It all started with the pizza delivery guy!!!

[Bsheffer]

A few years ago, a pizza delivery guy drove through one of my garage doors and did me the favor of a lifetime....by accident. Much like woman's ear rings, you cannot replace just one so a month later, I had brand new 4 inch thick mahogany garage doors. This got me thinking about upgrading my garage..years later, I finished the three month project.

I have one of probably about three attach garages in a historic district in Frederick, Maryland(50 miles north of Washington D.C). 26x26 feet! Probably about 250 older homes, may from the early 1800's. My house is actually all masonry with 10 inch block and about 12 inches of stone. Unlike many of the garages I am in awe of on this forum where guys get a ton of work done, my garage is more of a social gathering place for the neighborhood and a very highly visible garage due to the house and the location in the community. I do light small engine work and lightweight motorcycle and car maintenance but that is about it. I have a separate high-end wood shop where I build furniture. We are on a 50 acre downtown park that is about 4 blocks from a ton of restaurants and a vibrant night-life.

I finished the walls, new lighting, shelving and finished with an epoxy floor. I used Legacy industrial HD epoxy and it turns out very well. Thanks Scotty for all your help and thanks for your patience for answering all my questions.

Few comments about the floor

1) I had a neighbor and his son help me with the primer, epoxy and the urethane. I cannot imagine doing this job by yourself as the 1/2 hour of pot life just seemed to fly by.

2) Many of the tips I received from the forum were invaluable.

-Having a space outside with cardboard to do all the prep work.

-Having excellent lighting as the urethane is very difficult to see and if you were in low lighting, I would have missed many spots

See photos below. Some of the house and the location.

 

[Power Sedan]

Wow, funny story! That structure was built to withstand a global meltdown. Very cool to see old structures in such phenomenal condition, yet updated to accommodate modern day activities!

Thanks for sharing!
Keith

 

[DekeT]

Looks great, nice neighborhood. Reminds me of the Detroit in the distant past. I opened this thread thinking it was going to be a long sad story about a divorce.

 

[lieutenant]

Great space!

 

[Bsheffer]

Wow, funny story! That structure was built to withstand a global meltdown. Very cool to see old structures in such phenomenal condition, yet updated to accommodate modern day activities!

Thanks for sharing!
Keith

Yea, it turns out it was built in 1929 which was during the great depression. The guy who built it was one of the few who had cash during that time and I am sure bought his labor for a "song". The original family lived in the house from 1929 until 1988. It was actually the first house in our town to have central air-conditioning as the guy who built it owned a metal fabrication business and made all kinds of appliances. The ductwork is the very thick galvanized duct work like you might see in a high-end commercial building today.

 

[captain14]

Nice transformation. Near Baker Park?

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Gorgeous establishment ya got there.

 

[NKlamerus]

Absolutely incredible.

Always need more photos!

 

[ZRX61]

What kind of garage door opener will lift 4in thick mahogany doors????

 

[ddawg16]

What kind of garage door opener will lift 4in thick mahogany doors????

A few extra turns on that spring would do the trick.

Actually, Mahogany is not that heavy....compared to other woods. Lighter than ceader

 

[Tunajoe]

Beauty of a house and garage.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

I've worked in Frederick for almost 7 years and that's got to be one of the nicest houses in town I've seen. North of I-70?

 

[SiGmA_X]

Beautiful house and garage sir.

 

[matt_i]

I must say I'm curious, I see the osb on the unfinished walls which I'm pretty sure isn't a 1929 creation I'm just joking here, but not fully understanding how the osb got under the stonework? Is the framing original but was re-sheathed/resided at some point?

In any case, very cool property!!

 

[Sunbimmer]

Beautiful house and garage sir.

^^^ This, and a great contribution to this site. Thanks for sharing

 

[jb3]

that turned out great, I like the board wall corner. the whole thing works so well with the solid stone exterior walls

 

[readhead]

Also curious about the OSB and the modern casement windows. There is also a dropped steel beam supporting the floor above. Is the stone on the front only? I'm wondering if there was a fire or some kind of structural problem that caused a rebuild of the garage. Do you know if it was two stories originally?

I worked on old houses for years in San Diego and it was always interesting to get into some of these kind of mystery homes. Most of the homes I worked on had historic designations so I spent a lot of time at the historic society doing research.

Beautiful garage by the way. Looks to have been very well built.

 

[Bsheffer]

Nice transformation. Near Baker Park?

yep!!

 

[Bsheffer]

What kind of garage door opener will lift 4in thick mahogany doors????

Turns out the doors weigh about 250 lbs each from what I can remember when they were installed. The openers are actually the old openers and are not big openers at all. The door will actually "sit" in position until it gets down to about 2 feet off the floor. I can put it up with three fingers as the torsion springs are well balanced.

 

[Bsheffer]

I must say I'm curious, I see the osb on the unfinished walls which I'm pretty sure isn't a 1929 creation I'm just joking here, but not fully understanding how the osb got under the stonework? Is the framing original but was re-sheathed/resided at some point?

In any case, very cool property!!

As it turns out, a masonry guy bought the house from the original owner and only had it a few years until I(third owner) bought the property. He added the garage around 1990. He actually went back to the original quarry to get the matching stone from the original build as they are still cutting from that same quarry in Pennsylvania.

 

[Bsheffer]

I've worked in Frederick for almost 7 years and that's got to be one of the nicest houses in town I've seen. North of I-70?

Thank you. We feel the house is such a part of Frederick and we are lucky enough to be here for a short while. I pride myself in maintaining the original character of the house, best I can.

 

[Bsheffer]

Also curious about the OSB and the modern casement windows. There is also a dropped steel beam supporting the floor above. Is the stone on the front only? I'm wondering if there was a fire or some kind of structural problem that caused a rebuild of the garage. Do you know if it was two stories originally?

I worked on old houses for years in San Diego and it was always interesting to get into some of these kind of mystery homes. Most of the homes I worked on had historic designations so I spent a lot of time at the historic society doing research.

Beautiful garage by the way. Looks to have been very well built.

Actually, the stone is on all side but the back as the 2nd owner had plans and was ready to go to add an additional 3000 sq feet onto the back of the house. He hit a buzz saw with the downturn of the construction industry in the early 90's and we ended up buying the house out of forclosure. Just lucky timing on our part.

 

[maxchevy]

Very cool home and garage. Love the history!

 

[readhead]

I PM'ed you but it seems that you already have some history on the house.

 

[ddawg16]

Oh....forgot to add.....bitching looking house and garage. Nice to see the old stuff restored.

 

[Pack Rat]

I need a new door. Where did you order your pizza from?

 

[Bsheffer]

I need a new door. Where did you order your pizza from?

And the story get more bizzare. The pizza hut delivery guy was a "straight arrow"(no drugs or criminal record) delivery guy for 5 years. After he ran through the door, he walked into our house and washed his hands at the sink. There were all kinds of people walking around downtown and I got two calls from neighbors and friends within minutes of the events. Someone called the cops and the police acted as if we(the family) were being held hostage. They came in with guns drawn, drug the guy out of the house and had him spread-eagle on the garage floor. Meanwhile, I am still 90 miles from my house as we were not home. The courts charge the guy, it goes to court, we spoke to the attorneys and judges and all agreed this kid was not a threat and in fact we got "whole" from his insurance company. We all agreed to get this guy back out working but they did put him in for a Psych evaluation as they think he had some type of mental issue going on. We never did hear the resolve on that issue. The punctuation point on this was that I agreed to sell the old doors($300) that were now in need of three panels to a young couple who was building their first garage . I actually had two new panels and could have easily made the third but I had always wanted insulated doors. When the young couple came for the doors, I sold them the doors, extra panels and all railing for $100 as that was what I needed to be ZERO out of pocket for this entire effort. It still feels good!!

 

[ddawg16]

I would say you were making it up.....but, it's a little too crazy to be able to make up something like that.....AND....I've actually seen that kind of thing.

My 'professional' opinion....instead of a mental issue....he supplementing his chemical intake.

 

[Bears Fan]

Great house and neighbor hood! Cool story on the pizza guy! Nice job on the garage too

 

[Bsheffer]

I would say you were making it up.....but, it's a little too crazy to be able to make up something like that.....AND....I've actually seen that kind of thing.

My 'professional' opinion....instead of a mental issue....he supplementing his chemical intake.

He was drug tested when booked and he was clean!!! Drugs would have been the obvious choice. He had a pizza in the back seat but it had an address of a house one street back. Sort of like he pulled into my garage to find his bearings and then things went hay-wire!!

 

[WarrenJ]

I pass this house 2 or 3 times a week. Really one of the nicest, with a great location also.

 

[burnedonice]

That is the coolest house, i love stone homes. My dad was a mason for many years, so its what i would love to build my next home out of.

Did you stain & install the doors yourself?

 

[Bsheffer]

That is the coolest house, i love stone homes. My dad was a mason for many years, so its what i would love to build my next home out of.

Did you stain & install the doors yourself?

I did not stain nor did I install. Had I not been working so much, I would have stained them as that was the easiest part. I would never attempt to install the doors as this was a little tricky and the pro's nailed it. Those torsion springs scare the **** out of me too. The doors were manufactured by Clingerman doors in clearville, Pa. Total pro operation run by a dad and his son. If anyone wants to look at some gorgeous garage doors, take a look at their website. www.woodgaragedoor.com

 

[Bsheffer]

I pass this house 2 or 3 times a week. Really one of the nicest, with a great location also.

Thank you!!!

 

[bry@n]

Love the look of the stone. It has so much beauty and I can understand how its a point where people will gather in the neighborhood.

What wood did you use on the wall in the garage? Came out very clean. Congrats.

 

[Bsheffer]

Love the look of the stone. It has so much beauty and I can understand how its a point where people will gather in the neighborhood.

What wood did you use on the wall in the garage? Came out very clean. Congrats.

#2 knotty pine/tongue and groove. There are no sparks flying in this garage(welding) and the walls that needed to be dry walled (by code) are dry wall...fyi!!

 

[Vette60]

Very nice garage and home - the stone work reminds me of some of the older homes in the suburbs of Pittsburgh - lots from that same vintage.

The garage looks great with the floor done and the knotty pine. Love to see more.

Friends of our lived in Frederick for a bit and the downtown/historic area is pretty cool. Plus, Flying Dog Brewery makes some pretty good beer.

R.

 

[Purist]

Beautiful home and awesome garage. Very interesting story, as well. Thanks for sharing!