New Garage Build

[_Leg_]

Hi all

My new garage build started today after 2 years pursuing the land and then a year trying to get planning.

This is a second garage block to compliment my main garages which are a triple with 2 car lifts (5 cars garaged in it).

Plans are below as are pictures of my current garage. Flat bed trailer is gone now and replaced by an RT4 and the fleet has expanded a bit (hence the new garages).

Ill update the thread with more info and pictures as it progresses. Each bay will have a 4 post lift in it.







































New garage build pics from today...

[_Leg_]

My house is the red brick/pan tile one with the garage block sticking out the back in the pictures.

You can see the green summer house between this land, that flows off the back of my garden, and the main house and garage. The summer house is coming down though to be replaced by new roofed decking with a bbq.

when finished the two gardens will merge and there'll be a path between garage 1 and garage 2. My moderns and daily will be in the original garage and my classics, collectibles and track car in 2.

[_Leg_]

Greg_D said:

basically........used and stored.

More 'used a lot, used a fair bit, used occasionally and one used rarely'. Oh and a couple of used and abused!

Edited by _Leg_ on Thursday 22 January 19:11

[_Leg_]

Willeh85 said:

Amazing.

In a Wolf of Wall Street fashion, what do you do for a living? I will quit my job and work for you!

Lol, I did own, with a couple of partners, a software business which was (is) very successful. Sold it outright to a large software group last year and they offered us good money to stay on (and I have a great team of people in my part of the business who I consider good friends, Craig180 above is one of em the little lurker) so now I work for that business a bit, manage my investments & properties a bit, sleep in a bit, walk the dog, collect cars, hit the gym (which I didn't do for far too long) and finally spend time with my family (which I didn't do between 2000 and 2012 very much, even if I was physically there).

Today I've mostly been standing in a field annoying builders by watching them work and asking stupid questions. They wouldn't let me drive a digger. :-(

I make a mean cup of tea though they tell me, and I bought them buns, so I contributed a bit.

[_Leg_]

It's being built to house standards so that in 25 years time when I'm old and cant manage a load of cars I can convert it into a house and sell it along with mine and sod off abroad to drink G&T till I pass out forever.

I have access down the lane. Ill be resurfacing that when the build is finished as the tractor that removed 120 tons of earth today has destroyed it. Expected that though.

Yes, it will be fenced and beech hedged (to match the current garden hedge we have) down the left hand side. The other sides are enclosed already. It'll have 2 gates on the left. A manual one for the drive behind the garage where the trailer and my 4x4 will go and an electric one into the drive area in front of the garages.

Im planning on a full alarm system, lighting and CCTV.

More pictures to follow later. Good progress made today. Concrete foundations (1m deep) going in on Monday.

Expecting to be completed early April (We didnt get planning until the 7th Jan so the builder had to plan other jobs in just in case which I totally understand, otherwise we would be done faster). Bit frustrating because 3 of my cars are in storage (GT3RS, Mk2 Jag and Lotus Esprit) but I wouldnt let any other builder near my property regardless of timescales.

Edited by _Leg_ on Friday 23 January 18:47

Edited by _Leg_ on Friday 23 January 18:48

[_Leg_]

Today

Edited by _Leg_ on Saturday 24th January 12:42

[_Leg_]

Five spaces indoors remaining. Phew, there's a long list of possibles. A few that spring to mind are below. These are just things that interest me though. I'm undecided tbh.

A 964 Porsche of some description. Wide bodied, probably a lightweight version.
Porsche 356 coupe
430 Scuderia (although prices are getting dafter and dafter)
Original Fiat Abarth or mk1 cooper s
Mercedes 190SL
70s Celica (but would be a project to build a modified concourse one)
I keep coming back to the White mk1 escort at Cheshire classic cars but 80k is a lot for it
Mk1 golf gti
Aventador
I have an LOI in at Porsche Leeds for the, maybe, possible, will it come GT4
I check the web for interesting Alfas on a near daily basis. They built some great cars in the old days.
Cobra Daytona Coupe
80s/90s Fezza
Ferrari 246
Volvo p1800s
599 or an f12 (when/if prices drop as I would use that regularly)
For sentimental reasons I would love a mk1 Astra gte, preferably red. But they're scarce.

Dunno. Open to suggestions. :-)

I would love to do the Peking Paris classic rally too but right now I haven't the time. When the kids go though, a car from RPS and an entry in that would be awesome.

Edited by _Leg_ on Saturday 24th January 13:20

[_Leg_]

If, not when mate. As I said in my post, that's just a list of potentials.

[_Leg_]

Lol. Me too. Question of finding one.

[_Leg_]

Everyone on PH is my friend. Aren't they?

[_Leg_]

Been out all day today. Just went out to the site with a torch. They've started laying the base blocks for the wall on the foundations.

Can see the shape now. Awesome.

Ill get pics tomorrow when it's light.

[_Leg_]

Quick snaps from early this morning

[_Leg_]

Pixel-Snapper said:

Coor shes a biggen!

19m x 17m back wall. 7m deep all round the L. last 5m of the 17m is a covered open bit for me 'ot tub.

That's plan dimensions. Minus the wall depth for internal.

12m x 7m garage. 7mx7m Games room. 5mx7m gym. 5mx7m covered area. All with a 2M overhang at the front along the garage doors and front of the gym and covered area.

Pretty big. I thought I may as well go for it and it saves faffing later. Great thing is there's space for 2 big trailers on the drive at the back so I can store 2 more cars in them if I want later.

[_Leg_]

SydneyBridge said:

How easy will it be to convert to a house when you retire abroad?
did you get planning permission to be able to do that?

with all the cars on your wish list, you may need to go underground...

Easily done, bungalow or house. No planning as yet, I would have to get that when the time came. It would expire by the time I came to do it in 20-25 years if I got it now anyway.

I was just this minute looking at an underground garage in the states a guy had built and thinking I may have missed a trick but enough is enough. I can store 13 cars inside (3 more if I didn't bother using the games room as a games room) plus I have the Brian James trailer so 14 cars, plus the two daily drivers outside so that's probably enough. Once I hit the limit I may swap the Indy for a more powerful track car but beyond that I think I'll just enjoy them and relax for a bit.

[_Leg_]

northernmedia said:

First world problems eh

Tell me about it. 4 post lift guys have just asked me to choose between 4 x yellow/red ones or 4 x all black ones. What a headache!

[_Leg_]

I have a 2 poster and a 4 poster in the main garage and the 2 poster is a right pain in the arse as the posts are where the doors open. Also leaves the suspension hanging at full extension. 4 poster all the way!

[_Leg_]

Greg_D said:

You may have missed the detail leg. Look at the doors again. Utterly unimpeded. It rises out of the floor. You can work on wheels/suspension easily, no impediment to the doors, rests pretty much flush with the floor when unused and is loads easier to navigate the garage when raised

Ahh, you're right. Sorry, I missed that (posting from iPhone so the pic was small). Interesting. Thanks for that and sorry again for my haste.

[_Leg_]

Steve_W said:

Leg - very, very nice.

I presume you've poked around the Garage Journal forum? Esprcially the Garage Gallery where folks post thier garage build/fit out threads?

Although primarily US based there are quite a few guys from the UK, Ireland, Russia, Finland, Holland etc. on there too. Your build would fit right in:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.ph...

Yeah looked on there for ideas. Some awesome garages.

The builders have made rapid progress, photos tomorrow.

Got some sample bricks today too. Reclaimed ones. It'll look like it's been there decades.

[_Leg_]

No. Block, reclaimed bricks, steel roof frame on a steel beam front to back, oak beams running along the roof, pantiles (3 goes at that to avoid auto correct putting 'panties'), oak posts for the overhang and oak cladding where relevant. Oak doors, oak framed glass folding doors (3m) on the gym wall opening onto the hot tub area. Porcelain tiled floors, flagged overhang area and patio. Decided today to put a glass wall between the games room and garages so I can see the cars whilst playing pool.

Err, think that's it. Interior details to decide yet obviously.

[_Leg_]

Some more build pics from last Thursday.








and a new arrival (997.2 GT3RS





Which has forced the E92 M3 into the trailer



and my MK Indy R track car round to a mate's garage in the next village whilst my Esprit V8 Turbo and Mk2 Jag are still in storage at John Holland Cars (bought and yet to be collected).

Really must get this damned garage finished!