Getting started... save this crusty garage!!

[chainfeed]

Okay,

Here's the scoop. I'm 28 years old and have lived in my current home since I was two years old.... My parents decided to move out a few years back and I bought the place off them. So I am pretty familiar with this lovely property.

So on to the garage. My memories of the approx 18x22 garage start off with it being packed so full of junk that you couldnt walk in it, which wasnt really a problem since the door was non-functioning and you could only gain entry by crawing through a window... Maybe this was my fathers attempt at a security system?

Moving on... at some point in the early 90's my father put a new roof on it and while he was at it sistered all the rafters with 2X6's and put a fresh layer of plywood down. So the roof is in good shape. The garage also got a fancy new door that you could actually open!

Here's what I don't like and where I'm at now. The sills are rotten and the place has a lean going on from the top of the 8' wall to the bottom its a good 6 or 7 inches. Now its been like that my whole life and hasnt moved but it bothers me... like really bothers me.

So I am now embarking on a mission to square up this structure, jack up the roof, put down a course of block, new sills, rebuild the walls and finally pour a new floor (did I mention the current floor is pavement??)

I'll be doing all this myself with help of friends being paid with pizza and beer. My father is a mason so we'll be pouring the floor/wall. I'm not a carpenter but I do pretty good at pretending to be.

So starting tomorrow I will showcase the current state of my humble garage.

Until then.....

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Can't waitto see pictures!

HUGE congrats on taking this on at only 28. Someone (I apologize, I can't remember who) has a detailed thread on correcting a leaning garage and I am sure he'll chime in or someone who remembers his name will post a link.

I assume you'll use pressure treated sills?

 

[Red Leader]

I also pretend to be good at lots of things. Sounds like you'll be okay.

I am your same age and my garage is roughly the same size (19x21).

Heck...my garage is seemingly packed with stuff, too.





Could we be long lost twins?





Welcome to GJ

 

[mdbeck1]

Can't waitto see pictures!

HUGE congrats on taking this on at only 28. Someone (I apologize, I can't remember who) has a detailed thread on correcting a leaning garage and I am sure he'll chime in or someone who remembers his name will post a link.

I assume you'll use pressure treated sills?

I think you mean the "derelict Garage???". If so here's the link:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74942

 

[JC23]

If you haven't already, take look at a similar project thread by a member named Fergus.

And good luck!

Here's the thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74942

 

[theoldwizard1]

... The sills are rotten ...

Check the drainage outside !

I was at my son's place the other day and noticed light coming in in several places along the sill plate. The previous owner had screwed up the drainage pitch in the yard and water flowed toward that wall ! Worse, they had put down heavy plastic and river rock gravel up over the floor level.

It took a lot of work last year to get the water to flow away from all 3 walls of the garage and leave at least 2" of concrete exposed.

This year we are trying to grow grass in the yard.


As for moving the walls back to plumb, first figure out why the walls shifted. If you don't fix that, it will never be right.

Second, BE SAFE !

Third, GO SLOW. You are going to need some really solid "deadman" to pull from. There are some good thread to check out on this topic here on GJ.

 

[chainfeed]

If you haven't already, take look at a similar project thread by a member named Fergus.

And good luck!

Here's the thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74942

I just read that whole thread last week!! I used that for ideas and pulled some more ideas out of my hind end so now all I gotsta do is execute them..

Anywho, I took some pictures but my wife must have hid the usb cord on me so they'll have to wait until she gets home tonight.

 

[chainfeed]

I also pretend to be good at lots of things. Sounds like you'll be okay.

I am your same age and my garage is roughly the same size (19x21).

Heck...my garage is seemingly packed with stuff, too.





Could we be long lost twins?





Welcome to GJ

Maybe just brothers from another mother? Unless you happen to be a big goofy ******* too? haha

 

[chainfeed]

ok here's some pictures of my dump....

notice how it kinda looks square from the front, my dad was pretty crafty....

 

[chainfeed]

notice the lack of a sill plate..... thats only in one spot but still

 

[Pointbock]

We've seen worse! A come-a-long, jacks, etc. and you'll be good to go.

Reiferman's barn-saving thread is a good one to review. And Bull re-habbed his the same way.

 

[chainfeed]

Well I've got most of the new rafter-ties in, almost ready to build the temp. walls!! Thinking about lifting the roof right off the old walls, then pulling it into place on some rollers. I just don't trust the old walls to hold up to the pressure. Plus this will allow me to place the roof right where it should be over the foundation.

 

[n2ocamaro]

Good luck with the repairs. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[A_Pmech]

Should be a fun project to watch unfold. The poor mustang needs a better house.

How many times have you hit the garage light with a basketball?

 

[chainfeed]

the lights came after I grew out of my basketball years ha

I may have to change that up once i have a kid!!

 

[fergus]

Hey Chainfeed! Good work on trying to save this garage. I saw you read my thread. In hindsight, I wish I would have lifted the entire structure and poured a footer/lay block and poured a pad, like you plan to do. There are some great ideas on that book that both Rieferman and I have bought on how to lift a structure. I still may do it. Who knows. Maybe you'll lead the way with this one. Good luck.

 

[chainfeed]

Yes! my foundation settled on one side long ago so I really need to form up a short footer nice and level, give me a good surface to build my new walls on.

 

[fergus]

Yep. Get that wall jacked up out of the way, build some "outriggers" with feet to hold it up out of the way, cut that floor out of the way and pour that footer. I should have done that, but I was worried about doing too much at once. Its only twice as much work to do it later right?

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Good Luck, and keep a sharp eye out for 'Mr. Murphy' when working on that structure!

http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html

 

[chainfeed]

got some good stuff for the garage over the weekend, 50's rockwell bench mount drill press, newer delta bench mount drill press, vintage whitney No.5 JR punch and a older craftsman tap and die set. 100 bucks!! I'm probably going to give the delta drill press to my father but the old rockwell is going in the garage for sure.

 

[chainfeed]

update.....

got the temporary walls started, I started out with just a stud under each of the new rafter ties, which are on every other rafter.... looking at it now I think im going to add a stud under the other rafters too just for extra safety.

I'd say I have plenty of triangulation though ahaha

When I am ready to jack this thing up I'm going to have to pull the garage door and build the last sections of the temp walls. Stick the mustang and sled in the driveway, put the dirtbike and toolbox in the basement.

Then get the weight off the old walls and start moving the roof back where its supposed to be

 

[fergus]

Awesome! Good to see you are making headway. It's easy to see you have good taste- you've got a Husqvarna in the garage! I had an 06 SMR510...best bike I've ever had. I will own another some day.

 

[chainfeed]

yep mine is a 07 TE 450..... don't use it much but it is street legal

 

[Bull]

I love seeing the old stuff saved.

What part of the state are you in? Central/Eastern?

 

[chainfeed]

central, I'm in the brookfields

 

[chainfeed]

update.....

My wife and I are having our 1st child in the next few weeks here so I got pulled away from the garage project to get the nursery ready. I just got the ok from the boss to go back on the garage fix-up....


So I'm coming to the reality that thing garage is never going to be square like I would like. Back when my father put plywood down on the roof he pretty much locked the whole structure together crooked like it is. Then he built a shed attached to the back of the garage. If I try and pull this thing straight the back will have to twist which will in turn cause issues with the shed.................ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

At this point if it wasnt for being right on the lot line I would seriously consider taking a wrecking ball to the place...

But alas it is right on the line. So the new plan is to rebuild the side walls square, leave the roof where it is and wherever the two meet so be it. I'll have to steal an bit here and there so it doesnt look completely goofy.

Blah.

 

[chainfeed]

update.....

I stood back and took a deep breath and decided to not give up on this project.

I pulled all the nails that were holding the shed to the garage. That wasnt much fun but its done.

I put a come-a-long on a diagonal across the back wall to help pull it straight and applied some tension.

I then started going around my temporary wall with a 3 foot breaker bar for leverage bumping each temp stud's base forward. Seemed to be too easy.

I took a few measurements off the corner of my house to the garage and to my shock I had moved the garage about an inch and a half in about 20 min.....

So now with my new found motivation I have gotten this thing way closer to square than its probably been in 50 years. I have a bit more to go but its getting there!

Pictures to come.

 

[fergus]

Yeah baby! You've probably done the hardest part already. Just getting started was a gargantuan hurdle for me. That's how you're gonna do it. - inch by inch. Keep us in the loop.

 

[A_Pmech]

update.....

I stood back and took a deep breath and decided to not give up on this project.

Starting work is the hardest part of the job. Keep the momentum!

 

[chainfeed]

Thanks, I'm back on track now!

 

[chainfeed]

Its official, the garage is square. At its worst spot its out maybe 1/8" in 4 feet. Pretty happy with it!

 

[bobemmerich]

NICE! Congrats on the garage and the child.

 

[Bull]

That's awesome!

I have an old building that could use some squaring and some wall-straightening. Inertia and fear of my own ignorance keep me from tackling it. Projects like this help.

 

[Ksullivan]

This is an awesome project, glad you have tackled starting it!

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Good for you!

Now, that it is square, brace the heck out of it and nail'er down; don't want any strong winds, or heavy snow load to ruin all your 'tweaking'! lol

 

[fergus]

That's real good. You'll never notice it. Mine moved after I squared it up since the slabs are uneven. That's why I tied the roof joists to the wall studs.

 

[chainfeed]

Well its been a long time coming but the concrete truck is coming today!!!! new floor going in!!!!

I had to chip out 4 or 5 inches of pavement and then found 4 or 5 inches of junk concrete under that which I also removed.

I then found there was no frost wall across the front of the garage so I dug down 4 feet and built a form and poured a footer and frost wall......

Then I decided I wanted a good capilary break under the new slab so I removed 5 inches of sand which ended up being about 345290235170694 wheel barrows full when combined with the displaced material from the frost wall.

Then I brought in about 6 yards of 3/4 stone and placed that and compacted it.

Now today comes the concrete!!! wooohooooo!

 

[Bull]

Glad to see this thread back at the top. Get some more pics of the prcesses up, will ya!

 

[captain14]

Good work saving the old garage. Please post photos of the concrete pour from today when you have time.

Keep us updated on the progress.

 

[chainfeed]

crappy cell phone picture