Garage workbench

Over the past several months, I have been slowly changing up the layout of the garage.  A man just can't work in someone elses garage!  It has to be customized for our personal usage.  This is major.

The past owners had a pretty long workbench mounted along the north wall of the garage.  This "bench" was apparently built for someone tall.  It came up to my chest!  Not a very comfortable working height at all.  The top was in pretty rough shape.  It was 3/4" plywood but had seen some use.  It appears, from the layers of metal shavings I found, that a grinder once lived on one end of the bench. 

On the east wall (or the back of the garage), there was a 6 foot high loft.  It was essentially a wall mounted workbench mounted up high on the wall.  It was 2' deep and supported by a diagonal brace.  The loft ran the entire 12' width of the garage.  Drywall was installed AROUND the framing for it.  It also made it dark in the back of the garage because it blocked any light from reaching the ground. 

So, that is what I have to work with.  A lot of this will come down and one large, long, 36" high workbench will be mounted along the back wall.  2x2 framing and 3/4" ply for the work surface.  Should be a good space for building some customer speaker enclosures!

I will post pics as I progress.  Check back often and let me know what you think?  Got any ideas? Good tips to share?  How about pics of your own garage?  Tell me what you like about your workspace.

Save money with DIY?

I was fortunate enough to have Columbus Day off.   This is usually the day that we get together and go to Pepe's in Lafayette with my dad and stepmom.  This year we had to pass this up due to lack of funds and some van issues.  So, instead of taking a leisurely fall drive and stuffing my face full of the most excellent mexican meal...I stayed home and performed a DIY brake job on the van.  I actually knew that the front brakes were beyond their days due to the overwhelming amount of brake dust that was accumulating on the wheels.  Within the last few weeks I could hear a rubbing noise coming from the wheels.  So, on Sunday night, I took the wheels off, removed the brake pads, and purchased the new ones.  I was all ready to install them Monday morning.  Upon installing the calipers, I realized that one of them had failed. The caliper piston had overextended and would not retract into the bore.  I also had some badly scored rotors.  New parts were going to run about $200, which I didn't have available.  Cue Ro Jo!  I called my dad and told him of my dilemma.  He agreed to pay for the parts so I could get the van back together. I would then have to repay him when we got the money.  I'm pretty lucky to have a dad who is willing to do this sort of stuff for me (our homes are only about a block from each other too).  After getting the parts and reinstalling, it was time to bleed the brakes and get it back together.  Called dad for one more appearance and he helped me get the fluid topped off, brakes bled and tires rotated.  The whole process was relatively smooth with one hiccup when we had an airlock in one of the brake lines.  The line was not producing any air pressure or fluid.  We finally got the pressure back and sealed the deal.  Now the van is running 2 new front rotors, 2 new front calipers and all new front pads.  At first I thought it was a wasted day.  I spent half of the time working on this car when we could have been making our ritualistic trip to Pepe's.  But, at the end of the day, I got to spend some time getting my hands dirty with my dad and then enjoying the evening at home with the wife and kids.  All in all, I would say it was well worth it.

Splittin' wood

Spent the last few days splitting the rest of the firewood for the season.  A friend was kind enough to bring up a 1/2 truck load from Rossville, already split and seasoned.  My mom had a pretty large section of an old oak down, so I cut it up and brought it home to be split.  I also was able to get about 1/4 cord of maple from another large limb that was down in her yard.  Splitting wood is pretty physical work.  I learned a few things while going about it this week.  First, make sure the logs are not much longer than 18" before splitting.  When cutting with the chainsaw, make your cuts straight so that the wood will stand on end when it's time to split.  I was able to borrow a maul from a neighbor, which made the job go pretty smooth.  Stay safe when splitting by using a chopping block of sufficient height for your body.  Using the maul, get an idea of the distance between you and the log. Always bring the maul up in the air and straight down.  Don't go to the side as it can make you miss the target.  This can damage your maul or cause the log to go flying in one direction.  Make sure kids, animals and other items are clear of your splitting zone. 
I had a close call that could have caused some damage to my wrist.  One piece of a log went flying off to my right and landed on the top edge of a metal table end.  What happened was a bit like what would happen if you stepped on the end of a landscaping rake....the handle comes flying at your face.  Well, this table end levered towards me with great speed.  Luckily the handle of the maul took the brunt of the force and my wrist was spared.  Just a bit closer and it would have broke my wrist. 
Now that it's split, just need to wait on the chimney cleaner to come and give us the go ahead.  Can't wait to burn on cold winter nights!

What up with the insulation on the roof decking??

The south side of my garage is in bad shape.  The north side is fine. Why is this?  I think I found out what is going on. The previous owner went insulation crazy on the inside of the garage. About half of the interior is sheetrocked with insulation. The other half is open studs.  The space between the rafters is insulated as well, but it may be causing some issues.  Most builders will agree that in order to insulate open rafter spaces, a styrofoam spacer should be used.  This allows air to flow from the soffit area, up the channel created by the spacer, then out the roof vents or ridge vents.  This garage has two issues.  First, it has insulation installed in the rafter spaces that is attached right to the bottom of the roof decking.  No air can flow and it's a great way to quickly ruin the roof. It get's extremely hot with the sun baking it and no air flow underneath. 
 In addition, there are not any soffit vents!  It's old, so that may explain it.  There are no roof or ridge vents either. The prior owner(s) chose to mount two powered fans in each gable end to pull the air out. This seems like a waste on energy to me and I'm not thrilled with the noise created.  So, bring on the plans!  I am ripping down the insulation and will install some soffit vents.  I will then reroof the structure and add some rectangular roof vents to let that air flow.  For insulation, I will put up a ceiling and insulate on top of that.  This will give me the airflow I need AND keep the space cool in the summer and warm in the winter. 

Do you have any ideas for this situation?  Any comments? If so, let me know.  I would be happy to discuss this with you.

Clean gutters, dry basement!

When we were viewing this house, we noticed some spots in the northwest corner of the basement where water had been seeping in . At first glance, I blamed it on a missing window well cover.  After moving in, this was my first maintenance issue to attack!  If you know me, I get information crazy and obsessive.  A bit of investigation outside led me to the problem.  First, the gutter downspout extension on that corner of the house was missing.  The water was draining directly into the foundation line.  Not good.  Easy fix though.  Picked up a 4' section of aluminum guttering and one elbow.  This projected the extension about 5' from the house onto a slight grade AWAY from the home.  Job done!  Not quite.  Fast forward a few weeks and I still notice some water coming in the basement. During a heavy rainfall I discovered water dripping, no gushing, form the top elbow.  Clog!  As soon as the rain was over and lightning no longer a threat, up the extension ladder I went.  I found a lot of debris in the lower level and upper level guttering. Mostly pine needles, which are very good at forming dams and creating blockages.  After clearing the gutters, downspouts, and elbows, the drainage was great.  No more leaks, no more water in the basement.  Don't underestimate this chore.  Try to have your gutters cleaned at least twice a year.  It's especially important to get them cleaned in the spring, before the "April showers" and the fall, before the snow starts to fly.  For service, call up Freeflow Gutter Cleaning @ 217-918-1826.

Welcome, read the first post!

Welcome to my first blog, Room to move!  I wanted to start a blog to document everything that involves our house.  Our family has grown to 4 children, two adults and one cat.  Prior to moving to this house in May 2011, we all lived in a 950 square foot, 3 bed, 1 bath, ranch.  It was tight and there was definitely NO room to move there!  A blog title is born.  Anyway, I hope you come back and check it out.  I'll be uploading some before and after pics and documenting any projects that go on.  The house is 1920 Colonial Revival style home.  Over the years it has been remodeled a few times, including an attic conversion to a master suite.  It's slated at 2300 square feet on a basement, first floor, second floor and third floor!  I've become interested in the home's history and I intend to do some research on that and post  here.  For now, adios.  Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to check it out.  Check back often for more updates!