Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT My new garage in Wales

Zebedeewesty · Aug 11, 2021

My previous garage was slightly smaller than a 20ft container, just 8ft wide and 18.5ft long. Even so i still managed to do a full body off restoration and respray on my 1970 VW Beetle.

After 20 years of living in Cumbria in the North West of England we made the move 300 miles south to a small village in South Wales.
One of the big plus points of our new house is a much larger detached garage.

Its around 20 ft deep and 24 foot wide though theres only a single 8ft wide door.

Theres a toilet built into the front corner which reduces the space a little but theres still enough space for two cars if go jacks or similar are used.

The area behind the toilet is around 12ft deep by 6 ft wide.

Theres a set of stairs in the rear corner with the bottom 3 steps being able to be up folded out of the way to allow access to a bit more storage under the stairs.

Upstairs theres a boarded out loft area which could really do with being insulated and plaster boarded as its hot as hell up there at the moment.

Bugs new home.

So far all i've done is to erect some Big Dug shelving to get some of the clutter off the floor. I'm still working my way though boxes of household stuff and sorting the house so progress will likely be rather slow.

TalonFE · Aug 11, 2021

Wales = AWESOME

Metallitubby · Aug 11, 2021

Your Type 1 is awesome. Good luck in the new place!

BlakeTheCarGuy · Aug 11, 2021

We share common interest I LOVE beetles. Mine is a 1973 with a 1971 body on it. I’d much rather have that color on mine because mine is yellow but I wanted a beetle and I have one lol.

txvwnut · Aug 11, 2021

I like the look of the garage and the beetle.

Walkers · Aug 11, 2021

Nice move!

Geoff289 · Aug 11, 2021

Greetings from Australia. The Lake District and South Wales - neck and neck as far as being picturesque goes, so I can see why a bigger, better garage tipped the balance. Looking forward to further developments.

captain14 · Aug 11, 2021

Great garage. I always enjoy the smaller garage and their build outs. Great idea for the folding steps.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 12, 2021

TalonFE said:
Wales = AWESOME

Rates in my top 10 for scenery. This is just 2 miles from my house.

Metallitubby said:
Your Type 1 is awesome. Good luck in the new place!

Cheers. It makes a change being able to open the car doors without touching the garage walls.

BlakeTheCarGuy said:
We share common interest I LOVE beetles. Mine is a 1973 with a 1971 body on it. I’d much rather have that color on mine because mine is yellow but I wanted a beetle and I have one lol.

I've owned mine 25 years now and its still a matching numbers 1970 car running the factory fitted 1300SP 40BHP motor. Originally it was Elm green but i fancied a change. I started a build thread on the volkszone forum around 10 years ago which now runs into 2 threads, 300+ pages and 1000+ pictures.

txvwnut said:
I like the look of the garage and the beetle.

Thanks.

Walkers said:
Nice move!

We went from a house with single garage in a housing estate on the edge of town to one with a much bigger garage where our nearest neighbour is nearly a mile away.

Geoff289 said:
Greetings from Australia. The Lake District and South Wales - neck and neck as far as being picturesque goes, so I can see why a bigger, better garage tipped the balance. Looking forward to further developments.

The bigger garage was a big selling point. Not easy working on a car with just 12-18" space either side.

captain14 said:
Great garage. I always enjoy the smaller garage and their build outs. Great idea for the folding steps.

Its trying to work out the best use of the available space that should be fun.
The previous owner had a Buick Wildcat so lifting steps were the only way it'd fit in the garage. I assume he didn't own the Buick when he built the garage.

Metallitubby · Aug 12, 2021

Zebedeewesty said:

Inca Green?

MacTexas · Aug 12, 2021

The sign on the door of the toilet seems like it is a public toilet? Is it?

CombatNinja · Aug 12, 2021

Sweet upgrade there. The new space is great as-is but has a ton of potential too. Highly recommend not getting too 'settled in' to the shop while you are in the process of setting up the house so you can take everything out and get a nice coat of bright white paint on those block walls. It will do wonders for how open and roomy it feels and maximize your lighting for when you work on the car. If you move everything in and arrange the shop just the way you want it you will want to jump into projects and painting the walls will get put on the back burner and likely never get done. When I occupy a new space, my tactic is to address the floors and walls before I move anything in. Otherwise, it never gets done.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 12, 2021

Metallitubby said:
Inca Green?

Elm Green L60D

MacTexas said:
The sign on the door of the toilet seems like it is a public toilet? Is it?

It was a B&B until the owners retired. Not sure why they built a disabled access toilet in the corner of the garage. Handy not having to walk back into the house when you need to go though.

CombatNinja said:
Sweet upgrade there. The new space is great as-is but has a ton of potential too. Highly recommend not getting too 'settled in' to the shop while you are in the process of setting up the house so you can take everything out and get a nice coat of bright white paint on those block walls. It will do wonders for how open and roomy it feels and maximize your lighting for when you work on the car. If you move everything in and arrange the shop just the way you want it you will want to jump into projects and painting the walls will get put on the back burner and likely never get done. When I occupy a new space, my tactic is to address the floors and walls before I move anything in. Otherwise, it never gets done.

Theres a big tub of briliant white masonry paint sitting waiting under the steps to the loft so the walls will get a coating. Theres a 10ft workbench to go in the back right corner along the back wall and it has a full height tool board above it so only 1/2 that wall needs paint. All the boxes are now emptied and the drawers are from the workbench which is under a tarp outside at the moment.
The floors are pretty decent. They're not 100% smooth though with a slightly tamped finish and painted in some sort of grey paint which could really do with another coat to tidy it up but its not that high up on the list of priorities.

I'm still trying to get my VW T3 (vanagon) back on the road after i found some chassis rot round a suspension trailing arm mount so the garage is on the back burner until its done.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 13, 2021

Ripped apart (OK so it was only held together with a few nails) the old workbench. I'm now left with a large pile of 2x6 timber to make a new one from. A nice heavy duty one that will survive having car engines sat on it from time to time.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 15, 2021

Had the floor fall out of my motorhomes gas bottle locker yesterday. Seems it was just made of 1" ply and was stapled (no screws or extra supports at all) into the walls. Looks like it had delaminated, the staples were rusted and the weight of two 9.5kg bottles was too much and it just fell out.
One bottle is MIA (i walked back along the road looking in the ditches and didn't find it) and the other was dragged a little way along the road hanging from its hose creating some lovely sparks. They were both strapped in but when the floor went bye bye they just slipped out.
Seeing as i didn't find the spare bottle on the road side it makes me wonder if the floor partly gave way dropping the first bottle at some point in the past couple of weeks and the rest of the floor finally gave way yesterday dropping the second.
Luckily it was on an empty Welsh country road rather than a busy motorway at rush hour. There might have been rather nasty outcome then.

Its going to be getting rebuilt with some steel supporting structure underneath welded to the vehicles frame and with the base getting bolted in rather than relying on staples.

Grizz1963 · Aug 15, 2021

Quite a few Retro Rides guys on here too.

Nice new place.

And I too have had a few Aircooled VW’s

BoxedWino · Aug 15, 2021

Zebedeewesty said:
Had the floor fall out of my motorhomes gas bottle locker yesterday. Seems it was just made of 1" ply and was stapled (no screws or extra supports at all) into the walls. Looks like it had delaminated, the staples were rusted and the weight of two 9.5kg bottles was too much and it just fell out.....

Wow, I'm glad no one was hurt. It's just inexcusable for something designed specifically to carry heavy dangerous cargo would be engineered so pathetically. Sounds like your solution will be much more appropriate.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 15, 2021

Grizz1963 said:
Quite a few Retro Rides guys on here too.

Nice new place.

And I too have had a few Aircooled VW’s

I'm looking forward to having enough space to actually work around the car instead of having to move it outside if i need to do something else.

BoxedWino said:
Wow, I'm glad no one was hurt. It's just inexcusable for something designed specifically to carry heavy dangerous cargo would be engineered so pathetically. Sounds like your solution will be much more appropriate.

Yeah, its a bit scary how badly built it is in places. Quite a few of the UK built motorhomes have some pretty shoddy build practices. German built vans seem much better designed and produced.

The pile of 2x6 timbers and some 3/4" ply ready to make my new workbench from. Theres also a 10ft long 13" wide butchers block for the top. I'm planning on a 5ft long and 26" wide bench, using the 3/4" ply as a shelf just above floor level. Metal filing cabinet makes a handy tool store.

littlebean · Aug 16, 2021

watching with interest, cool bug as well - seems there's a few vzi people on here

Zebedeewesty · Aug 16, 2021

littlebean said:
watching with interest, cool bug as well - seems there's a few vzi people on here

yeah, its seems this is VZis second home.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 18, 2021

Moved some stuff around in the garage this afternoon. Big bench is now in the back corner out of the way with its tool board screwed to the back wall. Kitchen island will find a new home soon as its too wide to fit the kitchen in the new house. Cut the 10ft butchers block in 1/2 so its now only 5ft long which will make a 5ft x 26" bench top.

BoxedWino · Aug 18, 2021

That kitchen Island looks like with some casters and a vice, it might make a pretty good wood working bench.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 19, 2021

BoxedWino said:
That kitchen Island looks like with some casters and a vice, it might make a pretty good wood working bench.

Its got a granite top and weighs so much two people struggle to move it. Its a too expensive item to turn into a moveable bench.

Miss the Pontiacs · Aug 20, 2021

With what you managed to accomplish in your seacan garage, we will be looking forward to what you can achieve in your humongous space you have now. Good luck to you.
Are you anywhere near I believe the village was Pontfaen?

Zebedeewesty · Aug 21, 2021

Miss the Pontiacs said:
With what you managed to accomplish in your seacan garage, we will be looking forward to what you can achieve in your humongous space you have now. Good luck to you.
Are you anywhere near I believe the village was Pontfaen?

I'm around 15 minutes from there. The Gwaun Valley Brewery there make some pretty decent bitters and ales.

I got the majority of the timber cut for my heavy duty bench yesterday but a pile of timber doesn't make a very exciting picture really so i didn't take one.
I made a start screwing the shelf and top frame together but its gonna be fun fitting the legs as the top frame alone is nearly more than a single person lift. I think its possibly around 25kg as its all 2x6 (or the metric equivelant anyway). Its not gonna be a lightweight bench anyway.
I should really have started by fixing the back edge to the wall and build from there but i thought making it in modular sections then joining them together would be easier.

I decided on a 90cm (35.4") height as it seems a comfortable height for me and just fits under the window sill.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 21, 2021

Screwed together the last bits of my workbench.
It's not pretty but it's made from 2x6 timber (or the metric equivalent) and will easily support my 16 stones so will probably survive an engine sitting on it if needed.
Cost me nothing apart from a box of screws.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 21, 2021

Added a vise and bench grinder plus some electrics.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 25, 2021

Got some stuff nailed to the walls above my workbench. I still need another 12" magnetic strip i think. Vise is now also bolted down with M 10 bolts.

dreinecke · Aug 25, 2021

Awesome garage and VW!

I think you should finish the upstairs and install a Scalextric layout

But that's me...

Zebedeewesty · Aug 26, 2021

dreinecke said:
Awesome garage and VW!

I think you should finish the upstairs and install a Scalextric layout But that's me...

Cheers.

The loft will get done at some point as the PO left a load of insulation up there which will do at least 1/2 the roof. Building materials in the UK are a lot more expensive than in the US though it seems and getting an 8x4ft sheet of plasterboard up the stairs in a no no.

It will possibly end up with a model railway up there as i still have a load of Hornby OO 1:76 scale stuff in my parents loft they've been saying i should move.
I never had scalextric as a kid as i had the smaller (but now rarer) Matchbox Powertrack instead. I've still got it in my parents loft too.

dreinecke · Aug 26, 2021

That Matchbox set is rare!

Glad to hear that you will have a hobby room on top of the hobby garage!

Materials are insanely expensive these days.

good luck with the build - can’t wait to see it!

darkstar88 · Aug 26, 2021

Nice looking garage.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 29, 2021

Some more stuff out of moving boxes and into drawers and onto shelves.

Had a run out to a Cars and Coffee event yesterday morning and someone took a few piccies of my bug.

I love this black and white dashboard picture.

bugnut · Aug 30, 2021

Congrats on the new garage. liking the beetle. Noticed you have the black air dam. I have thought of putting one on a beetle to help with handling does it help? thanks

Zebedeewesty · Aug 30, 2021

bugnut said:
Congrats on the new garage. liking the beetle. Noticed you have the black air dam. I have thought of putting one on a beetle to help with handling does it help? thanks

It seems to help at speed on the motorway and with headwinds it feels a little more stable, which i suppose is due to a decrease in front end lift?. Plus its a proper period tuning part which is nice.
This wind tunnel test results sheet for the 1303 shows the supposed benefits.

Zebedeewesty · Aug 31, 2021

I'm still working on getting my 1988 vw caravelle back on the road.
Just a couple of small welding jobs still to do and one of the rear suspensions trailing arm pivot bolts to replace and it should be good to go again and be pressed back into use as my daily driver.

Zebedeewesty · Sep 3, 2021

Finally managed to get the remains of the old seized 12mm trailing arm pivot bolt removed.
This little ****** fought me every step of the way.

Now i just need to repair a small section of the mount and i can bolt it all back up again with a shiny new 10.9 bolt and nyloc nut.

Zebedeewesty · Sep 3, 2021

Replaced a broken brake pipe clip on my caravelle which entailed splitting the hardline to flexy connection and then gave that corner a bleed. Pedal feels nice again.

Also got the mount welded up and given a coat of red oxide primer. Just a small piece of the lower arch (and a 1/2" hole in the bottm of the rear 1/4) to weld in and i can put it back on the road as my daily.

Grizz1963 · Sep 4, 2021

I felt your pain on that 12mm bolt.

years ago I managed to break an exhaust bolt off (may have been broken already) in a Suzuki 550GS

my cousing with one eye and me with two eyes managed to drill it out, after breaking an E-Z-Out off in it to the point where I pulled the thread out with some tweezers.
Horrible jobs.

Zebedeewesty · Sep 4, 2021

I never even bothered with an EZ out as when they break its usually game over. I broke a tap when i was doing my bugs exhaust studs and spent 2 solid days with a dremel and grinding stone trimming the ****** back out. Luckily the head was on the bench and not still attached to the car.

Nice new replacement. Meet Usain.

Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT My new garage in Wales

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

ALLIANCE MEMBER

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Active member

Active member

Well-known member

ALLIANCE MEMBER

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member