unless you are writing off tax, via maintenance, that becomes a cost as well as a chore, as you'd need to get all your cars out to re-do the floor. Also, resin looks more "workshop" than luxury.
I would either use click flooring, or, carpet tiles.
(Actual tiles would be most luxury, but greatest cost, and also if they crack a real headache)
I'd go for carpet tiles.
Both look good when down, you can easily replace a section.
Walls
As for walls. How pimp do you want to go?
Painting won't result in a great finish, as the walls aren't skimmed for a flat painted finish, so if you put a colour on the walls it will always look "rough" and very uneven. It might actually look worse painted. If you skim that whole area it will cost a fair bit.
I would clad all the walls in wood. This results in a much warmer and richer finish. It would work to offset but yet complement the 'industrial' ceiling and actually present a "designed" finish. The wood would also be a lovely backdrop for art. Lighting against the woodwork also results in a beautiful effect with shadows as well.
https://www.russwood.co.uk/interiors/ - look here for different cladding options.
Seating....
I'd put a sofa/seating area in there. Maybe an Eames chair.
Wine fridge for sure, and wine rack.
The ceiling Height isn't great in your space, so you could go projector, but might be wasted. Will you want to watch tv down there?
If you went for carpet tiles, in the sofa/seating area you could put down a really nice rug, which would make it look very plush.
I unfortunately have expensive taste...but you asked!
Edited by rossyl on Tuesday 18th July 16:37
wol said:
I doubt it's an issue, but do you have to return the space back to how it was originally? I'm not sure what effort might be required to restore a resin covered floor...
I have a licence to alter which includes gating off, electric supply, floor surface, wall surface, water, internet, lighting etc... basically anything I could think of at the time and a 150 year lease with extension rights. This is always a killer with offices etc... I have rented. Rossyl,
Thank you so much! so much food for thought...
Carpet tiles would be lush but wouldn't they get so dirty? As well as dragging all the muck from the rest of garage (I am right at the end) I have two very old cars that like to rust proof themselves and drop oil. A Jaguar XK120 and an MGA.
I absolutely love the wood cladding idea. I was actually looking at amazing fake wood for my terrace today (185 sq metre) and there are some amazing ones that would be zero maintenance although very expensive for this size of project. Perhaps some kind picture rail solution too as I would love to display lots of artwork. I am actually a Guinness World Record Holder for Collecting Rolling Stones memorabilia so I have ALOT of stuff I could hang.
Definitely need to make it hang out able although in the building next door I have a commercial space with a private Rolling Stones museum and I live in the one next door to that.
It's one for another topic but I would love to find the person who bought the Keith Richards Dino or Bentley (or both) I have loads of history, MOT's etc...
Thank you so much! so much food for thought...
Carpet tiles would be lush but wouldn't they get so dirty? As well as dragging all the muck from the rest of garage (I am right at the end) I have two very old cars that like to rust proof themselves and drop oil. A Jaguar XK120 and an MGA.
I absolutely love the wood cladding idea. I was actually looking at amazing fake wood for my terrace today (185 sq metre) and there are some amazing ones that would be zero maintenance although very expensive for this size of project. Perhaps some kind picture rail solution too as I would love to display lots of artwork. I am actually a Guinness World Record Holder for Collecting Rolling Stones memorabilia so I have ALOT of stuff I could hang.
Definitely need to make it hang out able although in the building next door I have a commercial space with a private Rolling Stones museum and I live in the one next door to that.
It's one for another topic but I would love to find the person who bought the Keith Richards Dino or Bentley (or both) I have loads of history, MOT's etc...
Edited by mattleeuk on Tuesday 18th July 21:11
Lighting company in to do some lighting plans for you. Walls and ceilings plastered and painted. Floors tiled.
Need to plan how to lay out the space but car cleaning area with drainage, poss a lift to get the car up. Wall mounted pressure washer, vacuum and car blower/dryer. Hot and cold water.
Associated garage cabinetry. Actually, just contact https://everard.co.uk/equipment/
Need to plan how to lay out the space but car cleaning area with drainage, poss a lift to get the car up. Wall mounted pressure washer, vacuum and car blower/dryer. Hot and cold water.
Associated garage cabinetry. Actually, just contact https://everard.co.uk/equipment/
Jaska said:
2 questions
firstly... Can we be friends? You sound all the right kinds of eccentric.
Secondly... can I park in your garage next time I go to central London?
You haven't even seen my shoe collection yet! Eccentric is often the word used to describe me. Question two depends on one :-)firstly... Can we be friends? You sound all the right kinds of eccentric.
Secondly... can I park in your garage next time I go to central London?
usn90 said:
I assume anyone can walk into your area, so perhaps cameras would be of use?
At the moment yes but I have purchased all the space and have a licence to alter to put a big steel gate in :-) I will of course be having cameras too if only to check them out before I go to sleep!If you've got a few hours (or days) to kill, then this thread is well worth a look for inspiration https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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