Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Roboto's Garage

[Mr. Roboto]

Maybe a couple of flower boxes? I'm sure the misses would like that touch. I like the accent lights.

That was one idea we had as well, but it would prevent the doors from being able to swing open all the way flat against the wall. Not a huge deal, but it is nice to be able to swing them wide open.

 

[Unruh]

Great work on that shed. We have a small and ugly shed we want to tear down and replace. Yours is functional and easy on the eyes. One thought is that you could add a cupola and maybe a small weather vane on top to really change the look for not much of an investment.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Great work on that shed. We have a small and ugly shed we want to tear down and replace. Yours is functional and easy on the eyes. One thought is that you could add a cupola and maybe a small weather vane on top to really change the look for not much of an investment.

Thanks! And that is a great idea. I've actually had that idea in the back of my head for the top of my garage for a while too. One with a window that would light up at night. Maybe someday.

Spent some time washing my cars yesterday. I really used to be over the top with detailing back in the day, and kind of miss it. Once I finish up these last few lingering house projects, I'd like to get back into it, but really want to improve my setup. I have a Sun Joe electric power washer that I use pretty much just for car washing/foam cannon, but it's incredibly annoying. The hose that goes to the wand isn't long enough to reach around the entire car, so I have to move the power washer multiple times. It has the wand hose, garden house, and electrical cord attached to it, so I end up with a tangled mess rather quickly.

If I could get to the point where I could set up my power washer in one spot and hook it up to a fixed mounted reel that would be able to reach the entire car in the driveway, I think I would wash my cars much more due to the ease of everything. I need to spend some time on obsessed garage and really figure out how far down the rabbit hole I want to jump on this one, because it can get out of hand quick.

Anyways, the photos aren't great, but it felt good to get all the pollen off of the cars at the very least:

 

[captain14]

The almost final shed looks good. Don’t do anything to block the doors from swinging open fully. I like the cupola suggestion for the shed and garage too.

 

[moab11]

wow, what foam cannon/soap are you using? I've got a cheap one right now and want to upgrade, but most seem to be geared towards gas pressure washers.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

The almost final shed looks good. Don’t do anything to block the doors from swinging open fully. I like the cupola suggestion for the shed and garage too.

Thank you! I re edged the beds, removed the old stone and placed the pea stone since my last update. Funny you should mention that. I told my wife to get whatever she wanted as long as they didn’t block the doors. Here’s what she came back with. They look like tiny weeds to me..... but she assured me they will grow outwards and flower. We’ll see lol...

wow, what foam cannon/soap are you using? I've got a cheap one right now and want to upgrade, but most seem to be geared towards gas pressure washers.

Foam cannon is a MTM Hydro PF22. I usually use it with Adams car shampoo, but I ran out. I had some cheap Meguiars gold laying around so I tried it this time, and it actually worked extremely well!

 

[captain14]

Just make sure the bushes allow the building to stay dry. If the wood stays wet it will start to deteriorate. Ask me how I know.

 

[amkluttz]

If I could get to the point where I could set up my power washer in one spot and hook it up to a fixed mounted reel that would be able to reach the entire car in the driveway, I think I would wash my cars much more due to the ease of everything. I need to spend some time on obsessed garage and really figure out how far down the rabbit hole I want to jump on this one, because it can get out of hand quick.

I too dread having to pull out my little electric Karcher and having to put everything away. I agree that a solid mount with a hose reel would at least make the process quicker. One of the best things I did was buy several pressure washer quick connects and a 50' hose. No more dragging the pressure washer around the car. If I place the pressure washer correctly I can wash 2-3 cars with 50' of hose.

Obsessed Garage is great but the man has money to throw at things I could only dream about. I spent <$30 on my hose and General Pump has a 100' capacity hose reel for $80 on Amazon I have been eyeing. The point is you don't have to spend a ton of money on named branded products to get a decent quality wash. If you haven't yet check out Apex Detail and Dallas Paint Correction on YouTube.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INY1V4Y/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Mr. Roboto]

So I made THIS post a while back asking about 2 options for finishing off the area behind the addition. Everyone said to go the deck route, and I agree, but I just don't have it in me right now to build another deck. Since I would have spread stone down anyways before building the deck, I am going the route of the crushed stone with a simple step/platform in front of the rear door and the bulkhead. I may build the deck in the future. This is the plan for now:

I am also spreading gravel under the entire deck. I began to prep the area:

My question to you all.... any bright ideas for how to spread the gravel under the deck easily to save my back? I have a few ideas of my own, but would love to hear any suggestions first from you all! I actually have been dreading this for so long now that I got 2 quotes to have someone else do the work. They were both over 2K, which I cannot bring myself to spend.

 

[Bob Heine]

My question to you all.... any bright ideas for how to spread the gravel under the deck easily to save my back? I have a few ideas of my own, but would love to hear any suggestions first from you all! I actually have been dreading this for so long now that I got 2 quotes to have someone else do the work. They were both over 2K, which I cannot bring myself to spend.

I have never done this and I don't even know if it's possible in New Hampshire. Can you go to Home Depot or somewhere else to get a day laborer to help. I bet an unemployed worker would happily spread gravel for a tenth or less than 2K. Eight hours of hard labor for $25 an hour is $200.


(Unless you have to pay for health insurance, unemployment, social security, workers compensation and withhold taxes.)

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I have never done this and I don't even know if it's possible in New Hampshire. Can you go to Home Depot or somewhere else to get a day laborer to help. I bet an unemployed worker would happily spread gravel for a tenth or less than 2K. Eight hours of hard labor for $25 an hour is $200.


(Unless you have to pay for health insurance, unemployment, social security, workers compensation and withhold taxes.)

This is not a bad idea at all. In our area, we don’t really have laborers hanging around at Home Depot looking forward work though. I mentioned this to my wife and she did say that there are either high school or college kids looking for work in the local town Facebook group on a fairly regular basis to do odd jobs like this. I think I’ll give it a shot my self and if it’s too much to handle, I may reach out there to see if anyone would be interested. Thanks Bob!

 

[pat9198]

That should probably work pretty well. I just hired a couple local high school kids to move a bunch of bricks leftover from the previous owner when they built my house. This was like 15 cubes of 500 bricks each, it would have taken me and my wife all summer to move. The bands were all broken and the cubes colapsed so a rental forklift would have been useless. They did it in a weekend and it only cost me a couple hundred dollars. My wife found them on Facebook.

And I agree with your decision on the steps instead of a deck. Sometimes just getting it done is worth it, then you could always upgrade later.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

And I agree with your decision on the steps instead of a deck. Sometimes just getting it done is worth it, then you could always upgrade later.

That's exactly where my head is at. Even if I tear out what I build for now in favor of a deck, I wont be out very much time or energy!

 

[Pressingonward]

Yup, I was going to say that it looks like a perfect job for a high school kid

 

[Mr. Roboto]

So I ended up doing this all myself. It sucked, but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the exercise wasn't the worst thing for me.

Area edged, sod removed, and weed barrier applied:

Stone is down! Some areas of the stone look a different shade than others due to it being placed at different times. The rocks are covered in stone dust until they get wet/rained on which cleans them up. They will all match after that:

This took about 7 yards of stone. I have 3 yards left that I am going to put along my fence, and along the other side of my house.

 

[Purist]

So I ended up doing this all myself. It sucked, but wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and the exercise wasn't the worst thing for me.

Area edged, sod removed, and weed barrier applied:

Stone is down! Some areas of the stone look a different shade than others due to it being placed at different times. The rocks are covered in stone dust until they get wet/rained on which cleans them up. They will all match after that:

This took about 7 yards of stone. I have 3 yards left that I am going to put along my fence, and along the other side of my house.

As usual, excellent work. It all looks great. [emoji41]


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[Arclitgold]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Wow you moved 7 yards of stone???? That’s a bit


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[Mr. Roboto]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

As usual, excellent work. It all looks great. [emoji41]


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Thanks Brother!

Wow you moved 7 yards of stone???? That’s a bit


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Yup, 7 down, 3 to go! Did it all with a shovel and wheelbarrow on my own. It was humbling haha.

 

[Kevkx125]

The house looks great. Great job on doing all yourself, give yourself a pat on the back you deserve it!!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Some updates! I took this past week off to check a bunch of lingering items off my to do list. It’s always a bummer to use vacation time to do work, but it is what it is.

First up, I seal coated my driveway. It was looking a little tired.

The I finished graveling my last area, the entire span along my fence. Did this to keep the fence cleaner from dirt splashing up on it, and so that I do not need to trim the grass up against the fence. Now I can just mow right up to the gravel.

Also did the area next to my house

I’m also very into working out and exercising. With Covid and gyms closing, I made the decision to invest in a home gym. Only spot for it was in my basement. The market on gym equipment has been brutal due to the increased demand of many others wanting to do the same thing. I’ve been piecing equipment together since March. I now have a power rack, elliptical, treadmill, dumbbell, barbells and weights. Def enough to get a decent workout in. Next, I wanted to focus on getting my basement area where it all lives a little more enjoyable. So, I built this wall. I have a cable tower coming that will mount to the open area of the wall to the left of the power rack, and I will be mounting a few plate mirrors to the rest of the wall. The one you see now is my temporary solution I’ve been using the last few months.

It’s coming together, and the convenience of home workouts has been nice. Only other thing I might do is mount some cheap paneling yo the ceiling and add some more lighting.

And finally.... I built the rear steps out of the back of the addition. Did the lazy man method and just basically built 2 boxes stacked on top of each other, set directly on the gavel. They’re not attached to the house. There is a PT/building material shortage right now (at least in my area) so it’s made sourcing through material a bit of a challenge, but they match my deck.

I did take one day off from working to do some downhill mountain biking, so the week wasn’t a a total loss!!

 

[M-technik-3]

Nice updates, maybe you and misses can do yoga together in evenings while kiddos are sleeping.

 

[Purist]

Some updates! I took this past week off to check a bunch of lingering items off my to do list. It’s always a bummer to use vacation time to do work, but it is what it is.

First up, I seal coated my driveway. It was looking a little tired.



The I finished graveling my last area, the entire span along my fence. Did this to keep the fence cleaner from dirt splashing up on it, and so that I do not need to trim the grass up against the fence. Now I can just mow right up to the gravel.


Also did the area next to my house



I’m also very into working out and exercising. With Covid and gyms closing, I made the decision to invest in a home gym. Only spot for it was in my basement. The market on gym equipment has been brutal due to the increased demand of many others wanting to do the same thing. I’ve been piecing equipment together since March. I now have a power rack, elliptical, treadmill, dumbbell, barbells and weights. Def enough to get a decent workout in. Next, I wanted to focus on getting my basement area where it all lives a little more enjoyable. So, I built this wall. I have a cable tower coming that will mount to the open area of the wall to the left of the power rack, and I will be mounting a few plate mirrors to the rest of the wall. The one you see now is my temporary solution I’ve been using the last few months.


It’s coming together, and the convenience of home workouts has been nice. Only other thing I might do is mount some cheap paneling yo the ceiling and add some more lighting.

And finally.... I built the rear steps out of the back of the addition. Did the lazy man method and just basically built 2 boxes stacked on top of each other, set directly on the gavel. They’re not attached to the house. There is a PT/building material shortage right now (at least in my area) so it’s made sourcing through material a bit of a challenge, but they match my deck.



I did take one day off from working to do some downhill mountain biking, so the week wasn’t a a total loss!!

Driveway looks great! And I like the idea of the gravel along the fence/house. I plan on eventually moving some of the fencing in our backyard once we eventually add a pool and possibly an addition to the garage, so it's not something I would do now because the fence locations aren't going to be permanent. We were somewhat house broke when moving into our current house so I had to skimp on the length of fence. Now that we're in a better financial position, I envision moving the fences out and making the backyard bigger in a few years.

Good call on the home workouts. Awesome that you're staying motivated and getting work in!

And as usual, great work on the back steps. Always nice to read/see your progress updates. Take care and hope you and the family are staying safe!

 

[amkluttz]

When you asked about the back steps I was one of the people that optioned for you building the whole back portion as a deck. What you accomplished with the small set of steps was simple, stylish and useful. While I still think the full deck option in the back would've been cool what you have is very functional. Good job!

 

[captain14]

The back steps look great. Simple and functional.

What kind of weed barrier do you use under the gravel at the fence line and house?

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Nice updates, maybe you and misses can do yoga together in evenings while kiddos are sleeping.

This was actually an ulterior motive to the home gym. I'm hoping my wife will wander down from time to time to get some exercise in as well. She is very anti-gym!

Driveway looks great! And I like the idea of the gravel along the fence/house. I plan on eventually moving some of the fencing in our backyard once we eventually add a pool and possibly an addition to the garage, so it's not something I would do now because the fence locations aren't going to be permanent. We were somewhat house broke when moving into our current house so I had to skimp on the length of fence. Now that we're in a better financial position, I envision moving the fences out and making the backyard bigger in a few years.

Good call on the home workouts. Awesome that you're staying motivated and getting work in!

And as usual, great work on the back steps. Always nice to read/see your progress updates. Take care and hope you and the family are staying safe!

Nice, that sounds like a good idea. Getting some extra space by moving the fences out will be a welcome addition. It will add more lawn to mow for you though! You will offset it by building a garage addition and pool though to cover up some existing lawn so it all works out hahaha. How much land do you have there?

Family is well here, hope the same goes for you! I need to pop over to your thread and check out your updates. Haven't had the time to hop on GJ too much lately

When you asked about the back steps I was one of the people that optioned for you building the whole back portion as a deck. What you accomplished with the small set of steps was simple, stylish and useful. While I still think the full deck option in the back would've been cool what you have is very functional. Good job!

Thank you! I agree, I still think the back deck was the better option as well, but I went with the quick and dirty solution for now haha. The deck may still happen someday though.

The back steps look great. Simple and functional.

What kind of weed barrier do you use under the gravel at the fence line and house?

Thank you! I use a commercial landscaping felt/fabric. I've never had any luck with the thin black stuff you can get at most of the big box stores. It looks like this:

 

[Arclitgold]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Wow nice job. Seems like your quarantine has been super productive!


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[Mr. Roboto]

Well, this project kind of came about suddenly.... My wife has been asking me to redo the downstairs 1/2 bath + laundry room forever. It's been taking a backburner to other stuff because it's been functional, but she finally convinced me to get it going. So, we ordered everything a few weeks ago. It's all in now, so I guess I have to get to work

As usual, I wasn't great about taking photos. Here is the only before pic I have.

I hastily picked the color out 8 years ago when I was moving in and was painting every room in the house, before I really had developed any sense of what my style was. Now, it's just way too bold for me. Also the pedestal sink the previous owners put in stinks because it has no storage or counter space. The medicine cabinet is falling apart, the toilet has it's own flushing issues, and the floor is outdated. So yeah, it's all going. Demo revealed several issues.

First, they glued the base of the sink to the floor. And when I say glued, I mean REALLY glued it. Here is the aftermath:

This resulted in chipping away at what was left of the base stuck to the floor with a sledge and chisel. But, it's all out now.

The CoreTec LVP we picked can go right over the existing tile. There was a huge marble threshold in between the bathroom and laundry room for no reason, so I ripped it up, which was also a challenge. I'll need to fill this gap now before laying the new floor. Ideally I'd rip a board to the exact thickness, but I do not own a thickness planer. I will either get creative installing something that's close and then planning it down, or I'm also considering laying a thin sheet of melamine to take up the majority of the gap and then pouring self leveler over it. we'll see...

Next up, out came the toilet. Surprise surprise, the toilet flange is rotten. It's also way too low, which will be further exacerbated by the fact I'll be adding more floor thickness when laying the new floor. So, some combination of all of this should work to fix the issue when I get around to that.

Next up, remove the washer and drier. Sounds easy enough, until you realize that the shut off for the hot water does not work. After some cursing and a big puddle, I got to work replacing it. I had to rig the repair a little bit by cutting out the top of the box, but I got the job done. 2 new ball valves installed (I am no plumber by any means)

Finally, I primed the walls and did 2 coats of all the edging. I still need to roll all of the walls, but here is the color that we picked:

So, not bad progress for a few days this weekend, but still a ways to go. I've been very un-motivated for projects lately, but posting here keeps me motivated sometimes, so I will continue to update. Thanks as always for following along.

 

[Arclitgold]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Nice work! Keep it going!


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[pat9198]

I'm sure it will look great when you're finished, keep it up.

I've found that getting started is always the toughest part, after that I get into it a little bit more.. especially after I know what I'm dealing with.

 

[nicholam77]

The bathroom laundry reno should be a nice little refresh, and the new wall color looks good. Excited to see it come together. You're plumbing experience sounds like most of my plumbing experiences.

The exterior of your house has come so far since the beginning! The back steps to the addition came out nice and tidy. Like others said you can always add a deck later, but for now they are functional and look nice!

The forum overall has seemed slow to me lately (at least the gallery threads I follow). Maybe everyone is getting burnt out from the pandemic and summer winding down. I've had similar feelings. But keep posting when you can, I think seeing each others' collective projects can give us all motivation to keep digging away.

Conversely, it's good to take a break sometimes, too.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Nice work! Keep it going!


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Thank you!

I'm sure it will look great when you're finished, keep it up.

I've found that getting started is always the toughest part, after that I get into it a little bit more.. especially after I know what I'm dealing with.

This is true. Staring at a garage with a toilet, vanity, countertop, boxes of flooring etc was a good motivator to get rolling.

The bathroom laundry reno should be a nice little refresh, and the new wall color looks good. Excited to see it come together. You're plumbing experience sounds like most of my plumbing experiences.

The exterior of your house has come so far since the beginning! The back steps to the addition came out nice and tidy. Like others said you can always add a deck later, but for now they are functional and look nice!

The forum overall has seemed slow to me lately (at least the gallery threads I follow). Maybe everyone is getting burnt out from the pandemic and summer winding down. I've had similar feelings. But keep posting when you can, I think seeing each others' collective projects can give us all motivation to keep digging away.

Conversely, it's good to take a break sometimes, too.

Thanks for all the kind words! I'm really happy with how things have progressed over the years, but I could never do it again. If we ever move the next house needs to either be brand new, or be completely set up the way we want it. Which means we're probably stuck here forever haha.

Small little update. I did manage to bang out the rest of the paint last night. Kind of hard to take photos in such a small room, but you get the idea.

 

[moab11]

Looking good!

The marble curb was most likely there in case the washer leaked, the water would be contained in that area, and not flood out into the bathroom/basement. Is there a floor drain where the washer and dryer were?

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Looking good!

The marble curb was most likely there in case the washer leaked, the water would be contained in that area, and not flood out into the bathroom/basement. Is there a floor drain where the washer and dryer were?

Hmm, that’s a good point. No, there is no other drain in that room. Maybe I’ll get one of those plastic pans to put under the washer just in case.

I’ve been chipping away a little this week. First up, I filled up the gap where the old threshold used to be. I first filled it with some 3/8” thick wood, and then filled the rest of the gap with leveling compound to get it back up to the floor height. This was my first time working with this stuff. It’s definitely more difficult to work with than i thought it would be. It doesn’t look pretty, but it got the job done.

Got the floor laid:

And got the new flange mostly sorted. Just need to screw it down.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Things are moving along pretty well!

I got the vanity in, counter and backslash installed, faucet in place, and the new toilet in. Sorry for the poor lighting, but all I have is a dim work light on in there at the moment. If I turn it up, it's way too bright and the pic just gets washed out.

I also installed a "neatheat" baseboard heater cover. The old metal one was a little rusty and tired looking. This one is PVC, wont scratch or dent, and is a little more modern looking. I need to trim the end caps to get them in place still, but I like it if anyone is considering one.

 

[nicholam77]

Wow, looks so much better! Nice job fixing the flooring gap.

 

[zmotorsports]

That turned out awesome.

Great job.

 

[pat9198]

Wow, looking really nice!

 

[captain14]

Very nice work on the bath and laundry room updates.

Most important thing is the wife happy with the upgrades?

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Thanks everyone! Yes, the wife is happy. She picked it all out so she better be haha. Last bathroom update: I got the mirror and light fixture up yesterday, cut and reinstalled the basebord, hooked up the supply lines for the faucet, and got the p trap in place for the drain. It’s 99% done now, just a few odds and ends to bang out and it’s done!

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Re: Mr. Roboto's Garage Makeover

Looks nice I wish I had a garage at home I just have a basement so the only garage I have is at work


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