Below 265 SQ/FT Garage takai - my little do it all work cave [AUS]

[takai]

The first thing after registration was to start getting everything ready for its first job, which is to help us move house in a month. As part of moving house I need to build a storage/garden shed for a bunch of stuff, and hence this needs to be able to do Bunnings runs.

Now, if you were keen eyed in the earlier photos you might have noticed something weird about the tray (apart from it just being trash). The ladder bar isnt a ladder bar at all. Its been cut down to run full sik lights on it, and actually sits below the roof line. Eventually I will rebuild the entire tray, but for now I need to be able to figure out what size to make some extensions for the ladder bar so that I can carry materials without it hitting the roof. To figure out that height i set about getting the roof rack installed.

I was originally going to just get an eBay aluminium rack kit, but in the Supercheap sale recently they had 30% off the Rola racks, including the Titan trays. So cue this tray:

I also got a rail rack mounting setup from eBay, and set about making a rail from a Colorado fit with the Rola rack and the Hilux. First thing is to figure out if the ears will fit into the rain channel:

Followed by getting enthusiastic with a screwdriver and levering up the rain rails for a quick mock up:

I then made the very silly choice of getting out the drill at 3:30pm on an overcast day... But hey no going back now:

Test fit:

Follow that up with a flurry of activity to Sikaflex and bolt in the four mounts before sun set and the rain started.
Oh and did i mention that i had to drop the entire roof lining to do this?

Kind of worked out ok, except for finding out that the tube of Sikaflex i had bought was white not black. But it sealed ok. Next day it looked like this:

No leaks.

However, the rain rails were absolutely busted, so i ducked over to Clark Rubber and got some samples of anything 20mm wide:

Ended up using some glazing channel that I Sikaflexed in place (and filled up the area around the mounting ears). Was reminded about how much I hate Sikaflex. Just gets everywhere.

After letting it all dry for a day or so that it was a fairly trivial exercise to mount up the rack

Surprisingly just fits up to the standard bolt holes, no fettling required.

Need to replace the mounting bolts for the rack to rails, as the rail kit came with plain zinc plated mild steel bolts. Have already replaced the ear to rail bolts with 12.9 stainless and nylocs, and the ear to roof bolts are 12.9 M6 stainless socket head cap screws with stainless nylocs.

But in the end you can see here how much lower the bar is than the rack, and now i can build a spacer to suit:

Oh and then the next project started:

Another thing I had grabbed in the initial phase was a new pair of seats. When I had my old Hilux i figured out that WRX seats fit in pretty easily with only minor modifications (drill an extra hole where there is tons of meat and some minor fettling. But while WRX seats are quite comfortable, they aren't particularly available and dont fit well for a parts hauler. So with some help from Marty at MCM i found out that pretty much every Subaru from 1997-2005 had the same seat pattern.

Then a quick search on Facebook marketplace turned up a very cheap set of Forester seats, which i went to pick up at night. Being night time i missed the fact that the drivers seat had evidently been used by someone rather portly and had cracked the seat base mounts:

Not to worry, add some significant reinforcement with the MIG:

Then on with fitting. Took half an hour to get them in and voila:

Oh and did i say they have arm rests:

Quite comfy and very good for the $50 outlay.

After getting the seats in I turned to getting some of the wiring sorted out from the rats nest that had been put in the car. Spent about two hours just tracing random wires, and finding things like these RCAs jammed into the A pillar base:

Along with an uninsulated and permanently live 8AWG feed.
Mercifully that one was fused:

...with a 150A fuse, which wouldnt have blown before the 8AWG caught on fire. SMH

Anyway after that automotive archaeology i started to put some better wiring back into the thing. Started with a fuse box and some brackets

...not quite Binky spec, but this thing doesnt really deserve that.

Still looks quite respectable with the cover on:

Wired up an inline hard mounted USB power supply for the reversing cam and GPS speedo:

Installed the rear view mirror/dash cam/reversing camera setup:

Seems quite decent with a good view behind and reasonable visibility with the LCD turned off
Ill come up with a better mounting system for it later when some other bits arrive.

Added a CB back in as well. Evidently there was one there before as the cutout in the dash fit almost perfectly:

Plus you can see the extra two USB ports and voltmeter replacing the factory cigarette lighter.

While i was mucking around under the dash i ran a multicore over to the switch area beside the steering column to run all my lighting switches. Wired all of those up only to find that the switch plates in the Hilux are a slightly different size to the newer ones...

Never mind, 3d printer to the rescue. Quick measure up and start printing:

First prototype fits perfectly. Debating whether to just glue the rings in to the dash and be done with it, or print full adapters.
Either way I need to get some black or grey filament before i can continue.

Oh and the AGM battery i had from the old Hilux fits behind the rear seat:

Ill have to get to wiring that up soon.

 

[takai]

Now, this is a project I dont think i have posted on here about. But i have an NA MX5 (Miata for all you yanks) that i started a 1.8 conversion on about 12 months ago now.

So after 6 months of working on pretty much everything else (workbenches, mill and lathe stands, welding stand, storage units and the Hilux) and now getting prepared to move house I thought it would be time to at least revisit this a little bit to at the very least prepare it for transport.

I couldn't really remember where I was up to though, as I had left it thinking i was going to get it back together by Christmas... and well time got away. Instead i just spent half a day pottering around on it and sorting out things as they came up.

First up was tapping and resealing the overflow can:

Hopefully that will be the last time i have to modify that 'bolt in' component.

While I was over on that side of the engine bay I fitted up the fuel lines, and added some abrasion protection:

Might also add some brackets for ziptie or P-clip mounts later on down the track, but will do for now.

I also mounted up the cold side reroute pipe properly:

32mm Narva P-clips to little alloy brackets (cue the funk) sorted that out pretty easily.

That side of the engine bay now looks like this:

At some point between the last update and now I had also tapped a 1/8NPT thread into the intake manifold and ran an 4AN fitting on it for the BOV feed.

On the other side of the engine bay I plumbed up the 4AN hose for the wastegate MAC valve:

And sorted out all the catch can fittings:

Drilled and added a 4mm barbed bulkhead fitting to the firewall to feed the onboard MAP sensor:

That side of the engine bay now looks like this:

Then mounted the ECU and bundled up the spare loom wires out of the way:

You can also see the LSU4.9 WB1 sitting there too, which I upgraded to from the old LSU4.2 sensor

This connector needed a date with the depinning tools then:

So that this grommet could be added:

Now the WB wiring runs out of the old AC drain bung into the trans tunnel to the exhaust:

Its a tight fit, but it fits. I had spaced it based on the LSU4.2 sensor, which has a slightly shorter body. Should be fine though as it should move with the engine/gearbox.

While I was under there I filled the gearbox oil and checked on the diff oil.

Overall the engine bay now looks like this though, after fitting the air filter and the turbo coolant hose

Few more fiddly bits to go now, need to sort a lower rad hose:

Plus have to get some fuel for it and pressure test the fuel system, which I may get a chance to do this week.

Then it is just a matter of setting up the ECU maps and trying to get it going on base map. Might even do that before we move house!

 

[takai]

Then finally, we get to the current update

So we finally settled and got the keys last week. First on the agenda was to build a garden shed. The location for it is pretty sloping from the tree interference and is ontop of the sewer line, so i have designed it as a modular unit where i can theoretically take the walls apart. I was originally just going to pull up the pavers and put down new 300x300 slab pavers and drop a tin shed ontop. But given we wanted to keep the bikes in it we needed more height, and then the scope creep started, and well...

Anyway, took 4 days off to make a 6 day weekend, but lost about 2.5 days to rain or work emergencies. So this is roughly 3.5 days work spread out.

Mostly built a shed. Not quite one day though, so here are the end of day photos from the last 3 days of work (spread over 5 days with 1 rain day)

Overall site is up in the back here, and specs are 3x1.8x2.1-2.4m

Ground is really not flat. Datum for roughly level is the lower fence beam.

My plan of just pulling up the pavers was stymied by the revelation of a 50mm thick slab under the pavers. Without being able to hire a jack hammer i was SOL for digging down, so i decided to use the slab and go up:

Mercifully big chunks of the pavers came up with their mortar:

Cleared the site by the end of Thursday:

Was hoping to get all the floor down on Friday, but was interrupted by a work meeting in the morning.
Anyway, set up the first bearer and started taking levels:

A little later i had a frame together:

And then bolted onto stirrups/footers by end of Friday:

Poured on Saturday, so on Sunday afternoon i managed to get flooring down and first frames built... before it poured again:

Yellowtongue and flashing:

Frames together:

Got the rear walls clad and up and front frames done on a half day Monday, interrupted by a mandatory work meeting:

Basically put foil on the frames and then the cladding and stood them up in place:

Then finished off the front frames which will be clad with weatherboards:

Then roof up and frames finished on day 6 (today)

Only destroyed 1 staple gun and my VERY old GMC framing nailer is on the way out,

had a couple of scary misfires including this weird quadruple fire where three embedded and one pinged back and clipped me in the temple:

Still, its not terrible for a cheap tool i bought in 1998 to build the chook sheds out on the parents farm. If i ever do any framing again ill be buying a battery nailer though.

As it stands it needs a door, lock and some interior cladding. Weatherboards have been picked up and will attempt to install them on Saturday. Then just a few flashing trims, but need to measure it all up before i can send the stuff off to Bowens or Stratco.

Its probably cost me a bit more than it would have if my usual suppliers were open, but due to the lockdowns I could only really use Bunnings, so things just cost a bit more. All up though it owes me a touch over $1k, which is comparable to a cheap tin kit shed due to the extra height, and about 1/3 of the cost of the Stilla or similar flat pack sheds.

 

[wasfast]

WOW, you did a bunch of work on the Hilux. Looks like an appointment with a pressure washer might be good for all the accumulated mud!

 

[takai]

WOW, you did a bunch of work on the Hilux. Looks like an appointment with a pressure washer might be good for all the accumulated mud!

Yeah. Will need a concerted pressure washing. But might go through some drive through ones first as the mud from the original pressure washing still hasnt washed off the pavement where i did it

 

[Geoff289]

I have update overload now. Nice work all round, looking forward to more.

 

[racingtadpole]

Interesting following this and your posts on the MWF.
Metric **** ton of work on the Lux, you were right, the rear light set was hideous, but you know Denny is the home of stupid **** on utes.. Random factoid, everyone I know that’s had a Lux and put a lift on it has turned it into a Rollux within 12months of fitting.

Shed looks good, I’m trying to convince my other half to let me replace the two 30yo cheap **** kit sheds with something decent of about the same square meterage that has a roller door so I can not pay for storage in a shipping container that I only have bankers hours access to.

If you’ve moved in IPRA circles, you likely know a few people I do, but then motorsports circles in Australia are a pretty small group.

 

[takai]

Interesting following this and your posts on the MWF.
Metric **** ton of work on the Lux, you were right, the rear light set was hideous, but you know Denny is the home of stupid **** on utes.. Random factoid, everyone I know that’s had a Lux and put a lift on it has turned it into a Rollux within 12months of fitting.

Shed looks good, I’m trying to convince my other half to let me replace the two 30yo cheap **** kit sheds with something decent of about the same square meterage that has a roller door so I can not pay for storage in a shipping container that I only have bankers hours access to.

If you’ve moved in IPRA circles, you likely know a few people I do, but then motorsports circles in Australia are a pretty small group.

Yeah, probably in the same circles really. IPRA SA and then IPRA Vic for a bit, but knew several of the NSW/ACT guys from Club Car days.

Too right with Denny, when i get further on (after moving) ill be stripping some other bits back on the Hilux including welding up all the side marker lights that were strewn around the ute.

 

[takai]

Brief update. We ended up moving in a hurry because of COVID lockdowns here in Melbourne, so everything went on hold for a bit. But I got a chance one weekend during lockdown to mostly finish the garden shed.

Installed door frame:

Put up the weatherboards:

Then hung door and finished off some of the trim:

Pretty much finished now. Have to wait for stuff to reopen to get the final bits of trim and then be able to paint it. But good enough to start storing stuff in for now.

Meanwhile we have decided to go with a separate fabrication shop area rather than extending the existing garage. It will be a bit awkward at times but i think overall it will make for a more usable back yard for this phase of life.
With this in mind (and really to get the design out of my head) I had a productive Zoom meeting:

Some people doodle in their meetings, I just play in Fusion.

Should be reasonable, simple 3x3.3m shed. Half barn door frontage on one side, normal width door on the other. This will allow me to get big things in and out relatively easily, but mean that i can just open a normal door most of the time.
I did it on 450mm centres, mainly because i wanted more frame to be able to screw stuff to internally to maximise storage space.

The door lintel/frame is designed as a welded frame out of 75x75x3 RHS, which should be more than plenty to take the loads across the 3m span I would think.

Is there anything I have missed majorly here?

 

[takai]

The main reason why i modelled up the shed was to be able to virtually play around with layouts, rather than having to move 500kg machines around repeatedly. Here are the two layouts im considering:

and

Now the second layout is the preferred one, as it keeps the mill and lathe as far away from any grinding, but it does make it squishy with the mill cross slide travel. Will have to do a bit more modelling there, but from comparing photos of the old setup in the rental it should be doable.

 

[takai]

Now that we have finished the arduous process of moving we have started looking at the back yard and sorting things out.

The first thing was that a couple of plants had to go. Nopics hated the succulent:

and the other tree next to it was diseased in the core and rotting from the inside, so off it went:

Next thing is that the path had to come up for the workshop and deck to go in. I want to reuse part of the pavers to make a new path, so i took most of those up with the demo drill fairly easily:

But then i started breaking up the concrete and was in for a surprise. The pavers had been laid over about 150mm of concrete, basically a 100mm path and then another 50mm topper plus mortar and then pavers.

What is worse is that i could spot some reo bar throughout the thing. In response i bought a cheap jackhammer and set to work:

Sure enough there was a TON of reo in lots of the concrete:

Most of the path had 2-3 layers of 8mm, and some bits had layers of 10mm and 12mm as well. It was a fairly high aggregate mixture, probably 25 or 32mpa concrete. An absolute pain to tear up. But we got there in the end:

All of that path basically filled a full skip, along with a bit of rubbish:

After that it was a bit of a tidy up and try to make the place look vaguely respectable. Well as respectable as it can be with a non running track car in the backyard

Things will probably slow down a bit now. Lockdown makes it a bit hard to get materials for working on stuff, but ill try and dig out the foundation for the workshop over the next weeks, and put down drainage aggy for behind the workshop. Also need to paint the shed and put another coat on the garage to keep it looking good.

 

[hewey]

Shed looks good, but that concrete looks like a nightmare to remove!

 

[takai]

Shed looks good, but that concrete looks like a nightmare to remove!

Yeah, it was a nightmare. But its up now and done. Not looking forward to doing the other side of the garden though....

 

[southalabama]

Just discovered the thread and enjoyed catching up.

When I saw the name I first thought Mr. Sulu was on the forum. Had to check spellings. One letter difference.

 

[takai]

Just discovered the thread and enjoyed catching up.

When I saw the name I first thought Mr. Sulu was on the forum. Had to check spellings. One letter difference.

Haha, not quite. Just an old nickname that has stuck around.

 

[takai]

Lots of time consuming jobs this weekend.
First, in true Aussie style, i dug a hole:

Even better, it isnt filling with water!

Plus, started painting the garden shed the same as the house and garage, looks spiffy. Just needs another coat of the green

Oh and setup a charger wall for the battery tools:

 

[takai]

So after a couple of weeks of waiting for suitable weather and the like we got started on the slab. First bit was to backfill and bring it up to level as some parts were significantly low, 150mm board for height reference:

But we got there in the end:

Then the damn thing settled with some rain and ended up 200mm in parts. No matter, easier at that point to just order another half cube of concrete than to bother with extra back fill. Onto Saturday:

After a couple of cubic meters of concrete and a ton of wheelbarrow loads:

One slab down for the workshop. Went off nicely for about 36hrs before the rain set in last night so should be pretty good. Hopefully the rain will let up later in the week so I can lay the bottom coursework of bricks that are waiting and ready to go. Then its go time on building the workshop and then the deck.

 

[hewey]

Slab looks good, and the shed is finishing off nicely.

 

[takai]

Ta, getting there.

Managed to get the lower course of brickwork down on the weekend, forgotten how much i hate brick laying, and my back hates me now too:

Then got to put some coats of paint on the garage and played with the kids. Does look a lot better with 4 fresh coats on it:

Roofing and wall sheets for the workshop should arrive this week, and if there is reasonable weather then i might get to put up the workshop frame this week.

 

[takai]

So last weekend i ended up replacing the fence panels that wouldnt be easily accessible. The old one was pretty rotted and haggard, with one of the posts having rotted mostly through. Down it came:

Surprisingly none of the posts were concreted in at all, just dumped into bare earth:

Replaced that with a standard colorbond job:

Looks a lot better now.

I then started on the framing for the workshop, but ran out of sarking so only got the frames done:

Local green shed was all out, so that had to wait until Monday to go get some more. Didnt matter anyway, as the supplier for wall and roofing tin hasnt done their job and actually delivered me anything yet, so would be stuck straight after stapling it down anyway.

With the workshop stalled, i started on the garage setup. I picked up this smaller workbench fairly cheaply, and its narrow size means i can fit a reasonable storage cupboard to the left, and my tool trolley to the right:

Plus while I was there i found these two upper cabinets that go with it as a matching set:

They are mounted on some scrap 70x35 for now, but will end up remounting them on 90x45 bearers so i can tuck a workbench light up in the recess behind.

With all that storage It should go some way to ticking some of the boxes for tidying up the garage.

Hopefully the tin arrives tomorrow and I can get some workshop building done on the weekend around all the rain we have predicted.

 

[takai]

Oh and i got a chance to work on the Hilux again. Not much has been happening with it due to needing it for moving and building stuff. The back seat is now full of gear to go into the tray eventually though.

But on the weekend i did disrespect one of the few non-rooted panels on the car. Enter the template and step drill:

After some super awkward drilling and then having to reach up under the guard to tighten fasteners 20deg a swing you end up with this:

Then you have to wiggle this super awkward silicone/rubber 90deg bend through the guard into the engine bay and connect it to the airbox:

My arms looked like i was self-harming afterwards...

Anyway, it is done. Chucked a K&N in as well, as the old filter was **** and the K&N was cheaper than the stock Ryco option:

​​​​​​​Now to leave it be until after the workshop is done.

 

[takai]

So... one of these is not like the others...

 

[Geoff289]

So... one of these is not like the others...

Hmm, rings or valve seats.

 

[takai]

Hmm, rings or valve seats.

Valves. Adding oil doesn’t yield any significant compression increase.

Will add it to the list of things to do after the workshop and deck are built.

 

[takai]

The tin sheeting for the workshop finally arrived late last week, so in the interest of not fornicating with arachnids i got stuck into getting the frames up:

Sheeted up the existing frames:

Then after some wrangling i bolted the two obscured frames in place:

Three M12 ankabolts in each side, shouldnt be going anywhere:

Oh and i used some tubes of Loctite construction adhesive that were about to expire as well....

Then up went the final wall:

After a day of pouring rain i got back to working on it and started with the rafters. Because i dont have the steel for the door frame yet I put up a temporary cleat to hold the ridge beam:

Then got to the laborious task of cutting and nailing rafters:

Used some purlins to hold them in place temporarily for nailing.

I was going to finish off the purlins the next day, but found that the building supplies shop that had dropped off the wood had included some rather **** wood in the pile, stuff like this:

Should have gone and chosen my own stuff from the green shed.

Anyway got most of it up anyway, just need to get a couple more sticks to finish off the purlins:

Next up is the door frame/portal, and then I can start on the roof... if it stops raining.

 

[hewey]

Workshop looks good. Out of curiosity did you price this up against a shed kit? My garden shed is due for renewal and I keep uming and ahhing about options.

 

[takai]

I kind of did, but mainly worked from the costings for the other shed. Its a lot cheaper all around.

Simple tin shed kits are about $600-1000 for this, but they are flimsy and not great for workshops. A proper timber shed or decent thickness portal shed are about $2500-3000, and this will come in at about $1500. Plus this will blend in much better with the rest of the house and yard.

Same goes for why I didnt extend the existing garage. Quotes on that were in the $15-20k range, with permits and plans ontop...

 

[hewey]

Thanks mate.

 

[takai]

No probs. Should say if its just for a garden shed the flatpack kits are probably better value for just storing stuff. As a workshop though, this is a better option for us.

 

[takai]

In the middle of last week the steel got delivered for the portal frame, so i got to work on getting it up.

The deep cut bandsaw made quick work of slicing up the 8m length into manageable pieces:

Then it was mocked up in place:

And welded in situ:

The steel there is 75x75x5 SHS, so probably a bit of overkill. But the local steel place had a length left over that they gave to me super cheap, so it worked.

I then used some big bugle screws to secure it to the frame:

Should be enough to keep it there. I also welded tabs onto the bottom so i can add some dynabolts to the concrete.

Not without casualty though, as i had to gun drill through the entire 75mm frame, and on one of the last holes the drill bit decided enough was enough and snapped where it had been rubbing against the outer hole:

Oh well, just welded that in place and drilled a new hole.

With that done, i was able to put the proper ridge support on the open side and get started on the roof. So on Saturday i blitzed through the roofing, but forgot to take pics. Here is the only one i snapped half way through:

After that my son wanted to help out with some stuff and so on Monday we got around to hanging the narrow door:

Door was another seconds (due to the marks on the front and a chip in the corner) that I picked up for $20, bargain. Needed to be shortened by 25mm to fit under the lintel, but no problems. Good to have some father and son time there. But he got bored and flagged quickly.

Yesterday we had a public holiday, so i made the most of the reasonable weather and built the barn door and started on the trims:
Simple frame welded up out of 25x25x2

Then clad in this tongue and groove stuff:

Would not use it again. The planks had a 1-2mm taper across each board, which meant that it tapers overall. I didnt notice until after I had finished setting them, so I couldnt go back through and try and compensate for it as I went. Pain in the ****.

Anyway, I had a bit more time so I popped up the gutter on the closed side, threw up the top trims and flashings so that it would be a little more water proof for the showers we are supposed to have today, and got as far through the weatherboards as i could:

That is about it for now. Had an electrician come through and have a look at it for wiring up, which shouldn't be too bad. Ill have to run a new 6mm (32A) feed from our house fuse box, and then we can put a sub box in the workshop. Ill do all the conduit in the workshop and garage, so that they can just come in and terminate.

Before that happens I need to insulate and clad the walls and roof. Probably just use some 12mm ply for the walls, and see if i can get some 7mm ply for the roof. Same goes for the garage, once i can get all the attic stuff out of it.

That can wait until Friday though.

 

[Cypress]

You are a man of many trades. I enjoyed reading through your thread and thanks for posting Chris.

Question: How to you plan to manage rain water with positive drainage from your workshop to your garage wall?

 

[takai]

You are a man of many trades. I enjoyed reading through your thread and thanks for posting Chris.

Question: How to you plan to manage rain water with positive drainage from your workshop to your garage wall?

Thanks, just try to do most stuff.

For the guttering i was planning on squeezing some standard quad profile gutter in between the workshop and garage and then plumbing that into the existing downpipe from the garage. But its a bit too tight for that, so ill be going with option B which is a 76mm mini line type gutter down that side, like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast...***-guttering-pack-black-76mm-14-pieces/9400j
If that doesnt have enough space then ill section some 100x50 downpipe to form a gutter and use that instead.
Whichever option i go with it will be guttered and drained out to the rear laneway.

At the base in that gap is some 100mm ag pipe that drains to the laneway as well, so a bit of insurance for overflow there.

Anyway, I didn't have as much time this weekend to work on stuff, but finished off the weatherboards and fascia on the workshop and started painting:

Still need a quarter round to finish off the trim there.

Plus we cleared out all the space for the kids cubby and started getting it painted before it goes together:

Should be able to finish off most of the painting for the cubby and workshop this week, and then get stuck into the deck next weekend.

 

[takai]

True to form on Saturday i got stuck in and did a ton of painting, which is boring, so I didnt take photos. But some friends came around for the first time since our COVID lockdown finished, so we built the kids cubby and then had wood fired pizzas around the fire pit. Much win.

Plus tinkered with the MX5 (confirmed coil isnt firing), and mucked around with the Hilux.

Oh and put in a pretty post for the garden tap:

Dont have to worry now about the kids kicking a ball into the tap and breaking it off.

Sunday was roasty, so what better to do than a bunch of physical labour to build the deck frame. Earlier in the week i had put down some quickset to anchor some post supports into and so i had to build the frame around those post supports. Built the back bit first:

Then moved back into place and capped off the front, and leveled with bricks:

Finally add weed mat, then the posts and brace, almost good to go:

Going to put down some more supports using some floating post feet, but the local supplier had only one left, so will need to go get more later.

Can probably start putting decking down, but want to run the electrical to the workshop under the frame, so will have to leave it uncapped for now.

Next up is to finish off the trim on the workshop and insulate and line the walls so that electrical can be run in there. Plus the cap trim finally arrived for the garden shed, so i can finish that off before we put the cubby in place.

 

[anth]

Nice work mate, you're definitely not short on jobs to complete! I like the way your yard is turning out with the different buildings and zones for different purposes.

 

[takai]

Nice work mate, you're definitely not short on jobs to complete! I like the way your yard is turning out with the different buildings and zones for different purposes.

Thanks. I feel like i need a Gantt chart at times to figure out what to do next, and which bits are blocking projects.

The yard should come together well, but overall its a bit of an interim setup. We are expecting to do an extension in about 5-6 years, at which point we will probably redo the entire back yard so that I can put a full double garage in there instead of the multiple sheds. For now though this is a much cheaper exercise ($2k vs $20k) which leaves us more flexible for the future.

 

[takai]

Forgot to post some stuff last week, but there has been good progress on the deck and workshop. First up i went and bought out all the merbau decking from my local HammerBarn

Then laid down the decking protection tape/rubber stuff:

Add a guide plank and then build up the border:

Then cut and dummy fit all the planks:

Ran out of time with that last weekend, but this weekend I got to finishing it:

Missing a couple of planks as I had to wait for more merbau to come in stock, but those last pieces were picked up today.

On the workshop side of things i went and picked up a bunch of C/D grade ply from a surplus yard and started insulating and sheeting the workshop:

Just using rolls of R1.8 earthwool stuff and then 12mm ply over the top. Being seconds some of it is pretty badly warped, but it was half the HammerBarn price, and with enough screws it is fine.

So got that done:

Then did the ceiling using 6mm OSB seconds:

I was going to tape and bog all the ceiling joins, but laziness got the better of me and I opted for putting MDF moulding over the top instead:

Plus this way the 6mm OSB has some support at the join faces.

At the end of today i managed to caulk up the joins before dinner, and then get a coat of paint down before the light ran out.

Throughout this week I should be able to get the workshop primered fully, and then perhaps get it actually painted. Then i can run the conduit for electrical! Exciting.

Oh and i picked up something from FB Marketplace for the Hilux...

 

[hewey]

That shed is coming along sweet, nice work.

 

[takai]

That shed is coming along sweet, nice work.

Thanks, getting there. Will be awesome to be able to get into the shed and start moving stuff in.

 

[takai]

Bit of a slower week/end this one. Managed to finish off the deck, as we had a 140mm gap at the far end that i was just going to fill with a single 140mm plank, but there is currently a shortage of merbau here and so i was only able to get 90mm planks. Narrowed those down by hand with a quick jig on the remnants of the old for sale sign:

Then screwed in place:

And like any good garden project it needs watering:

Actually just trying to get the resins to leach evenly out of the timber as i had to raid 3 different stores and 4 different batches to get enough timber to just finish off the deck!

Also managed to get the cubby finished off and in place:

Just propped up on bricks and a couple of wedges for now. Will eventually sort out a sand pit below the cubby and secure it down properly, but need to get that inspection port trimmed flush first.

Then finally got the conduit and points roughed in for the workshop after I spent most of the week painting it.

Going to grab some standard battens from a surplus place sometime this week and then hopefully get the sparky in to wire it up soon.

Next on the agenda is to do a big clean up and then finish laying the yellow tongue flooring in the attic so we can move a bunch of that stuff out of the garage up to the attic. After that is done then I can hopefully start on paint in the garage proper, and perhaps even be able to get the MX5 into the garage by Christmas!

 

[takai]

Didnt get a huge amount done on the projects this weekend, mainly due to dentists and Christmas parties. But I did do the epoxy on the floor. First up was to acid etch the concrete:

Then the next day i started with the epoxy, a nice 70% thinned coat as a primecoat, brushed in the edges:

Roll out the rest:

Another coat went down 8hrs later:

And then a final coat 18hrs after that:

Its already light pedestrian trafficable and its pretty awesome. A few little bubbles from where drops of sweat fell on the epoxy, despite my best efforts, but thats not the end of the world. Plus the final roller ended up quite linty, despite rolling it over gaff a lot, plus i had to change it out at the end due because i slipped and accidentally rolled off the edge of the slab into the dirt/leaves.

That roller i just pulled off and left on a scrap piece of ply, where the epoxy load just settled down on the board. 24hrs later I went to remove it to chuck it in the bin and it was absolutely solid. This is after smashing it with a sledge hammer:

You can also see what 100% xylene does to latex gloves... its not pretty.

Thats about it for now, going to be able to move stuff in later in the week but the electrics aren't wired up yet so that will probably have to wait until after Christmas. Making a start on the garage instead.

Oh and i bought a thing for the Hilux...