The 12-Gauge Garage

[Jack Olsen]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

Now, about that shop door... are you going to fab up some 'vault doors'?

Thanks. Do you mean for the car door or the man door? I've thought about cooler doors for the car, but it's hard to beat the space-effectiveness (and cost-effectiveness) of the standard roll-up. I've thought about a good steel door for the walking entrance -- maybe with a window. But one thing at a time.

Originally Posted by reinhardt

nice work. when i run short on projects around the house i browse your thread for ideas in the garage. i have a question tho. i am looking to start painting my garage walls, wood cabinets and steel work bench. what kind of paint and prep are you doing? i clueless on paintwork.

I'm pretty low-tech with painting. For walls, I just do two coats after a quick cleaning. For steel, I'll prime the bare metal, scuff the old paint up, and then wipe it down with acetone before the paint goes on. Usually it's an exterior semigloss latex -- because that's cheap.

I plumbed the sink today. It was interesting, because I've never done anything like it before. No leaks, so I guess it's working.

The second-hand sink I had only came with one hole, so I had to drill two more. I used an ordinary hole saw.



I haven't done anything to the interior of the main cabinet, yet. So it's ugly. But you can see here that the presence of the sink and the drain don't compromise the storage very much at all. When I'm convinced none of my low-budget connections are going to leak, I'll clean it up and start filling it up.



Based on a recent Garage Journal thread, I decided to put two fire extunguishers right by the exit/entrance. I'll have three more inside the garage.



Here's where it stands. Still have the cabinet above, the ceiling piece, and the lights to do. But I'm beginning to feel lie it will be done soon.



Still working on sourcing a new handset for the phone.

[Omphaloskeptic]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

Jack,

It's really a pleasure to see the results of your design skills! Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Not to push any ideas upon you, but I'm kinda expecting the shop door to be fab'd out of a couple of those stout cabinet doors (painted 'Jack Green' of course)! I mean just for continuity's sake - and Black Beauty would be as safe as being parked in Fort Knox!

Jack, I posted the above just after you positioned the sink cabinets; I thought your man door would get the same treatment. Now if you did the car door in the same vein, that would be AMAZING, not to mention heavy and secure! lol

[HotRodKush]

Awesome garage! You may have mentioned this previously but I missed it if you did - what methods did you use to form the aluminum trim? Are the edges rounded, sanded, etc.? Any polishing?

[Jack Olsen]

Originally Posted by Omphaloskeptic

Jack, I posted the above just after you positioned the sink cabinets; I thought your man door would get the same treatment. Now if you did the car door in the same vein, that would be AMAZING, not to mention heavy and secure! lol

Agreed. I like to tell myself this is the end of the road for fixing up this garage, but both doors could stand a little attention. But the list of things I've been putting off had gotten pretty long. The wife wants some minor changes in the kitchen and I've been wanting to do a deck and pergola in the back yard for a couple of years now.

But you've got me thinking.

Originally Posted by HotRodKush

Awesome garage! You may have mentioned this previously but I missed it if you did - what methods did you use to form the aluminum trim? Are the edges rounded, sanded, etc.? Any polishing?

Thanks. For the two curves on this bench, I used a Harbor Freight roll bender to pre-set the curve before I attached the aluminum piece to the steel edge. It's 1/8" 6061 and it has some pretty good spring to it if you don't overbend it a little and then let it come back. I like it to have a buffed sort of polished look -- not shiny, but not all cut up. For the pieces so far, I've just taken a piece of Scotchbrite and pressed an orbital sander over it to put a slight scuff in the surface. It's quick and simple. And if the aluminum gets scratched, you can buff it back with a Scotchbrite pad very quickly.

[Omphaloskeptic]

Jack,
After the 'honey-do' list is complete and you're sitting out on the deck gazing out across at the garage/shop, the thought of those doors will bug you. The alternative is to knock them out now while you are on a roll, and than later, you can really relax on the deck with a cold one, sit back and ... smile!
Consider it 'curb appeal' for the homeowner.

[HSpencer]

One of my favorites of all time. Outstanding workmanship and careful and thoughtful use of available space. Put it in "Better Homes and Garages" next issue!! Great job!!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

...Now I've got to come up with a new place to store those upright cans I use frequently. I had thought it would be possible to attach one of those old swing-out cabinet doors from the old island to one side of the new cabinets, but I tried it and didn't like the way it looked. I've got some ideas, though.

One more little project.

Sorry to bring up old stuff, but you this back on post #342 and I was wondering if you put those rattle cans in the shallow cabinet below the sink or if that area is too far removed from the work bench where you tend to use them?

[reinhardt]

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

Based on a recent Garage Journal thread, I decided to put two fire extunguishers right by the exit/entrance. I'll have three more inside the garage.

what is this recent thread? i was trained in firewatch training if one extinguisher wont put it out to run away and call the fire dept. it would seem to me 5 extinguishers worth of fire is a hell of a lot of fire! btw... i work in ship repair on navy ships, fire is a big deal on board ship.

[Jack Olsen]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Sorry to bring up old stuff, but you this back on post #342 and I was wondering if you put those rattle cans in the shallow cabinet below the sink or if that area is too far removed from the work bench where you tend to use them?

That's what I originally thought. I have a smaller cabinet for my 'most-used' spray cans, but this would be the bigger storage area. However, I've got a second idea I'm considering about using the shallower cabinet for a reel area for a 220v outlet and extension cord.

Originally Posted by reinhardt

what is this recent thread? i was trained in firewatch training if one extinguisher wont put it out to run away and call the fire dept. it would seem to me 5 extinguishers worth of fire is a hell of a lot of fire! btw... i work in ship repair on navy ships, fire is a big deal on board ship.

It's funny. My father was Navy and also got his degree in Fire Safety engineering. Not much rubbed off on me, unfortunately. But my double-tank theory was more along the lines of 'if one doesn't discharge, the other might.' I bought these used, and they're probably not going to get as regular a service cycle as extinguishers used in a commercial setting.

Here's the carpentry work from today. As you can see, there's no finishing or paint, and the garage itself is a mess.

Looking up at the expanded cabinet:



You can see how it will fit in with the rest of the garage (if you can look past the mess):



Closer in. Almost done with it:

[gasgas17]

Jack, is that duct tape wrapped all around the drain from your sink? lol Does that drain have a propper vent in the wall ?

[Jack Olsen]

I'm pretty sure it is vented. It's not what I would consider no-compromise plumbing, but there are four vents up on the roof -- and the structure has a bathtub, toilet and sink elsewhere, and this sink.

The tape is a flexible rubber plumbing repair tape that I put on as insurance when I found out my PVC cement had not been closed properly and was no good. It's a sleeve fit for that long extension, and I suspect it would hold a seal just fine if I didn't do anything at all. But I plan on getting the right cement for it pretty soon.

[toranaback]

jack, awsome job in showing what can be done in a small garage, love your work

[oldschool914]

Jack I found this site through my reg. 914world site I hang out at.....this site rocks.you rock dude.
And when I saw the Porsche wow, I was hook.Just like you the strike set me back,But I almost lost my home.Thank God I was able to keep my place.
So now I can do the things that I have been wanting to do with the man cave.
as you can see I need a lot of help.
BTW the 911S is out side right now,I have a one owner 1973 1.7 914 in that spot, I hope tp make more room very soon.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, guys. I did some quick painting this morning. It's almost done.

Here's another picture I found of where it was previously:



And here's the newer version:



(And that's a gorgeous early coupe, oldschool914.)

[Jack Olsen]

Okay. It's done. And the thing about my garage that I really like is that it cleans up so easily, even when every flat surface is covered with stuff. Everything has a place to go, and then it's just a matter of sweeping it out.

I got some help with that part.



But here's the sink and steel counter/cabinets in the context of the whole garage. And because it's my wildly-overphotographed garage, you'll get a couple of different views.

[Noisy Nova]

You make me afraid to show the inside of my garage.
I might get banned.

[HotRodKush]

Crazy to think that it's all in a 2-car garage - amazing use of space.

[e-tek]

OK - which one of you guys want to marry Jack?

Come on, you'll get to use the garage.....




All kidding aside - where do you get those heavy-duty cabinets? I've been looking for a while and just cannot find (used) stuff like that....I've been watching the classifieds, the auctions....

[fringeofinsanity]

As always, nicely Done Jack.

[gsport]

Jack Jack Jack.... you NEED a bigger garage