Recent content by carcentric

I've located a free electric range/stove and will disconnect the burners (so they won't be turned on by accident). Since I'll only be using the oven (to cure powder coated wheels), is a 20amp (240v) circuit enough? :dunno:

If you're required to have sill bolts (required by code here), have them put in during the pour, and protect their threads from rusting with a thick coat of roof sealant or some such product (needs to keep water out yet be easily removable when the framing's to begin).

If I'd had 3D software, that would have been simpler than what I did: 8 elevations (4 inside, 4 outside) and a plan (overhead) view with each change requiring modification of at least three views (by hand, not updated automatically). :lol_hitti

I squeezed the two 15 amp lighting circuits onto one tandem breaker and put a new 30 amp breaker in the hole that was created. I then ran 10/2 Romex a couple feet to a single "trailer outlet." Now I have to use a 25' 10/2 extension cord to reach all areas of my little shop . . . . Oh, well...

I want LOTS of insulation, so this is what I have (not yet installed) for my metal sectional door: - enough 1/2" thick white styrofoam panels to glue three layers (1.5" total) inside each rectangle, - a 4' x 50' roll of foil-polyethylene-foam-polyethylene-foil (R-14.5) I bought here. The...

I wouldn't want to put myself between a welding arc and a metal floor (presumably grounded). :shocking: Even with rubber shoes, knee pads, and gloves . . . I'd feel like a rat in a shock cage - one false move and ZAP!

Four two-tube fixtures should do then, with a portable light of some sort for underneath the car. I'd orient them parallel to the car, two on each side of the car (a foot or two farther apart than the width of the car, none directly overhead), with about 6 feet between the front pair and the...

I have six 2-tube fixtures (6 x 2 x 32 watts = 384 watts), about the minimum I'd recommend for a two-car garage. Mine use the 4' long T8 size tubes (T12's are being phased out).

First, determine what's on that circuit - other lights? outlets? garage door opener? Second, determine the amperage of the circuit breaker for that circuit - 15 amp? 20 amp? Third, determine the wiring used (or just hope it's correct for the breaker). From those data, do the math: Amps of...

Itzwick: The ground is pretty level - a little less than 1' of drop across 20' of Z-girt. The high (South) side will be tucked under the garage eave, and the low (North) side runs right next to a row of 10' high lilacs (wind break). The East end has a lot of windbreak, and the front will face...

Hmmm. No responses after 24 hours - either I haven't been clear in my post, or nobody's willing to venture an opinion (that's hard to believe). I'm leaning toward a), but still open to advice. To recap: a) is the way most framers build a wall (flat on the floor, then tipped up into...

I think 10 x 20 used to be the standard, but 12 x 24 seems more typical since the early 1990's up here in the Pacific Northwest (that's what the house we had built in 1992 had - three cars, 24' deep x 36' wide). I had a property-line setback to contend with when we built the new shop, so it's...

I need more covered storage! :lol_hitti I have gathered these materials: - seven 20' long Z-girts (see drawing below) - fourteen 8' treated 4x4 posts - fourteen concrete pier blocks with 4x4 metal saddles (required material to keep it "temporary" per building code) - lotsa 2x4's and 1x4's for...

In the US at least (and I think everywhere else, too), T12 bulbs are being phased out (NLA at some point), so a better long-term investment would be the T8 bulbs. The fixtures cost more than T12s (especially if you opt for the cold weather no hum, no flicker ones), but you'll only buy them...

Here's my layout for reference: Some of the key features: - up here (Seattle area) siting matters (windows on South side for solar gain in winter) - six 4' long twin tube T8 lights on ceiling (minimum) - track lighting over workbench - overhead door offset to give more room on workbench side -...