West Side Story

[Skeetobite]

Trying to do updates more often...

Finished gluing 75 joints for the hydroponic grow bed and started fitting the drain system when a delivery arrived.

The delivery turned out to be some NewAge cabinets. Decided on hotrod red to add more color.

They're perfectly level, I promise. Just a very tired camera man who can't hold his phone straight today.

More to come..

 

[BoilermakerFan]

The beds look great!

 

[Skeetobite]

Thanks BMF. I still need to do quite a bit of plumbing and order some parts for a last minute design change. Currently, I can use either half of the system or the entire system as needed. The change is to allow turning off the water flow to individual beds.

 

[tweidman]

It's always an exciting day when you get to install your cabinets.
They really make a big difference. Nice work.

 

[Farmall450]

Wow, awesome place and nice job tuning it up. That color scheme turned out great.
Subbed (Just read through this whole thread, wish I would have seen it years ago lol).

 

[Skeetobite]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Not much of an update this time around, even though it did take a lot more time than I anticipated.

Finally got the top of the grow table and beds done. Got the drain angles sorted and tested it with a bottle of water. Works great and the water poured all over the floor. Another win for Racedeck free flow tile.

Orange arrow - Each grow bed, including the 45 degree end piece, is a single unit. They simply slide in and out of the 4" PVC drain line for planting, harvesting and cleaning. Pretty slick.

Tomorrow's project: Finish the plumbing. The grow lights will be in early next week.

 

[Skeetobite]

Made up 25 individual supply lines with shut offs. Got the light supports built.

 

[C_F]

Man-oh-man, I just spent the last 3 hours reading your whole thread! No idea how I didn't see your thread before now, but I'm definitely glad I found it today. I love how much room you have on your property, and so many garages!

Thanks so much for sharing your great house, garages, cars, and projects with us here. How is your "grow room" going, now that we're in the middle of winter? Is that still your son's school project, or is it pretty much all yours now?

 

[Skeetobite]

Man-oh-man, I just spent the last 3 hours reading your whole thread! No idea how I didn't see your thread before now, but I'm definitely glad I found it today. I love how much room you have on your property, and so many garages!

Thanks so much for sharing your great house, garages, cars, and projects with us here. How is your "grow room" going, now that we're in the middle of winter? Is that still your son's school project, or is it pretty much all yours now?

Thanks C_F. We still share in the hydroponics, but had to shut it down for winter. I need about 10" of insulation in the attic of that garage, a well and a bathroom. I'll try to get that done over the summer so I can use it next year.

 

[strength_and_power]

Awesome, just awesome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Thanks C_F. We still share in the hydroponics, but had to shut it down for winter. I need about 10" of insulation in the attic of that garage, a well and a bathroom. I'll try to get that done over the summer so I can use it next year.

Ah bummer on having to shut it down. I was going to post at the end of the month to see how it was doing.

 

[Skeetobite]

Ah bummer on having to shut it down. I was going to post at the end of the month to see how it was doing.

Yeah. I was ready to rock and roll but just didn't have the time to add the insulation. Then we got hammered with snow and the same extreme cold everyone else had. We had icicles from the gutters to the ground. Was worried about ice damming, so I shut everything down and set the heat to about 50F.

Thinking about moving the entire Hydroponics platform to the East Garage instead. I already have a water source, plenty of insulation and heat.

It's probably good a good thing though. I have been working about 18 hours a day on the stuff that pays the bills, so no big deal.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Yeah. I was ready to rock and roll but just didn't have the time to add the insulation. Then we got hammered with snow and the same extreme cold everyone else had. We had icicles from the gutters to the ground. Was worried about ice damming, so I shut everything down and set the heat to about 50F.

Thinking about moving the entire Hydroponics platform to the East Garage instead. I already have a water source, plenty of insulation and heat.

It's probably good a good thing though. I have been working about 18 hours a day on the stuff that pays the bills, so no big deal.

Well, if it helps, dark leafy greens prefer colder temps. 50degF with a slight drop into the 40s at night is ideal for lettuce, spinach, and other greens.

 

[Skeetobite]

Well, if it helps, dark leafy greens prefer colder temps. 50degF with a slight drop into the 40s at night is ideal for lettuce, spinach, and other greens.

Yeah, I'm taking a pretty scientific approach to it since I may want to scale up to a commercial enterprise. For optimal growth performance, the stuff I'm planning to grow likes 70F days, 50F nights and about 55% RH. I can pull that off in my east garage with no drama.

 

[Skeetobite]

Latest project: Gun storage and cleaning room. Works as a tornado shelter too! Not the most secure solution available, but you would have to know it's here and bring a sawzall to get in.

Has a floating workbench, steel door, hidden steel reinforcement placed strategically, led lighting, make up air and is tied to the back-up generator.

 

[Finallygotit]

Nice!

 

[tjpavlov]

Nice work in that little room. How did you setup for makeup air?

 

[Skeetobite]

Nice work in that little room. How did you setup for makeup air?

Thanks. We were lucky that a cold air return was located in one of the walls. We joined that and then added a small, baffled and adjustable HVAC supply duct to one fo the ceiling tile. So, no humidity and continual air exchange. If I find the time, I'll put up a picture of it.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Skeetobite top job..

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Nice!


Have you done any more experiments with the hydroponics?

 

[Skeetobite]

Thanks guys. Finally done and moving on to the next project.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

One of those doesn't belong! Better sell it off and replace it with another Sig, STAT! I'd suggested a P938.

 

[Skeetobite]

One of those doesn't belong! Better sell it off and replace it with another Sig, STAT! I'd suggested a P938.

LMAO! That's what the P365 is for. I can't believe that thing is 10+1 and is slightly smaller than the G43. I got a couple of the 12 round mags for it too. A few hundred more rounds and it goes into rotation.

 

[Farmall450]

Glad to see you're still updating this! Looking good.

 

[Skeetobite]

Hooray! After several seasons, tons of replacements, wiring tracing and hair pulling; I finally have the irrigation system at 100%.

This thing has been a nightmare. Most of the valve boxes were buried. Still need about 3 more new heads here and there. I'm planning to move over to a WiFi enabled system but need to sort out the shared common wires before taking the leap.

I'm having this map printed in large format and laminated to hang in the garage near the controllers.

 

[jblnut]

Holy sprinkler heads Batman !!!

Lawns with sprinkler systems always look so nice but what a lot of work !!

If you want more shop time or more anything else time, stop watering your lawn. The grass will quit growing mid June/early July and you'll have all kinds of free time

 

[Skeetobite]

Holy sprinkler heads Batman !!!

Lawns with sprinkler systems always look so nice but what a lot of work !!

If you want more shop time or more anything else time, stop watering your lawn. The grass will quit growing mid June/early July and you'll have all kinds of free time

LOL - I try to keep it looking like this...

 

[C_F]

LOL - I try to keep it looking like this...

Forrest Gump would approve! Hehe.

Seriously though, your lawn looks fantastic, nice work!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

I'm having this map printed in large format and laminated to hang in the garage near the controllers.

Which garage?

 

[Skeetobite]

Forrest Gump would approve! Hehe.

Seriously though, your lawn looks fantastic, nice work!

Ha ha! Thanks. It takes far too much time though. I prefer to cut it myself (therapy), but may turn it over to the landscaper next year. By the end of July, I'm sick of it.

 

[Skeetobite]

Which garage?

LMAO - the west garage (west side of the house).

 

[jblnut]

It takes far too much time though ...... By the end of July, I'm sick of it.

The timeline works out .....

The grass will quit growing mid June/early July and you'll have all kinds of free time.

Seriously though .... that looks better than the golf course up here ... You better not come to visit, you'll have a nervous breakdown at the condition of my lawn ...

 

[GirchyGirchy]

Ha ha! Thanks. It takes far too much time though. I prefer to cut it myself (therapy), but may turn it over to the landscaper next year. By the end of July, I'm sick of it.

You know, if you quit watering, that problem solves itself!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

You know, if you quit watering, that problem solves itself!

Unless he's getting a lot of rain like most of us in the Midwest. My grass should have started to slow down now, but it's still growing like a weed. I can barely go a week between mowing.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

Unless he's getting a lot of rain like most of us in the Midwest. My grass should have started to slow down now, but it's still growing like a weed. I can barely go a week between mowing.

Same here - I was just now able to get caught up and mow the back yard at my normal setting rather than maxed out. I'm just glad I got out last Thursday before it turned hot AF.

 

[Skeetobite]

Oh man, here we go again... moving to renovate the East Garage.

• Three Bays (940 sq. ft.)
• Hot and cold - soft water
• Exterior steel (man) door
• Forced air heat
• Easy access to restroom

Having lived here for several years and working out how we use the various spaces, we finally decided the best use for the East Garage. Thankfully, this is a mild overhaul compared to the other garages.

Update pics to follow.

 

[Skeetobite]

So, this garage has a coating of nicotine on every surface. Started by cleaning with TSP and then applying Kilz-Max. Incredibly, the Kilz-Max covered the nicotine and smell in one coat. Had to scrub the garage doors and floors.


You will see several steps done out of order (ceiling, etc.) due to the availability of some helpers I needed here and there. It will all come together in the end though.

 

[dubber]

Another garage to work on.....so much envy! Was the garage used as the previous owner's smoke room?

 

[Skeetobite]

Another garage to work on.....so much envy! Was the garage used as the previous owner's smoke room?

Embarrassed to admit, this was my smoking garage. It was a filthy mess.

Trying to quit so giving up the last indoor space is the best first step. Already cut my smoking by 80%. Gonna coast for a couple weeks and cut it again.

 

[dubber]

Embarrassed to admit, this was my smoking garage. It was a filthy mess.

Trying to quit so giving up the last indoor space is the best first step. Already cut my smoking by 80%. Gonna coast for a couple weeks and cut it again.

Great excuse to apply the necessary pressure to get you on the other side of it. Best of luck!