If you aren't parking cars in your garage, what is in there filling the space now? And how hard would it be to clean out?

I say go for it and since it is your garage makes moving pins in and out a breeze compared to what I have to go through.

That's where my TSPP is..... I don't see why not.

My issues with it, and I don't have any experience, is having to keep it climate controlled, and the overall look.

Does it have like finnished drywall walls and everything? I wouldn't want to do it in a garage that looks, well, like a garage. I would want to deck it out and carpet it etc etc...but that kills the chance of ever using it as a garage.

If you have to get it's own AC down there that could get pricey. Dry heat or not I'm assuming TX is hot so that's a lot of power.

EDIT: Boy wouldn't it be nice to just roll games in & out though? No breakdown, dolly, removing doors, down the basement etc etc

I say mod the cabana to have a closed climate controlled gameroom

have to have climate control tho regardless. And stay that way. If it's exposed to the elements, I would say no.

There are pluses and minuses to using your garage for pins. I have used my 2 car garage to house pins for the past 4 years and recently moved them out.

Plus:
space. I needed space and cars aren't that important to me, so outside they went and in came the pins. I also added area carpeting, a jukebox, lighting and fans. This was a bare minimum before guests came into the new "gameroom" since then it was more comfortable.

I've enjoyed wheeling games in and out. It was very simple and I've seen 2 dozen games go in and out of the garage gameroom in 4 years. I've had as many as 10 and as few as 4 in this space in this time.

Minus:
temperature. The summers are hot and the winters are cold here. Its not a problem in spring and fall, but its too hot in the summer (even with the fans on) and too cold in the winter to spend any time in the garage gameroom. Its insulated, but those garage doors are probably 10% efficiency if that. I could make it better, but that would mean more money to invest in this temp housing, which is not going to happen.

Unfortunately the temp has gotten on my nerves once and for all, so the games go back to the basement where its very comfy all year round. I have bilco doors to bring them down, so 10 steps up or down isn't too bad. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

I love having a walk-out basement. My cars go in the garage, the lawn mower, tools, and bikes in the unfinished portion of the basement, and the rest of the basement is finished for recreation.

Sounds like a great idea until you car(s) gets stolen, or broken into. It happens in even the nicest neighboorhoods, and it can happen at anytime, and it can be recurring. A garage is really meant for vehicles, when you're gameroom(s) get maxed, it's really time to start looking at a bigger place imo. None of us like to hear it, but it's the voice of reason.

I'd rather know my vehicles are safe and protected rather than gaining another 20 titles. Got to think of the worst case scenario but, it comes down to personal priorities.

I'm not a fan of lugging pins up and down stairs so I'd say, go for it Ice! Since the garage is one of the last full projects on my list to do, I'm definitely going to make it more efficient than it currently is. (Trying for an R-60 value for the ceiling with an additional solar vent to keep things nice and cool.) Plus, I will be able to insulate the crap out of the rooms that share a wall with it to further improve living conditions inside. If you've got the budget, do it. You can easily recoup the $$$ if you decide to sell down the road. (At least with another Pinsider/game maniac that is... )
I'm still going to put the cars in when I'm finished but, at least I will be able to work on other things comfortably with the cars out without having to attach a Vornado fan to my shorts.

You are probably asking the wrong bunch for advice though...

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/garage-pins-for-or-against

Just build a new game room!

Jim

Thanks Dave,
Man, never even saw that thread...
It might be time to extend/double the length of the main forum page there Robin.
Once a thread hits the unread 5 hour mark, it kinda vanishes from existence.
Then again,
I guess I could just click on page two, three, etc...

Iceman,
I use the garage and its not so bad.

Im putting a portable AC in shortly but for now its mornings and evenings only.

I insulated and sealed off the garage and it stays low 90s most days

90+ seems awful hot for pins. I would think you'd be damaging you games. Good topic for mythbusters.

My beater EMs don't care. I keep the one working SS in the house.

Normally the machines are not on in the day.

Id like to hear opinions of what is too hot and why

-jeff

I made it work for me! 2 car detached.

IMG_1938.jpg

That looks very inviting bigduke, nice and cozy... And look, Stangbat is on the wall!

I say load up the game room until it's bursting.

I did the garage thing briefly and it was fun while the weather was nice http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rfm-is-in-the-e_a-grg, but I can't imagine it now. It doesn't really get super cold here but when it's hot I want no part of that, plus the family vehicle gets relegated to the sun and gets miserable.

You could also buy an abandoned church building and use that. ; )

Amen!!

Nice Medusa bigduke

Just helped a friend do this. He bought a portable ac unit and exhauasted it outside along with a drain line. Built shelf about 6 feet off the ground for unit to sit so as to not take up floor space.

One key is to get a good seal in the garage too. Not the animal, nor the performer...but an air seal. Replaced trim around my garage doors with weather stripping and it is very tight now. I could notice that the room creates a pressure imbalance and it was slightly more difficult to open the door to the house because of this.

Another suggestion is to get bigger unit than you think. His garage is 20 x 20 feet so a 12k btu unit was recommended. He bought a 14k version and it worked pretty well late in the day and evening, once we were finished installing.

Well, if you do that also check that you have amps on your electrical. I only had a 20 amp circuit for the whole garage and with the freezer and 4 pins I was maxed, so it could not handle another draw like a/c. The addition of another 20amps and separate ventilation would have been required which would have added cost to the project.

I would think 90+ would be bad over time. Warped plastics, Wood stress cracking (playfield/cab), backglass fading, cracking, flaking, possible rust spots from high humidity.

Seen some out here in az/nv that are pretty bad. Doesn't take long for them to get busted in the garage during the summer. Non temped controlled envirmoment for pins is bad news imo.

I live in Houston, and I cant imagine this. I bought a pin that was stored in a storage locker. What a mess.

Unless you are controlling temp and humidity in the garage, I'm sure your asking for eventual problems down the road. Wood will expand at different rates then plastic, so raised inserts will be a problem. Not to mention rust on everything else. At least for us in the sourthern states.....