derBayerische January/February 2025 - 12

Virtual Garage Series:
Ground-Up Garage Builds
Article by Todd M. Bacastow | Photos by Jim York and James Crivellone
Introduction
Owning one of your favorite BMWs
is a dream many of us have shared
and have been fortunate enough to
realize. Building the ultimate garage
to house and enjoy this BMW is
perhaps the next level. For the third
installment of the BMW CCA Virtual
Garage Series, we met fellow BMW
CCA M Chapter members who have
realized this dream by designing
and building their ultimate garages
from the ground up.
The M Chapter hosted the
latest episode of our Virtual Garage
Series in January 2024. We were
treated to virtual tours of Jim &
Diana's Garage by Jim York and
Crivy's Garage by James Crivellone
(known as " Crivy " to his friends).
Each member shared the background,
project goals, key features,
challenges, and lessons learned
from building their garages. Both
had the luxury of planning and
12
building their garages from the
ground up, though each of their
scenarios was quite different.
Jim & Diana's Garage
Jim and Diana's garage is an outstanding
example of a ground-up
garage remodel designed to
integrate with an existing home.
The couple embarked on designing
their dream garage in 2016 with the
goal of creating an inviting and
larger space. They wanted a space
to store and enjoy their cars that
matched the style of their singlefamily
home in Maryland. Jim and
Diana secured the building permits
and demolished their existing 24' x
28' detached two-car garage in late
2017, then started construction in
mid-2018, and the project was
completed by summer 2021. They
served as their own general
contractor, which allowed them to
do a lot of the work themselves and
hire professionals when needed.
Their functional requirements
included going from a detached to
attached garage space, storage for
four vehicles, maximizing a clean,
usable primary 28' x 28' climatecontrolled
space, and having a
separate 19' x 12' work/storage
area. The added width and depth
over a standard two-car garage
configuration allowed for ease of
movement and additional storage.
Other unique features that Jim and
Diana prioritized included a high
ceiling to accommodate two
American Custom M1 single-post
auto lifts. Single-post lifts must be
bolted into the concrete for stability
but have a smaller footprint
allowing for almost unobstructed
access from below. Since they
planned ahead for the single-post
lift, the lifts could be recessed in
the concrete which allowed the
base to be flush with the ground.
A polyaspartic coating was applied
to the floor for aesthetics and ease
of cleaning. Spray foam was used
to insulate the space and ductless
mini-split units provided heating,
cooling and dehumidification.
Finishing touches including wood
wall panels that Jim and Diana
installed themselves were milled
from trees taken down on their
property, and a variety of carthemed
décor.
Jim and Diana spent a tremendous
amount of time planning and
doing research through sources such
as GarageJournal.com. Jim said it
was ideal to be able to approach
the project with some flexibility
around budget and time constraints.
He thinks such flexibility allows one
to focus on achieving their vision
since additional insights can be
gained over the course of the
project, as it evolves from early
research and planning.
derBayerische
https://www.garagejournal.com/
derBayerische January/February 2025

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