Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover

[JeffreyJames]

Just seeing this now and have sent the last hr going thru all of this. Mind blowing. Awesome work my friend.

 

[scootermcrad]

Fantastic!! Very inspirational!! Keep up the great work!

 

[-Brent-]

North Carolina HAMB royalty paying the thread a visit! Nice.

 

[scootermcrad]

North Carolina HAMB royalty paying the thread a visit! Nice.

Haha! Been waiting for your garage build thread...

 

[Cactus1]

Just seeing this now and have sent the last hr going thru all of this. Mind blowing. Awesome work my friend.

I wondered where you went last night! Thanks for the tip off on this thread. Good stuff here!

 

[sakurama]

Thanks guys - seriously, it's nice to get the props after all the work. Doing this as a one man show has been seriously slow and it's easy to lose sight of the prize.

Well almost a week without a post for me - that could only mean one thing: no internet. No internet could only mean one thing - I moved in.

Yup. Finally the inconceivable happened and we moved in. It was sort of a whirlwind of moving boxes and then just saying that tonight is the night. It might come as a surprise but I finally made a deadline and we moved in February 14th on Valentine's Day. It has no significance to either of us as it's a trumped up Hallmark holiday but nonetheless I bought Judiaann some flowers. But I know what you're all wondering - what the hell was the first meal in the unfinished kitchen?



Mother Flippin' Pancakes of course!



You saw that coming right?

With most things still in boxes we managed to move what we could and what we needed but most importantly we moved "us" and after a year of working on the place it was almost strange to see it instantly transformed from my "work place" to my home. The kids and the cat both took to it instantly.



Yes, Moto matches the house very well.



And the kids and even Judiaann, who has had her patience tested mightily with this "three month" renovation, all settled in and it felt like home. Amazing.

Well, not entirely. The fireplace hadn't been tested or used. It needed a screen after I tossed that horrible bass folding door monstrosity. Luckily I have a machine shop in my garage. Not 45 minutes and 5 miles away like the last 15 years. Right. Next. Door.







In my steel scrap I found some solid bar and cut a four pieces 40mm. Drilled them 3/8" for some solid rod and counter sunk them for concrete screws that were hammer drilled into the brick. While I wanted to make something "nice" for the fireplace I knew it would take a while before that projects number came up but I didn't want to wait to have a fire. The solution used the old screens that I'd saved and was simple and clean. It will be fine for as long as needed.



The double sided fireplace is seriously cool. It draws well and is a great size. This is becoming a seriously cool house. Err, home.



And it's Tinkerbell approved.

And for me - a scotch to celebrate.



Gregor

 

[meathooker]

This made my day. As others I enjoy reading every update.

Congrats!

 

[hifiandmtb]

Congrats, Gregor. Absolutely love following your progress.

 

[jeff51]

Congrats Gregor, looking great.

 

[Fandango]

Woohoo!

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

Congratulations Gregor!

 

[UrsusMaritimus]

Thanks guys - seriously, it's nice to get the props after all the work. Doing this as a one man show has been seriously slow and it's easy to lose sight of the prize.

Well almost a week without a post for me - that could only mean one thing: no internet. No internet could only mean one thing - I moved in.

Yup. Finally the inconceivable happened and we moved in. It was sort of a whirlwind of moving boxes and then just saying that tonight is the night. It might come as a surprise but I finally made a deadline and we moved in February 14th on Valentine's Day. It has no significance to either of us as it's a trumped up Hallmark holiday but nonetheless I bought Judiaann some flowers. But I know what you're all wondering - what the hell was the first meal in the unfinished kitchen?

Mother Flippin' Pancakes of course!

You saw that coming right?

With most things still in boxes we managed to move what we could and what we needed but most importantly we moved "us" and after a year of working on the place it was almost strange to see it instantly transformed from my "work place" to my home. The kids and the cat both took to it instantly.

Yes, Moto matches the house very well.

And the kids and even Judiaann, who has had her patience tested mightily with this "three month" renovation, all settled in and it felt like home. Amazing.

Well, not entirely. The fireplace hadn't been tested or used. It needed a screen after I tossed that horrible bass folding door monstrosity. Luckily I have a machine shop in my garage. Not 45 minutes and 5 miles away like the last 15 years. Right. Next. Door.

In my steel scrap I found some solid bar and cut a four pieces 40mm. Drilled them 3/8" for some solid rod and counter sunk them for concrete screws that were hammer drilled into the brick. While I wanted to make something "nice" for the fireplace I knew it would take a while before that projects number came up but I didn't want to wait to have a fire. The solution used the old screens that I'd saved and was simple and clean. It will be fine for as long as needed.

The double sided fireplace is seriously cool. It draws well and is a great size. This is becoming a seriously cool house. Err, home.

And it's Tinkerbell approved.

And for me - a scotch to celebrate.

Gregor

I've read this thread from start to finish and am amazed at the project and the workmanship. Very well done indeed!

By the way, enjoy that Macallan 12, they are replacing it with "Macallan Amber" and it's getting harder to find the 12 year old. Maybe it makes no difference, but I like to know how old my scotch is.

 

[GRS DESIGN]

Fantastic news for you and the family I am so pleased for you...This would have to be the most enjoyable thread on GJ please keep us posted on future developments of the house and of course the bikes....Cheers from down under Australia Glenn

 

[smschriefer]

I bet those those were the best tasting, mother flippin' pancakes you have ever had. Congrats on moving in!

 

[RKA]

Congratulations!! I'm very happy for you. No more splitting your time between homes and finally a sense of permanency for all. Great pictures as always...love the pancakes!

 

[Sham]

Congrats for your moving in the house!
The pictures look fantastic, BTW ; I love that familly-making-pancakes one!
Is that a fan behind you couch? Looks gorgeous!

Oh, and as whisky go, I can't recommend Talisker enough (and Lagavulin).

 

[TimRaleigh]

Congratulations, and great photo's!
Still, wanna see those cabinets with the doors on though!
Tim

 

[rrudd2]

Congratulations! Beautiful house, beautiful family! I hope you have many years of happiness and health in your new home.

 

[justbummin1]

Welcome Home!

 

[Evan K.]

You sir are full of win! Congratulations on a beautiful home for your beautiful family.

I'm reading this at breakfast and now I want some mother flippin' flapjacks myself.

 

[polexican23]

 

[Tyberius]

I'll be over this evening, if you don't mind.

 

[TexZ]

Awesome work! I've been following regularly, anticipating your updates, and I know actually getting to enjoy all your hard work is very exciting.

Closer to working on the bikes again.

 

[FishTacoMan]

Congratulations!

If the expression on your wife's face is any indication, these are 'slightly crazed and way giddy happy to be moved-in' mother flipping' pancakes...

 

[The J]

Congratulations Gregor!



An awesome milestone and I'm sure a huge sigh of relief.



The fireplace is really cool. The platform with the floor passing underneath, I have never seen before, and it's such a cool element. Great job on the "simple" brackets. Would've taken me a week to sketch, plan, prepare, and still not get them quite right.



Enjoy your scotch in front of the fireplace. You have deserved it.



Thanks for sharing your journey so far. And to think, the garage build is just icing on the cake for all of us that are subscribed and awaiting your next projects and seeing your approach and amazing details.

 

[neilc]

Congrats. Been following this thread since you first posted over on FOG asking for Festool help. Amazing transformation. I am sure you are proud and your family is delighted in their new home!

neil

 

[dhubbard422]

Congratulations! A most excellent post!

 

[VMX42]

Congratulations!

If the expression on your wife's face is any indication, these are 'slightly crazed and way giddy happy to be moved-in' mother flipping' pancakes...

Congrats. A great build and a happy family...

Can't wait to follow your next project.

Keep up the good work Gregor!!!

 

[jbeaver]

Love this thread!

Great work and the pictures are awesome.

What kind of camera are you using?

 

[Calvin52]

Came here months ago from your KTM Adventure gong-show to epic thread. Had to register just to say congratulations on the fantastic craftsmanship and the timely move in.

 

[paranoid56]

I've intentionally not pointed these out to Gregor. http://www.trufig.com

I figure he's too far along to mess with expensive outlets now, so it's safe to mention them.

i looked into this as i thought it was a great look. but at almost 300 bucks per outlet its kinda expensive

 

[Crazy Backyard Builder]

Good for you Gregor, nice to see you guy's finally moved in. By the way that picture of the wife just make's my smile, great shot !

 

[polexican23]

This belongs here.

https://scontent-b-iad.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1/1926949_739199096097987_1071367557_n.png

 

[Skyline]

Congrats. House is looking fantastic.

 

[Modern Jess]

w00t! Congratulations!

 

[LOTW]

Woo hoo! Now let's get in to that garage!

 

[sakurama]

Woo hoo! Now let's get in to that garage!

Thanks all. And, yes, the garage will slowly start to get some attention. If for no other reason than I need it to be functional to be able to continue to work on the house. One thing is becoming obvious though, I'm going to need to make some sort of alternate place to store motorcycles because there's no way that the current 6 will fit in the garage without crippling the usability of the space. Maybe two or three if all the woodworking stuff is put away.

So this week. I was hoping to get the upper cabinets done but with the move I lost the living room which was where I had been ripping panels. So instead I spent the week making small repairs, installing lights and fixing electrical things while trying to get things put away in the garage so that the trailer could do duty as surplus storage to be able to create more room.

One of the tasks was repairing holes in drywall from pulling extra wire. Here's a very cool tip I picked up from Fine Homebuilding:

The video linked above is a better explanation but since we can't embed here I'll show some photos. Basically if you have a small hole in drywall you would typically have to cut it out larger to reach a pair of studs so the patch could be screwed in. In this case you cut the scrap about an inch larger on all sides and then score the exact (or slightly smaller) size of the patch onto the scrap.

You then peel the drywall off leaving the front side of the paper.

You compound the hole and then place the patch into it. The edges of the patch serve to support it perfectly and then you just cover with compound as you normally do feathering it out. It works really well.

Then I've tried to put some time into getting things off the floor and organized.

I found the tip to store the rails on the garage door from the Half Inch Shy blog.

Then to make room in my drawers I ditched the boxes for the router bits and just drilled a board for them to be stored together.

Collected all the safety glasses scattered around the shop and house and put them in the dishwasher.

And finally made an actual rack to store my clamps. This is the way to store the Bessey clamps, from the bottom with the handles facing out. Any other way is a pain to get out and they won't hang straight.

They now take up much less room and are easy to get to.

Finally I started experimenting with some stains for the walnut. Judiaann thought the walnut wasn't dark enough and I had to agree that it wasn't significantly different from the cedar to stand out.

The dark walnut stain on top of the walnut seems to take the warmth out and give a more true "brown" without the overt red tones making it more neutral which I think will look good. I'll do some more as we get closer to that. For now though the garage almost has enough room to rip panels and that should help the workflow to keep it all in one place.

Gregor

 

[YoungMedic]

Congrats man, I'll raise an old fashioned to ya Looking forward to more to come

 

[boatmark]

Congrats Gregor, moving from project to home is a significant step. But we will of course continue to expect constant updates as you continue the details.

When it is really DONE done we may need a support group for those going through update withdrawls.

 

[LoRollinLS]

Been following this thread for a long time now and its great to see that you guys finally got moved in! Congratulations! Also, the house is looking better than ever.