There was some initial progress today on the build of my detached 24 x 30 garage. After getting approval from the local Property Owner's Association (like an HOA but nowhere as petty, strict or authoritarian) recently, I hired a tree service to remove three trees and grind five stumps that were sitting in the area where the garage will go. The tree crew was scheduled to do the work tomorrow but they surprised me ringing my doorbell early this morning to do the work. Oh well, roll with the punches.
Later on a "stump guy" showed up. He seemed to be a subcontractor. I had seen a stump grinder machine at work before but this one was what I guess is the latest. Completely remote controlled with a wheel of death at the front. After less than 5 minutes, the stump guy was heading back to the trailer and I had to point back to 2 stumps he missed. I can only imagine the nightmare of trying to get him to come back out to redo work he thought he already completed.
A Before shot with the basic footprint marked and trees sitting in it. And an After shot taken this evening.
Progress! 77.gif
Quote from: MiniDave on June 05, 2020, 04:50:59 PM
Progress! 77.gif
Yup, moving ahead. I decided on going with a stick-built wood garage rather thank a steel building. I like the look better and I think with wood it will be easier to insulate and modify things if I want to. I'm meeting with the builder on Monday to put a deposit down and decide on some options such as windows, paint color, shingles, entry door location, etc.
Spray foam insulation if you can. Stuff makes it like an igloo
I'll be interested to hear what the budget turns out to be, all in. Going to add A/C? A window unit will do the trick, or a motel unit, or even a mini-split. All three will give you cool and heat if needed. Of course you'll need to run enough electricity out there to run it, but then you'll need that for the lift too! :D
Gonna do the floors like your garage in Plano?
Exciting! I'm watching this space!
Quote from: gr8kornholio on June 05, 2020, 06:52:16 PM
Spray foam insulation if you can. Stuff makes it like an igloo
Second this.
Quote from: MiniDave on June 05, 2020, 06:59:28 PM
I'll be interested to hear what the budget turns out to be, all in. Going to add A/C? A window unit will do the trick, or a motel unit, or even a mini-split. All three will give you cool and heat if needed. Of course you'll need to run enough electricity out there to run it, but then you'll need that for the lift too! :D
Gonna do the floors like your garage in Plano?
Air conditioning, and the electricity to power it, will have to come later on when funds permit. Right now it's just going to be a simple bare garage to store cars and stuff. Epoxy for the floor will have to wait too. Besides, the concrete is supposed to cure for a while before the floor can be coated.
Grinding a stump down 6" below the ground generates a lot of shavings/mulch, most of which fills the empty hole. That's okay if you're growing grass where the tree used to be, but not so good to put a pad of concrete over it because the mulch will decompose and leave a void. So I pulled all the shavings/mulch out, piled it up, and decided to burn it to get rid of it. (Burning stuff is an advantage of not living in a city!). Plus I got to make fire! 4.gif
Here's the garage space as of this morning with the big black pile of ash. The concrete crew is coming later today to build the forms.
So, they don't have to excavate? They just pour the concrete on the ground? No base of crusher run 8" deep and compacted in 2" lifts?
Quote from: MiniDave on June 13, 2020, 10:25:53 AM
So, they don't have to excavate? They just pour the concrete on the ground? No base of crusher run 8" deep and compacted in 2" lifts?
No excavation. Remember there are no frost concerns here and the ground is basically solid rock with a little smattering of soil sitting on top. They did apply a couple of dump trucks full of large aggregate followed by crushed stuff. It's probably 6" deep with deeper trenches around the perimeter. Then they put a moisture barrier down and rebar on top of that. They ran out of moisture barrier - looks like they didn't bring enough with them. They will lift the rebar up and put the moisture barrier down underneath it where they missed it earlier.
I just spoke with the crew leader and they will return Monday and install the rest of the plastic moisture barrier and finish the rebar. I think the pour will also happen Monday. But they can't get a concrete mixer down my driveway - low trees and it's an asphalt driveway that won't support the weight. So they will have to buggy in the concrete - the contractor budgeted for the concrete buggy as part of the cost.
Progress!
Once the pad is down and cured then the build will happen fast!
Is the electricity coming underground or above? I'm guessing above if you don't have much soil depth.
Quote from: Willie_B on June 13, 2020, 03:45:51 PM
Is the electricity coming underground or above? I'm guessing above if you don't have much soil depth.
When electricity does come, I think it will need to be underground. Going aerial would require the installation of a utility pole I think, and there are trees in the way. Probably have to get a small rock saw to cut a trench into the limestone.
Concrete has arrived! They are pouring it now.
Getting a good early start.....make sure they cover it and keep it damp for a few days to minimize cracking....as hot and dry as it is there if you don't you'll be disappointed with the final pad.
More progress.
Using the spinning thingy.
Power trowel, gives a nice, smooth, even finish.
Very exciting!
Great progress so far!
Concrete is done. Forms are down. I'm going to water it every few hours.
Did you add your name in the wet concrete? Even if it's under where the wall will go, just gotta do it.
Nice. Same buggy they used for the pad of my shed.
Quote from: Willie_B on June 15, 2020, 02:37:59 PM
Did you add your name in the wet concrete? Even if it's under where the wall will go, just gotta do it.
It was my plan! I went to add my name and date but it already hardened too much. Bummer.
Same with our shed. They put some hardener in slabs no to help against cracks. It was already solid by the time they left.
Right, you can buy densifier at Home Depot and spray it on with a pump sprayer
I expect they'll be back tomorrow to cut the stress relief lines
Quote from: MiniDave on June 15, 2020, 07:34:10 PM
I expect they'll be back tomorrow to cut the stress relief lines
I think the cement crew are done with it. I've never seen a garage in Texas with relief lines cut - they are just smooth slabs. In fact, so are the slabs that houses are built upon here.
Looks nice.
I never got around to cutting lines in the back half of my shop that I added 5 years ago.
The front half has them and has way more cracks. So I would say better off without them.
Here we just compact the dirt if needed and pour the slab right on it with a footing on the perimeter of course and a deep one 36" due to freezing. I had them add fiberglass to my slab.
I watered the slab 4 or 5 times a day for the first couple of days after it was poured to help enable the concrete to dry slowly. I figured watering it couldn't hurt, and it could help. There was also a good rain shower one day. Today I left the slab alone and it's dried to a chalky white color - no cracking or crazing visible.
Lumber is to be dropped off this Saturday with more materials dropped on Monday. The build is scheduled to begin on Monday too and I'm told it should take about 3 days. So... this time next week I should have a completed garage! (Fingers crossed).
Put some sealer on that and it will stop that dustiness.....
I'll have to look into that, but I don't want issues later should I decide to coat it with epoxy. I was researching epoxy coatings on newly-poured concrete and I found that most manufacturers recommend a minimum of 30 days cure time. Sometimes even longer.
Once I can park on the bare concrete I think I have to be careful not to have any oil or other chemical contamination.
I think most want you to etch it with a mild muriatic acid solution first.....
I like Ucoatit 2 part epoxy.
https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB (https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB)
Oil won't hurt it and sops up with kitty litter. Easy to clean with wet mop. Does need to be acid etched. Avoid any oil prior to coating. If the concrete is finished smooth repeated hot tires will cause it to flake. It appears that yours is fairly rough so it should adhere very well.
I discovered recently that my detached garage the floor will sweat in high humidity. It will be absorbed with raw concrete.
It's difficult to tell in the photographs but, I'm wondering about the setback requirements between this garage and the
fenced property line of the adjacent home with the yellow awning.
Quote from: Scargo on June 20, 2020, 01:19:47 PM
It's difficult to tell in the photographs but, I'm wondering about the setback requirements between this garage and the
fenced property line of the adjacent home with the yellow awning.
There is a 5' easement at the rear, and a 10' one on the side. I told the concrete crew to add a foot to each of those measurements as a little bit of safety when they placed the forms and I doubled checked them the night before the concrete arrived.
Quote from: tsumini on June 18, 2020, 11:04:48 PM
I like Ucoatit 2 part epoxy.
https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB (https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB)
Oil won't hurt it and sops up with kitty litter. Easy to clean with wet mop. Does need to be acid etched. Avoid any oil prior to coating. If the concrete is finished smooth repeated hot tires will cause it to flake. It appears that yours is fairly rough so it should adhere very well.
I discovered recently that my detached garage the floor will sweat in high humidity. It will be absorbed with raw concrete.
I used Ucoat about 10 years ago at my old house. I really liked it, and it held up well. But it did fade where the sun hit it near the garage door opening. But I guess that's to be expected.
I received word early this morning that the lumber delivery is now delayed until Tuesday, so a couple of days later start.
What did the permit cost? Piddle or OMG?
Permit? Permit? We don't need no stinking permits. ;D No permit was needed. I live in an unincorporated part of the county. There's an exclusion if the structure is not built for human habitation.
Quote from: BruceK on June 20, 2020, 04:21:12 PM
Permit? Permit? We don't need no stinking permits. ;D No permit was needed. I live in an unincorporated part of the county. There's an exclusion if the structure is not built for human habitation.
One more reason for me to move to Texas hill country.
Progress. Some materials arrived today: 24' joists, a pair of windows, and the 'man' door. More stuff is due tomorrow.
Did they park that stuff on top your new slab?
I forgot, what is your final size.....24X30?
Quote from: MiniDave on June 22, 2020, 03:25:18 PM
Did they park that stuff on top your new slab?
I forgot, what is your final size.....24X30?
No, they placed the materials on our regular driveway. They can't get those 24' joists back there by forklift - in fact they had to pirouette the wide load around several trees bordering the driveway to get them as far as they did. I installed a gate to the backyard at the end of our driveway, but it's just 14' wide (visible to the left of the forklift in the photo), and the distance between some trees on the winding gravel path I made to the garage site is even more narrow - so the end of the asphalt driveway is as far as they can do. I discussed this with the contractor ahead of time and he said his guys will just have to hand carry that stuff to the garage build site.
And yes, the garage size is 24x30.
Additional materials arrived today, along with a skilled forklift driver. He was able to place some items right next to the worksite.
The crew arrives tomorrow to start the build!
The Garage-a-Rama begins!
The crew showed up this morning and it's a nice overcast day, not too hot, so I bet they'll make a lot of progress. This is only 2 hours in.
Moving right along!
Awesome stickbuilding process!
You'll have some nice attic space with them building the roof like that. Was that your spec? Most builds i see are using pre manufactured roof trusses. Ruins Attic space.
They'll be done by the end of the week at that rate.
Great progress!
Quote from: jedduh01 on June 24, 2020, 01:36:53 PM
Awesome stickbuilding process!
You'll have some nice attic space with them building the roof like that. Was that your spec? Most builds i see are using pre manufactured roof trusses. Ruins Attic space.
There was an option to have a more steeply pitched roof with a full attic and a staircase going up to it. I considered it, but the cost was more than $5K additional, and I really didn't want the added expense. Especially since the existing attached 2-car garage (herein after to be known as the "wife's garage" ;D ) already has a great attic which we only partially use.
No pre-fab trusses - the crew is building it all from scratch.
Quote from: 94touring on June 24, 2020, 01:41:30 PM
They'll be done by the end of the week at that rate.
I think you are right. Here's the latest.
Who's doing the insulation, painting and electrical?
When does the 2 post lift arrive?
30 ft long means you can get at least 4 Minis in there! 77.gif
Quote from: MiniDave on June 24, 2020, 05:12:54 PM
Who's doing the insulation, painting and electrical?
When does the 2 post lift arrive?
30 ft long means you can get at least 4 Minis in there! 77.gif
Should I start a
Go Fund Me campaign for those things? ;D
All the interior goodies will have to wait until sometime in the future.
Yes, there should be sufficient room in there for both my cars, and my truck too. And motorcycle as well.
Used 2 post lifts can be purchased pretty cheap. There are numerous websites that resell used ones.
My only concern would be if you planned for on in your garage floor.
How thick did you make the slab?
Looking good!! Green with envy, I wish I had the room in my yard to do that.
I am very close to doing a garage makeover, possibly this fall, I have a few bills to pay off and a couple of big expenses concerning the house that need to be put behind me first. I am hoping this winter to have a nice clean organized tidy garage.
Quote from: Jims5543 on June 24, 2020, 06:15:23 PM
Used 2 post lifts can be purchased pretty cheap. There are numerous websites that resell used ones.
My only concern would be if you planned for on in your garage floor.
How thick did you make the slab?
Looking good!! Green with envy, I wish I had the room in my yard to do that.
I am very close to doing a garage makeover, possibly this fall, I have a few bills to pay off and a couple of big expenses concerning the house that need to be put behind me first. I am hoping this winter to have a nice clean organized tidy garage.
No, I didn't plan for a lift. Intentionally. The interior height is only 8 feet. A taller garage would have pretty much priced me out of having the space I want. So I compromised with a large footprint vs a taller, smaller garage with a reinforced floor. I figured I will need/use the large space more often than I would need to raise a car.
My garage does have a 3000 psi floor. I believe the floor is 4 to 6 inches thick. I think sometime down the road I make look at getting a low lift like the one you have.
Good luck with your garage plans!
The one that Don has works spectacularly well, and gives complete open space underneath, unlike mine. Mine works really well for most of the stuff I do, but having it wide open underneath would be an advantage as the engine hoist would be unobstructed as well as giving access to shift linkage and exhaust work.
It's also perfect for an 8 ft ceiling, and being portable allows it to be moved out of the way when needed or stored against the wall.
https://www.maxjax.com/ (https://www.maxjax.com/)
Interesting. Thanks for the link.
Did you watch the short video?
The creeper the guy is riding - I talked Don into getting one and he raves about it, trying to sit on a rolly seat doesn't really work as it's not very comfortable to look up like that.
They were originally designed and sold by the Danmar corp, who went belly up due to the covid and the patents were bought out by Bendpak, who is a well known lift MFR. The original MaxJax were ALI certified too....
Quote from: MiniDave on June 24, 2020, 09:50:28 PM
Did you watch the short video?
No, I didn't even know there were videos. I was using my phone and their website is whole big mess when viewing on a cellphone, including distorted images and text. Here is a very, very skinny guy mounting bicycle tires to his very, very skinny Corvette.
But since you mentioned video I revisited the site on my laptop and found the videos. Looks like a very cool lift, and I like the recliner roller seat to work under the car, too.
It's starting to look like a garage today.
Are we having a garage party?
Are they installing the lift door (garage door) too?
Quote from: MiniDave on June 25, 2020, 11:19:52 AM
Are they installing the lift door (garage door) too?
Yup. Part of the package.
Quote from: 94touring on June 25, 2020, 10:43:47 AM
Are we having a garage party?
When it's finished, I'm certainly going have a nice Guinness or two!
The roof is on! Windows and entry door are installed. Still needs to be caulked and painted - which should happen tomorrow - if the rain holds off. The garage door was supposed to be installed before painting but that's being delayed until Saturday. So the painter will have to return to paint that.
Can't believe they got the roof on too!
Well done, guys!
Quote from: MiniDave on June 25, 2020, 04:37:52 PM
Can't believe they got the roof on too!
Well done, guys!
Yeah, it looked like a very tight-knit crew that knew exactly what to do and when to do it. No wasted motion or time.
I fell asleep, woke up and it was done.
Quote from: 94touring on June 25, 2020, 04:56:32 PM
I fell asleep, woke up and it was done.
I spent 30 minutes on pronhub and boom!! A garage erection appeared.
Wow, that looks amazing!
Thanks guys. Can't wait to move cars and stuff in there.
That looks great! I'm in awe (like the other guys) as to how fast it went up!
Very nice. Don't forget motion detecting lghts so you don't have to walk back to the house in the dark.
Quote from: tsumini on June 26, 2020, 07:11:16 PM
Very nice. Don't forget motion detecting lghts so you don't have to walk back to the house in the dark.
Get a battery/solar powered light for this. No need for electricity.
There was no progress yesterday because it rained most of the day. Now the garage door installation guys are putting the door up and later today the paint crew is supposed to arrive to caulk and paint.
Thanks for the suggestion about lights.
A liftmaster style garage door opener gives you all the ceiling height as the lifter is alongside the top shaft instead of in the middle of the ceiling.....
Quote from: MiniDave on June 27, 2020, 10:22:49 AM
A liftmaster style garage door opener gives you all the ceiling height as the lifter is alongside the top shaft instead of in the middle of the ceiling.....
This what I have on both our garage doors. Got them thru Amazon.
That sounds like a great solution. Will need to wait until the magic elections are plumbed to the garage however...
Well the paint crew was a no-show today, rescheduled now for Monday. It's very windy with a lot of dust in the air today carried from the Sahara Desert (yes, really), so perhaps that is a good thing.
Quote from: MiniDave on June 27, 2020, 10:22:49 AM
A liftmaster style garage door opener gives you all the ceiling height as the lifter is alongside the top shaft instead of in the middle of the ceiling.....
Yeah I had lift masters in my old garage. They're great.
I'll be interested in your inside lighting. I have four florescent lights that i want to change out to LED eventually.
The twin 4ft led shop lights Costco sells are terrific, and often can be found on sale for $20.
It's ready for business!
A painter spent the last a day and a half caulking and painting, finishing up this morning. I was watching him and this guy was a perfectionist, spending a good deal of his time just going back over his work looking for any flaws or touch ups needed. The colors were selected by my wife who is planning on painting our house the same colors. (Correction: having the house painted... ;D ). So this was kinda the test to make sure she liked the colors in person. It passed the test.
It's not done till it has some cars in it!
Quote from: MiniDave on June 30, 2020, 04:07:46 PM
It's not done till it has some cars in it!
Agreed! Tune in tomorrow. The entire fleet should be docked there.
Nice color options. Worst thing I did was not cough up the money to have the shed painted. I mean, how hard could it be. Lol.
Quote from: gr8kornholio on June 30, 2020, 06:35:07 PM
Nice color options. Worst thing I did was not cough up the money to have the shed painted. I mean, how hard could it be. Lol.
Thanks. After watching a professional spend like 10 hours caulking and painting it I'm so glad I paid to have it done.
Quote from: BruceK on June 30, 2020, 06:10:01 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on June 30, 2020, 04:07:46 PM
It's not done till it has some cars in it!
Agreed! Tune in tomorrow. The entire fleet should be docked there.
I got my Mini, MINI, and Toyota parked in the new garage today. I'm sure I will find a more logical place to park each, but I wanted to see if I could easily fit them in just the back half of the garage. I can. 4.gif I was gonna put the Triumph in there too but it's just too hot and humid right now.
I'm going to hold off bringing toolboxes and other stuff to the garage for a while until I figure out what I'm going to do with the floor after it cures for 30 - 45 days. I don't wanna haul stuff in there only to have to pull it back out to mess with the floor.
Looks like you could fit 3 more in there.
So, drywall? Ceiling? Lights?
I really like the 2 bulb LED shop lights that Costco sells, if you watch for it you can find them on sale for $20 each, otherwise they're $30. They just plug in and you can daisy chain them so you only have to run one cord to a receptacle or hardwire at one spot. I think you can chain 10 of them together.....
I'd love to:
- add electricity
- add lighting
- add garage door opener
- add insulation
- add drywall and paint
- add some decoration
- add a/c
- add some flooring
- add some cabinets
But I spent a lot building it and I need to slow down on spending more for a while.
I think electricity goes to the top of that list.
Something I suggested to Dave was to find a local trade school and see if they do field training/work. My neighbor had all the electrical wiring done in his garage just for the cost of materials and lunch by students from a school. Their teacher was there to follow and check all work done.
https://scitexas.edu/electrical-technician/
Great idea. Thanks Brad.
Doing insulation on those walls is an easy job to do as well. Sheet rock isn't the most fun but a 2nd pair of hands will make it doable. Portable roll around AC for something the size of your shop would work well too and save cost of a house type hvac. Or a hotel style unit put on a wall. Those come with heat too.
You could press board the walls too if you don't need the finished look of drywall.
Quote from: 94touring on July 02, 2020, 10:42:46 AM
Doing insulation on those walls is an easy job to do as well. Sheet rock isn't the most fun but a 2nd pair of hands will make it doable. Portable roll around AC for something the size of your shop would work well too and save cost of a house type hvac. Or a hotel style unit put on a wall. Those come with heat too.
I agree on the sheetrock, especially since it is a garage. It is not hard to install and you can do a halfway decent job finishing it as well. Watch a couple of you tube videos on how to apply joint tape and have at it. Or price out pegboard for the walls and do that. I would put an attic access / pull down ladder in and finish off the ceiling as well.
Its fun spending other peoples money!!
So about a month ago I hired a contractor to dig a trench to my garage, and also hired an electrician to run cables in a conduit from the house main panel to a sub-panel in the garage.
The soil here is super rocky and the contractor using an excavator took a whole day to dig the 18" to 24" trench about 90' long, removing many large rocks, with a couple of them roughly the size of a lazyboy recliner. There were larger rocks embedded in the ground that could not be removed and they had to be jackhammered to cut a trench through them – that also took a whole day for a crew of a couple guys.
The picture doesn't make it look like it's that deep, but it's probably about 20 inches or so there.
Then I begin to educate myself on running cables in a new build and installing electrical fixtures. I got a great book on the subject and also spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and doing other searches on the Interwebs gaining knowledge.
As of right now there are only two measly circuits. One is for the (possible future) garage door opener as well as for the overhead light fixtures. The other circuit is for a series of 9 wall outlets.
The overhead lights are 4 foot led tube lights I got from Costco in the style of old fluorescent lights. As leds, they only use 42W each and crank out 4000 lumens - that provides good illumination of the garage. Since the light fixtures came with a standard two prong plug, I accommodated them by installing outlets along the rafters. They are supposed to last 50,000 hours so that should be permanent permanent solution. They are on a simple 20 amp breaker with 12 gauge Romax wire. The outlet circuit is also on a 20 amp breaker using the same wire. But this breaker is a dual function arc fault and ground fault one. I also installed a lower hanging light that will sit above my work bench. But that light is not off the wall switch like the others, I will use the pull chain for switching that.
I've got plenty of space in the sub panel for other circuits and the next thing I might handle will probably be outside lighting. Down the road I may be installing a 240v circuit for a/c. But that won't make sense and less I insulate the garage first.
I didn't use any wire nuts during the install. I always thought they were kind of a real half-assed idea. Instead I went modern with Wago connectors.
How many amps did you run to the subpanel?
Running electrical is a LOT of work, isn't it?
Having the lights on makes all the difference, doesn't it?
Insulation isn't that hard to do, and it makes such a difference especially in the hot summer months. I still think either a DIY Mini Split or a window A/C like I did would be ideal for your shop.
Did you do a man door, or is the only entrance thru the roll up door? NM, I see it on the side....
Did you run a second pipe in the ditch for your Cat5 or 6?
I have some of those Costco LEDS and I think they're terrific!
Next up after insulation is either drywall or OSB on the walls and ceiling.
Don't forget the 240 socket for the welder, and another for the big ass air compressor to run the blast media cabinet, then you'll be ready for the scissor lift.
77.gif
There's 50 amps running to the sub panel. That was the max they could be done without major changes to the house panel.
Yes, electrical it is deceivingly a lot of work. But it's very detailed work and I like that.
I agree that having the lights on makes all the difference. The space becomes much more livable and useful.
I did not run any cat5 cable because the garage is within range of the home Wi-Fi.
Yes, a man door was part of the standard garage package.
Yeah, a 240V outlet is in the planning for the future.
50 should be enough, I have both my A/C and my compressor on a 30 amp 240V circuit, but I share one receptacle for them both....usually I keep the compressor plugged in. It's not ideal and if I build my shop it will have separate circuits for them.
Everything else runs on 120V, and since I'm the only one in the shop I can only use one thing at a time.....so I can't overload any of the circuits.
Like those lights. I should toss my old fluorescent and upgrade. If you ever do hvac of some kind I highly recommend spray foam insulation. It will literally turn your space into an igloo.
Looking good!
Drywall is easy enough to put up, but I'd let someone else do the mud and tape - they'll have it done in a day - it would take me two weeks and look like crap when I'm done!
Then a couple coats of good primer, make the walls a nice light color - I like good old semi-gloss white for a top coat - it reflects light well and cleans up if something gets on it. Easy to touch up too.
I also like those wire shelves from Home Depot, they're not a lot of money, easy to put up and adjust able and will hold a lot of weight - like car parts! I also like to put everything in plastic tubs rather than cardboard boxes - the mice don't seem to bother them and don't chew holes and go live in them. You can also put those shelves on casters.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Chrome-6-Tier-Heavy-Duty-Metal-Wire-Shelving-Unit-48-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-HD18481302PS-1/203846551 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Chrome-6-Tier-Heavy-Duty-Metal-Wire-Shelving-Unit-48-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-HD18481302PS-1/203846551)
I can't wait to do more with the garage. But I will have to. Need to build the budget up first.
How are you "building the budget up"? Doing some consulting or something? Working part time somewhere?
Love how clean all your wiring is... very nice...
Quote from: MiniDave on November 12, 2020, 12:21:45 PM
How are you "building the budget up"? Doing some consulting or something? Working part time somewhere?
No. Some 18 months into retirement, I still haven't developed the urge to work more. I know it may happen, but I'm not feeling the calling. Just putting a little aside each month.
As long as you stay occupied and don't need money I doubt you ever will. My problem is the stuff I do to occupy my time gets pricey. Of course in another 20 years that may change.
Rose says I'm a failure at retirement!
I only work just so I can play more ;D
I got the garage insulated with spray foam last week. Even with no a/c it makes a HUGE difference. Really stabilizes the temperature. I started installing drywall today. Floor covering is on the back burner, to be considered later on.
Very nice. That will make a big difference.
Party at Bruce's shop!!!!
Good call. That stuff is amazing. Our last house had it. Was it 2011 where we had 100+ days of 100+ temps with like 70 in a row. Our electric bill for a 2200 sq ft house was $180 a month for those three months.
Yeah foam is great. My old 40x50 steel building was split in half and one side foamed including roof inside. Big difference. I did notice that the side with the foamed roof would sweat on the outside (metal roof) and would drip off the roof every morning eapecially in high humidity. It never gave me any problems but I presumed that it would rust quicker.
I finally completed my DIY mini-split air conditioning (and heat pump) installation for my garage. WooHoo! Right now it's a humid 90° outside and a balmy dry 71° inside. Both the outside unit and the inside unit are whisper quiet.
I would've had the a/c installed sooner but it's been to flippin hot to do much install work before I'd call it a day. Totally ironic.
It's going to be super nice to get work done in the garage with everything at room temperature no matter what the outside weather.
That's awesome! Did you do it yourself and if so how? I've been thinking of adding something like this to the shop apartment since it's hotel style ac died
Yes, I did it completely by myself. It's a true DIY solution. Much cheaper overall than paying an a/c contractor to install a/c.
It's a Mr. Cool brand and they offer various size mini-split units that have pre-charged lines. So the refrigerant is already in the lines (no need to pull a vacuum during installation) and it's simply a matter of (carefully) connecting them. Some of their smaller units run on 110V, but once you get past a certain BTU size it's all 220V. My unit is 18000 BTU (based upon what was needed based on the size of my garage) and it runs on 220V. So I ran conduit with 220V from my subpanel to the outside unit. Mr Cool even offers multi-room solutions with more than one inside air handler powered by a single larger outdoor unit.
It's simple enough to install but I would say if you are the type of person who jumps in and does not read instruction manuals than don't even bother. (i've got a couple of friends who seem to pride themselves on doing that). Installation is not difficult, it just needs to be done following step-by-step. It does require a 3 1/2 inch hole in the wall from the inside to the outside that is later hidden behind the inside air handler unit. There's a great phone app too - with it you can control everything including set schedules as to when to cool or heat and to what temperature.
There are many videos on YouTube - some better than others - where people have installed a Mr Cool system and I would suggest watching a bunch of those to get an idea of what it entails.
Edit: if there is one negative about this DIY solution, it's that the pre-charged lineset comes in 25 feet. That may be more length than most people need, so the excess line needs to be carefully coiled up behind the outside condenser.
Yeah the DIY ones are super easy to install. Just installed one a couple of weeks ago at my parents house. As Bruce says the biggest issue is how to deal with the extra line if you don't need 25 feet of it. In the case of my parents house we could have done with 10ft. It would be nice if they offered them with different length line sets.
I have the equipment to do it from scratch as well but they already had the DIY version so that is what we installed.
All in all it was pretty painless other than the fact it was about 100 degrees the day we installed it. They are super quiet as well, indoor and out.
Apparently Mr. Cool used to offer 16ft linesets too - would have been perfect for my needs - but they discontinued it.
I think they should offer a selection of 10, 15, 20, and 25 ft choices. But then suppliers would have to store more inventory and the worst thing would be to buy a length of it and then come up short during installation.