Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT My Mini Garagemahal

[Xti04]

Deck lookin good! Always wanted a tdi golf. Fat fives all shined up, not bad for a 375k car!

 

[fouckhest]

Deck lookin good! Always wanted a tdi golf. Fat fives all shined up, not bad for a 375k car!

Thanks, its shaping up to be an okay daily/around town car, we used it all weekend for our adventures to friends pools to escape the heat this weekend. Need to keep on my hunt for interior parts to clean that up

 

[fouckhest]

Pretty uneventful and mildly productive weekend, which was nice, good combination of quality time with the wife before an upcoming work trip, chipped away at a couple little projects and enjoying some relaxation with friends.

Project front was primarily car related, which is always nice...Friday afternoon, I got the shop somewhat picked up so when I come back from aforementioned work trip the shop isn't a mess and detours me from wanting to get back to work....once that was done I figured I'd yank the engine from the project car and get started on redoing the one header runner that I decided I didn't like.

Getting rather good at removing this lump, which is nice for future me lol

The runner that drops down below is the one being remade, it just kinda bothered me
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Old runner removed and broken apart
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Not the best photo, but you can see the green tape, that is the new runner in the making, its going to drop down in that gap and snake back up from under runner #2
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That brought me to a stopping point before the weekly boys night out for wings....

Saturday I started on the project of headlight restoration for the golf tdi and my step daughters car....got the headlights all removed and once amazon showed up with new sanding disks, went to town on them....

Everything prepped for clear (did 400, 600, 800, 1000)
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Finished product for the golf
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Both cars buttoned up and ready for the road Sunday before lunch.....

Much better...far from perfect, but for the use case of this car, it will be fine
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Weekend ended with a nice thunderstorm and some much needed rain! Grass was loving it
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, sanding and spraying clear is more time consuming than just buffing them in place but I suspect it will hold up better and longer. I sanded and cleared the lenses on the PT Cruiser 16 months ago and they are still crystal clear. I hosed the clear on so there was some cut and buff involved. The original lenses are 21 years old and like yours, look like new. The aftermarket ones cracked and crazed deep into the plastic so they went to the dump.

 

[fouckhest]

Mike, sanding and spraying clear is more time consuming than just buffing them in place but I suspect it will hold up better and longer. I sanded and cleared the lenses on the PT Cruiser 16 months ago and they are still crystal clear. I hosed the clear on so there was some cut and buff involved. The original lenses are 21 years old and like yours, look like new. The aftermarket ones cracked and crazed deep into the plastic so they went to the dump.

Looks good Bob!

I was apprehensive about how much clear to use, I think it may have been a bit heavy, but I'll keep an eye on them to see how they hold up. Both sets were perfect to practice on, if it doesn't hold up, mostly on the Accord, I can get a new set from amazon for ~$100. For the golf, I have a set of replica OEM HIDs that I can always throw in there

 

[MrPink]

Good job on the car front, it reminds me that i need to polish both my wifes car's headlights and my Suburban's. The Jetta got a full polish, clearcoat, then yellow LaminX

 

[Bob Heine]

I happened to have some SPI (Southern Polyurethanes Inc.) Universal clear. I used it on a butcher block countertop in the garage as well as all the body panels I've painted and it's like magic. It has excellent UV protection and can be buffed to a brand new shine for years.

 

[fouckhest]

Its the bosses busy time at work, so while she was working late last night I was able to sneak down to the garage and work on my headers a little....after a little adult lego/jenga, I think I found the combo that works

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr


Overall, I think I am happy with this layout/setup, going to leave them while I am away on my trip. When I come back, if I am still happy with it, I will then go and start tacking up all the runners in more spots (most just have 2 tacks), then go back to fit them again to make sure nothing moved, if that is all good, it will be time to start welding them out

 

[Metallitubby]

Need to keep on my hunt for interior parts to clean that up

I've got an entire Corrado interior you can have.

 

[fouckhest]

I've got an entire Corrado interior you can have.

of course you do! #partscar

 

[fouckhest]

The week is flying buy, trying to wrap up things at the house so the wife can manage our herd of dogs LOL.

Moved cars around in the garage, project car back into the lift bay and up in the air, Cayman out of the basement so the wife can kick the dogs out/escape them as needed, now all the cars are tucked away in the garage. I have to admit, while there is never a "big enough" garage, I do have to say that 24x32 is a good size, its nice to know I can get all four of my "toy" cars in the garage and we could still put another in the basement, if needed.

Cars tucked away
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Builder was back today after he was told the remainder of the trex was in, but the fascia boards apparently didnt get on the last order before July 4th, so thats a bummer, but they did get the posts up today, minus 1x corner that was a late add based on how I decided to run cables....more on that when I return from trip. Fingers crossed the fascia boards show up later today/tomorrow, so they can get the deck wrapped up, tomorrow or early next week.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

No concerns at all at using a 2post lift for storage? I feel like somewhere in the past I have seen it was recommended against doing that in the past. That would open up a lot of options if I read false information on the initial storage.

The new deck is coming along nicely. I love cable railing but the prices I am being quoted for the product have me hesitant to do it. Around here finding it like 3x the cost. Are you finding the same down your way?

 

[Xti04]

I did cable railing on my back porch and I would say to spend the money on a good product. The stuff I used was left and right hand threaded lag screws that turned opposite each other to tension cable. They worked fine for my horizontal railing but look like **** on my stair railings. I have seen some where they use metal railings and the cables are integrated and tension as one unit. Looked amazing but probably not cheap

 

[Nolift911]

@cccoltsicehockey on the two post I think if a few weeks on a lift vs months/years should be fine - 4 post are better for long term storage - years etc.

 

[fouckhest]

@cccoltsicehockey on the two post I think if a few weeks on a lift vs months/years should be fine - 4 post are better for long term storage - years etc.

Should be little reason for concern, that car is very light with no engine, plus it’s on the locks, so no stress on any hydraulics or cables

 

[MrPink]

Hope all is well dude, been a bit.

 

[fouckhest]

Hope all is well dude, been a bit.

Thanks for checking in @MrPink (justin)!

......EDIT.....apparently my message did send last night as I headed to my flight......but, I had wrote.....

​

"As I sit in the DFW airport, I'm here working and said, I'm done, I need to check in on GJ.....I've been trying to get an update together but its been a crazy last couple months, much like @zmotorsports, I don't like to post much about travel, although I know I did mention it here.....but I spent 15days in China, home for a week to recover, then it was a "big b-day" for my wife, then one recovery week and I just spent the last week in Texas.​

​

All that being said, every reasonable temperature minute have been spent maintaining the normal yard work and finishing the deck....I'm going to try and post a couple updates of both the China highlights and the deck project all wrap up.​

​

In the meantime, here are a couple quick photos of the railing with top rail installed and almost all the cables installed (thats another story/lesson in life)...hopefully find some time next week to do a good recap"​

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, the deck railing turned out amazing.

 

[Xti04]

Looks awesome! Your cable railing looks much nicer than mine turned out. Guess I am gonna have to back and redo mine now!

 

[fouckhest]

Mike, the deck railing turned out amazing.

Thanks Mike!

Looks awesome! Your cable railing looks much nicer than mine turned out. Guess I am gonna have to back and redo mine now!

Thank you, they are pretty slick I have to admit. These are what I used, but I used raw stainless, for some reason they aren't showing right now, not sure why. I used my battery cable crimp tool to swage them onto the cables.

Amazon.com

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

That railing looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the rest of the project.

 

[fouckhest]

Holy cow, I don't know where time goes anymore....I no more than got back from my China trip, had some time to get kinda caught up around the house/yard, finish up the deck railing, then spent a week in Dallas for a trade show, been back home for a couple weeks, work has been busy as h3ll, and we've been trying to get prepared for our trip to Europe the end of the month.

All that said, part of the preparation for the next trip is to finally build the, "two fence system" in the back yard. This concept was born to a accomplish a couple things:
1. we can separate two of our dogs that when they try and play, it doesn't always end well for one of them
2. now when we entertain in the basement/garage/back yard we can kick the dogs into the way back yard, people can park in the drive way and make it easier for people to walk around rather than threw the house
3. we can now enjoy our newly finished back deck, dog free lol

All that said....
here is the finished up deck railing:
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Added some tiki touches for ambiance and keeping bugs away at night
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Then onto the fence.....after the Lowes driver decided to leave ~50 treated boards and 18x 80lb bags of concrete at the end of the driveway in front of the , I spent 3days on the phone trying to get them to come move it...very frustrating....
before
by fouckhest, on Flickr

after...you can see the hogwire fence that we decided to use for an open feel and simple look
by fouckhest, on Flickr

labor day weekend I recruited a couple buddies, 8am start, all posts set by lunch time....started around the side of the garage by the people door

by fouckhest, on Flickr

Holes dug, posts set
by fouckhest, on Flickr
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Vantage point from the garage roof is cool, lol....this was quitting time, day 1
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Didn't take much for photos on day 2, but one of my buddies came over and we got started on placing the fence panels, rough nailing them on, then coming back and doing what I called the "picture frame"
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

We knocked the rest out Sunday and a little bit on Monday before relaxing in the afternoon at a friends pool to enjoy some of the holiday weekend.....

Then last weekend I went an picked up some 2x6x16 to start on the top cap/railing to finish off the fence (those effers are heavy!!)

Got started on those and worked our way around, wasn't actually too bad, and I really like the look
by fouckhest, on Flickr
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Making our way down the line....
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Top cap/rail all buttoned up
by fouckhest, on Flickr

After we got the top rail done we had to head up the road to one of my wives long time friends for her 40th bday party....on the way home past said friends old family Esso station, obligatory stop for cool car photo
by fouckhest, on Flickr

Sunday was a short work day, wrapped up the last panel you see here to the right, then got started on framing up the gate as you come out the people door....need to finish it out, but it will have an interior frame along with a cross brace/cable to ensure I can adjust out any sag in the future
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Next step will be designing the big gate for pulling the trailer in/out and anything else going around the back yard....it is just shy of 12ft wide, so going to have to do some maths to see what the best way to approach to keep the simple look

 

[fouckhest]

In garage related news, I think it was last month HF ran a sale on the US General carts, I've been wanting an "electrical cart" for quite some time, I had a drawer in my bottom box dedicated to all things electrical and real-estate has been getting increasingly scarce in my toolbox, so when these 5 drawer carts when on sale for $199, it jumped on one.
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Had to stop here on day 1 of assembly, the box/cart top is very heavy, so waited until my buddies were here to help and one of them helped me lift it onto the base
by fouckhest, on Flickr

All assembled, I have to admit, they are pretty nice. I've started moving things over, trying to think a few steps ahead, I'd like to build a wire cart/stand that attaches to one side to keep things organized. Hopefully now that fall is here I'll get out to the garage soon and start making more progress on my car project and finish out this cart buildout.
by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[Nolift911]

Fence looks great, thanks for the update - was wondering what the latest is on concrete with posts? Are there still two camps - no concrete and concrete. "it will warp the post" "won't warp the post"...? No dog in the fight, just curious or has that debate slowed?

Jeff

 

[fouckhest]

Fence looks great, thanks for the update - was wondering what the latest is on concrete with posts? Are there still two camps - no concrete and concrete. "it will warp the post" "won't warp the post"...? No dog in the fight, just curious or has that debate slowed?

Jeff

I've heard differing things for quite sometime, I'm old school, this is what I grew up with this being standard practice. I hate driving posts into the ground, I've done that while building boat houses and docks, I was much younger and it was still a miserable day. Much about this fence has been about it being utilitarian, plus my investment at this point is still <$1k total, so a couple warped posts arent the end of the world to me.

Additionally, everything is screwed together, the framing parts are all pocket drilled/screwed, so any future maintenance should be a breeze, if needed.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

The fence looks good. I like the wire panel look.

Fence looks great, thanks for the update - was wondering what the latest is on concrete with posts? Are there still two camps - no concrete and concrete. "it will warp the post" "won't warp the post"...? No dog in the fight, just curious or has that debate slowed?

Jeff

I never head the warp the post part. That is interesting. I am in the no concrete camp though as every concrete post I have come across has rotted at that spot. I just do a little crushed stone below and the first six in and then packed dirt around the post. Seems to do well in the clay soil here.

 

[fouckhest]

Found a little work time this weekend, got one of my gates finished up, nothing crazy besides the shape, but I'm happy with the result

Simple center frame for added strength along with the cross tie with turnbuckle to help with additional support
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Finished up with hogwire
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Left a little extra length on the hinge side to add a simple auto close feature
by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[fouckhest]

After finishing the gate I decided to crack a cold beer and play in the garage for the first time since before I went to China back in July....CRAZY how fast time goes and how busy life has been

First order of business was to assembly my new tubing sander. I've wanted one of these for a while, I picked up this one relatively cheap, I figured it was a good test/proof of concept, then a couple weeks ago HF has these Bauer grinders on sale, so picked one up to be a dedicated too.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Quick test piece, works as advertised!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Once that was finished I decided to pull the Cayman out so I could bring the widebody car down and put some time into it. I picked up this HF porta power a while back, it was an intentional purchase to help resolve an issue where it seems the heavy V-8 has "pulled" the frame rails together a bit, the crash bar and core support don't fit like they should

New tool test day!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Here you can see the hole misalignment
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Putting in work
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[quadrcr87]

I've heard differing things for quite sometime, I'm old school, this is what I grew up with this being standard practice. I hate driving posts into the ground, I've done that while building boat houses and docks, I was much younger and it was still a miserable day. Much about this fence has been about it being utilitarian, plus my investment at this point is still <$1k total, so a couple warped posts arent the end of the world to me.

Additionally, everything is screwed together, the framing parts are all pocket drilled/screwed, so any future maintenance should be a breeze, if needed.

Your deck and fence turned out great. I plan to build a similar design at our next house as long as we don't have close neighbors. I have always set the posts in concrete as well. Our builder didn't at our current house and a large section of the 6' fence blew over within a year. Of course, their warranty fix was concrete.

 

[fouckhest]

Your deck and fence turned out great. I plan to build a similar design at our next house as long as we don't have close neighbors. I have always set the posts in concrete as well. Our builder didn't at our current house and a large section of the 6' fence blew over within a year. Of course, their warranty fix was concrete.

Thanks, I appreciate it! We are both super happy with the outcome, effective and doesn't make the backyard feel any smaller.

 

[Bob Heine]

First order of business was to assembly my new tubing sander. I've wanted one of these for a while, I picked up this one relatively cheap, I figured it was a good test/proof of concept, then a couple weeks ago HF has these Bauer grinders on sale, so picked one up to be a dedicated too.

Mike, I'm really glad to see you post this. I bought the Vevor version ready-made one two years ago and paid way too much. Their kit and an angle grinder makes so much more sense.

Amazon.com

 

[fouckhest]

Mike, I'm really glad to see you post this. I bought the Vevor version ready-made one two years ago and paid way too much. Their kit and an angle grinder makes so much more sense.

Amazon.com

Hi Bob - Thanks for checking in, while I did save a few $$ it wasnt that much, this is the kit I purchased (~$88) https://www.shopsaker.com/products/...for-angle-grinder?_pos=1&_sid=b7f5b524a&_ss=r

The saving grace was the grinder from HF, coming in at just over $24.....so all in, we will call it ~$112. Now, I can only hope that the belts last and I am able to find some better quality belts for down the road!

 

[fouckhest]

Well almost another month has passed since my last check-in

After my last post the wife and I took a trip to Europe with a few friends to do some exploring. Quick cliffs notes, we flew into Munich, hit up the opening day of Octoberfest, that was absolutely crazy, way too many people, but was a fun "check the box" experience! Also, buddy of mine from the VW world was going to be in Munich during the same time, so it was a must to meet up and share a beer! "PROST!!" From Munich, we headed to Prague the next day, quick stop in Pilsen for lunch, one night in Prague, then off to Budapest for a day, then to Vienna for a night, which the night before leaving we found out a local friend was going to be in Vienna for a work trip, so once again, when halfway across the globe, you must meet up, so we met him for dinner and drinks. Then onto Salzburg the next day, and back to Munich for the last night and fly home the following day.

Photo dump!

Octoberfest!
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Crowd at the beer garden where we finally got a beer, nuts!
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Beers with my buddy Joe from Philly
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Photo dump, flickr has jumbled my upload, so these may not be in order...but its mainly just cool buildings from our adventures

Cool lunar clock
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Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
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This was a ride up to a castle on a little tram thing....crazy how steep it was
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr


Wild painted door..I think this was in Budapest
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Ruin bar in Budapest, this was very cool
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[fouckhest]

Then we came home to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, we were boarding our flight at 9am Germany time, which would have been 3am EST in US, which was when it was getting really nasty.....we fly in/out of Charlotte, NC about an hour away from our house in SC, as we got further into SC, it was apparent that the storm was pretty bad....one road into our neighborhood was mostly blocked by down trees, here is a quick recap of some of the damage at our property/neighborhood

The road that was blocked'ish
Hurricane Helene Aftermath by fouckhest, on Flickr

This is our side yard in the back, you can see these limbs that came out of the two tulip poplars behind the Leland's, they were ~15ft long and the branches were 4-6" in diameter....not crazy, but not small....where they broke and hit the ground you could see where they impaled the ground...they would have done some serious damage to anyone/anything they hit

You can also see the crushed car and truck of my neighbors, ~75ft oak fell on his house, back porch and both vehicles, I think he said that tree punched 2 or 3 holes in his ceiling, had a branch sticking through into the house.
Hurricane Helene Aftermath by fouckhest, on Flickr

This is the neighbor directly behind me, that tree is probably 5-6ft in diameter at the base, there is a crushed car under it that was in their little carport
Hurricane Helene Aftermath by fouckhest, on Flickr
Looking from the other direction as it was cleaned up just enough to allow people to drive through
Hurricane Helene Aftermath by fouckhest, on Flickr

One road over this culvert couldnt handle the water and the road got washed away, there was a car in there the day after the storm, this was after it had been towed out
Hurricane Helene Aftermath by fouckhest, on Flickr

Spent Sunday cleaning up all the sticks, twigs, leaves, etc., in both front back yard, then mowed everything. Front yard almost back to its previous glory. The two houses in the background of this photo both had damage, the house on the left had a tree fall on the roof and puncture it, the white house had 24trees come down in their back yard (two years ago they had one fall on their car port)
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

All-in-all, we were VERY fortunate, counting our lucky stars for sure.

 

[zmotorsports]

After finishing the gate I decided to crack a cold beer and play in the garage for the first time since before I went to China back in July....CRAZY how fast time goes and how busy life has been

First order of business was to assembly my new tubing sander. I've wanted one of these for a while, I picked up this one relatively cheap, I figured it was a good test/proof of concept, then a couple weeks ago HF has these Bauer grinders on sale, so picked one up to be a dedicated too.

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Quick test piece, works as advertised!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Once that was finished I decided to pull the Cayman out so I could bring the widebody car down and put some time into it. I picked up this HF porta power a while back, it was an intentional purchase to help resolve an issue where it seems the heavy V-8 has "pulled" the frame rails together a bit, the crash bar and core support don't fit like they should

New tool test day!
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Here you can see the hole misalignment
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

Putting in work
Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

You'll really like having a pipe/tubing sanding belt as well as that porta-power. I have a 25+ year old Blackhawk 10-ton porta-power and while I don't use it very often, when needed it is an invaluable tool. Same with the pipe/tubing sander.

 

[zanyad]

Those steep rail trains are known as funiculars. There's also a cog wheel railway in Budapest.

Wild painted door..I think this was in Budapest

Can confirm, based on the the sign. The church above that looks like the Matthias Church.

Ruin bar in Budapest, this was very cool

A classic Budapest experience. Ruin bars have proliferated quite a bit!

All-in-all, we were VERY fortunate, counting our lucky stars for sure.

It's been crazy to see how much damage Helene caused. I'm glad you made it through okay!

 

[fouckhest]

You'll really like having a pipe/tubing sanding belt as well as that porta-power. I have a 25+ year old Blackhawk 10-ton porta-power and while I don't use it very often, when needed it is an invaluable tool. Same with the pipe/tubing sander.

Thanks, @zmotorsports - I had been watching them at HF for a while and the sale made it a no brainer. My first and only experience to day echo's your statement, worth every penny! Excited to put the tubing sander to work soon!

Those steep rail trains are known as funiculars. There's also a cog wheel railway in Budapest.

Can confirm, based on the the sign. The church above that looks like the Matthias Church.

A classic Budapest experience. Ruin bars have proliferated quite a bit!

It's been crazy to see how much damage Helene caused. I'm glad you made it through okay!

@zanyad, Sounds like you've done a very similar trip! It was certainly a fun trip, I think Prague and Budapest were the highlights for me!

Helene was certainly an eye opener, after living outside Charleston, SC on barrier island for ~5yrs and weathering several CAT3 storms, without much damage (granted we were fortunate), this was certainly a humbling/eye opening experience.

 

[zanyad]

@zanyad, Sounds like you've done a very similar trip! It was certainly a fun trip, I think Prague and Budapest were the highlights for me!

Lived in Budapest for a year abroad, visited many times before and after. Haven't been to Prague (yet!).

 

[fouckhest]

Was standing out in the backyard after work yesterday throwing ball for one of the hounds and laughed at the size of the burn pile, this should be exciting to light off when it dries out a bit!

Untitled by fouckhest, on Flickr

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Glad to see you dodged a lot compared to your neighbors. Was definitely one heck of a storm. Your area clearly got it worse than we did up here.

Love that you made it for Octoberfest. I have heard it is really crazy but still a bucket list item for me to do once. I have been to Germany once many years ago with my high school German club but had to leave early and never made it to Munich. Even though not US drinking age we snuck in some German beers while there. Looks like a great trip.