The Garage Spruce up, pacing yourself and the Christmas Polar Bears...

[rayinpenn]

The garage was always a 'catch all' for all manner of our stuff; And Lord knows we have too much 'stuff'. One of those giant plastic car top carriers, a beloved giant plastic pumpkin, table saw, compound chop saw, drill press, joiner, lawn mower, wheel barrel, back pack blower, weed whacker, hand truck, a big barrel full of lawn tools and all manner of plastic bins full of basket and soccer balls, giant squirt guns etc. then there was the sawdust and dirt from countless projects. Oh we'd reorganize and sweep but we never did a complete empty and real cleaning. I must admit, the Mrs a pack rat by nature, has made progress - gone are my nemesis the bulky Christmas polar bears. [It took years but I've convinced the Mrs that a single LED candle with a wreath in each window was sufficient. No more frozen RayinPenn taking down Christmas lights -- but that's another story].

I decided to paint the garage floor. Then we couldn't the leave all those dents, dings and screw holes in the walls. Could we? Which meant repair and paint the walls. Then there was the failing ceiling 'tape joints'. Hey I'm semi retired and only work three days a week right so I have time right? What I learned.

Pulling down the old sheet rock tape is messy.
Painting should be done from the top down
Climbing up and down the ladder retapping is tuff on metal knees
Applying joint compound is an art... use as little as possible.
Sanding the ceiling is awkward and finds little used muscles.
I have programmers muscles.
Having a wife that jumps in and helps is a godsend.
The garage had primer on it but no paint.

Putting money into the local economy and using a handyman is an act of altruism right?

I did a couple hours taping and applying joint compound this morning then had lunch then promptly napped for three hours... yep I'm still a he man... right? Right? Hey can I rent a hot tub?

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Ray, Once again you did not disappoint me. Very nice. I pictured you all in plaster dust as you were climbing the ladder with your bad knee. I for one would have hired someone, because I knew I would have done a terrible job.

Shocking I know but I have a story about garages. My Father always put his car in the garage. We had a corner house with an attached garage to the side of the house, everyone else on the block had tiny basements with garages under there house. Anyhow, when they introduced the 5 MPH bumpers my dad's land yachts no longer fit . Since my Mother never went in there, it became a haven for all sorts of things my Father should have thrown out. So from 1973 till 1984 when he passed away he manged to accumulate a ton of stuff. Another neighbor, also a widow, convinced my mother they needed to clean it out. These 2 ladies should have started a clean out service. it was broom clean in a few weeks. they dragged stuff out 2 times a week to the curb for garbage pick up. When they were done, you could hear your voice echo. All that remained were a garden house a few folding lawn chairs and some snow shovels. When she moved 27 years later the new owner wanted to look at the garage of course. The real estate had previously asked me "is the garage cluttered?". I said "are you kidding me, its cleaner than some peoples homes."

Oh P.S. when they were done mom asked me to paint her garage door. It was the old fashioned wooden one with raised panels, so one panel was green and one was white. When I was done it looked like a graffiti artist hit the door. I hired a pro to fix my work

 

[jazz4cash]

Nice read. Makes me glad I primed and painted drywall and floor when the house was new. Around here many garages are unfinished. They finished ours but barely sanded and no paint. Drywall w/o paint absorbs all manner of dirt, joints dry out, etc. Fortunately, I love to paint but I hate ladders so it's a bit of a dilemma.

 

[Jerry1]

We did the declutter and got a car in the garage last week. It's a two car garage, but it will only hold one car unless I get a shed for other storage like a small lawn tractor, outdoor yard equipment, snowblower, etc. Plus, we no longer have a basement (on a slab) so the other half is rightfully storage. It was a major job that has taken us a year to get to this point. I'd love to pull everything out and freshen up the paint and epoxy the floor, but I'm done for this year. Getting ready for fall clean up and winter prep so no more major projects.

 

[Hermit]

We did the declutter and got a car in the garage last week. It's a two car garage, but it will only hold one car unless I get a shed for other storage like a small lawn tractor, outdoor yard equipment, snowblower, etc. Plus, we no longer have a basement (on a slab) so the other half is rightfully storage. It was a major job that has taken us a year to get to this point. I'd love to pull everything out and freshen up the paint and epoxy the floor, but I'm done for this year. Getting ready for fall clean up and winter prep so no more major projects.

I fixed that storage problem in my house. I put in "room in attic" trusses so I have about 10' x 40' x 5.5' high storage room above the garage and wood shop. The garage ceiling is over 10' high. I have a drywall lift and scaffolds to use for drywalling, but it will still take quite a bit of time.

 

[Bamaman]

I had my last car in my garage 18 years ago. Recently made $1250 from a arage sale, and one car came inside finally.

Then I moved my daughter out of her house and filled up the garage again. What is so bad is that I have a second double car garage stacked with tools and man stuff. I have no place to put a zero turn mower or ATV and a bunch of outdoor furniture except under a deck outside.

 

[Ronstar]

Ray - don't paint your garage floor. Look into Epoxy-coat. I painted my attached garage floor 8 years ago and it has mostly peeled off. I epoxy coated my detached garage 11 years ago and looks as good as new. I don't think painted garage floors handle northern winters very well. Good luck with your project!

 

[DrRoy]

We just did the epoxy job to our garage floor, but did not take on the walls. Partly because of the wait time between applications it took 4 days.

 

[braumeister]

Previous owner of my condo did the epoxy coat on the garage floor and it was the talk of the neighborhood. Last year the guy across the street did the same, and this year another neighbor also did it. We're all really happy with them. Mine was done about seven years ago and still looks great. Just gray, but the neighbors went with some fancier speckled coatings and they look even better.

There is just one drawback to this. Slippery when wet.

 

[Sittinginthesun]

Two words for you - slat wall. Best thing I ever did in the garage a few years ago, gets everything hung up neatly and we park two cars in there no problem. Even with four bikes, a storage cupboard, reel lawn mower and dozens of tools, everthing but a garbage can and recycling bins all hung up nicely.

 

[rayinpenn]

Ray - don't paint your garage floor. Look into Epoxy-coat.

It is epoxy paint... long dry time.. and excuse to have periodic naps.

 

[Racer X]

Previous owner of my condo did the epoxy coat on the garage floor and it was the talk of the neighborhood. Last year the guy across the street did the same, and this year another neighbor also did it. We're all really happy with them. Mine was done about seven years ago and still looks great. Just gray, but the neighbors went with some fancier speckled coatings and they look even better.

There is just one drawback to this. Slippery when wet.

That's actually why you put the speckled coating in the floor - to provide grip when the floor becomes wet. I am someone who skipped the speckled coating and has fallen on his butt more than once due to his slippery wet floor.

 

[braumeister]

Thanks. I thought that might be the case. Thinking about maybe redoing ours just for this reason.

 

[38Chevy454]

The old snowball effect is in motion. I also believe that drywall should come with a warning that it is recommended for under 35 years age. Overhead ceiling work is especially tough.

Good for you taking on the job yourself and the cost savings. Spend a little of that savings on something to help ease the sore muscles.

 

[pacergal]

Ray--thanks for your note, I enjoy your story telling skills!
We have finally cleaned our our garage and moved the cars in, after building a double shed out back!
Old house, so garage does not have drywall except on the one wall attached to the house. But DH did paint the floor and it looks nice.

 

[Hermit]

The old snowball effect is in motion. I also believe that drywall should come with a warning that it is recommended for under 35 years age. Overhead ceiling work is especially tough.

Good for you taking on the job yourself and the cost savings. Spend a little of that savings on something to help ease the sore muscles.

I hung one sheet on the garage ceiling with the drywall lift so the overhead furnace could be hung. The drywall was a piece-of-cake, even for an old geezer like me. Haven't tackled overhead tape and mud yet. That might be fun.

 

[jazz4cash]

I used the Rustoleum 2 part epoxy on our floor about 10 yrs ago. It's held up well but has lost its shine. I'm thinking about how to touch it up. Floor wax/finish or maybe a coat of the Rustoleum clear epoxy.
Can't find info on recoating this stuff

 

[Tom52]

I just started the process of updating our two car attached garage. When originally built there was only two wall outlets one overhead light bulb, not even an outlet for a garage door opener. Someone installed an outlet in the ceiling to run a garage door opener, however, they wired it from the ceiling light. Garage door opener only works when the light switch is on. Real hack job. There is a crummy attic access in the ceiling with no stairs. There must have been two hundred nails in The walls that were used to hang stuff. The walls and ceiling are covered with broken and warped very dark paneling.

Next week I have a contractor coming with a trailer to remove all the ugly paneling and haul it away. Then I will rewire the entire garage with about 12 wall outlets, 240V service for air compressor, and many LED light fixtures. I will also check to insure all is properly insulated as I will add a heater. There is a gas line already in garage. I will make a larger attic access opening and add a nice fold up access ladder.

When I am finished I will contract drywalling and finishing the joints. I will prime and paint myself and finish off with a new well insulated garage door and new opener. I am too old to kill myself doing the drywall. That work is better left to the young guys that do it everyday.