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Garage-Mahal 3.0


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… it’s tomorrow. 
 

I keep going back to prior shops for inspiration. Even PRIOR to being a prior shop was the thought behind the new countertop. See, our last house was built in the early ‘60s and the crappy single garage stall that eventually got turned into a good work space was nearly graffitied with little notes and measurements written all over the place by the original owner. When we first moved in, there was a work bench made of a rows of 2x4s and that’s where I started finding his handwriting. I have no idea what the measurements and notes were referring to, but it really stuck with me since then. I wanted to bring back the feel of that old work bench. 
 

To get that old, nostalgic feel I started with nine ten foot 2x4s, trimmed off the rounded edges, and made some random cuts. I wanted to give the impression that it was put together with leftovers from framing the shop but I’ve since used up all of the real leftovers in the trim.

 

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This was after a fair amount of sanding and a bit of bondo to fill the gaps. Then came some sealer…

 

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… and then a coat of dark glaze to give it that old timey feel I wanted. 
 

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I love it! I didn’t get carried away with a bunch of clear coats, nor did I even bother to get all of the sanding or cutting marks out. Honestly, pine 2x4s probably aren’t the best decision for using as a countertop as they’re somewhat soft, but future scratches and gouges are only going to add to the charm.

 

Yes, I have my truck home. No, I haven’t dropped the trans to fix the input seal.
 

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Out with the temporary counter!… is it temporary if I’ve been using these for the past couple years?

 

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Might as well finally finish my cabinets too. 
 

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It goes without saying, but I’m a sucker for old things. When I either can’t find the right thing or I do and I can’t bring myself to pay for it, I like to try and fool the next guy into thinking it’s the real deal. My nosey neighbor from next door walked over to see what I’ve been up to and asked, “Did you get this from the reclaimed architectural store up north?” Ha!… nailed it.

 

The reason I spent my time working on a countertop as opposed to wiring this weekend was because I wanted it in place for locating some outlets along the back wall. This turned into locating some other things.

 

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The next step will be connecting the dots with conduit and then pushing wire through. I’m excited to have a ceiling fan in a shop! Never had one and I figured that it’d be nice for mostly moving warm air down in the winter time. The lights I decided on are simple hanging shades but with modern LED panel bulbs. 
 

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On to the next step!

 

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5 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

Looks GREAT! Are you covering the OSB?


Thanks, all! :beerchug: The OSB is the finished product. I’ve got a big bin of things labeled “Garage Art” that hasn’t made it on to walls since before my first shop. My intent was to tie together the walls to the cabinets with a common material and OSB is what I decided on. The cabinets are a stained/glazed cherry but the panels in the doors and drawer fronts are OSB. I like the idea of treating a relatively cheap material with the same respect that we do at work as a high end kitchen. Right now the walls are a big much… hang in there though. 

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Today I got all of the conduit run for the 110v outlets. My parents came out for a visit a few weeks ago and my dad had 60’ of leftovers from when he was finishing their basement. That made a huge dent in the project as I used about 50’.  All that’s left is about 30’ to run for the lighting.

 

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There’s two runs of outlets. One that runs the north wall. The other runs the west and south walls.

 

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Hoping to have electrical done before things really start getting cold here. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Small update… finally got the exterior of the shop where it should’ve been before last winter. The first was the carport roof needing a few trim pieces to cover some bare wood. The other was to wrap up the carriage doors. They still had steel siding screws keeping the hinges in place so when I open and close they would creek and slightly move around.

 

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The carriage bolts go all the way through the wall. They’re 10” long for the wall side of the hinge with about an inch of thread left to cut off.

 

Next was the gasket at the bottom of the doors. I originally put a typical garage door gasket under them but after moving then for a year it started to tear in places. 
 

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Not crazy that I couldn’t find the right color but I like that I can easily change it should I need to.

 

I started to pick at the wiring but quickly ran out of interest so that was that. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been a rough few weeks with some other things going on but today I finally got some more electrical done. The remainder of the conduit was run along with wire, and then I hung lights. 
 

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There’s a couple more things to wrap up for the ceiling. The two exterior lights need to be mounted yet too. Then there’s this…

 

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… which looks way worse than it is. Otherwise the extension cord from the house should no longer needed soon and I can turn the rest of the lights on for real. 
 

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Gonna be bright!

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1 hour ago, neohic said:

 Then there’s this…

 

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… which looks way worse than it is. Otherwise the extension cord from the house should no longer needed soon and I can turn the rest of the lights on for real. 
 

 

it's very important to have extra wire in the box.  :L:  wish I was closer and could help wrap that up and get your place lit!   

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  • 1 month later...

Welp… it’s getting cold again. Progress is still happening though! This morning I went into work to try and tackle a problem that goes way back to shop #1… hardware storage. Forever I’ve put up with the cheesy plastic bins with the terrible metal racks that fill up counter space. Over time they crack and fall apart while the rack eventually bellies in the middle and folds in like a card house if you try to move it. I’m over it. 
 

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I work at a cabinet shop… don’t tell anyone. I’m still a metal guy but wood and I have a common agreement based on proximity and employment. We’re a CNC shop and I drew up parts to fill a full sheet that’ll make 20 of these finger joint boxes. Some will go here…

 

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… once I build out the steps, and some will go high on a shelf under the loft. Maybe I’ll make more? We’ll see after I figure a shelf.

 

Not exactly priority type work, but work none the less. I’ll need storage solutions once I start unpacking more boxes. 

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I would say overkill but you doing it to be the last time and be useful for atleast the next 20 years. Well did good sir. :laugh: definitely enjoy your shop build as it gives me inspiration for mine when I finally figure a spot to create one for that 20+ years of working out of. But in the mean time I will enjoy your creativity. One thing I do know is there is never enough storage. :teehee:

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I like overkill ESPECIALLY when overkill and quality go hand in hand. :jammin:

 

These little boxes are kind of a manufactured memory for me. Seems as though that almost everyone’s dad or grandpa had the old kitchen cabinets repurposed out in the garage and they were always filled with little wood boxes made of drawer fronts, 1x4s, or warped old bread pans. Then they’re always filled with random screws, nails, and rusty hinges that had little chance of ever being used again. Sometimes there’s that fancy garage with an apothecary cabinet but it’s still stuffed to the point that the boxes either don’t close or are jammed shut. Very rarely would anything leave these little boxes. Hang a new mail box or build a bird house with the grandkids?… you know that old garbage went in a box and forgotten about after the creaky doors shut.

 

I really enjoy simple things like that. Not that I plan on filling my new boxes with tetanus coated tchotchkes, but the next guy might. :laugh:

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  • 1 month later...

Game changer today. 
 

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No more extension cord running from the house. I need to get a heavier line run to the property as there’s been nothing more than 100 amp, but for now things are temporarily running. 

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let there be light!!! :D 

 

do you know for sure that the house's feed isn't sufficient?  last couple times I upgraded a house for more power, the line running to the house was rated for plenty and only the box needed the upgrade. 

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I've got what looks like #4 running from the pole to the house. I'm assuming it'll be underrated if the house and the shop were to be running at full tilt at the same time. My next move is to contact the utility company and see what they think. Regardless, I really should update the main box on the house and I'd rather do that when they replace the main line should I need it. I mean... I'll do live electrical work, but I'd really rather not. :crazy:

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I had to meet conditions which I don't fully know what they are but my electric company supplied a 200 amp service to my building for free. That included burying it for a run of about 250 feet from the road. Call them up and see what your supplier does. I do know the biggest requirement was a separate meter. Which along with that is a minimum charge every month. Even if I'm not home and don't use Any electricity that month. And the meter had to be at the front right hand corner, closest to the transformer.

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Pete is right I've done electrical work for several years it's generally theater base and main breaker that limit you but at the same time #4 does seem pretty small we ran 4/o hots and 2/o neutrals aluminum on a 200 amp panel the only time I ever see the power company upgrade the line to the meter base is going to a 400amp meterbase

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