I built my wife a garden shed. I built my wife a greenhouse, I re-roof the shed when it leaks. I have no real interest in either structure as they are full of things I never use or fiddle with.
As I have said elsewhere, I used to work. When I worked I had no real time for hobbies and my garage and work bench were used to store “it might be useful” and “it’s no longer useful” sometimes I would take stuff to the dump (now called re-cycling). At irregular intervals I had projects like building bunk beds and completely revising all the plumbing in our house and fitting a new boiler. I also designed our house extension to my wife’s space plans but there is now no need for extra house space as my children have left home.
When I bought my E-Types I used to squeeze one into the garage and store the other with Clive at Premier Vehicle Storage .
In summary really didn’t have a work space of my own.
So, having a few skills in design for construction I designed a new double garage with workshop space and storage loft. The process of gaining planning permission was relatively straightforward as I knew most of the rules. Here is one of my SketchUp drawings used during construction:
This garage was built and became home for one E-Type and the Chevelle, and then shortly after I retired.
My back is not quite what it should be and every time I wanted to get to something under a car I have had qualms about jacking up and wriggling under, constantly getting back out to get the tools you need. I reasoned that as the double garage was never going to be the right profile for a hoist that I should try and modify my existing garage to take a four post lift. A lift would give me two parking spaces AND I wouldn’t have to crawl under a car again! So I set about learning the rules of permitted development and have sold the benefit of re-roofing to my wife as she will get a warm, properly-roofed utility area and rear lobby. Out came the SketchUp and I worked up a whole range of designs that would meet the permitted development envelope and enclose my chosen four-post lift by Strongman Tools. Eventually I had a design that met all requirements and after a prolonged period of review by the local planning department I had their written admission that I did not require planning. Here is one of the final drawings.
Due to the massive demand for builders in my neck of the woods I have been waiting for quotes for a really long time. I will post images once the work starts… possibly in the Spring of 2019.
Above you can see the completed double garage and workshop.
The floor is very scruffy but level. The hoist has some wheels you can use to lift the stanchions and move the hoist. I don’t need to do that but I used the lifting of the stanchions to install my PVC tile flooring. You can see the drip trays and the hydraulic jack on the main rails.