It's been a long time coming, but we finally scored a nice house on a large (50' x 175') lot with a (huge) 28' x 30' garage with in-floor heating. This is perfect for parking three cars, working on the RX7s, rebuilding engines, building an airplane or whatever.

What's more, there's parking beside the garage for two cars in storage, and a driveway in front. The covered rear deck is also large, with seating built into the fence. Barbecues ain't just a summer thing anymore.

The house is a bi-level located 40 miles southwest of Calgary in Black Diamond, a town of less than 5000 people. The same arrangement in Calgary would have cost us two to three times as much. We take posession in mid-April or mid-May at the latest.

 

nice!

hopefully I'll have a place of my own this year, renting is gay.

the in-floor heating must be nice.

Does it heat the whole space well or just the floor?

 

Nice work buddy. You'd have to invest in a lift. They dont cost as much as you might think.


I'll have to rent some garage space when I start my FC project. Unfourtunately what was supposed to start next month, will be put off until further notice because of transmission woes (or rather bills) for my miata.

 

the infloor heating is nice...we put that in the new shop we put on at the body shop...

makes laying reeeal sweet - hehe

congrats dude

 

just dont drill the bolts to hold the lift down through the pipes in the floor
matt

 

Wayyda go Brett!
Sooo....you gonna install a +15 to Max's place?

Wait a minute...you work at Springbank, right?
That means you get to drive the back road from Millarville to Bragg Creek EVERY DAY!
In your 7!
Lucky bastard.

 

Congrats, the same arrangement in Toronto would have cost 25 x as much. Ontario sucks.

 

I'm so jealous, you my friend are a lucky man. Well I guess it wasn't luck, probably hard work. Congrats.

Brent

 

When do we get to trash the place.

I mean, have a house-warming party Rotary Style.


Im willing to donate my toasted rotor as an ornament.

Nevermind, the 'good' one is toast too.

 

The in-floor heating heats the whole garage via the floor. It's a very efficient and effective method---- a hot-water heater in the garage is equipped with a pump that circulated a glycol solution through flexible and very durable plasic pipes that were layed down before the concrete floor was poured.

It was advertised as an "engineered" floor, which I took to mean that the floor was perfectly level with no low spots. This might have been the case when it was new five years ago, but now it has a few cracks in it and a couple of low spots that are noticable whenever the floor is wet. Other than that there are no complaints. I'm told that to build such a set-up in today's market would cost 30k.

 

LOL. Actually, I have to admit that luck did play a very large part. Since I switched careers last year and had to start at a lower wage than what I was used to we only qualified for $225K--- nowhere near enough to get such an arrangement within city limits. In fact, places like this one are selling just as fast as they can be listed--- we just happened along at the right time.

The price we paid was $214.9K, which is a little on the high side for Black Diamond--- until you factor in the oversize lot and huge garage.

 

[QUOTE=Alak]

Nice work buddy. You'd have to invest in a lift. They dont cost as much as you might think.



Oh, if only. Too bad the ceiling is only the standard height. I'd be the first to pull a Homer Simpson and ram the 7's roof straight into the door roll-up tract. Or (as someone mentioned) inadvertently drill through the conduits under the floor...

 

[QUOTE=edv]

Wayyda go Brett!

Thanks Ed!

Sooo....you gonna install a +15 to Max's place?

Ok, now I feel stupid. What the hell is a +15?

Wait a minute...you work at Springbank, right?
That means you get to drive the back road from Millarville to Bragg Creek EVERY DAY!
In your 7!
Lucky bastard.

Uh, maybe not. I'm looking at picking up a small Japanese truck or MPV-type minivan for to-and-from work. The 7 would have to be filled every 2.5 to 3 days at $40 a pop. The wife has an economical Nissan Sentra XE so she can commute in that rather than drive her 7, and with the afore-mentioned truck I'd have a means of transporting my tool cabinet, furtiture, the dog, etc.---- and a commuter that can go a week on a tank of gas. We'll use the 7s for pleasure use only and park them in the winter.

 

[QUOTE=Aviator 902S] the low ceiling is a easy fix, just lift the whole thing, thats what i did.
matt

 

Congrats.

I want your garage, hmm, I have something you might want, 25 acres, a hanger, and an 1800 ft grass airstrip - wanna trade? Then again with the winter you HAVEN'T been having out there (my dad lives in Edmonton), I think I'd want to stay there if I were you.

 

Pics!

 

Congrats Brett and Tiana! All your hard work and sacrifice pays off in dividends. For all of ya that don't know Brett, he is a no nonense, no credit type of guy that has always lived within his means and worked while he went to school so he would be ready when this opportunity came! His wife Tiana shares the same vision. Can't wait to see the house, a few of us are certainly looking forward to the cruise to see it. Make sure the gas station is open so we can refill for the drive home. Looking forward to seeing ya at the smart car dealerhsip soon.

 

Sounds like a pretty involved project. A lift would be nice. A rotisserie would be ok for complete restorations but useless for flipping a completely assembled car with all fluids topped up. Too bad--- because that would be a rather interesting way to swap out an exhaust system.

 

Day-um, that sounds tempting. And it presents the following dilema: Stay here and stay married or....

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence Gary. (how much do I owe you?)

Now I don't have the heart to tell them the truth: that I was a stoner in high school and a womanizing party-animal fiend in my 20s and early 30's...

 

You know those elevated walkways connecting buildings together in the downtown area? Back in the day they were called 15-foot-plusses, since they had to be at least 15 feet above the road. Edv is from back in the day

Congrats, BTW!

I've sold my retail clothing biz (still making shirts on the wholesale side) and looking at an Esprit in Calgary. If I decide to pick it up we'll have to 'test fit' it in your garage

 

that is sweet souding hosue, now ya just need to post some lovely pics of it, and show the rest of the RX 7 world :P


on a different not, my parents are moving out of town to wanna be acaridge (i hate spelling sometimes) and they are allowed to have a so called "shop" out there, it can be a total size no bigger then 2100 sq Feet (freaking huge), and match the house (no biggie) so i might be saving up my shakles once i get my 7 (i know it will take a while but) then i might be building a permant garage with a hoist and one or two of those nifty jack car storage things (lifts car up when in storage) then i can house my buddies cars out there too, (maybee 3 Nissan Skylines, a NSX, and of course the best of teh group (my opinion) my FD) then i will be rocking and have a personal place to work on stuff whenever i want, and if i get married anytime soon, she won't be able to complain bout having crap in the house garage (if i even get one )




Prôdigy

 

Congrats from me also. A friend and I recently teamed up to buy a place in Stratchona Park (Sarcee and Bow Tr) for what comparatively seems like a complete rip off. My garage is probably only 20x24. Looks like you traded lifestife for proximity very effectively; so I agree with the advice so far - spend some of that saved money on gas for your RX and enjoy the drive!

 

[QUOTE=Manntis]

You know those elevated walkways connecting buildings together in the downtown area? Back in the day they were called 15-foot-plusses, since they had to be at least 15 feet above the road. Edv is from back in the day

Thanks for the explanation, D. Oddly enough, I'm also from "back in the day"--- yet that one slipped by me somehow...

Congrats, BTW!

Thanks!

I've sold my retail clothing biz (still making shirts on the wholesale side) and looking at an Esprit in Calgary. If I decide to pick it up we'll have to 'test fit' it in your garage

If it fits in the garage really well you're more than welcome to just walk away and leave it there. I'll take really good care of it. Trust me.

btw, it could be as late as mid-May before we move into this place. Until then we're still at our haunt in the north west with that measily one-car garage...

 

nice find!
and and a few buddy's of mine just got a nice house.. main reason is because it has a 4-5 car garage, and 40 something lights on the ceeling.. perfect for working on cars!.