# Site General > Off-topic Cafe > Creative Corner >  Converting the garage

## Thom Noble

Lindsay and I are converting our garage to the new reptile room, we have out grown our spare bedroom. My torts are in the spare dinning room now. (old pic) 
We started off by wiring new outlets.



Then we insulated the room with blow in cellulose, 26bags! This was pretty fun! Kinda messy lol
 

Next step we painted the room and hung a few lights. The wife didn't like the brightness so now we have a few new ones on order. We decided to put uvb bulbs in two of the lights for the live plants.  
 

After the new lights arrive and are hung, we need to level out the floor, I'd really like feedback on this part. I don't want to ruin the garage in case we move down the road. There is a inch and a half difference and the slope. 




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_Eric Alan_ (03-27-2017),_rock_ (03-28-2017),WastelandExotics (03-29-2017)

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## Craiga 01453

I love this project!!!  
I'm not 100% sure you want to level the floor though. From the little bit I see, that doesn't appear to be an old house, so it doesn't seem that the inch-and-a-half difference is due to settling, that would take many years. The pitch in the floor was designed intentionally for drainage and other purposes. You may be better off putting some shims under the sides of some of your enclosures/stands if really needed. But I'm guessing an inch-and-a-half is over at least 8-10 feet, which probably won't effect a whole lot. 
I'm not 100% sure on this, as I only have a handful of years of carpentry/building/construction experience...
Any which way, keep up the great work and please keep the updates and pics coming.  :Good Job:

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_distaff_ (03-28-2017),_rock_ (03-28-2017),_Thom Noble_ (03-28-2017),_zina10_ (03-28-2017)

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## Thom Noble

> I love this project!!!  
> I'm not 100% sure you want to level the floor though. From the little bit I see, that doesn't appear to be an old house, so it doesn't seem that the inch-and-a-half difference is due to settling, that would take many years. The pitch in the floor was designed intentionally for drainage and other purposes. You may be better off putting some shims under the sides of some of your enclosures/stands if really needed. But I'm guessing an inch-and-a-half is over at least 8-10 feet, which probably won't effect a whole lot. 
> I'm not 100% sure on this, as I only have a handful of years of carpentry/building/construction experience...
> Any which way, keep up the great work and please keep the updates and pics coming.


Thank you! The house is new, well we bought it new three years ago. I'll have to put rack out there and play around.  


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## Craiga 01453

> Thank you! The house is new, well we bought it new three years ago. I'll have to put rack out there and play around.  
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Again, I'm only sharing my limited knowledge and experience, but I do believe you can find a better alternative the leveling the floor. The project really looks great so far.  My girlfriend and I are getting ready to embark on a whole house renovation (our house was built in 1891) which will be including a dedicated reptile room. Right now they are all in my spare bedroom kinda where they fit. Can't wait to have an actual reptile room though!!  We are converting our two-family home into a single family, so we have plenty of room now! I can't wait!!

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## Thom Noble

> Again, I'm only sharing my limited knowledge and experience, but I do believe you can find a better alternative the leveling the floor. The project really looks great so far.  My girlfriend and I are getting ready to embark on a whole house renovation (our house was built in 1891) which will be including a dedicated reptile room. Right now they are all in my spare bedroom kinda where they fit. Can't wait to have an actual reptile room though!!  We are converting our two-family home into a single family, so we have plenty of room now! I can't wait!!


Looking forward to your updates!


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## rock

Great project, nice details!  Please keep the updates coming.  Really, really nice!

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## Craiga 01453

> Looking forward to your updates!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks, me too!! Hahahaha. We are still a bit away though, we're in the drawing board phase now. Luckilly, we own the house, no mortgage or anything, so we have time and options...
I will be posting the reptile room updates though  :Smile:

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_Thom Noble_ (03-28-2017)

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## rlditmars

If you don't think you will be moving things around much, then you can probably building some low risers that come out about 3 or 4 feet from the wall, depending on the depth of the racks. From an ambient heat perspective, it may make sense to have the lowest tubs elevated off the floor anyways. The risers will resolve the leveling issue without compromising the drainage. Looking forward to seeing the completed project.

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Craiga 01453 (03-28-2017),_Thom Noble_ (03-28-2017)

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## Craiga 01453

> If you don't think you will be moving things around much, then you can probably building some low risers that come out about 3 or 4 feet from the wall, depending on the depth of the racks. From an ambient heat perspective, it may make sense to have the lowest tubs elevated off the floor anyways. The risers will resolve the leveling issue without compromising the drainage. Looking forward to seeing the completed project.


Good thinking!

- - - Updated - - -




> If you don't think you will be moving things around much, then you can probably building some low risers that come out about 3 or 4 feet from the wall, depending on the depth of the racks. From an ambient heat perspective, it may make sense to have the lowest tubs elevated off the floor anyways. The risers will resolve the leveling issue without compromising the drainage. Looking forward to seeing the completed project.


Good thinking!

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## noblereptiles

Okay so I think we have the floor figured out. Just need to get the materials and rip some boards. Just about done with the room. Can't wait to show it off 


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Craiga 01453 (03-28-2017)

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## OhhWatALoser

1 1/2in slope over what I'm guessing is 20 ft garage? I personally wouldn't worry about it, why do you need it perfectly level?

I'm curious how was the blow in stuff? I always worried wires and such in the wall might stop it from filling up the cavity below, is it fine enough to not be an issue? 

Looks good so far. Any plans for a sink or hose? I know it's a huge time saver in my room. Keep the updates coming.

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Craiga 01453 (03-28-2017),_Thom Noble_ (03-29-2017)

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## Craiga 01453

> 1 1/2in slope over what I'm guessing is 20 ft garage? I personally wouldn't worry about it, why do you need it perfectly level?
> 
> I'm curious how was the blow in stuff? I always worried wires and such in the wall might stop it from filling up the cavity below, is it fine enough to not be an issue? 
> 
> Looks good so far. Any plans for a sink or hose? I know it's a huge time saver in my room. Keep the updates coming.


That's also a great idea!! A sink/hose would be great for water changes, misting, etc...  That's something to consider for my reptile room when I renovate. The plumber will already be here anyway  :Wink:

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_Thom Noble_ (03-30-2017)

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## noblereptiles

No not yet for a sink. The plumbing isn't easy to get to for installing one. Eventually we will 

1.5" makes a huge difference in dealing with freedom breeder and ars racks. I refuse to make things half assed considering how much I've spent already. What's a few hundred extra to fix the floor up right lol! Plus I don't want any waste of space or to hate my room because it's not perfectly as useable as it could be. 

The blown in was fine for our walls. Only had a few spots with wires but we checked down low and it did fill the cavity fully. There are no fire blocks in our walls so didn't have to worry about that. Took a bit to figure out how to get the insulation to go down and not back hence the Jerry rigged tub on the end of the hose. But it worked lol! 

We'll post more pictures in two weeks once I get the floor in 


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Craiga 01453 (03-28-2017),_Thom Noble_ (03-29-2017)

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## OhhWatALoser

Didn't think a slope less than a degree would matter. But if it does, heck yeah make it right. It doesn't matter how big your room is you always end up wanting more room it seems, so make sure you can take advantage of every square inch you can. Tub looked like a good idea, I'll have to keep that in mind in case I do a retro fit like that. Nice work.

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noblereptiles (03-29-2017),_Thom Noble_ (03-30-2017)

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## WastelandExotics

Subscribed! Keep those progress pics coming; I love me the DIY!

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_Thom Noble_ (03-30-2017)

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## noblereptiles

> Didn't think a slope less than a degree would matter. But if it does, heck yeah make it right. It doesn't matter how big your room is you always end up wanting more room it seems, so make sure you can take advantage of every square inch you can. Tub looked like a good idea, I'll have to keep that in mind in case I do a retro fit like that. Nice work.


I wish installing a sink would be easy. But that's a massive project and we just can't get to it right now. Maybe one day. 


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## zina10

> I wish installing a sink would be easy. But that's a massive project and we just can't get to it right now. Maybe one day. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


A sink is definitely nice around those animals, to water, to clean, etc.

What you could do is this..If you have a water hose connection nearby you could run a a long hose along the floor or ceiling and install it to a nice, deep utility sink. I have done that at the horse barn. The hose is nicely tucked along the wall and ceiling and out of the way. If you don't need a super long one, you can even get white colored hoses.

Just an idea you can play around with. You wouldn't have hot water, but you don't actually need that.

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_Thom Noble_ (04-02-2017)

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## Prognathodon

We put a high-arch "bar" faucet on the bathroom sink, then put the necessary adapters on it for a garden hose quick-disconnect. We also got a 50 ft. Coil hose that came with a bracket/rack, so it hangs neatly beside the sink. Final piece is a good trigger spray nozzle. Cost was low, no actual plumbing skills needed.


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_Thom Noble_ (04-02-2017),_zina10_ (03-31-2017)

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## Thom Noble

> We put a high-arch "bar" faucet on the bathroom sink, then put the necessary adapters on it for a garden hose quick-disconnect. We also got a 50 ft. Coil hose that came with a bracket/rack, so it hangs neatly beside the sink. Final piece is a good trigger spray nozzle. Cost was low, no actual plumbing skills needed.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's a fantastic idea!


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## Prognathodon

Thank you. After we used it the first time we asked ourselves why we didn't think of it sooner - we have a similar setup in another bathroom for aquarium water changes.



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_Thom Noble_ (04-02-2017)

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## Thom Noble

*Update*
So we leveled out the floor by with deck mud (it's 4parts sand 1 part concrete) it will be easy to remove if we move. 



Then we used laminate flooring it was pretty easy once you get a rhythm. My grandpa came and helped



Still need to seal around the garage door, run the ac unit and put shelving in. Moving animals in the second weekend of may and then we'll do a live video. 

Thank you to everyone that has helped with figuring out the odds and ends details, this room is a massive step up.

Also not sure why it looks darker considering we ran 5000k lumen led shoplights and 2 sets of 5500k fluorescent 🤣



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Craiga 01453 (04-18-2017),_rock_ (04-18-2017),_zina10_ (04-18-2017)

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## Craiga 01453

Looking great!!

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noblereptiles (04-19-2017),_Thom Noble_ (04-19-2017)

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## noblereptiles

Well move in day is this weekend. Not sure how much will get moved in but hopefully at least the big racks 



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Craiga 01453 (05-04-2017),_Prognathodon_ (05-05-2017),_rock_ (05-07-2017)

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## FlynnTheBP

Wow, this is an awesome project! Can you post an update when it's fully finished with the reptiles in?

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_Thom Noble_ (05-06-2017)

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## WastelandExotics

When can I move in?! 

(ps. great job so far - lookin' snazzy as hell!)

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Craiga 01453 (05-05-2017),_Thom Noble_ (05-06-2017)

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## mrhoyo

I don't have a garage 😭

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## noblereptiles

Yeah! We plan to do a live walk through once everyone is moved in. This weekend we are actually starting the move in. 


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Craiga 01453 (05-05-2017),FlynnTheBP (05-05-2017),_Thom Noble_ (05-06-2017)

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## Meerna

Man, I hope one day I can afford a place with an extra room for my reptiles. Right now they're in the walk-in closet, but I know it won't take long for me to fill the racks I already have.

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_Thom Noble_ (05-06-2017)

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## DLena

What a fantastic set up!

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_Thom Noble_ (05-06-2017)

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## Thom Noble

> Man, I hope one day I can afford a place with an extra room for my reptiles. Right now they're in the walk-in closet, but I know it won't take long for me to fill the racks I already have.


That's how I started.. well to be honest I hid them under my bed lol. Just keep with it and everything will fall in place  :Smile: 


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## Thom Noble

Well the room is more or less finished! 

https://youtu.be/U-grqFrviiY



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_DLena_ (05-18-2017),noblereptiles (05-18-2017),_Prognathodon_ (05-19-2017)

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## noblereptiles

Hey husband I think I need to hang those last two lights....js 🤣


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_Thom Noble_ (05-18-2017)

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## DLena

And you still have room to expand! I'm spilling out of my viv room big time. So jealous  :Good Job:

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_Thom Noble_ (05-18-2017)

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## Thom Noble

> And you still have room to expand! I'm spilling out of my viv room big time. So jealous


Thank you! 


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