My man cave build - UK edition

[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

This week the UK has enjoyed a few unusually warm days this week, new record of over 40C or 104F for the 1st time

A national emergency was declared, ie stay indoors or you will die if you go outside

!

blahahahahaha

I don't think we've seen temps below 100 since mid-May.

People (mainly men) have taken to wearing tech fabrics on a daily basis and those, what I call, fishing shirts with the vents in back and that are super light weight.

Our emergency is when we have snow.


Your house is beautiful BTW

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Thanks Matthew!

Ok, now for the big reveal of the front as it's finally looking like a house instead of a derelict property

Taken over 4yrs of part/full time work by Mrs Ahab and myself to get this far

Couldn't have done it without the amazing help from Chris our builder, Gary the architect, Vera the structural engineer, my local hospital A&E department, Honda F1, Oxford Hernia Clinic, our tolerant neighbours and many local building supply companies

Taaa daaa and here it is,



As a reminder, this is what we started with before the garage was demolished



This part was built 270yrs ago



This part was started 4yrs ago and still not finished



View from the other direction



Just realised there is a thread viewing counter, wow 100k views I really should start selling a line of merchandise like anti-ballistic shin protectors, safety glasses and hernia reinforcing mesh with a catchy slogan printed on them

Next update should be garage only action and then updates will slow to a trickle as I've accepted an offer of a sit down job behind a comfy warm desk for autumn/winter

Reasons for the temporary career change are, working in the cold sucks, inflation has depleted my build funds, my aging body needs a rest, and I'm not done playing with racing cars

[javadog]

Looks great. I can’t believe how much work you and your wife have done on that, it’s been a huge undertaking, to say the least.

If you can share the details of your upcoming employment, you know we are all ears.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by javadog

Looks great. I can’t believe how much work you and your wife have done on that, it’s been a huge undertaking, to say the least.

If you can share the details of your upcoming employment, you know we are all ears.

What he wrote

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by javadog

Looks great. I can’t believe how much work you and your wife have done on that, it’s been a huge undertaking, to say the least.

If you can share the details of your upcoming employment, you know we are all ears.

Thanks Javadog and Paul, since playing with Lego I've dreamt of build my own house, was much easier back then so luckily for me Mrs Ahab isn't afraid to help too

It's with a F1 team helping with the design of their new 2023 car

25yrs of F1 for me now or 374 races working on 35 race cars, 3 test cars and 1 land speed car

They've specifically asked that I don't fall off my roof

[jpfahrstar]

This thread was new to me three days ago but I’m now caught up and can only look in awe at the project you took on and what you and Mrs Ahab have accomplished. What a fantastic result thus far for all your hard work! I’ve remodeled kitchens, bathrooms, and basements but none of that took the time, effort and determination that you have put into your house. My wife and I watch Escape to the Country often and I’ve always wondered how construction practices differ or are similar over in England. Your thread has been an enjoyable education in that regard. Keep up the good work in all of your varied work endeavors and enjoy that garage when it’s done!

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Thanks for the kind comments, jpfahrstar, it's been an education for both of us here too!

Always admired Jack Olsen's 12 Gauge Garage, especially his 'flush with the floor' hydraulic lift table

Never been shy of copying good ideas so my lift table is 59"/1.5m long x 47"/1.2m wide, with an air cooled 911 friendly 3300lbs/1500kg lift capacity

Don't have a huge amount of room to work with so I took my time in working out/measuring the best place for it marks the spot!



Got some heavy duty cutting and demolition equipment arriving tomorrow, feeling a little nervous which isn't a bad thing!

[911 Rod]

How high is the ceiling there Cap?

[daepp]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Got some heavy duty cutting and demolition equipment arriving tomorrow, feeling a little nervous which isn't a bad thing!

This could be a REALY stupid question with respect to your location, but is there any chance your garage slab has post-tensioned cables in it? If so, beware of cutting.
(In California, post-tensioned/cable slabs require a stamp, set into the wet mud on the leading edge of the garage floor, indicating post-tensioned cables are present.)

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Rod, garage ceiling fully finished will be just around 7' 3" tall, tall enough for me not to hit the ceiling with a Porsche

David, no pre-tensioned steel cables, concrete slab is 9" thick with 2 layers of steel reinforcing mesh so it would be the easiest thing to cut through

[Bill Douglas]

Looking good there Captain.

The reason I ask is I'm going to be cutting a hole in concrete for my scissor lift too and wondering what your game plan is.

I just thought I'd hire a concrete saw and cut around the outline then cut/bust my way down with a demolition hammer / kango then smooth it out with a layer of concrete. But I don't know the best way.

[javadog]

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason why you are not putting it on the other side of the garage, where the ceiling is much higher? You never know, you might need to put something else on the lift, other than a 911.

I can see you doing some work on one of the 4runners down the road..

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Looking good there Captain.

The reason I ask is I'm going to be cutting a hole in concrete for my scissor lift too and wondering what your game plan is.

I just thought I'd hire a concrete saw and cut around the outline then cut/bust my way down with a demolition hammer / kango then smooth it out with a layer of concrete. But I don't know the best way.

Thanks Bill,

I've got coming tomorrow a 16" concrete floor saw, should cut down to 7" deep and Kango hammer

Will post up photo's as I go along

Was going to waterproof tape in a new damp proof sheets and pour a new concrete with one layer of steel reinforcing mesh. The new base will overlap all round the underside of the original concrete slab

Also, just to be sure nothing moves I'll fit some M12 anchor bolts around the hole to join the new slab with old slab

[Scott Douglas]

I've gotta hand it to you Capt, you really pulled off the new build but looks old look on the house.
Congrats!

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by javadog

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason why you are not putting it on the other side of the garage, where the ceiling is much higher? You never know, you might need to put something else on the lift, other than a 911.

I can see you doing some work on one of the 4runners down the road..

The space on the high side of the garage is being put to very good use, got a triple stacker 4 post lift coming, it's in transit, somewhere between China and my house

I just can't bring myself to sell my white 4Runner, best car I've ever owned and deserves a full chassis/bodywork restoration



Too many car projects queued up, something will need to go as I have a 964 and 930 to fix up too

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I've gotta hand it to you Capt, you really pulled off the new build but looks old look on the house.
Congrats!

Thanks Scott, t

This was the look I was trying to achieve, even had a builder and a few passing folk ask me if I was renovating the house which for me was the ultimate compliment

My plan for the garage is the complete opposite, as close to the inside of a F1 factory as I can afford

[billybek]

Awesome! Thanks for taking us on your renovation journey.
Looking forward to more of the finishing photos.

[jpfahrstar]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Always admired Jack Olsen's 12 Gauge Garage, especially his 'flush with the floor' hydraulic lift table

Never been shy of copying good ideas so my lift table is 59"/1.5m long x 47"/1.2m wide, with an air cooled 911 friendly 3300lbs/1500kg lift capacity

Don't have a huge amount of room to work with so I took my time in working out/measuring the best place for it marks the spot!



Got some heavy duty cutting and demolition equipment arriving tomorrow, feeling a little nervous which isn't a bad thing!

I also fell in love with Jack Olsen’s garage but haven’t looked too hard for that kind of lift. Looks like it will work very well in your garage. Can’t wait to see it installed!

[A930Rocket]

I can’t say it enough, fantastic job, captain!🙌🏽💪🏽👊🏽

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

I've got coming tomorrow a 16" concrete floor saw, should cut down to 7" deep and Kango hammer

Sounds good. One of us, may have been Glen, has his scissor lift in the floor such as your plan. His has got a "lip" around the edge so a floor board can drop in and be level with the rest of the floor. Guessing it's something like a 20mm by 20mm edge.