The Garage Project

So I've had the goal since we moved into the new house of being able to park my Volvo in the garage. The garage is not big, and besides the car we want to keep bicycles and the lawn mower inside. There is a low ceiling in the garage, and I'm pretty sure it is not structural. The ceiling supports run perpendicular to the roof beams. I'm not sure what exactly is holding up the roof, but it doesn't seem like it would be these ceiling beams. Before I started this project, I took out some shelves that extended two feet out from the back wall of the garage.

I cleared out the attic area on the small side of the access, and removed the floor boards. Then I used my new reciprocating demo saw and cut out the beams. This allowed me to hang the bikes up higher, and park the car below them.

I saved the lumber, and removed all the nails. Too bad I don't have room to put any shelves in the garage!

Here is a picture from the "attic" looking down through the narrow access.
In the Next photo, I've taken off the "floor" boards.
Now, I've used the new sawz-all and taken out two of the beams!
There is a much better view into the "upstairs" storage area.
Success! It fits! But the car is so leafy and dirty...
Here is where we will keep the commuter bikes for easy access.
Notice that in this picture the car is clean, and in the garage so hopefully it will stay that way!

I back the car into the garage so that I can open the door to get out. There is no passenger-side access to the car while it is in the garage. The garage is quite narrow, and as I'm backing in, there are only about 3-4 inches to spare between the mirrors and the garage door frame. My brother won't be allowed to move the car in or out of the garage!
This project is pretty much done. I need to mount a support for the commuter bikes to that they don't fall over while propped on the wall, and I think I'll repair the concrete where the garage meets the driveway. There is a pretty decent curb there now.
The next projects will be car-related, as I need to work on brakes, oil change and spark plugs and wires.

Mr. Handyman

So I have the goal of fitting my car into the garage for the winter. However, that has not been possible. There are lots of shelves and other stuff in the garage. And we also want to keep our bikes (at least the commuters) in the garage. (that is actually a whole 'nother post: I got a new commuter bike! Check back soon...) The garage is not too big, either. It is a total of 10.5 feet by 18 feet.
So one step I had to take was to re-arrange the (road) bicycles. I moved them from the wooden rack/stand that had held them in the apartment to newly installed hooks parallel to the wall. I would say the far wall, but it is actually quite close. There is also a ladder hanging along the wall.
On the wall opposite the bicycles was a workbench protruding two feet from the wall. Not a ton of space, but enough to work on small projects. Above that are some long, narrow shelves. So I decided that I would like to clear up the space. I bought a reciprocating saw from the Home Depot, and cut the bench about four inches from the wall, then put on some hinges, and attached legs with another set of hinges. I then added a safety straps so that. Just in case. It latches with a sliding bolt into a hole in the shelf above.
I'm the first to admit that it is not pretty, but it actually looks better than it did before. And it enabled me for the first time to pull the car all the way into the garage!!! (But the camera batteries died before I got a picture.) I will need to take out another set of shelves in the back of the garage (about 28 inches deep) and find a new home for the lawnmower in order to make it work to keep the commuters and the car inside, but each weekend I'm getting closer.
I'll be posting more blogs now that I'm doing more around the house. Be sure to check back for pics of the new commuter bike, pics of the Volvo in the garage and updates on the T5: oil changes, brake fluid changes, new brake pads, new plugs and wires and the exterior treatment.
Finally, check out the link on the right for the Three Dollar Connoisseur. We know the posters (Poseurs?)