Darren's Shop

Wow. This kind of thing happens to me all the time. I *still* haven't figured out all the quirks of the previous owner's wiring... :huh:

But what's this about new code changes? Did I miss something, or was your panel just really old? :dunno:

Wish I had that kind of room! :thumb:

Thanks,

Bill

Panel is probably original to the shop, 20 years or so old, newer panels have a separate ground bars for the neutral and ground to connect to. It's mostly to do with electronics. I'll have some computer equipment in the office of the shop. The current panel has only one ground bar, which the neutral and bare ground both go to. However they did run 4 wires from the main, two hots, one neutral, and one ground; which is the way it should be done.

They also had the subpanel grounded at the shop to a ground stake outside. This essentially creates a ground loop. When running machines in the garage it would cause the TV's and computer equipment in the house to flake out a little due to electrical 'noise', so I disconnected it.

Splitting the ground and neutral will further isolate electrical 'noise' both in the shop and a from reaching electronics the house.
 
Well, got started throwing up some walls. Seems like I spent most of the night spinning the wheels in mud though. They slopped the concrete up to the battens on the outside, so I spent about hour chiseling concrete from the corners to flatten out enough for the base of the wall to set flat.

Next was removing various electrical wires and boxes. Finally I got both the bottom and top plates cut and started to lay them out. I cut the bottom and top the same length, took the top up on a ladder to check the fit...hmmm too long.

Go get the plumb bob and dangle it on the left side, the top is 1 1/2" to the left further than the bottom. I check the right side. The top is 3" to the left further than the bottom.

Right side is the string holding the plumb bob, 1 1/2" from the pole.
attachment.php


Plumb bob is about 4 1/2" from the pole at the bottom.
attachment.php


The right side of the wall started.
attachment.php


Doesn't look pretty, but the studs fit between the poles, so the osb will overlap on the poles. At least the studs are plumb for holding the load of any cabinets and such.:rolleyes: They cut the girts to install the windows, so added a stud on each side to stiffen the wall, much better. Still need to box around the window and add some cripples top and bottom.
attachment.php


Will do the other corner tomorrow night, hopefully it will go smoother. Will probably swap out the electrical panel this weekend, then I'll start running new circuits to replace the old.
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0246.jpg
    IMAG0246.jpg
    50.5 KB · Views: 245
  • IMAG0247.jpg
    IMAG0247.jpg
    70.8 KB · Views: 247
  • IMAG0248.jpg
    IMAG0248.jpg
    68.8 KB · Views: 248
  • IMAG0249.jpg
    IMAG0249.jpg
    61 KB · Views: 248
Darren, I think out of plumb is the new level. :p

Every week I see multi-million dollar homes where things are out of plumb and square. I don't see why your shop should be any different. :D
 
I'm kinda surprised that the overhead door works well, considering how far out of plumb the framing for it is.

Interesting that even with the pole so far out of plumb, whoever installed the windows appears to have gotten them in straight. At least somebody on that job had a plumb bob and a level...:D
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: Jim you cracked me up.

Something tells me its the way the training goes these days. If the first guy in the loop did not know what a plumb bob or square was then it flows downhill.:(

Example, oldest son has just started a job working for a "wont give his boss a titile because it would break coc".

Anyhow comes home yesterday early. Decides he will help me with paving. So around 4:30 pm we get stuck into some ofwhats left. Now its cutting and edging.

Up to now i have made the cuts (big patio stone type pavers) and to do it rather than rent a saw at crazy rates over and over (this is diy doing it bit by bit as time permits) so i purchased a "harbor freight type" grinder and diamond blade to do it.

So son decides he is the man he knows how to do this and he does it on site. (Yeah right.:rolleyes:) Well he picks up he grinder with the blade running clockwise and begins to push it forward.:eek::eek::huh:

I stop him and he says he always does it this way and thats what his boss showed him.:doh:The even bigger concern is when i showed him the right way he would not believe me. :eek::( I sent him inside. :bang: Can lead a horse to water but you need a 2x4 or baseball bat to make a youngster listen.:rofl::rofl:


It is times like this that i wish there was mandatory conscription here so he could experience the wrath of a drill seargent that got out of bed on the wrong side. :)
 
During LOML's guest bath remodel I discovered why so many people can't find a job. There are jobs out there, we just aren't hiring the people who can't do them anymore. . . .

OK, that was harsh, I apologize. We really are having a tough job market and that is truly horrible. The lack of quality in construction does expose past trends in hiring a lot of unskilled labor bought for the cheapest price. I fear for our future generations when the last of the current generation of craftsmen have retired.
 
I'm kinda surprised that the overhead door works well, considering how far out of plumb the framing for it is.

Interesting that even with the pole so far out of plumb, whoever installed the windows appears to have gotten them in straight. At least somebody on that job had a plumb bob and a level...:D

I haven't gotten to the other side of the garage door, may be just as crooked...evening it out. ;) :D

Oh, and that window is pretty out of wack, luckily the window is surfaced mount, so it can be squared up to open. I may go back and frame around it a little larger so I put a larger window in I won't need to re-frame then.
 
This may not be the case in your garage but in every garage that is full like your garage I have found that in as little a 30 minutes a day people have found that there were enough things that were not fit for a garage sale & not worth keeping that just needed to be thrown out that it started making room that they could work in & finish what needed to be done. In so doing they organized stuff & got stuff stored or ready for the garage sale. It's funny what we put off because we feel overwhelmed by what we see in the garage.

Consider this encouragement don't wait till spring it won't get any better between now & then.
 
This may not be the case in your garage but in every garage that is full like your garage I have found that in as little a 30 minutes a day people have found that there were enough things that were not fit for a garage sale & not worth keeping that just needed to be thrown out that it started making room that they could work in & finish what needed to be done. In so doing they organized stuff & got stuff stored or ready for the garage sale. It's funny what we put off because we feel overwhelmed by what we see in the garage.

Consider this encouragement don't wait till spring it won't get any better between now & then.

Yup, doesn't take me long when I get in the mood to fill up a few trash cans...then I forget to drag them down to the end of the drive on Tuesday. :doh::rolleyes::rofl:

For the most part, the shop is picked up (now), I just don't have any real storage. I knew I was going to be re-doing and finishing walls, so have waited on doing any cabinetry. So until the walls are done, I'm working out of rubber maid boxes and free standing shelves.

Good advice though. :wave:
 
So I got the electrical panel swapped out today for a new one. Started by pulling the drywall, which I found a whole lot of saw dust looking material in the between the drywall and celotex.
attachment.php


Turned out it was the foam from the celotex. Carpenter ants moved in for a short time this summer before I treated around the shop, they hollowed out a good part of this sheet of insulation.
attachment.php


Under that, a mouse had been calling the insulation home, had tunnels and droppings everywhere. Bagged it all up and will put new back in (after installing rat shields around the outside of the shop).
attachment.php


Also uncovered an electrical box, which had drywall for it's cover. Was wondering why the electrical didn't work the way it was wired for that circuit last week that had a switched neutral, found the issue in this box.
attachment.php

attachment.php


I got really excited for a little while when I found this. I thought perhaps the previous owner had ran a waterline to the shop and never finished hooking it up. After running a fish tape down it, I realized it was only 4' deep and most likely buried as a ground rod since the old ground wire from the panel was hooked to it.
attachment.php


Finally, here is the new panel. Not a pretty as Mr. Southwoods, but did have to hook up the old wiring...did the best I could, will pretty it up as I get things re-wired.
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0261.jpg
    IMAG0261.jpg
    54.3 KB · Views: 233
  • IMAG0262.jpg
    IMAG0262.jpg
    69 KB · Views: 233
  • IMAG0260.jpg
    IMAG0260.jpg
    81.8 KB · Views: 239
  • IMAG0259.jpg
    IMAG0259.jpg
    35.7 KB · Views: 236
  • IMAG0258.jpg
    IMAG0258.jpg
    59.1 KB · Views: 239
  • IMAG0257.jpg
    IMAG0257.jpg
    68.2 KB · Views: 241
  • IMAG0256.jpg
    IMAG0256.jpg
    61.9 KB · Views: 239
Bummer on the copper line, I too would of been hoping...Water line is one thing I regret not putting in when I built this little shed of mine, another is not using larger conduit for the underground wiring :doh:

Nice thing with all of this work your doing...you'll know exactly what and where everything is for future reference......that is, until your up there in my range of age :rofl:
 
:eek::eek: Well at least you now know whats what.

Darren what do you mean by rat shields. I am just thinking my insulation in my shop must be pretty attractive to them critters. Will do an inspection around the building to check for any unwanted holes.

But dont know what the rat shields are. Googled it and got a circular disk that is put on wire. ??:eek:
 
:eek::eek: Well at least you now know whats what.

Darren what do you mean by rat shields. I am just thinking my insulation in my shop must be pretty attractive to them critters. Will do an inspection around the building to check for any unwanted holes.

But dont know what the rat shields are. Googled it and got a circular disk that is put on wire. ??:eek:

It's basically an "L" shaped piece of metal 10' or so long that you put one side behind the corrugated siding at the bottom, and the other half of the "L" covers the ends of the holes in the siding, keeping rats from getting in.
 
I got the rest of the south wall stripped down to the studs tonight.
attachment.php


Ran into two small pockets of carpenter ants. Both around this spot by the window. Looks like I've had a small leak under it that I need to seal up. Couldn't see that the ants have done any damage, looks like they were just taking shelter inside the wall. The mice had done a number on the insulation though, bagged it all up and tossed it.
attachment.php


Have a little dry rot from the leak, but nothing too serious.
attachment.php


Not sure why they floated the bottom of the wall off the floor, luckily it's right at 1 1/2" so just need to put some treated 2x4's under each section.
attachment.php


Had no luck finding rat sheild, but it was suggested to just fill the holes in the bottom of the siding with steel wool and spray foam. Mice don't like chewing through either apparently. Anyone else tried this?
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0293.jpg
    IMAG0293.jpg
    66.5 KB · Views: 181
  • IMAG0294.jpg
    IMAG0294.jpg
    43.5 KB · Views: 180
  • IMAG0295.jpg
    IMAG0295.jpg
    50.1 KB · Views: 179
  • IMAG0296.jpg
    IMAG0296.jpg
    59.5 KB · Views: 180
I don't know about the spray foam but The steel wool works very well.
:thumb: Kinda figure it won't hurt. Spray foam should hold the steel wool in place.

Would gutter apron work as a substitute?

View attachment 61307
Ike

I looked at some, but what I found was a lot thinner than rat shields I've seen. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I'll probably go with the steel wool and spray foam for now. It's starting to get down in the 30's at night, so need to get moving on putting the walls back together. There's a 2X6 going around the base of the shop, so I'll just fill in about half way down, then it won't interfere with rat shield installation when I come across some.
 
You sure on the carpenter ants? Just thinking that timber aint pressure treated and once they in why would they leave? The part you came across may just be the beginning the rest could be hidden.

Dont you think it worth it to drill a few test holes elsewhere further away and see if they have tunnels. This kinda thing dont always show from the outside. Also check for larva.

I know what you meant about temps dropping.:)
 
Top