Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Nick's Two-Car Detached Vdub Garage

[nicholam77]

Man this thread moves fast! And apparently I'm missing lots of cool events around the cities. Great pictures.

Thanks! Sometimes it moves fast... sometimes it moves slow

If you have any interest in the modern house stuff, check out Docomomo-US-MN. You don't need to be a member, and a lot of their tours are free.

I just went on another open house tour of one of my favorite (now defunct) Minnesota architecture firms — Close & Associates. This was in Edina (Indian Hills), overlooking Indianhead Lake. The original owner was present, and she was 100 yrs old, still living in the house. Pretty unique experience.





Sorry to keep spamming my thread with this stuff, but I like to bring awareness to it if people have even the slightest interest, because sadly unless these houses are in pristine condition, many are not appreciated or considered special, and are often torn down. And especially to Minnesotans who may not even realize this type of architecture exists in our state.

This particular house was a registered Edina historical landmark, and registered with the National Register of Historic Places. Clad entirely in redwood, with a butterfly roof.

Pictures weren't allowed inside, but here's a few from the historical listing, which is pretty much how it appeared in person.

White garage is looking good. I'm hoping to get my shop walls painted before winter.

Thanks! After living with it for a bit I am glad I did it.

Nice work @nicholam77
One unsolicited wood finishing detail tip: avoid doing edges and corners with a power sander of any sort. It’s virtually impossible to get a consistent bevel or edge. You wind up with edges that roll and buck. Once you see it you can’t unsee it.

A nice alternative is a basic sanding block held at a 45. Much easier to control and hold at a consistent angle that you can carry across all edges (ex. The top of your bed posts)

Or a block plane.

Thanks for popping in Jake! I hear you on the edges, although for this particular refinishing project it doesn't bother me. But I hear you and appreciate the tip!

---

I have a good number of small updates to share soon!

 

[nicholam77]

Let's see. what else has been going on?

I fit in a quick trip to Boston to visit my brother who recently moved there from North Carolina.

It was cold and rainy and windy the whole time, but we made the best of it.






The kid's science museum downtown had axolotls and robots... can't go wrong with that.

One thing I always enjoy about traveling is trying out different rental cars. This time we got an Elantra Hybrid. Did a fair amount of driving and only used 4 gallons of gas, about 11 bucks for the whole trip. And it was super comfortable and well-equipped. I was impressed.



And the license plate was possibly... A$$ WAM? At least that's how I read it in my head.



Anywho...

Traveling (especially the flights and driving) was hard on my back, and shortly after we returned I had a flare up / breakdown that actually caused me to miss a few days of work and literally just lie on the couch with ice packs. I'm in physical therapy again, but it's frustrating.

Between the trip, and work, and my lumbar pain, I had almost no time to figure out a Halloween costume for a work party.

But... tools to the rescue! Literally the night before, I landed on Shaun of the Dead.



I was able to make a 'cricket bat' out of a spare piece of plywood in about 15min with the tracksaw.




Sacrificed a white dress shirt I never wear with some red food coloring, and 3D printed up a multi-color name badge on the Bambu A1.



I was pretty pleased I was able to whip this up with tools and supplies at home for $0.

The resemblance is uncanny, right? (that's me with Simon Pegg's head applied)




And of course the kids had a good Halloween trick-or-treating.



They were KPop Demon Hunters. If you have kids this age you probably know what that is. If not, you probably don't.

And lastly, we reaped the fruits (or vegetables?) of our labor in the back garden:



In case you're unsure, that's a carrot. Yes, a carrot.

 

[jake28]

I’ll follow suit:
My little one’s first Halloween where he had could walk and talk his way to candy. He was a dinosaur. I was a dinosaur catcher.
An hour before leaving I grabbed a piece of conduit normally used a snow stake and painted it black. Then 3d printed a plug out of PLA on the Bambu to hold a loop of orange rope to mimic dog catchers of yesteryear. With the Bambu whirring, a coupe key strokes into Chat GPT yielded a passable “logo” for a Dino-catcher, subsequently printed and laminated.

Tech only enables the costume crafting procrastination.

 

[nicholam77]

He was a dinosaur. I was a dinosaur catcher.
An hour before leaving I grabbed a piece of conduit normally used a snow stake and painted it black. Then 3d printed a plug out of PLA on the Bambu to hold a loop of orange rope to mimic dog catchers of yesteryear. With the Bambu whirring, a coupe key strokes into Chat GPT yielded a passable “logo” for a Dino-catcher, subsequently printed and laminated.

That’s awesome!!

 

[loganb]

Lol...pretty sure we had that same Rumi costume for Kpop for our 7 yr old

 

[tweidman]

Keep the architecture post coming, love it...

 

[bdbecker]

...They were KPop Demon Hunters. If you have kids this age you probably know what that is...

In the midst of a fad, I look forward to it ending. But there is always another fad, and sometimes they **** more than the previous one. I sure hope the next one is less annoying. I miss Bluey.

 

[Trapps]

In the midst of a fad, I look forward to it ending. But there is always another fad, and sometimes they **** more than the previous one. I sure hope the next one is less annoying. I miss Bluey.

LOL, my kids were of age during Barney and Teletubbies. I'm still in recovery...

 

[bdbecker]

LOL, my kids were of age during Barney and Teletubbies. I'm still in recovery...

My youngest brother (9 years younger than me) caught that wave. Nothing like sitting in class as a teenager unable to focus because that damn purple dinosaur song was stuck on a loop in my head.

 

[TomGW]

Please keep the MCM architecture & design stuff coming, much appreciated. I’m Irish but with relatives in MN, including the twin cities, so find this all very interesting. The family closest to Edina live in Burnsville, so not too far away.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Let's see. what else has been going on?

I fit in a quick trip to Boston to visit my brother who recently moved there from North Carolina.

It was cold and rainy and windy the whole time, but we made the best of it.

Nice you were in my neck of the woods! Don't feel bad, it's almost always like that this time of the year.

They were KPop Demon Hunters. If you have kids this age you probably know what that is. If not, you probably don't.

Great, thanks, now "Golden" will be stuck in my head for another 2 days, like it is every time my girls and I have a dance party to this song. It's king of a banger at least, not going to lie! haha.

 

[nicholam77]

Lol...pretty sure we had that same Rumi costume for Kpop for our 7 yr old

Then you must have been one of the lucky ones who bought one early before they sold out!

In the midst of a fad, I look forward to it ending. But there is always another fad, and sometimes they **** more than the previous one. I sure hope the next one is less annoying. I miss Bluey.

Bluey is the GOAT. Almost universally loved by kids and grown ups alike.

Personally, I think KPop is more than a fad and deserves it's blow up in popularity.

LOL, my kids were of age during Barney and Teletubbies. I'm still in recovery...

That baby sun though... yikes!!

Nice you were in my neck of the woods! Don't feel bad, it's almost always like that this time of the year.

Yes, we still enjoyed it. Would have been nice see more of the historical stuff, but the kids could only take getting pelted in the face with freezing rain for so long. We'll be back to visit again, though.

Great, thanks, now "Golden" will be stuck in my head for another 2 days, like it is every time my girls and I have a dance party to this song. It's king of a banger at least, not going to lie! haha.

I mean, yeah, there are worse songs to have stuck in your head!

Keep the architecture post coming, love it...

Please keep the MCM architecture & design stuff coming, much appreciated. I’m Irish but with relatives in MN, including the twin cities, so find this all very interesting. The family closest to Edina live in Burnsville, so not too far away.

I will try to! Minnesota and Minneapolis aren't 'known' for Modernism the way the coasts are... but if you know where to look there are plenty of fantastic examples!

 

[bdbecker]

...Personally, I think KPop is more than a fad and deserves it's blow up in popularity...

Wife watched a few episodes of KPop with the kids and said it was okay (content wise). I'm always late to the game and haven't paid any attention to it other than hearing the songs (not exactly my cup of tea). Maybe I should give it a try... I ignored Bluey for a long time before I realized how entertaining it was.

 

[nicholam77]

Maybe I should give it a try...

It might not be for you, especially if you don't care for the music.

I could go on about why I think it's good, but at the end of the day, personal taste matters.

If Netflix ever releases a physical copy, which sadly I'm sure they'll never do — it's going in the Blu-ray collection!

 

[nicholam77]

Some small garage goings on.

My side door has a knob and deadbolt, but I don't normally carry keys with me, because the house has smart locks.

I keep the garage locked, so when I want to get in the side door without opening the overhead (like in winter!) I need to remember to bring the key. 99% of the time I don't have it on me and have to run back to the house.



Several years ago I bought a battery powered keypad deadbolt. Not 'smart'... just accepts a PIN code. And it's taken me this long to install it.




Much better!

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Another small item. I installed some 3d sprinted skateboard hangers for in the shed.

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Next did a quick oil change for the GTI. It's been a few changes since I've replaced the drain plug, but the top-side vacuum pump is so damn easy it's tempting to never get it on the jack stands.




And then did a coolant top off.



For some reason both the VW's I've had seem to drink coolant a bit. I'm confident I don't have any leaks, but it's just something I top off every now and then.

---

While I was in there, I noticed my intake popped off the turbo inlet... again




I need a longer coupler section, or maybe a different intake. This Burger Motorsports one leaves something to be desired in the fitment. It's too rigid and I no longer use my engine cover because it interfered with that and actually cracked it.

This is the 2nd time it's 'popped off', and who knows how long I've been driving it like this.

I like the turbo noises. Hate to throw more money at it, but maybe I'll be looking for a better one come Black Friday.

---

When painting the garage interior, I had stuffed a bunch of **** in the shed. In an effort to clean the shed, I got rid of some stuff I no longer wanted to store, including dismantling my two old crosscut sleds.




There's something very satisfying about reclaiming screws and putting them back in the bin.

---

And lastly, I tried to do something about my roof insulation crisis.

It's pretty much all falling down at this point.



It needs a total redo. I'm not going to be able to tackle that this season so I'm kicking the can down the line. @bdbecker I think you had some great product ideas you linked me, I just don't have the energy and my back is injured to do overhead work like that at the moment.

So... I ripped some 1/4" ply battens and at least pinned back the two large pieces that were hanging down into the workspace.



Even 20min on the ladder doing this was terrible for my recent disc flare up so I quite after the two pieces.

But at least nothing is hanging down, now:

 

[kaymccampbell]

While I was in there, I noticed my intake popped off the turbo inlet... again

Any chance you've got a bad motor mount?

 

[nicholam77]

Any chance you've got a bad motor mount?

Good thought, but probably not. I have upgraded motor mounts with polyurethane bushings, with only ~30k miles on them. Haven't noticed anything while driving that would indicate a bad mount.

Even when I installed it the intake the fit was not great... it practically rubs on the motor. I think it just got knocked off.

 

[jonshonda]

Sorry to hear your back is all jacked up...never fun.

They make precut thick bailing type wire for situations like yours to hold insulation up. Just double checked as I have a box of them, and yeah they are wire insulation supports. Way easier and much less time consuming then screwing boards in place.

I've been using the Bambu A1 a lot as well, and I'm ready for another bulk order of filament. Lot's of empty spools piling up on the floor. I've been so cheap lately that if I am printing something and I don't care what color it is, I manually change out spools during the print to use up any small amounts I have left laying around.

I'm so tempted by the oil extractor setup you've got, but for both my vehicles belly pans have to come off for oil filter access/draining so I'm gonna be making a mess anyways...might as well crawl around in it.

For your intake, mimic how your engine would rock back and forth but pulling on the intake tube..and see if it has enough movement to accommodate that engine movement? If nothing else, go to the hardware store and find GOOD QUALITY hose clamps, and maybe double clamp it?

 

[SamYoung]

I need a longer coupler section, or maybe a different intake. This Burger Motorsports one leaves something to be desired in the fitment. It's too rigid and I no longer use my engine cover because it interfered with that and actually cracked it.

This is the 2nd time it's 'popped off', and who knows how long I've been driving it like this.

I like the turbo noises. Hate to throw more money at it, but maybe I'll be looking for a better one come Black Friday.

Not sure if you're looking for recommendations, but I have a IE intake w/o a lid on my Golf Sportwagen (2.0L and IS20 swapped). I love the induction noise. Haven't had any problems with it.

 

[nicholam77]

Not sure if you're looking for recommendations, but I have a IE intake w/o a lid on my Golf Sportwagen (2.0L and IS20 swapped). I love the induction noise. Haven't had any problems with it.

Yeah, that's the one I'd probably be after if I switch it up. I have an IE tune already and that one always gets good reviews. Even just looking at your picture, it has two hose sections, longer hose sections to flex more, larger diameter, and even though it's tight the hard pipe runs parallel to the engine. On mine the hose coupler is very short and the rest is one cast piece that runs at an angle almost overlapping the engine in places.

I checked prices on the IE one last night and holy things have gone up from 5 yrs ago.

I might have to keep an eye out for a used one if a deal pops up.

Love a modded Sportwagen!

For your intake, mimic how your engine would rock back and forth but pulling on the intake tube..and see if it has enough movement to accommodate that engine movement? If nothing else, go to the hardware store and find GOOD QUALITY hose clamps, and maybe double clamp it?

The answer is 'barely'. I think your hose clamp idea is a good one. I wonder if I could find a tiny bit longer connector sleeve, too. That would help me get a 2nd clamp on it.

I'm so tempted by the oil extractor setup you've got, but for both my vehicles belly pans have to come off for oil filter access/draining so I'm gonna be making a mess anyways...might as well crawl around in it.

Same with my wife's car. I used to do both of our oil changes, no matter the season. But hers doesn't take synthetic and the suggested change interval is only 3k miles. Her commute is ~40min so she racks up the miles and it just became too often.

These days she goes to an indy shop that's not much more expensive than ordering the oil and parts.

And I continue to do mine, but usually with the extractor. I will say, it makes middle-of-winter oil changes sooo much nicer. I'm getting too old and cranky to want to lay on subzero concrete under a car anymore.

They make precut thick bailing type wire for situations like yours to hold insulation up. Just double checked as I have a box of them, and yeah they are wire insulation supports. Way easier and much less time consuming then screwing boards in place.

Yes, I'm going to do that come spring for sure. It's still a lot of physical overhead work since basically the whole thing needs to be fixed. Just don't have it in me right now and it's crisping up, as I'm sure you know! We got our first snow flurries this weekend.

And I still have to do my tire swap and car prep, and a bunch of other stuff before it gets too cold.

I've been using the Bambu A1 a lot as well, and I'm ready for another bulk order of filament. Lot's of empty spools piling up on the floor.

Nice, I finely used mine a bit again, too. Which I'll detail in the next post!

 

[nicholam77]

3D Printed GameBoy Holders / Printer Upgrades

My brother asked for my help 3d printing some GameBoy holders for an Ikea Skadis board. This is his collection of games and GameBoy's he wants to display in his office / computer setup.




Before I went to Boston to visit, I printed a test holder to bring with me for him to check out:



These are models someone else designed. Each consists of a 'bin' holder, and two 'hooks' that slide into the bin via a dovetail joint.

So he approved the test, and requested:

40+ GameBoy Color cartridge holders
5 GameBoy Color holders
1 GameBoy Advance holder
1 GameBoy Original holder

I did not have enough white filament on hand, so I made an order with Bambu. I was pretty sure I had some reusable spools, so I used their 'refill' option which lets you just by the wound filament without the plastic spool.

Turns out I did not have a reusable spool available, so I printed one instead. I did the math and this was cheaper than buying one and paying for shipping, at the cost of using a good chunk of black filament.




It turned out well, and functions. Although I think the Bambu ones are a bit nicer.

Before I got into this print job, I got sidetracked with something I've been wanting to do for awhile — wall mount the AMS unit.

The printer shares desk space with an iMac and the computer was always off center. It's not a computer I use much, but still looked off. I wanted a more compact vertical arrangement.

I love how you can just find and print things so easily, like this wall-mount AMS cleat:




I hit it with the multi-color because hey what do I even have an AMS for if not to spice things up! (the gray portion with logo is printed, too!)



So that worked out well, but now the power / data cable that runs to the extruder and is typically bundled with the PTFE tube cluster, was stretched a bit tight.



So I added some strain reliefs on either side:



@jonshonda modified some like this to include a PTFE support tube... great idea, but I had already printed this doo-dad that supports the cable mid-span from the top frame bar, so I figured I would test that out.




No idea if it will hold up to a bunch of print hours, but it does the job nicely. If it breaks I can just print another, or switch to Jon's method.

Ok back to printing the GameBoy stuff.



I'm not going to do a pic of every tray, but lets just say it was at least 50 print hours. Not a small project.

Had to remove supports on 90+ 'hooks'.



And since I'm a full-service kinda guy I assembled them all for him. (mostly because the friction fit was tight and some needed some hammer-coaxing). I didn't really print extra parts and wanted to ensure they shipped out intact.



I think they were delivered today, so I'm waiting for a pic from him of the setup. I'll update with that later.

Overall, though, the prints turned out nice, and I'm still really happy with this printer!

UPDATE:

Pic of the final



Not everything fit and I still need to modify a custom holder for his Original Gameboy, but close enough!

 

[nicholam77]

Well this isn't something you see everyday!



During Tuesday's geomagnetic event... around 830pm if I remember correctly. If you've not seen them, Northern Lights always look more impressive in camera because of long exposure... but still there was a huge, heavy red band across the street. I've never seen it so red to the naked eye before.





In other news, I made another progress on the basement remodel. Yes, I'm still doing little straggling pieces two years later. Still.

In this latest episode, I managed to paint this MDF door I had made some time ago.





And then of course there was a pesky piece of baseboard to do. I tried to get away without a scribe, but in the end even this short section needed it.



Installed:




And that completes my "sea of white" minimalist flush closets.



That sliding oak door at the end leads to the bathroom — that will be replaced in a future remodel.

These LEDs must not photograph well, because I always have issues with the color balance at night. I know it appears very stark, but during the day there is natural light, and it's actually a very neutral and bright, even warm, space.

I've been waiting until I finish the closets and baseboard to go rug shopping, but that's next. The intention was always to put runners and rugs over the concrete for warmth and comfort, and it definitely is the plan after the floors turned out less than ideal.

Baby steps.

 

[Bob Heine]

I need a longer coupler section, or maybe a different intake. This Burger Motorsports one leaves something to be desired in the fitment. It's too rigid and I no longer use my engine cover because it interfered with that and actually cracked it.

This is the 2nd time it's 'popped off', and who knows how long I've been driving it like this.

I like the turbo noises. Hate to throw more money at it, but maybe I'll be looking for a better one come Black Friday.

Nick, I feel your pain acutely.

When I bought our 2004 PT Cruiser Touring Turbo, it was peppy but that's the kindest term I can think of. It had 180hp but the GT Turbo had 215. Put a cold air intake and splurged on a Stage 1 ECU and it helped. Changed the BOV (blowoff valve) just to feed my childish need for the sound. Upgraded the exhaust to a Borla "dual" exhaust system (two tips, one muffler. It helped but I hated the idea more could be done. Went back and looked at the CAI setup and realized it did next to nothing. It's just metal box with a cone filter that sits on the stock intake box. I did remove the section of hood weatherstripping next to the box so a little fresh air might find its way into the cone filter.



When I looked deeper, the tube that connects the CAI to the turbo has two choke sections. The end at the air cleaner has a big opening but necks down right away to a whole lot smaller elbow. At the turbo end it has an accordion elbow that necks down even more. I couldn't find any aftermarket replacements so I bought some Spectre 3" aluminum tubing bends and couplers from Race-Mart. Here's the comparison:

I don't know how much horsepower my engine puts out but my **** dyno tells me it's more than the GT. I did make two more changes, replacing the similarly choked turbo to intercooler pipe and swapping the aluminum intake with a 2005 GT composite intake that was supposed to be good for 5hp.

I get a little adrenaline rush when the car gets to about 15mph and I floor it. I wish I could see the look on the face of the kid in the noisy Honda when the tire breaks loose and they disappear in my rear view mirror. Even Liane gets a kick out of the car but she does give me the "Hey, act your age" look but the hand squeezing my arm lets me know I'm not in that much trouble. To be fair, my responsible side lets me floor it until we reach the speed limit (and the BOV farts).

The Eibach springs and body mods kinda hint something's going on but it's pretty subtle.

 

[fourmotioneer]

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Another small item. I installed some 3d sprinted skateboard hangers for in the shed.

Nice Sector 9. I rode a very similar model to class daily in college. Had to cross traffic to turn left while bombing a hill after class and never got hit by a car somehow

 

[gearhead1960]

Finishing The Bed

And I reapplied the sticker with the furniture company name (Tubbs) and the signature of the person who made it, because I think that's pretty neat.

Nice job on the refinishing....

The Vermont Tubbs stuff was considered excellent furniture. We have a bunkbed set that is solid wood and very well made. Sadly, the chinese put them out of business years ago when they started flooding the US market with cheap knock offs. They just couldn't complete....

 

[nicholam77]

I get a little adrenaline rush when the car gets to about 15mph and I floor it. I wish I could see the look on the face of the kid in the noisy Honda when the tire breaks loose and they disappear in my rear view mirror. Even Liane gets a kick out of the car but she does give me the "Hey, act your age" look but the hand squeezing my arm lets me know I'm not in that much trouble. To be fair, my responsible side lets me floor it until we reach the speed limit (and the BOV farts).

Love it, Bob! If mine continues to bump off I might need to figure out some custom tubing like that.

Nice Sector 9. I rode a very similar model to class daily in college. Had to cross traffic to turn left while bombing a hill after class and never got hit by a car somehow

Thanks! Yeah it was my campus cruiser as well (in California). Rode it everywhere. I know what you mean about almost dying on it. It was pretty flat around my campus but I would go fast, and collided with a bike once. Would often wear flip flops (great idea on a skateboard, I know) and one time the strap broke on my kicking foot... basically did the splits. Ouch. At home in MN I've bombed a few big hills when I was younger. Scary stuff when the trucks start to wobble and you feel like you're gonna eat it. Good fun tho!

Whenever I hear 'longboard bombing a hill' I am always reminded of this awesome video, not just for the longboarding but the photography, music, and edit vibes are immaculate!

Nice job on the refinishing....

The Vermont Tubbs stuff was considered excellent furniture. We have a bunkbed set that is solid wood and very well made. Sadly, the chinese put them out of business years ago when they started flooding the US market with cheap knock offs. They just couldn't complete....

Thank you. Yes, and even if there were more companies like this still in business, many people don't see the value or can't afford quality U.S. handmade items anymore.

Also that's funny, these twins are a bunk bed set as well, although we never configured them like that growing up.

In any case I'm happy my parents hung onto them for me. They will easily last my kids until they are out of the house, and many more years after that. Who knows, maybe I will save them for their kids if they choose to have families one day.

 

[nicholam77]

Well I waited until the last possible moment to swap my winter wheels.

I'm like a broken record, but my back has gone from bad to worse. I was dreading this job.



Because of work and life getting in the way, I haven't washed my car in months. The brake dust has almost turned my wheels a different color.



Still like the impact wrench I picked up to do the shocks a year or two ago, but it's really a 2-time a year tool for me for swapping wheels.





In the front, one of the spring coil isolator pads I had added was missing. So put on a spare. One top of the spring, one towards the bottom.

The suspension squeal I had all last winter went away for the whole summer with my summer wheel setup. So I've been worried it's going to come back.



After test driving for a few days, it's mostly seemed find. Except on two deep compressions I heard it! It's higher pitched on the freeway so I am wondering if the tire could be rubbing on something. I couldn't find any evidence of rubbing anywhere on the metal.

But the winter wheels have a flusher offset and are pretty dang flush with the fender:



So maybe something's going on there?

Lastly, when I was pressure washing the wheel wells, I noticed RUST on the driver's side door runner area.



It's a notorious area on VW's (and probably many cars?). It's exactly where my Mk4 Jetta rusted on both sides.

Inside the door there's a spongey material VW added to soak up water that drops down there, I think. So they know it's a problem that water accumulates in that area.

Anyways the paint is bubbling and a piece has flaked off. And it's probably all on the inside and in those seems.

I am really bummed about this. I want to keep the car for a lot longer, so I need to get it fixed somehow. Not to mention aesthetically rust will drive me crazy. No idea where to take it... if you're in the Twin Cities and have recommendations let me know!

After all the car is 10 yrs old and daily driven in winter, but it's still frustrating.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Sorry to see about the rust that, is a bummer. Hopefully, you can find someplace to do a decent fix on the area for you.

 

[gearhead1960]

Thank you. Yes, and even if there were more companies like this still in business, many people don't see the value or can't afford quality U.S. handmade items anymore.

Also that's funny, these twins are a bunk bed set as well, although we never configured them like that growing up.

In any case I'm happy my parents hung onto them for me. They will easily last my kids until they are out of the house, and many more years after that. Who knows, maybe I will save them for their kids if they choose to have families one day.

Yeah, don’t count on it. My son is married, but no kids and even tho they say they want kids, no interest in his old bunk beds…

 

[Klokwerk]

I've enjoyed catching up on your updates. Sorry to hear about the rust. That's never fun to deal with.
I picked up a Bambu A1 too a few months ago. Been printing nearly none stop.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nick, if after 10 years worth of Minnesota winters that is all the rust you have, count yourself very lucky. I have seen more rust on newer vehicles.

 

[Saabaru]

Hey Nick. You helped me out with your concrete referral so I can return the favor here with a body shop recommendation: Raymond Auto Body in St. Paul. They do great work.

 

[nicholam77]

Yeah, don’t count on it. My son is married, but no kids and even tho they say they want kids, no interest in his old bunk beds…

That's true — can't guarantee kids will want stuff like that or appreciate it. But you never know. I'm also not a fan of accumulating or hanging onto stuff for no reason... so when the time comes I'll just ask them and if they don't want it I'm not going to store it forever!

I've enjoyed catching up on your updates. Sorry to hear about the rust. That's never fun to deal with.
I picked up a Bambu A1 too a few months ago. Been printing nearly none stop.

Thanks! My last car rusted after 10-12 years, but I knew I wanted to move on to the next thing so it wasn't a huge deal. I want to keep this one... hopefully I can get it repaired without it costing an arm and a leg, although I imagine it's fairly involved.

Have fun with the Bambu! Mine has been rock solid and it's so much more fun to print than it was with my old Creality.

Would love to hear some updates on your house / thread if you have any!

Nick, if after 10 years worth of Minnesota winters that is all the rust you have, count yourself very lucky. I have seen more rust on newer vehicles.

I mean... true. The car only has 55k miles on it and those 10 yrs have flown by, I guess it just doesn't seem that long.

It definitely sees full winter duty!

Hey Nick. You helped me out with your concrete referral so I can return the favor here with a body shop recommendation: Raymond Auto Body in St. Paul. They do great work.

Thank you!! I will definitely reach out to them. I had no idea where to even start so that is very helpful.

Hope the concrete went alright for you!

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone if you celebrate!

 

[Finallygotit]

Nick, don't get me wrong, you take very good care of your cars but doo-doo is going to eventually happen.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[old-air-performance]

Hi Nick,

Yeah, it’s good to tackle the rust as soon as possible, but once you start stripping it down, you never know what you might find.
It can turn out better or worse.
Are the GTIs sold in the US also made in Germany?
Because over here we hardly see rust on newer cars anymore—unless they’ve had a little accident in the past.
I hope it turns out okay.

Kind regards,
Toon

 

[jake28]

@nicholam77 just popping in to wish you happy holidays and a happier back in the new year.

 

[zanyad]

Merry Christmas!

 

[nicholam77]

Hi Nick,

Yeah, it’s good to tackle the rust as soon as possible, but once you start stripping it down, you never know what you might find.
It can turn out better or worse.
Are the GTIs sold in the US also made in Germany?
Because over here we hardly see rust on newer cars anymore—unless they’ve had a little accident in the past.
I hope it turns out okay.

Kind regards,
Toon

Hey Toon,

When mine was built (2016), it was built at VW’s Mexico plant. I believe some years later they switched it back to Germany for the GTI and R U.S spec. Everything I’ve read would indicate their Mexico plant is / was as good as Germany or their U.S. plant, so I’m not really worried about that. Although the logical part of my brain does wish it was built in Germany since it’s a German brand. Oh well.

I certainly won’t be doing the rust repair myself. For one thing it’s winter now and things are cold and messy, and it’s my daily driver.



I’ve had a lot going on but hopefully soon I can reach out to some places.

Thanks for checking in!

@nicholam77 just popping in to wish you happy holidays and a happier back in the new year.

Thanks Jake, happy holidays to you and your family as well!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you too!

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I owe some updates here, and am behind on catching up on a lot of other’s threads. I haven’t had much extra bandwidth lately.

So for now I’ll just say Happy Holidays to everyone, and thanks to all who have followed along, commented and ‘liked’ my ramblings over the years! Hope you all have a relaxing holiday and new year.

 

[jonshonda]

If you've got the time, look into Woolwax and their pro spray gun kit for undercoating. I will admit I don't have enough history using it to really say "this stuff works", but I'm hoping it will help in the later stages of our vehicle ownership. I didn't apply it when the vehicles were new and the Lexus had been through 5 winters prior to application, so it will be interesting to see if the claims of penetration and protection are true.

 

[Denwood]

Nick ,best to you and your family

On the rust thing...welcome to my world :-( @jonshonda , a cavity gun, woolwax or whatever applied carefully and touched up yearly is pretty much essential stuff for the rust belt if you're attempting to keep a vehicle outside of warranty. I'm using Noxudol 300 and 700, but Woolwax is fine as a water displacer.

Nick, I've got a quick HA question for you. What hardware are you hosting on and what did you use for zwave and zigbee gateways?