This purchase has pretty much wiped out the tool budget for the rest of the year (and then some). My hope is that by the end of the long weekend, I’ll have all of the woodworking equipment out of the basement, and into the shop. I’ll take a couple of pics tomorrow of the Grand Arrival. I also ordered it with the mortising attachment, but that may have shipped separately.

About the only other thing that I would like to have (machines, that is—there’s always room for more hand planes!) is a wide belt sander. That will have to wait until next year though. Between the shop renovation/creation, and the tool purchases (only 2, but they were both MiniMax), it’s time to stop spending and start building stuff.

So, what’s left? I have a ceiling, electricity, lights, walls, doors, and a floor.

Comfort. That’s right boys and girls. I don’t like to sweat it out in 90+ degrees with 90%+ humidity such as we have here in the St. Louis area in summer time. Nor do I like having to bundle up like the Michelin man, just to get some shop time in. Don’t get me wrong, I love the changing of the seasons – just not in my shop.

During the demolition and reconstruction, Mr. Heater worked fine. He smells a bit, but it was worth it to have some warmth. What to do come summer though? Window unit? As with many things in my shop, I really like versatility. A tool that can do more than one thing for me, and do it well.

To that end, and after a lot of research, I decided to install a PTAC (Portable Terminal Air Conditioner). Or, more accurately, A PTHC – Portable Terminal Heatpump and Air Conditioner (I know, the acronym doesn’t fit – live with it).

This past weekend, the project was to get the puppy installed.

I had left room (i.e. didn’t cover with OSB or insulation) for it on the back wall. Installation was frighteningly easy.

Step one, cut a hole in the wall

Step two, install the sleeve, set it to lean back 1/4 bubble, then screw it in to the studs

(forgot to take a picture)

Step three, install the grill to the outside (to protect the unit)

Step four, wrestle the main unit into place, and attach it to the sleeve.

Step five, caulk the opening, and attach the faceplate.

For those who have a morbid curiosity about HVAC specs:

It’s an Amana PTAC unit with Heat pump with a 3kw electric backup for when it gets really cold. It’s rated at 12,000 btu cooling, and 11,900 for heat. It’s got an EER of 10.8. 220V/20A.

That’s it for now folks. Time to get everything moved.

Thanks to the wonders of electricity and technology, I even have tunes in the shop:

The existing garage floor wasn’t in horrible shape, but it wasn’t great. There were a few cracks, and a couple of mini-potholes. I looked at several options –
Paint with that garage-epoxy stuff
Raised floor (after I went to all that work to have some head room!)
Semi-raised floor (2×4s laid flat with plywood over the top).

None of these quite fit. Then I found my answer: DriCore.
The runner up was the semi-raised floor, but that would mean power washing and sealing the concrete, laying down a moisture barrier, and lots of 2×4s somehow attached to the concrete. Very time consuming, and with a very low fun-factor. So, off to the BORG I went.

For those who don’t know about it, DriCor is a sub floor. Plastic bottom (moisture barrier), with semi-finished OSB on top. It comes in tiles that are about 2’x2’, and are tongue and groove. All told I only lost 7/8” of head room. They are expensive – arout $6 per tile, but man oh man, are they worth it (IMHO). They’re easy to cut, easy to fit, and you really can have a space completed in a day. I took two, but probably could have done it in one if I had pushed it.

So, my story is nearing completion, as is the shop. It looks like I may have run out of excuses not to build that birdhouse for SWMBO.

It’s really coming together now.

The “walls” in the old garage were 2×4, spaced every-so-often. No real “on-center” here. That, and some thoughtful placement of 45 degree cross supports pretty much limited my insulation choices to:
1. spray foam
2. netting and blown in
3. Something Different

I went with Something Different. I’ve already got (working from the outside in), T-111-like panels, Tyvex, old 1×10 boards. So, I went with a thermal insulation. Basically it’s a foil-foam-foil product. It only gives me an R factor of 7 or so, but I figured it was better than nothing. It was VERY easy to work with. Cuts clean with a utility knife. Very flexible and light weight, and less than 1/4” thick. My and Mr. Bostitch the stapler had lots and lots of fun. When in was done, I felt like I was inside a space ship. It was still cool (30s-40s) when I installed it, and I had my Mr. Heater (that’s it’s real name) propane heater running. The difference was fantastic and immediate. I had to turn the thing off, as it was getting too hot in there – that was a first (other than in the summer, of course).

So, I am now sort of insulated. Now for the walls. I’d love to have T&G paneling, but it’s just not in the budget, so at $5 or so per sheet, 1/2” OSB will do. After all, it’s my shop, not my library or den. Of course during the installation, I had to question myself: “Why did I put in so many outlets??”. Sure, it’s easy to nail them to the studs, and running the 12/2 wasn’t too bad, but cutting out all the openings in the OSB was a bit of a pain. Let’s just say that a few mistakes were made, but since I’m not posting pictures of said mistakes, they didn’t really happen, did they?

I also dry walled the peak area of the front and back walls, and decided to have a little color. Since those parts are not as thick as the walls, I was left with a 2” ledge. What to do? Why, make a shelf of course. It was a little more complicated than that. The peak areas were made with 2×4 laid flat, furring style. So, I covered them with my lovely shiny insulation, then nailed 1×10 shelves in place, then more 2×4s (also helps to secure the shelves), and finally drywall.

Those of you who have been paying attention will also notice that I have installed the ceiling fan, and the lights. The ceiling fan is your average fan, 52”, and the lights – well, let’s just say that it’s plenty bright in there – even for middle-aged sawdust maker. I have 4 fixtures, and each one has 2 110W 8’ long fluorescent bulbs. Yep, if my math is right, that’s 880 watts. Sure, it will make the meter spin some, but more importantly, I CAN SEE! Of course, they’re also the kind that start in cold temps.

That’s it for today.

Given the dimensions 19’ deep by 22’ wide, I thought I’d save myself a few mudding seams, and use a combination of 12’ and 8’ sheets of 1/2” drywall. While it sounded good at the time, the 12’ sheets were a pain to deal with. I rented a drywall jack, but it wasn’t really designed with 12’ in mind. The ends kept flapping around, and the whole thing would spin, just as I had it almost in place. It was a not-so-fun game of climbing up the ladder, adjusting the sheet, climbing down, cranking it up a little, rinse, lather, repeat. That it’s a vaulted ceiling really didn’t help much.

Still, I persevered, and all-by-self managed to get a real live ceiling. I’m not terribly good at the whole mudding and taping, but I got everything more or less covered, and while it won’t win any beauty contests, it should keep the shop warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer. As with most things in our old house, nothing was really square, or plumb. Ah, the wonderful healing power of drywall mud!

The holes are where I’ll be pulling power for lights, a ceiling fan, and an air scrubber.

Stay tunes, more updates over the weekend!

Now, the back story. I did hire an electrician to install the new panel, and to tie in what I had wired myself (fist time!). Once the electrician was done, I called the inspector, and he… well, he inspected. The good news was that the panel passed, and the electric company could connect me, the bad news was that he didn’t like my outlet wiring. It turns out that our little town, or at least, our little towns inspector is fond of pig tails. So, he told me to put pig tails on all of my outlets that were in the middle of circuits. I guess that it’s for the best. Now, if an outlet fries, the rest of the circuit will still work. Live and learn.

So, for any who are curious, here’s what I installed:

3 110V/20A circuits for the walls (total of 17 outlets)
1 110V/20A circuit for the overhead lights
1 110V/20A circuit for the ceiling fans (2)
3 220V/30A circuits for the big equipment (bandsaw, jointer/plater/table saw)
1 220V/20A circuit for the HVAC – it will be a PTAC – 11,000 BTU heat pump.

I did have to change where the panel was to be installed due to the TV and phone lines being too close to install the mast. I had hoped for it to be invisible from the back yard, but alas, it wasn’t to be:

You can also see my new entry door there – still need to finish painting the outside, when it warms up a bit.

I spent last night getting all of the outlets stuffed back into their boxes. It’s great to be able to actually plug things in!

This weekend I will be installing the lighting. The main lighting will be from (4) 8x fluorescent fixtures with (2) 95 watt daylight bulbs each. Supplemental will be the lights on the ceiling fans (3×60watt each), and some halogen shop lights for task lighting.

So, the outside is coming along nicely, the wind isn’t whipping through the place, and I’ve made several hundred mud dauber wasps homeless. On to the next set of problems. When I started, there was a partition wall running down the middle of the garage, and a small 4×8 area that was walled in as part of a kennel. They all had to go! (pics later, if I can find them).

OK, I’ve now had one continuous space. There is still a problem though. The ceiling. Well, not exactly a ceiling, but the trusses were build such that I had cross beams (2×4 and 2×6 mixed) at about 7’6”. I know from working in the basement, that this will not do. So, I put on my thinking cap, and more importantly called a friend who is a framing carpenter. Together, we came up with a solution – make a vaulted ceiling.

After the new (and much stronger) truss/ceiling frame was in place, I was able to cut out the cross beams. Now, I had a ceiling that was at about 7’6” at the outside walls, but 10’6” in the center. The difference was amazing!

Up next episode: The trials and tribulations of electricity.

And, a follow up question for you: I’m trying to decide what to do about covering the walls. Sadly, the studs are unevenly spaced, so whatever I do will doubtless be a pain. Currently, I’m considering:
Drywall (cheap, but I really don’t like it)
T&G 1/2” plywood
1/2” OSB

Any thoughts?

There was also a partition running down the center – more 2×4s and plywood. The studs on the walls were 2×4, spaced whatever-we-feel-like inches on (off) center.

Several people recommended that I just tear it down, and put up a steel building. Believe me, I was tempted. But, if I did that, I’d have a much smaller shop. The garage was built before the city had any codes about how close to a property line, or alley one could build. So, it was “rehab” time.

The first task was to strip off the old, nasty siding…

It took quite awhile – everything had lots of nails and tacks. Not to mention that some of it had become “tar-glued” to the wood. In the end though, I got it all off.

I did have to replace a few of the planks, but overall, it wasn’t too bad.

I decided that I only wanted to keep one of the large doors, so the other one (left) had to be covered up.

Once I pulled off the plywood, there were swinging doors inside. Sadly, they were beyond salvaging. Notice my new “high tech” door on the right!

Now I was ready to make the outside of the shop more presentable. Note: stripping the siding off magically transformed the building from a “garage” to a “shop” – and that’s how I’ll refer to it from here on. I wrapped the outside in Tyvex, then started on the siding.

I decided on some T&G panels. Look like plywood, but they’re actually a hardboard exterior product from the BORG.

I also decided that I wanted a sliding door, just like Naaahm. So, back to the depot for some hardware, and voila! A door.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not overly fond of Primer Gray as a color, so, when choosing the exterior color, I did what any sensible man (is that an oxymoron?) would do. I put the question to SWMBO:

According to the label, the color is “butter”.

So, now I have proper siding, a nifty sliding door, what’s not to love.

Up next: Trim and windows and a new side door!

Fast forward to last year. I’ve got the wood bug, and I’ve got it bad. The basement is cramped, with low ceilings, poor access, and an unlevel floor that goes every which way. To top it off, I decide that I NEED to upgrade several machines. The new ones will be from the Godzilla/Sumo family. A jointer/planer that weighs in at over 500lbs, a band saw that’s about the same, and don’t even get me started on the table saw that I want.

The biggest problem (besides space) is that it would be quite impossible to bring these beasts down into the basement. So, LOML graciously told me that I could rehab the 2 car, detached garage, and make it into my new shop. Joy! Rapture! Oh crap! Siding, doors, electricity, insulation, walls… It was going to be a long haul.

Still, I was excited. It would be mine, all mine.
Here’s a “before” shot.