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But I need an opening, a door. The best solution would seem to be to build a wall in the existing garage door opening, with a couple of walk thru doors and maybe a window. Why is this the best solution? Because all of my deliveries come thru that door. I would rather open a regular door than continue to lift an overhead door.
I can read a blueprint, and there is a lot of info for this sort of thing. But at least one piece is missing... probably more since this is new for me. What is the best way to fasten this wall to the floor? Should I drill a few holes into the concrete and sink some sort of fastener that will hold the bottom of the wall in place? Also, should I put some sort of caulk under the wall to prevent moisture from seeping in?
I know that someone out here has pounded nails until they were driven to find something easier, like building websites. What say you then, can you give this programmer-turned-wall-builder a few helpful hints?
Thanks
Assuming you have a concrete floor, there are expanding bolt anchors that will serve your needs well.
Get a masonry bit of the right size (probably 3/8 - 1/2 inch) and drill holes to the correct depth. Drop those little bugars in the holes. Thay have a pin that you smack a couple of times with a hammer, which causes them to expand within the hole and become firmly anchored.
Use treated wood for your sill plate. Drill holes to match the anchors you just put in.
When your wall is framed in, tilt it up into place. The floor sill plate will settle over the anchors. Drop on nuts aned tighten it down. Nail off the sides to the existing wall.
Next, if you need to put on outer sheathing, do that, or else put on your siding. Insulate. Sheetrock. Splatter some texture on it and paint.
You can get all this done in a weekend, but you may need help at a couple of points.
WBF
3 feet or $300Lucky for me then, I have only 2 feet and I haven't seen $300 all at once in a long time ;)
sill plate
Understanding the terminology will help. So, that bottom board is called a sill plate. That might get me a little respect at the lumber yard. I still have a question about a moisture barrier. We get both rain and snow blown into the garage door. Is treated wood enough at the sill if it's firmly fastened down? Is a bead of caulk even recommended here?
I have found everything else I need to know about a wall except this one thing? Maybe I shouldn't think about it...
You aren't going to just cut a hole in the garage door are you? Better to replace the door with a wall, and then put a door in the new wall.
WBF
Luckily my construction days are long passed. But, yes put a 2 x 4 frame in place of the door. Rough in a doorway, drywall the inside and drop by a buiding center to see what they have for the outside of the new wall that is easy for you to install. Brickwork is a skill that should not be attempted by an amateur. Don't forget to insulate the wall and a vapor barrier. Install the door before the drywall and outside cover.
I was looking for plans to build a simple structure to hold garbage cans and recyclables. It was really a hard thing to locate on the web. Might be an opportunaty for a web professional looking for a niche site to monetize with adwords and stuff. ;-)
On the moisture issue, definately caulk! I would:
I wish I could come help ya grandpa(i can if you happen to be in eastern MD :) ), but I hope this post and previous ones help out.
No, I won't be cutting an opening for a door in the overhead door. The overhead has got to come out. That actually looks like the bigger part of this job. One side of the door is still tensioned. I'll probably play it safe here and call the overhead door people out to remove the tension, and maybe even pull the door out. There are 5 panels, and its a double wide door. Without the tension I think we can pull it down one panel at a time.
could come help yaThanks. I have help on the way... the father-in-law is coming up from Mexico and he loves to swing a hammer. Actually, he builds furniture.
Now I'm just rambling.. but I almost wish I had gone to Kentucky last summer when I had the opportunity. I would have a chance to help build a couple of cabins. For someone whose Dad was a construction guru, I'm woefully under-educated in the area of home construction.
I'll probably play it safe here and call the overhead door people out to remove the tension, and maybe even pull the door out.
Good choice. I have heard of serious injuries (and deaths) when amatuers screw around with garage door springs.
Good luck with the home improvement project.
WBF
I don't know just how screwed up the current door is, but if you can get it back up (as in open) that should relieve the tension on most designs. You will notice that the spring sags when it's open all the way.
One note: If you get it open and remove the spring, be careful. When you go to shut it, it's going to come down in a hurry without that spring. Especially if you have a heavy wooden garage door.
Freq---
All of the cars are out of the garage, right?Yeah :)
An aside to all of this, and the reason that we are suffering from the lack of a usable door at the moment is because of Matt. You guys don't know Matt, but he's the fellow that works here who is generally the reason anything goes wrong.
'It's Matt's Fault'
Matt brought in a sign [geocities.com] one day and we hung it on the door leading into the house. No sooner than you could shake a stick, the overhead door blew a spring. Now we're all using the back door!
I got one great used door, we may just build the other door. And we still need a window. So far the cost is under $200 US, with maybe that much to spend tomorrow... I need things like a ladder and we're adding one of those twirly things on the roof to help vent the space.
The Great Wall continues on Monday.
A family member of mine converted thier garage over without permits and some neighors complained and they had to convert it back. Talk about an expensive mistake.
