There's a hole in my roof!

Forum for general car talk, upcoming events, posting photos, etc.
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

Progress has been made! The doors aren't painted yet but at least they are in. For the first time in almost nine months, the cars are completely indoors. We aren't exactly sealed up yet, but it's sealed enough that I can stop using car covers... and that feels good.

Six cars currently indoors, two more will move in before long.
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doors3.jpg
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interior1.jpg
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interior2.jpg
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gorms68
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by gorms68 »

Hey that's big news! Congratulations. What color are you going to paint the doors?
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

We've gone back and forth for weeks, but probably dark, like the shutters. It's just so much white with all that door showing so prominently.
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VWNate1
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by VWNate1 »

Nice ! :thumbs: .

I'm waiting to hear more on the ' Barrel Nose ' pickup .
-Nate
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Larry Kluss
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Larry Kluss »

That's great, Steve!
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Got a personal tour the other day. It is nothing short of stunning. So much usable space :bow:

Dean
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

With the doors on, it's time to start filling and grading the land around the garage. We got a rather large delivery of gravel and dirt. I shoveled all the gravel by hand and about 20% of the dirt before I had enough. So I brought some help home in the form of a diesel-powered dirt pile remover. Here's the pile I still had left...
Dirt Pile
Dirt Pile
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Much of it had to go around back which was no problem for a wheelbarrow, but the opening was merely 1.5" wider than the loader I was driving, and at an angle. It was a VERY tight squeeze as I went back and forth. This is why I put a pass-through in the garage, only it's still boarded up and inaccessible. So I went around. Here's loading in...
Tight Squeeze
Tight Squeeze
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And back out.
Tight Squeeze
Tight Squeeze
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Next step is some minor landscaping, get the second lift completed and paint / finish the floor.
Martin Keller
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,
What are you complaining about as that is enough room to drive a TD or an MG Midget through I would think.... :lol: ..... :thumbs: ....

:drive
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

Oh definitely, but the tractor is bigger! And the soft dirt didn't make things any easier.
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by gorms68 »

Steve Simmons wrote:Oh definitely, but the tractor is bigger! And the soft dirt didn't make things any easier.
Disappointed you did not use the bed of the Model T to haul that dirt back there.
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

Actually that was my first thought, but I would have to get it into the T first. That's a lot of shoveling.
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

Drainage has been run, which required about 150' of ditches to be dug around the garage. I may look like a dummy but I do know enough to burn gasoline in order to achieve this, rather than work a shovel.
ditch.jpg
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Two more deliveries of dirt and a lot of gravel later, the area around the side and back of the garage are mostly done. We had to bring in another bobcat for the second round but this time I let someone else drive while I supervised. This bobcat was too big for the side yard so we got to use the big back door for the first time.
bobcat-garage.jpg
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The third delivery came and two weeks of grueling shovel work later, we had moved yet more dirt and untold amounts of gravel which had to be mixed in certain proportions to get the color and look we were after. You would hardly recognize the place from just a week or two before. Rocks from an old walkway were re-used to make a fire pit (which will never be used if whoever reads this is a city official) and our once proud, man-killer of a tree now has a job as seating for said fire pit. Recycling is good.
backyard.jpg
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Now what do you do with a giant leftover hole in your floor that will later house an in-ground lift? Fill it with broken pieces of driveway and sand, what else! Recycling is again a good thing.
pit.jpg
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In other news, the second lift is finally in but the ramps turned out to be a bit small for the truck, so they will be changed for larger ones when I get the energy up to make the swap. Lifting the columns is always the difficult (read: heavy) part so hydraulics were put into play like we did in the old garage. Only this time we learned that you don't use the newer, cheap Harbor Freight hoists to do it because the arms bend and the cylinders blow out. So an older, better one was pulled out of mothballs for the job of getting the column off the ground.
hoist.jpg
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More to come...
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

And now the latest on the garage. All 8 cars are indoors for the first time! This is the first time I've ever had everything I own under a roof. Kinda weird to look outside and not see a pile of old metal blocking the view.

Here are a few shots of the setup so far. Note the small ramps on the lift. We had to literally hoist the truck onto them and it's way off balance, so those ramps will be replaced asap. I just need to get some stronger dollies, or a few suckers to help lift.

Also the hole under the Model T will get a nice cover once I get around to making one. The hole under that modern thing (how'd that get in there?) already has a wooden cover as a prototype, and it too will be replaced with something nicer.
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garage1.jpg
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garage2.jpg
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garage3.jpg
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garage5.jpg
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VWNate1
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by VWNate1 »

SWEET ! :thumbs: .

All this result of your hard works & diligence , is a Motor Head's dream come true ! :bow: .
-Nate
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Larry Kluss »

Very nice, Steve. I see the table and chairs. Now if you get some good ventilation and a stocked fridge, you'll never get us to leave. :devil:

What's the hay bale for?
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

The hay bale (technically a straw bale) was for a friend who wanted to use the Model T for wedding photos. I didn't have anywhere to put it so I threw it there. Turns out it makes a comfortable seat.

My table is an old Castrol oil drum that I found in a field. I just need to find a bigger piece of glass for it.

I have a cooler packed with leftover beer from a recent bbq. Y'all are welcome to come drink it for me. ;)
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Steve,

Garage is looking good :thumbs: wish I had a garage that is as nice and half the size.
I see you blocked the back door so the Model T would not get lost or escape :lol: .
I also see you have positioned the MGA over the sand and field stone filled pit to capture the oil that it most likely drips as most MG's do :D .
Let your wife know she designed a very nice looking backyard from what I can see in the photo you posted. :jester

So now all you have to due is decide when your going to have a drywall hanging party.

If you want to borrow an airless paint sprayer to paint the inside of the garage just let me know as I have one you could use.
:drive
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

Thanks, I appreciate the offer. Drywall will have to wait a while since there are more pressing tasks to spend money on But I will have it done before next Summer because it gets pretty hot in there now that we have no shade on the garage roof!

The TC was over the pit before, I moved cars around to make it easier for the wife to get her MGA out, and I'll admit we liked the way the TC looked over by the Model T better anyway. :)
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Robb »

I just looked in the mirror; yup, I'm green!

Fabulous garage.
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Fifty Six MGA »

That's awesome.
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Steve Simmons
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Re: There's a hole in my roof!

Post by Steve Simmons »

More progress. We coated the floor with a 3-part system that I hope will be as durable as the stuff used in the last garage. That paint is now illegal in California so I'm giving something new a try. I already found out it isn't nearly as tough as the old stuff but I think it will be ok.

I had to leave on a 16-day work trip so we did the coating right before I left. The cars and other stuff moved outdoors so the paint would have nearly 3 weeks to cure. I got back home today and started moving things in, and for the first time in two years I have a proper work bench. Tomorrow I scrub the cars down and put them back, and start planning placement of cabinets, etc.

It's hard to tell the shade of paint in the photos but definitely lighter than it looks. I was hoping for slightly darker than it turned out, but it's fine. Lighter shade means better light reflection anyway, and easier to keep clean.
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