johnnymac96
New member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2007
- Messages
- 1
Hello All,
I stumbled across this site a few weeks ago, have been planning on finishing out my garage for some time now and starting the project sometime this Fall. We live in Houston so an unfinished detached garage is only pleasant to be in 6 months out of the year and something needs to be done. If I had my way I would tear it down and build a palace but my wife believes (and I agree) that we're not going to be living here past 5-7 years more so a rebuild isn't going to happen. I do, however, have permission to work with what we have and that's what I am going to do. I am pretty handy so I will be doing almost everything on my own if I can.
Anyway, this is what I am planning on doing:
1.) Hire a guy to put a vent turbine in the roof (one thing I am not doing myself is cutting a hole in the aluminum shakes)
2.) Replace rotted studs and bottom plates where necessary and frame out an opening for a through-the-wall A/C unit. Do something also about the ceiling joists... see my questions below.
3.) Add ¾” decking to the new attic for some light to medium storage and install some attic stairs.
4.) Rewire all of the lights and receptacles to 110V/20A (I had 220V/60A service added last year) and add a couple of dedicated 220V circuits for both the A/C and future workshop use.
5.) Expand the satellite and audio wiring that is already out there.
6.) Insulate all of the exterior walls and the ceiling and cover with drywall and install the A/C.
7.) Refinish the floor with epoxy.
8.) Replace the existing overhead doors with new insulated doors.
As you can see, I'm not really a car guy. Mostly planning on using this garage for poker games and football watching and the occasional workshop project. As you can see from the photos, this garage isn’t big enough for my truck to even fit inside. My wife’s Honda fits perfectly, though, and she’s not giving up her parking space!
Here are some pics, questions are below the pics:
QUESTIONS:
The existing joists are 2x6 48” o.c. spanning the entire length front to back. Both for storage and drywall purposes, I am certainly going to have to shore that up. Question is by how much and should I add some studs to the walls as well? The local Big Orange store only stocks lumber up to 20’, so whatever I do will have to be a special order. I am thinking that it might be wise to go with some 2x10” manufactured beams installed 16” o.c. but I really have no idea and I’m not a structural engineer. Can someone walk me through that? Might it also be a good idea to put some purlins up there underneath the rafters once these new joists are in place to help support the roof?
Also, you can probably tell (or maybe you can’t) that there is no sheathing between the brick veneer and the wall studs, just tar paper. With the walls unfinished there is ample air circulation to dry things out but what about after the walls are closed off? Will the tar paper still be sufficient or should I install some sort of moisture barrier over the tar paper?
Thanks in advance for the help, this is going to be a fun project. I am also wide open to any advice as to how to best take advantage of this space.
Cheers.
I stumbled across this site a few weeks ago, have been planning on finishing out my garage for some time now and starting the project sometime this Fall. We live in Houston so an unfinished detached garage is only pleasant to be in 6 months out of the year and something needs to be done. If I had my way I would tear it down and build a palace but my wife believes (and I agree) that we're not going to be living here past 5-7 years more so a rebuild isn't going to happen. I do, however, have permission to work with what we have and that's what I am going to do. I am pretty handy so I will be doing almost everything on my own if I can.
Anyway, this is what I am planning on doing:
1.) Hire a guy to put a vent turbine in the roof (one thing I am not doing myself is cutting a hole in the aluminum shakes)
2.) Replace rotted studs and bottom plates where necessary and frame out an opening for a through-the-wall A/C unit. Do something also about the ceiling joists... see my questions below.
3.) Add ¾” decking to the new attic for some light to medium storage and install some attic stairs.
4.) Rewire all of the lights and receptacles to 110V/20A (I had 220V/60A service added last year) and add a couple of dedicated 220V circuits for both the A/C and future workshop use.
5.) Expand the satellite and audio wiring that is already out there.
6.) Insulate all of the exterior walls and the ceiling and cover with drywall and install the A/C.
7.) Refinish the floor with epoxy.
8.) Replace the existing overhead doors with new insulated doors.
As you can see, I'm not really a car guy. Mostly planning on using this garage for poker games and football watching and the occasional workshop project. As you can see from the photos, this garage isn’t big enough for my truck to even fit inside. My wife’s Honda fits perfectly, though, and she’s not giving up her parking space!
Here are some pics, questions are below the pics:
QUESTIONS:
The existing joists are 2x6 48” o.c. spanning the entire length front to back. Both for storage and drywall purposes, I am certainly going to have to shore that up. Question is by how much and should I add some studs to the walls as well? The local Big Orange store only stocks lumber up to 20’, so whatever I do will have to be a special order. I am thinking that it might be wise to go with some 2x10” manufactured beams installed 16” o.c. but I really have no idea and I’m not a structural engineer. Can someone walk me through that? Might it also be a good idea to put some purlins up there underneath the rafters once these new joists are in place to help support the roof?
Also, you can probably tell (or maybe you can’t) that there is no sheathing between the brick veneer and the wall studs, just tar paper. With the walls unfinished there is ample air circulation to dry things out but what about after the walls are closed off? Will the tar paper still be sufficient or should I install some sort of moisture barrier over the tar paper?
Thanks in advance for the help, this is going to be a fun project. I am also wide open to any advice as to how to best take advantage of this space.
Cheers.