Rick Peters presents six themed ways to transform the garage into a comfortable, effective, and efficient space: enclosing a carport; making a mechanics dream work area; adding a woodworking shop; creating a craft room; putting in storage (and more storage); and building a family room.

A secret history of the garage as a space of creativity, from its invention by Frank Lloyd Wright to its use by start-ups and garage bands. Frank Lloyd Wright invented the garage when he moved the automobile out of the stable into a room of its own. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (allegedly) started Apple Computer in a garage. Suburban men turned garages into man caves to escape from family life. Nirvana and No Doubt played their first chords as garage bands. What began as an architectural construct became a cultural construct. In this provocative history and deconstruction of an American icon, Olivia Erlanger and Luis Ortega Govela use the garage as a lens through which to view the advent of suburbia, the myth of the perfect family, and the degradation of the American dream. The stories of what happened in these garages became self-fulfilling prophecies the more they were repeated. Hewlett-Packard was founded in a garage that now bears a plaque: The Birthplace of Silicon Valley. Google followed suit, dreamed up in a Menlo Park garage a few decades later. Also conceived in a garage: the toy company Mattel, creator of Barbie, the postwar, posthuman representation of American women. Garages became guest rooms, game rooms, home gyms, wine cellars, and secret bondage lairs, a no-commute destination for makers and DIYers—surfboard designers, ski makers, pet keepers, flannel-wearing musicians, weed-growing nuns. The garage was an aboveground underground, offering both a safe space for withdrawal and a stage for participation—opportunities for isolation or empowerment.

Every gearhead dreams of having a great garage-a clean, well-lit, functional place to work on cars, motorcycles, etc. And whether your garage is a simple workspace or a shrine to your toys, there's always something to improve. Inside Ultimate Garage Handbook you'll find tips on best utilizing your space and 16 step-by-step projects that will take your garage from average to ultimate and make you the envy of the neighborhood. Author Richard Newton-an ASE Master Technician and author of 101 Projects for Your Corvette 1984-1996, Corvette Restoration Guide 1963-1967, and How to Restore and Modify Your Corvette 1968-82-takes a real-world approach to each project, including cost, time, tools, skill level, and more. From lighting upgrades, flooring upgrades, and storage solutions to ways to incorporate special equipment like air compressors, heaters, blasting cabinets, and workbenches, Ultimate Garage Handbook is the perfect addition to the hands-on car aficionado's library.About the AuthorCorvette expert, Richard Newton is an ASE Master Technician who spent 15 years in the auto service industry before becoming a magazine editor and freelance automotive writer. He resides in Lakeland, Florida.

Girls Garage is the only book you'll ever need for a lifetime of tools and building. Not sure which screws to buy? Need to fix a running toilet? With Girls Garage, you'll have the expertise to tackle these problems with your own hands. Or maybe you want to get creative and build something totally new. A birdhouse? A bookshelf? Girls Garage has you covered. Packed with illustrations that will build confidence for your next hardware store run, practical advice on everything from quick fixes to safety tips, and inspiring stories from real-world builder girls and women, this eye-catching volume makes the technical accessible. This is the guide every girl needs to take her life into her own hands. Girls, get in touch with your inner badass, and get building • Informative, inspiring, and designed for everyday use, this is the ultimate book of book of building and woodcraft for girls. • A true confidence builder for girls interested in STEM, woodworking, and home improvement. • Along with her design agency and Girl's Garage, Emily Pilloton has been featured on television shows and the documentary film If You Build It. Girls Garage will be both a trusted household resource and a wellspring of inspiration and encouragement in the vein of Women in Science and Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World. • Nonfiction books for girls age 14 and up • Woodcraft, home repair, kids building projects • Inspiring Kids DIY for teens Emily Pilloton is a designer, builder, educator, and founder of the nonprofit design agency Project H Design and Girls Garage. Her ideas have made their way to the TED stage, the Colbert Report, and the full-length documentary If You Build It. She is currently a lecturer in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Garage and Workshop Gear Guide is a one-stop resource for garage gear know-how--one book that amateur and expert alike can go to for the facts, as well as a good helping of expert advice, on selecting tools without breaking the bank or wasting time. The book also offers straightforward, honest advice about how to evaluate and select tools according to particular needs. As entertaining as it is informative, Benford's handbook imparts practical wisdom on safety and tool care, making and testing tools, and assembling "tool kits" to perform various tasks such as restoration, motorcycle maintenance, body work fabrication, and mechanical repair. The Guide covers everything from safety gear and the "caste system" of tool quality to fasteners and "the tools that love them," such as screwdrivers, wrenches, and ratchets; clamps and vises; hammers, mallets, and "other persuaders"; cutting tools; electrical tools; air tools; measuring tools; welding equipment; lifts; workbenches and storage. This book is an essential resource for setting up an efficient, cost-effective, and enjoyable workspace for the amateur and professional mechanic or restorer.

Through the year and no matter the weather, workers at the Village Garage are always busy. With the help of their trusty trucks, they clean the streets of sticks and leaves in the spring; patch potholes in preparation for summer traffic; pick up the leaves in the fall; and spray the roads with sand and salt during winter. Young truck enthusiasts will love watching the garage workers operate their terrific trucks and keep the roads in top shape through every season!The Village Garage is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.