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One Minnesota radio
talk show host often
asks callers about
their “piston count.” That’s the
number you’d get if you added
up all the pistons in your
garage—cars, lawn mowers,
air compressors, motorcycles,
weed trimmers, etc. The higher
your piston count, the higher
your status in the world of
garage aficionados.
Chris and Pat Edgerton had an extraordinarily high piston count — in the high 40s. Prodigious collectors, customizers and riders of motorcycles, they simply didn’t have room for it all. When this husband-and-wife team built a new house, they made sure it had a garage big enough to handle their hobby. In fact, the garage was so large (28 by 40 ft.) that when the house’s foundation was put in, neighbors thought they were building a duplex. Once the 1,100-sq.-ft. garage was complete, the organizing began.
Cool bike, cool lift, cool garage!
All the comforts of home
It’s not unusual for Chris to spend two hours a
night puttering on motorcycles, so comfort was
high on the list. Creating a comfortable garage is a
lot like creating a comfortable home.
FLOORING. The snap-together Kiwi polypropylene floor tiles (see Buyer’s Guide, below) are easy to keep clean, reasonably priced and more comfortable than concrete to stand on for long periods. They’re also chemical resistant, self-draining and durable. Modular construction allows you to create patterns of your own — checkerboard, striped or bordered — and they install quickly. The Edgertons tackled this part of the project themselves and finished it in about four hours. Another advantage of tile is that, unlike paints and coatings, there’s no downtime waiting for it to dry and cure.
HEAT. A ceiling-mounted space heater keeps the garage comfortable year round, without consuming precious floor space. During the coldest part of the winter, Chris partitions off the “collecting” side of the garage from the “day to day” garage with a tarp to help conserve energy.
ELECTRICAL. Outlets were installed every 32 in. to minimize the need for long extension cords, and were put on two different circuits to minimize overloading. A good-size window and ceiling-mounted 4-ft. fluorescent lights provide excellent general lighting; the trouble light, complete with retractable cord reel, helps put task light wherever it’s needed.
STAYING CONNECTED. Chris uses the in-garage computer and Internet access for research and online parts ordering. A telephone stationed in the garage saves trips through the house. The space also contains a wall-mounted television and stereo.
A pneumatic motorcycle lift allows Chris to work on bikes without bending and stooping. “Not a bad thing to have when you’re pushing 60,” explains Chris.
Designed for how they live
An in-garage office, complete with Internet access and
telephone, makes online research, parts ordering and referring
to service manuals convenient.
Maximum convenience
A motorcycle lift
coupled with an
adjacent bank of tool
chests keeps tools
within reach and
bikes at a comfortable
working height.
Out of sight,
yet well within reach
It takes lots of tools, parts and accessories to feed a
hungry hobby. Chris, an admitted neat freak,
opted for all enclosed storage. Sturdy yet economically
priced MDF cabinets create the heart of the
storage area. The extra-deep garage enabled Chris
to install 24-in.-deep cabinets; many standard-size garages, in order to still
fit vehicles, can only
accommodate 12- or 18-
in.-deep cabinets. All
cabinets are either wall
mounted or perched on
legs to prevent moisture
damage and make cleaning
below easy.
A half-height cabinet (photo below) maximizes the use of space in one corner. A compressor and a jack tuck under the cabinet, the heater is mounted over it, the circuit box sits across from it, a ladder hangs from it and all sorts of miscellaneous items reside within it. A long bank of 12-in.-deep cabinets mounted well above “head-banging height” on the side wall provides storage space for items used less often, while taking up little usable space.
It comes as no surprise that Chris, a machinist by trade, likes to keep his tools organized and accessible. A platoon of mobile tool carts and drawer chests keeps everything in order and within easy reach.
Problem solver
A half-height cabinet provides storage space
as well as niches for an air compressor, a heater
and other utilities.
Have a little fun
Harley enthusiasts like Pat and Chris like to
toot their horns a little. A Harley wall clock
roars on the hour while a Harley-inspired ceiling
fan sports a headlight-style light fixture.
The Harley-seat roll-around stool is convenient
for working on the computer and motorcycles
alike. And what garage would be complete
without a colorful motorcycle border
running around the perimeter?
A visit with the Garage Squad
The Garage Squad was responsible
for the cabinets, flooring,
design and accessories in the
Edgerton garage. While most
home centers now offer garage
storage products, a specialty
garage store can offer a wider
array of storage systems, as
well as design assistance, installation
and one-stop shopping.
The Garage Squad, for example,
sells three lines of cabinets —
medium density fiberboard
(MDF), laminate and metal — and
a wide variety of wall storage
systems to meet every budget.
The planning process begins with a “garage evaluation form.” On it, The Garage Squad asks its clients to list the items they want to store and how they’d like them stored: in closed cabinets, on open shelves or mounted on wall racks. Bikes, sporting goods and yard tools are given special consideration. Clients are asked how much work space they want and how many hazardous materials they might need to store.
A site visit is made to accurately measure the space and map out outlets and obstacles. Then, based on the form and the homeowners’ budget, The Garage Squad generates a 3-D blueprint designating “a place for everything, and everything in its place.”
Floor coatings and coverings are a large part of the business. The company offers a wide variety of options, ranging from DIY-friendly snap-together grids to high-tech epoxy coatings. The two-part epoxy coatings are contractor-installed only.
A 3-D COMPUTER PROGRAM
, being used by The Garage
Squad co-owner Barry Edson,
provides clients with a walk-through
view of their proposed
cabinet layout. The
program generates prices
during the design process to
help homeowners stay within
their budget.
PROTECTIVE FLOORING
OR PAINT
is included in well
over half the garage projects.
Product possibilities include
snap-together Kiwi tiles (about
$3.50 per 13 x 13-in. tile),
G-Floor rollout garage flooring
($2.50 to $4 per square foot for
materials) and a variety of doit-
yourself and professionalsonly
epoxy paints and coatings
(under $1 per square foot for
materials only; up to $8 per
square foot for professionally
installed products). See the
Buyer’s Guide, below, for more
information.
WALL STORAGE is included in
many designs; most slot
wall–type hooks, baskets and
other storage racks are interchangeable
from one system to
another. Specialized hangers
include those for wheelbarrows,
in-line skates, golf clubs, fishing
rods, even coats.
AUTO PARTS–INSPIRED
FURNITURE gives you a place to
sit and admire your newly organized
garage. Crafted from wheel
rims, this custom-made furniture
includes tables, swivel chairs and
barbecue grills.
Buyer’s Guide
The following is a sampling
of garage floor protective
coatings and coverings:
DRYLOK CONCRETE FLOOR
PAINT
AND DRYLOK E1
1-PART EPOXY FLOOR PAINT:
UGL, (570) 344-1202.
www.UGL.com
G-FLOOR:
Better Life
Technology, (913) 894-0403.
www.bltllc.com
KIWI INTERLOCKING TILES:
(800) 998-5494.
www.kiwitile.com
QUIKRETE EPOXY
GARAGE FLOOR COATING:
(800) 282-5828.
www.quikretecoatings.
com
RUST-OLEUM
EPOXY SHIELD:
(800) 553-
8444.
www.rustoleum.com
UCOAT IT:
(248) 545-4055.
www.UCoatIt.com
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