Posts tagged as:

garage

Insulation, Doors, and Solar Cables

March 11, 2017

Two weeks ago, I got the bid from the insulation company. Because of their economy of scale, and having a nice box truck and other equipment handy, the insulation company can insulate my garage for not a whole lot more than if I went to the big box home improvement store and bought insulation to […]

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Solar Proposal

February 27, 2017

This past week, I turned in my proposal for my solar electric system to the local power utility. Here’s the equipment I’ll be using and why. Please keep in mind that there’s more than one way to design a solar electric system. What is right for me may not be right for you, but I […]

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Garage Update Feb 9 2017

February 9, 2017

  Time for a Garage Update! Ross the Electrician has been over a few times lately, and got most of the rough wiring done. The downstairs is wired for plenty of wall outlets, two electric car chargers, an electric boiler, and plenty of switched outlets in the ceiling for the LED shop-lights. There will also […]

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Garage Progress, Jan 3 2016

January 3, 2017

…After that, it was time to install the skylights. SKYLIGHTS!?!!? In a garage!?!? Yup….

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Ben’s Garage: Winter Solar Access

December 14, 2016

The rough shell of the garage is now up! We got the roof boards and felt on just before the first major winter storm of the season. Since then, a cold front has moved through. While that DOES drop the temperature (single digits F. right now,) it also means CLEAR skies! It’s cold, but sunny! […]

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Ben’s Garage: Raise the Roof!

December 10, 2016

Today, we put the roof on the garage! Planning was interesting, because the big weather forecast was for a large snowstorm to be coming in. Fortunately, it shouldn’t start until near the end of the day. We weather was cold but clear as we got started – about 15 degrees F., but sunny. The first […]

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Raising the Trusses!

December 3, 2016

This past Saturday, we got the Trusses up. I was a little concerned about this. Each truss weighs over 200 pounds and is 31 feet long. We would need more than just my brother, my Dad, and I to do the job of lifting the trusses onto the roof, setting them in the proper place, […]

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Putting up the Beam

December 2, 2016

The next big step would be install a header across the south side of the garage. This wall is almost nothing but doors. In fact, there’s so little there to hold up the roof that we needed a structurally engineered beam to span the entire south side! This was done with a “micro-lam” beam. Essentially, […]

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Ben’s Garage: Wall Day

November 25, 2016

While other folks were out buying their Christmas gifts at the Black Friday sales, we were busy building walls for the garage! What’s it take to build a few walls? For starters, a crew. My Dad, Jim, and my brother, Wayne, came out today to build walls. Of course, the two of them are pretty […]

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Trusses Delivered

November 17, 2016

While I wasn’t expecting it yet, the engineered trusses that will make up the attic and roof showed up today! These trusses are HUGE! They will run north and south. The garage is 29 feet in that dimension, plus a one foot roof overhang on either side. That makes these 31 feet long each. I […]

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