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New garage going up - things to remember before the builders start?


FridgeFreezer

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I put down lighters all around the outside of my house. They only have 5w led lamps in but give plenty of light for walking around without falling over stuff

Somewhat O/T but am sure am not the only one thinking it: Are these special downlighters (with an IP rating?) or are they just normal kitchen units? If so, do you have linky...

Matt

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You know this thread is useless without pics ;)

Don't worry, I've got LOADS! Only issue is the camera is in a pile of tools in the lounge, the PC is in the shed, and every spare moment of the last month or so has seemingly been spent chasing tradesmen, painting things, ordering things, painting things, visiting DIY shops, painting things, going to builders merchants, and painting things... I'm quite bored of painting now :angry:

Last hurdle is garage door, you can have any colour you like as long as it's white :rolleyes:

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Can't you just use household exterior gloss paint to paint it?

What kind of door did you go for in the end?

Due to height it's got to be a sectional one as they only need ~100mm headroom (also, they're insulated :wub: ), slapping gloss all over it would be a right horror as it's powder-coated galv at the factory and has seals between the sections, also I'm very fed up with painting things already (kitchen has been extended at the same time as the garage).

There's basically 3 manufacturers of sectional doors: Hormann, Carteck, Novoferm. All are made in Germany, all cost about the same and are much of a muchness. Suppliers/installers seem to favour Hormann which could be quality (they say it is) or just they make more money on them. We'll see what arrives, currently waiting to see if anyone can promise to deliver a door in not-white in less than 6 weeks :rolleyes:

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Somewhat O/T but am sure am not the only one thinking it: Are these special downlighters (with an IP rating?) or are they just normal kitchen units? If so, do you have linky...

Matt

Perhaps calling them down lighters is misleading. They are outside light fittings that shine down. I find them much better than the traditional bulkhead lights I have on the shed which shine at you and blind you but don't stop you falling over stuff on the floor. They have 5w screw in led lamps but will take up to 40w I think?

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Fridge,

Recently fitted a sectional Hormann to my garage. I've got a non insulated, but even so it forms a perfect seal and keeps the garage so much warmer/ drier.

I did also fit a "storm seal", a glorified bit of rubber that sits on the floor where it closes. It dramatically reduces the amount of crud that gets dragged in.

One thing to look out for on some models... although the door sits higher, the spring tension mechanism (towards the middle of the garage) sits lower than the door. It means i have to park the Light weight front in.

Saying that, my father in-laws double width Hormann has the springs by the door and doesn't have that issue.

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OK, next question, what width door do you need?

You can get really cheap 10ft wide roller shutter electric doors on ebay cos everyone just wants the 7ft ones for their useless garages. A mate picked one up for ~£180

You could afford to gold-leaf it if it was that cheap :P

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I had a few new, quality brand, electric roller doors in odd sizes and colours once and struggled to get £150 - £200 for each. Obviously this isn't much help now that you've built your opening but remember if you find a door wider than the opening they can fit behind the opening providing your garage is wide enough.

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Can't do roller as there's only ~200mm from bottom of lintel to bottom of joists. Will look around but time is something of a premium and we have budgeted / butchered the piggy bank for the project so a nice new one properly fitted is the preferred route. Do it once and all that...

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They're very easy to fit especially if its a new square, straight and flat opening. They often come pre-set in the frame and you just fasten them to the flat surface and remove the transport fixings. I'm out of touch but you'll probably be looking at £700 for just the door?

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Aye, for sectional insulated in a nice colour with electric opener it's around 1500 delivered, bearing in mind it's 8'6 wide and 9' high. Floor has a slight drop but so does the pavement... Sure it can be overcome, and £1000 buys a lot of trying in my book!

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By trying do you mean beer and plasters :D

The best things I've ever used are the little plastic packers. They come in a pack of different thicknesses, you wedge them between the frame and the wall / floor to get it all in place then put your screws through them. That way you don't distort the frame when your tightening it up.

The pump up air bags make fitting easier too as they hold things in place whilst you measure and check for level etc.

It's always easier to fit behind the aperture than within but I guess it depends on your specific setup.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally uploaded some photies...

Starting point - reasonably sized single garage (~6m long, ~3.4m wide, ~3.5m tall at pointy bit):

before_with_trees.jpg

Get rid of the foliage (34 bl**dy leylandiiiiiii)

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Better, but we now have the choice of "unsecure back garden" or "don't use the driveway" :glare:

And despite the pointy bit being ~3.5m high, the door is standard (6ft?) which is unfortunate...

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Nope, not gonna fit...

Then some idiot did this:

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Not a hope!

Now, I won't go into the nitty gritty of planning permission but the short version is we had to get it, and if you're planning on building something permanent (brick) you really probably should too as it's not as easily taken down as a wood/steel/prefab shed.

So, about 6 months later (much faffing, planning being waaay pickier over the plans than they said they'd be when I visited the council offices) plus remortgaging a kidney and finding a builder who actually answers phone calls & turns up & quotes vaguely sensible prices plus oh yeah a kitchen extension at the same time...

EVENTUALLY work started:

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Old driveway broken up, foundations dug.

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DPM down, concrete poured & smoothed (mmm, feel the smoothness), stainless sleeve for security bollard set in (thanks to Nige for TIGing it up) waiting to be trimmed to floor height.

...But before you pour concrete, remember to run some ducting for power!

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Old badly repaired (silicone sealant on roof tiles, really!) roof gets dismantled.

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End built up to new height, top will be lopped off.

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Must do something about the workshop heating, it's a bit draughty!

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Old door left in-situ for security until new sectional door arrives, I postponed ordering that until they have the lintel up & we can take definite measurements.

That'll do for tonight's update, more later!

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You weren't tempted to have the new bit wider then ? And pinch a bit more of the garden ...?

Well, I was of course tempted to concrete the whole garden but one must consider neighbours etc. :rolleyes: there were a number of schemes that could've been "better" / bigger / cheaper but having to get it past planning & not offend the locals meant keeping things neat & sensible. If you put up a tin shed etc. and someone kicks off you can take it down / modify it, with brick built you don't have that get-out.

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You do, it's just more painful!

I hate planning. When I moved into my house I put in planning to move the garden wall and all the neighbours wrote a letter of objection. It was years before they spoke to me. One retired guy used to come talk to me and his wife used to come out and heard him back in :hysterical:

Keep going fridge, nearly there :)

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View from the other side:

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Fascias vented to allow for insulating the roof:

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Roof on:

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View from inside again - front bumper of Ambulance will poke between the old door pillars (which may get cut back later):

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Luxury addition - floor screed! As the old half was quite bumpy & will be the place workbench & pallet rack & tools stand, I thought it was worth a few quid to get it level and smooth while the garage is empty. First, prime floor with Lidl plant sprayer, 4L water + 1L "SBR" (from the builders merchants) and leave to dry for some days:

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Then grab the plasterer and 4 bags of heavy duty screed, he was done in a couple of hours and made a far better/neater/smoother job than I could hope to achieve:

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Mmmmm, smooooth!

That's it for now, some epoxy floor paint turned up today so that'll be the next job. Gotta do it now as it's the only time the place won't be full of stuff! :ph34r:

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