Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[Nuts]

You just have to love a conspiracy...

Doug

 

[red]

Thanks Thomas for getting back to me, expect to be pouring a stamped concrete driveway in the spring (nothing on your scale just under 800sq ft) and couldn't decide between road pack or washed 3/4" crushed rock. Your answer made my decision easier.

Fantastic detail work on the fireplace!
With cutting back the stone you also made allowances for the house to settle over time without issues developing with the roof and fireplace.
You remind me of my younger days when I use to think perfection is possible . . .
I see with your determination it can be done.
Thanks again for sharing.

 

[BB767]

Every time I check in on your adventure Thomas, I see more amazing attention to detail, resulting in a beautiful home. Looking forward to my midwest trip (might be the Hot Rod Power Tour) in '17 to meet you and Chris. Dennis

The Welcome mat is out for you Dennis. Your beautiful '67 Corvette will look great under the carport . Let us know and when.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thanks Thomas for getting back to me, expect to be pouring a stamped concrete driveway in the spring (nothing on your scale just under 800sq ft) and couldn't decide between road pack or washed 3/4" crushed rock. Your answer made my decision easier.

Fantastic detail work on the fireplace!
With cutting back the stone you also made allowances for the house to settle over time without issues developing with the roof and fireplace.
You remind me of my younger days when I use to think perfection is possible . . .
I see with your determination it can be done.
Thanks again for sharing.

The trick with road pack is to compact it somehow. Once that's done it makes a great base.

The official total poured for the driveway so far has been 131 yards of concrete (ahem, more test material ) and we're not done yet. We'll hold off on the rest of the driveway until next spring. This winter, after we've moved out of the old family home and the ground is frozen, we'll be tearing it down. To do so, some heavy equipment will be coming onto the property from the street and I don't want to risk cracking it so I'll wait.



So we've stopped the driveway here for the winter. I have plenty of room to maneuver equipment around the old house and stay off that green concrete. BTW, yes that's frost on the roof. Can winter be far behind?

Red I got a real kick out of your observation, "You remind me of my younger days when I use to think perfection is possible . . ." Ah, the optimism of youth. True perfection is not realistically possible but I try to work to the highest standard possible. It's a real balancing act and I do my best to get the various sub contractors to buy into that high work standard without coming across as a total jerk.



Here is some the window molding set up so I can match grain patterns. I'll do the same for all the door casing and floor base trim as well as the various crown moldings. I am perfectly willing to spend the time and effort to do those little things. Will it be perfect? Probably not, but it'll be the best I can make it. Kinda like that catty-wampest, crooked switch plate cover that is now so near and dear to my heart!

Thomas

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

I am perfectly willing to spend the time and effort to do those little things. Will it be perfect? Probably not, but it'll be the best I can make it. Kinda like that catty-wampest, crooked switch plate cover that is now so near and dear to my heart!

Thomas

I would take it as a compliment that so many have poked fun at you for the plate. In 517 pages of pure awesomeness that is the only "flaw" that has been brought up. (well, the only one brought up over and over and over...)

I went online and dug around briefly and found some worse examples...

 

[dpljmurphy]

...with some good results.

Indeed, but it looks like you need to get one of their vacuums (now 10% off with the purchase of a qualifying tool). No, I don't work for Festool, just have a bit of tool lust going on right now...

I'll bet that Hickory trim is amazing in person.

David

 

[oberst]

Ironically, all 14 screwheads are close to being clocked N/S - I can't believe that that's just dumb luck!

 

[JTH]

Kudos once more to you both! What always bugs me when I'm finished with a project is the flaws only I know are there. I can see them even when no else can. I think you may be able to just set and enjoy that room without that issue! I'm going to make a point to see your property one day, even if just a drive by. Thank you both for sharing all that you have. JT

 

[red]

"Here is some the window molding set up so I can match grain patterns. I'll do the same for all the door casing and floor base trim as well as the various crown moldings. I am perfectly willing to spend the time and effort to do those little things. Will it be perfect? Probably not, but it'll be the best I can make it."

Thomas, I did the exact same thing back in 92' when I was building my home.

When I mention to another finish carpenter about matching the grain and most importantly the "shade" of the clear pine he chuckled. Told me they did the exact same thing for the builder's house only to go back a year later to noticed with aging the wood all blended together any way. He was right.

Only mistake I made was using the "new" water based polyurethane. Loved it cause it dried quick and was able to do 5 coats quickly. Everyone noticed the wood work (mirror finish). Mistake was the poly dulled within 5 yrs. Negating all the effort. New polys are far superior, though I still love the old oil based stuff, which I had to buy in one qt bags to refinish my oak floors thanks to the new EPA regs.

 

[Hugo L.]

Just amazing. I have a question though : if the ceiling was going to be covered in wood paneling (which looks awesome BTW), why to go through all the trouble of drywalling, mudding, taping, sanding and priming it?

I understand that putting the wood planks straight onto the rafters is a no-no, but couldn't you have just screwed drywal in place and called it a day?

 

[Craptain]

Just amazing. I have a question though : if the ceiling was going to be covered in wood paneling (which looks awesome BTW), why to go through all the trouble of drywalling, mudding, taping, sanding and priming it?

I understand that putting the wood planks straight onto the rafters is a no-no, but couldn't you have just screwed drywal in place and called it a day?

Tut Tut. Surely you realize that Thomas strives for perfection (whilst realizing it will never be perfect) and that means doing the job correctly and not taking shortcuts.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Hugo L.]

Tut Tut. Surely you realize that Thomas strives for perfection (whilst realizing it will never be perfect) and that means doing the job correctly and not taking shortcuts.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Oh, I'm all for doing a job right the first time, and striving for perfection. But I do not paint the studs before putting up drywall, nor do I paint plywood before putting hardwood floor on it, because no one will ever see this and it's not needed to achieve perfection.

Taking shortcuts would be skimping on the number of nails to finish faster, using leftovers that will squeak and crack instead of a new sheet of plywood or sheetrock or eyeballing something that ends up crooked.

But here, I'm genuinely curious. Unless I missed something, this is not a required step, and it's a complicated one at that.

 

[Thirdyfivepickup]

Just amazing. I have a question though : if the ceiling was going to be covered in wood paneling (which looks awesome BTW), why to go through all the trouble of drywalling, mudding, taping, sanding and priming it?

I understand that putting the wood planks straight onto the rafters is a no-no, but couldn't you have just screwed drywal in place and called it a day?

Have you read any of the thread? Do you really think Thomas was going to put up drywall and not have it perfectly taped and primed regardless of where it was???

You're not going to do well on the test... (if there is one)

 

[red]

Have you read any of the thread?

You're not going to do well on the test... (if there is one)

Oh there will be a TEST, his wife is a retired teacher so it will be professionally done (as expected).

Wondering what the extra credit questions will be?

 

[Grizz1963]

Just another quick bit of feedback and thank you.

Remember the early Chevy valve cover I pulled from the demolished (well it was being torn down around us) garage?

Came out like this

After my dishwasher and various other cleaning processes.





Etch primer



Two coats of red





Done.

Ready to go on a backing board along with all the other momentos I have brought home from various road trips.

Thanks again and again Thomas and Chris.

Your 1930's shop has certainly given and given over the years.

 

[rmalkow2]

Nice resto on the valve cover Grizz. That's an old 283/327 cover with early V8 bolt pattern. You have a steady hand for the lettering.

 

[BB767]

........... In 517 pages.........

.............the only "flaw" that has been brought up. (well, the only one brought up over and over and over...)

I went online and dug around briefly and found some worse examples...


See, in just 2 minutes of browsing I found two bad examples...

You made me feel sooooooo much better by posting those pictures Thirdyfivepickup I'm trying to keep everything in perspective and those examples sure helped to do that!

......

I'll bet that Hickory trim is amazing in person.

David

It is indeed David and it finished out well. Hard and durable with varied grain patterns that add some real warmth and visual interest to the interior. Wait till you see the completed stairway installed. It's all hickory except for the hand rail.

Kudos once more to you both! What always bugs me when I'm finished with a project is the flaws only I know are there. I can see them even when no else can. I think you may be able to just set and enjoy that room without that issue! I'm going to make a point to see your property one day, even if just a drive by. Thank you both for sharing all that you have. JT

An excellent point JT. I used to be bothered by flaws that only I knew were there too. Maybe it's a sign of my advancing age but I've learned to let it go. I do the best I can when constructing a project and when I'm done I can now sit back and enjoy the finished product. In my mind I almost celebrate those small, hidden imperfections that are a sign of our humanity. Life is just too short to sweat the small stuff.

That said...



...when trimming out those triangle windows over 15' above the main floor those odd miters turned out dang near perfect. Nobody will ever see them but it is so very satisfying.

I hope you can see the property in person too JT and thank you for the kind words and support.

Thomas

 

[SiGmA_X]

An excellent point JT. I used to be bothered by flaws that only I knew were there too. Maybe it's a sign of my advancing age but I've learned to let it go. I do the best I can when constructing a project and when I'm done I can now sit back and enjoy the finished product. In my mind I almost celebrate those small, hidden imperfections that are a sign of our humanity. Life is just too short to sweat the small stuff.

This is a good motto for all things in life. So many people hack it together and complain, or do the best they could and complain vs learn from it and accept the results. And I am sure you get near perfection anyway, at your greatly advanced skill set

 

[BB767]

.......... I have a question though : if the ceiling was going to be covered in wood paneling (which looks awesome BTW), why to go through all the trouble of drywalling, mudding, taping, sanding and priming it?

I understand that putting the wood planks straight onto the rafters is a no-no, but couldn't you have just screwed drywal in place and called it a day?

That's an excellent question Hugo L. That area was drywalled for an extra fire protection barrier. Should there ever be an interior fire, that drywall will help slow the fire from spreading through the roof. The picture might be misleading, it was only what we call, fire taped but not sanded. It was primed but we just taped everything off and spray primed the whole room. It wasn't that much more effort to prime it and it gave much more light reflectivity into the room during construction.

Oh there will be a TEST, his wife is a retired teacher so it will be professionally done (as expected).

Wondering what the extra credit questions will be?

Chris has constructed parts of THE TEST off and on during the years but never posted it. (I've only seen snippets of it before she chased me away )The thread just kept growing so that by the time she had something ready it wouldn't have been complete. Your (and my!) only saving grace has been to keep adding to the thread to keep her off balance. Once it is posted, her 34+ years of teaching and test construction will be readily apparent.

Trust Me Thomas

 

[BB767]

Just another quick bit of feedback and thank you.

Remember the early Chevy valve cover I pulled from the demolished (well it was being torn down around us) garage?

Came out like this

After my dishwasher and various other cleaning processes......



Done.

Ready to go on a backing board along with all the other momentos I have brought home from various road trips.

Thanks again and again Thomas and Chris.

Your 1930's shop has certainly given and given over the years.

Rian, you don't know how satisfying it is for me to know some of Mr Johnson's Tool Shed Treasure (MJTST) is being enjoyed in the UK!



I well remember you doggedly digging through what was left of MJTST while garage roof debris rained down and surfacing with that valve cover. Very, very nice work indeed and thank you so very much for posting those pictures.

Looking forward to what happens to the Pontiac hood ornament you pondered over for the longest time. I could see you were really conflicted about taking it. I'm glad you did. Sharing has its own reward.

Nice resto on the valve cover Grizz. That's an old 283/327 cover with early V8 bolt pattern. You have a steady hand for the lettering.

Quite so rmalkow2. I stressed to Rian since he didn't know, it's a staggered bolt pattern valve cover making it among one of the early ones. It wasn't dented or banged up and I was counting on Rian to restore it to its former glory and that he has!!

Proud Thomas

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

Thomas said: "Chris has constructed parts of THE TEST off and on during the years but never posted it. (I've only seen snippets of it before she chased me away )The thread just kept growing so that by the time she had something ready it wouldn't have been complete. Your (and my!) only saving grace has been to keep adding to the thread to keep her off balance. Once it is posted, her 34+ years of teaching and test construction will be readily apparent.

Trust Me Thomas"

Rumor has it that a box of milk chocolate just might keep the dreaded test as bay, for just a short while!

 

[Hugo L.]

Aaahhh, so there WAS a legit reason, and not a case of spending money for pointless stuff. Awesome. You learn something new everyday!

Keep up the amazing work. You two truly are an inspiration.

 

[BB767]

Practical and Logical

Aaahhh, so there WAS a legit reason, and not a case of spending money for pointless stuff.........

Hugo L. I don't think you'll ever find me spending money for pointless stuff! I'm just not built that way. Perhaps due to my Scottish heritage not sure, but I try hard to be practical and logical when spending money.

Now some may argue that owing...





... a pair of 1966 Corvettes for example, is hardly practical nor logical but in my defense, I would like to point out that one is a coupe and the other is a convertible. Different cars for different weather. Clearly practical and logical reasoning don't you think? And remember I said I try to be practical and logical............... sometimes I don't succeed.................

Thomas

 

[Grizz1963]

Thanks Thomas

The same reason I took so long on choosing the Pontiac hood ornament, unless I have a concrete plan to process stuff I try not to just grab for the sake of grabbing.

Which brings me to this set of pics. Still relevant to the 1930's shop and my trip.
There were two of these old horns and I selected this one with all intentions of fitting it to my truck.
It was tested and found to work just fine.
However my baggage limit and various items for other people that needed safe passage to the UK meant I left it behind with Dennis and a specific request that he take it to Roger for his 34 Dodge Pickup.
Roger was the guy we visited straight from the airport when I landed.

So another piece of Mr Johnsons legacy living on.







Fitted

 

[Hugo L.]

Re: Practical and Logical

Hugo L. I don't think you'll ever find me spending money for pointless stuff! I'm just not built that way. Perhaps due to my Scottish heritage not sure, but I try hard to be practical and logical when spending money.

Now some may argue that owing...





... a pair of 1966 Corvettes for example, is hardly practical nor logical but in my defense, I would like to point out that one is a coupe and the other is a convertible. Different cars for different weather. Clearly practical and logical reasoning don't you think? And remember I said I try to be practical and logical............... sometimes I don't succeed.................

Thomas

These are investments, not expenses. Obviously.

 

[markviii]

That's how he "sold" it to me, Hugo L. Though, definitely a present to himself.

Chris

 

[Hugo L.]

That's how he "sold" it to me, Hugo L. Though, definitely a present to himself.

Chris

Hey, at least he didn't try to pretend that the blue Vette was the summer car and the red one the dedicated winter beater...

 

[Vernmotor]

Hey, at least he didn't try to pretend that the blue Vette was the summer car and the red one the dedicated winter beater...

Now that is funny !! Just had a friend pull that on his wife. Bought a new truck and kept his old for that reason ! LOL There is just him and his wife .They got 7 Vehicles.

 

[Hugo L.]

Now that is funny !! Just had a friend pull that on his wife. Bought a new truck and kept his old for that reason ! LOL There is just him and his wife .They got 7 Vehicles.

I had a BMW M3 convertible as my summer car and a Toyota 4Runner as a winter car. I sold the 4Runner and bought a lightly modded 2005 Legacy GT for winter. The trouble is, the Legacy GT had 330ish HP and the M3 had 240. So the winter beater was significantly faster than the fun summer car. I ended up selling the bimmer.

Sorry for the hijack. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[Lotusnut]

Hey, at least he didn't try to pretend that the blue Vette was the summer car and the red one the dedicated winter beater...

A friend is a 50s 60s Jaguar guy up here in Toronto. He drives the BMW Guys nuts when he parks his Jags and gets the old BMW out for the winter. I swear he fixes it up in the summer just to be sure it looks like it should be in a showroom just to drive them really nuts.

 

[A35Plt]

Miss Chris would it be possible for you to tell us some more about your apartments and the framing shop while Capt. Thomas is out shoveling gravel in the snow? We've had a few glimpses and I for one am very interested. I hope to take the plunge into some multi family housing next year and would like to see how the pros do it!

 

[markviii]

A35Plt - PM me if you want more details about the apartments. We're "small potatoes" in the apartment game and we don't employ a property manager. I'm it. I married in to the apartment business and, out of necessity, just ran with it when Tom began his flying career. The mid-80s economy and high commercial rates made it almost impossible to sell the buildings, so I just made the best of it while continuing teaching/being department head full time, having 2 kids (age 3 and 6 months), sitting on two library boards, and beginning graduate school in education administration. I did close my wholesale computer hardware/software business, stopped being a property manager for others and gave up my real estate license (as did Tom). The children came with me everywhere (board meetings, apt showing and maintenance calls) except to day (teaching) and night (grad classes) school. So here it is 30 years later. When I retired from teaching in 2009, I decided to make use of Tom's father's picture framing business/equipment/supplies which had been closed for 10 years and went to school to learn to use the equipment. I ran the shop for 5 years. It's on hold while we're building the house, but I'll start framing again next year. I left out several other "jobs" I volunteer to do. That's just the highlights of my/our life.

Life's never boring!

Chris

 

[Craptain]

Holy moley Chris. You are every bit as much a workaholic as Thomas. How do you ever have time to play cars?

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[markviii]

Probably more, but on different types of activities. That's part of the "other". It's kind of time-consuming to list everything. It's just stuff I enjoy and choose to do . Luckily, I've not needed lots of sleep since I was a little kid.LOL

Chris

 

[BB767]

Exterior Lighting

Here's another time consuming but important detail.



I used 3 different types of LED lighting for the exterior. Different locations and different applications dictated what type and where it was used. There was total of 30 light fixtures in all and every one of them...



...only came with white, outer bezels. Here's one of them with the lens removed. Since my soffit was a shade of tan, that meant I had to paint all of them.



Since the lens were removable, it was much easier to tape off the lens. Here's that same fixture with the lens taped off and painted.



Here's the fixture painted with the taped lens removed...



...and here they are done with a frosted lens installed. The lens on the left one looks a bit different but it's the same, just inside lighting conditions caused it to photograph that way. These were the fixed light fixtures.



I also used some fixtures that swiveled. On these, the lenses weren't removable so they had to be taped in place.



When they were painted they had to be swiveled to expose the housing hidden below the outer bezel so it could be painted also.



These were installed on the sloped ceiling of the carport and where pointed straight down so they wouldn't glare as you drove up to the front door under the carport.



The last type, seen in the center, not only swiveled but rotated also. It needed to be swiveled and rotated during painting to allow the lens base to be painted. All fussy, time consuming work.



Here's all 3 types of lighting fixtures. For them to look right, they needed to be painted with 2 coats so all together, I spent several hours just painting and prepping the housings.



The paint wasn't an exact match but it was close enough. I used these flush mounted lights so spiders have nothing to attach webs to which would need to be cleaned periodically. That's the theory anyway, we'll see next summer.



These lights are paired to turn on with each respective garage door opener for each door. When the garage door opens, only the pair of lights associated with that door come on. They also point down so the light won't blind you as you drive in the garage the way wall mounted lights do.
Note the weather stripping hasn't been installed on the garage doors in this picture hence the white strip by the door.



Here's the carport lights.



Not an exact paint match but pretty close. These are positioned so they point straight down.



And lastly, the fixtures that swivel and rotate were used on 3 sides of the stone columns for the carport.



You can see the light in the middle is slightly swiveled. These are positioned to light the column near the top and cast a shadow from the stone relief down the column. That causes those two stone columns to glow at night. Very distinctive.

Interior work is progressing; the tile floors are all done and all the windows are trimmed. We'll be installing the kitchen and bath cabinetry this week as well as all the interior doors. In the basement the radiant floor tubing manifolds are nearly finished and so is all the domestic plumbing. I'll have more on that shortly, please check back.

Many thanks again everyone for all the support and interest. You're keeping me on my toes!

Thomas

 

[1/2 Cup]

Thomas, thank you for the update..

Your lighting looks the goods..

Regards

 

[Hugo L.]

Good job on those fixtures. The white bezel would've looked out of place.

 

[rebelmyers1]

Please post night time pics


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spareparts]

Keep up and the house is going to cost more than the shop, oh well if Chris isn't happy Tom wont be happy LOL. All kidding aside that place is terrific and craftsmanship is outstanding as usual.

 

[donnie]

I was wondering what the plan was for outside lights I did not see any outlets on the out side of the house. I knew you would have a plan.
The wood work is beautiful so good to see a house being built without painted trim and windows.