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New utility closet / man area for my garage.

lucasdotcom

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
11
We're having a graduation party for my girlfriend (finishing college) this weekend so I decided to try to knock out this project quick before everyone shows up. Saturday I went and picked up all of my materials and finally got building at about 4:00 ish. I should be able to finish painting tonight after I get the right white ... how many frickin' whites does the world need by the way? Then I’ll move onto building the drink rail, making the trim (putting the router to use again on this project), and varnishing all the wood. Hopefully I’ll be able to get it all done before the weekend. Worst case, the door isn’t varnished.

Here are all the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lucasdotcom/GarageCloset?authkey=ick8Qg0SSMQ#


Before getting started:


I was too paranoid to anchor into the floor so I glued down some treated lumbar and built the walls to that ... I still love the floor heat though.



Stub wall in:


Main rough-in:


Door mounted:


OSB going up:


OSB done, TV hole cut and framed:


Primer going up:


The bugs were out in full force on Sunday night (halogen light/bug zapper):


Primer done:


Blurry picture of TV mount:


I plan on adding a sink to the wall that the door is closest to. That’s when I’ll see how much of a PITA it’s going to be to work on things inside this closet. I don’t think it will be that much of a problem. I left myself a decent amount of room and I can always pop off the OSB if I really need to get at anything.

I'll update the thread and Picasa album once I get everything finished up. Once I get everything all cleaned up I might even share a picture of the whole garage ... none right now though, it’s completely destroyed.

Lucas


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Update:

Trim (1x6-ripped in half) ready for router:


Routed trim:


Varnishing trim:


Final coat of paint (2 antique white - 1 bright white [matches better]):


Trim installed (varnish on door, still wet):


Finished product 1:


Finished product 2:



I all worked out. I finished the drink rail literally 20 minutes before people started showing up. That party went great; I think that we might have spent more time in the garage than in the house and/or by the fire. Beer pong, darts, tippy cup, and a 5:00 a.m. bed time definitely caught up with us on Sunday. :beer:

I still need to put up some shelving inside the closet to take full advantage of the space inside, but it has definitely served its purpose thus far.

Lucas
 
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Kevin54

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Joined
Jan 12, 2005
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29,341
Location
Urbana, Ohio
Nice job. I would not have anchored too the floor either other than the way that you did it. With the boards cut a little tight and anchored to the wall, it would not go anywhere anyways. I just finished building a closet for the two deep freezers we have and I built a wood floor and then anchored the wall to it. I didn't have to worry about anchoring to concrete either.
 

Jiffycake

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Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
156
Not to be an *** or anything, but it is against code to have the electrical panel/sub panel not easily accessible.
 

blkhonda1991

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May 20, 2008
Messages
608
Location
Connecticut
Not to be an *** or anything, but it is against code to have the electrical panel/sub panel not easily accessible.

i dont see how the panel isnt easily accessible...panels are put in closets all the time and passes inspection, so what code states it is not allowed to be in a closet?
 

firebird 97

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Messages
71
Location
Jacksonville
All I saw was red X but if you have done what the PO of my house did which is enclose all the junk for the house it is a good idea.
 
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lucasdotcom

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
11
Not to be an *** or anything, but it is against code to have the electrical panel/sub panel not easily accessible.

i dont see how the panel isnt easily accessible...panels are put in closets all the time and passes inspection, so what code states it is not allowed to be in a closet?

Good thing I put a door in the wall I guess. :) The closet is large enough to easy maneuver yourself around inside. The door swings in so I literally cannot put anything behind the door (in front of the panel) and still get the door closed. I didn't even bother checking the code because I've been in a lot of utility rooms with electrical panels; I didn't see the difference between that and what I've built. I'll find out when it comes time to sell the house; I'm not too worried about it.

I'll put the final pictures up in a few.

Lucas
 

Z71

Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
17
Location
Newfoundland Canada
Nice, tidy job. Looks alot cleaner. Good idea for the TV as well.
If thats a real dart board ya better lay off the juice or your TV could be in danger !!
 
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Jiffycake

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Jan 21, 2008
Messages
156
Oh the closet is fine. I was talking about all the **** in front of the panel. You're supposed to have easy access without having to move a bunch of ****. It doesn't really matter, I guess but it was a question on a NEC test.
 
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lucasdotcom

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
11
Nice, tidy job. Looks alot cleaner. Good idea for the TV as well.
If thats a real dart board ya better lay off the juice or your TV could be in danger !!

Its a soft tip dart board so I shouldn't have to worry about it. I'd have to be falling over drunk to miss that bad.

Oh the closet is fine. I was talking about all the **** in front of the panel. You're supposed to have easy access without having to move a bunch of ****. It doesn't really matter, I guess but it was a question on a NEC test.

Meh!

I'm not going to worry about it too much. I've been in the panel plenty of times since I bought the place and have never been unable to get right at the breaker that I was looking for.

The garage was an absolute mess before I started and during this project. It feels good to have my garage back for now. I was going to build a 12 x 16 storage shed before the snow flys this year, but I'm not going to be able to afford it until next year. The shelving that I plan on adding should get a few more things properly stowed for the winter. We'll see; I'm sure that I'll be ready to start the shed right away in spring.

Lucas
 

PAToyota

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Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
4,366
Location
South Central Pennsylvania, USA
Code requires three feet of clearance in front of an electrical panel - and often an inspector will not allow one in a closet because they know that stuff will get piled in front of it.
 
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lucasdotcom

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
11
Oh the closet is fine. I was talking about all the **** in front of the panel. You're supposed to have easy access without having to move a bunch of ****. It doesn't really matter, I guess but it was a question on a NEC test.

Code requires three feet of clearance in front of an electrical panel - and often an inspector will not allow one in a closet because they know that stuff will get piled in front of it.

Holy **** the sparkies :shocking: have descended on my thread. I almost feel like I need to take a picture with everything cleaned up/moved to prove that I don't need a surprise visit from my local electrical inspector. :) The electrical panel clearance has been noted. I already knew about it; I also know that it is seldom enforced in a residential setting when compared to an industrial setting.

Anyone else who wants to pad their post count can get in and wail this guy :deadhorse:

Anybody have anything to say about the other 99% of what this thread is about?
 

sdimare

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
6
Location
Southern Maine
Nice job! I noticed a wall cabinet in the photo's. I'm looking for a "cheap"
paint, chemical cabinet.
Any ideas. How much was the one on the wall?

Steve D.

P.S. Just keep the pins (darts) away from the TV...
 
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lucasdotcom

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
11
Nice! It looks like it came out very well!
Cool idea for the TV! Adding the closet really cleaned the place up. I think you did an awesome job...
Nice job! I noticed a wall cabinet in the photo's. I'm looking for a "cheap"
paint, chemical cabinet.
Any ideas. How much was the one on the wall?

Thanks for all of the positive feedback. It turned out great; everything is almost exactly like I wanted it. I used to have all kinds of problems with my projects taking me longer to finish than I wanted. They seem to all go pretty decent now. I don't know if that's because I'm getting older and better or if I just don't care as much and have better tools.

I don't remember exactly how much the wall cabinet was, but it was relatively cheap. I think it was around or under $50 at Menards. I actually use my wall cabinet to hold all of my spray paint cans (paint, WD40, misc. aerosol cans, etc.). I pulled the cabinet off the wall to effectively paint. When I put it back up I noticed that the shelf had bowed down about 1/2" (after about 1 year) so I just flipped it over. These aren't super high quality, industrial units by any means, but it gets my **** behind nice looking doors.

Lucas

Here are a few links:
http://www.windensemble.org/fasttrackgarage.htm

http://www.ebuild.com/product-detai.../garage-cabinets--storage-systems/484871.hwx#
 

sdimare

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
6
Location
Southern Maine
Lucas,

Thanks for the info & the links, I wish we had a Menards here in Maine, I try to
avoid Wallymart, I'll track the cabinets down somewhere (Rubbermaid.good product).
Some times, I will "pull that stunt" flip a part over to get the same amount of life out
of it. i.e: Porsche 911S CV Joint rebuild, flipped the wear surfaces on bearings & I should
get another 192,000 miles out of them...

Steve
 
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