Above 1200 Sq/FT Knucklehead 61's 2 car garage with room to store a few antique motorcycles & parts

knucklehead 61 · Feb 19, 2026

northern33 said:
What an awesome build! Looking forward to watching it progress. It is always exciting planning and setting up a new shop. I’ve found that the bigger the shop, the more stuff I put in it. LOL

thanks!
my old shop was just over 7,000 sq ft & packed tight. i'll have some breathing room in this one for a while i hope.

knucklehead 61 · Feb 20, 2026

got a delivery of 180 Maxlite 4' led ready fixtures yesterday. the 360 bulbs should arrive soon.
upper roof is now 100% finished. gutters are being formed & installed now, then downspouts, then the last few lower roof panels & trim will be installed.

runit · Feb 23, 2026

What an awesome build! Following!

Retired at 49 and cross country road trips on 100 year old HDs! Tell us the secrets! Ha!

knucklehead 61 · Feb 24, 2026

runit said:
What an awesome build! Following!

Retired at 49 and cross country road trips on 100 year old HDs! Tell us the secrets! Ha!

no magic here...
no college, so no student loans. went to work in hvac.
good paying job. saved & invested heavily in the stock market.
lived way below my means. drove a work truck, didn't own a personal car a lot of the time.
bought lots of rentals between 2013-2016 when prices were in the toilet.
did a lot of the rehab work myself while working 60 hr weeks at my job.
married the right girl, never had kids, never got divorced.
buy & sell lots of Harley motorcycles & parts for 41 years, turning a profit over 99% of the time.

runit · Feb 24, 2026

awesome!!

yea, that 400% (or whatever) jump in the stock and housing market over the past 15 years has made a lot of people wealthy!

Old Man Roger · Feb 24, 2026

knucklehead 61 said:
No magic here...Just worked my *** off.

Fixed that quote for the sake of brevity.lol

knucklehead 61 · Feb 27, 2026

quick friday update:
roof: DONE
gutters: DONE
downspouts: DONE
insulation: DONE

drywall gets delivered next wednesday, then hopefully hanging starts right after.

driftpin · Feb 27, 2026

Good going on the punch-list. :rocker:

knucklehead 61 · Mar 4, 2026

couple of pics of the elevator it it's approximate location for inspiration.
about 23,000 sq ft of drywall is being delivered right now.
hopefully the hangers start tomorrow.
making steady progress.

larry4406 · Mar 4, 2026

Getting closer!

Love the greenhouse!

knucklehead 61 · Mar 7, 2026

day 2 of hanging drywall.
2 guys yesterday, 4 today.
all ceilings on both floors are done & about 1/3 of the walls are done.
they should be close to finished monday, then it's on to tape & texture.

driftpin · Mar 7, 2026

knucklehead 61 said:
it's on to tape & texture.

Knock-down? Wouldn't a smooth surface be better for not providing a surface which attracts and holds dirt?

knucklehead 61 · Mar 8, 2026

day 3 of drywall installation & the guys have t all hung.
something like 460 sheets.
most are 4'x12' but a hundred or so were 54" x 12', all 5/8"
over 50,000 lbs worth!
over 1/2 of an acre of walls & ceilings!
these guys worked fast.
hopefully the mud crew starts slinging goop on monday.
also, I bought a bunch more shelving friday at a REI moving sale. about 80' of 8' high racking.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 14, 2026

2 days of mud done so far. everything has 2 coats so far. should be back monday for the 3rd coat & more sanding.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 14, 2026

i need to start designing a "door" for the 22' x 25' fabrication room.
it has a 9'w x 8' tall opening. i want to close it off as the main entrance is a set of double doors.
the big door would only be used occasionally to allow a truck or other large item to be rolled inside.
i don't want to use a roll up door.
i am thinking of building a wall that pivots like a gate to close off the opening & keep grinding dust inside the fab room.

any suggestions?

LXCam · Mar 14, 2026

Would a sliding barn door with brush seals work for you?

knucklehead 61 · Mar 14, 2026

LXCam said:
Would a sliding barn door with brush seals work for you?

that would be the easiest way, but would prevent benches or shelves to be placed on a 9' wall next to the opening for clearance.
that's why i'm thinking it should be mounted like a gate.

LXCam · Mar 14, 2026

knucklehead 61 said:
that would be the easiest way, but would prevent benches or shelves to be placed on a 9' wall next to the opening for clearance.
that's why i'm thinking it should be mounted like a gate.

Yup, copy that. Guess it’s too late for an industrial sized pocket door eh?

knucklehead 61 · Mar 14, 2026

another thing i need to figure out quickly is the color to paint the ceiling in the museum.
the room is 21' wide x 99' long.
i am thinking either matt black or grey.
the sheetrock walls will be covered with 1x8 pine boards, floor to ceiling i think.
no work will be done in this room, it is only to display my collection of antique motorcycles & memorabilia.
this pic is my old "museum" room, 22' x 59'. it was too industrial looking.
i'll be using the same glu lam beam shelves & welded chain brackets that i made before in the new room.
no more strip led lights, it will have 3 rows of track lighting instead to spotlight the bikes on display, with additional lights over the raised platform lounge area.

LXCam · Mar 14, 2026

How are you set up for lighting. I know you’ve discussed it before but bud, those details are lost on me every time you show your toys. I end up forgetting all about the construction.

The reason I ask is my preference would be a black matte lid but with two lighting packages. One for daylight and one for accent. Your collection is far too nice not to take advantage of it being a very serious display.

LXCam · Mar 14, 2026

Back to the swing doors. I did go looking for a pivot hinge to recommend and that search sucked using my phone. But if it were me I’d go that route with a metal frame covered in whatever finish material you want. I’m not a fan of that wide of a door hung off a standard mortised hinge unless both the jamb and door are heavy duty metal.

Btw, I build detention facilities for a living. It’s not often but we do large ballistic rated swing doors from time to time in finish area like courtrooms and admin entrance points. That’s why I feel the way I do about a hinge or hinge type assembly.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 15, 2026

LXCam said:
Back to the swing doors. I did go looking for a pivot hinge to recommend and that search sucked using my phone. But if it were me I’d go that route with a metal frame covered in whatever finish material you want. I’m not a fan of that wide of a door hung off a standard mortised hinge unless both the jamb and door are heavy duty metal.

Btw, I build detention facilities for a living. It’s not often but we do large ballistic rated swing doors from time to time in finish area like courtrooms and admin entrance points. That’s why I feel the way I do about a hinge or hinge type assembly.

i figured the wall/door would weight around 500 lbs, so i'll probably build a timken bearing mounted to a plate anchored to the floor & another mounted to the header beam.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 15, 2026

LXCam said:
Back to the swing doors. I did go looking for a pivot hinge to recommend and that search sucked using my phone. But if it were me I’d go that route with a metal frame covered in whatever finish material you want. I’m not a fan of that wide of a door hung off a standard mortised hinge unless both the jamb and door are heavy duty metal.

Btw, I build detention facilities for a living. It’s not often but we do large ballistic rated swing doors from time to time in finish area like courtrooms and admin entrance points. That’s why I feel the way I do about a hinge or hinge type assembly.

the museum room is roughly 22' x 99'. it has 3 lighting wires roughed in the ceiling, one in the center, & one on each side of that.
the thought is a run of lamps about 96' long down the center aisle & a 96' run centered over each row of bikes.

i'm looking into the low voltage cables that mount with turnbuckles along the ceiling that would have clip on lamps. might look more "old timey" for the theme of what i see in my mind for the room.

rust in the eye · Mar 15, 2026

Diggin' on those century old bikes.
BIG bummer that bearings failed so close to completing the trip. "back-up" bike implies less than roughing it but these primative machines gotta be hard on the bod. How many hours or miles are tolerable in a day on them? Cruising speed?

knucklehead 61 · Mar 15, 2026

rust in the eye said:
Diggin' on those century old bikes.
BIG bummer that bearings failed so close to completing the trip. "back-up" bike implies less than roughing it but these primative machines gotta be hard on the bod. How many hours or miles are tolerable in a day on them? Cruising speed?

the longest day was 360 miles, many were 300. i greatly prefer the 250 mile days!
typical speed is around 50 mph, all on back roads.
when the bearings failed i was still about 1300 miles from the finish line.
already signed up for the next one in 2027!

M.Brane · Mar 15, 2026

I kew a guy once who's idea of a ride was one tank of gas. 2 is good for me. 3 or more makes for a long day.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 22, 2026

sunday update:
all taping & sanding is done.
hopefully the spray texture guys show up tomorrow.
i cut most of the holes for the led puck lights in the office, bathroom, sink area, & around the elevator/hallway/stairs area.

still contemplating what lights to use in the museum as well as what to paint the ceiling. probably going with matt black, but could be grey.

andyvh1959 · Mar 22, 2026

You may already know him, Steve, the owner of Doc's Harley in Bonduel WI. He has done some cross country rides on his 20s vintage Harleys.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 22, 2026

andyvh1959 said:
You may already know him, Steve, the owner of Doc's Harley in Bonduel WI. He has done some cross country rides on his 20s vintage Harleys.

yes, i've ridden on 2 cannonballs with him, his daughter, & son in law.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 25, 2026

i want something to stain & seal my new slab.
hopefully something that keeps oil drips from my motorcycles (antique harleys, they all drip...a lot!) from soaking in.
looking for suggestions.

had been planning on epoxy, but with quotes well over 20k i am rethinking it.
a friend just finished his new antique motorcycle garage/shop/display with acid staining, solvent based sealer, & wax & said he's happy with the results & oil puddles are easy to clean up.

i need to figure this out quickly as it will be ready to go in about 2 weeks.

knucklehead 61 · Mar 25, 2026

almost forgot...they did the spray texture yesterday. got the whole shop finished.
masking today, then tomorrow interior painting starts.

Old Man Roger · Mar 25, 2026

Maybe some type of race deck style flooring?

knucklehead 61 · Mar 25, 2026

Old Man Roger said:
Maybe some type of race deck style flooring?

definitely not, that's almost impossible to clean up oil leaks, grinding debris, machining chips, etc.

Krfjkm · Mar 25, 2026

knucklehead 61 said:
i want something to stain & seal my new slab.
hopefully something that keeps oil drips from my motorcycles (antique harleys, they all drip...a lot!) from soaking in.
looking for suggestions.

had been planning on epoxy, but with quotes well over 20k i am rethinking it.
a friend just finished his new antique motorcycle garage/shop/display with acid staining, solvent based sealer, & wax & said he's happy with the results & oil puddles are easy to clean up.

i need to figure this out quickly as it will be ready to go in about 2 weeks.

I did the acid stain and sealant— really like it!

Old Man Roger · Mar 26, 2026

Krfjkm · Mar 26, 2026

Krfjkm said:
I did the acid stain and sealant— really like it!

It took every bit of a weekend but got it done for around $700– I was a tired puppy that Sunday night!

knucklehead 61 · Apr 20, 2026

first circuit finished...83 more to go.

knucklehead 61 · Apr 20, 2026

interior paint finished, less some touch ups.....
black ceiling in the museum room.
white everywhere else, other than green in the bathroom & office.

knucklehead 61 · Apr 20, 2026

first 4' led fixture hung, only 179 more to do...

knucklehead 61 · Apr 20, 2026

lighting & electrical progress!
i have all the lights finished on the second floor, other than wanting to add 2 more led pucks in the bathroom as it is a little too dim.
got all the plugs & switches finished upstairs as well, & started installing plugs & switches on the first floor now.

Above 1200 Sq/FT Knucklehead 61's 2 car garage with room to store a few antique motorcycles & parts

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