Springtime Contest from Epoxy-Coat
- Thread starter rugerlady
- Start date
ckadams00
Well-known member
My story starts about 2 years ago, and my wife and I found the perfect house with a two car garage to move into. I had been working out of the basement of our rental house, which was okay, but was cramped, dark, and smelly from years of the previous owners letting cats stay in the basement. Cat pee does a number on concrete, and you can never get the smell completely out. (If Epoxy Coat is cat pee resistant, you should really point that out as one of its benefits.) Anyway, we move in, and I’m excited about finally having a nice garage to fix up and work in.
Our new house came with a fenced in back yard, and even though most of it was falling down, I managed to patch and repair until it resembled a fence again. Then my wife had the brilliant thought that since we had a fenced in yard, we should get a dog to live in it. So off we go to the pound, and pick up Maggie. She’s a sweetheart, but had been abused and was terribly afraid of men. She became my wife’s “baby girl”, and I started to get jealous, so back to the pound we went, and got Vegas. He’s Daddy’s boy.
Of course, the whole “dog living in the backyard idea” was immediately ruled out, and they became inside dogs. Then on the way home from work one day, I found a pit bull mix puppy in the median of the interstate. Poor thing had been thrown out of the car and was covered in road rash. We took him to the ER vet, and brought Petey home to live with us.
As Petey grew up, we found out that he and our other two rescues didn’t get along very well. It wasn’t Petey; he’s very energetic and wants to play, play, and play. Our other two dogs are getting a few years on them, so they prefer the quiet life. We still don’t trust our fence, so all three live in the house, but can’t be left together while we are gone. So Petey gets to stay in the bedroom. And puppies, especially playful Pittie puppies, like to chew. He has destroyed our bedroom. He managed to chew out of his crate several times. He has chewed the window sill, my night stand has become toothpicks, our box springs are destroyed, and the carpet is ruined.
Thankfully, he has finally grown up some, and now just chews on his rawhide bones and the occasional 2" x 4".
Remember how I said I finally had a garage to fix up like I wanted? Well, I have been scrimping and saving for all this time so I could afford to fix the garage up. I have repaired all the holes in the walls and ceiling by myself (the previous owners must have been using them for kung fu practice). When I moved in, the kitchen cabinets had severe water damage and were replaced immediately along with part of the subfloor. (There went the First Time Homebuyers Tax credit). I saved the old cabinets and replaced the rotted particle wood bases. I found some paint on the “mis-tint” shelf at Lowes, and they actually don’t look that bad. I found some more cabinets in the dumpster at work and hung those up. With a lot of luck, dumpster diving and the Habitat Restore store, I’ve finally got my garage into a decent place I can call my own. The only thing I haven’t been able to find in a dumpster is Epoxy Coat! So, behind my wife’s back, I was saving up for it. A few dollars here and there and I almost had enough to buy it.
But then my wife was going through my drawers, (my desk, not my britches!), and found my secret envelope marked “Epoxy Coat Floor Money”. She wasn’t too happy. And she has laid down the law. She has told me, in no uncertain terms, that the money WILL be going to repair all the damages in the bedroom. She wants the windows fixed, a new mattress and box spring, and new laminate floors. This is going to be a lot more than what I’ve saved up, so even more scrimping for me. My dreams of having an Epoxy Coat garage floor have been destroyed. By a single rescue dog named Petey. So Christine, please find it in your heart to help a big hearted guy with a passion for rescue dogs have the garage floor of his dreams. Because my wife sure won’t let me! And if you want, I’ll even name our next rescue dog in your honor!
I think JaimeK should win!
Kevin C
Well-known member
Scope Creep:
When we bought our house six years ago it was obvious that the flat roof on the garage was bad. For about $1800 a new roof could be installed. Decent price that was bundled into getting a roof done on the house.
I thought about it.. And decided that the flat roof had to go. They only last a few years, and it rains a lot in Portland.
I planned to frame the garage for a pitched roof and put on shingles that match the house. Of course if I was going to frame for a roof, I might as well add a few feet of length to the shop. All I needed to do is pour some footings, extend the side walls four feet and build a new back wall. Easy!
In exchange for some cash the roofers left enough extra shingles for the garage.
Come summer time, my wife pointed out that the garage is still kind of narrow. I replied that as long as I was at it I could move one side out when I extend the back.
At that point the discussion became ( or it was pointed out to me), seems like we are putting a lot of work into an old building, why don't we just build a new one?
Then the downturn hit and I was out of work. Plenty of time but I was not ready to put out a lot of cash to build a new shop. It took me a year, but I landed a new job. Yes the old garage still has a leaky roof.
It was time to start the new garage!
Not so fast. The research program my wife worked on would be ending in 14 months. We would be back to one income and the economy was still horrible ( kind of like my new job). She was not comfortable with a big investment until she landed her next position. Since the school district only hires during the summer, I would not know until August of the following year.
By this point, the old garage had gotten pretty gross, Harbor Freight tarps only last so long, even doubled up. A friend that works for the forestry department commented on the species of mushrooms I had growing on the back wall.
So the discussion went back to shouldn't we just fix the old garage? Since I had $800 of CertainTeed 50 year Presidential Shingles set aside from the original roofing job on the house I again proposed to retrofit the old garage with a pitched roof. Why put a flat roof on when you have a pallet of really nice new shingles? Seemed logical since we had the materials... And since the back wall was now really rotted and I needed to reframe it, I might as well extend the back four feet. And of course the garage still seems kind of narrow.
You see where this is going?
Fast forward to last summer. My wife landed a new job and I got the go-ahead to build the a new garage from the ground up. I had the plans ready and started late last year. I'm not super fast but I like to think that I do a good job.
I also had never done anything like this before (i'm doing this on my own). by the time I had the roof decked, I was pretty tired of being on a 9/12 pitch roof. When she offered to pay for roofers to put the shingles on, I decided that I had had enough and was open to get some help.
I called up the roofing company I used before and they quoted me a great price to finish the job. That deal included them using the shingles I already had. For some reason they brought new shingles and completed the job for the same price. I talked to the owner of the roofing company and he said not to worry, his bad, no extra charge.
Six years later and I still have an $800 stack of shingles.
What to do with the shingles? I suppose I could build a dormer on the house and convert the upstairs half bath to a full. They are a perfect match to the existing shingles on the house and it seems a shame not to use them.
Now to see what this project will morph into... I have heard some mutterings about needing a walk in closet off of the master bedroom.
View media item 18373
Me having fun. It's just starting to rain and I'm trying to get the tarps down without slipping.
View media item 18167
Roof installed
View media item 18168
Waiting for doors.
View media item 18374
The original 18' x 19' garage. Note the delux Harbor Freight roof tarp.
When we bought our house six years ago it was obvious that the flat roof on the garage was bad. For about $1800 a new roof could be installed. Decent price that was bundled into getting a roof done on the house.
I thought about it.. And decided that the flat roof had to go. They only last a few years, and it rains a lot in Portland.
I planned to frame the garage for a pitched roof and put on shingles that match the house. Of course if I was going to frame for a roof, I might as well add a few feet of length to the shop. All I needed to do is pour some footings, extend the side walls four feet and build a new back wall. Easy!
In exchange for some cash the roofers left enough extra shingles for the garage.
Come summer time, my wife pointed out that the garage is still kind of narrow. I replied that as long as I was at it I could move one side out when I extend the back.
At that point the discussion became ( or it was pointed out to me), seems like we are putting a lot of work into an old building, why don't we just build a new one?
Then the downturn hit and I was out of work. Plenty of time but I was not ready to put out a lot of cash to build a new shop. It took me a year, but I landed a new job. Yes the old garage still has a leaky roof.
It was time to start the new garage!
Not so fast. The research program my wife worked on would be ending in 14 months. We would be back to one income and the economy was still horrible ( kind of like my new job). She was not comfortable with a big investment until she landed her next position. Since the school district only hires during the summer, I would not know until August of the following year.
By this point, the old garage had gotten pretty gross, Harbor Freight tarps only last so long, even doubled up. A friend that works for the forestry department commented on the species of mushrooms I had growing on the back wall.
So the discussion went back to shouldn't we just fix the old garage? Since I had $800 of CertainTeed 50 year Presidential Shingles set aside from the original roofing job on the house I again proposed to retrofit the old garage with a pitched roof. Why put a flat roof on when you have a pallet of really nice new shingles? Seemed logical since we had the materials... And since the back wall was now really rotted and I needed to reframe it, I might as well extend the back four feet. And of course the garage still seems kind of narrow.
You see where this is going?
Fast forward to last summer. My wife landed a new job and I got the go-ahead to build the a new garage from the ground up. I had the plans ready and started late last year. I'm not super fast but I like to think that I do a good job.
I also had never done anything like this before (i'm doing this on my own). by the time I had the roof decked, I was pretty tired of being on a 9/12 pitch roof. When she offered to pay for roofers to put the shingles on, I decided that I had had enough and was open to get some help.
I called up the roofing company I used before and they quoted me a great price to finish the job. That deal included them using the shingles I already had. For some reason they brought new shingles and completed the job for the same price. I talked to the owner of the roofing company and he said not to worry, his bad, no extra charge.
Six years later and I still have an $800 stack of shingles.
What to do with the shingles? I suppose I could build a dormer on the house and convert the upstairs half bath to a full. They are a perfect match to the existing shingles on the house and it seems a shame not to use them.
Now to see what this project will morph into... I have heard some mutterings about needing a walk in closet off of the master bedroom.
View media item 18373
Me having fun. It's just starting to rain and I'm trying to get the tarps down without slipping.
View media item 18167
Roof installed
View media item 18168
Waiting for doors.
View media item 18374
The original 18' x 19' garage. Note the delux Harbor Freight roof tarp.
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ckadams00
Well-known member
cruzn57
Banned
if I win, take your time anyhow, as no one should be in THAT big of a hurry.
patience is a side benefit of old age, ( for me at least it is!)
good luck to all of you!
patience is a side benefit of old age, ( for me at least it is!)
good luck to all of you!
Frkzila
New member
Ok I’ll start my story from when I was building my workshop/mancave/doghouse. It’s not as funny to read but if you had been there you might need new underwear. Let’s set this story up, I bought myself a framing nailer to make things go easier and built the back 20’ wall by myself. I asked my wife if she would secure this wall into place while I lifted it up, she said she would love to try the nailer because it looked “fun”. Well we got it in place and she enjoyed it so much she asked if she could put together the front wall and I said sure. This is where it gets interesting so I’ll give a little more details, my shop is a 16’x20’ stick built with a plywood floor. I laid everything out for her and she starting nailing, the smile on her face was priceless and I was enjoying sharing the project with her. We get done and I get ready to pick the wall up and it won’t move, “what” try again almost pulling my back out this time. “There is something wrong here”. That day I found out how much force it would take to pry a 20’ wall that had been toenailed to the floor all the way across the top! I was fussing and it didn’t help that she was laying on the ground laughing trying to apologize and giving the excuse that it was hard to keep it level while bending over.
Why do I deserve a free kit of Epoxy-Coat, Well I work full time 12hr shifts as a correctional officer at a prison, Full time father of two girls (6yo and 20month old), full time husband, Volunteer firefighter, and at 30yo I returned back to school and I’m a full time college student trying to earn a degree so I can better provide for my family. It would be nice to have a floor with no stains and easily maintained for my spousal refuge center (AKA Shop)
Oops, just re-read the first post and noticed I missed the deadline, well enjoy the story anyway!
Why do I deserve a free kit of Epoxy-Coat, Well I work full time 12hr shifts as a correctional officer at a prison, Full time father of two girls (6yo and 20month old), full time husband, Volunteer firefighter, and at 30yo I returned back to school and I’m a full time college student trying to earn a degree so I can better provide for my family. It would be nice to have a floor with no stains and easily maintained for my spousal refuge center (AKA Shop)
Oops, just re-read the first post and noticed I missed the deadline, well enjoy the story anyway!
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Cool! Regardless, thanks for your support in this community!
n2ocamaro
Well-known member
Do you have the winners yet?
ckadams00
Well-known member
It's Monday. My story may not be the best of the bunch but I should win because in the middle of a busy week I continue to be the most tenacious PITA. 
MSC
Member
OK, Sorry for the delay, I have been super swamped and out of the office a bit.
first place....patentpending
second place....cruzn57
third (tie)....padstack and ckadams00 (mainly, for being a tenacious PITA lol)
Congrats guys! Thanks for the stories!!
first place....patentpending
second place....cruzn57
third (tie)....padstack and ckadams00 (mainly, for being a tenacious PITA lol)
Congrats guys! Thanks for the stories!!
patent pending
Well-known member
Congrats to all the other winners, and well done ckadams00
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ckadams00
Well-known member
wow... thanks so much rugerlady! I will shamelessly plug your product like it is my job from now on!
Congrats to all the other winners, and well done ckadams00
Squeeked in third place at the line, just like so many other things in life
Thanks rugerlady, you rock (and I was serious about the busy week, it sounds like you guys have your hands full! Congrats on landing the big accounts!
)cruzn57
Banned
Ah Ha , patience DOES pay off,
My thanks to Epoxy Coat. and to Christine for the generous
gifts.
congratulations to the other lucky winners!
My thanks to Epoxy Coat. and to Christine for the generous
gifts.
congratulations to the other lucky winners!
formanbob
Well-known member
Thanks for doing this for us. Now I need to order a kit.
hobie1dog
Well-known member
dave67fd
Well-known member
Figures i had a good one and missed this one.
Christine,
When do you anticipate the next contest? Next spring?
Christine,
When do you anticipate the next contest? Next spring?
n2ocamaro
Well-known member
Congrats to the winners!
Awesome! Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!
What do I need to do to "claim" my prize?
Call me at the office to claim prizes and place orders!
I definitely will not wait that long. I will have another one soon.
patent pending
Well-known member
sweet...will do that today. have a few questions on some prep issues i'm gonna have too...hopefully i won't be too big of a pain!
Is there a direct # to you or just the # on the website and ask for you? You can PM me if you prefer.
Thanks
Jeremy
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Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Hell, I guess I'm going to have to get some humor in my life just to qualify!!
formanbob
Well-known member
Thanks epoxy-coat
Even though I was not a winner of the contest, I feel like I have a winning product.
Now all I have to do is find the will power to stay off is for a few days.
patent pending
Well-known member
got my kit in the mail today! 
can't wait to get my floors fixed now!
can't wait to get my floors fixed now!