New kid (yes, kid) from Florida

[Sketchy564]

Dont know where to start, ive pretty much had gasoline running through my veins since i was born. Ive been a car freak my whole entire life. I joined cause ive gotta say, the garage is probably my favorite part of the house. I take better care of the garage than i do with my room

was randomly searching on google for some garage ideas, and i came across this board. Ive been sick for the past three days, so been staying home all day, and ive gotta say, ive been kept pretty entertained by looking at all the ideas and garages you guys have. some pretty sick inspiration

One thing i noticed though, most of you guys have your own families or the garage is in your own house. Im probably not gonna blend in too well cause im only 16

So all the money i get goes straight to my car and having fun, but i still wanna have a badass (to me) garage, but on a reeaaaal tight budget

Im doing pretty much all the work my self too, cause im living alone with my mom. Call me spoiled i guess, but she doesnt care about the garage, and used it as a big *** shed (like most people these days), so she said i could clear it out and use it as my own garage (fcking sweet!!!)

anyways, heres when i first started clearing out the garage enough to fit my car in it

That didnt satisfy me though, i wanted to be able to start playing drums again, so i needed some more space, and while i was at that, i just wanted the garage to be mad clean

So heres where im at now (or a couple weeks ago)

its nothing compared to some stuff ive seen on here, but it came a long way from being completley filled with useless random junk and not being able to walk, to what it is now, so im pretty damn proud of my self for doing all that

my dad will stop by from time to time, and hel help me with little stuff here and there too, so ill give him some credit. hopefully once schools out (4 days!), im gonna help him make his nice too, cause he deserves it.


anyways, done with the long *** intro. looking forward to getting some insight from people who obviously know how to do a garage the right way, as well as some cheap and effective DIY'ers

first thing im looking into is some kind of cabinets or closed shelves, so clean things up a little. then i wanna paint over this section on the wall where from top down, about a foot wide, the paint is chipping, but i dont know how to properly do that

 

[Namocsid]

Welcome to the board!

Looks like a nice space, and kudos to you for wanting to fix it up yourself. You've gotta learn to do it sometime.

Just gotta get you some tools and you'll be all set to start wrenchin'!

 

[Uncle Buck]

Welcome, you should fit in just fine! It really does not matter how little or how much you have in the way of tools or equipment, you are interested and that is enough. Ask any questions you want, or contribute as you choose we are simply glad to have you here with us!

 

[Sketchy564]

haha thanks, i already got a bunch of stuff i really wanna do

Besides the paint and cabinets, theres two things that really bug me

The genious who designed the house put the light for the garage right under the garage door opener, so theres light, enough to see for a normal room, but its really not bright enough to see what im doing when im trying to fix somthing, or clean the car or whatever. So what im looking to do is probably install at least a 3 foot strip of flourecant lighting running from front to back, slightly offset (on the side my car is parked on)

only thing, im probably gunna guess thats one hell of a task for a 16 year old


the other thing is that the remote for the garage door opener wont work anymore. Origionally when we bought the house a few months ago, it worked, but then it stopped working. i figured it was simply a dead battery, but when i changed it, the light still goes on when i press it, but it wont open the door.

cant really find any replacment remotes that are compatible either as far as i know, cause its probably at least 15-20 years old

so, anyone know anywhere i can get remotes that you open up, and slide a few numbers around to make the code? im guessing that will work on mine

thats probably the dumbest question thats ever been asked on here, but whatever, im hear to learn lol

also, theres only two outlets in my garage. one right under that grey fuse box, and one heavy duty one for the washer and dryer, so i cant use those

At my dads house, theres an outlet on the ceiling next to the opener, which the cord for the garage door opener plugs into, and he also put a little retractable cable rope exension cord roller thing up there

id like to be able to do that, but theres no outlet up there. idk where the garage door opener plugs into, because the wire just goes up to a little hole in the ceiling, to i have no clue where

what im asking is, how hard would it be to get an outlet up there if its possible?

 

[goodfellow]

Good for you young fella!!! You've not only shown your mom that you can stick to a project by cleaning up the messy garage, but also developed some good habits that will be of value for the rest of your life.

You're very welcome here. Many of us weren't as lucky as you because our folks' didn't encourage our motoring and tool interests. You're lucky to have a parent that supports your hobby. Keep diggin' in the garage. Chances are that working on your car and staying in the garage will keep you out of a mess of trouble by occupying your time in a constructive manner.

 

[700jfm]

welcome You got a good set up there. sell the drums and put a tool box in it's place. Im just playing with ya. When my son was your age we would work in the garage almost every weekend, he would go out and knock the wheels or drive train off his Z71 4X4 and we would put it back together just so he could do it again. Believe me it was a lot more fun then it sounds.

 

[LoneGunman]

First off welcome to the site. As for you being spolied, I don't think so, spoiled would be your parents buying you a 60k vehicle and you trashing it and expecting them to keep it up by paying for repairs ETC. There needs to be more kids like you nowadays (damn I sounded old saying that, I'm 39)

"So what im looking to do is probably install at least a 3 foot strip of flourecant lighting running from front to back, slightly offset (on the side my car is parked on)

only thing, im probably gunna guess thats one hell of a task for a 16 year old"

Installing some strip lights is probably well within your ability, I'm sure you'll hear it more than once and probably have heard it already, take no chances with electricity, make sure it's off before you touch ANYTHING. I am electrician and have seen first hand what happens when you are not carefull.

"cant really find any replacment remotes that are compatible either as far as i know, cause its probably at least 15-20 years old"

Have you checked online about a replacement, the company that made the opener can probably tell you what you need to buy. Be prepared to give them a serial number and/or model number.

"also, theres only two outlets in my garage. one right under that grey fuse box, and one heavy duty one for the washer and dryer, so i cant use those

At my dads house, theres an outlet on the ceiling next to the opener, which the cord for the garage door opener plugs into, and he also put a little retractable cable rope exension cord roller thing up there

id like to be able to do that, but theres no outlet up there. idk where the garage door opener plugs into, because the wire just goes up to a little hole in the ceiling, to i have no clue where

what im asking is, how hard would it be to get an outlet up there if its possible?"

The opener is probably plugged into an outlet thats in the attic section of the garage. If theres an attic section you should be able to add a receptacle fairly easily. Home Depot or Lowes should have a thin book on basic electric, you should pick that up to get the basic understanding of how it works. Then any questions you have we can help you with. I must say again, be carefull and you should have an adult with you when you work on electric.

 

[700jfm]

Good for you young fella!!! You've not only shown your mom that you can stick to a project by cleaning up the messy garage, but also developed some good habits that will be of value for the rest of your life.

You're very welcome here. Many of us weren't as lucky as you because our folks' didn't encourage our motoring and tool interests. You're lucky to have a parent that supports your hobby. Keep diggin' in the garage. Chances are that working on your car and staying in the garage will keep you out of a mess of trouble by occupying your time in a constructive manner.

+1 Time + cnostructive manner = good times

 

[700jfm]

Ops posted twice.

 

[Sketchy564]

Installing some strip lights is probably well within your ability, I'm sure you'll hear it more than once and probably have heard it already, take no chances with electricity, make sure it's off before you touch ANYTHING. I am electrician and have seen first hand what happens when you are not carefull.

The only thing that seems hard is getting up in the attic and finding where all the electrical stuff is, and where to mount it too. im guessing one of the pieces of wood up there should be find to drill the light bar into though

And yeah, im also scared to kill myself up there lol

Have you checked online about a replacement, the company that made the opener can probably tell you what you need to buy. Be prepared to give them a serial number and/or model number.

I just went outside and looked at it... all it says is "Sears" and 1.3 hp

I grabbed the remote and brought it to my room
It says Sears Solid State Digital Control, if that helps for anything


the clip is missing anyways, so getting it replaced is probably smart, but if they have a less ugly newer one, thatd be nice too

The opener is probably plugged into an outlet thats in the attic section of the garage. If theres an attic section you should be able to add a receptacle fairly easily. Home Depot or Lowes should have a thin book on basic electric, you should pick that up to get the basic understanding of how it works. Then any questions you have we can help you with. I must say again, be carefull and you should have an adult with you when you work on electric.

My dad knows a little bit about electric stuff, so he might be able to help me out there. Is it an expensive and time consuming thing to do, or is it pretty cheap, and wont take more than about two hours?

when i was little, i climbed into the attic, and the first thing i saw was some big *** wasp staring right at me. ever since then ive been afraid to go into the attic

 

[Bevis]

I'd add either some 4' 2 bulb T8's or a couple 8' 4 bulb t8 light fixtures.