Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Texas Barn in PA

[madison069]

Piddled in the bunker some today. I terminated the 220v wires in a disconnect box for the future air compressor.

I also terminated the 110v wire and bent some emt to run some wire along the wall.



I put double standard outlets in the gang box, but I realized I should put a gfci in the string first. So I’ll redo the wiring in the below gang box when I go back over.



I thought I did good since I haven’t bent EMT in a long time. I didn’t have enough outlets for finish the other gang box and I was still undecided on how to handle the light situation in the bunker. I think I got a good idea now, just waiting for the stuff to come to the house. Hope my idea works!

 

[madison069]

Was able to finish up the wiring this morning. Just need a cover for the standard and gfci outlet combo. While I was there I also installed the lights. I got these linkable light fixtures since they had the options of hanging from the ceiling. I enlarged the holes and installed these magnetic hooks.



Here is one installed.


With all of them installed I plugged one into the closest outlet and turned them on.

Off


On




I think they will work well and I didn’t have to drill into the floor above or get into any creative bracket setup that would cost more then the magnetic hooks.

Now I just need to get some 2 wire cord to extend the plug to the outlet close to the door, this way I can use an inline light switch for these lights instead of running more conduits and what not.

With the weather being so cold, I need to block the door off to the bunker and place a heater in there to warm it up. I would like to seal the expansion joints and then seal the concrete before I start moving stuff into the garage.

Hopefully the weather warms up a little bit soon.

 

[madison069]

Nice and bright in the bunker at night!



Need to clean the leaves up and touch up the walls where the concrete splattered and hand prints.

 

[larry4406]

That bunker space will be excellent dry storage.

You will never regret having done it and the muscle pain from digging out it is long ago healed.

 

[madison069]

That bunker space will be excellent dry storage.

You will never regret having done it and the muscle pain from digging out it is long ago healed.

I agree, already planning what’s going in the bunker!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

The lighting turned out great!

 

[madison069]

The lighting turned out great!

I will say it turned out better than I expected. I was gambling on these cheap linkable lights and wasn’t sure what to expect. I just knew I was wanting to test my theory of mounting the light on the ceiling with magnets and I can’t complain with the results. Plus I have 4 extra lights to swap out if one goes bad.

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

The magnetic mounts for the lights were a great idea. Any reason you decided to go under the beams instead of through the gaps between the beams and the metal pan for the concrete? It seems like the perfect wire channel.

 

[madison069]

The magnetic mounts for the lights were a great idea. Any reason you decided to go under the beams instead of through the gaps between the beams and the metal pan for the concrete? It seems like the perfect wire channel.

Honestly I didn’t think about that! I was just putting the lights in place and trying to hurry up since it was high 20°F and I was starting to freeze.

I also thought about running the power wire in the middle of the room down the beam so I didn’t have to run a long wire along the wall to the doorway outlet. I’ll see if the end plugs will fit into the gap and reroute the wires the next time I’m there. Thanks for the idea!

 

[bugnut]

Lights look good in the bunker and while we're spending your money.....

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[madison069]

Lights look good in the bunker and while we're spending your money.....

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I actually have some similar to that, used it on the camaro to route some wires in a location I wasn’t able to drill any holes. Worked like a charm!

 

[CNC_RICK]

Cory, I need to tell you that I've been reading your stories, and love them. You remind me of myself, but think you have much more talent than myself and a real "giddy-up" to get things done. I love what you did on your Camero. That life-long car project turned out awesome. I love the red paint. Questioned when the black stripes were about to happen, but didn't understand what your idea was, when you were putting tape on. Once I saw what you did, I loved it. Great job. I learned something from you. Your Camero was running a little bit hotter than you would like. You tested the timing. The timing had slipped a bit. You knew to test for that. That is something I wouldn't have thought of. Good job. I really like your new "Texas Barn" and especially like the bunker underneath.

 

[madison069]

Cory, I need to tell you that I've been reading your stories, and love them. You remind me of myself, but think you have much more talent than myself and a real "giddy-up" to get things done. I love what you did on your Camero. That life-long car project turned out awesome. I love the red paint. Questioned when the black stripes were about to happen, but didn't understand what your idea was, when you were putting tape on. Once I saw what you did, I loved it. Great job. I learned something from you. Your Camero was running a little bit hotter than you would like. You tested the timing. The timing had slipped a bit. You knew to test for that. That is something I wouldn't have thought of. Good job. I really like your new "Texas Barn" and especially like the bunker underneath.

Glad you enjoy the stories I have! They aren’t as exciting as some folks on the forum, but I like to share what I’ve learned and what’s the latest on my projects. My family don’t get as excited about some of the stuff I work on, so it’s nice to share with other like minded folks!

The Camaro has been a constant project that I enjoy working on. It’s not finished but it’s now at a point where I can enjoy it before I do anything big to it.

Thanks for the compliment on the Texas Barn! This build has been a accumulation of ideas from my experience in garages and hopefully will one day be a nice place to work on projects and also hangout when people come by.

 

[CNC_RICK]

Of course I spelled your name wrong.. my apologies... I was once in Texas, about 20 miles from the border.... We stopped for supper and the waitresses were fighting over my son, Travis. Both waitresses wanted to please him more. My son was a toddler at the time. But what a neat experience, being in Texas, for a few hours. Quite nice folks, there.

I had a chance to work in Texas, temporarily, through my Company. It was part of my Company, at the time, and it would've been close to Killeen, TX. Not far from HWY 35. I had an aunt and uncle that lived in Killeen. I hesitated. It didn't happen. I regret, not taking that chance.

 

[CNC_RICK]

I had other chances to help out in other Cities... One was in California. I really wanted to work in Texas, amongst the other choices...

 

[madison069]

Of course I spelled your name wrong.. my apologies... I was once in Texas, about 20 miles from the border.... We stopped for supper and the waitresses were fighting over my son, Travis. Both waitresses wanted to please him more. My son was a toddler at the time. But what a neat experience, being in Texas, for a few hours. Quite nice folks, there.

I had a chance to work in Texas, temporarily, through my Company. It was part of my Company, at the time, and it would've been close to Killeen, TX. Not far from HWY 35. I had an aunt and uncle that lived in Killeen. I hesitated. It didn't happen. I regret, not taking that chance.

Killeen, Tx, just south of Waco where all of the fun happened at a the Waco Siege in 1993.

Along with a Dr. Pepper museum, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. Waco also has the nickname “Heart of Texas” due to it’s central location in Texas.

Can you tell I’ve visited Waco a few times?

That area is also known as the Hill Country. Unlike west Texas where it’s flat and dry, hill country has some elevation changes with some rivers and lake in the area.

Only downside to living in Texas is the heat, it’s not something everyone can handle.

 

[madison069]

Oh and I’ve answered to several names, Cory, Codey, Coby, Code Man, and other colorful names that is not nice to repeat. So no harm no foul. But officially my birth certificate says my name is Cody.

 

[CNC_RICK]

I did see on the news, about the Hill Country and the floods on the Guadalupe River, last summer. It's a shame, of the disaster that happened, but it's the first time that I learned about that part of Texas. I always thought Texas was mostly flat and full of rattlesnakes... (Just kidding, of course). But my aunt and uncle had a chicken or two for pets around their property, for snake reasons. I've seen on one of your trips, that you saw a gigant Tarantula. If I saw same, I think I'd run as fast as I can, without my feet touching the ground.........

 

[rsparks64]

Although a lot of West Texas is fairly flat and dry, there are three small mountain ranges way out west that each have peaks reaching the 8,000 foot height- Chisos Mountain in Big Bend National Park, Davis Mountains, and Guadalupe Mountains. It is a long drive from most parts of the state to get there.

 

[madison069]

I did see on the news, about the Hill Country and the floods on the Guadalupe River, last summer. It's a shame, of the disaster that happened, but it's the first time that I learned about that part of Texas. I always thought Texas was mostly flat and full of rattlesnakes... (Just kidding, of course). But my aunt and uncle had a chicken or two for pets around their property, for snake reasons. I've seen on one of your trips, that you saw a gigant Tarantula. If I saw same, I think I'd run as fast as I can, without my feet touching the ground.........

A friend of mine lost their daughter in that flood. She was only 22 years old and was with her boyfriend and his family. None of them made it as they were in the RV along the river when the flood hit.

 

[madison069]

Although a lot of West Texas is fairly flat and dry, there are three small mountain ranges way out west that each have peaks reaching the 8,000 foot height- Chisos Mountain in Big Bend National Park, Davis Mountains, and Guadalupe Mountains. It is a long drive from most parts of the state to get there.

Yep, I just hiked the Guadalupe Peak on November 2nd this year and went to Big Bend Park for the rest of that week. I hiked all over Fort Davis Mountain as a Boy Scout at the Buffalo Trail Scout Camp. It's only a 5-hour drive from Guadalupe Peak through Fort Davis to Big Bend. Even stopped at the Balmorhea State Park to see the largest spring fed manmade pool! I posted about that trip on my other garage page.

 

[loganb]

Bunker is looking great! I've been super happy with our motion sensor switches for closets, bathrooms etc that frequently get left on. Nothing fancy, just the standard motion sensor switch from a big box if you'd like to not have to worry that the family left the lights on....as we know the guys never do it lol

 

[madison069]

Bunker is looking great! I've been super happy with our motion sensor switches for closets, bathrooms etc that frequently get left on. Nothing fancy, just the standard motion sensor switch from a big box if you'd like to not have to worry that the family left the lights on....as we know the guys never do it lol

It’s never us!

I thought about that. I’m sure there is a motion sensor that can be plugged in. Off to google it.

 

[CNC_RICK]

It’s never us!

I thought about that. I’m sure there is a motion sensor that can be plugged in. Off to google it.

I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, about a mile away from the lake. On a a rather big farm. I'll call it a farm, lightly... As compared to what Logan is going through, with helping out his family. My Dad's biggest tractor was a John Deere "A".... We used to make hay each year, about a thousand bales or so, but took us the whole month of July to get the hay done. I really have fond memories of making hay, but would not want to do that on my property ... Nowadays, I hire the neighbors to make hay on my fields. Ha. I'm mostly a commuter, to the Twin Cities.

 

[rsparks64]

Yep, I just hiked the Guadalupe Peak on November 2nd this year and went to Big Bend Park for the rest of that week. I hiked all over Fort Davis Mountain as a Boy Scout at the Buffalo Trail Scout Camp. It's only a 5-hour drive from Guadalupe Peak through Fort Davis to Big Bend. Even stopped at the Balmorhea State Park to see the largest spring fed manmade pool! I posted about that trip on my other garage page.

Nice, you have done more than I have. I have spent two vacations in Big Bend and have pack packed around including up in the mountains. Was there once right after Christmas when there was a bit of snow up in the Chisos Mountains and when we spent a couple of days in the basin we spotted mountain lion tracks in the snow about 100 yards from our tent. Later we back packed up and spent some time higher up in the mountains and we darn sure kept our eyes open for mountain lion signs. More recently when going, they are starting to get more bears back in the park. Now you have to watch out for them too. I have also spent time camping along the river.


I have not been up the Davis Mountains, but have been to Fort Davis. Balmorhea and the Guadalupe Mountains are still places I want to visit. Having grown up in southeast Texas, west Texas is like a different world.

 

[rsparks64]

A friend of mine lost their daughter in that flood. She was only 22 years old and was with her boyfriend and his family. None of them made it as they were in the RV along the river when the flood hit.

Very sad. My condolences for your friend. A friend of a friend of mine lost a granddaughter there. We took a lot of supplies there right after the flood and it looked like a tsunami had gone down the river. The devastation was incredible. I was proud to be a Texan when I saw how many volunteers were there up and down the river helping to clean up, to look for bodies, and to bring food and supplies. The response was incredible. We went again about a month later and the clean up was was clearly visible and there were still a lot of volunteers working along the river.

 

[madison069]

Nice, you have done more than I have. I have spent two vacations in Big Bend and have pack packed around including up in the mountains. Was there once right after Christmas when there was a bit of snow up in the Chisos Mountains and when we spent a couple of days in the basin we spotted mountain lion tracks in the snow about 100 yards from our tent. Later we back packed up and spent some time higher up in the mountains and we darn sure kept our eyes open for mountain lion signs. More recently when going, they are starting to get more bears back in the park. Now you have to watch out for them too. I have also spent time camping along the river.


I have not been up the Davis Mountains, but have been to Fort Davis. Balmorhea and the Guadalupe Mountains are still places I want to visit. Having grown up in southeast Texas, west Texas is like a different world.

Heads up, they are closing Chisos Basin around April or May of 2026 and no access for two years due to them redoing the basin lodge and roads. Not even hiking the Lost Mine Trail will be an option. We didn’t see any mountain lions but did see deers, coyotes, horses, donkeys, cows, and other small animals. We stayed at the Rio Grande Campground and it was very nice.

Fort Davis looks different since the fire, even though it’s been years, it doesn’t look the same. But Fort Davis was a nice place to hike and even had springs to get water from on the trails.

Balmorhea is a weird place, nothing really exciting about that town, just irrigation ditches and deserts. Even the lake was low and used to be great to fish at but when I saw it, it was very low. Used to be a great crappie lake. But that pool was the nicest I’ve seen it in a long time since they remodeled it and did some freshing up.

I was born in Kermit, Tx and lived in west Texas for 28 years before I left for Pa 15 years ago now. Big Bend was a bucket list item for me so I had to go back and make a trip out of it.

 

[madison069]

Very sad. My condolences for your friend. A friend of a friend of mine lost a granddaughter there. We took a lot of supplies there right after the flood and it looked like a tsunami had gone down the river. The devastation was incredible. I was proud to be a Texan when I saw how many volunteers were there up and down the river helping to clean up, to look for bodies, and to bring food and supplies. The response was incredible. We went again about a month later and the clean up was was clearly visible and there were still a lot of volunteers working along the river.

It was a sad time, as they were waiting to find out if their daughter survived. She was the last of the group to be found. My understanding is they are still searching for missing people and have switch to high technologies to find the missing folks.

We tend to forget that the rivers in West Texas are dangerous. They may look small and puny but when it rains a lot, that water will come rushing down that dry river bed and overtake anything in its patch. It baffles me how people keeps building closer to those river banks when knowing damn well that area will flood quickly. When I camped near these river beds, I alway made it a point to stay out of the beds. My scout troop learned the hard way and woke up to their tents flooding with water one night, while I was high and dry by myself on the high ridge area away from the river beds. I woke up the next morning as I missed all of the action during the night. Everyone survived minus soaked sleeping bags and clothes. They thought I was just being weird by not wanting to camp near everyone else. I told them I rather not risk getting flooded in that river bed and they called me a worry wart. Needless to say, from then on they waited till I had pick my area of the camp ground before they pitched their tent and would setup close to me.

 

[madison069]

I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, about a mile away from the lake. On a a rather big farm. I'll call it a farm, lightly... As compared to what Logan is going through, with helping out his family. My Dad's biggest tractor was a John Deere "A".... We used to make hay each year, about a thousand bales or so, but took us the whole month of July to get the hay done. I really have fond memories of making hay, but would not want to do that on my property ... Nowadays, I hire the neighbors to make hay on my fields. Ha. I'm mostly a commuter, to the Twin Cities.

I never made hay, just helped my friends unload their trailer of hay. Seems we always did it on the a windy day, and I don’t mean the normal 20-30mph wind of West Texas.

 

[CNC_RICK]

I should tell you that I owned a 1976 Trans am for most of my life. That was the coolest car I've ever owned. It was painted black, with gold pinstripes. Much like the car in "Smokey and the Bandit". My car was a '76 the one in the movie was a '77. Mine had round headlights, the one in the movie had square headlights. Mine didn't have T tops either. I absolutely loved that car. Drove it for years. As long as I kept my foot out of the carburetor, it did about 20 MPG... It had the Chevy 400 in it, automatic transmission. As soon as I met Cheryl... along the way, a date was planned, one evening...then she got into an accident with her car. A 1990 Grand am. As she had her car in the body shop, I let her borrow my Trans am. I offered to fix the damage, but her Dad made an executive decision to let the professionals fix it instead.... Ha. But Cheryl and I had just met, and I only met her Dad, once beforehand. Her Dad was pretty scary to me, being that I was a hermit.. ha, but I wanted to impress his daughter.... Things worked out ok with him, and I ended up, marrying his daughter.... Ha. He was half my size, but had plenty of "go on, git!!!" In his voice. He was pretty protective of his daughter... Ha. But I had a heck of a time getting my Trans am back from Cheryl ... She loved that car. We just celebrated our 31'st anniversary this October.

When Cheryl and I were dating, she came to my house for the first time.. ( I did the driving) I showed her my machine shop. Her mouth was wide open when she saw my machines.... My third date with her.... Once she was at my house, I had written a poem for her on scratch paper. I'll not recite that poem, but Cheryl has my hand written writings, someplace in this house... That very same year, we did a birthday for her Dad and my Dad. Both of them had the same birthday, in July, once Cheryl's Dad saw my shop with my machine tools, he immediately changed his mind about me.. . Imagine that. He was a good father, looking out for his daughter....

 

[madison069]

Stopped at the garage to fill in the expansion joints with the sikaflex and also assembled the ramp there. I did put cross pieces under the ramp a legs in the middle of the ramp for support. Being so cold I didn’t stop to take pictures of the frame.



I also routed the light wires over the beams through the gap of the steel decking. Fit like a charm.



Just need to get an extension cord and a monition sensor.

That was it for now. We will see how long it takes for the sikaflex to cure.

Edit*** it’s not cause I’m old that I didn’t take pictures of the frame, it’s cold!!***

 

[larry4406]

Are you gonna put anti-slip on that ramp? I can see a slip and fall in the making.

 

[Xti04]

Cody I used motion sensor switches I found at Home depot in the clearance section. They work great in my wifes salon, our closets, and the kids bathrooms.

 

[madison069]

Are you gonna put anti-slip on that ramp? I can see a slip and fall in the making.

I thought the same thing, but it’s a rough surface even with the paint on it. That plywood has one of the roughest surfaces I’ve seen on plywood for some reason. So far with snow on our shoes, neither me or the youngest had problem with slipping. I’ll probably leave it as is for now.

If it does seem like a problem, I’ll paint it and throw sand on the paint when it warms up again.

 

[madison069]

@Xti04

I found a 4 pack of these motion sensor plugs on Amazon. Thought they would be handy in the house too since the living room has no ceiling light so lamps are used. So the extra will be used somewhere or stashed incase of a failure.

 

[SilverJimmy]

I don’t think the tape is needed with the SikaFlex, I just take a razor blade scraper and cut the caulk off flush with the floor. I then hit it with my cheap Ryobi orbital sander and 50 grit paper, smooth as a baby’s ****!

 

[madison069]

I don’t think the tape is needed with the SikaFlex, I just take a razor blade scraper and cut the caulk off flush with the floor. I then hit it with my cheap Ryobi orbital sander and 50 grit paper, smooth as a baby’s ****!

I thought about your results, but this floor wasn’t power trowel like the garage floor so I was concerned the rough surface might create some issues. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a smooth floor but it wasn’t burnished with a power trowel.

 

[rsparks64]

Heads up, they are closing Chisos Basin around April or May of 2026 and no access for two years due to them redoing the basin lodge and roads. Not even hiking the Lost Mine Trail will be an option. We didn’t see any mountain lions but did see deers, coyotes, horses, donkeys, cows, and other small animals. We stayed at the Rio Grande Campground and it was very nice.

Fort Davis looks different since the fire, even though it’s been years, it doesn’t look the same. But Fort Davis was a nice place to hike and even had springs to get water from on the trails.

Balmorhea is a weird place, nothing really exciting about that town, just irrigation ditches and deserts. Even the lake was low and used to be great to fish at but when I saw it, it was very low. Used to be a great crappie lake. But that pool was the nicest I’ve seen it in a long time since they remodeled it and did some freshing up.

I was born in Kermit, Tx and lived in west Texas for 28 years before I left for Pa 15 years ago now. Big Bend was a bucket list item for me so I had to go back and make a trip out of it.

Had not heard about closing up the Basin. Going up there is about the only place with real trees, except close to the river, and there is so much up there. Is the whole basin closed? I will have to check on that. Being in central Texas I know a lot of people that go there.

 

[madison069]

Had not heard about closing up the Basin. Going up there is about the only place with real trees, except close to the river, and there is so much up there. Is the whole basin closed? I will have to check on that. Being in central Texas I know a lot of people that go there.

Based on the provided information, they will be closing the road that you turn onto to the basin completely. So no access to even the trails on Basin road.

Chisos Basin Improvement Projects - Big Bend National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[madison069]

Been almost a month since I’ve updated here, but with the cold and other stuff that needed to be done I haven’t had time to work over here.

Along with the tenant is now staying one more month, so hopefully she’s out this month cause I’m done and the next step is court. We will see.

Either way I’ve been watching for things I wanted for the garage on Facebook marketplace and one of the item is a nice steel bence. Nothing extra, just a place to sit at and tinker on stuff.
Well the wait has paid off and I was able to get this Durham steel bench for $40. Really clean and in good shape. Based on the uline site, this was a $340 bench.




I need to figure out what this is under the bench incase it’s something useful for me.


I also took the time to cut the sealant at the expansion joints in the bunker. This concrete will benefit from the densifier as the concrete surface was very powdery like limestone when I was cutting the sealant off.



One cool thing that happened while I was picking up the steel table as I saw this 3d cut out of the Texas State. Apparently the guy had a cnc shop where he cut stuff like this out and he had cut the topographical shape of Texas and other states. Texas was the last big one he had and so I asked if it was for sale and they said just to take it, even gave me the mounting hardware too!


You can see the Guadalupe peak and how tall it is to the rest of the state.


So I now got a cool wall art for the Texas Barn!