Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Doug's Annual garage clean up

[streetstar]

I believe i am posting this to motivate me to get off my duff this winter and fix this mess once and for all . I always wanted a tricked out garage, but i stopped working on mine when it was at about 80% there -- figure i better finish it this winter.

Its a 30' x 40' but with 200 sf approximately devoted to an office in the corner , plus a stairwell and a corner 1/2 bathroom , so the active floor space is maybe 900 sf

IT was big enough to contain, 5 motorcycles, a John Deere compact tractor, 60" ZTR, numerous bicycles, 2 full size classic truck projects AND - my Tacoma to top it off ---- but not a lot of walkaround space

This is the AFTER picture -- after taking some of the excess machinery to my rented warehouse for the winter. That place is now a huge mess, but out of sight , out of mind

Also of note is the fact that only half of the 4' T8 light fixtures are working, so i need to either replace some ballasts, or convert them all to LED's



The epoxy flooring (whats left of it ) is 16 years old --- i've always wanted some of the race deck style flooring, but never pulled the trigger on it - as i have undisciplined critters (note the food bowl and dog blanket on the floor ) - so i figured epoxy flooring would be mush easier to clean up the occasional "indiscretion" . That is true , but now its an eyesore and i want to do something about it

--- Right now it looks like a crime scene, but now that i have walkaround space, im going to mop/power wash it and see what i have to work with


Little truck doing work hauling the excess machinery away




ITs sad when project vehicles get converted to storage closets, -- but it happens





There is stuff still in the corner that i need to tuck away a bit better as it is shabby looking



The toolboxes look like a grenade went off in them - but the stainless front Saville Cabinets from Sams Club are nice and will be carried over for the garage refresh

Need to tidy up / finish the trim carpentry in here and fabricate some doors for my water heater / pressure tank enclosure -- as this bare cabinet has been staring me in the face for a decade






But good news ! -- The bed of my GMC no longer looks like a derelict storage locker !




I get mnore interested in projects when i do "build threads" --- so hopefully this is the start of my garage build thread for winter 2021/22

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Looks like a good start.

 

[j p smith]

good start, looks like you need a shop in your future to get out from under the rental warehouse

 

[streetstar]

good start, looks like you need a shop in your future to get out from under the rental warehouse

Yes. Been needing one for awhile , but the rented space serves double duty as a total loss tax writeoff as i'm self employed and store a good deal of work related equipment there

Its only a mile away, but i would prefer to keep the little JD at home for the winter with a box blade attached as a "just in case it snows" tool, so i have plans for a small tractor shed with attached livestock stalls -- have a couple of mini pigs as pets, but would like the capacity for 2 horses in the future

 

[jbrentd]

I'm sure most of us have seen a lot worse in our own spaces. I'm in for seeing what you do to it.

As my detached garage is being built, I keep adding to my list of things I want to do. I suppose I should not get in a hurry and wait until it's finished, so I don't over-fill it.

 

[streetstar]

Progress

Although it is not flashy

The photos above clearly show a filthy floor, -- years of foot traffic by dogs and occasionally barnyard critters has done their number

Spent an inordinate amount of time with floor cleaner, a long handled stiff bristle brush and mops for this as an end result



It doesnt photograph well, as it is still dingey looking , but in person, the floor looks 2 shades lighter ! - Smells immeasurably better in there too. The worst oil stains wont come up with a brush -- so this will have to do for now, but i'd like to go the RaceDeck route once the repairs and paint are done, so just having it clean will suffice for now



The first "biggie" i will be doing is updating the lighting --- there are 8 4' T8 fixtures on the ceiling and half of them are not operating -- plan is to convert to LED unless there is something better out there i havent considered yet , i may post an inquiry in Lighting & Electrical about this too

 

[streetstar]

Arggghhhhh - i'm embarrassed to say that 2 years later --- the garage still looks roughly the same as the above pics. However, I have ordered 23 boxes of MotoDeck in a black and gray color combo from Costco , so now i am locked in to fixing this mess. Not sure how the car dolly's are going to work on the flooring, but i'll find out

The truck is not that heavy without a powertrain in it, but that will be rectified one of these days.

The below pics are pics from 2006 or 7 when i first built it (copied from a very early post on here actually ) -- looks like i've been complaining about flaking epoxy for years , so now that i've manned up on the floor tiles, -- its time to restore this space to former glory

-- amazing how good stuff looks when its brand new and before you start moving stuff in there and before you start engaging in actual work

 

[streetstar]

Finally getting around to squaring away the lights. ITs tedious, but not that hard. bought a big box of T8 LED conversion bulbs last year and just started taking it on fixture by fixture.

Its slow going for me as i am still not recovered from a shoulder surgery a couple of years back so working overhead is painful, -- so i am only doing 2 at a time in the evening, but it should be done in a couple more days -but its satisfying to re-wire something, then flip the switch and it works,

Honestly one of the easiest projects i've done except for the overhead part - i would guess someone with healthy limbs could knock them out in about 10 minutes per unit , maybe 15 if you include a few minutes to clean the dirty lexan shields

 

[streetstar]

Loved seeing the huge stack of boxes in the driveway ! That said - was a somber reminder that the garage still needs a lot of work before i start laying down the floor

 

[Ford52PU]

progress is progress no matter how much more you have to do. Love the trucks! Keep posting.

 

[streetstar]

Thanks man! Actually, losing one of the trucks was a big impetus behind me getting excited about this project again ---

had a little S-15 (4.3 motor ) that i had intended to do a mini-prerunner build on , but a poorly machined GM starter (OEM ) stripped the flywheel and i lost momentum on the project and it sat in one of the garage bays for a few months

The burned spot on the side is a souvenir from being too close to my old motorhome when it caught fire (with me in it ) - so i kept it around as a reminder that life is precious and i squeezed a few more years work out of it doing odd jobs, hauling dirt bikes to the track and trails and other things where a long bed comes in handy, and appearance doesn't matter
--- i had been debating just what to do with it when a buddies 15-year-old child (fresh with a farm permit) expressed interest in taking on the project, so i was game for that. Since they are fellow moto heads, they visited me, and we spun a few laps at my local track before they loaded everything up Gulliver's Travels style and took it back to Kansas. Since my buddy has a shop with a 2-post lift, they had the little truck sorted out and running strong again in a couple of weeks and i had a lot more garage space,

--- so the flooring was ordered while i pondered how the heck i was going to clean up everything else when i have no time


pic of "Lucky" (so named for having escaped a fiery end) heading out

 

[streetstar]

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

 

[streetstar]

Progress is not mind blowing, --- but i have been slowly moving things out to my rented 50x14 storage space to get it out of my hair while i get ready for paint, as the paint and trimwork will need to be squared away before laying down flooring

Have some gearhead buddies passing through on their way to the Dallas Supercross on Feb 26th , so i only have a month and change to square this away for the sake of saving my ego !


I love having plenty of walk around space, even if i know in the back of my mind that my RV storage spot is piled high and stacked deep



And posting this pic up as i am contemplating ideas for doors for this --- 2 sheets of 3/4" ply edge banded and hung on piano hinges is simple and within range of a DIY hack woodworker , but then again the sliding "barn door" idea is popular and not that much harder to fabricate -- decisions decisions




And this is the current hold-up. My brother suggested the sagging drywall might simply be the paint --- so i tested it with a broom handle which poked a hole in with minimal effort --- so now am trying to find a drywaller for a small job --- ceiling work is a pain for a DIY'er so id rather work a few more hours so i can pay somebody else who knows what they're doing

 

[wasfast]

I'm guessing the issue with the drywall isn't the drywall. Even though there's no stain, I'm guessing water leak of some sort above it. You may want to just cut out a section, especially where the "dome" part is, to inspect above it. If there's a bathroom or kitchen above, could be from those.

 

[loganb]

Agree with the above....if broom handle made a hole with minimal effort there was likely wa water issue at some point. May be gone...but probably best to try and figure it out before fixing the ceiling

 

[streetstar]

Bulk of it done -- the beltline accent color is going to be black

Trim is going to be oak stained black (you will still be able to see the grain reportedly) -- but begs the question

Should i just put a fresh coat of white on the doors as a contrast rather than painting them black or charcoal also ?

I was going to lay the floor tiles prior to putting down the baseboards to get the spacing right and have a nails width of a gap to let everything expand/contract but may just lay a bunch loosely around the border to get the spacing -- afraid if i just go and lay down the flooring that i would blow off the base and case for another 5 years -- after all, i started this thread in January

 

[streetstar]

Paints done -- now for trim and flooring --- given the textured wall surface, the edges for the black beltline accent stripe turned out as clean as i could have hoped for and the scheme goes well with the motorcycle that provided the inspiration

 

[plain2car]

nice write up.. thanks for sharing. noticed the 2 trucks... are you familiar with 67-72 chevtrucks ?

 

[streetstar]

nice write up.. thanks for sharing. noticed the 2 trucks... are you familiar with 67-72 chevtrucks ?

I am actually -- but - kind of like the garage here - i rarely post unless i am actively engaged in a project of my own , but i do like to look at the build threads on occasion

 

[streetstar]

before i post another pic of the garage progress, i found a pic of my pup Dixie Girl, from November 2006 when the garage was pretty fresh ---- She had such a sweet disposition and is missed. She was with us until 2017

 

[streetstar]

Finally

finally -- blocked out a weekend to pay some attention tot he garage

I did not get the flooring done 100%, but i got all the field tiles done - all thats left is to cut up a few for the peripheral edges on 2 sides and around a 45'ed door opening

My back is screaming but i smile everytime i look at the result right now --- should get it trimmed up in a couple of days and start on the final base and case treatment










Didnt really want to move things abck in before it was 100% done but i tons of stuff littering the driveway and had to get it out of the way

 

[sawduststeve]

Very cool. Looks great



Steve

 

[streetstar]

Very cool. Looks great



Steve

Thank you Steve!

I will admit that having to tackle this by myself, -- took me roughly 12 hours, so keep some Aleve on hand if you're over 40

Actually laying the tile did not take long -- i would time myself and it took approx 10 minutes on the knees with the mallet to hammer out about 80 sf -- however, it would take an additional 10 minutes to unbox and lay out that 80 sf or so and i took frequent breaks due to not being used to being on hands and knees for that long. Plus breaking down all the boxes for disposal

-- im going to have to find some more local friends for my next big project - LOL

 

[Blackbyrd]

Looks Great!

I like the color combinations, looks very clean.

on the drywall ceiling, I had a similar failure a few years back. Guest bed room ceiling tape joint failed, looked just like yours. Ac unit in the ceiling in the unit above's condensation line came loose from the sump pump. Not a lot of water caused the damage it just didnt have insulation in that area and fell right into a drywall joint.

 

[jbrentd]

The floor tiles look great! I like how you set up the pattern in groups of four. Spacing them out as singles would have been to busy looking for the size of your garage.