Help specifying garage finish

[Sevenman]

My 2 storey extension with garage now has a roof and I need to decide on the finishing details. it will be good to get the car home rather than have it living with a friend as for the past couple of years.

Internal dimensions are 6m long x 4 wide, accessed through a 3.2m wide insulated sectional Garadoor (about to order) with opener and keyfobs. Sadly I don't have enough space to make a 100m2 man-cave with headroom for a lift.

One internal door into the house which I think should be lockable, and one opaque window to outside.

It is double-skinned construction with insulation and a reinforced concrete slab floor. It will be plastered and painted inside.

With the insulated door and one double glazed window it should stay fairly warm and to keep the chill off in winter I plan to have a wall-mounted electric radiator.

A drawback of the well-insulated design is that it will be well-sealed, so I think it needs some ventilation and / or humidity control to keep the car happy, I worry particularly if it goes away wet.. Could have an extract fan at one end and an air inlet at the other.

As it only has to hold a single smallish TVR, I plan to have a workbench / racking at the end, and some bike storage on a wall.

I intend to run the alarm system into the garage with key fob control.

Areas where suggestions would be useful:

• Ventilation options.
• Floor finish
• Electrics and lighting ideas
• Bike storage options
• Something I haven't thought of

Thanks

[Sevenman]

That is a nice looking garage!

I like the idea of porcelain tiles - although I would be concerned about dropping any tools on them.

[Sevenman]

Sounds good. Probably expensive, but good.

I don't have a vice (although I have many), so dropping it shouldn't be a problem.

[Sevenman]

The Moose said:

I would go for roller door as opposed to up and over if possible

This is going to be a sectional door with ~50mm insulation built in. So it doesn't roll but does slide straight up then along tracks on the ceiling.

[Sevenman]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Having looked at a few styes we are going for a large section design, as here in grey against light render. Popular at the moment, and maybe the style will age, but it suits me for now.

At the moment I have no garage at all and sufficient storage elsewhere, so it really is just for the car (at first).

I don't plan to have high-level shelves, just storage at the end wall and a couple of bikes on a side wall, so it taking up some of the ceiling space shouldn't be an issue. Probably something like below.



Ventilation is still unclear, whether I go a dehumidifier and limited air movement through a small vent, or something active to get some changes of air / day.

[Sevenman]

Dave_ST220 said:

TA14 said:

You can buy insulated roller shutters so that's not a benefit unique to a sectional door.

With 50mm insulation?!

The rest of the garage has more insulation than that, so the door will still be the less insulated part, but that seems to be as good as they get. It is built to house spec, like the room above, rather than drafty garage spec.

No cold starts in the winter for the TVR any more.

[Sevenman]

TA14 said:

Most on this forum seem to favour the dehumidifier route where you can seal the whole garage.

Thanks, the recommended route is what I am looking for. I am happy to keep it sealed with the dehumidifier running for humidity control and the radiator for temperature control.

If I am working in there I can always open the window if needed.

And that would allow me to keep the exterior render with fewer vents etc.

[Sevenman]

TA14 said:

(unless you believe that dozens of posters are lying of course)

Having been a PistonHeads member for a fair few years (although not the most prolific poster), that hasn't been my experience of these forums. Normally a helpful bunch of people willing to share their experience.

'Which' has some good reviews of dehumidifiers, including which ones work well in cooler temperatures, so that is the route I will take.

Thanks for your help.