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Garage Facelift (Interior)
Build Garage Closet, Work Bench, Etc
June 2016 - August 16, 2016
Garage Floors
March 1 - 10, 2017 |
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Now that it is summer, it is the
perfect time to work in the garage where the
afternoon temperatures exceed 100 degrees. OK...
maybe not the perfect time. The garage is just
where I happen to be, at this particular time, on my
to-do list.
When the
Raising the Roof project began, which
involved tearing off the garage roof, I moved a lot
of the stuff stored in the garage, into the house.
Before I can work on projects inside of the house, I
need to get the stuff back into the garage.
Before I can do this, I need to build a storage
closet in the garage to put everything in.
The plans for the garage are:
- Build a closet in the corner to the right of the
window
- Tear out the existing work bench area and peg
board walls and build a new work area
- Repair damage done to the sheet rock walls during
new roof construction
- Create hanging storage along walls and using
exposed rafters
- Paint walls, etc. to brighten up the space.
- Eventually paint underside of roof and rafters.
Maybe use spray foam insulation on underside
of roof.
- Put some kind of non-skid surface treatment on
cement floor to prevent slipping when wet. |
About the Garage
The garage is located in front of the house and
had a near flat roof when we bought the house.
The garage fits two vehicles and has an added raised
cement section for storage or a workbench. The
garage was finished with sheetrock ceilings
(unpainted) and
walls (painted). The garage is a separate structure
attached to the house by a section of roof.
The flat garage roof was replaced with a higher roof
in 2015. The exterior of the garage was
also given a facelift at the time. |
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Garage before new roof installed |
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Garage
after new roof was installed 2015 and facelift |
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When the old roof came off, the
sheet rock ceiling was also removed. |
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Old
sheetrock ceiling being removed |
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Sheetrock
ceiling all removed |
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Then the entire roof was removed |
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Entire
roof gone |
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Then the new roof was put in
place. In order to attach the new roof frame
to the garage walls, some of the sheetrock on the
walls needed to be removed so the roof clips could
be installed where the wall framing was. The
contractor offered to repair the damage and put a
new ceiling in. I however did not want the new
roof framing covered. I wanted it exposed, so
that the space could be used for storage. The
damage along the walls I would repair myself. |
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New roof
in place. Soffit boards outside not yet installed,
thus all of the light coming in around edges.
Note damage to sheet rock walls along top edge. |
So now, a year after construction
of the new roof, I am ready to tackle the inside of
the garage. This work will be done in stages
and in a particular order. For example, before
I can build the closet in the corner, I need to
move, use, or get rid of the lumber and stuff I have
stored there.
Hmmm. Let's use some of the stuff I had stored
in the corner. I had two wire shelves that had
originally been in our laundry room. I
installed both wire shelves on the rafters. I
will use this space to store 8' long pieces of trim,
moulding, or flashing. Items that are not too
heavy. |
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Installed
re-purposed wire shelving along rafters to store
trim or moulding 8' long |
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What about the shorter pieces of
trim and moulding? Using some left over 2" x
2", I built a hanging shelf screwed into the rafters. |
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Hanging
shelf built from re-purposed 2" x 2" to store pieces
of trim or moulding less than 8' |
So far so good. I have not
needed to go to the hardware store to buy anything.
Then I worked on the long wall that is visible when
the garage doors are open. I had previously
patched two large holes that were in the sheetrock
but had not painted them. There were also two
small areas at the top of the wall to repair.
There was a gap between the new frame and the wall
that I wanted to install some trim. There were
also about 100 holes on the wall to fill before
painting. |
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Long wall
to repair, add trim at top, and paint |
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There was also the corner section
above the door. This area still showed some of
the older roofing that connects to the roof over the
house front entrance. I just wanted to hide
this transition area a little. |
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Corner
section that still shows rafters from roof section
over front entrance of house. |
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I repaired the sheetrock at the
top of the wall. I had saved the old trim
board from the front entrance and re-purposed here
along the top of the wall right under the rafter
which covered the gap. After I filled the 100
holes, scraped, and sanded down some rough spots, I
then slapped on two coats of white primer/paint. |
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Long
section of wall repaired and painted |
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I used a scrap piece of roof
sheathing to create a mini ceiling over the door.
The scrap sheathing was not big enough to go over to
the next rafter on the left where I would have
wanted it to. It helps cover up some of the
ugliness of this corner, so it will do for now.
I have a scrap piece of fascia that I may use to
attach to the end vertically to box up the corner.
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Corner
covered with scrap roof sheathing |
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I ordered some rafter hooks
online and hung up some stuff along the freshly
painted wall. |
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Using
rafter hooks, I hung up some stuff |
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All that was left in the corner
were two plastic shelves, which I easily dragged
away from the corner. Now I am ready to build
a closet in this corner. |
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Corner
now free of stuff. Ready for a closet to be
built |
Off to the hardware store......
after I get my SUV back from the repair shop.
The little white car rental pictured above is
worthless for a lumber run. June 11, 2016.
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Build A
L-Shaped Garage
Storage Closet
June 13, 2016 -
While I am waiting for my SUV to be repaired, I
prepared my garage closet plans.
I will be buying the framing materials first.
After the frame is up, I will make the final
measurements for the walls of the closet.
These measurements for the plywood walls, need to be
exact, because I will be having the hardware store
cut the plywood to size so I can fit it in my SUV.
Also, there is no way I can fit all of the 2x4's AND
the plywood in my SUV at one time.
The floor plan for the closet is below. |
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Garage
closet floor plan |
When creating this floor plan, I
had several things to consider.
1) It is "L" shaped because I wanted to maximize the
available space. If I just made a rectangle
shaped closet against either wall, I would not have
as large of an enclosed space. If I made a
huge square, going to the edge of the cement ledge,
it would block a car door. The 38" along the
edge of cement ledge will not block any car doors.
2) There are two doors because I hate squeezing into
tight closets. Both doors will of course open
to the outside. When both doors are open, objects
can be moved easily to either side. Both
openings will also allow access to the shelves in
the corner. Both doors will also allow enough room
to go in
and out on top of the cement ledge. If the
doors opened too close to the ledge, you would have
to be careful of falling off the ledge when backing
out of the closet.
3) Framing against walls are a little wonky. I
need to turn the 2 x 4's so that I can secure the
frame against the two walls to the existing studs.
Which means, I have to do a little tweaking here and
there, so that each section of the frame I add, will
be securely fastened. For example, I need to
cut a notch on each side of the the 2 x 4's against
the window wall along the floor and ceiling so that
I can get the 2 x 4 on the adjoining wall frames up
against it to nail it. Arggg. That was
hard to explain. See the diagram below: |
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Notch
that will be made on horizontal 2 x 4 to allow side
frames to be attached |
The order of the frame
construction will be:
1) Create the frame for the window wall and then
attach it to the existing wall studs.
2) Create the frame for the shorter wall and attach
it to the frame against the window wall in the
corner and to the wall studs in the shorter wall.
3) Build the 38" and 30" wall frames sections and
attach them to the frames against the walls
4) Go buy two 24" pre-hung doors
5) Build wall frames for the door walls.
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June 16, 2016 -
Finally got my SUV back yesterday afternoon.
Made my lumber run to the hardware store to pick-up
the 2 x 4's I needed. Yes, you can fit 37 - 8
feet long 2 x 4's in the back of a Mitsubishi
Montero Sport, if you remove the passenger side head
rest. Probably could have fit 10 more.
After removing the base board moulding from the
wall, I was ready to begin.
I started with the longer more difficult 92" long
section. I cut two 92" pieces for the top and
bottom of the frame. I then cut out the
notches on the corners where the adjoining frame
pieces will connect. I pre-drilled my nail
holes for the vertical pieces on the top and bottom
pieces.
I then cut five 2 x 4's 93" long. I laid the
frame flat on the ground and nailed all the vertical
pieces into the top and bottom pieces with 2 1/2"
nails. The frame was then lifted up and
dragged into place up against the wall. The
frame was nailed to the wall where the studs are.
And in case anyone is wondering....the studs in the
existing wall are 24" apart, not 18". |
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92"
section of frame against window wall complete and
secured in place |
The
height of the wall from the floor to the top
of the sheetrock was 96 1/2". I
decided to make the height of the closet
framing 96". I wanted to leave enough
room on the top to attach a plywood ceiling.
Why bother with a ceiling you ask? I
want to make this closet somewhat air tight.
I want to minimize the amount of dust
getting in the closet. Also the top of
the closet can be used to store items.
The top and bottom 2 x 4's nicely covered up
the damaged sheetrock at the top and the gap
where the base boards were removed. |
Notch cut
in corners |
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June 17, 2016 -
Today I completed the 70" and 38" sections of
the closet frame. I am building this closet a
little a day. With temperatures in the 100's,
it is not easy. |
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70"
section of frame against wall complete and
secured in place |
The 70"
section slid right into the corner notch I
made on the 92" section of frame. This
now keeps it firmly in place, along with the
nails.
I then built the 38" section. For this
piece I deviated from making a normally
frame. The big gap with no 2 x 4's is
going to be used to store my scaffolding
platforms. I want the platforms to sit
on top of the bottom 2 x 4 and lay flush
against the inner wall. |
70" frame section slid into corner notch |
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There will be a piece of wood
holding the platforms firmly against the wall. This
way these platforms will be securely out of the way
and not falling over like they do now. Once the
closet is done, I'll include a photo of it. |
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38"
section of frame in place. Big gap in this frame
will be used to store scaffolding platforms |
June 18, 2016 -
Started working after I made a 6:00 am run to
the hardware store to pick-up the two pre-hung doors
I needed. When I finished for the day at 1:30
pm, it was already 103 degrees outside.
I first completed the 30" wall and 16" of the 54"
wall. To help stabilize the frame in this
section, I attached a 2 x 4 at the top of the frame.
Once the frame is complete, and the plywood walls
are on, this closet will be solid. Until then,
the pieces slide around a little if you hit them
hard enough.You will
also notice that I did not attach any horizontal
pieces between the vertical 2 x 4's. This is
because I will be inserting a modular shelving
system in this space. Not sure exactly how I
am doing this yet. Just concentrating on
getting the frame up first. |
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30"
section and 16" of 54" wall complete |
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I had just enough energy to
complete one door frame section. I then slid
one of the doors in place to make sure it fit.
It did. The doors will not be installed until
the entire frame is completed and the walls and
ceiling are in place. |
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One door
frame section complete. Pre-hung door dry fitted in
place |
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June 19, 2016 -
I managed to finish the framing of the closet
walls
today. |
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Frame of
closet complete. Pre-hung doors dry fitted in place |
The small section of frame to the left of the right
door has eight horizontal pieces. It just
happened that the numerous 3" scrap pieces I had,
fit in this gap. I spaced them 12" apart.
What normally is a dead space is now an area where I
can store 8 cans of spray paint or other aerosol
product.
This was not something I planned for in my
initial design. It was just something
I thought of on the fly.
I am now ready for the outer walls.
But before I put the walls on, I am going to
install the frame for the heavy duty large
shelving in the large corner of the closet.
The frame for this shelving will be attached
to the frame walls. This shelf framing will
help stabilize the outer closet walls.
There will be 4 shelves measuring
approximately 35" x 27". These shelves
will be for large heavy bulky items.
Some of you may be wondering why I have not
anchored the frame onto the floor.
Which would be the most logical thing to do,
to keep the frame from sliding around.
Simply....I don't want to try and drill
through the concrete. The closet in
the man cave (see
this here), has stayed
put, just fine, after 3 years without
anchoring it to the cement floor. |
Dead
space turned into
spray can storage |
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June 21, 2016 -
After making yet another 6:00 am hardware store
run, I got to work on making the frame for
the inside corner heavy duty shelving.
Before nailing in the framing for the corner
shelf, I painted the inside corner.
Why? Look at the photo to the right.
To stand inside and paint this area I have
to climb over the top or crawl in
underneath. Not easy if you are almost
60. Yes, I still need to paint the
shelf frame, but there will be less to paint
now.
I will be buying 3/4" plywood for these
shelves. The shelves will be supported
on all four sides by the framing.
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Inner corner shelving in place. Plywood up
on 38" wall |
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This section of the closet is now
very rigid. No more sliding around on the
floor. And yes, at almost 200 lbs, I would
feel safe climbing up the shelf framing.
I nailed up the plywood on 38" wall before I
finished for the day, just to get it out of the way. |
June 22, 2016 -
Plywood walls placed up on outside of walls.
For the areas on top of the door openings, I
used scrap lumber I had laying around.
The ceiling has one long piece of plywood
running along the 92" wall, 30" wide.
For the remaining area above where the right
door is, I had a half sheet of siding left
over from my siding project. I cut a
piece 38" x 40" to cover this section of the
closet ceiling.
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Plywood walls and ceilings in place over
frame |
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I placed it siding side up, this
way the ceiling just looks like I used sheathing.
You may wonder how I nailed the ceiling on.
Let's just say it was done with great difficulty.
Yes, I hit my head several times on the roof rafters
climbing up on the ladder.
If I did not use the scrap lumber I had, I would
have needed a fourth piece of plywood for this
project. So if you are following my plans,
using my dimensions, you will need four pieces of
plywood for the walls and ceilings. |
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Ceiling
in place using plywood and a scrap piece of siding
(back side down) |
June 23, 2016 -
Today was door hanging day.
Managed to get both doors hung without too
many problems. The doors will be
removed from the hinges for painting.
I went through all of my moulding to see
what I had. I recycled some moulding
and used it at the top. I will need to
visit the hardware store again to pick-up
what I don't have.
Moulding will be installed in this order:
1) Along top edge and around doors.
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Doors finally hung |
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2) Base boards
3) Corner moulding and quarter rounds for
edges and inside corner.
No moulding on the inside of the closet..
I will also be buying 3/4" plywood for the
shelves.
June 24, 2016 -
Attached all of the moulding to the outside of
the closet. Did some caulking and nail
hole filling. After I remove the doors
and hinges, the outside is ready to paint. |
Doors finally hung. They actually
close without sticking!! |
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Trim work
completed on the outside of closet. Ready for paint. |
June 25, 2016 -
Today I cut and started painting the shelves for
the heavy duty shelf located in the inside corner.
Each of the four pieces of wood are 38" x 27".
I then cut out some tabs and notches to make the
shelves a little more custom fitting. On the
inside edges there is a one inch gap. This was
intended. I did not see the need to make these
shelves go all away against the wall when they would
just be used for large bulky items.
The top shelf was nailed securely in place.
Safer this way. Too dangerous to be pulling
something off the shelf and the shelf tilts and
everything lands on top of you. I will
probably nail the other three shelves in place also.
This shelf was not designed to be modular. |
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3 of 4
heavy duty shelving being painted |
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Top heavy
duty shelf in place |
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July 10, 2016 -
I completed the garage storage closet on June
29, 2016, which included all of the painting.
Moving day was on June 30, 2016. Which means,
I moved everything off of the two plastic storage
shelves, into the closet so that I could get rid of
the plastic shelving. |
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Garage
storage closet complete. French cleat hanging
on longer walls, chalk board painted on, and hung
license plates for some garage chic. |
Before completion, I finished the shelving
in the corner of the closet on the left
side.
I also added some French cleat sections for
hanging the larger items like brooms,
shovels, etc.
Shiny brass hinges that came with the
pre-hung doors were removed and spray
painted with oil rubbed bronze. The
door knobs are the same as the inside of the
house. I had the two knobs on-hand
already. They do lock if needed. When
locked, this will prevent a quick crime of
opportunity if the garage doors are open and
some petty thief is walking by.
Here in El Paso, you have to be on constant
alert. If something is not locked
down, it will just walk away.
While working in my garage with the doors
open, I have thwarted a few of these
possible thefts by being somewhere where I
could not be readily seen. One idiot,
whom I have never seen before, actually
started rambling about wanting to borrow a
cup of paint thinner when I noticed him.
Really??? |
Shelves added to left corner of closet |
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I just waved the paint brush I had in my
hand at the time and said, "Sorry, I am only
using latex based paint, no thinner." If I
had not been there, something would have
been ripped off.
The door locks will also keep out small
children. However, for a burglar with
time on their hands, the locks are useless
if the burglar knows how to remove the door
hinge pins.
License plates were mounted to scrap pieces
of thin plywood that I painted gray.
Just a decorative touch. But.... the
plates hide some of the plywood seams above
the doors.
I created some "L" shaped brackets from some
scrap wood to secure the wood that holds the
scaffolding platforms in place in the nook I
created for them when I built the closet
along the 38" wall. |
French cleats added to inside of closet |
|
Because the scaffolding platforms have metal
edges, they need to be held in place.
If not, the metal just slides and the
shelves fall down.
Chalkboard paint was added to a section of
the outside wall of the closet and was
framed with some painted scrap polystyrene
moulding.
Why a chalkboard? I am always looking
for a pen and paper to do a quick
calculation. Then I loose the paper I
do the calculation on. Also, I will
use it to jot down items I need to buy or
run out of.
Chalk tray was placed at the top of the
board. Also made with a glued-on piece of
moulding. |
Scaffolding platforms (2) held firmly in
place against inside of the 38" wall |
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The closet was made to be almost air tight,
to keep out dust. Except for the space
under the doors which I will eventually seal
with some weather stripping. Which
means....it is pitch black inside when the
doors are closed. During the day, you
can see ok inside. During the night,
forget about it. I needed to install
some lights.
For this garage, adding more electrical
lights is not an option. Just running
my table saw can trip the circuit breaker.
I was not about to add more of an electrical
load to this space. I thought about
battery operated lights but they always are
"accidentally" left on and you have to keep
changing the batteries. |
Chalkboard paint on wall
with glued on frame |
|
I opted for lights that have
solar charging batteries. With the open roof
framing, it was easy to run the light cords to the
solar panels through the roof soffit vent. The
panels were mounted on the west side of the garage
roof fascia. The sun hits the panels for at
least 5 hours a day which is more than enough for a
solar light that is just used for brief periods.
If it is accidentally left on over night, it just
recharges again when the sun is out.
The solar lights that I purchased are called:
MicroSolar Super Bright - Lithium Battery - 60 LED
Solar Shed Light - Power Adjustable. The
lights work during the day, which is what I needed.
They are basically a regular LED light that just
happens to charge it's batteries with a solar panel.
A little pricey for something made out of plastic.
I'll have to wait and see how long they will last.
For now, they work great and the light is bright.
You can adjust the lamp to the height you want it.
I have it dangling about a foot from the ceiling
because I want to be able to access the red button
on it without a ladder. To turn the light
on/off, you pull the cord. The solar battery inside
is changeable if it no longer holds a charge.
Purchased for $49.99 a piece in June 2016 on
Amazon.com |
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Solar panels for lights attached to fascia
on west side of garage |
MicroSolar
Super Bright - Lithium Battery - 60 LED
Solar Shed Light - Power Adjustable |
|
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Total for L-shaped garage storage closet |
| |
|
| 45 -
8 foot - 2" x 4" |
$103.05 |
| 4
boxes (4 lbs) 2 -1/2" nails |
13.18 |
3 --
4' x 8' sheets of 15/32 pine plywood
for walls
Note:
I used scrap lumber
for the area above the doors and a
section of the
ceiling. If you are following my
plan, you will actually need 4 sheets of
plywood |
71.40 |
| 2
pre-hung 24" doors |
102.60 |
|
3 gallons
of white primer/paint combo |
89.04 |
|
Moulding |
38.09 |
|
2 -- 4' x 8' sheets
of 3/4" Oak plywood for shelves |
89.96 |
|
2 - Solar lights |
99.98 |
|
Hooks for French
cleat system |
20.00 |
|
One box of 1 1/2"
finishing nails |
3.12 |
| |
|
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Total |
$610.62 |
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Build A
Storage
Closet - Workbench - Cabinet Combo
|
After
moving everything from the plastic shelving
into the L-shaped closet.... I then had to
move everything that was inside the old
workbench storage area. Which means, my
new L-shaped closet is now packed
full.....temporarily.
The monstrosity in the other corner of this
garage wall is going to be torn out and a
new storage and workbench area will be
built.
The old workbench in this corner is too
high, the cabinet doors are falling off,
there are nails sticking out everywhere from it, the
cardboard pegboards are too wimpy, to use
the bottom cabinet area you have to lay on
the ground just to look inside. Oh, and can
we all agree...it is just plain ugly. |
New closet temporarily packed full |
|
The old
work bench, cabinets, and pegboard sections
were then torn off. Most of it came
off easily. Nothing was attached to
the studs and fortunately there was not much
damage to the sheetrock behind everything.
A few holes which are easy to fill.
All of the large wood pieces were cut down
to smaller pieces so that they can fit in
our trash bin over the next couple of
collection cycles. |
Old workbench and pegboard walls to be torn
out |
|
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Old workbench and pegboard walls to be torn
out |
|
Old
workbench/cabinet and pegboards torn out.
Lumber trash pile is what remains. New storage and
workbench will be built in this corner. |
July 11, 2016 -
Since it it still in 100's outside, I will spend
some time indoors planning the new workbench/storage
area.
This corner of the garage is the same size as the
space I built the L-shaped closet. 72" from
the wall to the cement ledge. 96" between the
window and corner. I am leaving 4"
to the left of the window as I did with the L-shaped
closet. So I actually have 92" to work with.
Things I considered before planning the new workbench
and storage:
1) I want to be able to continuously walk along the
cement ledge. So I will not be building anything too
close to the edge that will prevent this.
2) Space above the older workbench was wasted.
It was hard to pegboard any item above 6'.
Which means there was 2' of higher space that needs
to be utilized. A perfect place for hanging
cabinets.
3) Storage underneath the workbench is still
desired, but with a different purpose. A place
where large bulky objects like the shop vacuum, can
be rolled in.
4) Overall storage of large bulky items is still
needed. So an additional closet will be built.
5) The old workbench was small. I can
make it bigger and have an extension to make it even
larger when needed. |
I sat down with my graphic program and started doodling
around with layout.
This is what I came up
with: |
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Sketch
for new workbench area |
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The plan consists of three separate
sections: 1) the closet, 2) workbench, and
3) the hanging cabinets.
For the closet, I wanted
to use another 24" pre-hung door. With
the width of the pre-hung door and two 2
x4's to frame each side of the door, I
calculated the width of the closet to be
33". Depending on how many decent
2 x 4's I can get, this
measurement may vary a little.
Regarding the 2 x 4's I get at the big box
stores. Ha! Good luck finding straight
ones. So when I say "decent" I mean a
minimal amount of warping. I spend a
lot of time picking out my lumber, sorting
through all of the lousy pieces. I
have had them bring out new pallets because
what was currently on display was crud.
With this in mind, the closet will be framed
first. What remains from 92" will be
the workbench width; 59" plus or
minus.
The depth of the closet will be 36".
This will still allow me 36" of cement ledge
to stand on while opening the closet.
The horizontal framing of the closet will
double as shelf supports. There will
be four shelves inside the closet.
|
Side profile for new workbench area |
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The workbench will be a deep 36".
I was going to make it a more standard 24" but
realized the shop vac was longer than 24". I
just want to roll the bloody thing in and close the
door. I don't want to remove hoses or the
handle. This shop vac is always in the way, no
matter where I put it. I want it to have a
home where it can stay put until I need it.
The deeper workbench area will provide approx. 15
square feet of work space. One foot less than
the old workbench surface. However, I plan to
have an extension that will roll out, providing at
least 10 more square feet of surface area.
The roll out extension to the workbench is still
being worked out in my head. I looked on the
web for something similar to what I envisioned, but
did not find anything. A folding extension
would not work because it would cover the lower
cabinet door. To get something out, you would
have to lift the extension.
Basically, there will be a gap or pocket at the top
of the frame of the workbench. The extension
will be housed in there. When needed the
extension will be pulled out of the pocket. It
will only need two legs because the workbench frame
will support the extension on one side.
For ease
of movement, there will be locking casters
on the two legs. Unlocked when not in
use.
The shelf will have conveyor ball transfers
mounted on the frame which will allow the
shelf to "roll" out easily instead of
sliding along the wood frame. |
Single transfer support ball |
I guess I could line the frame
with felt, so the wood pulls out easier.
However, this only works well if the wood is smooth
so it won't snag the felt every time. There is
also wax, which will only collect dust over time.
It is easier to screw about six of these ball
bearings under the shelf and roll it out.
The extension will have some kind of stop to keep it
from being pulled all of the way out of the pocket.
When I am working on this portion of the workbench,
I will include enough photos so you know what I did.
There will be two cabinets hung with a French cleat
above the workbench. Each cabinet will be 36"
high and 18" deep. They will be similar to the
cabinets I made for my laundry room.
See
these here...
Some of the wall space around the
workbench will be covered with metal pegboards.
This will be used only for hanging the tools that
are used frequently. Hammer, screw drivers,
awl, etc. I prefer to keep most of my tools
out of view in a closet or cabinet. |
|
July 17, 2016 -
Went to the hardware store yesterday to pick-up
the 2 x 4's and the pre-hung door for the closet
section for this corner of the garage. After
cleaning up the area and removing the baseboards, I
was now ready to start building the closet frame. |
|
Corner
cleaned up and baseboards removed |
For this
closet, I built the door frame section
first. The reason for this is that the
whole width of the closet is based on the
door. I wanted to make it as narrow as
possible.
I butted the 2 x4's next to each other. By
doing this, the frame measured 31-11/16"
wide.
With this measurement, I then made the back
frame. The back frame was attached to
a couple of studs in the wall.
Oh!.....and the left wall is not square.
It tilts outward going toward the top.
So I needed to level the back frame before
nailing it to the wall stud.
This is all I did today. |
Back and door frame of closet complete |
|
July 18, 2016 -
I worked on the two side frames today.
Because I did not put any spacers between
the 2 x 4's around the door frame, I needed
to remove a half inch off the vertical 2 x 4
on the side piece near the door. If I
did not do this, the pre-hung door would not
go in the frame correctly.
After finishing the two side frames, I
attached them to the back piece and then the
door frame.
Using scrap pieces of plywood, I put a
ceiling on the closet and covered the front
of the closet.
I then hung the door with no problems.
For the inside of the closet, I just need to
cut four pieces of plywood for the shelves.
The framing supplies the support for these
shelves.
The right side of the closet will remain
uncovered until the workbench is built.
|
Closet frame complete |
|
Under the second frame support on the right
side I added an additional piece of wood.
This wood will help support the workbench
when I start to frame it. It will also
attach the workbench to the closet.
The center of the second side frame support
was placed 40" from the floor. In case
someone is wondering about the horizontal
frame spacing, they are at the following
measurements from the floor up: 24",
40", 56", and 72". I always leave more
space for bottom and top storage areas.
For the shelf that will be placed at the 72"
position, it will be half the size of the
others. If I made it all the way to
the door frame, you would not be able to get
much inside easily.
I will need to make another trip to the
hardware store before I can continue. |
Side left open until workbench is attached |
|
July 22, 2016 -
On the 19th and 20th, I did the "use everything
I have on-hand game" to go as far as I could before
I needed something from the hardware store.
Going through the moulding I had on-hand, I added
moulding along the top rafter against the wall where
the pegboard used to be. I had some moulding
for the top of the closet and around part of the
door. With the remaining paint I had left over
from the other closet, I did some painting.
On the 21st, I made my hardware store run to pick-up
the remaining wood I needed for this project and
some hardware. |
|
Work
completed as of July 22, 2016. Bottom section of
workbench added |
Today I worked on the bottom section of the
frame for the workbench. I say bottom
section because there will be 4 more inches
added to the top.
The outside corners are an "L" shape made
with 2 x 6's. The legs of the roll out
extension will be tucked in this area. |
Close-up
of workbench bottom framing |
|
|
I used three 2 x 6's on each corner.
I cut notches in the 2 x 6's to fit the 2 x 4's on
the sides. The height of this framing is 36".
The open space underneath will be covered by a set
of doors. No framing will go on the floor of
this opening. This is the space to be used for
roll-in items like the shop vac. I already
rolled the shop vac into this space to make sure it
fits. It does easily. |
|
Top view
of workbench bottom framing |
|
The next step is to create the
framework that will support the roll out extension.
This frame will have the transfer support balls
screwed on them. The roll out extension will
then be placed on top of the balls. This
extension will only be a piece of 3/4" plywood with
two 2 x 4" legs attached. There will be a
little bit of trim on the edge and a stop attached
underneath to keep the extension from being pulled
out all of the way. When the roll out is complete,
the final workbench surface will be put in place on
top. |
July 24, 2016 -
The last couple of days have been spent figuring out
the roll out extension for the workbench and
building up the areas around where the
extension's pocket will be. The back 12
inches of the workbench frame were built up
with scrap lumber so the final overall
height of the bench will be 40". The
perfect height for my arthritic back.
The roll out extension was made and the
casters attached to the bottom of the two
legs. It will now be removed to
reinforce and paint it. |
Roll out extension made. Not yet reinforced. |
|
The frame with the transfer support balls
was made. Nine balls were screwed onto
the frame. Scrap lumber was placed
around the edges to bring up the height of
the bench for the top.
The right and left edges of the bench are at
the final height needed. The right
side wall was placed on. |
Areas outside where the extension will be,
are being built-up with scrap lumber |
|
Why am I using all of this scrap lumber?
Because I have so much of it and none of it
will show anyways when I am done.
A scrap piece of thin plywood then covered
all of the pieces. |
More scrap lumber being added to back 12" of
workbench |
|
|
The workbench is now ready for
the final top after I finish working on the
reinforcements for the roll out extension. I
added some inside corner moulding on the frame and
added some outside corner moulding along the edge of
the plywood side on the right. |
|
Thin
piece of plywood covers all of the lumber in the
back 12" of top. Corner moulding added to edge
of plywood on right side. Bench is now ready
for top after extension is done |
|
To reinforce the roll-out
extension, I placed a 4" width of some scrap
plywood along the front edge of the
extension. I am gluing it first and
will then run nails through it. This
strip in the front will also help hide the
transfer balls underneath. So it is
also a trim for the table. |
4" width scrap plywood added to front of
extension for support and trim |
|
|
4" width
scrap plywood added to front of extension for
support and trim. Waiting for glue to dry
overnight |
| Along
the right and left edges where the
roll out extension top will be, I added some
thin polystyrene moulding. This
moulding will help keep the extension
straight when it is rolled in and out.
The surface of this moulding is also very
slick which will help the roll-out glide out
smoothly. |
Polystyrene moulding to help keep roll-out
straight |
|
July 27, 2016 -
With the shelves painted and in place, the
moulding installed on the right side of the
door, and the door knob put on.....the
closet is basically finished. The wall
will be installed after the cupboards are
up.
The French cleat wall part for the cupboards
was made from some scrap 3/4" plywood and
mounted on the wall. There were only
two studs on this section of wall. The
cleat was attached with two 2-1/2" screws in
each stud.
After making sure the roll out extension
worked properly, I pulled it out and painted
it. I decided to paint it gray to
break-up the monotony of all the white.
The gray also matches the wheels.
After working with the roll out, I
discovered that it was easier to leave the
casters locked. To move the extension
in and out, you lift it up on the end. |
Closet complete. Wall will be done after
cupboards hung. |
|
With the roll out pushed in, I
just nudge the caster in with my foot so it is in
the recessed section. With the wheels
unlocked, the legs kept popping out.
Because it helps to lift up the edge of the roll out
to move it, I left a gap between the main workbench
top and the roll out. If I had placed moulding
against the edge of the workbench top to cover the
gap, I would not be able to lift up on the roll out.
While the paint was drying on the roll out, the
workbench top was put in place. To finish the
edge of the workbench, I glued and nailed on a half
round piece of moulding. The workbench top
will be painted with ebony Polyshade. This is a
stain and polyurethane combo. Why black?
Why not? The top will be painted after the
cupboards are installed.
After the paint had dried on the roll out, It was
moved back in place. I screwed in a couple
pieces of metal plates underneath the roll out back
to act as stops. If the roll out ever needs to
be removed again, it is easily done by removing the
screws that hold the metal.
The doors for for the cabinet under the workbench
will be hung with gate hinges. I had these on
hand from my
outdoor storage shed, so I decided to use
them here. I went ahead and installed the
hinges on the frame to get them out of the way.
The base moulding I had removed from the wall was
placed back on under the window and on the side of
the workbench. The window was given some love.
This window had not been opened in years because....
it would not open. After cleaning out all of
the caked in dirt and moths. Yes, dead
moths...I was finally able to open the window.
I also pulled out the screen which needs to be
replaced. I have ordered a new shade for the
window to replace the retro 80's model on there now.
The area under the window was painted.
The area underneath, between the workbench and
closet, I have decided to leave open. This way
if I have something 8 feet long, it could be stored
in here if needed. |
|
Workbench
done except for cabinet doors and painted top |
|
Area
under window complete |
July 28, 2016 -
Today was dado day. Made dados on both
ends of side cabinet pieces. 8 dados
making multiple passes on my table saw. I
don't have a router. So yea, it took
awhile.
After the dados were made I made the basic
cupboard boxes nailing and gluing the top
and bottom sections into the dados. |
Dados cut into cupboard side pieces |
|
|
Sides,
tops, and bottoms of cupboards assembled |
|
July 28, 2016 -
I finished up the rest of the cabinets today.
I added center supports in the front and back.
Shelf supports were added to the inside. I
placed thin Hardie board on the back of the
cupboards and then painted everything that would be
visible when hung.
Before I finished for the day, I hung up the first
cabinet to see if I could. These cabinets
without the shelves are HEAVY. It is 3/4"
plywood. 30" wide, 36" high and 18" deep. Standing
on top of the workbench I had just enough strength
to lift it up until the French cleat caught the
back. My workbench has now been tested at 200+
lbs. The shelves were added after the cupboard
was put in place. |
|
First
cupboard put in place |
July 30, 2016 -
First thing I did today was to hang the second
cupboard. After I was done, I secured both
cupboards in place to the wall with 2-1/2" screws
into the studs. The French cleat is strong
enough to hold the cupboards but I am not taking any
chances. Both cupboards are not going anywhere
at this point.
I had enough of the thin Hardie board to place on
the wall of the closet. |
|
Second
cupboard put in place. Cupboards secured to
studs with screws.
Hardie board dry fitted on closet wall. |
|
Now let's make it pretty.
Using a bunch of scrap moulding......wood, pvc, and
polystyrene, I trimmed out the whole area
above the workbench and around the cupboards.
The wall areas were painted a flat gray. A new
outlet plate was put on that will match the steel
pegboards that will be installed on wall under
cupboards. |
|
Area made
pretty with moulding and paint |
July 31, 2016 -
Today was give more love to the window area day.
The window area had several issues. The
sides of the window opening were damaged.
One way to fix it would have been to get
some dry wall mix and apply it. Messy,
messy.
What I did instead, was to get some thin
wood and nailed it on the sides. I had
to make a notched area for the window latch.
The window had never had any trim, so I
added this around the window.
I also gave the wood on the window sill a
good sanding.
After caulking every seam around the window,
the whole area was painted.
A scrap piece of of the window moulding was
used to cover up the damage at the top of
the wall. |
Window
area to be worked on |
|
|
Damaged
sheetrock on sides
of window opening |
Sides
covered with thin
wood |
Window
side after all
repairs done |
|
The new screen was also installed today.
The window is now ready for its new shade
which will arrive on Aug 3.
The only thing left for this area is the
moulding on top of the workbench and the
painting of the workbench top.
There are also the cupboard doors and the
doors under the workbench.
For the workbench cabinet, I am using the
leftover wood I used to cover the damaged
window opening sides. I cut strips a
little under 4". It will be a simple shaker
style gluing the wood pieces onto the front
of the plywood.
I don't have enough clamps, so this will
take a while.
|
Window area done |
|
|
Strips of
thin wood being glued on plywood workbench cabinet
doors |
August 3, 2016 -
Almost done with the workbench area. I
finished the workbench cabinet doors and got them
painted and hung. The steel pegboards came in
and were mounted.
The new "cheap" window shade came in. I
ordered the cheapest window covering I could find.
I would never hang this inside the house. For
the garage it is perfect. I wanted something
that would let in the daylight. But I wanted
to block the view of the inside the the garage from
the outside. If
there is no light on in the garage, you cannot see
in. |
|
Workbench
cabinet doors in place. Pegboard and new window
shade installed.
Cupboard door hinges installed. Cupboard door
backs being painted in foreground. |
I finished working on the cupboard doors and
I am currently painting them.
After the cupboard doors are hung, all that
is left is the paint on the workbench
surface. |
Where is that clunky shop-vac? Why
there it is....
Snug as a bug in a rug, inside it's new
home. |
|
August 5, 2016 -
I spent yesterday installing the cupboard
doors. Today I did all of the touch up
painting and put on the cupboard knobs.
The first coat of black paint went on the
workbench top. The trim that goes
along the edge of the workbench top is being
painted separately.
Whenever I have trim, that will be a
different color than one of the surfaces it
will lay against, I paint it before I
install it. This way there is a clean
line. |
Cupboard doors installed. First coat
of black poly-stain applied to workbench
top. Trim along top of workbench and
along right edge, painted separately.
|
|
I also don't have to worry about
having to mask it, possible paint bleed, and tape
taking off the paint underneath. I did put
plastic under the workbench top to protect those
painted surfaces. The poly-stain I am using is
thin and I drip a bit. More so than when I am
using a thicker latex paint.
There will be three coats of the black paint.
Sanding between each coat. After two coats, I
will install the trim. The third coat will be
done with the trim in place. The monsoon
season has kicked in here which means, there is more
humidity. I may need to wait additional days for
each coat to dry before I can sand.
In the meantime, I will order the lighting for this
area. Can't have a work area without good
lighting. There is currently no lighting over this area. |
August 6, 2016 -
The black paint dried faster than I thought it
would. I guess it helped to have a fan blowing
on it. Anyways, I finished up the workbench.
The third coat went on this afternoon and is drying
as I type this.
I have ordered one solar light to place over the
work area. It will be the same light fixture I
used in the L-shaped closet. I will have to
run the wire out another soffit.
The other light I bought was a 24" under cabinet LED
light. It is a little pricey, but I was
looking for one with the brightest output of light.
Which means you need to spend a little more money.
This one says it will give me an equivalent of 75
watts. It will plug in and not be hard wired.
I wanted to get two lights, but I decided to wait
until I see how the one works first. If I get
a second light, it can be chained together.
This way I only use one outlet plug.
I will add a picture of the lights when I receive
them and mount them.
I added door sweeps to the bottom of the closet
doors. This will help keep out some dust.
I am also trying out some Lizard reflective tape
along the cement ledge. I am wondering how
long it will stick. If it does stick... good.
If not, I will probably end up painting along the
edge. So far neither my husband or I have
fallen off or tripped on the ledge. Mentally,
we know it's there. However, I have "almost"
done so several times. With me, almost means
eventually I will. Hopefully this marking
along the edge will prevent this from happening.
I still need to place the tape along the other edge. |
|
Completed
workbench, closet, cupboard corner |
|
Close-up
of workbench top |
|
Completed
side of garage, Reflective tape added to part of
cement ledge.
Door sweeps added to bottom of closet doors to keep
out dust. |
For the roll out section of the
workbench, this is how it works.......
- First grab the gray section in front with both
hands on each side.
- Lift up a little to raise the locked wheels off
the floor and pull out evenly a few inches.
- Unlock the wheels.
- Roll it out where you want it.
- Lock the wheels.
To put it back....basically do the reverse
- Roll the extension back in until you are a few
inches from the bench.
- Lock the wheels.
- Make sure the wheels are sticking straight out.
- Lift the edge of the table and slide in until gray
section is flush with the edge.
- With foot, press on locked wheels a little to
nudge them in pocket.
In retrospect, I should have added drawer slides to
the sides. I might do this later. For
now the roll-out works fine. |
|
Workbench
extension rolled out. To operate it, you grab
the gray section in front with both hands and lift
up a little and pull it out a few inches.
Unlock the wheels. Roll it out, and then lock
the wheels when you have it out where you want it. |
|
Total for workbench, closet, and
cupboard corner |
| |
|
|
26 -
8 foot - 2" x 4" |
$64.49 |
|
3 - 8 foot - 2" x 6" |
10.47 |
|
5 --
4' x 8' sheets of 23/32 pine
plywood |
158.30 |
|
2
boxes (4 lbs) 2 -1/2" nails |
6.24 |
|
One box of 1 1/2"
finishing nails |
3.12 |
|
1
pre-hung 24" doors |
51.30 |
|
1 - 4' x 8' sheet
1/8" thick Hardie board (back of
cupboards and part of closet wall) |
7.18 |
|
2 casters |
12.55 |
|
3 gallons
of white primer/paint combo |
89.04 |
|
1 qt Classic Black Satin Minwax
Polyshade |
11.58 |
|
Moulding
- around closet door, cabinets, etc |
63.88 |
|
Case of 10 - Hudson
Bearings BT-1CS Two-Hole Flange Mounted
Ball Transfer, Carbon Steel, 1"
Diameter, 75 lbs Load Capacity
(only used 9) |
19.51 |
|
5 - 16" x 16" steel
pegboards |
40.00 |
|
1 - Solar light for overhead |
49.99 |
|
1 - 24" under cabinet
mount LED light |
64.92 |
| |
|
|
Total |
$652.57 |
|
|
What is left to do in the garage?
The other side. This is basically just
painting. I will place before and after
pictures on this page when I do it. |
August 15, 2016 -
Took a few days off. Installed the
workbench area lighting. The under cabinet LED
light I bought from the Home Depot is pretty decent.
The brighter setting puts out enough light to do
tasks at night if needed. For details on the GE 24 in. Enbrighten LED Linkable Under Cabinet Fixture
go
here...
The overhead light is another
solar light. The same as the the lights in the
L-shaped closet. I installed the light away from the
bench a little so it would also illuminate the inside of
the closet at night.
I also put a carpet type fabric over the workbench
surface to protect it. The same carpeting was
placed on the garage floor around the workbench and
closets. |
|
At night.
Both solar and under
cabinet lights on bright |
At night.
Only solar light on.
Able to see inside closet easily. |
|
|
On the 12th, I started working on
the east garage wall. |
|
East
garage wall before |
I painted the new scrap moulding
holder, placed moulding at the top of the wall to
cover construction damage, repaired the damaged
corner by the garage door opener frame, put a new
outlet cover on, and installed a re-purposed
bathroom hanging shelf as a "dis and dat" shelf.
The corner by the garage door frame was heavily
damaged by my open old pick-up door 15 years ago,
while reversing out of the garage. Huh???
Don't know how the hell I did that, but I did.
My husband had attempted to patch it. I sanded
down the area then covered it with some scrap ABS I
had. With the paint, it is almost unnoticeable
now.
Yes, that would be a piece of cardboard covering the
garage door opener. I do this when I have the
slide lock in place on the garage door. This
reminds me to release this lock BEFORE operating the
opener. If I forget and push the button, I run
the risk of tearing up the frame. |
|
East wall
garage after. Re-purposed bathroom shelf
installed as a "dis and dat" shelf. |
|
The only wall area left to repair
and paint is the wall above the garage doors. |
|
Wall
areas above garage doors to be worked on |
August 16, 2016 -
Finished up the garage walls above the garage
doors today. Also gave the inside of the
garage doors a good cleaning.
The only two things I have left to do in here is to
do something about insulation and the slick cement
floors. I will take a break for now.
When I get around to doing either, I will update
this page. |
|
Walls
above garage doors complete |
Slick Garage Floors -
Paint and Cover
March 1 - 10, 2017 |
|
The garage floors, in this
garage, are pretty decent. There are no huge
cracks and it is nice and level. However, the
surface of the cement is like ice when it becomes
wet. Even if you are wearing shoes with rubber
soles. |
|
Garage
floor before |
|
Garage
floor before |
I thought about using one of
those fancy garage floor paint kits to paint on a
nice sparkly epoxy surface. The kits are not
cheap. I would need more than one and they
seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth,
particularly for an old house. I just needed
to do something about the slipping hazard so I don't
slip and fall and break a hip.
I decided on just a cover for the lower portion of
the garage floor. My reasoning being, that if
I was going to do something really messy in the
garage, I could just roll-up the flooring to get it
out of the way. If I painted on a nice epoxy
coating, I would have to cover the garage floor
every time I did something to keep it from getting
soiled. |
|
Gray Ribbed
Pattern - G-Floor |
I
decided on G-Floor Parking Pad by Better
Life Technology. They have several
patterns and colors. I went with the
cheapest. Where ever you buy them, the
gray ribbed pattern will usually be the
cheapest option.
There are also several sizes. I
purchased the 7.5 x 17 foot mats. The
lower floor of my garage measures 19 feet
from side-to-side and 17 feet from the back
to the garage openings.
I needed to purchase three to cover my
garage floor and I have a 42 inch by 17 foot
piece left over.
These mats are not cheap, you need to shop
around. |
|
The big box hardware stores have
the pads. So does Costco and Sam's Club. The
cheapest place I found them was Wal-Mart. In
fact, it was so much cheaper, $50-75 per pad,
I had to look closely for the manufacturer part
number to make sure I was in fact, getting the same
thing. Oh, and the quirky thing about the
Wal-Mart site, the price changed almost every day,
when I was monitoring it. It went from $134 and
dropped as low as $114. I bought it when it
was around $125. Better than the Home Depot's
$200.
The link to the pads I bought at Wal-Mart:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/16829831?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227009793707&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40838605712&wl4=pla-78651907592&wl5=9028685&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=16829831&wl13=&veh=sem |
For the
raised portion of the garage I used Sure
Step Anti-Slip Coating (Desert Sand) made by
Insl-x. This paint has a sandy texture
that will make any slippery floor not
slippery.
I used this paint before on the backyard sidewalks
where we had the same issues with slippery
concrete. It really does work, but
keep muddy dog paws away from it.
I used two coats on the ledge along the back
wall. And one coat along the ledge along the
window wall. I have some carpeting
there, so I was not too concerned about the
paint appearance. This paint looks
better with at least two coats. |
 |
|
|
I also painted the vertical side
of the ledge. I had previously placed some
black and yellow safety tape along the edge of the
ledge to provide a visual aid to prevent tripping.
Now, with a lighter color on the ledge, the ledge no
longer needs to be safety taped. You can
easily see the raised edge even in low lighting. |
|
Garage
floor after placing G-floor down and painting ledge
with anti-slip paint |
|
Garage
floor after placing G-floor down and painting ledge
with anti-slip paint |
|
|
|
Update: Sold this home
in 2018 and bought a newer home on Oklahoma.
See what I did to that garage
here...... |
