The Garage Project
This log details the conversion of my carport to a fully enclosed single-car garage where I work on my Europas.
5/15/04
The Garage is finally done! Just over 6 months from start to finish. Installed the Cove Base this morning and adjusted the overhead door to close onto the new floor. The new floor looks pretty good against the black Cove Base.
5/14/04
Painted the garage foundation to match the walls this morning. Will paint one more coat this evening in preparation for adding the Cove Base tomorrow morning. Bought a roll of 4" black Cove Base and 6 tubes of adhesive at Home Depot.
5/12/04
This morning the temperature outside was 80°F and inside the garage was 72°F so I painted the garage floor. Mixed the provided citric acid with water then wet the entire floor, spread the acid and brushed it in with a push broom. Rinsed several times to remove any residue then blew the floor dry with my leaf blower. Took from 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM to prepare the floor. Mixed one gallon of EpoxyShield parts "A" and "B" and let it sit for 10 minutes while I masked the bottom of the doorframes. Brushed the mixture on around the doors and corners then rolled it in about 4' x 4' squares so I could toss the accent chips onto the wet paint. Completed painting the entire floor by about 10:30 AM. Surprised that it only required one gallon of the paint to cover the 12' x 24' floor. Used most of two packages of accent chips so if I ever find a use for the remaining gallon of EpoxyShield, I'll have to get more accent chips. The floor must dry for 24 hours before light foot traffic and 7 days before I can move the Europa back inside. While I'm waiting for the floor to fully cure, I'll install the cove base.
5/9/04
Skimmed the expansion joints to fill the areas that shrunk when the "LevelQuick" dried. Removed the aluminum threshold and tapered with concrete from the garage floor to the driveway. May be dry enough to paint by Wednesday or Thursday. Supposed to be in the mid 80's all week. Hope to get the floor painted before the 17-year Cicada infestation so that I don't have Cicadas stuck to the new paint!
5/8/04
Today I scraped the garage floor to remove any irregularities then swept and blew out the crap with the leaf blower. Rolled the "LevelQuick" primer onto the floor and left it dry. Mixed 11 bags of "LevelQuick" cement mix and poured it onto the floor to level. As it dries, the expansion joints will shrink slightly so tomorrow will skim-coat them. Will remove the temporary threshold that's acting as a form for the "LevelQuick" and replace it with a stiff concrete mix, that feathers to the driveway.
5/7/04
Moved everything remaining on the floor of the garage (including 0716R) outside and swept to prepare for tomorrow. Blew the remaining dust off the floor with my leaf blower. Went to Home Depot and picked up 11 bags of "Level Quick" and 2 quarts of primer. My local Home Depot did not stock "EpoxyShield" garage floor paint in gray so I drove to College Park and bought the 2 1/2 car garage size "economy pack".
5/5/04
Moved the air compressor, toolbox, welder, and about 800# of assorted crap from the garage to the generator shed to get ready for the floor-leveling project this weekend. Will move the Europa to the front yard and cover it on Saturday morning. Should be able to move it back into the garage late next week so I'm hoping for clear weather.
5/4/04
Finally going to have some really warm weather this weekend. Supposed to be in the 80's and sunny. Decided to take this opportunity to level the garage floor with some self-leveling concrete. Will empty the garage this week in preparation for an early start Saturday.
3/28/04
Powered up the generator today. Switched the generator disconnect panel to "Gen" position to transfer power from the electric company to the generator. The left meter on the panel reads about 700 watts and the right one about 1100 watts. Total is well within the 5500 Watt constant rating of the generator, but I may re-arrange the plugs on a couple of appliances to better balance the load.
3/27/04
Ran 3" PVC Conduit between the garage and the generator shed. Connected the generator cable to the generator disconnect panel and ran the cable and an extension cord (plugged into the garage GFI circuit) through the conduit to the shed. Plugged the generator cable into the generator. Will use the extension cord to power a light in the shed.
3/21/04
Hung the doors and installed the roof to complete construction of the generator shed. Dug up some trees that were blocking one of the doors and leveled the ground in front of the shed. Cut a sheet of 3/4" plywood to lie on the floor to provide added stability and protect the vinyl floor from the generator heat. Lay down some landscape fabric in front of the shed and covered it with landscape stone.
3/20/04
Started site preparation for the generator shed. Removed some trees, roughly leveled the ground, spread landscape fabric to keep anything from growing, then dumped 6 Cubic Feet of landscape stone on top to create a level base. Assembled the floor and three walls before darkness stopped me for today. Tomorrow I'll hang the doors and install the roof.
3/19/04
Bought a 5.5'W x 6'D by 6'H Rubbermaid Roughneck vinyl storage shed at Sam's Club today. I will assemble it outside the rear wall of the garage, store the generator in it, and route the generator cable between the two. When power fails I'll start the generator and flip the switches on the disconnect panel in the garage. Here's a Rubbermaid photo.
2/14/04
Installed the wall-mounted vacuum and associated tool holder. Sucked a bunch of crap out of the large space behind where the battery will mount in the Europa.
Bought a Ryobi 6" bench grinder from Home Depot. Now I have to find a place to mount it (space is starting to get tight)!
2/13/04
Connected the outlet under the landing to a spare 20 Amp breaker in the house.
Ordered a wall-mounted wet/dry vacuum from Sears today. It comes with an 18-foot hose that will be long enough to reach most of the garage and out to the driveway if I mount it near the door. Will pick it up at my local Sears store tomorrow.
2/10/04
Installed carpet on the landing and steps in front of the door. Used rubber-backed carpet and contact cement to glue it down.
2/9/04
Extended the landing in front of the door to the house six inches to accommodate a cabinet. Installed a 20 Amp outlet under the landing. The outlet will connect to an extra 20 Amp breaker in the house. Covered the landing with plywood so I can glue down carpet to match the workbench.
2/5/04
Today I finished hanging the shelves in the garage. Now I have about 40 feet of 12 inch wide shelving around the periphery of the garage.
Unpacked and fired up the new welder. What a cool device! The last time I welded was in 1967 when I used a truck-mounted gasoline-powered Lincoln arc welder to weld-up the roll bar in our '37 Plymouth stock car. The MIG is so easy, just pull the trigger and go. Creates a nice even bead and penetrates well.
2/3/04
Started to install the wire shelves in the garage today. Did the left and rear walls and two corners. Just need to complete the right wall and the shelves will be finished.
Received the welder from Summit Racing today. UPS man carried it into the garage for me then wouldn't leave once he saw the Europa. Kept commenting about how he had never seen one before and what a cool car it is. Think we have another convert!
1/30/04
Ordered a MIG/Flux-core welder from Summit Racing today. Decided on a relatively light-duty Lincoln welder since most of my welding will be limited to sheet metal and repair of garden tools. If the Europa needs any structural welding, I'll leave it to a professional.
1/23/04
The storeage modules were too tall for a comfortable workbench height, so I removed the top drawer and support from each. Screwed all 5 modules together with 1-1/2" #10 sheet metal screws and washers. Installed the provided casters on each end, and where each module attached to the next. With the top on the workbench, it's 22"D x 72"L x 39-1/4"H, has 30 drawers, is really sturdy, and rolls around very well. Snapped the left-over drawers together to create a short roll-around 5-drawer module that will hold parts as they come off the car.
1/21/04
Picked up 5 plastic storage modules from Sam's Club today. Each has 7 drawers and is almost 40" high. Also picked up a 12" x 72" and a 10" x 72" shelf from Home Depot. Will screw all modules together and attach the shelves to the top to create a workbench with 35 storage drawers.
1/20/04
Today I assembled and hung all of the light fixtures. Surprising how much light there is in the garage now.
Fabricated the offset bracket for the pull-chain on the fixture over the garage door by attaching a small "C" clamp to the screw drive channel, removing the "T" from the screw and running the chain through the hole left by the removal of the "T". Works like a charm.
Installed the retracting trouble light and retracting extension cord. Stapled all garage door wiring to the sheetrock and permanently attached the inside door opener control.
NOW it's starting to look like a garage!
1/19/04
Hung one of the light fixtures today. Need to go to Home Depot to buy some pull-chain extensions, as the ones provided are too short. When all fixtures are centered, the chain on the one over the opener will interfere with the screw drive. Will fabricate a bracket to hold the chain a few inches to the right of the screw drive.
1/18/04
Installed all receptacle covers and switch plates today. Bought three 4' fluorescent work lights to hang from the ceiling. Hope to get them hung tomorrow.
1/13/04
Finished painting the garage today. Left the Europa out of gear and pushed it to one end of the garage, painted the opposite end, then reversed the process until the painting was done. Was surprised at how easily the Europa rolls.
1/11/04
Started painting the garage today. Got the first coat on all walls and ceiling. The garage looks bigger inside now that the walls are white.
Bought an oil-filled electric heater for the garage. Looks like one of the old-style water-filled radiators that used to be in all homes. Opted for this style since there are no exposed electrical elements that could come in contact with flammable materials. The insulation I installed in the walls and ceiling must be doing a good job as the small heater has no trouble maintaining the garage at 65 degrees even with the temperature outside at 10 degrees.
Went to Home Depot this morning and they had just received a shipment of two 5500 Watt Generac generators. I borrowed the same model from a friend during the last three-day outage and it worked flawlessly, so I bought one and hauled it home. Didn't help my back getting it off the truck (165 Pounds), but it's in the garage now. When the weather breaks in the spring I'm going to build a generator shed behind the garage and wire it to the disconnect panel in the garage. If the power goes out in the interim, I'll push the generator out behind the garage and plug in the disconnect panel.
1/9/04
Caught some kind of bug I guess. Been down with sore throat and pain in my back since the last entry. Finally felt good enough this morning to do all of the final preps for painting. Going to try to start painting tomorrow.
12/24/03
Finished sanding the drywall and installed the trim around both doors. The garage is now ready for paint. Going to take a few days off to recover from the 14-hour days I've been putting in for the last week, then start painting.
12/23/03
Sanded the second coat of joint compound and put the final coat on. Tomorrow I'll do the finish sanding then it's ready for paint.
Installed a threshold under the overhead door as the slope of the driveway did not allow a good seal and rain was seeping in. This summer I'll level the floor with a skim coat of concrete before painting. Have to wait for the weather to improve, as the concrete is too cold now.
12/22/03
Sanded the first coat of joint compound and got a second coat on all joints. Tomorrow I'll sand the second coat and get a final coat on.
12/21/03
Got a coat of joint compound and tape on all walls and the ceiling of the garage today. Supposed to be near 50 degrees tomorrow so I'll be able to open the doors when I sand the first coat. Hope to get a second coat of joint compound on tomorrow.
12/20/03
Been a busy few days since the last log entry. Completed wiring of the generator transfer switch, insulated the walls and ceiling, and covered everything with sheetrock. Tomorrow I'll get a coat of joint compound on and tape all joints. Won't be long now!
12/16/03
Received the generator transfer switch from Connecticut Electric today. It will be installed when the sheetrock is nearly completed.
Picked up a retractable cord reel and retractable work light from Sears today. Both will mount on the ceiling and plug into the ceiling receptacles.
12/15/03
Finished the garage wiring today. I probably have more outlets than I will ever need. There are six 20A outlets in the ceiling, one switched outlet in the ceiling that is controlled with the outside lights, seven 20A wall outlets, two 20A outlets each on a dedicated breaker for the welder and air compressor, and one 20A GFI outlet on the front outside wall. I still have room in the sub panel for a 230V breaker if I need it in the future.
12/13/03
Been wiring in the garage for an hour or so during each of the past few days. Have mounted the sub panel and connected all feeds and breakers to it. All of the ceiling receptacles are mounted and connected to the sub panel. Still need to install the GFI breaker for outside circuits and the 20A circuits for the air compressor and welder. Hope to start hanging drywall by Wednesday or Thursday.
12/06/03
Had some time to do a little wiring today. Got the 6-3 that will feed the sub panel pulled into the basement and ready to connect to the main panel. Also pulled two 12-2's and two 14-2's so I can connect the critical systems in the house to the new sub-panel in the garage where the generator disconnect panel will reside.
12/04/03
Went to Home Depot this morning and picked up the remaining electrical goodies (boxes, breakers, receptacles, plates, etc.) for the garage project. May get a chance to do some wiring this weekend and now I'm ready.
12/02/03
I have been informed by the Mrs. that since the garage is now on the right of the house, I need to replace the fence on the left of the house with a gate for access to the back yard. Like I needed another project to steal Lotus time (grin). Went to Home Depot to get info about vinyl fence and while I was there, I picked up the sub panel, the 40 Amp breaker to feed it, 250' of 12/2 wire and assorted electrical goodies for the garage project.
12/01/03
Removed all siding and insulation from the inside wall of the garage and hauled it away. Good thing I have a dumpster at work where I can deposit all the debris I'm generating.
Made my daily visit to Home Depot and found that they had finally received their shipment of #6-3 conductor wire so bought 50' in preparation for installation of electricity in the garage. This wire will feed the sub panel from my main panel in the house.
11/30/03
Finished removing the sheetrock and all of the screws from the ceiling rafters. Hauled it all away and cleaned the garage. Took all morning to finish, but now all I need to do is remove the siding from one inside wall and frame it then it's ready to run the electricity.
11/28/03
Started to remove the remaining sheet rock from the ceiling in the garage. When it was a carport it was sprayed with a textured finish that used to fall off onto the car. I have decided to remove it and insulate the space between the rafters then install new sheetrock.
11/25/03
Wired the two exterior lights on the front of the garage today. Connected them to an existing switch that used to control the carport light.
11/24/03
Spent most of this morning cleaning trash from the garage project from my back yard. I also replaced the roof and shingles on the 8' x 14' screen room on the rear of the house yesterday and had all of that trash to haul out too.
11/23/03
Finished the outside of the garage and wired the door opener today. Hung new rain gutter. Calked all exterior joints with white silicone. Foamed all interior wood/concrete joints with expanding foam. Will finish the garage interior as time permits. I want to add an electrical sub-panel in the garage to feed all critical (sump pump, freezer, refrigerator, etc.) circuits so I can add a generator disconnect panel and hard-wire my generator into the house. Here are the before and after pictures.
11/22/03
Worked on the garage today from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I installed the overhead door and opener but will complete the wiring of the opener tomorrow. Finished hanging the vinyl siding. Once the garage is finished outside, I'll need to do the electric service then hang some sheetrock and finish the inside.
11/21/03
Tomorrow I install the overhead door and finish the siding on the new garage.
11/16/03
Worked on the new garage from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM today. Put up the third wall, installed the rear door, and put siding on the two walls that face the street. The outside of the garage is pretty much finished. I still need to install the overhead door, put siding on the back wall and replace the rain gutter, but at least the europa has a home.
11/15/03
Started the garage project today. Started at 7:00 AM. By Noon two of the walls were up, and by 3:00 PM both walls were sheeted, insulated and ready for siding. Long day, but got a lot accomplished.
11/13/03
Went to Home Depot and picked up the materials to convert my 12'X25' car-port to a full garage. The poor Dakota was grunting with all the weight. This weekend I'll attack it and hope to have the carport closed by next weekend. Have to have a proper home for the Europa!
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