Salt Life Hideout

[Wingnut65]

mdbeck1: Yes, the handle of both jacks are removed. The orange HF jack has a 1/4" bolt to lock in the handle and still allow it to twist. I only hand tighten it so I can remove it and stand it up near the garage door track. Then they can both fit under the cabinet. As for the bungee cords, I've had some securing stuff and through time and the heat of the garage, they loose their bungeeness. If the chairs are not tightly held in place, the door will not close or will be stiff to open. Not sure they would work for this case.

A1an: Thanks, neighbor. Hope you've gotten settled in your new place.

Bob: Some more nice pix. I agree that doors help hide all the clutter. I don't hoard, but I do have cool collections of 'valuable property' that I keep gathering! I like your cabinet set-up. My problem is if I would have that many, I'd fill them too. Having the full cabinets at the front would be nice to have. BTW, Nice rides you have. Love the engine on the C3. The C3 is my favorite and is on my bucket list.

couchmechanic: Funny you should mention a tankless water heater. Its in the works. Behind the water heater is the Laundry Room. Earlier this year we had an opportunity to get a second fairly new washer and dryer for a song. My wife always wanted two stacing W&D's. So, when I ripped off the Laundry Room drywall for adding the plumbing, electric and vent, I had a hot, cold and drain lines pushed through the wall and capped behind the water heater. So, whenever the water heater tank decides to give up its life, we will go with a tankless and I get a utility sink. Problem is with these newer tanks, it'll probably last another 15 years.

 

[Red Leader]

Gettin' thangs done! I like it!

Great job on the cabinet build. Whats next?

 

[Wingnut65]

Gettin' thangs done! I like it!

Great job on the cabinet build. Whats next?

Thanks, RL. Next up is a spray paint cabinet to fill a normally useless space...

 

[1991Syclone]

It looks like you have a high enough ceiling that these might help get some of the clutter off the floor:

http://www.hyloft.com/products-by-category/ceiling-storage.html

I've got two in packages waiting for the right garage to install them in. Put all the holiday decorations into a bunch of Rubbermaid storage bins and get them out of the way.

 

[A1an]

This is the one I have. Its just about perfect.

Now I keep the mower, trimmer, gas, fertilizers, and insecticides in it. Its very versatile.

This is exactly what I have been looking for to get my mower out of the the garage.

A1an: Thanks, neighbor. Hope you've gotten settled in your new place.

Still working on it...I am sure that will always be the case but I'm hoping I'll get more time to get out there and get stuff done soon.

 

[mpire]

This is exactly what I have been looking for to get my mower out of the the garage.

Yeah, its just about perfect.

The mower handles have nylon lock nuts to hold the handles on, I drilled out the nyloc part and now its a snap to put in and out.

I still keep the rakes and shovels in a cabinet in the garage, but I clean them after use and give them a coat of WD40.

The garage doesn't smell like gas or fertilizer anymore.

 

[shopnut]

New avatar, upgraded garage - you got it going on Wingnut65! Both look great.

 

[Wingnut65]

1991Syclone: Great idea, but I've got a lot already happening on the ceiling to go and take up that much space. I will be having some projects where I need the head room. Besides, I've got a tall attic still to fill.

A1an: Those are great cabinets. I will consider them before I go much further. And for your shop, give it time... When I think I have my plans all set, someone posts another cool idea that I want to include. I've found that I don't find time for anything, I must make it. Set an hour a week, half an hour a night, just make some time for positive garage progress. At the end of the week, you could be 2-3 hours further along than if you wait for the time to come to you. Good Luck with it.

mpire: You are disciplined! Usually I am thrilled if I can get all the tools in the garage before the rain. I really should treat them with WD40. I DID sharpen all my shovels last year! Does that count?

shopnut: Thanks for noticing. Sort of an 'Inspiration' shot... I took the photo a while ago and tried to make it into an avatar when I started this thread, but the programs I have won't save it compressed enough. I had to use an online avatar maker. Works great. Now I want to work on the bus, too.

 

[iatros]

Ah, I didn't think about the weight issue with the shutters!

One recommendation, when I built my spray can rack, I wish I would have enclosed it! It's great to get all that stuff out of the way, but out of sight would have been even better.

Thanks for the RD invite, I've seen some garages already with it, and I'm pretty much sold. Just waiting to have my Release of Funds approved by the Happiness Czar

Whats the latest update on SaltLife?? I need some more motivation lol

 

[Wingnut65]

Gettin' thangs done! I like it!
Great job on the cabinet build. Whats next?

Whats the latest update on SaltLife?? I need some more motivation lol

Thanks for asking... Next up…

Spray Paint Cabinet Build…

In this build, I created a cabinet that fills what normally would be wasted space. Maybe others can use this concept to gain more storage for stuff. Not just any stuff, but Garage Stuff!

Most time consuming part was the design and planning. Spacing of the shelves was based on spray paint cans. I measured all that I had and planned the shelf spacing accordingly. On my ‘Before’ cabinet, I had only one shelf for those ‘Bonus Size’ spray cans. Now I can fit them in.

This is what I started with. Majority of the contents is spray paint, but if its tall or short, liquid or powder or dried solid in the can, it’s probably in here – paints, glues, stains, lubricants, polishes, etc. This cabinet was born out of necessity when I moved in and needed a place to store stuff. I made it from some 1x6’s I found in trash piles as other houses in my neighborhood were being built. A 1x6 will allow stacking of two spray cans deep. The door is a 24x36” single piece of plywood to act as a bulletin board if needed.

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Here is the ‘Before’ shot. Besides the clutter, I just don’t like looking in the garage and seeing the water heater and the A/C unit.

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Here is my plan to fix this area. I want to put doors across the water heater and the A/C unit to conceal it. (There will be a vented panel above the gas water heater.) But, someone here gave me the idea of putting shelves on the inside of those doors for added storage. Great! More free storage that doesn’t take up floor or wall space! But, the middle section is the A/C return air duct where THIS project takes place. (In the photo, the dashed lines are doors, pointing toward the hinges)

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At the bottom, there is about 5-1/2” from the face of the plenum box below and the duct.

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The top of the duct offsets to miss a truss. So, the sketch shows that I can only extend up to this angle. BTW, this is actually insulation wrapped around a sheet metal duct. It has no structural integrity and it’s easy to perforate.

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Here are my supplies for framing this cabinet and the other two doors that I am planning. (Also, this was RaceDeck layout concept 1)

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The left side will be the just the side of the cabinet and a 1x6 is fine. The right side will also be the hinge point for the A/C door. I used a 2x6 for that vertical to carry the load of storage shelves on the inside of the door. I added bracing in the attic between trusses and added plenty of #10 screws into it. This 2x will be carrying a load and needs to be secure.

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Since the duct is not perfectly plumb, in order to get the top shelf to fit and the cabinet to be plumb, I had to pull the bottom out a little.

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Nest step, the shelves…

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Once I measured and marked the shelf spacing on one side, I held a shelf in place with spring clamps while I leveled them. I then secured with 3 screws per side.

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The shelves are done and ready for the back of the cabinet.

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Due to my spacing I needed, the top shelf actually went above the angle on the ductwork. So, I had to plane down the top corner to make it.

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The doors are 5/8” plywood. I painted everything from a spare can I had. The wall colors will be painted on the face when the other two doors are finished. This also shows how critical my planning had to be. Since I will have the hinge side of a door on the right, I need these doors to open and not swing outward into the other door. So…

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…On each door, I used 3 surface mounted hinges for frameless cabinets. First time I’ve tried these and they were not that bad. The hardest part was the doors had the Florida humidity warp started and they were not straight when standing open. I guess through time they have accepted their place in this world and have conformed to my wishes.

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Here is the finished product! I wish it could have been bigger, but that’s all the space I had available. And remember… Space Creates Vacuum!

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HINGE LOCATION NOTE: I must also note that I wish I had loaded the cabinet before mounting the hinges. All I did was to mark the center and then measured in from the top and bottom and mounted them. With these hinges, they need someplace to go when they close. Now, I can’t have tall cans where the hinges are or they will be pushed in when the door closes and jump out of the cabinet when opened. I learned that one quickly! If I would do this again, the hinges would be mounted immediately below the middle and lower shelf and possibly above the top shelf. But if you plan this in your shop, maybe you could use more traditional hinges that would not cause a problem.

Thanks for all the great comments and ideas the GJ members have been offering. These are helpful to me and others.

Now you have been motivated… Go Forth And Build!

 

[A1an]

I am stealing your air handler idea. I have the exact same setup in my garage and I've been scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with it.

Good point about allocating a little time each evening to the garage. Luckily for me I work from home so I can get out in the garage during my lunch hour when I'm not doing other things on my break.

 

[A1an]

Also...where are you getting your lumber for this project? Looks too straight to be from HD or Lowes.

 

[1991Syclone]

Also...where are you getting your lumber for this project? Looks too straight to be from HD or Lowes.

You can get straight lumber from these places. They call it "premium" wall studs.

 

[flybefree]

Wingnut...we have to end this warping madness...can you frame the doors with a little 1 x 2...maybe use some pocket screws to hold it all together and paint the frame with a contrasting color? Would something like that stop the warping you think?

Shaun

 

[wolflrv]

Wingnut...we have to end this warping madness...can you frame the doors with a little 1 x 2...maybe use some pocket screws to hold it all together and paint the frame with a contrasting color? Would something like that stop the warping you think?

Shaun

I was thinking about this warping thing too. It might be cool to frame out "Salt Life Hideout" in trim board and paint it as a "theme" anchor point for the garage. The lettering should give it enough stability to not warp....just an idea..

 

[Wingnut65]

A1an: If I give you permission, then it wouldn't be stealing, so I won't and you'll have to steal. It took a lot of thinking about every wall in my garage and how to get the most out of the space. It works for me, hope it does for you, too. I think this lumber was from HD. Took a while sorting through the rack to find a couple that I would accept. If I wasn't so cheap, I'd buy the better quality wood.

1991Syclone: Exactly. Took me a while, but I found enough for the project.

flybefree: I think I am to blame for some of it. For a while, the only acreage I had to store plywood was leaning against the wall. That probably added the sag in the middle. These doors I really wanted a smooth finish. But a frame on the inside might still work. I will have this solved on the next two doors - they will be reinforced big time!

I was thinking about this warping thing too. It might be cool to frame out "Salt Life Hideout" in trim board and paint it as a "theme" anchor point for the garage. The lettering should give it enough stability to not warp....just an idea..

wolflrv: Not a bad idea! I hadn't thought about making a 3-D Logo. I did think about painting it on the side wall. I had been planning on having the front of the garage clean with flush smooth doors. I would continue the 2-tone paint and accent stripe across all the doors and cabinets to make them disappear. But, I like your idea. This cabinet and the right door will be flush and in the same plane. Putting the SLH logo there would strengthen all the doors. Thanks for mentioning it. I might owe you one!

 

[Ole_Red]

subscribed! nice work!

 

[Bob Heine]

Jeff, I've been fighting the Florida warping problems for more than 35 years. In my first Florida house I tried Masonite for the sliding doors and it was horrible. Not sure if it was the tempered kind or not but they were far more warped than your plywood panels. Mine were obviously too big (47"x48") but they actually bowed out - and in - to form an 'S'. I even put them in the driveway with 2"x10" planks and concrete block to try to flatten them. That's why my current garage has the laminate-covered doors. My next cabinet (for the garage electronics) will be MDF.

Those European hinges have grown on me over the years but I hated having the cabinet doors start snapping - followed by flopping - when the hinges wore out. Between the kitchen, bathrooms and garage there are about 120 hinges and every year one or two go bad. I hate to buy a whole new hinge when only the moving part is bad. I found Specialty Supplies in Pompano Beach, FL that sells the individual pieces. Every five or six years, I go there and buy a dozen pieces. The first set ran about $0.80 each but last time they were close to $1.50 each. Still better than paying more than $5.

The store now has a web site:
http://www.specialtysupplies.com/

 

[walker450]

Great work! Thanks for describing in detail what you are doing. This will help myself and countless other newbies when we start building cabinets, etc.

 

[Wingnut65]

Ole Red: Welcome to the Salt Life Hideout! Glad you stopped by. Feel free to jump in any time. I can still make room for your Stude in there... Nice wagon!

Bob: We've had a lot of humidity this week, and I mean it was think - 4" yesterday and 3" today. For the doors, a while ago, I discussed with 28HopUp about the hardboard doors he put on his workbench and he had great success. Since my 1/4" didn't last, I figured I would give masonite a try. My biggest door is 21-1/2". Now that you bring it up, I may just store mine in the attic until I'm content or need to change back. For the hardware, I haven't had any problems with the ones in my house. Thanks for the info on Specialty Supplies - http://www.specialtysupplies.com/ I've got to save their address. I guess I wasn't aware I could buy just the pieces. I DID learn something new today!

walker450: Thanks for the comments. I've been helped many times by other member's builds and the steps they went through. I want to offer the same step-by-step documentary for you and others as well. I've heard that some members with build threads a couple years old are amazed to go back and read from page 1. Its hard even for me to remember what my garage started like before I built the cabinets. Hang around long enough and I'll keep posting.

 

[mikeytint]

Great job of squeezing out some extra storage while cleaning up an unsightly area. From the picture it looks like you could put another similar cabinet on the left side of the duct between the paint cabinet and the hot water heater

 

[sscustom]

sweet work here ,cant wait for more to come

 

[shopnut]

Looking good WN65 Can you just reposition those hinges to solve your spray can clearance issue? With three on each door, you should be able to move one at a time without even taking the door off.

Also...
I know you have a master plan in your head for using all the space, but let me offer a quick suggestion for a small spot you may not have planned out yet. How about installing some short sections of 4" PVC pipe up there extending back to the wall in the nook above the new spray can cabinet for storing longer supplies like all-thread and such? You could also build a cubby out of wood, but pipe is pretty quick. This shows what I'm thinking of:

 

[Wingnut65]

Wow, a couple of great ideas for the same part of my Hideout...

mikeytint: Squeezing is what it's about. Before this morning, I was planning on putting up a plywood back board and move my hanging stuff from the left to the right. When I put up the new door there, it will reduce the space I have for hanging. But another cabinet may work. Now I have to reconsider other options. I may wait until after I put the door up to see how much shelving space that will provide.

sscustom: Thanks. It's a work in progress. I'm trying to update this build thread in my spare time between work, sleep, eat and family. I should have some more to post in a day or so.

shopnut: Between you and mikeytint, I have to reconsider this area. I have a 6" wide space I started to block off, but your suggestion makes too much sense. I've been wondering where my long verticals will eventually go and this is an option. I may even use square downspout to get the most of the space. (see how an idea can improve...?) I may still have room below for a cabinet or my hanging thingys. (try using that word flybefree!) For moving the hinges, i was thinking that if it works as is, I'd just leave it, but it doesn't completely. Someone posted on GJ a round-tuit. I guess I should get one and just do it.

 

[mdbeck1]

... Someone posted on GJ a round-tuit. I guess I should get one and just do it.

You asked and ye shall receive...

 

[shopnut]

I may even use square downspout to get the most of the space. (see how an idea can improve...?)

That's funny, we were just talking about the gutter components the other day too. Glad ONE of us thought of it! It's a much better use of that space.

 

[flybefree]

Thingys: Noun. Plural. some group, or entity, objects, or creatures that are not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described: "The stick has some brass thingys on it."

B-A-M!

 

[Wingnut65]

You asked and ye shall receive...

Thanks md, now I have no excuse on going out and moving those hinges this weekend. Either that, or I need to work on more excuses... Thanks for posting. I'm going to use it.

shopnut: Gutters and downspouts are very versatile products. And they are cheap enough.

flybefree: Thanks for educating us. "..cannot be specifically designated or precisely described." That sounds like my workbench!. And I also have a box of whatchamacallits and I still have my dad's thingamajigs.

(And spellcheck had no problem with those two words...)

 

[Wingnut65]

Progress continues with…

Garage Door Insulation…

Recently I completed putting Blue Iso Board insulation panels in my garage door. The insulation has helped well in the cold weather and has reduced radiant heating coming in through the doors.

I have a three car garage with one 16’ double-wide door and one 8’ single door. When I was shopping around and considering my options for products to use, I decided to use the 3/4” Dow/Styrofoam rigid insulation board (the blue stuff) that I got at Lowe's, mainly for the lightweight, ease of use and cost - Six panels at $12.00 each came out to be less than $80.

Here is the single wide door before it received insulation. The double wide is the same, only different!

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And, here it is after it was completed. I eventually painted the white exposed edges of the door to match the panels.

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The double wide door took a while to complete all the needed measurements and cuts, but it turned out like this; (I had only painted a few of the window frames by this time)

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The secret to the apparently seamless installation and achieving full panel coverage, is figuring out where to make a seam. So, I hid it… The cut is behind the horizontal door brace. See it is blue..

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I created a full thread on the build process – what I did, why I did it that way, what I learned, how I figured out how to measure inside the door panels. I don’t want to bore those that have already see it by re-posting everything, but all the steps to the process are posted here: DIY Garage Door Insulation

Then Red Leader came along with the creative idea to paint the door hardware black, to match colors he was using. I really had not thought about using black as an accent until I realized that 45% of my floor tiles are black. So, I painted anything metal on my garage door flat black, including the door and opener tracks. I also had to finish painting the metal edges of the door frame around the panels the same color as the panels. (A floor tile install post is in the works...)

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Thanks RL for the idea. I am happy with the results. But now I am finding other exposed metal that needs to be black, like the attic access ladder hardware…

I hope this DIY Door Insulation Install process can help others who want to try the same, or can give ideas of how to improve your garage or workshop

Good Luck out there. And, keep building!
------------------------------------------------

Next Up, The Salt Life Hideout gets lights! Lots of them…

 

[couchmechanic]

Man that looks fantastic! You guys are invited to come hang out in my garage if you ever plan a trip to Bakersfield.?
Wow the details make the difference. Did you use brush or spray for the highlights on the door?
Have you noticed a temp difference since adding the insulation?

 

[Red Leader]

Looking good! I'm slowing getting my garage door up to snuff, although I haven't looked at the insulation yet. Another project for another day...

In any case, you are making great progress. Keep up the great work! Are your girls interested at all in helping? Could be a fun father/child project!

-Dave

 

[Suprman]

cool build

 

[Wingnut65]

couchmechanic: Thanks, and thanks for the invite. If I make it back to Bakersfield, I'll give you a heads up. The details do improve the overall package. I wouldn't have thought about it if RL hadn't brought it up. Yes, I have noticed the difference in heat coming off the door - much less than without it! I used the 97₵ cans of flat black from Home Depot. Six cans down on the big door...

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I'll post a few painting process photos next.

Red Leader: Thanks, Dave. Your garage is really taking shape. Give it time, taking small steps, it will get done. The girls have helped beg time with putting down the tile floor. The have painted some on the storage projects. They haven't been interested in me starting them on the power tools yet. Maybe they will help on other projects. But they have been watching it all as I work...

Suprman: Welcome to the Hideout. Thanks for stopping by. I'm trying to post progress as time, work and family allow.

 

[flybefree]

Super work...I may "upscale" your technique to my bi-fold door. First rate job.

Shaun

 

[Wingnut65]

flybefree: Do yourself a favor and paint the pieces before the door is assembled. This was time consuming. If I had heard of this before, when I took the horizontal braces off to put in the insulation, I could have painted without any taping off anything. Now I know!

 

[flybefree]

Rats...door is already up...painted primer red.

 

[Wingnut65]

OK, so here is how I got the black paint on the door hardware and not on the panels...


Painting The Door Hardware…

This is what the hinges (and track) looked like before I attacked them with my rattle can...

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I have two pieces of corrugated cardboard that I slide in behind the horizontal door braces. Since they really weren't as long as I needed for a couple spots, I just taped newspaper to the bottom to hang lower. On the bottom, I cut a notch in a cereal box to slide over the exposed door between the cardboard pieces.

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I then taped around the top and bottom of the hinge. Here for the top, I used some tape that I have been using and was already in the correct profile. The tape on the bottom really could not be salvaged for me and I make it fresh every time.

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Then I sprayed it all flat black. I stopped well before the edge of the cardboard to prevent overspray (learned that the hard way). I sprayed the hinge and the top and bottom of the brace two coats.

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After a few minutes, I carefully remove the tape and the cardboard to see how it turned out.

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And I learned another lesson... that tape that I re-used because it was the correct profile... well the tackiness of the tape was also old and didn't exist. Looks like I have touch-up work to do...

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Now that should be enough and time to move on, but I guess I like to punish myself with the details... I didn't like the overall black look. This is not how it would look if I took the hinge off to paint it...

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I went back to the hinges with a fine paint brush I have for model building and I painted the holes the door color. And, Yes, I did paint the foam in the hole, black. I don't know why, I just did it. NOW I like it!

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Yes, it took time to paint each section, move the cardboard, paint again, etc... But the results speak for themselves!

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But I still need to finish the rest of the single wide door...

Thanks for stopping by. And, keep building!
------------------------------------------------

Next Up, The Salt Life Hideout gets lights! Lots of them…

 

[wolflrv]

Ok...I've figured out what's REALLY going on here!!

You build this great cabinet for spray can storage, but you find that once it's loaded, you still have a dozen odd cans of paint that won't fit in the new cabinet. So you decide to completely abandon all of your plans and goals in an impossible effort to utilize these evil cans of paint that are destroying your ability to become completely organized!!

FOCUS!!! FINISH THE WALL!! ENCLOSE THAT UGLY WATER HEATER AND AC UNIT!!

ROFL!! Just messin' with ya!! Garage doors look great!

 

[Bobcat719]

I don't know what to say! Between your garage build, Red Leader, and Jack Olsen, I am hooked on this Garage Journal thing! I have spent waaaay too much time reading through these threads and have learned so much. It has inspired me to start documenting my very meager but fun build and actually start posting it, so thank you!

 

[Red Leader]

Wingnut...

wow...

I didn't realize how much that hinge painting sucked for you!

I'm sorry, I know it's my fault

If it makes you feel any better, the hinge painting is sucking for me too

I guess all we can do it tell ourselves it will be worth it in the end.

Based on your picture, I'm a believer!