Above 1200 Sq/FT Restored 1930's Auto Shop

[SiGmA_X]

Thomas, I love your fireplace... Like the rest of the build! Keep it up!

Thomas,

Your attention to detail is Great.

You helped me with my airco station a few years ago, and again thanks.
I had a contest with my 4 grandkids to see who could figure it out first.

I noticed that you put acoustic panels on the ceiling..

Who made them?? and where did you get them??

The Sportsmans Club I participate in just did a remodel of the main club house, and they built a great echo chamber, makes it almost impossible to hear with all the bouncing noise.

I think those panels will be the answer to help our problem

Your House will be a real HOME when its done , Good Luck

Thanks

Terry

I am NOT an audiophile and don't know much about acoustic tiles, but do your research before you buy and install anything. I assume Thomas did that being he is who he is, and from the shape of his room I imagine the ceiling is step one, and then tasteful tiles on the wall (they can actually look good, too!) My employer just remodeled our buildings and allll of the conference rooms were echo chambers. They applied a 1.5" acoustic foam on the wall behind the 80" LCD's (smallest wall space in the room, side walls are glass, rear wall is drywall) with a wood drop ceiling. The single wall tiles helped, but it isn't great - I'm pretty sure they could have done better with something on the ceiling or the large rear wall - or all of the above...

 

[BB767]

More

.....


I noticed that you put acoustic panels on the ceiling..

Who made them?? and where did you get them??

...........

Thanks

Terry

Hi Terry, nice to hear from you once again. It's a little late tonight (again ) so I'll get that information to you shortly. The ceiling panels are 4' (1.2 m) X 8' (2.4 m) and are 2" (5 cm) thick with harden edges and fabric covered. I think the ceiling is the most critical area to treat for acoustic sound control. I'll also be adding panels on the walls in some places as well. The great room is where the home theater is going to be set up.



The motorized movie screen just arrived and I expect to install it tomorrow. I'll need some sound control in that room with all the odd angles and hard surfaces. Stand by for more information.

I'm off to bed now and back at it tomorrow........ Thanks all.

Thomas

 

[gordyy]

Thomas what can we say outstanding sir!

 

[BB767]

Closer.....

I wanted to get something on here because I'm going to make a short night of it, I'm up early today to get a manual lift to assist in installing...



...the hoist for the material lift, remember that? It weights 350lbs (159 kg) and will be a bit unwieldy to get the hook through that eye bolt in the ceiling.

I finally got the transformer I needed (3 weeks wait turned into 3 months!!) to finish the 3 phase electrical power. If you remember the hoist is an Ingersoll Rand unit with a 4,000 lbs (1,418 kg) capacity that requires 3 phase, 480V electrical power. With the 3 phase now operational at the house, we wired the hoist, lifted it with forks and a chain on my John Deere to test it and it worked perfectly!



So later today, the big deal will be to get the hoist hung and then install the material lift and start to fine tune it's operation. Stand by for that little adventure and wish me luck.

In the meantime...



...here's the crown molding in the great room...



... with indirect lighting behind it. Unfortunately the molding is hard to see, it's tough to photograph it from a distance.



This is a closer view...



.... and you can see how the crown transitions into the stone. Still need to work on the area between the stone and the wall, it's a work in progress you know.



It's hard to get a sense of what the crown looks like in photographs I'm afraid. Much better in person. I'll try some different angles and see what I can do.

Below is my latest favorite picture...



...from inside. I think it conveys a great sense of the space. The lighting on the crown molding is glowing in the background around the fireplace. Note the directional light, centered over the fireplace is now in place and to the right, below the upper windows on the wall, Trey and I got motorized home theater movie screen installed yesterday. That room just needs a mantel, some hardwood flooring and base trim and it'll be ready to go.

I am getting closer.

Thomas

 

[Boosted1]

You're burning the candle at both ends Thomas.
The material hoist is going to be nice to have in operation.
The crown molding and lights look good too.
I'm enjoying the house updates, but I'm anxiously awaiting to see what you do with the house garage and wood shop.
Hope you have a good day today.

 

[67ImpalaSS396]

Thomas & Chris,
Everything is beyond beautiful with your new home. The attention to detail and the clever stream of ideas never cease to amaze me! Never again will I be comfortable with saying a job was done 'well enough'. And I consider that to be a GOOD thing...

One question, if I may. Your placement of the Home Theater screen against the window wall could make it difficult to see the screen in the daylight hours, without shades on all the windows. As far as I know, projection-type screens lack a bit in brightness, compared to LED TVs, etc. I'm certain that you have given this issue much consideration. Just curious what your thoughts are.

Best Regards,
John
(proud to be the first signature in Beltsville Shell, after Tom & Chris!)

 

[stillp]

Thomas, I've been wondering how much of all that beautiful woodwork did you build yourself? That is, the doors, kitchen cabinets, and the crown moulding? I'm quite sure you could do it all, but not sure if you'd have the time.

Pete

 

[markviii]

Good question, stillp. Since all the woodworking equipment has been in storage since 10/2015 when we sold the house, it was necessary to find other arrangements for all the cabinets, doors, staircases and wood trim. Tom opted to have Amish craftsmen build these. He'll tell you about the wood floors. However, Tom, Trey and Ray have done all the wood trim and crown molding installation.

I've moved most of my kitchen, pantry and laundry room stuff into the house since those two rooms are complete. I'll be cleaning up the bathrooms this week so I can put towels, sheets, etc. into the cabinets and drawers. We still have to figure out towel bars and shower curtain rods for two of the bathrooms and rods for hanging clothes in closets. I wish the bedroom carpet was installed. I'd start setting up my bookshelves/books and moving the little furniture pieces (end tables, lamps, etc.) that I can carry myself. Oh, well. It'll be happening soon.

Chris

 

[realvc]

It sounds like your new home is real close to being lived in since you're starting to move things in.

Your thread is one of the best on the forum and the internet for that matter.

 

[tkbowman]

It sounds like your new home is real close to being lived in since you're starting to move things in.

Your thread is one of the best on the forum and the internet for that matter.

I'll second that!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Technologyteacher]

I have the same Pepsi machine. Great for keeping longneck beers at an ideal drinking temperature. I bypassed the coin mechanism and wired a toggle switch in the coin return to unlock the bottles.

 

[BB767]

..........

One question, if I may. Your placement of the Home Theater screen against the window wall could make it difficult to see the screen in the daylight hours, without shades on all the windows. As far as I know, projection-type screens lack a bit in brightness, compared to LED TVs, etc. I'm certain that you have given this issue much consideration. Just curious what your thoughts are.

Best Regards,
John
(proud to be the first signature in Beltsville Shell, after Tom & Chris!)

That's a good observation and question John. You are correct that projection type video systems need a dark location for best results. I knew that and also that I'd need to control the light in the room, so all the windows (manufactured by Pella: http://www.pella.com/)...



...have room darkening shades behind one of the glass panes (they're triple pane windows). They stow at the bottom of the window and move up when closing them. With the shades up, virtually no light comes in the window. The 2 upper middle window shades are motorized using a remote to control them and are solar powered so they don't need any external power, they're completely self contained.

Now the 2 upper triangle windows don't have shades.....yet. Pella doesn't offer shades for those windows so I'm still figuring out how to control light from them. I'm confident I'll come up with something satisfactory. I'm open to any suggestions if any of you out there have experience with shades for triangle windows. There's always a solution.

Many thanks for your continued interest all this time and you have every reason to be proud to be reader #1 after us.

Thomas

PS, I did install the material lift today, still working through some hoist placement details. Watch for more on that shortly. That was a big deal for me!

 

[rixtrix1]

Thomas

PS, I did install the material lift today, still working through some hoist placement details. Watch for more on that shortly. That was a big deal for me!

This is Sooo much better than watching the Dream House that HGTV builds every year as we get in on all the build details guys like to see, not just seeing pics of how fancy everything looks after it's finished. Can't thank you enough for taking the time to share after putting in so many hours each day on the home.

 

[BB767]

Material Lift - Part I

OK I'll admit it......I've been busy......really busy......but in a good way.

Once the 3 phase transformer was install last week and I finally had 3 phase, 480 voltage available I've been working on installing the material lift.

To recap, one of the key features I designed into the house was a means to move equipment and material into and out of the basement safely and effectively, especially since it was a deep basement with 10' (3 m) high walls. I decided on an overhead hoist lift platform as the simplest and most efficient way to accomplish that.

The electric hoist I bought was...



...a 2 ton capacity unit, manufactured by Ingersoll Rand. It required 3 phase, 480 voltage to operate so I've been waiting all this time for that electrical power, and now I have it.

First challenge was to...



...install an unwieldy 350 lbs (159 kg) hoist onto an eye-bolt suspended 9' on the ceiling.



I unbolted the hoist hook (HH) and placed it into the eye-bolt first. Next...



...a manual lift was rented, just like the one we used to set the steel beams in the basement several months ago, remember?



A pallet was placed on the lifting arms of the manual lift. Then...



...using the forks and a chain on my John Deere tractor, the hoist was lifted onto the pallet.




Trey then bravely climbed a ladder and placed the bolt attaching the hoist to the mounting hook, the result being...



... I had the hoist mounted to the ceiling....



...finally after all this time. It was just that easy.

With that done, the lifting platform was brought over from the barn to the house with the tractor. There it was lowered...



...onto 2" (5 cm) PVC pipe.



From there it was easily rolled...



.... into position. So far so good. Stand by for Part II.

Thanks once more everyone for your patience. I trust you'll find more of interest coming up.

Thomas

 

[Finallygotit]

For some strange reason, I have this mental image of Uncle Fester rising up out of the floor on that lift. I really should get back on my meds.

Good job Thomas and congrats on the milestone!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I am waiting to see how you finish out the lift. Are you leaving the hoist exposed or hiding it somehow?

 

[markviii]

And he's been having fun going up and down on the lift ever since....just to make sure it's safe for the equipment...

I'm happy the lift is operational. Now we can finish the hardwood. Then the bedroom carpet can go in (starting sometime next week?). After that, the staircases can be installed. We can't move any stuff into the 3 bedrooms until the carpet is installed, which has been a frustration for me trying to stage the move. At least I've been able to move most of my kitchen stuff into cabinets and the kitchen is usable. And I'll have the bathrooms set up this week since all the showers/tubs are installed and washed down. That's a start.

Chris

P.S. I found out t he Hot Rod Power Tour is coming to Champaign IL, on June 13. Yea!! We'll work registration again. This is the 3rd time in less than 6 years the HRPT has graced Champaign. We roll out the red carpet.

 

[HOTFR8]

Sounds like the pair of you have been and will be busy for some time yet.
What do they say - No Rest for the Wicked !

 

[EvilEye]

Thomas, Any chance you found the mfg of the ceiling tiles??

Thanks

Terry

 

[Grizz1963]

And he's been having fun going up and down on the lift ever since....just to make sure it's safe for the equipment...

I'm happy the lift is operational. Now we can finish the hardwood. Then the bedroom carpet can go in (starting sometime next week?). After that, the staircases can be installed. We can't move any stuff into the 3 bedrooms until the carpet is installed, which has been a frustration for me trying to stage the move. At least I've been able to move most of my kitchen stuff into cabinets and the kitchen is usable. And I'll have the bathrooms set up this week since all the showers/tubs are installed and washed down. That's a start.

Chris

P.S. I found out t he Hot Rod Power Tour is coming to Champaign IL, on June 13. Yea!! We'll work registration again. This is the 3rd time in less than 6 years the HRPT has graced Champaign. We roll out the red carpet.

This whole report above makes me smile.

Really quite amazing how this has progressed from day one, and of course since we were there. I am sure a lot of the behind the scenes stuff does not make it on here, but also know that the two of you have been working like Trojans.

HRPT is great news.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Re: Material Lift - Part I

OK I'll admit it......I've been busy......really busy......but in a good way.

Once the 3 phase transformer was install last week and I finally had 3 phase, 480 voltage available I've been working on installing the material lift.

To recap, one of the key features I designed into the house was a means to move equipment and material into and out of the basement safely and effectively, especially since it was a deep basement with 10' (3 m) high walls. I decided on an overhead hoist lift platform as the simplest and most efficient way to accomplish that.

The electric hoist I bought was...



...a 2 ton capacity unit, manufactured by Ingersoll Rand. It required 3 phase, 480 voltage to operate so I've been waiting all this time for that electrical power, and now I have it.

First challenge was to...



...install an unwieldy 350 lbs (159 kg) hoist onto an eye-bolt suspended 9' on the ceiling.



I unbolted the hoist hook (HH) and placed it into the eye-bolt first. Next...



...a manual lift was rented, just like the one we used to set the steel beams in the basement several months ago, remember?



A pallet was placed on the lifting arms of the manual lift. Then...



...using the forks and a chain on my John Deere tractor, the hoist was lifted onto the pallet.




Trey then bravely climbed a ladder and placed the bolt attaching the hoist to the mounting hook, the result being...



... I had the hoist mounted to the ceiling....



...finally after all this time. It was just that easy.

With that done, the lifting platform was brought over from the barn to the house with the tractor. There it was lowered...



...onto 2" (5 cm) PVC pipe.



From there it was easily rolled...



.... into position. So far so good. Stand by for Part II.

Thanks once more everyone for your patience. I trust you'll find more of interest coming up.

Thomas

As with everything, the lift looks GREAT!. I keep expecting to see guides both to keep the lift from rotating as things like to do and also to allow you some leeway on center of gravity placement. Most material elevators will have at least two guides with rollers top and bottom to maintain a level floor at all times. Maybe you have telescoping guides that are not in view yet. Like the guides on the manual lift.

That lift is going to be extra handy and will be the only way grand-kids want to get to the basement.

Of course if most big screen watching will be at night the triangular windows may not be an issue. One idea is to have a Roman shade or Oriental fan type cover with a pivot at the lower acute angle and raise the shade into a channel on the hypotenuse. All the material would be shorter than the hypotenuse and could fold right up. A custom shade shop would enjoy that project.

Full speed ahead!

 

[jbmatth]

Tom and Chris,
Great to see the progress is still continuing, everything looks top notch as always. I saw that the HRPT was going to be a hop skip and jump from ya'll and instantly got excited. I plan on bringing my cobra again this year and would love to get to stop back in for a visit after the show, or the next day on our way to STL if ya'll don't mind too much.
JB

 

[rmalkow2]

I think we need a video of Thomas going up and down on the lift with a very big smile on his face.
Lot's of great progress. Your hard work is showing well.

 

[MG David]

Thomas, I have just worked out what is missing. There is no powder coating on the lift platform!!

It all looks great to me. I do like all the hardwood trim you are using.

 

[BB767]

More Lift "Stuff"

Rather than quote everyone I'll try to address some of the lift observations and questions.



First of all it's still very much a work in progress. I got the basics done and installed, now it's a matter of fine tuning, refining and making it work well.

It's a matter of too's i.e. too complicated with too many variables to plan too far ahead. (say that fast 3 times)



That's the platform starting down the shaft, the area at the base of the walls will need to be modified. You can see where it's scraped the walls a little. It's a tight fit, but there is enough clearance. I suspect I'll line the walls with hardwood, recessed into the walls to provide a harden bumper surface.

I didn't know what it might need to get it to track straight...



...up and down the lift space until I actually operated it. BTW, that's the bottom of the lift pictured at the top.





It turns out it doesn't need much of anything, it tracks very straight and true, with no tendency to twist at all. It's perfectly usable just as it is but I can make some improvements. There is enough room on one side for 2 sets of guides which is all it needs to run straighter than it does already so those are pending.

The white kitty litter bucket that held the excess chain...



...was replaced with a proper chain bag seen below and to the left of the hoist. Much tidier that way!



You can see from the side how everything lines up on the center line of the eye-bolt when it's at rest or operating. That's why it tracks so well.



When it's not in use, I'll store it in the basement like this. Up in the garage...






...it looks like this with the temporary floor in place below the hoist. After this picture was taken, a proper wired outlet and plug were installed and excess power wire removed. That cleaned up how it looks a bunch.

I'm waiting until I get all modifications done and it's operating to my satisfaction, then I'll................wait for it...............have it powder coated.

As I said, it's still very much a work in progress, but right out of the box so-to-speak, it's highly usable. So usable in fact that this weekend, I've already arranged to borrow a forklift and we'll...



...reverse this move out process from 1 1/2 years ago and start to relocate the wood shop machinery in the basement. That's the true test of how well it'll work. Meantime I've still got a house to build so stay tuned.

Thomas

 

[BB767]

Thomas, Any chance you found the mfg of the ceiling tiles??

Thanks

Terry

Here you go Terry, Acoustical Solutions:

https://acousticalsolutions.com/product-category/acoustic-panels/

They are good folks and are highly knowledgeable. I'm sure they can help you out. Good luck and keep me posted about your project.

Tom and Chris,
Great to see the progress is still continuing, everything looks top notch as always. I saw that the HRPT was going to be a hop skip and jump from ya'll and instantly got excited. I plan on bringing my cobra again this year and would love to get to stop back in for a visit after the show, or the next day on our way to STL if ya'll don't mind too much.
JB

JB, the HRPT will overnight at the State Farm Center which is less than 11 miles and just 4 turns from the shop. Easy enough to get here and we'd love a return visit from you.



There have been some changes since you picked up the power hacksaw and Mr Johnson's old cabinetmakers bench. You might not recognize the place any more.

As the date gets closer we'll work out the details, plan on it.

Thomas

PS, that goes for you too Dennis.

 

[EvilEye]

Thomas, Thanks for the info. I'll probably contact them next week.

Your Home project is really great. Good luck getting to the "almost finished Line"

projects like yours are never quite finished.

Thanks again

Terry

 

[jbmatth]

Sounds great Thomas, thank you very much, I'll be in touch. Here is to the wood shop equipment relocation going off without a hitch.
JB

 

[Hugo L.]

How is the hook secured again? That's a LOT of weight hanging by a single hook (although I have no doubt that everything is overkill, I'm just curious).

Great setup, as usual!

 

[SiGmA_X]

How is the hook secured again? That's a LOT of weight hanging by a single hook (although I have no doubt that everything is overkill, I'm just curious).

Great setup, as usual!

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6008797&postcount=10086

 

[BB767]

How is the hook secured again? That's a LOT of weight hanging by a single hook (although I have no doubt that everything is overkill, I'm just curious).

Great setup, as usual!

Hugo L. that's a legitimate question, especially since I haven't posted anything about the apparatus that was fabricated to support the eye-bolt or the underlying structure of the house that was designed to support the lift in general.

It's been a long day and will be a short night and another long day for me tomorrow so can I ask you to please hold that thought until I can do a proper post about it all?



For now know that, yes, everything associated with the lift support is overkill. The eye-bolt is forged and rated at supporting 13,500 lbs (6,124 kg). It's plenty beefy. The steel used in the mount fabrication is all 1/2" (1.2 cm) material and the whole mechanism is all supported by no less than 7 trusses located in the second floor. I'll show it all to you when I'm not so tired.

Many thanks to SiGmA_X for posting a link to the post where I at least showed some of what is involved in supporting the lift.

More to come including pictures of the lift in action. Today it was used to successfully lower material into the wood shop as per design. It was a good day.

Thomas

 

[SCMW]

That's a fantastic rebuild! I'm an hour north of you. I have a 1905 blacksmith shop and a 1922 corner store that I'm reworking. The blacksmith shop has been rewired, insulated, and paneled with OSB. It works. Like your shop, you can see exterior walls on the inside before they grafted on another 25 x 24 section. There are three of those sections on the main shop.

The 1922 store is slowly undergoing tuck pointing and a completely new roof, rafters, etc. It too will be insulated and skinned on the inside. The exterior is that cut stone cinder block that was popular back then.

I like your Center of the Universe comment on Philo. Bosworth, IN is the Hub of the Universe according to their water tower.

Again, great shop and thanks for giving it another life!

 

[BB767]

More Interior Progress III

It's coming along very nicely I'm happy to report...



...besides the hardwood flooring progressing, I'm getting the video/sound systems sorted out...







Very much a work in progress, but I did have music playing throughout the house today. Confirmed all the installed speakers are wired correctly and working as they should.

Now after a 16 hour day, I've got a forklift waiting outside for some equipment moving tomorrow, so this post is a little short on substantive information. The best part though is I'm really enjoying myself. Love the creative process. Stand by for more.

Thomas

 

[Bogdan M.]

The platform ideea is Batman cave grade.

 

[Boosted1]

The audio / visual wiring box looks like it would be fun to setup.

 

[dpljmurphy]

Long live Klipsch

 

[stillp]

Starting to look like a home now!

Pete

 

[BB767]

Material Lift In Use......Finally!!!!

Hi everyone, I'll make this brief but for those who are interested or curious about the big move yesterday of all the heavy equipment and material...



...it was a rousting success. Great grandad's tool box was one of the first items moved...



...as was Dad's 1936 Delta floor drill press.



Large or unwieldy...



...it didn't matter.













The lift worked flawlessly all day long.



Whatever the weight...











...it never gave a moments problem.



At the end of the day...





...all my large, heavy, bulky equipment was relocated to the basement easily, just as I'd hoped it would. This was a big deal for me! I'd been thinking about a material lift for my eventual retirement house for several years. It is so cool design and build something and have it work out so well.

BTW, to unload this bandsaw we just unbolted the lifting beam and we were able to move it right out.

I'm off to bed and looking forward to what tomorrow might bring.
Stay tuned.

Thomas

 

[oldironfarmer]

Looking good!

 

[Grizz1963]

Great move Thomas !!

It really is defining point too, along with various others.

Loving the rollers for the thicknesser and heavy stuff, makes it so easy.

Hope you got a good nights sleep too.