The Derelict Ranch: The New Derelict Garage

[SouperGrover]

Yeah, I've already downloaded Sketchup on my new machine...hopefully get a rough plan this weekend.

Be sure to check out their 3-d warehouse for premade objects. They have lots of tablesaws and other gear for you to just drop into your model. Not sure how accurate they are, though. They even had a model of my minivan in there!

 

[fergus]

Yeehaw! The last bay is clean.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Also, been playing with Sketchup. The learning curve is...frustrating...until you figure out which face of an object to grab.

Shop2015-1 by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Once I started doing the model I realized I had already run out of space. That being said, I'm working with what I have right now - which is three large metal cabinets on the right side of the shop for all my tool storage. The will live along the wall and the woodworking machines will have to be out in the floor. I will in time build some floor cabinets along that wall with a counter and overhead cabinets as well. Not right now though...I still gotta move in!

 

[egnorant]

Layout is fun...except when you forget stuff like I did! Floor jack, engine hoist, oil change stuff was too far away, welder was waaaay over there when I weld over here, Free refrigerator? It will look good in my shop!, kick something 3 times so it has to move, got a tire machine so that is going 3 feet that way and the grinder moves here, and on and on!

I've moved funnel storage 3 times! Found some areas where I needed an extra foot to move stuff around or stash an engine or a couple of fenders while grinding out a project. Sometimes it was just to gain enough room to walk through.

I like what I'm seeing though! Having a working space has changed my life. A job that use to take 2 days now is 2 hours (transmission swap).

Enjoy the clean slate for now! Your gonna clutter it, clean it, rearrange it, add to it, throw stuff out and smile all the while!

Bruce

 

[fergus]

Dang it Bruce...I forgot the grinder and its stand! The engine hoist and engine stand are gonna live in the barn for now...probably always. I know things will change over and over...I just need an idea to start from. So now I have that. And it's a good feeling!

 

[fergus]

Be sure to check out their 3-d warehouse for premade objects. They have lots of tablesaws and other gear for you to just drop into your model. Not sure how accurate they are, though. They even had a model of my minivan in there!

Uh yeah...made full use of the warehouse. See post above. ^^^

 

[fergus]

Sometimes, your schedule gets held up when people don't do what the say they will. In this case, I've been waiting for weeks for the uncle to come get the Model T touring body out of the way. It was right in the middle of the bay, where I need to start moving in. I wanted it moved, but I didn't have three other strong backs to make it happen. So I had to improvise.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Redneck engineering at its finest. After I remembered I had the quad jack, I found other uses:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

The shop is filling up as fast as I empty it:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

I found a connection for plywood strips. Why do I need plywood strips? Several reasons:
1. We tore out all the carpet in the house. Every room except the master bedroom has wood floors underneath.
2. I don't care for laminate flooring.
3. Real hardwood is obscenely expensive.
4. We don't want carpet - it makes no sense when you live out in the country.
5. As always, I'm on a fairly tight budget

So, I'm going to make "hardwood" floors out of plywood strips. Blasphemy you say? I don't know. I believe the rest of the floors in the house are probably heart pine or some other species, but not oak. Its hard to tell though since they have been painted. At any rate, hopefully they will be somewhat of a match when I'm done.

The best part of this whole set up? I'm buying the 3/8 APA plywood strips at right about $0.30/SqFt. I should be able to have the floor stained, finished and installed right at about $1/SqFt. Hopefully with enough finish on it, we will get 5-10 years out of it -until I can afford to do it right.

So that's the first two stacks of wood. The other two stacks are 1-1/8 ply. They were thrown in on the deal! Guess who has material for garage cabinets now

The plywood floor is probably a wintertime project though. It wasn't the best timing in regards to trying to move in, but having this stuff in the way. Oh well, the price was right.

That's all for now. It's supposed to be 105 degress and above for the next few days. Yikes.

 

[xtremek]

That's all for now. It's supposed to be 105 degress and above for the next few days. Yikes.

105 I thought 85 with 90% humidity was bad.

 

[Water Boy]

Would love to see some of the work you are doing around the house and the garden!

 

[fergus]

Well, nothing is really being done around the house at this point. Just still moving in. We had some of the rooms painted before we moved in, but that's it. I will be started shortly on some repairs though.
The garden...probably won't do a whole lot this year. Maybe plant a row or two. The yard was dead when we moved in - I've just been watering it and now we have half weeds/half grass. Oh well, better than mud all winter.

I moved a bunch of stuff over to the shop on Saturday and I've set up camp, so to speak.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr



Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

I ended up throwing out the little wood workbench. It was well made, but the rats had been in there too. It stunk too bad to even consider messing with.

So I've made a little progress.

Oh yeah, one last dump run with the trailer last week. That makes 14 or 15. Not sure anymore. So that will be the last run with the dump trailer. The uncle sold it. Thanks a lot. Looks like I'll have to get that old Dodge running sooner rather than later.

 

[egnorant]

Now you have a cool place to fix that Dodge too!

Looks like you are near the point of adding "Things I did in my Garage" to the list of things to do to your garage.

My first 2 projects were to fix an air compressor and build a workbench so they fit in both categories.

I actually felt a bit deflated at this point. My goal to make a working shop had been a drive that really pushed me...now I had succeeded! Improvements to the shop became a sideline. But I still step back and get a few things improved,add a motion sensor light, new compressor and a bit of plumbing, insulate a wall. I don't want a jewel box garage, but it improves in spurts. I'm O.K. with that!

Keep up the good work and have fun!

Bruce

 

[fergus]

Yep. Fix the truck, fix the tractor, fix the jeep. All that and more will be starting real soon.

Got our first bit of rain today... much sooner than I expected with all the heat we have had lately. I've got some known leaks to fix, gutters to hang on the back of the shop and downspouts to hang on the house.

While we're at it, let's add a few more things to the list:
Refinish the dining table.
Replace a few dining chair seat pans.
Refinish all the chairs.
Paint some cabinets (they are wood, and have an ugly finish (says the wife) but I hate painting wood grain!)
Start plaster repairs.
Start the master bedroom floors.
Strip and finish the wood floors in the rest of the house...

Wait...I know there's more...

 

[Wanna Ride]

Pretty cool looking project. No shortage of stuff to do!

 

[xtremek]

It sounds like the fun is really about to begin. Looking forward to seeing what comes next.

 

[egnorant]

Take a breath...do the next thing...do it well and be happy!

Bruce

 

[fergus]

Wait...I know there's more...

Yeah...got about 1/10th of rain last night...I got a leak in the master closet.

 

[y'sguy]

Good to see you on to your next big project. You have agreat bunch of space there and lots of possibilities.
I've never had much of rat problems like this. If it were me I would make a plan to keep everything-benches and heavy tools and cabinets up off the floor and mobile. And away from the wall. Think work stations in more of what would be the aisles. This allows you to clean easier and power wash the walls once in awhile.

 

[fergus]

Yep. As little stuff on the floor as possible. And everything is one foot away from the walls

 

[Eddimuller]

You have a very nice area and the speedster from 1907 is really cool!

 

[bmwrd0]

This is awesome! I am right down the road from you in Vacaville, nice to see stuff like this still in CA!

 

[taumac]

Yep. As little stuff on the floor as possible. And everything is one foot away from the walls

Yep, that's the best way. Great project and you made a ton of headway turning it into a useful place.

 

[vonhef]

I am impressed with your progress. One could have easily been overwhelmed with the rapid move and the cleanup challenges that you faced, but you have endured. Keep your head up.

 

[fergus]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've been focusing on the house this last 2 weeks. It became known to me that SWMBO was feeling left out...so I've been moving the rest of the house stuff. And helping hang pictures. And re-hang pictures. And arrange furniture. And RE-arrange furniture. And snake out drains (again). And fix sinks. And move pianos. You catch my drift.

Apparently, I have ingratiated myself sufficiently with the powers-that-be, and have been given the weekend off to do whatever I want. So, I believe that will include a whole mess of garage time. And maybe a little fun.

 

[SouperGrover]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've been focusing on the house this last 2 weeks. It became known to me that SWMBO was feeling left out...so I've been moving the rest of the house stuff. And helping hang pictures. And re-hang pictures. And arrange furniture. And RE-arrange furniture. And snake out drains (again). And fix sinks. And move pianos. You catch my drift.

Apparently, I have ingratiated myself sufficiently with the powers-that-be, and have been given the weekend off to do whatever I want. So, I believe that will include a whole mess of garage time. And maybe a little fun.

You, sir, are preaching to the choir. Go get some "Fergus Time" this weekend. You deserve it

 

[fergus]

So I need to cut some plywood today.

Got this older Rockwell table saw in the shop. Looks nearly new, just 30 years old. Other than a new belt and cleaning the top and oiling anything that I can (bearings, etc) what you guys do to it before firing up?

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

 

[LB-1911]

^


Give the power cord a good once over as well.

 

[Craptain]

Then stand back when you turn it on. If all is well, run a couple of test pieces before you cut the one you want. And follow all normal safety precautions. There is no guard and probably no riving knife so take extra care

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[fergus]

Well, a few things have transpired since my last post. Went to visit family for four days, then was out of town for work for a week. So no progress for close to two weeks.

Then had to pick up another load of wood from my plywood connection:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

The garage is getting crowded:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Subsequently, I got the tablesaw running. New belt and a new cord and plug. Put a 20' cord on...no need for extension cords that way.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Started working on the worst of the two bedrooms. I hate wallpaper.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Wall paper stripper was useless. The best thing ended up being plain old water. Spray it down, wait rip off the top layer. Then repeat wetting, and scrape off the bottom layer with a 6" knife.

The walls are all plaster and have all cracked and been repaired before. It appears they are stable, so I will likely leave them alone. Well, you know...paint them as is.

Then ripped out the ugly drop ceiling.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Awww...much better. Now I get to try my hand at patching plaster ceilings. Joy.

I have already started on the other wall that has the worst of the cracks:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Here, the plaster had pulled away from the wall somewhat and was unstable. So I drilled some holes with a masonry bit. Then, I pumped in some Liquid Nails with the caulking gun. Followed that up with 1/4x2 fender washers and drywall screws to pull the wall back into the lath.

It seems to have worked well. You can see where I got a little overzealous with the adhesive and stuck a washer to the wall. Note to self: less is more.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Besides that, I've been irrigating trees, picking up a few leftover walnuts (its harvest time) and snaking the sink. Again.

 

[egnorant]

Good to see what's up. Part of me wondered what was up...another parts knows that you can't turn around without seeing 3 things that on the old To Do list!

Bruce

 

[xtremek]

Here, the plaster had pulled away from the wall somewhat and was unstable. So I drilled some holes with a masonry bit. Then, I pumped in some Liquid Nails with the caulking gun. Followed that up with 1/4x2 fender washers and drywall screws to pull the wall back into the lath.

It seems to have worked well.

That's a pretty ingenious fix. That would have come in handy at my Mom & Dad's last place. Very nice job.

 

[fergus]

Good to see what's up. Part of me wondered what was up...another parts knows that you can't turn around without seeing 3 things that on the old To Do list!

Bruce

Yep. Patching roof. Irrigating trees. Blowouts 100 miles from home. New set of tires after said blowout. Wife's car frozen brake caliper. Slow kitchen sink. Slow bath sink. Jeep stuck in second gear (time to pull trans, first and third shift rod stuck good). Flat on quad. Work. Oh yeah, work.

That's a pretty ingenious fix. That would have come in handy at my Mom & Dad's last place. Very nice job.

Thanks, but I can't take credit for it. Found it online while researching plaster fixes. What I can take credit for is not using what is being hocked as the end-all for said repair. At $240 for a case of tubes, I opted for the $3.99 tube of Liquid Nails instead.

 

[ZRX61]

Buzz the top of that table saw with a DA & #240 or so. Should have it looking new, if that doesn't work: 3M Scotchbrite pads & a very light touch with a die grinder.

 

[ZRX61]

Just remembered something I heard recently:
Guy had cracks like those in old plaster. He chased out the cracks a bit to a V groove & then filled them with epoxy based tile grout before skimming the affected areas of the wall with a fresh coat of plaster.

 

[fergus]

Buzz the top of that table saw with a DA & #240 or so. Should have it looking new, if that doesn't work: 3M Scotchbrite pads & a very light touch with a die grinder.

Yep...its started to bug me. I might do that. Maybe I'll hit it with my wire cup on angle grinder first...if unsatisfactory I'll go buy some sandpaper and try with the RO sander.

Just remembered something I heard recently:
Guy had cracks like those in old plaster. He chased out the cracks a bit to a V groove & then filled them with epoxy based tile grout before skimming the affected areas of the wall with a fresh coat of plaster.

That's pretty much my plan. I'll vee the cracks then fill with 20 min mud. Tile grout might be what was used on the opposite wall of where I'm working...the green wall with the white-filled cracks. Why epoxy-based grout? Just for the strength?

 

[Amitygravel]

Fergus !!

Late to the party here. What a change ! Things are looking awesome.
Epoxy grout is very sticky and sets up hard , at least the ones I've used.

I've been able to use drywall screws alone in helping stabilize plaster cracks.
Gently work them down through the plaster into a lathe.
Then I use the woven mesh (kind of like a more rigid but thin fiberglass) drywall tape and mud away.

Look forward to seeing more.

Find an anvil in any tucked away places yet ?!

 

[fergus]

Hey Amity!

Thanks man. Yeah, gotta be gentle with the screws into the lath.

Found one...at the other ranch. Gotta see if I can sweet talk my way into bringing it out here.

 

[JC23]

I used a cool method for fixing a plaster ceiling in my old house. It's called the PIZZA method with both plaster and drywall mud. Strong from the plaster, dries quick and sands easier from mud.

Here's a vid -

 

[fergus]

JC! Interesting concept. I'll maybe try that when I get to the ceiling next month.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[GDPossehl]

This should be a great thread to follow. Lots of work here. Those coved ceilings are pretty cool. I don't know why anyone would put a suspended ceiling in there. You should post some pics of the rest of the house.

 

[MIB]

It's great to see this old place coming back to life. You're doing an great job Fergus!

 

[fergus]

Those coved ceilings are pretty cool. I don't know why anyone would put a suspended ceiling in there. You should post some pics of the rest of the house.

Me neither. I'll post some pics.

It's great to see this old place coming back to life. You're doing an great job Fergus!

Thanks man!

Lets see. First, I started cleaning up the dining table.

It had no finish on it and a lot of stains from water and food:

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

So, I used oxalic acid to bleach it. Easy to find at the hardware store. I used it about 1/2 strength since I was worried about getting the wood too light. In retrospect, I wish I would have followed the directions...you have to bleach the wood all the way to get all the stains out anyway.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

The leaves came out darker. I will have to bleach them again.

For anybody who cares, or any woodworking/furniture nerds out there, it turns out the table is a Stickley! Cool!

Out of the bad news/sad news department, our old friend Butch is no longer with us. He was hit by a hay truck here on the property - nobody's fault, just a freak accident. He didn't suffer. He was the best damn dog I've ever had. But we had a lot of good times together and he was a great companion. He was 11 and still going strong.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

I'll thank you ahead of time for your condolences...I wouldn't mention it except that he's been a recurring fixture in my threads over the years. Thought you should know.

Our other dog Maddie was pretty lonesome, so we got her a new friend, Buck.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

He's a pretty good little guy. He'll be a fine ranch dog. Never wanders off and his favorite spot is right there on the porch. He's pretty smart - half cattle dog/half border collie...we're gonna have our hands full for sure! Maddie has started to tolerate him. So that's good.

Went for a ride after recent rains...only lasted a couple hundred yards.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Nothing like good ol' clay loam.

In other news, I'd pulled the jeep into the shop out of the rain and shut the door, or tried to rather. A loud thud and the door stuck 2 feet from the ground told me all was not good. The center spring support had pulled away from the header and was stuck against the door panel:

Door by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Doors by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

I cut the cables and it went right back into place.

Untitled by Tim Ferguson, on Flickr

Whoever installed that was just dumb. They only face nailed it. No wonder it pulled out.

My winding bars from Amazon just showed up, so hopefully I'll get it done this weekend.

Maybe the table will get started again too. Who knows!