Leuke garages

[Dennis Cavallino]

http://www.forbes.com/2004/04/30/cx_bs_ ... print.html

Home Improvement
Building The Ultimate Garage

Ken Zehoski, a draftsman in Minneapolis, knew he was dealing with an obsessive car enthusiast when his client spent $125,000 just for the custom-built light fixtures in his garage--not to mention he had a sprinkler system installed in the garage, while the rest of his home went without one.

"No matter what, he didn't want to lose his cars," says Zehoski.

The client's collection was mostly of classic cars, as well as a few Lamborghinis. Although he was fairly young (in his forties) and hadn't retired yet, he had strong opinions about what he wanted in his garage, in anticipation of spending a lot of time there.

"He almost wanted it to be nicer than his house," Zehoski says. "He planned to spend a lot of time in there--he was a hunter, and he raced cars and he flew planes, and he spent a lot of time with his machines."

In many homes, the garage hasn't always been a place where one aspires to "spend time"--its purpose solely intended for the parking of automobiles, the storage of junk and the recreation of teenage boys. In recent years, however, it has become a trophy room for wealthy car enthusiasts.

It can be a costly renovation, though, and it's not just for suburbanites with sprawling properties. Comedian and car aficionado Jerry Seinfeld, whom Forbes estimated took in $267 million in 1999, has built a showroom-like garage for his collection of cars near his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Seinfeld reportedly acquired the two-story property in 1999 for $880,000 and has since renovated the building for an estimated additional $500,000. The garage isn't your typical two-car space, though. It is an entire two-story building, with an 844-square-foot office, an elevator, kitchenette, deck, and a bathroom with a shower.

Steve D'Gerolamo, a garage consultant and founder of Ultimate Garage in Emerson, N.J., says interest in high-end garages has picked up dramatically over the last four years. D'Gerolamo, who had always been a car enthusiast spent 20 years working for IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ), before he decided to renovate his own garage.

[img:420:186]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7509 ... 72dca7.jpg[/img]
Steve D'Gerolamo's unremarkable garage before renovation.

After posting photos of his garage on the Internet, he began to receive questions and notes from others interested in building similar garages. After a while, he decided to use his knowledge to start a business, and he now works as a garage consultant on about four projects a year, in a variety of areas ranging from Mercer Island (in Seattle) to Atherton (in Northern California). The jobs could range in cost between several hundred thousand dollars to several million. (Buzz among enthusiasts is that there's a garage being built in Greenwich, Conn. that might cost as much as $20 million.)

Depending upon the owners' interest, the garage can be as simple or extravagant as he or she wishes. Some garages have indoor car washes or extensive space which can be used for entertaining. The prices of features in a garage vary wildly, too. A quality tile floor, for example, might cost between $16 to $30 per square-foot. In a garage that's 2,000-square-feet, that will cost tens of thousands of dollars. An epoxy cement coating, however, may only cost a couple dollars per square foot.

"I've seen a lot of garages that have impeccable work, so the garage feels more like an art gallery or a museum than a garage," says Phil Berg, a Detroit-based writer and author of Ultimate Garages (published by Motorbooks International in 2003). "The thing is, these guys don't just park their cars there--they drive them, and they drive them hard, they work on them, and they're not afraid to take them out."

[img:420:252]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4732 ... 663vi1.jpg[/img]
The same garage appears unrecognizable after.

Because the needs of such owners are complex, designing a garage to last the ages is not simple. Car collectors will need a space with as little humidity and ultra-violet rays as possible. We spoke with experts about what features one should consider when designing their dream garage (which we suggested could be between 1,000 square-feet to 2,000 square-feet), in case you want to build your own ultimate garage.

LIGHTING

Estimated Price: $1,000 to $35,000

Cool lighting with high output is ideal--which is why many garages use florescent lights. "You want to find lighting that offers the best bang for the buck--where you can get the most light while using the least amount of energy," D'Gerolamo says. He also suggests garage planners look at the Color Rendition Index (CRI) of the lights--the higher the number (on a scale of 0 to 100), the more true the colors in your garage will appear. "If you have a blue or silver car, you want it to look blue or silver. You don't want the color to get distorted with orange hues."

FLOOR

Estimated price: $2.50 to $30 per square-foot

Cement floors with Epoxy treatments (in dark colors) are suggested for garages since cars leak oil. Some garage owners go to extreme measures to maintain their floors, however. Phil Berg says one of the garages he looked at was built on a slant so that the owner could push cars out and start them after they're outside. For garage owners who would like to have space in their garage to entertain, tiles may be preferable, but they're also more expensive. Heavy tile could cost between $16 and $30 per square-foot--and for a garage that is 1,000 square-feet and up, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Style-wise, D'Gerolamo advises car collectors to avoid the checkerboard floor (which is very popular with NASCAR fans at the moment). "If it's too cute or trendy, you won't like it for long. Also, when black tiles get dirty, they look terrible."

HEAT

Estimated Price: $50,000 (including both heat and air conditioning system)

Radiant heat is all the rage in new homes, and it's the preferred heating choice in garages, too, according to the architects we spoke with. It's an efficient heating system, but an entire heating, air-conditioning and dehumidifying system could run up to $50,000. "Radiant heat in floors are optimal, but it's the most expensive, too. You've got to do it with new floors," D'Gerolamo says

AIR

Estimated Price: $150 to $6,000

An Air Purifying Dehumidifier (APD) is critical in a garage in order to maintain cars, and it's a fairly small investment to make. "It can be a standalone system, or you could get a sophisticated system with digital controls which would allow you to dial in any humidity level you want," D'Gerolamo says.

WINDOWS

Estimated Price: $1,200 to $1,500 for a motorized skylight

Car collectors wouldn't leave their prized cars baking in the sun for days at a time. Nor do they allow unwanted ultraviolet rays into their garage. Some collectors opt to build garages without any windows at all, but D'Gerolamo suggests an alternative could also be to install motorized skylights that can open and close with the click of a button.

LIFTS

Estimated price: Between $2,500 and $4,500

For garage owners with a low ceiling, D'Gerolamo recommends a mid-rise scissor lift which will get the car three feet off the ground. A two-post lift--good for garages with a 12 foot ceiling--could cost between $2,500 to $3,000, but other lifts could run up to $4,500. Depending upon your space requirements, D'Gerolamo also says some car collectors prefer in-ground lifts which are flush-mounted with the floor, and with the push of a button, come up from underneath.

PLUMBING

Estimated price: $1,500 to $5,000 (a drain could cost an additional $3,000 to $5,000)

A basic cold water feed to a garage may not cost much (roughly a couple thousand dollars) but installing drains is not a simple procedure. It requires more than digging a hole--a garage drain will likely require separators to filter out the oil and grease, which could cost an additional $5,000. A plumbing system could include hot and cold water as well as steam capacity and a pressure washer--although pressure washers may be harmful on your cars. "A lot of guys don't use pressure washers since they could strip the paint off a vehicle," says D'Gerolamo.

SECURITY

Estimated price: $1,500 to $100,000+

The experts we talked to were reluctant to share the details of their clients' security systems, but a quality car collection should be protected with a quality security system. A basic system out of a box--much like those used in homes--may only cost a couple thousand dollars, but sophisticated high-end systems--with video monitoring and motion sensors, could cost a more than a hundred thousand dollars.

ENTERTAINMENT

Estimated price: $2,000 and up

"I didn't realize how much time these people spent in their garages. It's not just a place where they leave their cars--it's almost a spiritual thing for some of these guys," Phil Berg says of the car enthusiasts whose garages he toured for his book. With that being said, it's not surprising that many of the garages that Berg saw doubled as a place to entertain. Some had wet bars as well as high-end sound systems and mini entertainment centers. A quality sound system installed in a garage may only cost several thousand dollars, but as D'Gerolamo points out, the sky is the limit. "If a guy can spend $50,000 for an entertainment system in his car, imagine what he can spend on the entertainment system in his garage."

[Wim te Riet]

Goed he? Die site is gewoon één grote verlanglijst!

[Elmar]

Jeetje Maik, heb je zoveel gereedschap nodig om die Speedster aan de gang te houden.


Makkelijke brug, is ie toch nog wel zo hoog dat je die blokken er naast moet hebben (of is die Speedster zo laag)?

[Dennis Cavallino]

My Garage, With Jay Leno
Ken Gross

Jay Leno, popular host of The Tonight Show, may be one of America's funniest comedians, but he is also a serious car enthusiast. His three garages near Burbank are packed with sports and special-interest cars, antiques and classics, old motorcycles, oil company signs and "automobilia." He hasn't counted everything up recently, but he owns more than 50 cars and about as many vintage and modern bikes.

[img:377:250]http://www.forbes.com/images/2000/12/18 ... 77x250.jpg[/img]
One of the stranger options on the 1956 Chrysler Imperial was a below-dash record player. Leno's Imperial--of course--is equipped with an original one.

When you walk in, you don't know whether to dive for the bright yellow 1913 Mercer Raceabout, complete with monocle windshield, or ogle his five stunning Duesenberg Js, parked together in a row. Further on, there's a rare 1915 shovel-nosed Franklin with a California-built body by Earl (as in Harley Earl and his father, before the younger Earl headed to Detroit to start GM's Art and Color department).

Is there a theme in his collection? "If there is a theme," Leno says, "it's probably a car that's ahead of its time. Everything here does a hundred with a few exceptions. There are no Model Ts. I like a reasonable level of performance."

Among other vehicles, the Leno garage houses a 1939 Lagonda V-12, a brace of Bentleys, including a handsome Speed Six, a dignified 8-liter sedan and a 1926 roadster with a twin-turbocharged eight-liter Bentley engine. Built especially for Leno by a team of British craftsmen, it'll light up its skinny rear tires in any gear. Ask Leno what the horsepower is and he just grins: "Probably over 500," he says.

No car or bike in Leno's collection is a museum piece; he drives everything and nearly everything runs at all times. Blessed with an assigned parking space at NBC Studios, Leno takes a different vehicle to work every day.

Two full-time mechanics help keep things in shape, although Leno (who once worked at Foreign Motors of Boston, near his hometown of North Andover, Mass., before his comedy career took off), likes to do things himself. He's capable of starting and running even the ancient machinery, like his two Stanley Steamers, which require a delicate combination of priming, heating and lighting--like starting up an old-fashioned furnace.

While Leno isn't averse to modern cars, he doesn't own many. There's a Turbo R Bentley and a pair of mildly modified Dodge Vipers, plus a stealth car--a souped-up Renault LeCar with a Ford (nyse: F - news - people) Taurus SHO motor and a nitrous setup.

Leno likes horsepower, lots of it. While he'd never admit to being a hot rodder, there are vehicles here that could only be called hot rods. Take his Cobra replica. It started life with a pushrod 427 side-oiler. Now it has a gleaming 429 SOHC Ford V-8 under its hood.

"Yep, that's the cammer-motor," he says, lifting the hood, with a knowing leer. "It pulls like a train. I got this engine out of a powerboat. It's a much better engine than the 427. And it runs a lot cooler. You ever heard one-a these things go to eight grand? Oh geez... 'Whee, whee, wheeeeeeeeee!'" Leno expertly imitates the noise. "It's a frightening sound," he says.

Although Leno's a stickler for originality on his Pebble Beach Concours-winning Duesenbergs and his two real Bugattis, he also owns two replica Bugattis: a Type 37A that's all Bugatti parts but they didn't all come from the factory at the same time, and a stunning Type 57SC Atlantic that you couldn't tell from Ralph Lauren's Pebble Beach prize winner, except for the paint color. And who really cares? The real thing (they only made three) is arguably too valuable to drive.

If you want to see Leno get really enthusiastic, just ask him for a ride in his 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with its 1,000-horsepower Merlin V-12. His eyes light up like Mr. Toad's in The Wind in the Willows: "I mean it's so stupid!" With Leno, stupid is sometimes a compliment. "It's got 1,806 pounds of torque. There's nothing like it. That's real power."

Does it have some sort of tank transmission to handle all that torque? We're surprised to learn it's a Moss four-speed, just like on a 1950s Jag XK120. "It's pretty strong," says Leno, "But you're not dumping the clutch. Once you're rolling, you put your foot down and Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!; it just keeps pulling like a train."

Leno would rather hang out in the garage than do almost anything else--except write and tell jokes. So his spare time is spent tinkering with his cars, or riding his bikes. He turns up at local car shows, rides one of his bikes up to the Rock Store on Sundays and often invites friends over to look at new acquisitions.

Leno's passionate about his cars, but ask him which one is his favorite and he gives you that sideways look familiar to so many fans of The Tonight Show. "Which one of your children is your favorite?" he retorts.

However, Leno is partial to Duesenbergs. "This car is not a myth," he insists, pointing to a J. "Any 70-year-old car that can keep up with modern traffic in L.A. and drive like a normal car is pretty amazing. At a time when the speed limit was 45 mph, a Duesenberg could go 120 mph."

How does he decide what to buy next? "I just see something. If it catches my eye, it's like a pretty girl...But I'm quite happy with everything I have. I don't lust for new things. But, if I do see one and think, 'Oh, that's nice...' Well, that's cool, too."

And his wife, Mavis, is tolerant of this passion? "Yes. It's cheaper than hookers and cocaine," he jokes. "Most guys in Hollywood have 20 girlfriends and one car and I have 20 cars and one girlfriend. She always knows where I am. I'm here in the garage.

"'What's that fragrance?'" Leno says in a fake falsetto voice? "'It's gasoline, honey. It's not cheap perfume.'"

"Having these cars is great fun," Leno says. "And there's a sense of history to all this stuff. We don't really own these cars, we just keep them for the next owners."
----


Deze site hoort hier natuurlijk thuis: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/

[Wim te Riet]

Jay Leno... Da's iemand die ik heel graag een keer zou ontmoeten.
Kunnen we 'm niet een keer naar ons kikkerlandje lokken?
DF meet and greet?

[Dennis Cavallino]

We hebben Harry toch?

[img:640:480]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7691 ... bacev7.jpg[/img]

[Wim te Riet]

Ja, natuurlijk, Harry! Nog een kleine twee weekjes

[Rebel]

Cav ga je garage ff opruimen en maak eens een foto, in plaats van die onzin te posten

[Dennis Cavallino]

Het ziet er nu nog niet uit man!

De muur links gaat eruit. Vloer wordt epoxy, dit is beton en dat blijft te stoffig.
[img:640:480]http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4260 ... 012rc4.jpg[/img]

En de muur hier tegenover en links (is zelfde muur als boven dan maar dan 180 gedraaid en genomen vanaf andere kant) gaan er ook uit. Dat geeft plek aan 1 sleutelplek en 1 plek met brug (waar je dus 2 auto's kwijt kunt). Als je door de deur kijkt zie je het kantoortje.
[img:640:480]http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6041 ... 002so4.jpg[/img]

[img:640:480]http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/2361/1 ... 004hv6.jpg[/img]

In deze ruimte kunnen 6 auto's staan.
[img:640:480]http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7923 ... 005hs6.jpg[/img]

Dit is zelfde ruimte als foto 1, maar dan genomen vanuit de ruimte op de foto hierboven. Plek voor 2 auto's. Rechts gaat die muur er dus uit en komt de brug.
[img:640:480]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4756 ... 008bj5.jpg[/img]

[img:640:480]http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/4224/1 ... 009pi8.jpg[/img]

[img:640:480]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8228 ... 011dg3.jpg[/img]


Geen foto van het kantoortje en sanitair. Dat ziet er nu ook niet uit. In het kantoortje zitten nu zwart glimmend houten lambrisering met messing randjes ertussen. 8) Dat gaat er dus uit, mocht je twijfelen aan mijn smaak!

Vloer wordt opnieuw gestort en afgewerkt met epoxy, electra aansluitingen etc. Muren worden allemaal wit. Komen mooie posters en schilderijen te hangen. Mooie werkbank in de ruimte bij de brug met al het gereedschap. Wordt wel gaaf, nu moet je er even doorheen kijken.
Mogelijk komt er nog een 2e brug voor 'dubbel' parkeren. Maar dan wordt het allemaal wel een gedoe met verplaatsen enzo. Liever wat minder auto's en meer ruimte om ze te verplaatsen/cq eraan te werken.

380 Volt aanwezig
Overhead deur met afstandsbediening zit er al in.

Komt nog alarmsysteem in en luchtvochtigheidsapparaat.

Kantoortje wordt soort chill ruimte, met teveel autoboekjes, dvd speler, racebaan etc. Maar dan zonder de studentikoze uitstraling. Moet wel een beetje stijlvol worden. Dankzij dit draadje inspiratie genoeg.

Nadeel van deze locatie: buiten kun je niet op eigen terrein parkeren. Dus ik kijk ook nog naar een plek waar dat wel kan. Dat lijkt me iets idealer, omdat mensen die dan een auto stallen, gewoon hun dagelijkse auto op een afgesloten terrein kwijt kunnen, mochten ze bijv. een paar weken op reis gaan, zonder dat ze hem per sé binnen moeten plaatsen. Maar dat zie ik nog wel.

[Wim te Riet]

Wauw Dennis... Ben sprakeloos...
Sleutel je zelf veel?

[Niels]

Het ziet er nu nog niet uit man!

Het potentieel voor een beetje schuur/garage liefhebber is zichtbaar

Kantoortje wordt soort chill ruimte, met teveel autoboekjes, dvd speler, racebaan etc.

Volgens mij wil je thuis de boel ontvluchten

[Dennis Cavallino]

De foto's zijn nog aan het uploaden.. schiet niet op.


@Wim: Ik had er tot nu toe geen goede ruimte vroeger. Vroeger bij mijn ouders in de garage was ik altijd op mijn gemak een beetje aan het rommelen met brommers en auto's. Die tijd mis ik, vandaar dat ik nu deze stallingsruimte ga kopen (is nog niet rond nml.). Eerst de ruimte opknappen en met 6 verhuurde plaatsen kan ik de ruimte goed betalen. Ik zorg dan voor die mensen dat de auto helemaal klaar is voordat ze een weekendje gaan rijden (accu aansluiten/opladen, bandjes op spanning zetten, olie verversen, remvloeistof etc, bougies evt.). Geen grote dingen, dat doe ik alleen aan eigen auto's (bedoeling is om de 325 racer daar te stallen en telkens een auto te kopen/importeren, opknappen en dan verkopen. Niet alleen uiteraard. Gewoon voor de hobby en extra zakcentje om racen mee te financieren.

[Maik]

....
Wel oppassen dat je bij een speedster of elise niet teveel gewicht van voor eraf sloopt anders kunnen die auto's kantelen :idea: scary!
GTRene

Thanks voor de tip Rene, daarom heb ik er ook een Laro-uitvoering van gemaakt: zie bovenste foto
Inderdaad erg handig een brugje. Deze kan welliswaar niet heel hoog (ook door het lage plafond), maar hoog genoeg om er nog behoorlijk goed onder te komen, maar dan wel zittend op een laag krukje

[Maik]

Jeetje Maik, heb je zoveel gereedschap nodig om die Speedster aan de gang te houden.

De speedster is half engels, half opel, dus wat denk je dat het antwoord op je vraag is?

Makkelijke brug, is ie toch nog wel zo hoog dat je die blokken er naast moet hebben (of is die Speedster zo laag)?

De brug is 14cm hoog op het hoogste punt, en de speedster heeft voor een rijhoogte van 11cm, dus ruik maar aan je reet, euh, reken maar uit...

Die blokken hebben ieder 2 pennen die in de grond steken voor een paar cm, dus die trek ik daar in 1 handomdraai onderuit als hij op z'n bokken staat, scheelt weer een paar verzwikte enkels

[Maik]

En Dennis heeft ook geen ruimte tekort zo te zien!
Kom ik aan met mijn iets-meer-dan-30 vierkante meter...

[Wim te Riet]

Een vriend van mij heeft in een van zijn hallen een werkplaats gemaakt van 150 m2. Mooie vloer er in gelegd: rood met gele flakes, en onder de brug anthraciet met zilveren (geloof ik) flakes. Klinkt mega-kitscherig, maar in het echt is het resultaat erg fraai. Nadeel: hij wil er geen 'Engelse rotzooi' in hebben.
Nee, die Italiaanse stier van hem is lekker betrouwbaar!
(tot mijn grote 'ergernis' is 'ie dat ook daadwerkelijk )


edit: MIJN HONDERDSTE POST! FEEST!

[Dennis Cavallino]

Geen Engelse zooi scheelt een hoop gereedschap

[Wim te Riet]

Geen Engelse zooi scheelt een hoop gereedschap

Ha! Je moest eens weten wat ik allemaal doe met mijn eenvoudige Kinzo set die ik in de vorige eeuw bij de Makro gekocht heb!

Voor alle oude auto's (met name Engelse en Italiaanse) geldt: als je ze goed restaureert, heb je er doorgaans weinig problemen mee. Tenzij ze af-fabriek al mega-knullig gemaakt zijn natuurlijk...

[GTRene]

Oke, heb nog wat foto's op mijn pc van mijn garage, niet groot maar ook niet zo'n kleine box, alhoewel er maar 1 auto in past helaas, aan de voorkant redelijk breed maar loopt aan 1 kant schijn naar achter weg, maar toch nog aardig wat inhoud om alles kwijt te kunnen zeg maar.
Achter deze dubbelsteens muur en deur zit mijn garage en daarachter mijn huisje

[IMG:800:600]http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4613 ... 005pz2.jpg[/img]

Vanuit achter mijn huisje zie je de garage ook, hier achter het groen rechts de deur achter de appelboom.
De garage is dubbelsteens en voorzien van gas en water dus je zou er een paar Ilegalen in kunnen huisversten, maar die vlieger gaat niet op want mijn bakkie staat daar :twisted:

[IMG:1179:884]http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/8335 ... is1qh8.jpg[/img]

Helaas geen hefbrug of put, maar ben blij dat ik er 1 heb:D
GTRene

[Elmar]

Dennis, leuk oppervlakte zo. Moet nog wel eea aan gebeuren.
Maar kom je wel uit met de hoogte als je een brug plaatst. Of doe je de Maik-methode?

[Elmar]

Achter deze dubbelsteens muur en deur zit mijn garage en daarachter mijn huisje

[

Dat zijn dus 40 cm dikke massieve muren...

[Wim te Riet]

Dat zijn dus 40 cm dikke massieve muren...

Er is maar 1 Hartge in Nederland, die moet je natuurlijk wel goed beschermen! 8)

[Dennis Cavallino]

Dennis, leuk oppervlakte zo. Moet nog wel eea aan gebeuren.
Maar kom je wel uit met de hoogte als je een brug plaatst. Of doe je de Maik-methode?

Moet idd nog veel aan gebeuren, maar dat vind ik juist interessant (koop het nu voor weinig, knap het met een leuk budget op en in de toekomst moet zich dat weer uitbetalen hoop ik).

Ja ideaal voor een verlaagde 325 met daaronder een open Italiaanse spider (die ik nog lang niet heb, lol).

[GTRene]

Dat zijn dus 40 cm dikke massieve muren...

Er is maar 1 Hartge in Nederland, die moet je natuurlijk wel goed beschermen! 8)

Yep, lol, wel zonde van de ruimte die dat soort dikke muren inneemt maar de vesting moet goed beveiligd zijn nu nog een leuke jonkvrouw vinden
Binnenin is het een zooitje helaas, hoe langer je ergens woont des te meer prut dat je hebt...

Ow Wim, ik heb nog 1 bandenlichter liggen die gebruik ik meestal als hefboom is van speciaal staal oid? anyway komt nog uit de oude tijd, die andere ligt bij m'n ma in de garage(m'n pa is niet meer helaas dus weet niet eens of dat gereedschap er nog ligt)
GTRene

[Dennis Cavallino]

Nou waar blijft de rest?

In wat magazines kwam ik nog wat gave garages tegen van veels te rijke autoliefhebbers. Als ik een scanner had gehad...