Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT 1950s Craftsman Garage retro remodel

Just found out that the wife will be heading out early Fri to spend time up at her parents, so I'm going to batten down the hatches and get totally cranking tomorrow afternoon, evening, and Saturday. Keep an eye out for some awesome updates and pictures!

Gustav_t said:

I love the colours - the outlets - the machines and the glamour shots!

G.

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Thanks Gustav,

I've checked out your VW-esq garage - it is incredible!

I look forward to seeing the updates!

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!

I've been busting my **** out there working on the trim today.

However, before that, I needed to really clean up the garage. It was really, really messy just from everything. So! Here are some pictures from last night:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Overall it took me 2 nights and about 5 hours to get it into the shape you see above. Honestly its taken about 4-5 hours EVERY time I've cleaned up from some type of major work out there (electrical, drywall, mudwork, etc)...I can completely and utterly see why major work out there can be discouraging, trust me. However, when you start to see a little bit of progress, that's when the motivation kicks in high gear and you just keep going at it.

Also, this forum has been HUGE in motivation, and I credit everyone that has responded to my thread - THANK YOU!!!!

And now...


Here is what the trim looks like...


Installed!!! Yipee!!!


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

By daveamy at 2011-06-03

By daveamy at 2011-06-03

By daveamy at 2011-06-03

By daveamy at 2011-06-03

I didn't really make an update about it, but I painted the gas pipe that runs along the concrete footer flat black. The other hardware in the garage (lighting, garage door brackets) will also get the same treatment, hopefully tomorrow:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

And here is what the garage looked like right this minute:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

And...no I'm not done yet

Everywhere you see that looks like it should have trim but doesn't...it will
The whole perimeter is getting trim.

Where the black metal pipe goes into the adjoining house wall it is too thin for the trim to fit unaltered, so I had to sand part of the face of it down to fit, and right now it is drying up with a fresh coat of finish - which gave me a little break (whew).

I might run out there and finish it up tonight, or maybe in the morning.

In addition, I primed the sheetrock access board that will go above the panel and permit access to all the wires should we need to get in there. It will probably get a fresh coat of paint tonight and then I'll be working on trimming up the access panel surrounding.

Looking good! Excellent score on the paint color. Any plans for the floor yet?

lirgus said:

Looking good! Excellent score on the paint color. Any plans for the floor yet?

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You know, I've been thinking of the floor. It might just happen to look really, really really good with an Epoxy Coat finish, in taupe with a light sprinkling of black flecks

Course right now the budget won't really allow it, but man it would be SWEET. It is what I'll have to be saving up for.

So....

How do you get from this:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

...to this?


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

First, you make sure and have 'back ups' in case you make a goof:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Then you get things set up to cut out the center:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Center...cut!


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Then you clean up the cuts you made and round the inside corners:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

And pattern the holes after the original:


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Ta da!!!


By daveamy at 2011-06-03

Next time I'll finish the holes with a rounded stone type bit to keep from looking so sloppy.

I like the attention to details that you have. It looks great, keep up the good work.

Nice worK. The teal looks great!

Redid the front of the electrical panel last night.

Here is how it looked before I took it off:


By daveamy at 2011-06-04

Taken off, ready to be prepped:


By daveamy at 2011-06-04

Prepped existing finish with wire wheel and grinder:


By daveamy at 2011-06-04

Finally painted (including hardware) and installed back on for the full effect:


By daveamy at 2011-06-04

So,

Here's where we start...right where we left off

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

So, little shims or 'runners' were made to surround the box:

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

We then cut them flush to the wall and started installing trim to mate up with them. Here is my brother-in-law lending me a hand:

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

And here is what it looks like right now:

By daveamy at 2011-06-04


Glamour shot:

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

This is really embarrassing, but I cut the trim pieces the wrong way about 3 times before I got it right. If my brother-in-law wasn't there to laugh about it with me, I probably wouldn't be laughing. But all in all, it turned out great!

The next step is to sand the corners where they meet up to get them flush, fill in the trim/runner joint with sawdust/glue mix, re-finish the whole shebang, install art deco accent piece over the middle and paint it black, then install runners on the top and bottom and then some art deco lines on the runners and connect them with some small art deco lines up to the black middle piece (in black). I'd also like to get a ball bearing router bit and put a little curve over the area that surrounds the outlet cover.

While it may look done, it is not! Not yet! More and better, more and better!

Did a little paint work:


By daveamy at 2011-06-04

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

By daveamy at 2011-06-04

Red Leader said:

Click to expand...

Little details make the difference - NICE JOB!

28HopUp said:

Little details make the difference - NICE JOB!

Click to expand...

28HopUp,

Thanks for your thoughts! All these little details definitely have been taking their time, but it means I'll end up with a much nicer finished product

Another update to come later tonight...

Did some more work on the panel surround:

After we got the trim up, I had to sand it flush together...

By daveamy at 2011-06-05
...fill then sand the joint where it met with the surround stripping...

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

then fill and sand the nail holes. Once that was done, time for a quick refinish.

In the end...


By daveamy at 2011-06-05

It looks exactly like it did before I did anything

Actually, once you're up close you can see the difference. I got some other work behind the scenes preparing some more trim do kinda do up a little art deco design I have in my head for it. I know I don't have to go this far, but its fun and I am looking forward to getting it out of my head and into the garage.

Also, finished up the front trim today:


By daveamy at 2011-06-05

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

AND painted the lights hanging on the garage door hardware:

Before:

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

After:

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

Did this with 2x of those $.97 cans of spray paint (flat black) from HD - probably the best $2 improvement in the whole garage! I think the black ties things together (even more so when some of the black trim goes on) and sets it apart a little bit. Next time I won't chintz out and I'll cover the entire light area when I spray (got some slight overspray) so I won't have to go back and touch up the white - I'm keeping the white on the inside of the light so as to not reduce the brightness.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to tie all the trim together for the art deco design around the panel cover. I've been cutting various pieces and getting things ready. Also have the access panel for above the electrical panel painted and ready to rock.

That is coming up next. Also up next:


By daveamy at 2011-06-05

Garage door hardware! It will also get the black treatment. I masked off the entire area and then I realized that I could just unbolt the bottom tracking

Thats all for tonight! I'll be back!

Is this the planer your looking for?

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/tls/2423199939.html

fatboy99 said:

Is this the planer your looking for?

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/tls/2423199939.html

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That's a nice little 6" Craftsman planer, also known as the 'alien' planer

The one I'm keeping my eye out for is this bad boy:


By daveamy at 2011-06-05

I'm looking for the Craftsman-badged version of this one. I've read of some discussions of them, but they must be pretty rare, as I have never even seen a legitimate photo of a Craftsman-badged one out in the wild. However, finding one isn't the real battle. Having the budget for one, and the floor space...well I don't know how I would do it.

But, if I actually found one, I'm not sure how I wouldn't, either

OK ill keep an eye out I have never seen one that big badged Craftsman at any of the sale's Ive been to around here.

PS Great job on your shop remodel it look's Awesome

Speaking of tools that are on the 'list' to purchase, this is one of the next ones I'd really really like to find:

By daveamy at 2011-06-05

It is a 1950s Craftsman 15" floor press - with optional vari-slow speed attachment and table raising mechanism. The vari-slow attachment is rare, then table raising mechanism even more so. If I found one with either, I'd probably snag it then hope to find the other attachment at some point.

A beautiful machine, wouldn't you agree?

The hunt will continue!

Hey Red Leader,

Good luck finding the drill press, its a beauty. Would love to replace my cheap modern drill press with a classic.

Thanks for the thread. Ive been following along and is a great inspiration.

kngkong said:

Hey Red Leader,

Good luck finding the drill press, its a beauty. Would love to replace my cheap modern drill press with a classic.

Thanks for the thread. Ive been following along and is a great inspiration.

Click to expand...

KngKong thank you for your kind words. It seems this project, with its details is turning into a labor of love, but I'm still really enjoying it. I guess that is what counts

I'm going to try to get some more hardware painted today and continue working on the art deco trim design around the panel.

Okay, here is my next middle-of-the-night update.

Once my wife goes to bed, that's when I try to knock a little bit out at a time out there so I can still spend time with her but also keep things progressing. Some nights get to be long, but little by little, it's paying off.

Tonight I painted the lower garage tracking and 1 side of the upper tracking. I also finally (finally!) finished the detail lines as they meet the garage door (they were messy before, hand painted).

Here are the bottom rails prepped and ready to go:


By daveamy at 2011-06-07

Here is one side nearly complete and assembled:


By daveamy at 2011-06-07

Here is a close up of the detail lines, next to the black hardware:


By daveamy at 2011-06-07

I think (personal opinion) that the flat black is turning out great next to the rest of the colors. I don't know why, but flat black goes on really nice and uniform, unlike gloss. If you mess up, you just respray and you can't really tell the difference. Its working out really well and at $.97 a can, it's working out great for the budget, too!

I need to pick up several more cans and do the other side as well as some trim that is going to become the art deco design.

I haven't touched the garage door yet - I think I will probably paint the metal black. I want to paint the fiberboard and wood the tan color, but maybe foam insulation panels are a good idea? Any thoughts?

Maybe rigid foam insulation then skin it with some nice finish grade 1/4 ply? Could stain or paint that way. Wont weigh much...you could even trim out with some 1x3 pine to make it look really "finished".

Nice job on the garage, it looks great. I love the style and old tools.

Motown 454 said:

Nice job on the garage, it looks great. I love the style and old tools.

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Thanks Motown. I originally didn't intend to go this much 'all out' but its just been so much fun I couldn't help myself.
I got into the 'old tool' thing last year and I'm hooked. So many great deals, but beyond the price, the quality of the tools is beyond today and they do it with style to spare.

BIRTHDAY UPDATE ** BIRTHDAY UPDATE ** BIRTHDAY UPDATE **

So, its my birthday today, and 2 things are worth mentioning:

1. I got an AWESOME gift from my parents that helped extend the garage budget (was kinda operating on 0$ haha)

and...

2. They say that you should do what you want on your birthday. Is it weird that I wanted to just 'work on the garage' today?

So, with this new burst of financial rejuvenation, I thought I would celebrate by starting one of the next big hurdles, the cabinets. And no, the trim stuff isn't done

So I've been on a current Buddy Holly fix to get into the '50s mood and have been using this fabulous music to get the creative juices flowing with some cabinet designs. Could I just screw up a rectangle box and hang it? Sure. However, I don't think my brain will let me just do that, as it has been coming up with all these ideas for some neat art deco cabinets. It seems that every day for the past week the design has been changing, but in just the past day I think I've got it 95% solidified and now daily there are little improvements that keep coming to mind.

Right now, here is the concept art for the cabinets:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

So, with the birthday money, I went out and got some wood, and started getting busy.

In completely normal fashion, I made about 5 cuts the completely wrong way before I figured out what the heck I was doing and then things started to come together. First things first - the framing.

Here is what I started putting together before I became a wiser man:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

I wanted to start with the upper corner of the design because everything else would flow from the corner. If I started in the middle and then jacked something up, it would jack up the corner, thereby jacking up the whole other wall. The other thing is the wonderful folks that built my garage. They must have been very generous people. So generous, in fact, that 90 degrees at the corner just seemed too cold, and tacked on a few more degrees. So I wanted to start there and get everything against the wall first.

So I started attaching things to the wall, even gingerly checking level, until I became a yet wiser man...:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

....and realized that I needed to attach the other parts of the cabinet on from the back side, thus necessitating building maybe just a little more before throwing on the wall. That was the catch-22 though...I had to get it built, but 'built' just enough that it would stay together for attaching to the wall but flexible enough to 'coax' into attaching against the not-so-90 degree angle and then getting it leveled up.

So, I continued building...


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

To get those beams to fit together, I had to use one of those log-cabin type joints:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10


By daveamy at 2011-06-10


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

I am not a carpenter. I am not a cabinet maker. Perhaps a true-blooded cabinet maker would laugh/scoff at this. Honestly, maybe they should

I took this thing apart about 4 times when I would attach something wrong, put something on backwards, or, as I realized as I was out with my wife for dinner, made the left side completely wrong (all 2x4s need to be the same length and not staggered on that side...you'll see why). I'm almost making this stuff up as I go. But it sure is fun

So this is before the install:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

And this is what the wall looked like before anything was mounted:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10

And now:


By daveamy at 2011-06-10


Really gave the '51 radial saw a good workout today.

I think what I'll do as I progress with the cabinet build is at each stage, take a picture from the exact same spot, as shown above, to show how the build came together, frame by frame. Should be good times

Also, once I am done I'll take a picture from the same angle as the concept art I drew and we'll see how closely we come

Now the only question is...once I'm done, will I really want to put anything on it?

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!

Progress made today:


By daveamy at 2011-06-11

By daveamy at 2011-06-11

Glamour shot:


By daveamy at 2011-06-11

75% done with the framing - I just have to do the one more section that wraps around the other side of the wall near the electrical panel.

More to come!

DONE!!!


By daveamy at 2011-06-11

I was able to do a pull up hanging from it, so I figure its good to go.

As I finished, all I could hear in my head was some good ol 'boys are back in town'

Oh yeah!!

Since I'm on a roll today, I might even try tackling the plywood tops later this evening!

Stay tuned!

Nice work. Good progress.

Me... I weeded and planted six rose bushes. It's right next to the garage. Does that count?

Leonard

fergus said:

Maybe rigid foam insulation then skin it with some nice finish grade 1/4 ply? Could stain or paint that way. Wont weigh much...you could even trim out with some 1x3 pine to make it look really "finished".

Click to expand...

Fergus,

Not bad ideas at all! I will keep them in mind! I may finish the garage door, then look into insulation or something. I haven't even tackled the garage door yet. Seems like there are a lot of other projects going on in there! However, I'm trying to knock out some of the larger ones before the baby comes so that when I do get a free moment (10min-30min), I'll be able to go out there and just make continual progress without having to set up anything major.

LeonardY said:

Nice work. Good progress.

Me... I weeded and planted six rose bushes. It's right next to the garage. Does that count?

Leonard

Click to expand...

Heck it's gotta count for something

I'm just working on some detail trim around the panel box right now.

Maybe I'll throw an update picture up, but really there isn't much to update. It will look a lot better when it is all together again, but that won't be for another day or two.

Quick update for tonight before I hit the hay -

Got some stuff done around the box. Here is how it looks right now:

By daveamy at 2011-06-11

Close-up of the 220v next to the panel:

By daveamy at 2011-06-11


Don't worry, its not done

Here is some trim that I was working on - this is going to go above the door to the garage. It isn't finished either, but its getting there...

By daveamy at 2011-06-11


Okay, now for a guessing game. What are these?

By daveamy at 2011-06-11

Answers to come tomorrow!

really nice

Drawer pulls?

fergus said:

Drawer pulls?

Click to expand...

Great guess! You know, these would actually make pretty neat drawer pulls, if I only had the skills to make drawers

So the answer to the mystery will have to wait another day or so as I spent most of the time today working on the shelving tops and it kicked my ****. Normal something like this wouldn't take a lot of time, when since the level of detail is kicked up a few notches, everything is taking longer. I'm drained. Hopefully I'll get some good sleep tonight so I can have a good head start on things tomorrow.

So! Here is what I did today:

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

Note: That middle shelf top WILL get cut down to the same profile as the very top shelf. It worked in my mind, but it reality I think it just looks ugly. It will follow the same lines as the very top one and the far bottom level will be the only one sticking a little further out.


So, on a slightly-unrelated note, I went to a car show, and guess what I saw there...


By daveamy at 2011-06-12















it's from the 50's.............
















its sweet.....






















By daveamy at 2011-06-12
Oh yeah!!!!! 1950s Porsche 550 Spyder! Actually, its a replica ( I think its a Beck), so its not from the 50s, but its my favorite car of all time and I had to stop and take pictures:

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

By daveamy at 2011-06-12

While this isn't really a car thread, it is a design from the 1950's, which is what my garage build is all about, so I thought it appropriate. Really, this car represents my vision for the garage: simplistic beauty

Maybe one day one of these cars (the kit version haha) will find its way to the 50's garage

Update for tonight:

Blasted through making the shelving tops. Cut down the goofy ledge to streamline it. Finished all the tops up. Here is what it looks like now:


By daveamy at 2011-06-13

By daveamy at 2011-06-13

The whole shebang:


By daveamy at 2011-06-13

Reference photo of the concept art:

By daveamy at 2011-06-10


Gettin' closer!!!

I haven't attached the shelves yet because I wanted to figure out the lighting situation before I do anything with attaching everything together. I was thinking about some rope lighting around maybe the upper portions, and then some individual lights down on the underside of the lower levels, but I don't want anything that is going to get too hot since it is going to be close to wood.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Is there a good place to pick up some small accent/detail lights?


Well, that's all tonight! Oh, and here is a look at the whole this how it stands right now:


By daveamy at 2011-06-13

Wow...that's looking awesome!!

...and I dig the Spyder, too. Replica or not!

I really don't know how you do it. It's looking great.
I need to update my build or actually get back to it.

Quick and funny story. My friend's husband has a replica spyder. He had another chassis and body and offered to make it for me. He said I needed a chick magnet. My friend said "Only men have ever followed him home when he drives it."

Leonard

This is really awesome mate!