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
