The Mithril Garage... Seriously?

[mithrix]

Ok, so the name's a bit cheezy... but if you're a JRR Tolkien fan, maybe you get the drift. Otherwise, it's an extremely lightweight, strong, and valuable substance forged into 'stuff'...

Anyway... getting the building anywhere close to that point on a slim to none budget may be a miracle within itself. You will soon see why. The dimensions are 19' wide by 21' deep, not including the shelter on the side. I do not have any pictures of the original state of the building, but it was filled with junk. I've cleaned it out a good bit during the summer. The building originally had a slant roof and at somepoint it was 'redone'. The tin is coming off in one corner and most all of the roofing material is rotted. Just a note, if you read my intro you will find we are purchasing this place. I was renting it for almost a year prior.

Before we get to my embarrassing photos... let me say that I am always open to constructive critisim, ideas, changes, and better/different ways of doing things. The ultimate goal is a functional garage that I can tinker on the hotrod project, work on misc tasks for around the house, and storage, storage, storage!!!

So, now i'm ready to hang out the slow moving vehicle sign and press on. Dirt floor and all:

Updates will be slow, i'm positive of that. But I also look at this as part of my motivation and accountability. Not to mention a way to document the changes. It's obvious my first step should be organization... I think...

Well, in the meantime, off to continue reading!

Regards,
-C

 

[Rockcam]

Hmmm...trying to figure out the boat.

Donzi Sweet 16?

 

[Falcon67]

Looks like a pretty decent start at a Hobbit...hobby hole to me. Keep us up to date please.

 

[mithrix]

Hmmm...trying to figure out the boat.

Donzi Sweet 16?

Good Eye. She's a '97 16 Classic.

Looks like a pretty decent start at a Hobbit...hobby hole to me. Keep us up to date please.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Welcome to the kingdom of Man!

 

[illmatyk]

looks good. what happened to the floor by the toolbox tho?

 

[dave in tn]

Nice Mustang. I have a '66 coupe.

 

[mithrix]

looks good. what happened to the floor by the toolbox tho?

Thanks. Much to be done. That is a pile of dirt I need to thin and pack. There's a well in the corner by the toolbox. Thats the low spot. The other side of the shop is almost 10" higher. The whole floor is uneven. I am attempting to level it out, at least to the support pole.

Nice Mustang. I have a '66 coupe.

Thanks! It was billed as all original and "64 1/2" to my "Pop". Once I acquired it I found out that not to be the case by far. So, once the house & garage are in order I hope to hot rod it a bit. It's barely road worthy and I dare not venture too far. Needs a host of things, but I'm looking forward to it.

Update: I dabbled a bit this evening. Took a few more pics, but I'll have to dl and post them from work tomorrow. Hope to get in a few hours of organizing tomorrow evening.

-C

 

[mithrix]

dave in tn - Is your 66 original, reso-mod, hot rod, lol... or something in between? Not sure what direction that will go when I finally get to it... but it's definitely a much later project (at this point at least )


Ok, here's the slab poured around the well. Again, the low point of the building:

Here is the dirt to remove / spread & pack:

Finally, here is the attic/storage area. I have a good bit of work to make it functional/dry:

Looking forward to getting home and getting started!

 

[tinbender 66]

Four walls and a roof. You've got a great starting point!

And yeah, this place is great for motivation! Welcome to the jungle!!

 

[mithrix]

Welcome to the kingdom of Man!

Apologies, I went right over this post. Thanks! (and not like the avatar isn't bright enough )

Four walls and a roof. You've got a great starting point!

And yeah, this place is great for motivation! Welcome to the jungle!!

Thanks! It is indeed motivation... time, unfortunatly, is my biggest enemy... and browsing this site is beginning to eat into my time too. lol

Btw, I haven't made it all the way through your thread yet, but I really like your build. Love the odd garage door at the end!

Regards,
-C

 

[mithrix]

Minor Update w/o pics for the past few days. Will post later this evening hopefully.

Made progress on the organizing. A good portion of the dirt has been packed, but the rest needs to be moved. Started on the ladder for access to the storage area.

Seems I burnt out the old wiring. 12 run underground w/o conduit! That breaker is off... Looking into 10/3 underground to pull power back to the place. Will probably put in a 50amp at the main for the 10/3 to the sub and divy the lights, power, and the old compressor.

Need to get focused on the roof too...

-C

 

[mithrix]

Random note of interest, or non-interest as it may be. The dark cabinets were in the shop when I started renting. The white cabinets were picked up free from a remodel of an older house being gutted. The white metal cabinets on the left were moved out of the house, and the blue cabinets and shelving were picked up for free from a local business that was being renovated. Don't blame them... too heavy to move again unless replaced! The other misc metal shelving was acquired a very long time ago from warehouses for pennies on the dollar. I anchored them to the walls because of the dirt floor.

I have 4 - 12' tin peices to cover the back corner that was ripped up by the wind... but i've found all the purlins are rotted... so i'm debating on holding off on the 'patch' and redoing most of the roof.

I'll stop rambling now...

-C

 

[mithrix]

Adding Pics:

Dirt is now ... "more level" (Extra Credit- Where is the sawdust? ) :

Getting stairs to loft/storage done. 2x6's & 1/4 Round to increase support. 3 Nails per 1/4 and 3 screws per step side :

Lower hole was drilled on each side to allow for 1/2in bolts to secure the ladder when put up.

Also made some progress on the organization... nothing dramatic though. Anyway, thanks for looking.

 

[mithrix]

Just a final pic of the ladder completed and in place:

Also, I've secured some free 4x8 foam panels to insulate the ceiling once the roof is fixed and am looking into getting 4x8 sheets of 3/4 ply for the attic/loft floor over the weekend. Need to get a light on the top side as well...

 

[mithrix]

Ok.. so... small steps right?

Here's the attic area. Almost completely cleaned out... Fair amount of space considering... :

This came down from there... at least they were empty:

And with the weather passing through I decided to observe... So, the tin itself is somewhat patched. I went over most of the inside. Still need to look up-top on the outside to decide what to do. Water was dripping through a few (ok, several) of the boards via the nails. Nice eh?

Afterwards, I was organizing and ran across a drawer I had forgotten about. Full of old door hardware. Most all of it is junk though.:

Anyway, hopefully there will be some additional progress this weekend. Any ideas (aside from a new roof) on how to address the tin / purlin situation? I can see a new roof eventually, but for now the goal is to keep the inside dry...

As always, thanks for looking!

 

[jktruck150]

Cool old place!

 

[mithrix]

Cool old place!

Thanks! Needs a heap-o-work, but tons of incredible ideas on this site. Hopefully the close-to-not-quite-ever-finished-final product will be "worthy" of a thread here...

Gonna be a long slow ride...

 

[NUTTSGT]

Interesting building. I'm slightly boggled why the ceiling joist run one way and the rafters run the opposite. It's almost like there was a second story that got taken off and replaced with a roof.

 

[mithrix]

Interesting building. I'm slightly boggled why the ceiling joist run one way and the rafters run the opposite. It's almost like there was a second story that got taken off and replaced with a roof.

Hi NUTTSGT... Very observant. I think the building just had a sloped tin roof to begin with as the joists slant from the front to the middle beam and then are flat from the beam to the rear. It seems the rafters and the current tin were afterthoughts added at a later time.


Minor Update:

Purchased tar/sealer for the tin and 7/16 OSB for the attic area... went on the cheap, but I won't lose sleep over the cost when it is eventually replaced. My goal for this week is to get the attic completed and make sure it will stay dry.

Funny NUTTSGT mentioned it, but I did start contemplating a 2nd floor for it... as well as expansion!!!
SWMBO kindly reeled me in and gently reminded me of all the house rennovations that need to happen first. However, she is incredibly supportive and understanding. I am blessed!

Thanks for checkin-in!

Best Regards,
-C

 

[mithrix]

One month to the day... and no real updates other than the leaks are dwindling. Two remaining and one is a seam, not a puncture.

We've had a lot of personal events consume the last several weeks, so I'm trying to get back onto the bandwagon and get some things done.

Thanks and Best Regards,
-C

 

[mithrix]

Spring is springing. I should be posting a few updates (w/pics) in the coming weeks. Just a peek:

Power!
Water!
(both actually made it _to_ the shop!)

Looking into roof repairs (house & shop) and concrete (driveway and shop)...

Much more stuff in the shop, much more junk out of the shop... The never ending cycle. Still plenty of work to do.

Apologies for the lack of posting... life is busy!

Best Regards,
-C

 

[mithrix]

Ok. Finally. Here are two pics of the wiring and the trench. Dug these out from December. The wiring replaced the 12/3 romex that was buried about 6 inches underground and run from a breaker inside the house to the outlets on the inside of the door that you see in the first pictures... The new runs from the service to a new panel. Not sure if you can see in the trench pic, but when we crossed the water line we decided to pipe it into the shop too while everything was dug up!



Gotta get moving on this thing again...!

Thanks for looking!