Post 41: Demo, stage 1

I spent a long time thinking about the design of the garage, but you probably don't want to read about that. Let's just say that I thought I knew what I wanted, so I started tearing off drywall panels.







Then my dad came to help me add a new 20A circuit and I wired up a bunch of receptacles in the alcove where the workbench was going to live. I have a 200A panel on the house and there was a ton of room left, so we put in a 50A circuit and I installed a new 220V plug back in the corner as well. In the old garage I had one by the front door and one by the back door, and between the two I could use a welder pretty much anywhere in the stall without an extension cord.





At some point, I thought to myself, "sometimes I want to work in the garage but it's too cold, and insulating a wall or two would be nice." So I did that.





I didn't have to use the R-13 with the plastic moisture barrier, but that kind was strangely cheaper than the regular paper-faced batts at Lowes. Next, we realized that the existing 220V was a 30A and connected with pretty light gauge wire, so we swapped that out for a 50A and 10ga wire, then added a 110V for good measure.





You know what happened next. Of course I couldn't stop there.

Post 40: About a month ago

Can't believe I didn't take a "before" picture of the garage.  Not one.  So here's one from yesterday instead.  The space is better than it was a month ago but still pretty messy.



So yeah, plugs, more plugs, and lights.  I decided that starting in the 2-car part of the garage was best because at least it had one light that I could tap into.  Plus, it's not only me who goes out there.  I figured it was probably smart to make sure the wife and kids could safely navigate their way to the freezer when necessary. So I tapped into the single light fixture and expanded the circuit to include a bunch more lights and couple of cheap Craigslist ceiling fans.





Part of the reason for the clutter, beyond just having moved, is that at the old house I had the yard stuff in a shed, the garage stuff in the garage, and the attic stuff in the attic. Now I had everything in the garage. So when I finished the lights, which involved being up in the attic to do some wiring, I went ahead and worked on the attic space. I strung a few lights and cleaned up the mess that the roofers had left before, then laid down some 2x4s and OSB for a floor. This gave me quite a bit of extra space to put things that didn't belong in the garage.









Now I could finally start clearing some space to work in the garage. This alcove in front of the Ford was floor-to-ceiling boxes and tubs and crap that I put in the attic. This is where I started what was to be a garage overhaul.



Oh yeah, this blog used to be about a car, right? Here she is in the new space, waiting patiently for attention. The first few pictures are from when she moved in, the last is how she's been abused lately, being used for box storage. But she looks different from last January at least, right? I told you the first part of 2015 was busy.

Post 39: And now for something completely different

Yikes. I suck at blogging.

A lot happened in the last year. The car came a long way in the first 6 months of 2015. I'll post pics and stories about that later. In July we got the bright idea to sell our house and move, so we spent about three months making that a reality. Short version: it was awful, but we ended up with a great house that I fully intend to either retire or die in, whichever comes first. From October until now we've just been settling in and doing the usual housey things.

About a month ago we had the inside of the house in good enough shape that I was able to get out into the garage and start working. It was a nightmare out there, compounded many times over for a guy like me who prefers his garage to be neat, orderly, and clean enough to satisfy food-prep laws.

Case in point - here's the garage I left behind:






It was about that clean when I still lived there and used it, haha.

The back roll-up door in a tract home is pretty rare, but that garage also had a couple of 220V plugs, a bunch of extra 110V, great lighting, great stereo, a ceiling fan, tons of shelving, and a decent attic space with a finished floor. Now, it took about 11 years to get it in that kind of shape, and we moved from that house into an older one, so my expectations moving in were reasonably low. I do still have a 3-car garage, and while the lack of a back roll-up door is a minus, there are many things I can put into the "plus" column. It is bigger than the old one and has higher ceilings and a nice window for natural light. The floor is in good shape, the third car stall has an alcove at the end that makes it about 4 feet longer than a normal garage, and there is a small but useable attic space above. There is also already a 220V plug where the last guy probably plugged in an air compressor. But it also had about three 110V receptacles and 1 (ONE) freaking light bulb on a switch for the entire space. And it didn't look to me like the previous owner had other lights and things that he took with him, either. I think he just didn't go in the garage too much.

Anyway, a month ago.

I came up with what I imagine is a pretty standard plan of attack. Add more 110V receptacles. Add more 220V receptacles. Add more lights.

My lunch break is over. I guess I'll have to continue this tomorrow. Or maybe next January, for consistency.