Customer Reviews

How To Build Your Dream Garage (Motorbooks Workshop)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is great for anyone looking to do a total build out or just add cool new stuff to his garage. I bought it because it had projects for all of the things I wanted to have in my shop, plus it had a bunch more that were easy to add and put my shop into a whole different league. Everything is really well explained and the photos really help, showing all of the important steps. This book was key in turning my crusty detatched garage into a cool shop that all of my buddies want to hang out in.

I really liked this book. Part "how-to", part inspirational photos and handy suppliers index make this a no-brainer.

I recently bought a house with a nice, big garage and this book couldn't have been published at a better time for me. But it was more than just helpful; it was life-changing. I laughed, I cried, I soiled myself.

Seriously, I did manage to control my bodily functions, but the book was very well written, much more so than your average "how-to" book. The improvements to my garage that resulted from my purchase of this book may not have been life-changing, exactly, but they did lead to a definite improvement in my standard of living. With the help of this book I've created the ultimate three-car man cave. The only down side is that my wife complains that I spend too much time out there. Good work, Mr. Klancher.

If you're looking to build a garage starting from Square 1, or even modify your existing garage to make it more workable, this is an ideal place to start. Sure inspirational photos are great (this book, by the way, has plenty of them), but so is practical advice to go along with them. The author doesn't just illustrate the ideas, he explains how to implement them. The reader gets the feeling that Klancher's been there, done that, and he even employs a self-deprecating sense of humor to help steer you clear of some of the mistakes he's made. Sure, Klancher sometimes comes across as not being the sharpest tool in the shed, as it were--a Pabst-swilling, man-child in the realm of power tools, petty zoning-office bureaucrats, and potentially lethal electrical current--but that's the point. His voice makes the title a highly readable book for the Everyman. So, if you're farming out the whole project because you don't want to get slivers under your nails, pick up one of the many hoity-toity "idea" books that are available. If, however, you subscribe to a DIY ethos, like so many garage owners do, this is your book.

If you're a car nut like me, sooner or later you're going to want a better garage. This is what happened to me. I found the book easy reading, the points were made in a simple step by step way. The content was well thought out and there were several points that made me re-think my construction strategy - for which I'm very grateful as changing things later always costs more and seldom works out as well as doing it right from the start. I also purchased Dream Car Garage 1& 2 and I would say they are simply coffee table books - nice for inspiration, but thats it. What this book lacks in inspiration it makes up for in practical advice. A good buy if you're serious about building or modifying a garage to better serve the needs of a car enthusiast.

If you want to actually build or hire someone to build a garage for you, this is the book for you to assemble both great ideas but excellent questions to ask or think about. Having remodeled my own kitchen - and hiring out some work - this book helped me figure out a timeline, expected budget, and what I might be able to manage myself or want to hire out when taking on a new build project as opposed to remodel.

I've read a lot of books about remodeling - fewer on building - but felt this was immensely helpful in getting me started.

I really enjoyed this book, very informative and presents a lot of information for anyone with or wanting a garage. The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is for the photos in the book. The photos of garages all tended to be very high end, top dollar garages, not your everyday garage you see in 90% of homes. Other than this small gripe the book reads well and has a lot to share.

This book isn't worth the money, it reads like the words are just copied from product brochures, and the photos are very disappointing. There's nothing in here that would make a great garage. I'm a builder and I found a lot more garage ideas and much better quality in the Ultimate Garages books, which have fantastic images and are worth every cent of the extra price.