drakmon
New member
Nice to be on a forum again—I'm looking forward to getting to know you all! I grew up with posting on forums like this, so it's a bit of nostalgia mixed with a new adventure—having a garage.
I live in a 1874-built Victorian in New York's Hudson Valley. Before moving up here in 2018, I had spent about 10 years in NYC. Sadly, the house I live in doesn't have a Garage—just a short driveway in front, big enough for one vehicle. I had to do all my workshop and workout activity down in the basement (6' ceilings—duck!), which hasn't been ideal.
About a year ago, I managed to negotiate the purchase of a house a few doors down from mine (another one built in 1874) on about 1/2 an acre. My wife and I have just finished restoring it so we can rent it out, and that journey is worth a whole set of blog posts/videos. The biggest bonus on the property, aside from the cold war bunker? A 4-bay garage, built ~1920. Finally, I have a space for workshopping, storing materials, and working out!
The only things between me and garage nirvana?
8 tons of stuff, including a 1967 Chevy Van (not driven since 1980), covered in animal filth and stacked to the ceiling.- Sorted and removed! We traded the 67' Chevy (which had no title) in exchange for clean-out help. I kept a few good pieces of material and some new-in-box equipment that had been sitting there since the 1990s.
A horrific wiring job that is just one sidelong glance away from burning the whole place to the ground- Torn out and replaced with a dedicated meter and 200 amp service
- A roof that is more of a suggestion than an actual bastion against the elements
- Currently covered with a 40x20 tarp
- A concrete floor that has is more cracks than concrete
- Old doors which need to be completely removed and rebuilt
- A 100 year-old deed encumbrance which requires the garage be built in a specific configuration, location and with specific materials, or else the whole property reverts back to the descendants of the family that owned it in 1917.
- Too many ideas and not enough decisions for how to configure the space
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