New Garage

[Desoto61]

Hmm, structural steel but not a ramp, a deck that you can drive onto. Then you could push a project out there to blast or clean. All the dirt and grit would fall through floor.

One other thought. For the garage door in the bay with the lift think about the door rails. I didn't and have rails that are just above the door opening per usual. Not a major problem except I can't leave the door up with a vehicle on the lift unless it's small. Higher rails would have eliminated that issue. Like I said, not a huge problem but I know that one of these days I'm going to forget.

It also restricts the type of garage door opener you can use. Since I park my Desoto in mine (when I'm not building a Power Wagon) I did think to specify a torsion spring door so I could specify one of the side openers since I can't have the track in the middle due to the lift.

[wayneh]

Desoto:

Thanks for the though on the door rails. I hope I'm good to go on that.. All the doors have the rails mounted on the ceiling, and the top of the ceiling is 13 foot, so there should (should...) be no issues or high drama. Look for one of my updates in 8 weeks and see what I am saying... I'm also not using standard openers that mount in the center, but the side mounted chain drive units that mount on the wall next to the door.

Wayne

[wayneh]

Desoto:

"Hmm, structural steel but not a ramp, a deck that you can drive onto. Then you could push a project out there to blast or clean. All the dirt and grit would fall through floor."

That is a great idea. I'll fabricate steel any day over moving dirt and building burms...

Wayne

[gmharris]

"It is pretty much industry standard around here to glue and screw the drywall."

Never heard of that out west. Seems like overkill. What's the reason for it? You guys have a lot of dry wall theft?

[W_A_Watson_II]

I hate glued drywall, it transmits sound between rooms a lot.

[wayneh]

Not entirely sure why the standard around here is "glue and screw" but the idea is to help with nail pops caused when the wood expands and contracts with temperature and humidity changes, especially when there are long expanses. From the sounds of it, with a 40 foot length it will be hard to avoid. In a small room where you don' have many seems I don't think it is an issue.

Wayne

[wayneh]

It has been a few weeks since I posted, but we're making progress. We fired up the electrical panel, finished the brick work, and the drywall is ready for sanding. This global warming thing has worked out ok here in Maryland. It used to be construction stopped for January and February, but not anymore. Thursday morning went down to 23 degrees, but it warmed up to almost 40 by afternoon. A far cry from 30 years ago, and a far cry from the cold and snow I lived with in upstate NY when I was a kid.

Wayne

[Doc Dave]

Nice job Wayne!
Your garage will have to become a stop on the Christmas "tour of homes"...you will get real men going on that tour, not just women who want to see Christmas decorated homes, haha.
Agree on climate change. I recall in the late 70's the Chesapeake Bay froze over in the upper part, and the Patuxent was frozen solid.
Not any more.
As for upstate NY, my PW was from the town Kirkwood, outside Binghamton, NY.
Very near Cheyenne Dave's home as it turns out. Small world.

[wayneh]

Doc: We're pretty excited about the new shop, thank you for the compliment. I grew up near Altamont New York. Interestingly, my first PW Advertiser magazine had a picture of John Kolancheck's (from Altamont) Power Wagon on it. I was friends with his son when I was younger.

I have lived here since 1980, and I don't recall ever seeing the bay freeze over, but I have heard stories of it.

By the way, I've spent a lot of time learning about the different gasket making and dressing materials available. My NP-200 is entirely drip and leak free now, (at least for now) if you want to do yours sometime.

Wayne

[Doc Dave]

Wayne,
I will be calling you at some point about the NP200!
It might be next year though.
Thanks

[wayneh]

Well, with the exception of our county inspections this project is just about done! Friday I installed the four light T5 fixtures. I put two over the one bench area, one over the other bench area, and six over the bays. Each fixture draws about 200 watts, with them all on they are BRIGHT, which is what I was hoping for.

Friday, it was sunny and almost 60 degrees, so the paving crew came and pave my conduit trench and graded the driveway. What is it that paving crews always have the nicest trucks... Their big truck was a 2013 KW Gen V diesel with an Allison automatic transmission. Very nice truck. To get the grade correct they had to do most of this by hand to get the slope correct.

Now for the lift!! I'm leaning towards the Bendpak lifts. The Greg Smith dealer is only 90 minutes away, but I like the Bendpaks.

Wayne

[Ron in Indiana]

Everything looks great Wayne. You can't have to much light in a shop. What did you use for the soffit, facia and trim? I was considering a BendPac but found a used Snap On Wheeltronics hoist that works great. Get the largest capacity your budget can afford and you'll never regret it. Placement is the key. I need to move mine back now that I have a paint booth but it's not a big deal. Just need 3/4" anchor bolts to get the job done. Enjoy your new man cave. Did you prewire for speakers to get the tunes flowing?

[Doc Dave]

Wayne,
I am very envious now, especially when you get the lift!
Hopefully this spring we will get together.

[Bruce]

New Digs

We're all gonna make a service appointment now Wayne.....

[wayneh]

Ron: We used all synthetic material for the outside trim. Azak is popular around here, so that is what we used.

Doc: Say, we may be in Southern Maryland next Saturday, maybe we could get together if you are around? Sorry, I won't be driving the power wagon...

If anyone ever wants to stop on by and use some shop space please let me know!

I am about the luckiest guy in the world to be able to build this shop. I will never forget my roots in upstate NY 40 years ago changing thermostats in a car with no garage when it was five degrees outside... Carrying buckets of water to the chicken coop in winter, slipping on the snow... and my pants were frozen before I made it back to the house...

I also lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to work with some of the smartest and most highly motivated young men and women today who serve our country. Sure lots of kids are messed up, but lots of them are squared away, very motivated, and focused on getting things done. Next time you are having a bad day, think about the soldier who lost all four limbs from an IED and just had two new arms installed....


Wayne