Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT The **** Shack
- Thread starter bdbecker
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
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I installed some soffit vents last night. What a rabbit hole that ended up being...
When we installed the ridge vent with the new shingles awhile back, we were kind of in a hurry and didn't really do the calculations on how much ventilation was really needed for the size of the garage. The decision was made to just install the whole 20' roll, knowing it would be more than enough. So now I'm finally getting around to doing the calculations, as it turns out my 24'x26' attic space needs a minimum 150 sq. in. of intake and exhaust. From the manufacturer, the 20' length of ridge vent we installed gives me 250 sq. in. of exhaust, which is plenty for my space.
When I started looking at soffit vents, I originally wanted to use the 16"x4" vents, but they are only rated at 26 sq. in. of free vent each. That means I'd have to install at least 10 of them, and I'd have to be really careful when cutting the recommended 15.5"x3.5" hole size. Yeah right... I might be lucky to stand on a step ladder and cut a near perfect hole upside down with dust falling on my face once, but I knew it wouldn't happen 10 times. What I opted to do instead was purchase the larger 16"x8" vents. These are rated at 65 sq. in. of vent each, however, since I still didn't trust myself to cut perfect holes I had to figure out how big of hole I should cut.
The manufacturer rates the vents between 48% and 56% efficient, depending on the size. Example - the recommended 15.5"x7.5" hole is actually 116.25 sq. in. in area, but the vent is only rated for 65 sq. in. of free vent area - or 56% of the actual size. The smaller, 16"x4" vent comes out to 48%. Erring on the side of caution, I chose to use 50%. Playing around with numbers, conveniently, a custom 14"x6" hole gives me 42 sq. in. of free air vent (theoretically) for each vent installed. That means I needed to 5.95 vents to get a balanced intake for my ridge vent exhaust.
Now, I've read in multiple places that its always better to have extra intake with ridge vents to prevent the possibility of sucking snow or water through the ridge vent because of a pressure issues. Air takes the path of least resistance, so if one of my intake vents decides to be an exhaust vent due to pressure changes, its okay. The last thing I want is for my exhaust vent to become an intake. So, while installing 6 vents would be theoretically perfect, I opted to install 8 vents (4 on each side) just to be safe. As an added bonus, spacing out the 4 vents also meant I didn't have to put one on the seam where the soffit boards meet.
I got half of them installed last night, hope to get the other half done in the next few days. I'll be really curious to see how much of a difference the temps will be in the garage this summer now that there will actually be a way to pull the hot air out of the building.
I installed some soffit vents last night. What a rabbit hole that ended up being...
When we installed the ridge vent with the new shingles awhile back, we were kind of in a hurry and didn't really do the calculations on how much ventilation was really needed for the size of the garage. The decision was made to just install the whole 20' roll, knowing it would be more than enough. So now I'm finally getting around to doing the calculations, as it turns out my 24'x26' attic space needs a minimum 150 sq. in. of intake and exhaust. From the manufacturer, the 20' length of ridge vent we installed gives me 250 sq. in. of exhaust, which is plenty for my space.
When I started looking at soffit vents, I originally wanted to use the 16"x4" vents, but they are only rated at 26 sq. in. of free vent each. That means I'd have to install at least 10 of them, and I'd have to be really careful when cutting the recommended 15.5"x3.5" hole size. Yeah right... I might be lucky to stand on a step ladder and cut a near perfect hole upside down with dust falling on my face once, but I knew it wouldn't happen 10 times. What I opted to do instead was purchase the larger 16"x8" vents. These are rated at 65 sq. in. of vent each, however, since I still didn't trust myself to cut perfect holes I had to figure out how big of hole I should cut.
The manufacturer rates the vents between 48% and 56% efficient, depending on the size. Example - the recommended 15.5"x7.5" hole is actually 116.25 sq. in. in area, but the vent is only rated for 65 sq. in. of free vent area - or 56% of the actual size. The smaller, 16"x4" vent comes out to 48%. Erring on the side of caution, I chose to use 50%. Playing around with numbers, conveniently, a custom 14"x6" hole gives me 42 sq. in. of free air vent (theoretically) for each vent installed. That means I needed to 5.95 vents to get a balanced intake for my ridge vent exhaust.
Now, I've read in multiple places that its always better to have extra intake with ridge vents to prevent the possibility of sucking snow or water through the ridge vent because of a pressure issues. Air takes the path of least resistance, so if one of my intake vents decides to be an exhaust vent due to pressure changes, its okay. The last thing I want is for my exhaust vent to become an intake. So, while installing 6 vents would be theoretically perfect, I opted to install 8 vents (4 on each side) just to be safe. As an added bonus, spacing out the 4 vents also meant I didn't have to put one on the seam where the soffit boards meet.
I got half of them installed last night, hope to get the other half done in the next few days. I'll be really curious to see how much of a difference the temps will be in the garage this summer now that there will actually be a way to pull the hot air out of the building.
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Observations from the weekend (sorry, no pics)...
-Two-piece lug nuts are a terrible idea. Good thing old fashioned single-piece lug nuts are cheap and readily available online.
-When installing rubber boots on caliper guide pins, make sure you seat the boot onto the groove found on the pin. The consequence if done incorrectly a guide pin that rusts solid (3 out of 4 in my case). If I ever find the tech who did this, I will kick him square in the beans.
-The auto parts store will have exactly the parts you need as long as long as you aren't in a hurry. Wife was out getting lunch with friends and I was stuck needing new guide pins. I figured I'd have to drive all over town tracking down new guides, but ended up being in stock when I called. Had them put on hold and took a nap/relaxed until Wife got back home.
-8+ inches of rain will cause a wet garage floor. Thankfully nothing was damaged and the house stayed dry. About those gutters I keep talking about...
Summary... attitude is everything. I need to keep reminding myself of that. If I would have had the wrong mindset this weekend, it would have been pretty rough. Instead, I just rolled with the punches and ended up with a new set of brake pads on the front of the Jeep and a freshly mopped garage floor.
-Two-piece lug nuts are a terrible idea. Good thing old fashioned single-piece lug nuts are cheap and readily available online.
-When installing rubber boots on caliper guide pins, make sure you seat the boot onto the groove found on the pin. The consequence if done incorrectly a guide pin that rusts solid (3 out of 4 in my case). If I ever find the tech who did this, I will kick him square in the beans.
-The auto parts store will have exactly the parts you need as long as long as you aren't in a hurry. Wife was out getting lunch with friends and I was stuck needing new guide pins. I figured I'd have to drive all over town tracking down new guides, but ended up being in stock when I called. Had them put on hold and took a nap/relaxed until Wife got back home.
-8+ inches of rain will cause a wet garage floor. Thankfully nothing was damaged and the house stayed dry. About those gutters I keep talking about...
Summary... attitude is everything. I need to keep reminding myself of that. If I would have had the wrong mindset this weekend, it would have been pretty rough. Instead, I just rolled with the punches and ended up with a new set of brake pads on the front of the Jeep and a freshly mopped garage floor.
Bighead38
Well-known member
2 piece lug nuts?
Also called "capped" lug nuts. Ford is getting sued for using them, but most of the major auto manufacturers (including Jeep) are using them and people aren't happy. Basically, its a stainless steel sleeve pressed over top of a carbon steel nut.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2017/ford-swollen-lug-nuts-class-action-lawsuit.shtml
I got lucky and was able to peel the sleeve off the nut with a needle nose pliers, and then hammer a slightly smaller socket (I think either 18mm or 19mm, can't remember exactly) on top of the carbon steel nut that was still on the stud. At first I thought I'd twisted off the wheel stud, but it ended up just being the sleeve.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2017/ford-swollen-lug-nuts-class-action-lawsuit.shtml
I got lucky and was able to peel the sleeve off the nut with a needle nose pliers, and then hammer a slightly smaller socket (I think either 18mm or 19mm, can't remember exactly) on top of the carbon steel nut that was still on the stud. At first I thought I'd twisted off the wheel stud, but it ended up just being the sleeve.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
You mopped the garage floor and did not have to haul water?
Way to go!!
Way to go!!
I broomed the standing water out the door and then sopped up the rest with a mop. Three box fans had everything dried out within a few hours. Feel pretty fortunate compared to some of the stuff I saw in the news and talking to folks at work.
Bighead38
Well-known member
Amazing. Anything to save a penny.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
Those nuts have been around a long time. PITA when the cover comes off stuck in the socket.
Pretty productive week/weekend... Finished insulating and sheeting the south wall. Also installed soffit ventilation baffles.
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Wasn't sure what to do today. As I was drinking coffee with Wife this morning, I got to thinking about a project I've wanted to tackle for awhile now - building a playhouse for Stinker. One thing led to another and I ended up with this.
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Not bad for no plans, definitely not to code. Spent $30 on the corrugated roof and had to buy a couple 2x4's, other than that all the materials were repurposed/scraps/drops. Stinker sure likes it and didn't waste any time moving in. Wife is going to paint it some fun colors.
View media item 84710
View media item 84711
Wasn't sure what to do today. As I was drinking coffee with Wife this morning, I got to thinking about a project I've wanted to tackle for awhile now - building a playhouse for Stinker. One thing led to another and I ended up with this.
View media item 84712
Not bad for no plans, definitely not to code. Spent $30 on the corrugated roof and had to buy a couple 2x4's, other than that all the materials were repurposed/scraps/drops. Stinker sure likes it and didn't waste any time moving in. Wife is going to paint it some fun colors.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
That playhouse is the best thing you've done all year, and you've done some great things. She'll cherish those memories for many years. 
TedMaster
New member
I love your playhouse that you made
At first I was thinking of doing blown in insulation, but now I'm leaning towards batts. One reason is I can chip away at it as time and budget allow. As I install ceiling panels, I plan to roll out insulation at the same time while I have easy access to each area. The second reason is cost. For R-30, blown in insulation will cost over $1 per square foot where batts come out to be around $0.60.
Since the space is so simple, rolling out batts will require very little (if any) cutting of material. However, if it was more complex, I would opt for blown in insulation for the ease of install. Even though I plan on using batts, I still installed the baffles because they are cheap and I had easy access to the area. I figured it was worth the $40 now versus having to have to crawl around up there should I decide to blow in additional insulation in the future.
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That playhouse is the best thing you've done all year, and you've done some great things. She'll cherish those memories for many years.
Thank you!
iowa4x4dieselman
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2012
- Messages
- 224
Just read through the thread, amazing little projects you have done. You have inspired me to do some creative thinking of my own. Its always neat to see what you can do with someone else's scrap leftovers. I see your from Iowa also. What part? I live in a small town north of the quad cities.
Thank you for the kind words! Beautiful part of the state you live in being near the river... we live in the Des Moines metro.
For me, re-purposing items and working with drops/scrap isn't just about saving money (although that is a nice side benefit), what I really enjoy is that it forces me to go down paths I might not have considered otherwise. Sometimes this can lead to a solution that is better than what I originally imagined, other times I fail completely and have to start over, but at least I figured out a way that doesn't work. I don't know... its just fun for me I guess.
For me, re-purposing items and working with drops/scrap isn't just about saving money (although that is a nice side benefit), what I really enjoy is that it forces me to go down paths I might not have considered otherwise. Sometimes this can lead to a solution that is better than what I originally imagined, other times I fail completely and have to start over, but at least I figured out a way that doesn't work. I don't know... its just fun for me I guess.
No garage updates since we spent the weekend at my parents' farm. A little update on a project that I've been working on here and there... Sometime over the winter/spring, I overloaded my Harbor Freight hitch basket hauling home a load of pallets. Not a catastrophic failure, but the tubing that goes into the hitch began to buckle. To be fair to HF, the basket is marketed as an ATV cargo basket with a 300lb capacity. I probably had over 400lbs on it when it buckled. Anyway... besides hauling the odd item or load of pallets, this basket is especially useful for our annual trips out west in pursuit of prairie rats. I figured I'd better do something about the tubing before we tried to put 1300 miles on it.
I was able to scrounge up some 1/4" wall tube to replace the thinner (11ga?) material. You can see how the tube was buckling.
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I then swapped out the blades on the Evolution miter saw and got to cutting. This thick of material is on the upper end of the saw's capacity. While I had to take my time, it still cut very nicely - I'm still very happy with this purchase. You may also notice I increased the length of the tube that goes into the hitch. Now the basket tube goes all the way through the hitch, giving it more area to distribute the load. (I did test fit it to my Jeep before welding)
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Next I welded it up (sorry, no pics). Well, I should say, I tried to weld it up. My little 110v welder just could not get enough heat into the joint so I had to grind everything down and re-weld it using my Dad's new Millermatic 211. The welder ran like a dream and made me (a mediocre welder at best) look pretty good.
After that, we threw the tube into my Dad's mill and drilled some holes. This is officially now the best built HF hitch basket out there. Hey, when you've got a hammer...
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And finally, the test fit.
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I did the "wiggle, wiggle, jump, jump" strength test - the hitch passed with flying colors. I was also very happy with how square it turned out. The original tube was welded in such a way that the basket actually sat at a slight angle relative to the bumper and tipped towards the passenger side when viewed from the rear. Neither was a big enough issue to cause concern, but enough to annoy me every time I looked at it. Now the issue is gone - it sits flat when viewed from the rear, and is within 1/8" when I measure the distance to the bumper on each end (yeah, yeah, I know). I'll get her painted up and re-assembled this week, and hopefully find time to start on the cargo box I want to build for it as well.
I was able to scrounge up some 1/4" wall tube to replace the thinner (11ga?) material. You can see how the tube was buckling.
View media item 84985
I then swapped out the blades on the Evolution miter saw and got to cutting. This thick of material is on the upper end of the saw's capacity. While I had to take my time, it still cut very nicely - I'm still very happy with this purchase. You may also notice I increased the length of the tube that goes into the hitch. Now the basket tube goes all the way through the hitch, giving it more area to distribute the load. (I did test fit it to my Jeep before welding)
View media item 84986
Next I welded it up (sorry, no pics). Well, I should say, I tried to weld it up. My little 110v welder just could not get enough heat into the joint so I had to grind everything down and re-weld it using my Dad's new Millermatic 211. The welder ran like a dream and made me (a mediocre welder at best) look pretty good.
After that, we threw the tube into my Dad's mill and drilled some holes. This is officially now the best built HF hitch basket out there. Hey, when you've got a hammer...
View media item 84987
And finally, the test fit.
View media item 84988
I did the "wiggle, wiggle, jump, jump" strength test - the hitch passed with flying colors. I was also very happy with how square it turned out. The original tube was welded in such a way that the basket actually sat at a slight angle relative to the bumper and tipped towards the passenger side when viewed from the rear. Neither was a big enough issue to cause concern, but enough to annoy me every time I looked at it. Now the issue is gone - it sits flat when viewed from the rear, and is within 1/8" when I measure the distance to the bumper on each end (yeah, yeah, I know). I'll get her painted up and re-assembled this week, and hopefully find time to start on the cargo box I want to build for it as well.
realunlucky
Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2017
- Messages
- 21
Are you going to add a gusset to the joints or just run it and hope the welds don't fatigue while you drive?
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I thought about gussets, but after welding, I don't believe they are necessary. I do appreciate your concern about creating a potential hazard on the road. I get worked up every time I see someone driving with an unsecured load or some junky, rusted out cargo trailer that is one rough railroad crossing away from breaking in half. Rest assured that if I had any question about the integrity of what I built, I would resolve it (which is why I cut it apart and re-welded it using my Dad's machine).
My comments about my welding ability are intended to be self-effacing. I work in a weld shop with some of the most talented welders in the world (I do mean that without any exaggeration). In comparison to them, I'm mediocre at best. However, I have spent a good amount of time under the hood, and I have every confidence that my welds are solid - plenty of heat, good penetration, all welds done in the flat position, no undercut, no pinholes, no porosity. If anything, my travel speed was too slow and the welds are larger than they need to be.
realunlucky
Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2017
- Messages
- 21
I was just curious was all. I need to make a fairly similar addition to my cargo basket so I can open the tail gate while the basket is in the hitch. Appreciate your explanation
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Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
BigNuge
Well-known member
Hey man, just stumbled upon your build thread...great read, great space!
I share so many of your analytical quirks. I delayed my own build for the very same reasons (not gonna do this twice, gonna do this ONCE, and do it right).
Anyway, thanks for posting your build! I look forward to keeping up with the progress!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I share so many of your analytical quirks. I delayed my own build for the very same reasons (not gonna do this twice, gonna do this ONCE, and do it right).
Anyway, thanks for posting your build! I look forward to keeping up with the progress!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No worries
I admit, I interpreted your comment incorrectly and jumped to a defensive position. I tend to do this not just here on the forum, but in life as well (just how I'm wired). I was going to comment on the gussets in my original post about this project, but stopped myself from going into a deep-dive explanation about how, given the load rating of the hitch basket, they probably weren't really needed in the first place, installed in sub-optimal manner, and definitely aren't needed now with the increase in tube wall thickness. I'm guessing they were part of original design because HF (or whoever makes them for HF) doesn't trust their welders to do a good job.
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Wife had a tonsillectomy on Friday, so not a lot of action around The **** Shack since Stinker and I were hanging out most of the time letting Wife recover in peace. We did have some great "dad-daughter" time over the weekend though - did a little wandering around our favorite stores (Mills Fleet Farm, Northern Tool), checked out the fish tank at Bass Pro Shops, and installed some upgrades on the playhouse.
Installed a bench using some shelf brackets and 1x12.
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Put up some pegboard for her shovels - she spent a good hour yesterday moving the hooks and shovels around the board into different configurations.
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And finally, a special spot for her drink.
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(Just for the record, since I already caught some **** from my neighbor about it, we purchased that tablet two weeks ago for road trips. That is the first time she's played with it at all, and I only let her because she had done such a good job listening all weekend.)
I did manage to sneak in a project in preparation for our annual prairie dog hunting trip out west. One thing that drove me crazy last year was our lack of organization with all of our gear. Its a pain in the neck to just pile everything in back when moving between dog towns. Stuff shifts and bangs around a lot, you need to move three things to get to what you want, and we had a rifle go out of zero because it got knocked around at some point. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I wanted to build a cargo box for the hitch carrier. My original thought was that the cargo box would be used to store our shooting benches. Well, I got to measuring and realized I'd end up with a cargo box that was as tall as the roof of my Jeep when installed. Besides looking ridiculous, it would also be impractical because you'd have to remove the box from the basket each time you needed to access it. Scrap that idea...
So then I got to playing around with it some more and found that the shooting benches would pack nicely into the back of the Jeep with the seats folded up. Then I got to thinking a platform over the benches would be pretty handy so we could have a safe place to store our rifles. Over that last few weeks, I've rolled around dozens of different ideas in my head, all with varied degrees of complexity, before I finally came up with a very simple, but effective version of a cargo platform.
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Pretty unremarkable, isn't it? It attaches to the back of the seats using a modified eye-bolt and uses a pair of folding legs (as soon as I purchase the locking hinges). Installation/removal is a breeze and takes only one person a matter of seconds. It is also fairly light, so handling it is easy. If I have it in place and need to haul something larger with the seats down, it lays fairly flat on the floor and doesn't take up much space at all. It could be a little deeper (may add that later if needed), but the width is perfect in that it just fits through the back hatch at an angle.
It also seems to be very stable. An unintended benefit of using modified eye-bolts is that I am able to adjust how far out the hooks are from the platform. This allows me to adjust them in enough to create a small amount of pre-load when the legs are in place to keep it from rattling and moving around. The legs are not secured in any way at this time, but when we went for a test drive (aka ice cream run) yesterday afternoon, the platform did not move at all and the legs stayed in place.
The biggest benefit of all is that I'm now able to fit my muzzleloader case in the back of my Jeep sideways if I tuck it in to the small cubby area on the passenger side. This is the longest case/gun I have, so everything else should fit without issue.
View media item 85419
For finishing touches, I need to get some locking hinges for the legs. I also need to decide on a finish. Part of me wants to stain/clear it, but there is no wood trim anywhere in the Jeep, so it would look out of place. I'll probably end up covering it in carpet. Safety is always important - I've ordered a cargo net off and tie downs to hold everything in place. Finally, I need to figure out how to attach the platform to the vehicle tie down hooks to keep it in place if I were to ever get in an accident.
Overall, I'm very pleased with where this is headed.
Installed a bench using some shelf brackets and 1x12.
View media item 85421
Put up some pegboard for her shovels - she spent a good hour yesterday moving the hooks and shovels around the board into different configurations.
View media item 85422
And finally, a special spot for her drink.
View media item 85423
(Just for the record, since I already caught some **** from my neighbor about it, we purchased that tablet two weeks ago for road trips. That is the first time she's played with it at all, and I only let her because she had done such a good job listening all weekend.)
I did manage to sneak in a project in preparation for our annual prairie dog hunting trip out west. One thing that drove me crazy last year was our lack of organization with all of our gear. Its a pain in the neck to just pile everything in back when moving between dog towns. Stuff shifts and bangs around a lot, you need to move three things to get to what you want, and we had a rifle go out of zero because it got knocked around at some point. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I wanted to build a cargo box for the hitch carrier. My original thought was that the cargo box would be used to store our shooting benches. Well, I got to measuring and realized I'd end up with a cargo box that was as tall as the roof of my Jeep when installed. Besides looking ridiculous, it would also be impractical because you'd have to remove the box from the basket each time you needed to access it. Scrap that idea...
So then I got to playing around with it some more and found that the shooting benches would pack nicely into the back of the Jeep with the seats folded up. Then I got to thinking a platform over the benches would be pretty handy so we could have a safe place to store our rifles. Over that last few weeks, I've rolled around dozens of different ideas in my head, all with varied degrees of complexity, before I finally came up with a very simple, but effective version of a cargo platform.
View media item 85418
View media item 85420
Pretty unremarkable, isn't it? It attaches to the back of the seats using a modified eye-bolt and uses a pair of folding legs (as soon as I purchase the locking hinges). Installation/removal is a breeze and takes only one person a matter of seconds. It is also fairly light, so handling it is easy. If I have it in place and need to haul something larger with the seats down, it lays fairly flat on the floor and doesn't take up much space at all. It could be a little deeper (may add that later if needed), but the width is perfect in that it just fits through the back hatch at an angle.
It also seems to be very stable. An unintended benefit of using modified eye-bolts is that I am able to adjust how far out the hooks are from the platform. This allows me to adjust them in enough to create a small amount of pre-load when the legs are in place to keep it from rattling and moving around. The legs are not secured in any way at this time, but when we went for a test drive (aka ice cream run) yesterday afternoon, the platform did not move at all and the legs stayed in place.
The biggest benefit of all is that I'm now able to fit my muzzleloader case in the back of my Jeep sideways if I tuck it in to the small cubby area on the passenger side. This is the longest case/gun I have, so everything else should fit without issue.
View media item 85419
For finishing touches, I need to get some locking hinges for the legs. I also need to decide on a finish. Part of me wants to stain/clear it, but there is no wood trim anywhere in the Jeep, so it would look out of place. I'll probably end up covering it in carpet. Safety is always important - I've ordered a cargo net off and tie downs to hold everything in place. Finally, I need to figure out how to attach the platform to the vehicle tie down hooks to keep it in place if I were to ever get in an accident.
Overall, I'm very pleased with where this is headed.
After sourcing materials throughout the week, I was able to put the finishing touches on the platform this morning. I found some locking hinges for the legs at the Woodsmith Store, scored big at the ReStore with a couple carpet tiles for $2.50 each, picked up some aluminum angle and tie downs at the good ole Home Depot, and a (surprisingly heavy duty) cargo net off Amazon.
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rmalkow2
Well-known member
The platform you made looks great. I borrowed that idea myself and just put together a smaller version of that for the back of my Expedition in prep for an upcoming trip. It will help a lot to organize the packing of all my gear.
oldironfarmer
Well-known member
WOW! Great job on the platform. Very professional!!
But, it pales in comparison to what you did for your daughter in her play house.
But, it pales in comparison to what you did for your daughter in her play house.
Thanks guys! The platform ended up being way more of a timesuck than I originally intended. I knew it was time to stop as I was trying to match my angle trim pieces to the pattern on the factory faux brushed aluminum trim panels. I ended up just using some 220 grit to give it a nice straight grain and called it done. I think I was also procrastinating on replacing the front brake pads on Wife's Caravan.
Speaking of the Grand Caravan front brake pads... after my ordeal with the Jeep a few weeks ago, I was not especially excited to do the van's brakes yesterday. But it needed to be done, and to my surprise, it went off without a single issue. No broken lug nuts, no frozen guide pins, just a good old fashioned brake pad change with no hiccups. I was trying to remember the last time I did a routine maintenance on a vehicle (besides oil changes) where I didn't have to fight something. Not complaining, just saying...
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A few additional details on the platform in case anyone is wondering...
-I used black wood stain on the underside and legs. As I've learned on my workbench, stained wood is very easy to touch up if you get a dent or scratch. That, and I have a whole can of black stain that rarely gets used, so I figured this was a good way to burn some up. I did not coat the wood where it contacts the back side of the seats. I'm not sure if it would have been an issue with staining the carpet from prolonged contact, but since that side is completely hidden from view, I decided it wasn't worth the risk.
-Double-sided carpet tape was used to secure the carpet tiles down to the board. Seems to really do the job, and a lot cleaner than glue.
-The aluminum angle is 1x1, 1/16" thick. I would have preferred to use thicker material, but this size/thickness worked out perfectly with the board and carpet thickness to cover the edge without having a lip underneath.
-The locking hinges I used were from Rockler, although I purchased them at The Woodsmith Store (same price as online, but no shipping costs). http://www.rockler.com/folding-leg-bracket
-I originally planned on using d-ring tie down anchors like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-L...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-204820639-_-206967313-_-N. As soon as I had the package in my hands, I knew the rattling would eventually drive me crazy. The anchors I ended up going with, while not flat, don't rattle.
-The cargo net is from Amazon. I bought it because it fit the dimensions I needed, but I was seriously surprised by how well made it is. Since most of the complaints about it stem from the plastic hooks and not the net itself, I picked up medium duty carabiners and called it good. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076TDVLQ3/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Speaking of the Grand Caravan front brake pads... after my ordeal with the Jeep a few weeks ago, I was not especially excited to do the van's brakes yesterday. But it needed to be done, and to my surprise, it went off without a single issue. No broken lug nuts, no frozen guide pins, just a good old fashioned brake pad change with no hiccups. I was trying to remember the last time I did a routine maintenance on a vehicle (besides oil changes) where I didn't have to fight something. Not complaining, just saying...
-----
A few additional details on the platform in case anyone is wondering...
-I used black wood stain on the underside and legs. As I've learned on my workbench, stained wood is very easy to touch up if you get a dent or scratch. That, and I have a whole can of black stain that rarely gets used, so I figured this was a good way to burn some up. I did not coat the wood where it contacts the back side of the seats. I'm not sure if it would have been an issue with staining the carpet from prolonged contact, but since that side is completely hidden from view, I decided it wasn't worth the risk.
-Double-sided carpet tape was used to secure the carpet tiles down to the board. Seems to really do the job, and a lot cleaner than glue.
-The aluminum angle is 1x1, 1/16" thick. I would have preferred to use thicker material, but this size/thickness worked out perfectly with the board and carpet thickness to cover the edge without having a lip underneath.
-The locking hinges I used were from Rockler, although I purchased them at The Woodsmith Store (same price as online, but no shipping costs). http://www.rockler.com/folding-leg-bracket
-I originally planned on using d-ring tie down anchors like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-L...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-204820639-_-206967313-_-N. As soon as I had the package in my hands, I knew the rattling would eventually drive me crazy. The anchors I ended up going with, while not flat, don't rattle.
-The cargo net is from Amazon. I bought it because it fit the dimensions I needed, but I was seriously surprised by how well made it is. Since most of the complaints about it stem from the plastic hooks and not the net itself, I picked up medium duty carabiners and called it good. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076TDVLQ3/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Last edited:
y'sguy
Well-known member
I got a giant chuckle out of your daughters garden tool setup! I just completed the adult version for my wife in our garage so it was on my radar.
Love it!
Love it!
Yeah, I was actually thinking about that yesterday afternoon. I've been making progress on the garage - both big and small projects - I just haven't been very good at documenting/sharing it on here. My new phone has nearly useless camera, so the convenience factor for making updates is gone. I'm planning on some QST time this weekend and will get some pics and post an update.
-----
She's really been using her house a lot this fall. I'll peak out the garage door and catch her lounging in her lawn chair, two little feet up on the pony wall, reading a book or playing with a toy. Cracks me up.
As promised, here’s an update to get current on the garage/life/general happenings from the last few months...
When we last left off, I was getting ready to head to Colorado for our annual prairie dog hunting trip. The platform worked exactly as I hoped for the trip – we were able to safely stow all our gear when moving between sites and it helped keep everything organized and easily accessible. The hitch basket also worked without flaw.
Here’s a pic when we were loading up to come home – everything in this picture fit in the rear hatch area of the Jeep. We didn’t even have to pile stuff to the ceiling.
View media item 87978
We had fantastic weather while we were out there. The temps stayed in the mid-70’s to low 80’s the whole time. There were a few storms late in afternoon most days, but that is pretty common for that time of year. One day we had a crazy dust storm roll through.
View media item 87953
Another day we ran across an abandoned dam project. I can’t remember what the whole story was, but I’m not sure what they were thinking as dry as it is out there – you’re lucky enough to get enough water for a puddle, let alone an entire lake.
View media item 87954
View media item 87955
Once we got back, I was ready to dig back into garage projects. The biggest change over the last few months was moving my shelving unit from the west wall to the now enclosed, insulated/sheeted south wall. I originally intended for this to be a temporary move so I could insulate and sheet the west wall, but after living with it for a few months, its going to stay this way.
View media item 87959
I finished installing the other half of the soffit vents, so we are now set to insulate the ceiling when the time comes.
View media item 87960
I mounted a manual wind air hose reel under my workbench and stuck my little 2 gallon compressor next to it under the bench corner. I wasn't certain how much I'd like this setup, but so far its been super handy. Stinker likes it too.
View media item 87973
After I had decided to keep the shelves where they were, I got my screws, tape, and other commonly used hardware organized. The shelf is empty on purpose - it gives me a spot to put my clear plastic parts organizer tray when I need to look though it.
View media item 87967
Then it was time to take another vacation - Wife and I were celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary by heading up to the Lake Superior north shore area in Minnesota for a few days. Absolutely beautiful up there - we'll definitely take that trip again.
View media item 87956
View media item 87957
View media item 87958
Back in the garage again, this time to make some improvements to the weld table. I bought some cheap HF c-clamps and welded some drop pieces of c-channel onto them to make it easier to clamp stuff down to the table. Using channel for the table top has meant that I have to tighten c-clamps by reaching under the table. Now I can tighten from the top. These two were test units, but they have been great so far and I'm going to make more.
View media item 87961
View media item 87962
Safety Disclaimer: Let me make one thing perfectly clear - these welds will fail eventually. MIG welding carbon steel to cast iron using ER70S-6 wire is definitely not the proper process. If you copy this, you do so at your own risk. However, for my situation, I'm not worried. I will only use these clamps to hold parts down to my table. When the weld fails, it'll just mean my clamps are more difficult to use. Again, don't copy this idea unless you know what the risks are.
I mounted some hitch receivers to the weld table and made some mounts for my bench grinder and vise. I've seen this all over GJ but I'm honestly not that in love with it so far - there's just too much wobble between the tube and receiver. Not a big deal with the vise, but I don't like it with the grinder. I could make a bracket to tighten it up or install a jam nut, but that kind of goes away from the quick setup aspect I was hoping for. We'll see how long it sticks around.
View media item 87965
View media item 87964
Took the time to get my screwdrivers in order using a HF magnetic strip. I really love opening this drawer knowing exactly where everything is going to be. I haven't attached the strip to the drawer yet, but its holding in place well enough I may not have to.
View media item 87966
Stinker wanted to work in the garage one day, so we made a robot head for her. Its pretty funny seeing a little girl walking around the yard wearing a yellow princess dress, a pink superwoman cape, and a cardboard box on her head.
View media item 87974
I also took the time to fix the cords on my circular saw, jig saw, and angle grinder (no pics). All just had worn casings that had been taped up several times. Its one of those things that you always mean to do when you're using a tool, but forget about the moment you put it away. I know I'm forgetting some other odd projects, but that pretty well sums up what I've been working on. Some big stuff, some little stuff, all stuff that keeps me moving (generally) in the right direction.
Which brings us up to this last weekend. I had planned on starting on the insulation for the west wall Saturday afternoon, but my buddy texted me asking if I could bring over my OBD2 scanner to get some codes off his "race" car, which ended up turning into an afternoon/evening of motor sillyness. A little backstory - every year, my buddy runs in an endurance race in a cornfield that is some sort charity fundraiser. Basically, guys take junk cars, customize them to be funny, and run them until they die. Kind of a LeMons/Gambler type event where the point is to spend as little as possible to have some fun. Money is raised through ticket sales at the gate, raffle tickets, silent auctions, etc. This year, his car is a Honda Accord that got rear ended, and then smashed into another car. Here is the result of our work...
6x6 push bumper, paint pan cowl induction hood scoop (yes, it is functional - cut the hole in the hood myself), stucco mesh grill insert, and straight pipe exhaust complete with coffee can "muffler" (Italian espresso for extra hp). We rattle canned the wheels rally car white as well and stripped the interior (no pics). Other than stickers, he's ready to run.
View media item 87975
View media item 87976
Yesterday, with the promised garage update looming in the back of my mind, I decided to finally sort out the internet connectivity in the garage. As I mentioned in a previous post, my new cell phone camera is garbage, so now I need to use an actual camera to take garage pics and upload them to GJ. I figure if I can use my garage laptop to do this, I'll be more inclined to follow through with making regular updates. The wifi connection in the garage has always been really poor. The signal was weak and would drop out frequently and when I ran a speed test, I only had 1-2Mbps download speed. After doing a bunch of research and considering all my options, I finally landed on this:
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/WN3000RP.aspx
It was very easy to setup. After playing around with a few different spots in the house, the sweet spot ended up being in the upstairs guest bedroom near a window that faces the garage. Now my signal strength is well over 60% and I've got enough download speed to stream YouTube videos! Had AvE and Mighty Car Mods running all afternoon without issue. Someday when I run new electrical and gas from the house, I'll bury a network line as well, but until then, I think this will do the trick. An added bonus - Wife was also happy because it boosted the signal strength in our bedroom as well. Her phone would always drop connection, now it shows nearly full strength.
View media item 87971
Yesterday was a good reminder that I do need to keep working on insulating. Getting into the season where you need to heat up beer to drink it.
View media item 87963
I think that pretty much sums it up. Still trying to figure out what happened to this last summer - it went by way too fast. Insulating and sheeting the west wall seems to be the next project I'm going to tackle. After that, I'm thinking its time to tackle the ceiling - I've been reading about lighting options and think I have it pretty well sorted out. I'm sure there will be plenty of side projects that distract me as well. Hopefully I can get back in the habit of making regular updates again.
When we last left off, I was getting ready to head to Colorado for our annual prairie dog hunting trip. The platform worked exactly as I hoped for the trip – we were able to safely stow all our gear when moving between sites and it helped keep everything organized and easily accessible. The hitch basket also worked without flaw.
Here’s a pic when we were loading up to come home – everything in this picture fit in the rear hatch area of the Jeep. We didn’t even have to pile stuff to the ceiling.
View media item 87978
We had fantastic weather while we were out there. The temps stayed in the mid-70’s to low 80’s the whole time. There were a few storms late in afternoon most days, but that is pretty common for that time of year. One day we had a crazy dust storm roll through.
View media item 87953
Another day we ran across an abandoned dam project. I can’t remember what the whole story was, but I’m not sure what they were thinking as dry as it is out there – you’re lucky enough to get enough water for a puddle, let alone an entire lake.
View media item 87954
View media item 87955
Once we got back, I was ready to dig back into garage projects. The biggest change over the last few months was moving my shelving unit from the west wall to the now enclosed, insulated/sheeted south wall. I originally intended for this to be a temporary move so I could insulate and sheet the west wall, but after living with it for a few months, its going to stay this way.
View media item 87959
I finished installing the other half of the soffit vents, so we are now set to insulate the ceiling when the time comes.
View media item 87960
I mounted a manual wind air hose reel under my workbench and stuck my little 2 gallon compressor next to it under the bench corner. I wasn't certain how much I'd like this setup, but so far its been super handy. Stinker likes it too.
View media item 87973
After I had decided to keep the shelves where they were, I got my screws, tape, and other commonly used hardware organized. The shelf is empty on purpose - it gives me a spot to put my clear plastic parts organizer tray when I need to look though it.
View media item 87967
Then it was time to take another vacation - Wife and I were celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary by heading up to the Lake Superior north shore area in Minnesota for a few days. Absolutely beautiful up there - we'll definitely take that trip again.
View media item 87956
View media item 87957
View media item 87958
Back in the garage again, this time to make some improvements to the weld table. I bought some cheap HF c-clamps and welded some drop pieces of c-channel onto them to make it easier to clamp stuff down to the table. Using channel for the table top has meant that I have to tighten c-clamps by reaching under the table. Now I can tighten from the top. These two were test units, but they have been great so far and I'm going to make more.
View media item 87961
View media item 87962
Safety Disclaimer: Let me make one thing perfectly clear - these welds will fail eventually. MIG welding carbon steel to cast iron using ER70S-6 wire is definitely not the proper process. If you copy this, you do so at your own risk. However, for my situation, I'm not worried. I will only use these clamps to hold parts down to my table. When the weld fails, it'll just mean my clamps are more difficult to use. Again, don't copy this idea unless you know what the risks are.
I mounted some hitch receivers to the weld table and made some mounts for my bench grinder and vise. I've seen this all over GJ but I'm honestly not that in love with it so far - there's just too much wobble between the tube and receiver. Not a big deal with the vise, but I don't like it with the grinder. I could make a bracket to tighten it up or install a jam nut, but that kind of goes away from the quick setup aspect I was hoping for. We'll see how long it sticks around.
View media item 87965
View media item 87964
Took the time to get my screwdrivers in order using a HF magnetic strip. I really love opening this drawer knowing exactly where everything is going to be. I haven't attached the strip to the drawer yet, but its holding in place well enough I may not have to.
View media item 87966
Stinker wanted to work in the garage one day, so we made a robot head for her. Its pretty funny seeing a little girl walking around the yard wearing a yellow princess dress, a pink superwoman cape, and a cardboard box on her head.
View media item 87974
I also took the time to fix the cords on my circular saw, jig saw, and angle grinder (no pics). All just had worn casings that had been taped up several times. Its one of those things that you always mean to do when you're using a tool, but forget about the moment you put it away. I know I'm forgetting some other odd projects, but that pretty well sums up what I've been working on. Some big stuff, some little stuff, all stuff that keeps me moving (generally) in the right direction.
Which brings us up to this last weekend. I had planned on starting on the insulation for the west wall Saturday afternoon, but my buddy texted me asking if I could bring over my OBD2 scanner to get some codes off his "race" car, which ended up turning into an afternoon/evening of motor sillyness. A little backstory - every year, my buddy runs in an endurance race in a cornfield that is some sort charity fundraiser. Basically, guys take junk cars, customize them to be funny, and run them until they die. Kind of a LeMons/Gambler type event where the point is to spend as little as possible to have some fun. Money is raised through ticket sales at the gate, raffle tickets, silent auctions, etc. This year, his car is a Honda Accord that got rear ended, and then smashed into another car. Here is the result of our work...
6x6 push bumper, paint pan cowl induction hood scoop (yes, it is functional - cut the hole in the hood myself), stucco mesh grill insert, and straight pipe exhaust complete with coffee can "muffler" (Italian espresso for extra hp). We rattle canned the wheels rally car white as well and stripped the interior (no pics). Other than stickers, he's ready to run.
View media item 87975
View media item 87976
Yesterday, with the promised garage update looming in the back of my mind, I decided to finally sort out the internet connectivity in the garage. As I mentioned in a previous post, my new cell phone camera is garbage, so now I need to use an actual camera to take garage pics and upload them to GJ. I figure if I can use my garage laptop to do this, I'll be more inclined to follow through with making regular updates. The wifi connection in the garage has always been really poor. The signal was weak and would drop out frequently and when I ran a speed test, I only had 1-2Mbps download speed. After doing a bunch of research and considering all my options, I finally landed on this:
https://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-range-extenders/WN3000RP.aspx
It was very easy to setup. After playing around with a few different spots in the house, the sweet spot ended up being in the upstairs guest bedroom near a window that faces the garage. Now my signal strength is well over 60% and I've got enough download speed to stream YouTube videos! Had AvE and Mighty Car Mods running all afternoon without issue. Someday when I run new electrical and gas from the house, I'll bury a network line as well, but until then, I think this will do the trick. An added bonus - Wife was also happy because it boosted the signal strength in our bedroom as well. Her phone would always drop connection, now it shows nearly full strength.
View media item 87971
Yesterday was a good reminder that I do need to keep working on insulating. Getting into the season where you need to heat up beer to drink it.
View media item 87963
I think that pretty much sums it up. Still trying to figure out what happened to this last summer - it went by way too fast. Insulating and sheeting the west wall seems to be the next project I'm going to tackle. After that, I'm thinking its time to tackle the ceiling - I've been reading about lighting options and think I have it pretty well sorted out. I'm sure there will be plenty of side projects that distract me as well. Hopefully I can get back in the habit of making regular updates again.
Craptain
Well-known member
Regular or not that's a lot of stuff you did. Interesting comment on the hitch recievers. I have often considered and wondered about that myself.
Waiting for the next "regular" update.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Waiting for the next "regular" update.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
XJSuperman
Well-known member
Remind me to be careful if I ever have a beer with you.....warm Miller is not my idea of a good time. Lol.
But I agree on the season, I had one of my electric heaters cranked in the garage yesterday...Im not going to like the coming power bills.
Your heater is kerosene right? Do you have to crack the garage door to vent or are the fumes ok in there?
But I agree on the season, I had one of my electric heaters cranked in the garage yesterday...Im not going to like the coming power bills.
Your heater is kerosene right? Do you have to crack the garage door to vent or are the fumes ok in there?
Hah! Doesn't that just sum it all up?
Reading through your post, it sounds like you packed a lot in this summer. That picture of the dust storm in Colorado is eerie. I didn't realize those still happened outside of John Steinbeck novels. The underbench mounted hose reel reminds me of Jack Olsen's setup. Any reason you chose a manual reel? I find self-winders to be the bee's knees. I have two awaiting installation in my garage. I like your magnetic strip screwdriver organizer. I just might steal that idea!
Oh, and x2 on the warm Miller not being my thing!
Lol... no, I don't drink it warm (anymore). Problem is my fridge doesn't keep the beer warm enough to not freeze and overflow when opened. I've found that setting it on the heater for just a minute or two keeps this from happening. It's still plenty cold, just not frozen.
It is a kerosene heater and I don't have any issues with fumes, but I'm also not a very good test case since the ceiling of my garage is unfinished and there is a ridge vent in it. When I run the heater, all the fumes (and a lot of the heat) just go up into the trusses and outside. I'll admit it is a bit wasteful, but it does take the edge off.
In case you're wondering, the heater burns about 2 gallons of fuel every 10 hours, IIRC the pump price at Mills is usually between $3-4 a gallon - so around $0.70 per hour to run it. I totally nerded out on this a few years ago when I looked at the different heating options available (I think I have a spreadsheet saved somewhere). I went with kerosene because it was basically the cheapest heat I could afford to get at the time. Electric was the most expensive - I think I figured out that it was almost 2x the cost of kerosene to produce the same amount of BTUs. Propane was slightly more expensive than kerosene as well. Natural gas was the clear winner by quite a bit, but running a line from the house to the garage was not something I could afford at the time. I really would love to have a wood burning stove, but the insurance hassles prevent it from being a viable option.
XJSuperman
Well-known member
I would be interested in that data if you can dig it up. I have a 3ish car garage that is fully insulated and ceiling'ed (no ridge vent access). I currently have 2 electric heaters with 1500Watt and 1300W settings and they work for now, but Id like a gas setup. I have a line exiting the house, I just need to run it the last 20ft into the garage and buy a heater.
Thanks! Are you in DSM, or Ankeny or what? Feel free to PM if you don't want to post it.
Thanks! Are you in DSM, or Ankeny or what? Feel free to PM if you don't want to post it.
Eerie is the right word for it. It only stuck around for maybe 20 minutes, but it was a sight to see.
A combination of price and capacity were the reasons I chose a manual hose reel. The one I have was $25 on sale from Northern Tool. It holds 100' of hose, which lets me drag it all the way out into the driveway to air up tires. I'm sure Jack would have come up with something much more clever had he been the one mounting it.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200658815_200658815
Steal away - I'm sure I stole it from someone else.
https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-magnetic-tool-holder-60433.html
Yeah, I'm in the DSM area.
When I did my calculations, I put everything into a common unit - cost per hour of operation at 30k BTU. Looks like I was off on my earlier statement about the cost of electricity vs. kerosene. Maybe 1k kerosene was 2x the cost of electric? I'm not sure... Anyway, I dropped current prices into the table so it should be fairly accurate for today.
Natural Gas - $0.35 per hour
Kerosene (bulk) - $0.78 per hour
Propane (bulk) - $0.82 per hour
Electric - $0.95 per hour
Propane (retail) - $1.15 per hour
Kerosene (1k) - $1.96 per hour
2800 watts of electric power is equal to 9553 BTU. Basically, you're burning about $0.30 worth of electricity per hour running both heaters.
No update on the garage from last weekend. Saturday I spent the day pheasant hunting with my Dad and next door neighbor. We got three birds, could have had a few more if we were better shots. Still, a fantastic way to spend a day. Sunday ended up being the fall cleanup/get ready for snow day. For the first time in 5 years at this house, I'm actually ahead of the ball - what a nice feeling!
Today was a little shopping and a little work. Sometime between my last welding project and a few days ago, my gas regulator decided it didn't want to regulate gas anymore. Just a nice hiss when you crack the valve, so it was time to upgrade from the factory unit. Pretty happy to find that Mills had a Hobart on sale for $65... not a bad price for something assembled by the folks at Smith in Watertown, SD.
View media item 88345
Knowing that I had a lot of stapling to do while insulating the garage, I also decided to upgrade the tool I was using. Picked up an Arrow pneumatic stapler.
View media item 88346
I had a good laugh when I opened the box at how cute and tiny this thing is.
View media item 88347
But, as cute and tiny as the little stapler is, it did a good job while I insulated most of the west wall of the garage today. Definitely worth the $30 at Home Depot.
View media item 88348
Thanks for checking in!
Today was a little shopping and a little work. Sometime between my last welding project and a few days ago, my gas regulator decided it didn't want to regulate gas anymore. Just a nice hiss when you crack the valve, so it was time to upgrade from the factory unit. Pretty happy to find that Mills had a Hobart on sale for $65... not a bad price for something assembled by the folks at Smith in Watertown, SD.
View media item 88345
Knowing that I had a lot of stapling to do while insulating the garage, I also decided to upgrade the tool I was using. Picked up an Arrow pneumatic stapler.
View media item 88346
I had a good laugh when I opened the box at how cute and tiny this thing is.
View media item 88347
But, as cute and tiny as the little stapler is, it did a good job while I insulated most of the west wall of the garage today. Definitely worth the $30 at Home Depot.
View media item 88348
Thanks for checking in!