This garage had seen better days.
This garage was built in the 1940s for a smaller generation of cars. It was tilting to one side badly. The interior was covered in cobwebs and mud tunnels from past termite damage. The studs and bottom plate were rotted from standing in water. The concrete slab did not have cracks, but it was sinking under the building’s weight. Every time it rained the water would gush in from the alley covering the cement floor with a slimy layer of grime.
For years my wife Mary Ann and I had been hoping a tree limb would fall on it so we could get a little insurance money for it.
Mary Ann quipped, “You just wait. Once we get this garage fixed up, a limb will fall on it.” I could not disagree with this foreboding comment, but I didn’t believe it would happen. The garage had withstood 80 years without such a mishap, so the odds were against it happening any time soon.
From Idea to Reality
The idea of using our rickety garage as a bicycle workshop had been percolating for years. However, the task of fixing up the old garage seemed daunting. Not only was it old, leaning, and full of spiders, but it also would need significant structural repair to make it a decent year-round workspace. If the garage was to be renewed, the flooding every time it rained also would have to be fixed.
I felt certain Mary Ann would think turning the garage into a bicycle workshop was a zany idea.
Still, I pleaded my case., “My bicycle repair tools are scattered over every corner of the basement. Why don’t we turn our useless garage into a bicycle workshop.”
She knew this was true. The wheel truing stand was in one corner. Bicycles hung from the ceiling in the opposite corner. The bicycle repair stand--a trusty 30-year-old Park Tool (PRS 3) relic (that still works fantastically) --was surrounded on all sides by bikes, pegboard and shelves. I could barely walk around bikes without knocking my head.
We also are in our 70s and the passage of years had made it difficult to get bicycles up and down the basement stairs. We hired a contractor named Pete Ganginis to replace the old stairs to make them easier to navigate. He measured them and found that they were both steep and uneven. Pete agreed with us that the stairs were an accident waiting to happen.
Pete Ganginis is an excellent contractor who has worked for us for years. He had done almost every major house remodeling project for us. This included constructing a major family room addition, renewing our master bathroom, and adding a deck with a roof.
After replacing the stairs, Pete designed an ingenious two-stage ramp for getting the bikes up and down them. This got the job done. However, it still required two people to perform an awkward dance getting the bikes into the basement. Also, keeping the workshop in the basement meant it would still be cluttered with bicycles, tools, and spare parts.
Mary Ann said, “Why don’t we give Pete a call to see if making over the garage is even feasible. He may take one look at it and say, are you kidding me?”
We contacted Pete to get his assessment of whether the idea of transforming our derelict garage was a pipe dream. We were prepared for him to tell us that it was a crazy idea.
Pete’s wife Joanne contacted us. To our surprise, she said, “Making over a garage is a high-value project. Pete does these projects all the time. People often set up garages as a work-from-home office space. For the investment to pay off, it must be done right.”
Tearing down the old garage was also an option. The next time we saw Pete we asked him about renewing the old garage versus tearing it down and rebuilding.
Pete said, “I can do either one, but I recommend updating the old garage. I like restoring old garages because they reflect the character of the neighborhood. I have done a lot of these, and restoring the garage will look better than you think.”
That was music to our ears. We decided to move forward and never looked back.
The Garage Renewal
Once we had removed the wood, lawnmower, and tools from the garage, Pete was ready to start. Pete first reinforced all the clapped-out exposed studs with 2 by 6 framing. This permitted the use of R20 insulation in the walls. He also installed a new ridge beam. Then the old roof cross members were removed, and he elevated the ceiling. An old window was transformed into an opening for a new garage door.
After reinforcing the entire structure, he took on the risky task of raising and leveling the entire garage. With straps and 2 by 4s holding the garage frame intact, he used bottle jacks to raise the whole garage.
As Pete was raising the whole structure, I poked my head in the garage and said, “Pete, that looks dangerous.”
He replied, “It is dangerous!”
The garage was levitating 8 inches over the ground as if being held aloft by some magical force.
The concrete truck rolled in loudly with a vroom-vroom. Gravel and cement were sloshing and clanging on the side of a rotating concrete mixer barrel, a rhythmic, scratchy sound. The truck backed up to the garage and began to pour the concrete.
Pete had already prepared the floor for the new concrete. He had put in reinforcement bars and 6 new posts to provide firm support for the new concrete floor. After a while, the concrete mixer truck took off with a puff of blue smoke and disappeared from sight.
Pete’s crew had been ready and waiting. They quickly spread the concrete before it set up. Standing in the wet concrete in rubber boots, they began raking, smoothing, and finishing the work.
Once finished, they put up tape so we would not foolishly walk on the concrete before it was set. It was finished on a Friday and because of a holiday, it had 3 days to cure. It would take 30 days for it to fully cure, but the surface was hard and walkable after 3 days. The floor was 8 inches thick and went right to the bottom floor plates of the jacked-up house.
On Tuesday, the strapping holding the garage upright was removed. Pete very carefully lowered the whole structure and bolted the building to the new concrete floor. The garage was now standing tall, level, and proud. We were astonished it didn’t fall over in a heap.
The potential bicycle workshop began to shine through the exposed studs and concrete floor. The electrician used a trench dug by Pete’s crew to extend an electricity line to the old garage. He put in lines, light boxes, receptacles, and an outdoor light. He also installed a 220-volt line to the location of the future mini-split system which would heat and cool the garage.
After this, the HVAC team came and installed the mini-split heat pump to both cool and heat the space to a comfortable temperature. They put the line set for the mini-split system inside the framing so that it would not show in the finished interior. They would have to return to install the actual unit after the finishing of the walls.
Now the garage was ready for the finishing touches. Drywall was installed. Windows were put in place. The exterior was meticulously sanded removing 25 years of old paint residue. Then along with the interior, it was painted a greyish white. The old roof was replaced with new shingles.
In keeping the neighborhood alley, the garage door was fixed in place on the alley side of the garage to make it look like it could be opened. This of course was not true because Pete built a framed wall behind the old garage door so it could be insulated. For entry, a new door was installed in place of the old window. A laminate oak floor was laid as a finishing touch.
Like a phoenix, the old garage arose from the ashes of its old self and looks beautiful.
The Bicycle Workshop
My existing bicycle workshop is spread throughout the basement. To put it mildly, this drove Mary Ann crazy. However, she also rides a bike and benefits from both major and minor repairs.
Mary Ann puts up with--but does not like--having a wheel truing stand in one corner, a tire changing station on the dryer, a repair stand in another corner, and bikes hanging from the ceiling. A 1966 Raleigh Sport and Mary Ann’s old road bike--which I am turning into an urban bike--are awaiting repair on the floor. She is ready for the bikes and associated repair paraphernalia to be moved out of the basement.
The first thing to be done in the new bicycle garage is to assemble a 6-foot-wide Husky workbench. It will be placed below the new windows. Sitting on the floor, Mary Ann and I fasten over 40 screws and bolts. I am impressed with the quality of the workbench, which is heavy and sturdy.
Now, the finishing touch is to put two long drawers into the workbench for easy access to bicycle tools. On the first attempt, we slid the door into place. It was very easy. Then we tried to push in the drawer and it would not close. We took the drawer out several times and tried again with the same result.
I studied the design of the rails that hold the drawer in place. I saw the key was to not only thread the drawer into the end of the rails but also through the ball-bearing race that was inside the rails. I did this carefully hoping for the best. Viola! It worked like a charm. After much sweating and cursing, the drawer was in place. What was supposed to be a simple task took 2 hours to complete.
The next job was to move my 25-year-old Park Tool bicycle stand (PRS-3) into the garage. For this job, I recruited our neighbor Tom who was gracious enough to help out with the heavy lifting. This stand has an 80-pound steel plate on the bottom, and it was impossible to move it up the steep basement stairs in one piece. I had the idea of making it simpler by detaching the plate from the vertical stand.
I said to Tom, “It should be easy. It’s just 4 bolts.”
Tom replied, “I should be able to carry it up the steps once the top is removed.”
The lesson I have learned over the years is that easy jobs often turn out to be the hardest ones. The job started well. The stand was removed from the basement. It was a piece of cake to move both the upper stand and lower plate to a proper position in the garage.
Wrestling the steel plate and the upper part of the stand, I was surprised that the screw holes in the upper stand would not align with the holes in the heavy plate. I had just removed them, so I knew they had to fit. After over an hour of awkwardly propping up both the stand and the plate (#130 Repair Stand Base), we were just about ready to give up.
I said to Tom, “I don’t know what is going wrong. Let’s call it a day and come back tomorrow for a fresh start.
Mary Ann impatiently looked at both of us. She wanted to get this job done today.
She said, “Why don’t you just remove the top part of the stand. It will make it easier to line up the bottom with the steel plate.”
“Okay. Let’s give it one last try today.”
We took off the top part of the stand and we finally were able to line up the holes. I discovered that what I thought was a square bracket on the bottom of the vertical stand actually was slightly rectangular. I turned the upper part of the stand 90 degrees and bolted the steel plate to the lower stand. We then reattached the upper stand and called it a day. After two hours of exasperation, the “easy job” was completed!
The next day we tested out a Topeak Swing Up EX bicycle holder for hanging bicycles on the wall. It worked perfectly. The bicycles easily can be swung side-to-side freeing up space in the garage. It also looks quite nice and gives the garage a bicycle vibe. The price for Topeak is a bit high compared to other brands on the market. I haven't tried them, so all I can say is the Topeak works extremely well.
My next job is to sort out my extensive collection of tools. I will leave some in the basement and place others in the new bicycle repair garage. These will be hung on the pegboard above the workbench and to the side of the bicycle repair stand. I have not started repairing bicycles in the garage yet, but that will come with time.
We were totally amazed that Pete could transform a clapped-out, spider-filled garage into a beautiful, livable workspace. There is still much to be done, but we are happy with the outcome.
Afterword
Mary Ann came upstairs to my office and said, “You aren’t going to believe this. A couple of tree limbs are in our backyard and they appear to have fallen on our new garage.”
Mary Ann’s foreboding thoughts had come true. A quick thunderstorm dropped not one, but two large limbs on the roof of the garage just 3 weeks after the makeover was finished. The new framing had stiffened the structure and limbs slid off the roof harmlessly. The only damage I could see was a bent gutter. The prophecy of Mary Ann had come true. Two tree limbs had fallen on the renewed garage.
I will be posting another blog on setting up the space with both pegboard and tools.
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