New Member in VA

[piratius]

Hey guys!

Glad to have found the site, you guys have a ton of knowledge and experience with the sorts of questions I have (best way to run compressed air line, for one example).

Anyways, I've got a new garage going up - partly because I wanted more space to work on stuff, but primarily because the Mother-In-Law lives with us and we're turning the old garage into an apartment for her. I suggested that we use the 12x12 shed I had built in the backyard, but that joke didn't go over too well

 

[HOTFR8]

Welcome to the GJ. I hope you start a topic in the gallery section as this sounds interesting specially how you run air line. As for the MIL have you seen the topic on containers ?

May I suggest you update your profile location etc.

 

[uniballer]

Welcome, what part of VA are you? I'm in bedford near lynchburg.

 

[piratius]

Welcome, what part of VA are you? I'm in bedford near lynchburg.

I'm up in Northern VA, outside of Fairfax!

 

[piratius]

Welcome to the GJ. I hope you start a topic in the gallery section as this sounds interesting specially how you run air line. As for the MIL have you seen the topic on containers ?

May I suggest you update your profile location etc.

Added my location!

Trust me - If I thought I could get away with putting her in a shipping container, I would've found a way to do it by now In all seriousness, it's not nearly as bad as people claim. It's way worse!

I'm jealous of you guys Down Under! You guys have the absolutely bad mother in the modern 4.0L DOHC Turbo Falcon! If I could find a way to sneak one of those motors into the US, I would DEFINITELY find a place to use it (replace a Jeep 4.0 maybe? Maybe in the upcoming "DeathKart 5000" I plan on building?)

As for the garage, I can make a topic to "show off" - but at the moment, all that's been done is the footers, knee wall, and sub grade. New slab goes in tomorrow or Thursday, depending on the weather and the concrete supplier. I'm pretty pumped, I'm supposed to have a 9' ceiling, which would make keeping the big/tall stuff a lot easier. Also requested the header for the doors to be big enough to accomodate a pair of 9x8 doors, vs the standard 8x7 (though I'll probably re-use the 8x7's for a while until I get everything all sorted out).

I also have a good plan on how I'm going to do the outlets and lighting. This project was supposed to kick off two years ago, and due to unfortunate delays, is only now getting started. Luckily, it's being done the right way, by a reputable builder in the area, who has maintained a great line of communication, and been willing to work with all of my weird oddball requests! I won't say who's doing any of the work until it's all done, but I will try to post up some pictures!

 

[HOTFR8]

Good for you. As for that Ford Engine well it is not long now and Ford will cease to manufacture in this country. I did here recently the Diesel we have in the Territory here will find its way into the F-150 in the US. The inline 6 will be killed off and the Falcon name retired.

I have posted much of that in a topic in Free Parking. Holden (GM) and Toyota will cease manufacturing here soon after.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

welcome!

I'm in Gainesville.

-Nigel

 

[dnwong]

Hi, I am in Aldie. I have a garage project nearing the end of its build. I have two unfinished floors above the garage (top floor is an attic). Possible future apartment...

Are you in Loudon or Fairfax?

 

[captain14]

Welcome from College Park MD

 

[Bluedodge]

Welcome aboard Piratius!

I know your neck of the woods pretty well - I have a Daughter (& SIL) in Brambleton and a Daughter (& SIL) in Ashburn.

 

[BBChevro]

...Anyways, I've got a new garage going up - partly because I wanted more space to work on stuff, but primarily because the Mother-In-Law lives with us and we're turning the old garage into an apartment for her. I suggested that we use the 12x12 shed I had built in the backyard, but that joke didn't go over too well

Welcome piratius, you'll fit it well here.

A build thread of the new garage and conversion of the old one would be interesting.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Hi, I am in Aldie. I have a garage project nearing the end of its build. I have two unfinished floors above the garage (top floor is an attic). Possible future apartment...

Are you in Loudon or Fairfax?

Gotta ask how much is that costing you for the garage?
Are you doing it or having a contractor?


I see SOOO much potential there...lol


*Not trying to hijack, just wanted to ask since we are so close to each other.

-Nigel

 

[dnwong]

Gotta ask how much is that costing you for the garage?
Are you doing it or having a contractor?


I see SOOO much potential there...lol


*Not trying to hijack, just wanted to ask since we are so close to each other.

-Nigel

I have the shell (framing, roof, siding, windows) built out by contractors and I am doing all the interior work. So far, I am around the mid 40K range.

 

[piratius]

Oh wow! I wish I had your guy do mine! My single level 24x24 that's attaching to the house is mid 40's for the whole project as well, but it's a single floor I'm also responsible for the electrical, drywall, and siding. Wish I had known, probably could've saved a bundle - though the concrete slab/knee wall is about 33% of the whole project (they had to excavate 18" down on one end as the front of the house is on a slope).

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I'm going to do up a thread - are there specific rules for threads with a ton of pictures (limit to pictures per thread/size/etc?) I didn't see a FAQ about that.

HOTFR8 - I know! I heard they were stopping production of the I6, and I was heartbroken. It ***** when something that's so cool doesn't get used anywhere else. Why didn't they bring that motor over here and put it in the mustang as the option instead of the dumb v6? I6's are better, and it would've shut the Supra Fanboys up in a heartbeat!

Pretty soon, nothing is going to get made anywhere, and we'll all drive the exact same jellybeans to work (like in Demolition Man). I'm going to hold onto my big block truck until they pry it from my cold, dead hands!

 

[barnee]

I'm taking bids shortly for mine and I'm right in your neck of the woods. Anybody you recommend?

 

[BlackTalon]

Welcome, from Alexandria. I'm waiting for Dudley to finish his garage so he can come over and help enclose my carport.

 

[piratius]

I'm taking bids shortly for mine and I'm right in your neck of the woods. Anybody you recommend?

I'll PM you the name of the company I'm using. So far, they've been very communicative, and always gotten back to me ASAP, even when I have what's probably a stupid question! So far, I'm impressed with how quickly they're working, and the guys have always listened and had the answers I needed. I won't make anything public, because we haven't gotten the framing and roof up yet

Plus, this is the third year running I've been trying to get the garage built. Quotes on the first summer came in crazy cheap, but the guy I chose stopped returning calls/emails the day before I was supposed to write the deposit check! (Good thing I didn't give him the money sooner!). Then, last year, a person at work recommended a company who he knew and had used for several other projects with good results. I met with them, price was good, we hashed out the details for everything, I wrote the deposit...and then nothing happened, and it took until January to get the deposit back.

This year, I found a company that had completed several large projects in my neighborhood (and my parent's neighborhood) and went based on having talked to several customers. They've been great so far, and once it's all done, I'll post up the name.

Also check with the other posters in the thread, remember to always get a few quotes, and make sure everything you need is spelled out and specified in the contract. Nothing worse than saying "I want two doors in the garage" and the contractor builds with two entrance doors and no overhead doors!

 

[HOTFR8]

HOTFR8 - I know! I heard they were stopping production of the I6, and I was heartbroken. It ***** when something that's so cool doesn't get used anywhere else. Why didn't they bring that motor over here and put it in the mustang as the option instead of the dumb v6? I6's are better, and it would've shut the Supra Fanboys up in a heartbeat!

Take it up with Ford. The Turbo inline 6 is a better engine than some of the V8's.

 

[dnwong]

Oh wow! I wish I had your guy do mine! My single level 24x24 that's attaching to the house is mid 40's for the whole project as well, but it's a single floor I'm also responsible for the electrical, drywall, and siding. Wish I had known, probably could've saved a bundle - though the concrete slab/knee wall is about 33% of the whole project (they had to excavate 18" down on one end as the front of the house is on a slope).

My concrete was a big piece of the the project too. I have 10' high foundation walls on the back of the addition due to a walk out basement with deep slope from the front to back of the house too. I figured if I was going to put so much into concrete, I had better add more square footage to recoup some of the costs when it comes time to sell.

 

[dnwong]

Welcome, from Alexandria. I'm waiting for Dudley to finish his garage so he can come over and help enclose my carport.

I think you need a wall raising party...

 

[dnwong]

I'm taking bids shortly for mine and I'm right in your neck of the woods. Anybody you recommend?

I did not use a general contractor per-se. I had concrete people, framers, roofers and siding people involved. If you are looking to manage the project yourself, than it kinda of works. I was pretty involved with each piece of the build. Otherwise, you are better off with a turnkey builder.

 

[piratius]

I did not use a general contractor per-se. I had concrete people, framers, roofers and siding people involved. If you are looking to manage the project yourself, than it kinda of works. I was pretty involved with each piece of the build. Otherwise, you are better off with a turnkey builder.

That's probably why mine is ending up way more expensive than yours for what I'm getting. If I had thought to do that, I would've had my guy draw up the plans, and then I would've farmed out the concrete myself, and had his guys do the framing and roofing - probably could've saved 5k that way

Oh well - progress - at least the project is moving forward! This is the third year we've been trying to get it done, and it's finally happening!

 

[N.Quigs]

It's awesome to see a few people from VA in here. I'm just now in the very beginning of planning my garage upgrade and I'm looking forward to following along with everyone's builds!

 

[Travisnd]

Welcome from VA!

 

[piratius]

Thanks! :-D Eager to keep the project moving - the pictures are up in a build thread in the gallery.