[Steve91T]

Hey guys. We're planning on moving to Charlotte, NC soon. The houses in our price range have small garages (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

The one we are really interested in is a 2 car, 18ft wide, by about 21ft long. The gas water heater is the corner, and a built in gas heater is nearby, which is nice. The garage is finished, and has pretty high ceilings, looks like 10ft or so. There's two built in over head storage shelves that are made out of wood, and hanging from the ceilings.

So, if we get this house or not, it doesn't matter. All the garages are about the same size. So, how do you guys make the most out of a small space? If there is enough ceiling height, I'd love to build a loft, to give me room for some of my larger, bulkier things, like the compressor and tires and stuff like that.

This house is going to be a stepping stone for us. We'll be in it for roughly 2 years, then we'll move to a larger house, where hopefully I can build myself a huge detached garage.


Anyway, I just wanted to get some opinions/pictures.

Thanks guys!
Steve

[StanIROCZ]

DOes the house have a basement? Store your spare parts down there (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The wife will love you for that! Just make sure you claim your space early and hold your ground!

[Steve91T]

DOes the house have a basement? Store your spare parts down there (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The wife will love you for that! Just make sure you claim your space early and hold your ground!

Charlotte is really bad about basements, which sucks. Most of the houses are slabs, maybe a crawl.

[CrashTestDummy]

Use it as a passageway to your 40X80 steel building in the back yard? (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

Just kidding. mostly. But it sounds to me like your realtor isn't working hard enough.

Make _certain_ that overhead storage is secure. I've seen too many of those just nailed to the ceiling.

[Steve91T]

Use it as a passageway to your 40X80 steel building in the back yard? (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

Just kidding. mostly. But it sounds to me like your realtor isn't working hard enough.

Make _certain_ that overhead storage is secure. I've seen too many of those just nailed to the ceiling.

He definitely is. The problem is this house we're looking for is going to be a stepping stone for us. We're going to only spend 2 years in the house, then we'll rent it out and get more of our "dream" house. The next house will have a 2 car garage, but room for a huge detached garage.

For now, our main priority is buying a house that will be very easy to keep as a rental, and unfortunately, that means for us, cookie cutter house, with a small 2 car garage. That's why I need to come up with a way to make the best of it.

We're still looking at houses, I'm hoping we find something that we like with a larger garage.

[mitchntx]

Built an awning onto the back of my shop.
Mixed bags of concrete and poured a small slab/footing and mounted my vertical air copressor on it.
Layed out cross ties and back filled with pea gravel to illiminate a mud bog.

[cccbock]

Not much to do with such a small space. If there are two cars in it....you're done. Best thing I can think of is start negotiating with the other half of the "us" and hopefully you win. The space you describe will be small with just one car in it if you are working on it with parts and tools spread about. Otherwise, an exterior shed of some kind to keep your "stuff", and maybe one of those "portable" carports erected in the driveway or side yard. I appraise homes for a living and about 40% of garages are really just storage units for the owner. The cars all live outdoors. Fortunately, Charlotte has very little truly bad weather.

[StanIROCZ]

Use tupperware containers to store things more efficiently. I built this work bench shelving specifically with this in mind.

(IMG:http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o33/StanIROCZ/Garage/DSC03263.jpg)

I have aluminum scraps in one drawer, steel scraps in another, spare parts, less used tools etc. One of the containers I convered over to a 'track day supplies' drawer so that makes packing the truck a bit quicker.

[Blainefab]

With that little space you're going to need to be efficient with storage of small stuff, and have floor space do double duty wherever possible. I've got a couple of these mobile racks from Costco, they'll hold a lot of stuff and can be stacked in front of other stuff, just wheel them out of the way for access.

(IMG:http://www.blainefabrication.com/projects/2006_09_20/IMG_0781.JPG)

I built 2 cars in my home garage of similar size, with bathroom and laundry, so it's possible. If you have a dryer circuit you are good for a decent compressor, just don't try to run them both at the same time.

This post has been edited by Blainefab: Nov 21 2011, 11:06 PM

[Aardvark]

Interesting..can you let me know what you end up with? My family is hoping to move to the greater Charlotte area next year (right now we're actually looking across the state line in SC). Most likely leaning towards a townhouse, and I may try and find some kind of garage space to store the race car (if it doesn't just stay at my in-laws place in Northern Ohio).

[Steve91T]

Thanks guys. The garage that I have now, 22x24, and is the largest I've ever had, and I'm pretty happy with it. Even with my garage, storage is the tough part, especially for the little things. Alan and Stan, great ideas. I think I'll be doing something like that with the new, smaller garage.

Interesting..can you let me know what you end up with? My family is hoping to move to the greater Charlotte area next year (right now we're actually looking across the state line in SC). Most likely leaning towards a townhouse, and I may try and find some kind of garage space to store the race car (if it doesn't just stay at my in-laws place in Northern Ohio).

I actually grew up in south east Charlotte, but want to live in the Lake Norman area. It's not too far from uptown, but it's a new and growing area. It's a lot of fun up there, with good schools (from what I've heard). We're looking for a single family, but my buddy has a townhouse that's beautiful, and has good sized 1 car garage. If you really want a townhouse, I think you can definitely find one with a garage. And I believe they paid somewhere around the mid $100's.

If you have any more questions, let me know. You're going to enjoy VIR and CMP!

Steve

[Blainefab]

Here's another of my ways to find things - the red bins are about $7 at Sears. Most of them go with me to the track.

(IMG:http://www.blainefabrication.com/projects/2011_04_15/IMG_4186.JPG)

[CrashTestDummy]

And for a TON of ideas on storage in small spaces and such, don't forget this list:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php

But yeah, storage is going to be the issue. You may want to get a 'boat storage' unit for the short term, for the seasonal things you don't have room for (Christmas decorations, winter clothes). The RubberMaid-type storage boxes are very helpful. You can separate things and keep them handy, easy to move around, and mostly dust and bug-proof.

But since you're planning on this being your jump into home ownership for a couple of years, maybe taking it easy on the car stuff for a short time is a viable route. Two years will just blow by, especially if you spend your spare time getting the new house in order to be your first rental property (and all homes need something almost all the time). That way you won't have as much car stuff to have to move when you make the big move up. Just a thought.

[Steve91T]

And for a TON of ideas on storage in small spaces and such, don't forget this list:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php

But yeah, storage is going to be the issue. You may want to get a 'boat storage' unit for the short term, for the seasonal things you don't have room for (Christmas decorations, winter clothes). The RubberMaid-type storage boxes are very helpful. You can separate things and keep them handy, easy to move around, and mostly dust and bug-proof.

But since you're planning on this being your jump into home ownership for a couple of years, maybe taking it easy on the car stuff for a short time is a viable route. Two years will just blow by, especially if you spend your spare time getting the new house in order to be your first rental property (and all homes need something almost all the time). That way you won't have as much car stuff to have to move when you make the big move up. Just a thought.

Take a break? You kidding? My plan is to get into CMC towards the end of next year. Plus, I already have a garage full of tools, I just need to figure out how to store everything. I really like some of the ideas that you guys have given me. Pictures are great. If I do it correctly, I should be able to have one car in the garage while I'm working on it, but then be able to pack everything up to fit the Camaro and my wife's Nissan Murano. My Powerstroke F250 lives outside.

The only challenge will be when I yank my 396 for a stock LT1. I've never pulled an engine before, but hopefully I can do it. If it's just not possible, then I'll have a shop do it.

Steve


BTW, this isn't our first rental. We now have 2 rentals, and the house we live in how is going to be rented out. We're getting pretty good at it. Neutral colors! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by Steve91T: Nov 22 2011, 04:04 PM

[Casey_SS]

Off topic but if you've already got a 396 in there, why not just leave it and run AI for a while? Might get you on track a lot sooner and start getting w2w seat time while you develop the rest of the car... Once you have everything else sorted out (brakes, cooling, suspension, safety, etc.) you could do a quick motor swap and come out of the gate strong in CMC. Seat time is the ultimate mod...everything else (except safety) should be much further down the list.

BTW - it's absolutely possible to do a motor swap in a 2 car garage. I've done a few - there are several good write-ups out there that really helped me the first time. Best method I found was dropping the whole K-member, motor, tranny, & front suspension all at once out the bottom onto a big furniture dolly, lifting the body up like a funny car with the engine hoist, and rolling everything out, headers, accessories, wiring harness, and all still attached. It was surprisingly painless and went much quicker than I expected. When you get to that point, lemme know and I'll dig up some of the write-ups and checklists I used.

[cccbock]

Off topic but if you've already got a 396 in there, why not just leave it and run AI for a while? Might get you on track a lot sooner and start getting w2w seat time while you develop the rest of the car... Once you have everything else sorted out (brakes, cooling, suspension, safety, etc.) you could do a quick motor swap and come out of the gate strong in CMC. Seat time is the ultimate mod...everything else (except safety) should be much further down the list.

BTW - it's absolutely possible to do a motor swap in a 2 car garage. I've done a few - there are several good write-ups out there that really helped me the first time. Best method I found was dropping the whole K-member, motor, tranny, & front suspension all at once out the bottom onto a big furniture dolly, lifting the body up like a funny car with the engine hoist, and rolling everything out, headers, accessories, wiring harness, and all still attached. It was surprisingly painless and went much quicker than I expected. When you get to that point, lemme know and I'll dig up some of the write-ups and checklists I used.

I have pulled my motor 3 times, always out the bottom. I have the extra benefit of a lift, the method described above should work quite well.

[Steve91T]

Off topic but if you've already got a 396 in there, why not just leave it and run AI for a while? Might get you on track a lot sooner and start getting w2w seat time while you develop the rest of the car... Once you have everything else sorted out (brakes, cooling, suspension, safety, etc.) you could do a quick motor swap and come out of the gate strong in CMC. Seat time is the ultimate mod...everything else (except safety) should be much further down the list.

BTW - it's absolutely possible to do a motor swap in a 2 car garage. I've done a few - there are several good write-ups out there that really helped me the first time. Best method I found was dropping the whole K-member, motor, tranny, & front suspension all at once out the bottom onto a big furniture dolly, lifting the body up like a funny car with the engine hoist, and rolling everything out, headers, accessories, wiring harness, and all still attached. It was surprisingly painless and went much quicker than I expected. When you get to that point, lemme know and I'll dig up some of the write-ups and checklists I used.

I really want to start with the lower hp of CMC2. I timed some of my latest HPDE's and compared them to the CMC2 track record. The CMC2 car was nearly 10 seconds faster than me! Of course they are lighter, and have better tires, but they also have over 100 less hp. My goal next year is to get my comp license and get the car ready. I really need more track time before I'm ready. I'm also on a tight budget, and I'm hoping to make enough cash on my engine to buy a cheap trailer and a junk yard LT1.

When the time comes, I'll definitely be asking for help on engine swaps.

Thanks,
Steve

[Casey_SS]

I timed some of my latest HPDE's and compared them to the CMC2 track record. The CMC2 car was nearly 10 seconds faster than me! Of course they are lighter, and have better tires, but they also have over 100 less hp.

Don't worry, that's perfectly normal (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Same exact thing happened to me when I was starting out in HPDE, also with a 97SS, 396, C6 brakes, etc. Seat time, seat time, seat time. The funny thing is I picked up more pace in 3 weekends of w2w racing than I did in 3 years of HPDE. I was classed by myself in AIX but battling with the CMC backmarkers. Humbling experience but it taught me a LOT. Which is why I suggested making as few changes as possible (aside from the safety stuff) in order to avoid down time that keeps you off the track. Pit with the CMC guys but run in AI if you have to, run in AIX if you have to, hell run in time trials if you have to...just don't tear the car apart and let it sit for a year waiting on money and parts to all line up. Find a way to stay on track and keep improving as a driver. The other stuff will work itself out along the way and you'll be much better prepared and have a lot more fun when you finally do make your CMC debut. Don't be the guy that spends 2 years building the perfect car only to finally get out there and realize you need 2 more years of seat time to win a battle for 15th place. That's how good race cars wind up on Ebay (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Doesn't sound like where you're heading, just throwing it out there for perspective....

This post has been edited by Casey_SS: Nov 23 2011, 12:38 AM

[Steve91T]

I timed some of my latest HPDE's and compared them to the CMC2 track record. The CMC2 car was nearly 10 seconds faster than me! Of course they are lighter, and have better tires, but they also have over 100 less hp.

Don't worry, that's perfectly normal (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Same exact thing happened to me when I was starting out in HPDE, also with a 97SS, 396, C6 brakes, etc. Seat time, seat time, seat time. The funny thing is I picked up more pace in 3 weekends of w2w racing than I did in 3 years of HPDE. I was classed by myself in AIX but battling with the CMC backmarkers. Humbling experience but it taught me a LOT. Which is why I suggested making as few changes as possible (aside from the safety stuff) in order to avoid down time that keeps you off the track. Pit with the CMC guys but run in AI if you have to, run in AIX if you have to, hell run in time trials if you have to...just don't tear the car apart and let it sit for a year waiting on money and parts to all line up. Find a way to stay on track and keep improving as a driver. The other stuff will work itself out along the way and you'll be much better prepared and have a lot more fun when you finally do make your CMC debut. Don't be the guy that spends 2 years building the perfect car only to finally get out there and realize you need 2 more years of seat time to win a battle for 15th place. That's how good race cars wind up on Ebay (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Doesn't sound like where you're heading, just throwing it out there for perspective....

That makes a lot of sense. I really think the only thing keeping me out of CMC is my engine, so I'll change that out as soon as I find a decent LT1. I figure that and then the cage, and I'm g2g....as far as the expensive things go. I'm planning on doing track days while I'm getting the car ready.

I'm really afraid of being the guy who holds everybody up in the race, so I want to be prepared. The whole move may happen sooner rather than later, so I may be able to start racing sooner than I was initially thinking.

Anyone have an LT1 that they want to sell me?

[Blainefab]

Anyone have an LT1 that they want to sell me?

See if Mitch wants to split up his car: http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.php?showtopic=15344

If that doesn't pan out, check with an old buddy of mine in Durham, NC: http://carolinaautomasters.com/