Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Roboto's Garage

[Mr. Roboto]

Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

I purchased my first home in July of 2012. I looked for almost a year before finding one with a garage that I could get excited about, until I found the house that I purchased. The house was built in 1992, and the garage was built in 2006 - it is 26' x 34' with approximately 10.5 foot ceilings. It was a blank slate, no walls, no insulation, no ceiling - everything was exposed. I had so many big plans for the garage, however, I had to focus most of my efforts inside the house before I could think about getting to the garage. Here we are - 3 years later - and I am finally going to begin my garage transformation. I think it's about time to start a thread to track my progress as I go. I don't have many pictures for what little I have done up until this point, but there really isn't much to show. It will (hopefully) start to get exciting from here on out.


Here is an overview shot of the house (excuse the paper taped up on my garage, this was taken the day I had my driveway sealed)

And here is what the garage looked like shortly after I moved in. Like I said - blank slate.

Over the next 3 years, the only real thing I did was to build myself a workbench, put insulation up on the walls, and acquired a bunch of varios storage cabinets and the like.

Now, fast forward to phase 2. I am going to be finalizing my electrical layout, hanging drywall on the ceiling and walls, doing blown in insulation in the "attic" and hopefully get a heating unit out there. Hoping to accomplish this before the winter hits.

I chipped away at all the furring strips a little after work each night last week. Escuse the lighting - I had to take all my light fixtures down to do this.

Sheetrock was delivered this Friday evening, I spend Saturday running my electrical, and sunday hanging sheetrock on the ceiling. The ceiling was slow going, because I was doing it by myself with a drywall hoist. I've never done sheetrock before, so there was a bit of a learning curve.

And that's how it currently sits. Hoping to have a friend come over next weekend to help me out hanging more sheetrock. It should speed up the process quite a bit.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Looking good, keep up the nice work!

 

[BigNuge]

Nice! You should be able to get quite a bit accomplished seeing as Spring just got here...lol

What part of NH are you in?

Im out on the coast.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Looking good, keep up the nice work!

Thanks!

Nice! You should be able to get quite a bit accomplished seeing as Spring just got here...lol

What part of NH are you in?

Im out on the coast.

That's the plan....I wanted to get as early of a start as possible so that I could get a lot done this summer....while still being able to enjoy the summer.

I'm down in southern NH, a little south of Manchester.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Question for you guys...each rear corner of my garage has one of these braces on it.

Was this a temporary support that was installed when the garage was being built? Or is it still a structural component that I need to keep? If it is, how am I supposed to sheetrock that wall? do I need to notch each 2x4 on the wall and recess it? Thanks!

 

[GRN96WS6]

Nice garage, wish the "standard" two car wasn't a 20x20 for homes, with cars larger it really needs to be 25x25 IMO.

 

[BigNuge]

Question for you guys...each rear corner of my garage has one of these braces on it.

Was this a temporary support that was installed when the garage was being built? Or is it still a structural component that I need to keep? If it is, how am I supposed to sheetrock that wall? do I need to notch each 2x4 on the wall and recess it? Thanks!

That was a wind brace for framing. They are needed to keep the frame square until the sheathing is on. You no longer need that since it is obviously sheathed now.




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[Mr. Roboto]

That was a wind brace for framing. They are needed to keep the frame square until the sheathing is on. You no longer need that since it is obviously sheathed now.




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Well that's a relief - thanks for the info.

 

[BigNuge]

No sweat man...

In my old place there are wind braces at every vertical post/beam intersection (old post & beam house). I had to cut a few out here and there to make my renovation work....I was just a little nervous to say the least

All turned out well though...

 

[Mr. Roboto]

No sweat man...

In my old place there are wind braces at every vertical post/beam intersection (old post & beam house). I had to cut a few out here and there to make my renovation work....I was just a little nervous to say the least

All turned out well though...

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of...pull those of and everything comes crashing down.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Another weekend working out in the garage in the books. One of my friends was supposed to come and give me a hand, but he bailed on me, so I was riding solo again. I also had the flu all week last week, so there were a few odds and ends that I was hoping to chip away at during the week that never got done, so I had to wrap those up before I could start hanging sheetrock again.

First up, I got to work adding 4 access hatches in the ceiling. These will be used for me to pop up there when it comes time to do the blown in insulation. I wanted to minimize how much walking around on the trusses I'll have to do, so I should be able to get at a good percentage of the attic space from them. I also wired up 4 lights in the attic space so that I can see up there for the insulation project, and in case I need to inspect anything at a later date (leaks, damage, etc)

With these 2 tasks out of the way, it was back to hanging sheetrock. Got a couple more rows done until I hit the spot where my first garage door opener is. I really did not want to drywall around it and all the rails, so I decided to attempt to partially pull it down, hang the drywall, and reinstall. Took a little thinking on how to do this by myself, but I was able to get it done.

Was even able to clear a spot to get the car back in at the end of the day

 

[JustinS]

great progress

 

[Terranova]

Domo arigato.

It's nice to have a decent size blank slate. High cielings too. Room for storage! Look forward to seeing it develop.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Thanks guys, the space already feels very different with the addition of a ceiling.

 

[BigNuge]

Nice progress!! Good call on all those hatches. You never know when you'll need to take a peak up there....


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[Mr. Roboto]

Nice progress!! Good call on all those hatches. You never know when you'll need to take a peak up there....


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Thanks, they should do the trick. I figured they certainly can't hurt at least. I'm planning on getting some rigid foam insulation, mounting it to some thin paneling, and making a few insulated hatch doors to drop in.

Hopefully my help doesn't bail on me this weekend like they did last weekend - hoping to finish the ceiling and possibly even start on the walls. It should go a lot quicker with a second set of hands.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Pops came over to give me a hand yesterday. Nothing too exciting in terms of updates, but the ceiling is officially done. We also hung 2 sheets along the rear wall. Hanging the sheetrock on the wall seems to be much easier than on the ceiling (For obvious reasons.)

The last few rows of the ceiling were slow going since there were a bunch of obstructions in the way from the garage door openers, tracks, ect but it's done!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I'm not sure how some of you guys manage the period of time your garage is "under construction" - I do a lot of work in there on a pretty regular basis, but with mine being in shambles through this process, it's very frustrating!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Not much to update from this weekend. I managed to finish hanging the sheetrock on the rear wall, and moved a bunch of **** around so that I could access the right wall to begin hanging there. Then, my wife sucked me in to her project. Ripping out all the overgrown bushes in front of the house (which was admittedly much more difficult than I thought it would be, see the pic in my first post of my house), planted some new bushes (had to get some small ones with the hopes of them growing, larger bushes are expensive!) and spread some mulch. I think it's a nice improvement over the builders grade junk that's been in front of the house for the last 20 years that the previous owners never really took the time to maintain.

 

[BigNuge]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Looking good man! I had to spread my efforts out lately as well. The barn hasn't seen any of my time for a couple weeks...

That'll change after Memorial Day weekend!


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[Bassfishing54]

Nice improvement! I personally don't like the look of shrubs when they get that big. Keep up the good work!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Thanks...those old bushes have only been bothering me for the last 3 years

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Well, I was only able to sneak out to the garage to work for a few hours on Saturday, but I managed to finish most of the right wall. The drywall has made a world of a difference in the feel of the garage out there. Even without any lights out there right now, it feels so much brighter. Once I mount all my Costco LED shop lights up, it's going to be insane. Detailing cars is going to be such a pleasure. It's cool to look into the back right corner of the garage, where the finshed ceiling, rear wall, and right wall come together - it really gives a sense of how finished off it will all feel when it's complete.

I am tossing around the idea of having someone come in and bang out the taping and mudding for me for 2 reasons. 1) I'm sure a professional crew will do a much better job than I, since I have never done it before, and 2) It will get done MUCH quicker. I think it would take me quite a while to do by myself. Anyone have any feedback or could venture a guess on what it may cost me to hire someone to do it?

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?
attachmentid=684725&d=1506214056

 

[taumac]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

It's a garage so I would try it as practice. I don't use the premix stuff these days after I started using powder drywall mix. You can get it in various setup times which speeds up the job. I use 90 min mud myself so I can put many coats on in one day verses one on premix. That they say to let sit overnight. Plus being powder it doesn't get the mildew if let it sit for months.

 

[BigNuge]

DO yourself the biggest favor ever and pay to have it done. 3 seems into the ceiling with mud, then tape, then mud, then mud, then sand, then mud, then final sand, then wipe.......ya, you're gonna wish you paid to have it done 2 hours into it. a pro will bang that out in no time.

Taping *****!!!!

Ask me how I know....






And thats the first floor....I paid to have all of that done. I gave ti a shot in the beginning on the second floor.........WRONG ANSWER.

I hauled it all, and hung it all (500+ sheets I'd say in all). That $hit is for the birds....and taping, forget about it....lol

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Thanks for the advice - I'm torn! I may give it a shot at least. I really hate paying people to do something I know I could do, but I need to start valuing my time as well.

 

[taumac]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Well it's a garage but if never done it and you where doing interior work in the house sure bid it out

 

[BigNuge]

Thanks for the advice - I'm torn! I may give it a shot at least. I really hate paying people to do something I know I could do, but I need to start valuing my time as well.

I hear you man, and I'm the same way. A couple things to think about.

If you care about how it looks in the end, and you don't revel in the thought of working over your head on ladders for hours on end spreading mud & sanding then you'll want to hire it out.

But, if you do give it a shot at least it's in the garage...


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[Mr. Roboto]

All valid points. I still have a little time to decide. I finished up the 20" strip along the bottom of the right wall last night. Need to hang the sheetrock along the left wall still, and around the garage doors, then I'll see how I'm feeling on the subject haha.

 

[rharman]

Count my vote in the "hire" column. The pro's really will knock it out.

Those guys "rock".

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Count my vote in the "hire" column. The pro's really will knock it out.

Those guys "rock".

Surprisingly enough, even my wife thinks I should hire it out!

 

[cynicalrider]

+1 on hiring it out. Mudding an entire room ***** as an average, even an above average handyman/homeowner.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Pardon my crude drawing, but this is the layout of my garage. I would like to install a modine/reznor or similar heater in the back rear corner of the garage. My question is, where is the best place to install the thermostat? I'd like to rough in the thermostat wire while I still can. I forgot to include the dimensions, but the overall garage is 26 x 34

Thanks!

 

[Sicoupe]

I would place the thermostat by the main door.

 

[Jjbates]

This garage is built just like mine except I've got one 16' x 7' door instead of the two singles. Just curious, 2x4 walls or 2x6?

 

[BigNuge]

Do not put the stat by any door. You want it on the opposite wall (say left wall) and towards the back. This way its not getting blown on by the heater, and it isn't picking up and cold spots near the door(s).

 

[Mr. Roboto]

This garage is built just like mine except I've got one 16' x 7' door instead of the two singles. Just curious, 2x4 walls or 2x6?

2x4 framing, unfortunately.

Do not put the stat by any door. You want it on the opposite wall (say left wall) and towards the back. This way its not getting blown on by the heater, and it isn't picking up and cold spots near the door(s).

OK that's what my initial thought was as well. My electrical panel is about 2/3 of the way into the garage on the left wall, I think I'll rough in the wire around there. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Jjbates]

Thanks for the reply on the 2x4 walls. I'll be to get to the point your at. I've still got a big "shell". Place is looking good, looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[HotwheelsYJ]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

I would hire the Sheetrock finishing because I'm no good at it.

A few years ago, the going rate in my area for smallish jobs was $20 per board (assuming 4x12') to hang & finish. You supply the boards, they took care of everything else.

Since you already have it hung, I'd shoot for around $15 per board to finish.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Well, I asked around at work and I got a few names of people who tape/mud on the side. I have them coming to look at the garage to give me a quote, hopefully this weekend. Well see how it goes, hopefully they come back with a reasonable rate.