The door is in! We ended up using a company named Felluca Garage Doors. This is a colonial style with windows as the top row. So nice to be able to go out to the garage, turn a handle and open a door! For the last few years I was the only one who could open the door. Our last door was heavy and this one you could lift with one finger!
Our little monkey, Ryan, loves the new door!
This garage was built as a horse stall in the early 1900s. Since the day we moved in I hated the eaves--they were open and painted with a rounded moulding. I decided to add eaves and a roof return on each side that matches our house.
The front of the garage is now ready for siding. I think I will house wrap the front--so we don't have to look at that nasty siding all winter. Still working on the estimate for the siding. I will purchase the siding from B & L Wholesale, the same place I got the siding for the house a few years ago.
The Finished product! This project was way to much work. Thank goodness I won't have to touch this roof again for thirty years. On Saturday, I spent around five hours shingling up to the very top. I had to add a row to the other side and then cut a bunch of 3 tab shingles to make the cap.
I spent some time Sunday preparing the garage opening for our new garage door. We have an appointment to sign a contract for a colonial style door with windows. The door opening was suppose to be sixteen feet--the original opening was just shy of that. Today tore off the siding on either side of the opening. I removed the boards on either side and installed new columns on each side. Then I sheeted the side with plywood. I installed PVC board as the trip on the inside and on the front. The blue tarp is a poor attempt at keeping animals out for the next two days. I don't need to fight a raccoon.
The garage project has been on hold for the last few weekends. Two weekends ago I turned 40 and my wife took the entire family to NYC. We took the train in to watch the Yankees beat up on the Boston Red Sox. So no garage that weekend :( yeah right! Last weekend we spent the entire weekend at a lake house with friends. No garage again.
Today I got out there around 8am setting up the tools, music, and getting things started. My two boys came out to throw shingles away that I was throwing on the ground. Jackson also cleaned the entire garage of all the debris from the other side tear off! Looks great in there.
At around 9am, two of my friends showed up--Jerry and TK. Both had told me they wanted to come by and help me today but I didn't want to call them this morning. Not that getting help would have stunk, I just didn't want them to give any of their Saturday to slave at my place. It was so awesome to have their help!!! Jerry helped me tear off the last of the shingles and then the three of us started slamming up the plywood. When I was working alone, it took me so much time to bring each piece of plywood up and get it positioned. Today, in a matter of seconds the plywood was up and we were nailing it down! The tar paper was next as we made our way to the bottom. That was tons easier! By 1:15 we had this side ready for shingles--something that took be three weekends working alone. Check out our progress and thanks again guys!
This shows the foot long piece at the front that was rotted away. It also shows the plywood laid down by the previous owners when they fixed this side of the garage 20 years ago. The boards on the side of the garage were part of a system the previous owner used to hold several canoes. They were bolted in with the largest lag bolts I've ever seen.
This is the completed side. Doesn't look like much but there is new plywood and tar paper down.
Here is another view. Don't look at the nasty siding. We have lived with that garage looking like that because, honestly, I didn't know if I could fix the garage. Should have painted it but what for--it was a mess already. I have plans to side the garage to match the house. Probably, early spring!
Two weekends ago I finished the first side. I feel like I'm working so slow but doing this alone is really taking me forever. I've started work on the second side and hope to progress more. At least I've got this side done.
I spent some of Saturday and Sunday slaving on the garage. It is now ready for shingles. I'll do a little each night this week then I can start the other side.
These pictures show all the plywood is up. Unfortunately I didn't get much further today. It is really slow going working alone. A lot of the work requires me to make jigs to hold boards or hold myself up on the roof. Everything weighs a ton, including my ladder, which is why my shoulders are screaming in pain.
Here is the finish to the weekend. I installed two rows of planks with roof brackets. The fascia board is up most of the way to the peak and on this side of the roof. I chose to use PVC board instead of the much cheaper primed pine. With the PVC board I won't have to paint it, ever. I would just leave it white. The primed pine would require me to paint it from time to time. On top of fascia is the new drip edge and rake board. All this work and the place still looks like a crack den! If you saw some dude crouched down under that half covered window shootin a needle in his arm, it wouldn't be that shocking.
While it was getting dark, Jackson helped (was forced by his father) to help pick up the junk. It actually looks much better. A crack den with nice soil. Can't wait to bang up the siding! We are siding this thing with the same blue siding we did on our house. It will also have white trim and the corners will also be white (using a siding material for the corners)
Sunday and Monday (Labor Day) I spent time ripping off the garage roof. It was nasty, dirty work but thank goodness it is done. We have lived here for fourteen years and I have never done the roof. I'm guessing the roof was at least twenty years old. The was a layer of cedar shingles then asphalt shingles on top. The asphalt shingles were moss covered and rotted. The cedar was dried but seemed to keep the water out. There was a lot of material to remove.
Today I got all the shingles off the one side and laid down three pieces of plywood at the top of the roof. Then the rains came. My neighbor helped me attach a tarp to cover the one side. I then spent about an hour picking up all the shingles that had fallen on the ground.
This was taken on Sunday after about an hour of working. The entire side is bare and ready for plywood.
The garage has been lifted and is now secure with a new wall! The left side is supported by the new wall--a few more boards to tie in the left side to the right and the structure has been brought back to life.
Next steps--a new roof. The left side needs plywood down on the roof first. The right side has plywood that look pretty decent. Ripping off the roof Sunday--goal by the end of the day Sunday is to have at least the tar paper down. A lot of work between then and now!
Picture show the new studs sistered to the old ones. The new sole plat is down on the new concrete pad. Right after this picture was taken I threw up a wall of plywood over these new studs to make the structure even more secure.
This picture show the new wall attached at the bottom to the new sole plate.
Lifted the garage today. I have to say I'm a bit nervous to get that big puppy off the ground. None of the studs or corner posts are touching the ground.
Today I've cleaned out the concrete, dirt and debris. I've laid a frame for the concrete.
This picture shows the space created by the jacks--to bad I have to take the whole thing up five more inches! The one side has sunk almost a foot over the 92 years. Concrete will mend the space under the structure and give me a place to lay a new pressure treated sole plate.
The bottom of this two by has been eaten away. With a new footing and sole plate, new pressure treated two by studs should keep that side of the garage from sinking. That is if the thing doesn't fall in on me.
Today my neighbor, Pat, came over with an idea to straighten my garage. For years the garage has slowly settled, slanting to the left. After I hit it over the winter, the garage took a turn for the worse. The garage door broke making it impossible for me to get inside.
Pat's idea was to use two by fours as something he called bow braces. He put one end of the two bys against the foundation of his garage. Check out the pictures below.
The two bys flex one way then when they are pulled up they flex back pushing the garage in the opposite direction.
I then spent a few hours cleaning out the foliage from behind the garage and installing several pieces of plywood. This will help keep the garage straight.
Here are some braces I installed the other day. The bow braces beat the hell out of the idea I had. I planned to have a bunch of guys come over and push it Amish style, until it was straight. Then screw the board in quickly to brace it.
Here the three bow braces flex and hold the garage straight.
The whole set up from a far. Amazing job!
Here is the pudding. The garage is straight. Now I have to figure out a way to brace it from inside. I have a plan but need to order long two by sixes to hold the structure tight. Next steps--ordering a dumpster to clean out the garage and take off the roof. Then new roof, electric and siding to match the house!
