Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[panthersteve]

Yes, top explanation

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

Was that switchplate crooked? Probably would not look crooked, to a politician!!

 

[SiGmA_X]

Now some fasteners are critical in their tightness so the priority is correct tightness and you can't worry about clocking them.
Anything that is tightened to a torque spec would be in this group.

Then there are other screws it's just not possible to clock no matter what.

Thomas, I assumed you would have a stock of all types of washers in various thicknesses so you could easily adjust the positioning.

Granted, I am mostly kidding, but I have heard of doing this before, mostly with furniture I think? Different thicknesses of screw heads perhaps? I forget. It sounded like a lot of work. I use Torx head screws when I am screwing wood, they're vastly easier to sink and not worry about the clockage. While phillips or flatheads, I do precisely what Thomas suggested, of course!

 

[HCNDM]

Hi Thomas,

I was wondering whether clocking screws is something you have always done or whether it started during your flying career.

Me; I never gave it much thought until I went to flight school. The cowlings on the Cessna and piper engines look so much better when all the screws are neatly clocked.

My best buddy at the time was one of the fleet mechanics and he used to take great care every screw was just right.

I mean this type of screw on the cowlings;



The luxury with this type of fastener I suppose is that like a nut the back can rotate allowing clocking without compromising holding strength.

I've been clocking ever since. Somehow I also always get the feeling that if a mechanic took the time to make sure every screw was clocked he/she would have been at least as meticulous with the important things. It's attention to detail.

Kr,

Niels


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stillp]

Reminds me of the carpenter who was throwing nails away because the head was on the wrong end. I had to tell him those were for the other side of the room.

Pete

 

[AxGaming]

Very Cool was an impressive job.

 

[rmack898]

Thomas,
I've been on this forum for almost 10 years and have mostly been a lurker. I started posting in the last year and I won't post in a thread unless I have read the entire thread. I have been working my way through some of the epic threads lately and today I started reading your thread (I'm on page 30).

I have to break my own rule here and post in your thread before reading to the end. I have the sibling to your yard art in my garage. Last December I acquired a 1937 Hudson Teraplane chassis that has been fully restored. The engine and trans are original and have not been restored yet and I don't have the body (although I have located one). When I saw your Teraplane I couldn't believe my eyes.
I know that you're a 60's muscle car guy but the Tereplane WAS the muscle car in it's day.

I don't know if your still working or retired (I haven't finished reading your entire thread yet), but my brother in law shares your occupation and employer and works out of LGA, he's going to retire this year.

I'm really enjoying the journey that you and Chris are taking us on, I can't stop reading it and I probably have a good week of reading to get current, but I just want you to know that I am enjoying the ride. Thanks for posting it.

 

[bluestripe67]

Thomas, Thanks for the details of the foam insulation saw. Very clever modification. Your cars will accept you back in the seat, do worry. I had a little personal accident in my garage the other day. Not to the car, to me. Check out the Corvette Forum post titled "One thing leads to another". Dennis

 

[Karl's Garage]

A simply beautiful restoration/rehab/remodel!

 

[Nelson58]

You know, this has got to be one of the best threads on this site. Your work is just awe inspiring.

Nels

 

[Grizz1963]

Seems the contributions from Thomas' torn down garage "Final Liquidation Sale" don't stop.

One of the Mason jars rescued by Dennis Jones on the day for his Debbie has been cleaned up and repurposed as a liquid soap dispenser in their kitchen.

Just perfect Dennis.



I am hoping to have my baggage delivered with all my "stuff" gathered and found on the trip to start cleaning up and making space in the house by 23.00 which is when delivery is expected.

Speaking of repurposing.....

The various Southerners and other lovely people I spent time with expanded my pallate so that I now even add Hot Sauce to my scrambled egg.

Today out shopping with Miss Katy we found this 760ml glass skull bottle of hot sauce. To become a 12volt LED light on my teardrop trailer. Once the sauce is gone.



Hijack over.

Back to regular transmission.

 

[Nuts]

Ahh but if you are a clocker, will you always be a clocker?

I have clocked screws in gun work by putting release agent on the threads of the
screw and filling the hole with epoxy. Tighten properly, clock the screw and the
epoxy keeps it at the right tension.

Notice I said release agent.

Important step.


Doug

 

[DoorBreaker]

Grizz, that bottle looks a lot like the one that Dan Aykroyds Crystal Head Vodka comes in. The vodka actually has a local tie to NY, it is filtered through quartz crystals known as "Herkimer Diamonds" found in this area of the state.

 

[BB767]

Hi Thomas,

I was wondering whether clocking screws is something you have always done or whether it started during your flying career...........

............
I've been clocking ever since. Somehow I also always get the feeling that if a mechanic took the time to make sure every screw was clocked he/she would have been at least as meticulous with the important things. It's attention to detail.

Kr,

Niels


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Niels I'm not sure when it started. I think someone pointed out to me that I was doing it and I guess that's when I became conscious of it. It was just one of those things I guess. I do know that when I was getting all my flight and A&P licenses it was driven into me time and again to pay attention to the small stuff as well as the big stuff because it all matters. Like you said, it's attention to detail.

Reminds me of the carpenter who was throwing nails away because the head was on the wrong end. I had to tell him those were for the other side of the room.

Pete

Aw Pete that was great. You gave me a great laugh out of that, thanks!

Thomas,
I've been on this forum for almost 10 years and have mostly been a lurker. I started posting in the last year and I won't post in a thread unless I have read the entire thread. I have been working my way through some of the epic threads lately and today I started reading your thread (I'm on page 30).

I have to break my own rule here and post in your thread before reading to the end. I have the sibling to your yard art in my garage. Last December I acquired a 1937 Hudson Teraplane chassis that has been fully restored. The engine and trans are original and have not been restored yet and I don't have the body (although I have located one). When I saw your Teraplane I couldn't believe my eyes.
I know that you're a 60's muscle car guy but the Tereplane WAS the muscle car in it's day.

I don't know if your still working or retired (I haven't finished reading your entire thread yet), but my brother in law shares your occupation and employer and works out of LGA, he's going to retire this year.

I'm really enjoying the journey that you and Chris are taking us on, I can't stop reading it and I probably have a good week of reading to get current, but I just want you to know that I am enjoying the ride. Thanks for posting it.

Hi rmack898 and welcome. Wow what a nice Terraplane you've got there. Thanks so much for posting those pictures. I'm well aware of the performance reputation of Terraplanes and reportedly, the one by the shop- owned by Howard Johnson, Mr Johnson's oldest son- was one of the quicker cars in the area back in the day. I've heard from more than one person that Howard's car was a really, really fast car. Family members confirmed that as well. When and how the body became separated from the frame and running gear has, unfortunately, been lost to history. It's things like this that I wish I had a time machine at my disposal!

Thanks for posting and joining in the fun. This post will be here waiting for you when you finally get here.

Thomas, Thanks for the details of the foam insulation saw. Very clever modification. Your cars will accept you back in the seat, do worry. I had a little personal accident in my garage the other day. Not to the car, to me. Check out the Corvette Forum post titled "One thing leads to another". Dennis

Dennis I know what you mean so I've tried to run most of them at least every few weeks even for a short while and so far, no problems. I did read your post on the Corvette forum. That will leave a scar won't it?

Seems the contributions from Thomas' torn down garage "Final Liquidation Sale" don't stop.

One of the Mason jars rescued by Dennis Jones on the day for his Debbie has been cleaned up and repurposed as a liquid soap dispenser in their kitchen.

Just perfect Dennis.



I am hoping to have my baggage delivered with all my "stuff" gathered and found on the trip to start cleaning up and making space in the house by 23.00 which is when delivery is expected...........


...........

Hijack over.

Back to regular transmission.

Thanks Rian for the update and again for stopping by. It was a hoot meeting you and Dennis in person. It's very cool to me knowing that some of the Tool Shed bounty resides in the UK. Mr Johnson's treasure is now international in scope. Also I've got a picture coming you'll be interested in so watch this space!

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Plumbing Roof Vents

Here's just a small update on the house.



With all the walnut trees around the property I just knew squirrels would be dropping walnuts down the roof plumbing vents and plugging them up. That why I put 180º elbows on them.

Then to make them less conspicuous...



...I painted them.




My color of choice, Walnut of course!





Now they blend right in and your eye (at least my eye) isn't drawn to a hunk of white PVC sticking through the roof.

Note the copper valley. While that does stand out, it does so in a good way I think. In time it will turn a nice dark green verdigris patina and blend in as well.



Dry wall is all done...





... and everything is primed. We're just a week past 6 months from the start (April 13th, 2016) of the project. Very happy with the progress and results.

Thomas

 

[Nelson58]

What you did with the plumb ing vents is,ingenious.

 

[Boosted1]

Re: Plumbing Roof Vents

What are the wire things on the ridge line of your roof?
Something to do with lightning rod?

 

[bluestripe67]

Thomas, The vent trick is slick. I know you had hands on on most of the house construction, but what about that drywall/taping/mudding effort? I did it in my garage refresh, but it didn't turn out like a pro would have done it. The home is looking good. Dennis

 

[BB767]

Re: Plumbing Roof Vents

What are the wire things on the ridge line of your roof?
Something to do with lightning rod?

That's exactly what those are...



...some of the lightning rods on the house.



That's one of the rods to the far left of Nick, one of the installers.



Since they're so small they don't show up well from the ground.



They're installed on all the ridge surfaces.



That gives you an idea of their size. The rods themselves are stainless steel...



... but everything else on my system is copper which is the best conductor.





They were installed before the drywall so all the cabling is now hidden from view. It's a much cleaner installation this way.



The cables are in the attic and wall spaces where they go into and through the basement wall in several places to ground rods around the house. The ground rods are sunk into the ground next to the foundation.



The chimney has one cable but it will have 2 rods connected together once the rain cap is installed.

I'm sure most Americans know that lightning rods were invented by Benjamin Franklin. What they might not realize is when this was done. By 1750, in addition to wanting to prove that lightning was electricity, Franklin began to think about protecting people, buildings, and other structures from lightning. This grew into his idea for the lightning rod. Franklin described an iron rod about 8 or 10 feet long that was sharpened to a point at the end. He wrote, "the electrical fire would, I think, be drawn out of a cloud silently, before it could come near enough to strike..." (courtesy of the Franklin Institute.)

So now the all the buildings in Timber Haven, the old shop, the barn and the house, are protected with lightning rods. Since they're all situated on a hill, Mr Johnson and I both think that's good idea.

History buff Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thomas, The vent trick is slick. I know you had hands on on most of the house construction, but what about that drywall/taping/mudding effort? I did it in my garage refresh, but it didn't turn out like a pro would have done it. The home is looking good. Dennis

Yes Dennis, I am very hands on for most of the house construction.......except dry walling.



I had no part in any of it except to encourage the crew and clean up after them every day. They did a very nice job for me. It took them 8 days to do the whole house.

Thomas

 

[Boosted1]

Wow! Very thorough job (as usual) on the lightning rods.

 

[stillp]

Thomas, are those bitumen shingles on the roof? I'd expected something more traditional, such as slate or clay tiles.
Any worries about electrolytic corrosion between the aluminium lightning rods and the copper connections?

Pete

 

[SiGmA_X]

Very nice progress! And 6mo seems fast with the quality of work you are doing, great work.

I am surprised to see no tethers near the top of your roof though!

 

[BB767]

Thomas, are those bitumen shingles on the roof? I'd expected something more traditional, such as slate or clay tiles.
Any worries about electrolytic corrosion between the aluminum lightning rods and the copper connections?

Pete

Pete over here almost every home uses bitumen or more commonly called asphalt/fiberglass shingles. They provide excellent storm proofing performance and have been in use a long time. Very tried and true. Mine are GAF Ultra HD shingles. I feel they're a good compromise between appearance and cost. It's a very good product.

That said, I really, really, really wanted slate, or even a composite slate roof but the cost was astronomical! Just obscenely expensive!! Something on the order of 4 times more expensive. In the Mid-West you would only see them used in new construction on multi-million dollar homes.
No local firms here do that kind of work, there just isn't a market for it.

The bases that the lightning rods fasten to are designed to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion between the copper and the stainless steel rods. I goofed up on my post (now corrected) when I stated the rods themselves were aluminum, they're really stainless steel. My apologies if I mislead anyone. That's what I get for trying to do a post when I'm tired!

Thanks again Pete for the good questions and your continued interest in my corner of the world.

Very nice progress! And 6mo seems fast with the quality of work you are doing, great work.

I am surprised to see no tethers near the top of your roof though!

Thanks SiGmA_X, all in all I very please with the balance of speed of construction and the quality we're getting. I'd modestly put the quality up there with the best that's out there. It's not flashy, but it is solid, quality workmanship.

The roof tethers are there, just hard to see, they blend in. The lightning rod guys didn't bother using them, that was their call but the roofers sure did.

Thomas

 

[SiGmA_X]

Thanks SiGmA_X, all in all I very please with the balance of speed of construction and the quality we're getting. I'd modestly put the quality up there with the best that's out there. It's not flashy, but it is solid, quality workmanship.

The roof tethers are there, just hard to see, they blend in. The lightning rod guys didn't bother using them, that was their call but the roofers sure did.

Thomas

The quality sure looks to be top notch. Nothing less than I've come to expect from you and Chris.

Ah that makes sense! I wouldn't expect you (or most roofers) to skip them!

Roman

 

[Bob Heine]

Pete over here almost every home uses bitumen or more commonly called asphalt/fiberglass shingles. They provide excellent storm proofing performance and have been in use a long time. Very tried and true. Mine are GAF Ultra HD shingles. I feel they're a good compromise between appearance and cost. It's a very good product.

That said, I really, really, really wanted slate, or even a composite slate roof but the cost was astronomical! Just obscenely expensive!! Something on the order of 4 times more expensive. In the Mid-West you would only see them used in new construction on multi-million dollar homes.
No local firms here do that kind of work, there just isn't a market for it.

Thomas

Thomas, the key is the market. Slate is prohibitively expensive, even in New England where it's quarried. In California, the Southwest and Florida there are alternative roof coverings like barrel tile but they are, as you say, about four times more expensive. When my cedar shake roof failed I replaced it with cedar-look concrete tile.

When I had it done in 2000, several roofers offered to do the job with asphalt/fiberglass shingles for about $6,000 and the cement tile roof ran $22,000 (as did standing seam metal). The cement tile roof makes financial sense in Florida because of our insurance.

My insurance is about $1,000 a year less than my neighbor (about the same square footage). His house is concrete block but with an asphalt shingle roof and non-hurricane rated garage door. We both have storm shutters. My stick-built stucco house has hurricane rated garage doors and the tile roof.

In 16 years we break even on the extra cost for the roof and at 20 years his roof needs to be replaced (Florida sun really does a number on asphalt shingles). My roof tiles are guaranteed to last 50 years. I cont expect to test the warranty (I'd be 106).

 

[oldironfarmer]

Thomas, the key is the market. Slate is prohibitively expensive, even in New England where it's quarried. In California, the Southwest and Florida there are alternative roof coverings like barrel tile but they are, as you say, about four times more expensive. When my cedar shake roof failed I replaced it with cedar-look concrete tile.

When I had it done in 2000, several roofers offered to do the job with asphalt/fiberglass shingles for about $6,000 and the cement tile roof ran $22,000 (as did standing seam metal). The cement tile roof makes financial sense in Florida because of our insurance.

My insurance is about $1,000 a year less than my neighbor (about the same square footage). His house is concrete block but with an asphalt shingle roof and non-hurricane rated garage door. We both have storm shutters. My stick-built stucco house has hurricane rated garage doors and the tile roof.

In 16 years we break even on the extra cost for the roof and at 20 years his roof needs to be replaced (Florida sun really does a number on asphalt shingles). My roof tiles are guaranteed to last 50 years. I cont expect to test the warranty (I'd be 106).

My modest home in Oklahoma got Class 4 impact resistant shingles for hail resistance. My insurance company gave me a 25% total farm policy discount for using the Class 4 shingles. That gives me a 5 year payout for $4,000 additional cost and $1,000 per year insurance savings. The rated 40 year life puts me at 106. May not be the same year

 

[stillp]

That said, I really, really, really wanted slate, or even a composite slate roof but the cost was astronomical! Just obscenely expensive!! Something on the order of 4 times more expensive. In the Mid-West you would only see them used in new construction on multi-million dollar homes.
No local firms here do that kind of work, there just isn't a market for it.

The bases that the lightning rods fasten to are designed to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion between the copper and the stainless steel rods. I goofed up on my post (now corrected) when I stated the rods themselves were aluminum, they're really stainless steel. My apologies if I mislead anyone. That's what I get for trying to do a post when I'm tired!

Thanks for clarifying Thomas. I was born in Wales, so I sort of expect slate roofs!

Pete

 

[sgfarm]

Done.

What now?

Wanders outside squinting into the light.

Just an incredible story, now I have to go and get caught up on everything I have been neglecting for the last month.

Thanks for the ongoing story.

Mike

 

[BB767]

Done.

What now?

Wanders outside squinting into the light.

Just an incredible story, now I have to go and get caught up on everything I have been neglecting for the last month.

Thanks for the ongoing story.

Mike

Hi there Mike and welcome. If you think you're done....




...not really 'cause we're coming up on some really good stuff here. I've done some preliminary grade work around the house and I have actual grass now growing all around the house! That should prevent erosion over winter, especially since I don't plan on using gutters.



Here's the view from under the car port looking out over my field of dreams next door in the distance and the barn is just to the right. That row of green trees in the background...



...are these that I planted about 4 years ago along the alfalfa field property line. They're growing very nicely, good soil.



The car port is now all trimmed out. In fact all the exterior trim work is done.



All the exterior doors were brought into the barn to stain and seal them.



The lighting was better in there, almost no dust plus I used fans to help dry them faster.



They are lighter in color than these pictures show. That's a mahogany stain.



The interior doors are all custom made of solid hickory. Hickory is a very hard wood which should wear well over the years and it has an interesting, random grain pattern to it that I like. Each door is unique. That's a temporary door knob.



I've hung the door from the garage to the house to help seal the house up. I might start to use heat one of these days so the house needs to be closed up and I can also start to dry the house out from all the drywall work. There's a lot of moisture inside right now from the drywall mud. That's just a temporary installation for now. To the right of that door you can see the material lift access hole in the garage floor...



...has been covered. The cover is flush with the garage floor.



It was made in 2 pieces...



... to make it easier to handle when I remove it to operate the lift. It's largely done but I'm still tweaking it.

The interior painting should be done this week, the floor tile work inside was started and we'll start to install trim beginning this week. So Mike, take a break from all your reading, but please check back 'cause it's starting to get real interesting.

Thomas

 

[dpljmurphy]

Thomas I hope you are using a lever style door knob, so much easier to operate with full hands (and as we age as well). Cheers, David

 

[Grizz1963]

Great update.

The doors look just beautiful as does the rest of the home.

You are going to enjoy moving in there.

 

[red]

Thomas I hope you are using a lever style door knob, so much easier to operate with full hands (and as we age as well). Cheers, David

I switched to the lever style for exactly that reason.
But I have to be careful not to get caught on the lever when going by or thru the door.
They are much easier to use when you hands are greasy

 

[donnie]

That was quite an update. Those exterior doors are going to really pop with that exterior.
I am curious on how you are going to control the rain water without gutters.
I do remember your downspout made from an chain at your previous house, so I am sure you will have a very interesting approach.

 

[Stuart in MN]

With proper slope and drainage around the house, rain runoff doesn't need to be an issue, and with no gutters you don't have to worry about cleaning them. You may have to deal with the runoff splashing up against the house and causing stains, and over doors it's nice to have a diverter flashing on the roof so you don't get the full force runoff on your head when you're coming in during a rainstorm - like this:

 

[rixtrix1]

House is looking very nice and the grass is great, considering how late it is

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

[BB767]

Thomas I hope you are using a lever style door knob, so much easier to operate with full hands (and as we age as well). Cheers, David

I switched to the lever style for exactly that reason.
But I have to be careful not to get caught on the lever when going by or thru the door.
They are much easier to use when you hands are greasy

I'm completely on board with you guys. Both doors at the old shop...





...are lever type and so is...



...the door on the barn.

The house will be 100% equipped with lever type.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

........

I am curious on how you are going to control the rain water without gutters.
I do remember your downspout made from an chain at your previous house, so I am sure you will have a very interesting approach.

With proper slope and drainage around the house, rain runoff doesn't need to be an issue, and with no gutters you don't have to worry about cleaning them. You may have to deal with the runoff splashing up against the house and causing stains, and over doors it's nice to have a diverter flashing on the roof so you don't get the full force runoff on your head when you're coming in during a rainstorm ........

Stuart has the right idea here. donnie I'm not planning on gutters because of all the trees around it.



You might recall I have no gutters on my barn for the same reason. They'd be constantly plugged up with tree debris such as sticks, leaves and walnuts. I've got gobs of walnuts out there! Gutters are primarily to move water away from the foundation of a building.



So the barn has 3' (1m) overhangs all around it to initially move water away from the building. Then note how high the site is...



...relative to the surrounding grade. When the water falls to the ground surface it drains away from the building so I don't need gutters.



The house also has 3' overhangs all around it...



...and the ground falls away from it in all directions.



You can easily see when you get a few feet back, how water on the surface will drain away from the building, just like it does with the barn.

In fact the layout of the house on the site was dictated by the topography of the site. Here's an aerial view of the site from about 500'. This was taken by a drone last July before the roof was shingled.



The house was sited along the crest of the hill on the property. During a rain storm, water will literally flow away from the house. If you're looking out the east windows, ground water is draining eastward. Walk across the room and look out the west windows and ground water on that side is draining westward.



The house has a 10' deep basement that I have yet to install a sump pump in but I have no water issues in the basement. Between the footing tile drains and the surface drainage working so well that when I do install a sump pump just in case, I doubt it will ever run.

While I still might selectively install gutters in certain areas such as over the garage door openings, I'm going to wait and see how it works without them. We'll see in the next few months.

Thanks donnie and Stuart for your continued interest and help in keeping this thread interesting.

Thomas

 

[unslow1]

That place is really coming along nicely. When I put new siding and roof on my place I didn't put gutters on for the same reason. This area seems to always have stuff clogging them up.

Troy Todd

 

[stillp]

Nice to see hickory used for something other than hammer handles!

Pete