www.jec.org.uk

I'm after some numpty advice please. As part of a major house extension, I have had a spiffy garage built for the Jagwar. Shame the garage is worth more than the car. Anyways, I also bought a loose indoor car cover from Hamilton classics.

My question is - given that the garage is fully plaster boarded, ceiling and walls (although it isn't air tight) - do I really need the car cover or will this potentially be counterproductive in stifling air movement. The cover is a breathable one...I just wonder if there's a point as it shouldn't get too dusty.

I've just bought a Stanley heater as well to try and keep the air moving when needed and the room temperature a low constant.

Any general garage advice is appreciated.

thanks

Richard

Hi Richard,

Nice house (for the car!). That looks like the Hamiltons 3-layer indoor cover? My thoughts, for what little worth they might be:

- Leave the cover on in the garage. It will prevent dust and debris constantly landing on the car (it will!) particularly when you open the doors. In addition it will help avoid scratches and damage every time you walk past the car.

- Put a carpet or floor covering of some sort immediately below the car. This will avoid moisture on concrete or painted surfaces transferring to the underside of the car.

- Leave the heater on Frost setting as a minimum, perhaps 10 degrees above. It would cost you a lot to keep that garage at 21 degrees and every time you open the door, you'll lose all the heat anyway.

- Put some curtains on those windows in the door tops. You'll be surprised how much heat you'll lose through that glass.

- Get a dehumidifier and run that all the time. They are pretty cheap to buy now, cheap to run and you can fit a pipe to let them run and drain 24 hrs a day.

- Fit some brush strips or rubber strips on the bottom of the doors to prevent the bulk of rain and debris blowing under the doors.

- Once the concrete floor has fully dried out, seal it and paint it. It will stop the large amount of dust that will otherwise inevitably always build up, will help keep the temp a bit higher and make it much easier to work under the car and also see any oil leaks etc.

- Get some motoring memorabilia on the walls. After all, it's clearly your domain!

Cheers

Paul

Rich,

Top quality garage there! Just missing a 4 pillar lift

Paul - top tips there! I wish that my garage floor was sealed and painted - the dust is a right royal pain in the @rse

Cheers, Rich

Very nice, don't worry too much about temperature as long as condensation isnt forming anywhere. Slight air flow is a good thing. If the concrete floor isn't sealed, once it is old enough to be fully cured seal it with diluted PVA then coat with a concrete floor paint.

All good stuff above. As a priority seal and paint the floor. Do it before any oil spills cos it is a devil to get rid of for painting - I had to use a blow lamp to burn it off. A garage concrete floor paint seems to be impervious to brake fluid and oil and petrol and easy to wipe up after the inevitable spill.

Good luck

Don't forget to get the C Tech battery charger rigged up

Really useful advice - thanks very much, it's really appreciated.

I was just having another look at your posh new garage. From the photo there appears no way to bolt the doors to the ground when fully open.

The last thing you want is a door to swing back and smack the side of the car !!!!

Don't give me the opportunity to say I told you so.

The builders are due to fit stays on the door and they're on order, so all in hand - but thanks for watching the car's back