My wife and I stumbled across Dura at the Goodwood Members Meeting in March 2016. Their display at the famous racing circuit greeted us with smooth roller drawers, fitted tools and drop down TV screen. This was garage heaven!

After a call to them the next day, Residential Designer Bryan Evans visited our home to discuss our options. These included the quality of Dura’s products, the variety of equipment available, project timescales and of course price.

Bryan measured up, took photos of the existing set up and left me with a variety of samples and brochures to contemplate.

A few days later the exciting email arrived with some outline drawings and costings. I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually afford all that Bryan had suggested, and didn’t need to compromise on my options. There were a few iterations from me about exactly which cabinets I wanted and where, none of this seemed any trouble to Bryan who responded to all of my enquiries promptly.

Having agreed a design and finish for the floor, walls, ceiling and equipment and how my vice and grinder could be accommodated, I now had to crack on with three complementary pieces of work that I would undertake myself: 1) replace the garage door with an electric roller shutter, 2) replace the wooden window with a uPVC double-glazed unit, 3) remove all of the old kitchen cupboards and work surfaces that had served me well, if amateurishly, for the last few years.

A mid-August installation was agreed. That gave me just enough time to completely clear the garage before Dura’s team of fitters arrived. Anyone anticipating having this work done shouldn’t under estimate the time taken to remove and sort garage contents, and make a few trips to the tip!

Dura’s installers spent 3 days turning my tired, old garage into my little bit of garage heaven. Whilst admiring the finished work it occurred to us that a covering may be more attractive than simply painting the exposed block work. A quick trip to our local DIY store for carpet tiles and double sided tape, followed by a few hours with a craft knife, and the result is stunning and really complements the Dura quality. Presumably it also adds to the building’s insulation properties, offering my precious cars that extra bit of protection.

After a visit from my local electrician to install lighting in my new ceiling, my garage transformation is complete and I have put back all of my tools, paint pots, oil cans, nuts and bolts. It’s a real pleasure to open the door on a space that’s almost too easy to keep clean and tidy.

Although a time consuming project it has been hugely satisfying.

My cars and bikes are now cossetted in a safe and secure automotive luxury, I can find things easily, and my wife can find me!