Are you nesting while you wait like I am?

[chiplee]

So I'm starting to feel like an expectant mother creating her perfect nursery for her first born and I'm wondering if I'm the only one. I've been knee deep in hydrochloric acid for a week trying to get a decent etch on my garage floor so I can execute step one of my M3 inspired garage makeover; epoxy coat the floor. I emptied the entire garage into storage to get it done, and I just keep running into snags. We have a large two car with a work shop area on the side. Dimensions are 22x30' for around 650sq/ft. After the epoxy cures, I'm building an enclosure around the water heater and furnace, adding baseboard trim, repainting the walls and ceiling gray, installing recessed LED lighting and a stainless steel deep sink, and installing 12 pieces of Ulti-Mate Garage Pro cabinets and drawer units with a 12' bamboo work surface.

Here's what I'm starting with.


And here's the general "inspiration" pic.


Here's my garage plan, which is accurate to about a 10th of an inch.


More general pics.

Shooting for a finish something like this on the floor.


The mats under the cars will be Gladiator Garageworks tiles like this.


The "work shop" area


View opposite direction


And since we're putting one of each of these in there, I bought the requisite garage clock as the first decoration over the workbench.

[Wah]

Just wondering... if you are putting down epoxy already, why use mats? Won't they slide around if you don't go wall-to-wall?

Good luck... its gonna look sweet. Wish I had the motivation to do something like this.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by Wah

Just wondering... if you are putting down epoxy already, why use mats? Won't they slide around if you don't go wall-to-wall?

Good luck... its gonna look sweet. Wish I had the motivation to do something like this.

Thanks. I don't recommend doing your own epoxy floor unless you have weeks off work. I'm on terminal leave from the military so I can fit it in. Ultimately, I don't think I saved much money at all from the DIY after everything I ended up buying to be sure it would adhere.

I want to use mats to have a guarantee that I won't ever get hot tire pick up on the epoxy. It's routinely over 100 degrees here so I suspect the M3 tires will get good and warm on most drives. The only way to ensure you never get hot tire pick up is to park outside your garage for 15 or 20 minutes before you pull in. Not about to do that every day. I'm doing two coats of epoxy, two coats of epoxy clear and two coats of polyurethane clear, so it's probably not necessary, but I'm just going to use them to be sure. I also think they'll look very nice.

No they do not slide around, but that's a pretty common question. I was able to find quite a bit of discussion about whether they would move or not and they don't budge, especially with Shark Grip in the top layer of clear. The assembled mats will be 7x15 feet.

[rideontwo]

Inspiring to get the Desmo as well?

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by rideontwo

Inspiring to get the Desmo as well?

I doubt it. I rode sport bikes for years with most time spent on a GSX-R 1100. I've outgrown that I think, but a cruiser might be in our future.

[secretariat]

Have a professional paint a big ///M on the floor instead of the mats. That's what I'm doing.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by secretariat

Have a professional paint a big ///M on the floor instead of the mats. That's what I'm doing.

I thought about that. There are even emblems you can just place on the floor before applying the clear topcoat, but I think I'll keep it neutral on the permanent stuff and get an ///M banner/flag for the wall or something.

[DrtyJrze]

Lol @ the nesting part, but that's going to be a nice garage. When is your "baby" due to come home?

[DocWeatherington]

The real question, what did you name your baby?

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by DrtyJrze

Lol @ the nesting part, but that's going to be a nice garage. When is your "baby" due to come home?

Thanks, and I wish I knew. I ordered through military sales back in April and don't even have a confirmed production date yet. My wife's X5 was ordered last Friday and went into production this week. It's scheduled to complete on the 30th and should be here a week or so later. We weren't really expecting to buy both at the same time, but my wife's E70 X5 was approved for a repurchase by BMWNA, so we had a little extra cash to play with.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by DocWeatherington

The real question, what did you name your baby?

Ha! There's time to decide on a name, but it will obviously have to be something sexy and German. Katarina comes to mind so that I can be reminded of (a young) Katarina Witt every time I drive it.

[phidailo]

It's going to be a nice looking garage!

I have an epoxy floor but did not do the tiles in addition. I had planned on it but then decided that I was okay with just the epoxy. Fyi - Look into racedeck for tiles. When I was doing my research the gladiator tiles did not receive great reviews.

Originally Posted by chiplee

The mats under the cars will be Gladiator Garageworks tiles like this.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by phidailo

It's going to be a nice looking garage!

I have an epoxy floor but did not do the tiles in addition. I had planned on it but then decided that I was okay with just the epoxy. Fyi - Look into racedeck for tiles. When I was doing my research the gladiator tiles did not receive great reviews.

Thanks, will do. That's the only thing I haven't already purchased. Are there edge finishers for the racedeck stuff, too?

[Doctor///M]

Wow, that's a lot of prep going on there in what will be a fantastic garage!

I did a 3-step epoxy finish on my floor less than a year ago with the color/flake base and two coats of the gloss epoxy. I did each coat over three consecutive nights, so 48 hours for prep and then another 48 hours to cure. I used Rust-oleum products from Home Depot, which was affordable and finished with high quality. The clear coat kits come with crystals to make the surface glossy, yet non-slippery even when wet.

If one thing, dirt/tire marks washes off very easily from the epoxy, which may not be the case with white mat tiles. Either way you can't go wrong. Congrats!

[mikeyr0x]

Damn I miss my garage.
Stupid condo living.

Nice nesting chiplee.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by notan///m

Wow, that's a lot of prep going on there in what will be a fantastic garage!

I did a 3-step epoxy finish on my floor less than a year ago with the color/flake base and two coats of the gloss epoxy. I did each coat over three consecutive nights, so 48 hours for prep and then another 48 hours to cure. I used Rust-oleum products from Home Depot, which was affordable and finished with high quality. The clear coat kits come with crystals to make the surface glossy, yet non-slippery even when wet.

If one thing, dirt/tire marks washes off very easily from the epoxy, which may not be the case with white mat tiles. Either way you can't go wrong. Congrats!

I'm using Rustoleum products as well, but I went with the Professional grade stuff you have to order. It's high solids and solvent based so it's supposed to be more durable than the water based stuff they keep in the store. We'll see.

[DocWeatherington]

Originally Posted by chiplee

Ha! There's time to decide on a name, but it will obviously have to be something sexy and German. Katarina comes to mind so that I can be reminded of (a young) Katarina Witt every time I drive it.

Lol, just wait your spouse will be like.. You spend too much time with Katarina, your always gone. You talk to her more than me and you listen to everything she says without hesitation. You treat her more than me. You wash her, you massage her , make sure her needs are always meet and whisper softly in her ear every time you see her. You even take the dog.

An you will just look at your spouse and be like, what did you say I wasn't listening. Mumbling yeah i will go to the store an pick that up right now as you call for your dog.

[SOM3]

Wow, super cool. This will be a bad ass garage.

[fun2drv]

I have been waiting since last October after putting my name on the list and selling my E46 M3. This is what I did.

[Wah]

If you are considering Racedeck, join the garage journal forums... they give a discount to forum members. Its also a pretty good resource for this stuff.

[BD SM3RF]

YES! I am doing the exact same thing and since I plan on doing ED next July my delivery date is way out there and I am afraid I am going to go over board on the "nest" Plans:

1. Epoxy floor
2. Large ///M logo painted on the wall
3. Wall cabinet for detailing supplies
4. Wall mounted CR Spotless filtration system for car washes
5. Mounted overhead retractable compresses air and extension cords

I post up my own progress soon.

[chiplee]

Originally Posted by DocWeatherington

Lol, just wait your spouse will be like.. You spend too much time with Katarina, your always gone. You talk to her more than me and you listen to everything she says without hesitation. You treat her more than me. You wash her, you massage her , make sure her needs are always meet and whisper softly in her ear every time you see her. You even take the dog.

An you will just look at your spouse and be like, what did you say I wasn't listening. Mumbling yeah i will go to the store an pick that up right now as you call for your dog.

Haha, don't have a dog anymore, but you're probably exactly right on the rest, at least for a little while, maybe 4 or 5 years.

Originally Posted by SOM3

Wow, super cool. This will be a bad ass garage.

Thanks. I'm really looking forward to it. We've just moved back to my wife's home town as well so there should be plenty of time where she's at her mother's house and I can tinker.

Originally Posted by fun2drv

I have been waiting since last October after putting my name on the list and selling my E46 M3. This is what I did.

Looks great. Is that Gladiator stuff, too?

Originally Posted by Wah

If you are considering Racedeck, join the garage journal forums... they give a discount to forum members. Its also a pretty good resource for this stuff.

I've been living on that forum for weeks. Good stuff, but some of it is just vendors pumping misinformation to scare people out of DIY projects if you ask me.

Originally Posted by ecleland

YES! I am doing the exact same thing and since I plan on doing ED next July my delivery date is way out there and I am afraid I am going to go over board on the "nest" Plans:

1. Epoxy floor
2. Large ///M logo painted on the wall
3. Wall cabinet for detailing supplies
4. Wall mounted CR Spotless filtration system for car washes
5. Mounted overhead retractable compresses air and extension cords

I post up my own progress soon.

Can't wait to see it. Glad to hear I'm not the only one going a little overboard.