Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT From a "double" to a DOUBLE

[Purist]

Input needed. Do I add one of the leftover kitchen cabinet pulls to the lid on my Husky tool chest?

Saw this the other day when I was looking up tool chest hacks (I think I want to add a power strip under the lid of mine for quick charging of power tools and what not).

I think it looks good and makes sense but don’t want to needlessly drill holes. Here are some photos of me holding the pull against the lid to get an idea of how it would look:




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[Purist]

No thoughts, huh? I like the look of the handle, but I also like the clean look of the lid with no handle. Decisions, decisions.

In the meantime, I used some of the leftover Thompsons water seal from my deck and stained my shed ramp. I'd like this thing to last more than just a few years, so I figured I'd go ahead and protect it from the elements, as best I can. I think it came out nice:

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Just catching up on your updates!

1) I would consider doing gravel in some of the areas you're considering mulch - especially around the shed. Its much cleaner, and easier for storing things around the shed. Better drainage, too.

2) The toolbox handle looks cool, but I'd personally probably skip it. I always leave the lids on my boxes open, though.

3) shed ramp looks great!

Keep up the good work.

 

[bj383ss]

Just catching up on your updates!

1) I would consider doing gravel in some of the areas you're considering mulch - especially around the shed. Its much cleaner, and easier for storing things around the shed. Better drainage, too.

2) The toolbox handle looks cool, but I'd personally probably skip it. I always leave the lids on my boxes open, though.

3) shed ramp looks great!

Keep up the good work.

I would second everything above. I plan to do the "sanford" side of
my shed with gravel.

Bret

 

[Purist]

Just catching up on your updates!

1) I would consider doing gravel in some of the areas you're considering mulch - especially around the shed. Its much cleaner, and easier for storing things around the shed. Better drainage, too.

2) The toolbox handle looks cool, but I'd personally probably skip it. I always leave the lids on my boxes open, though.

3) shed ramp looks great!

Keep up the good work.

You read my mind, I absolutely want to add gravel around the sides of the shed facing the fence for more storage/better drainage. To clarify my points of where I was going to add mulch vs stone, here is a super detailed, high quality image I mocked up in MS Paint:

Also, thank you for the kind words! I'm leaning towards not adding the handle. It's just much cleaner looking without it!

I would second everything above. I plan to do the "sanford" side of
my shed with gravel.

Bret

"Sanford" side? Not familiar with that term.

 

[bj383ss]

That would be the junk side of the shed. From the TV show Sanford and Son.

You can see in the top left corner of this pic my sanford side. My wife coined the phrase. She said I could put whatever on that side as long as it wasn't visible from the other side of the shed.

20171019_120509 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I still want to build a ramp for mine but didn't want to have to use the trimmer around it your idea of mulch around it is a good idea except I would probably use gravel. I have think about doing the entire section in front of my shed in gravel about 6 feet out. Just because the grass is barely surviving there due to all my foot traffic and working area.


Bret

 

[Purist]

That would be the junk side of the shed. From the TV show Sanford and Son.

You can see in the top left corner of this pic my sanford side. My wife coined the phrase. She said I could put whatever on that side as long as it wasn't visible from the other side of the shed.

20171019_120509 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I still want to build a ramp for mine but didn't want to have to use the trimmer around it your idea of mulch around it is a good idea except I would probably use gravel. I have think about doing the entire section in front of my shed in gravel about 6 feet out. Just because the grass is barely surviving there due to all my foot traffic and working area.


Bret

Ahhhh....I figured that was what the reference was alluding to, but I'll admit, Sanford and Son is a bit before my time. Sorry!!

The ramp is the least of my issues with the trimmer. The damn corner trim pieces on the shed are so thin that I've already knocked a few chunks off. So replacing that grass with mulch and plants and to not have to worry about trimming the grass in just that area will go a long way for me!

Also, just followed you on IG (thanks for following back)!

 

[Purist]

Super small update. I've been on the lookout for additional metal cabinets for the garage, to hold me over until I get a legit set in the future. I found one on Facebook Marketplace, about 3 weeks ago, priced at only $10 and only about 20 minutes away.

Took the wife's Grand Cherokee and my dad and went to pick it up. Turns out, it was in the basement of a 100 year old restaurant with the narrowest staircase and lowest ceiling imaginable.

In the end, the lady selling it only wanted $5 (we were doing her the favor by getting it out of her way) and even offered us drinks from the bar, on the house (we had to decline, unfortunately).

It was dirty as hell and had a huge rat trap on top of it, and we were covered in grease and grime and rust when we finally did get it out. But, for $5, it was a steal. I typically see similar cabinets selling for $50-$75.

With the help of some Poor Boy's APC, new hinges for one of the doors and some elbow grease, the cabinet is ready to go:

My plan is to relocate all my car detailing products from the smaller cabinet (which houses my laptop) to this new cabinet. I'll probably also move my stereo setup from the work bench to on top of the cabinet, freeing up space on my already limited work bench.

Not sure what I'll put in the smaller cabinet, but I'd like to get the last shelving unit unloaded and down into my basement for storage. So perhaps I'll try shoving most of that **** into the smaller cabinet.

Side note, Monday's ****. I brought cereal into work with me, but forgot the milk at home. FML

 

[bj383ss]

Great find on the cabinet. You are right easily a $75 cabinet if not more. Are you planing on painting it?

Bret

 

[Purist]

Great find on the cabinet. You are right easily a $75 cabinet if not more. Are you planing on painting it?

Bret

Hey Bret,

Thanks! I thought about painting it but since I envision buying a matching garage organizational system in the next 2 or 3 years, I might just hold off.

 

[Purist]

None too exciting, but an update, nonetheless. I moved all my detailing equipment from the smaller cabinet to the taller one. With the smaller cabinet now empty, I went through everything on the wire rack shelving unit and condensed what needed to stay in the garage into that cabinet. The rest went into the basement (or the dumpster across the street).

With the mild weather (mid 50's), I took this opportunity to give my car one final proper washing before the winter arrives. That, and I wanted the wheels clean in preparation for swapping them out today for my winter setup. I plan on giving the wheels a proper polishing, as I'll be listing them for sale in the next week or so (same with the car).

Cheers!

 

[Purist]

Nothing new with the garage, but I did a thing:

 

[Mpower5266]

I though I was the only one that uses Rejex, it great stuff.

 

[Purist]

I though I was the only one that uses Rejex, it great stuff.

Nope, not the only one. Good stuff, indeed!

 

[Purist]

Got some additional reorg/cleaning done in the garage yesterday in preparation for winter. Might still relocate some of this **** to the basement since it won't really be used in the winter months:

My snowblower location for the winter:

Finally hung some power strips:

Also removed the top portion of my smaller Craftsman Evolv tool chest and swapped locations with the stereo components, which I think is a better setup. Once I get a newer laptop to replace the POS currently in the garage, I might put that on top of the stereo and free up the top of my smaller cabinet for additional storage:

Hey, I finally see a workbench free of most clutter:

New hiding spots for my shop vac and creeper seat:

Lastly, I finally got the Raptor off-road....

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Congrats on the new ride! I love the 1st gen raptor... it still blow my mind that they dropped the V8 for the 2nd gen. How are you liking it?

 

[Purist]

Congrats on the new ride! I love the 1st gen raptor... it still blow my mind that they dropped the V8 for the 2nd gen. How are you liking it?

Thanks, man! Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for all the paperwork to get sorted out. MA is an odd state and doesn't allow or respect out of state temp tags, so it's in my driveway, not being driven (other than the tiny, illegal drives I take down my road and other nearby roads just to stretch its legs). The dealer (in Delaware) is overnighting the RMV-1 and insurance info and title to MA DMV today, so I'm hoping I get the plates/registration in the mail by Christmas. But I'm not holding my breath, either.

As for the decision to drop the V8, it pissed a lot of people off. The Gen 2 is a GORGEOUS truck and the ecoboost is a very formidable motor, but many "********" truck guys have just one belief...truck = v8. I can see Ford perhaps adding an ecoboost v8 (or something to that extent) down the road to appease those guys. But, honestly, if I could have afforded a Gen 2, I would have bought one over my Gen 1. But, I couldn't, and I'm VERY happy with my purchase. Just can't wait to effing drive it and get it into the garage once my BMW is sold.

 

[Purist]

Sadly, the BMW was officially sold last night. Here are some parting shots as she rolled out of my garage for the final time:

However, that meant I could now move the Raptor into the garage. And with the impending snowstorm that is now upon us, the timing could not have been better.

But man, talk about a tight fit:

I'm going to have to switch spots with my wife, or else she'll have little to no room to talk by my truck each time she wants to leave the house. I'll worry about that after the blizzard passes.

Stay safe folks!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Hey bud, just thinking of you... Did baby #2 arrive? Think you guys were due a few months back from what I can remember!

 

[Purist]

Hey bud, just thinking of you... Did baby #2 arrive? Think you guys were due a few months back from what I can remember!

Hey man, why yes, thanks for asking! Ford Joseph arrived early February 16th:

With his vavó (grandmother in Portuguese):

Very healthy and happy baby who is fitting in very well and who his older brother is obsessed with! How are things with you?


Garage-wise, not a whole lot going on. Been super busy with work, two kids and getting back to the gym. I did manage to hang a Raptor banner and some Ford decor recently:





But, oddly enough, I actually did have an electrician over just yesterday to add some additional LED lighting to the garage. I had him mount the two existing fixtures flush to the ceiling. They had previously been hung with chains. And to that, I had him add 4 additional LED fixtures to better disperse light in the garage:

Before













After




















I also had him properly wire the Ring Video security camera I put up last month, since I had temporarily ran the plugged wire from inside the garage and through the garage door weatherstripping. While doing so, he added another outlet inside the garage, between both garage doors. This thing (along with my Ring Video doorbell) is sick:














Also had a plumber come by yesterday to start the process of installing an irrigation system:










OK, so looking back, I guess there was a bit more action than I originally thought!

Still to come:

1. garage work (foundation and slab repair, eta June/July 2018)
2. irrigation system (yard-portion...e.g. laying hose and sprinkler heads, eta, 4/30 - 5/2)
3. possible reorg of existing workbench, toolboxes, cabinets, etc.
4. painting garage interior (eta August/September 2018)
5. insulate garage (eta September/October 2018)
6. and more, I'm sure

 

[M-technik-3]

Good to see you had a nice winter. How bad is Raptor on fuel in comparison to 335i Raptor on 87 octane 335i on 91 octane so about the same?

Raptor can do both duties and of sedan and truck so don't blame you. Miss my F150 but think I lined up a good Suburban 2500HD Quadrasteer.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Congrats on the birth of your son! I can't imagine having 2 right now. Our daughter just turned 1 and we still have our hands full. How old is your first son?

Glad to hear you like the Ring cameras, I've been considering getting a security camera as well. Do they actually save any footage when motion is detected, and if so, is there a monthly fee to do so? I haven't really looked into them too heavily yet.

Also, nice on the irrigation! I'm actually having mine put in today. Working from home today while they do it. Really going to try getting the lawn going this year.... we'll see how it goes.

Otherwise... things are good. Just starting out my first big project I've had time for in a while. I'm building a covered porch off the front of my house. Just dug the footings this weekend. My back and shoulders are really feeling it now!

 

[Purist]

Good to see you had a nice winter. How bad is Raptor on fuel in comparison to 335i Raptor on 87 octane 335i on 91 octane so about the same?

Raptor can do both duties and of sedan and truck so don't blame you. Miss my F150 but think I lined up a good Suburban 2500HD Quadrasteer.

Hey, good to hear from you! Hope you had a good winter.

With the Raptor, I average right about 14 mpg. With the BMW, I was usually in the 21 mpg range. But like I tell people who ask me about how the truck is on gas, I would have bought a Prius if I was concerned about that! lol Now, if gas gets up to $5+/gallon, I may have to rethink things. But I mainly only drive to work (about 6 miles) and my son's daycare (which is on the way to work, only about 5 miles from my house).

It's a BLAST to drive and has so much room. And I find myself not being so overly **** retentive about people being uber careful inside the truck (like I was with the car) and people can actually eat in my truck, unlike the BMW.

And oddly enough, the Raptor has more bells and whistles (and a better stereo system) than my 335i had.

What's new in your neck of the woods?

Congrats on the birth of your son! I can't imagine having 2 right now. Our daughter just turned 1 and we still have our hands full. How old is your first son?

Glad to hear you like the Ring cameras, I've been considering getting a security camera as well. Do they actually save any footage when motion is detected, and if so, is there a monthly fee to do so? I haven't really looked into them too heavily yet.

Also, nice on the irrigation! I'm actually having mine put in today. Working from home today while they do it. Really going to try getting the lawn going this year.... we'll see how it goes.

Otherwise... things are good. Just starting out my first big project I've had time for in a while. I'm building a covered porch off the front of my house. Just dug the footings this weekend. My back and shoulders are really feeling it now!

Congrats on your daughter having just turned one. My, how time flies!! My oldest is now 2.5 years old, which is crazy. He's so intelligent and so well-spoken for his age, it continually blows my mind.

As for the Ring cameras, they are legit. My only complaint is that the camera near my garage doors has trouble reaching the WiFi, but that's a problem with the location of my router and NOT a reflection of the quality of the camera. I'm hoping once I move the router downstairs, it helps the situation. That, and my WiFi range extender, should help!

Yup, motion immediately causes the applicable camera(s) to begin recording. And an alert is sent to my phone. What's nice is you can actually adjust the motion detection range, which helps to rule out false alerts, such as passing traffic (mailman, garbage man, etc.).

The recordings are stored for 60 days in the cloud, but you can actually download and/or share any recording(s) you wish. Plans are necessary if you want recordings to automatically continue, boils down to:

1) Basic, $3/month or $30/year (per device)

2) Protect, $10/month or $100/year, and it covers an unlimited amount of Ring cameras, offers a lifetime product warranty and gives you an additional 10% off future purchases at Ring.com

If you ever decide to go this route, PM me and I can get you a referral code which gets both you and I a $10 credit to spend on any Ring Product on Ring.com. Just food for thought!

Ha, I'm with you, there. Sick of having the worst lawn in the neighborhood. Hired a landscaper to take care of the lawn care program, too, so that, in conjunction with the irrigation system, should really help.

That covered porch sounds great! I'd love to eventually widen our porch. I'll have to check out your thread to see if there are any progress photos there.

Take care and keep in touch!

 

[dubber]

Congrats on the new addition to your family. Sorry to hear you lost a member of your car family. That was a sweet 3 series.

 

[Purist]

Congrats on the new addition to your family. Sorry to hear you lost a member of your car family. That was a sweet 3 series.

Thanks, man! Was time for something new. But I’ll absolutely own more BMWs in my lifetime. I’d love an E36 M3 or an e30/e36 convertible as a second/project car. In due time!


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[Purist]

Follow up on the irrigation install. Guys did a great job, here are some photos:

From the garage:

Best part about this is I can control my system right from my phone. I'm a techie, so the more **** I can do through my phone, the better.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Nice! My irrigation went in a few weeks back as well. The company I used installed a "Rachio" wifi controller. It's Wi-Fi only though - I like how yours looks like it could be programmed manually as well. I always have a fear of these smaller companies going belly-up and discontinuing their app support. (very unlikely with rain bird though, they've been around forever)

Good stuff! Thanks for the extra info about the Ring cameras too. I will hit you up for sure if I decide to go that route.

 

[Purist]

Nice! My irrigation went in a few weeks back as well. The company I used installed a "Rachio" wifi controller. It's Wi-Fi only though - I like how yours looks like it could be programmed manually as well. I always have a fear of these smaller companies going belly-up and discontinuing their app support. (very unlikely with rain bird though, they've been around forever)

Good stuff! Thanks for the extra info about the Ring cameras too. I will hit you up for sure if I decide to go that route.

You are correct, I can use either the app or the controller mounted in the garage to program/control the system.

And sounds good!! So far, so good with Ring!

 

[Purist]

Decided to change up the curvature of the front rock wall garden, opting, instead, to go with a straight line. The curves were suggested to us by the landscaper and we went along with it, but neither my wife nor I loved the styling and so I spent the majority of the day Saturday mulching the front yard and getting that garden from looking like this:

to this:

Now, to rearrange the existing plants and supplement with some news ones, since the bed now has more real estate to fill.

 

[02Xterra]

Looks great!

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[Mr. Roboto]

Nice, I like the new shape better as well. My brain is too OCD to have that wavy bed against the nice straight line of your retaining wall haha.

 

[Robey5]

Your place looks nice!!

Irrigation systems are always a nice addition to make your yard fill in - we had a local company install one at our house (that I was unable to oversee because of the install timing, and work travel) but I am now a pro at fixing this system because ... our cable company brought their burial ("ditch witch") equipment over and proceeded to hit darn near every possible water line in a 300 + foot run. That was a mess; it was like he was actually trying to hit the lines or something. I am not sure if you were involved with the design of your system; but in working on ours, I said more than a few times, "..I would have done that a bit differently.."

On to my question(s): your HVAC line looks like it has a radiant barrier style insulation on it.
A) Did you put that there?
B) Did you notice a better performance out of the HVAC system after?

 

[Purist]

Looks great!

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Thanks, man! Was a long, hot day and I totally didn't drink enough water. Led to some sunstroke/dehydration, which was fun!

Nice, I like the new shape better as well. My brain is too OCD to have that wavy bed against the nice straight line of your retaining wall haha.

LOL, same here, man. I never loved the look of it from the very beginning. And my OCD continues to get worse by the day. It's scary!

Your place looks nice!!

Irrigation systems are always a nice addition to make your yard fill in - we had a local company install one at our house (that I was unable to oversee because of the install timing, and work travel) but I am now a pro at fixing this system because ... our cable company brought their burial ("ditch witch") equipment over and proceeded to hit darn near every possible water line in a 300 + foot run. That was a mess; it was like he was actually trying to hit the lines or something. I am not sure if you were involved with the design of your system; but in working on ours, I said more than a few times, "..I would have done that a bit differently.."

On to my question(s): your HVAC line looks like it has a radiant barrier style insulation on it.
A) Did you put that there?
B) Did you notice a better performance out of the HVAC system after?

Thank you for the kind words!

I wasn't involved in the planning/layout of the system. The guy who did it is a full-time police officer in my town and has been doing this for years, so I never really thought to try and get involved with that. I figured he knew what he was doing and would come to me if he had any questions. But I can see where you're coming from, for sure!

That said, if you haven't read through my entire thread, I will be having some garage slab/foundation repair work done in the next month or so. Go figure that one of the lines runs directly along the wall that they'll need to dig around and lift, so now they'll have to be extra careful so they don't puncture the irrigation line.

Now, could I have waited to install the irrigation until after the garage work was done? Sure, but then we're looking at early August and the dead heat of summer in New England. So I opted to get the irrigation earlier and get my lawn dialed in during the cooler/wetter weather of spring.

As for the HVAC questions, the house is only 2+ years old and that was all done by the builder and already in place when we purchased. So, unfortunately, I can't compare before and after. Sorry!

 

[Robey5]

Thank you for the update!

I saw the garage/foundation repairs that you are speaking of, and I must admit that I cringed when I saw it in your earlier posts. Regarding the adjacent sprinkler line, I would advise that yo get yourself familiar with the working(s) of it so that ... when the contractors puncture the line, you can get after it and quickly repair it instead of shutting it off for days and letting your lawn die under the NE sun while the contractor(s) have to get parts. Ironically, I have the same controller for irrigation at our house.

As a child, I lived in Vermont and have fond memories of the NE part of the states. It's where I learned how to ski when I was a very young boy, and dad made sure that I rode my little bike (schwinn mini-scrambler) while he chased after me on a jog: dual purpose I am sure to run my energy down, and he train for marathons...

On topic, I also like the landscape. Looks like you're hard at work over there!!!

 

[Purist]

Thank you for the update!

I saw the garage/foundation repairs that you are speaking of, and I must admit that I cringed when I saw it in your earlier posts. Regarding the adjacent sprinkler line, I would advise that yo get yourself familiar with the working(s) of it so that ... when the contractors puncture the line, you can get after it and quickly repair it instead of shutting it off for days and letting your lawn die under the NE sun while the contractor(s) have to get parts. Ironically, I have the same controller for irrigation at our house.

As a child, I lived in Vermont and have fond memories of the NE part of the states. It's where I learned how to ski when I was a very young boy, and dad made sure that I rode my little bike (schwinn mini-scrambler) while he chased after me on a jog: dual purpose I am sure to run my energy down, and he train for marathons...

On topic, I also like the landscape. Looks like you're hard at work over there!!!

Ha, "when the contractors puncture the line"....you're probably so right! I'll have to read up on this just to cover my ***, so thank you for the suggestion.

My wife and I have been visiting Burlington/Stowe annually for the past few years and plan on going up again in the fall. Awesome beer, awesome scenery and awesome food, and family-friendly, to boot.

I find myself using the app 100% of the time when I need to make any changes to my watering schedule or want to initiate a manual watering. It's much more intuitive than the garage-mounted controller.

And thanks for the kind words. I need to use up the last of the mulch sitting in my driveway, so stay tuned for the next round of yard work!

 

[Purist]

OK folks, lots going on lately, so I'd advise you to prepare yourself for picture overload. There are a ton, you've been warned, so don't ***** and moan!

Here are a few last minute BEFORE shots to remind you all of the mess:

The best part about this whole process (not), unloading my garage on a daily basis:

Day 1 - And so it begins:

The slab remnants:

Day 2 - reinforcing begins

Day 3 - reinforcing continues and the hole is filled

Day 4 - more backfilling

Day 5 - the slab cometh

The slab was poured yesterday, so the heavy items (my toolboxes, jacks, etc) are still outside. Very glad to have my Ring security cameras in place. But I was able to get some of the lighter items into the garage before the rain started last night.

Going to wait until tomorrow to move the heavy stuff inside and probably give the slab a solid week or so until we park the vehicles inside.

Work outstanding:

• the foundation cracks need to be filled/patched
• the machinery from breaking up the slab really wore out the driveway, so I'm going to ask the builder to add a topcoat to even it all out
• trim around the garage doors was nicked up from carrying the slab out, so it will need to be filled/painted or replaced, entirely
• one of the garage door openers was jacked up by the excavator, so the builder will be replacing that
• discuss a warranty for the work performed, since I don't want to be dealing with any structural issues down the road

I think that's it, so stay tuned! I have some projects coming up for the garage, to get it that much closer to my perfect setup.

 

[Purist]

Almost forgot, on a positive note, no work will need to be done to the exterior of the foundation (aside from filling/patching the cracks). I was afraid they'd need to dig up my yard and do some work to the foundation, but luckily, that was not deemed necessary. So all "construction" was contained to the interior of the garage.

 

[The Engine Ear]

Great thread sir. Joining kinda late but congrats on the move and the babies! Sorry to see you had to sell your car. I remember trading my WRX for my F-150. Sad day but some things have to happen.

Was all of this work covered under the builder's warranty? Beautiful home by the way.

 

[M-technik-3]

Wow, good to see builder is being responsible and correcting the mistakes vs changing LLC name and disappearing.

Sorry I missed you over in CT have been dealing considerable amount of crude lately. But it's all done!!!!!

I hope all the wet weather we have been having will not affect the set up of the concrete

 

[Purist]

Great thread sir. Joining kinda late but congrats on the move and the babies! Sorry to see you had to sell your car. I remember trading my WRX for my F-150. Sad day but some things have to happen.

Was all of this work covered under the builder's warranty? Beautiful home by the way.

Thank you! I just read through yours, as well. Coming along very nicely!

I sometimes get seller's remorse, but I think that can be alleviated with an older BMW project car. Going to try and convince the wife to let that happen early next year. Wish me luck! haha

The work is all being covered under the builder's warranty, thankfully! And thanks, we love it!

Wow, good to see builder is being responsible and correcting the mistakes vs changing LLC name and disappearing.

Sorry I missed you over in CT have been dealing considerable amount of crude lately. But it's all done!!!!!

I hope all the wet weather we have been having will not affect the set up of the concrete

Ha, he has one more house to build on our street and is firmly entrenched in the area, so he wasn't going anywhere. But I agree, it's nice to see him take ownership.

No worries! I PM'd you last week and hadn't heard back, so glad to hear from you now.

Nah, the rain has really only affected all my belongings that I've had to leave covered under tarps in my driveway. Luckily, the slab was solid enough to move everything inside the garage last night, so this will be a non-issue moving forward.

What's new on your end?