Paul I had not planned on installing vents at the bottom do you think it's needed ? On each side wall I have two 4 " x 16 " louvered vents mounted end to end . On the long ( 6 ' ) back wall I screened in the underside of the rafters so it's pretty much vented the full length . My thoughts are that the compressor head/pump and electric motor are up high ( vertical tank style ) and will naturally draw air with their proximity to the venting . The room will have a door to close it off from the main garage .

Looking good! The big advantage of vents down low is taking advantage of convection, cool air comes in the bottom and hot air goes out the top. Similar concept to why you often install vents in a roof soffit and then in the upper section of a roof.

Hey guys it's been a while we had the grandchildren for 5 days while my son and DIL took a mini vacation . But the past few days I got the compressor room insulated and today finished installing plywood on the interior . Tomorrow I will caulk the seams and then install the balance of the metal wainscote . Do some trim work and paint the top half. Install a light and complete the 220 install and it will be ready for the compressor . I will have to punch one hole through the interior wall to run the air line into the garage .

So still progressing but not as quick as I'd like :( . The dirt guy removed all the dirt he was going to take and left me enough to complete the retaining walls . I had him somewhat level the area behind the garage , this will help control rain runoff and provide me an area to store my car trailer so a win/win :D . I'll have to figure out something for ground cover for that space , maybe just gravel . That's it for now have to go watch game 7 between Preds and Jets !

Went to big box store today and picked up all the electrical items I need to complete the compressor room . The room should be complete this weekend . This morning I caulked the seams in the plywood and the corners so it will look decent when painted . I have pretty much used up all of the used plywood I purchased I was quite accurate ( by luck ) on the total qty needed .

Today I put two coats of white semi-gloss on the compressor walls . Tomorrow one more coat and the paint is done . I will then install the balance of the metal wainscote to continue the " theme " :D . Today I also got serious with measuring/positioning the posts of my 2 post lift . Drove the wifes RAV4 into the garage and did some comparison looks/measuring to make sure I'm good to go . I'm trying to position the lift as close to the wall as possible but still be able to get behind it if needed . It's a balancing act of that and lining up with the garage door . The way I have it right now I'll have to make a slight turn to the left as the lift isn't centered in the opening . That was not a problem for my wifes car and it won't be for the Boxster but could be for the dually pickup .

Plus I'm working to the dimensions of the thicker pads of concrete I poured in the original floor pour . To be honest the thicker pads were a guestimate on my part and I'm happy to say I guessed pretty good ;) . I am hoping to finalize the install in the next two weeks . I have to go rent a hammer drill but I have everything else . I'll post pics when the lift is installed . The visual progress these days is in VERY small chunks :( . Grass growing at furious pace and there are just other things to do around the house that need my attention . I'm retired and not enough time in the day !!! :D

Today I finally finished the compressor room in regards to the interior walls . Installed the last of the PVC trim over the metal wainscoting . I now have to move that monster IR compressor from the basement of the house to the garage :( . But I think I have figured out a way to do it . Anyway here are two pics of the compressor room complete with 4 ' shoplight . I still have to add a door but that will be done after I get the compressor in the room .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1526767797.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1526767797.jpg

Very nice work on this roomy, functional garage. Reminds me of when I built mine, much smaller, but big enough to restore my 911 SC coupe.

Appreciate the kind words , this is the biggest project I have taken on in my long DIY history . A lot of new territory for me but I think I've done pretty good overall . The demons I am fighting now is to push myself to complete . I find that I start working later in the morning and quit earlier in the afternoon , part of that is being retired and trying to enjoy other things . But I know I have to get it done so am trying to get my mojo back . Today I am going to try and move the compressor into the room , this will be no easy task by myself . Stay tuned for injury report :D

I am happy to report the compressor is in her new home ! But not without some drama :( . So I did a bunch of " figuring " and decided to back my pick up to the basement garage where the compressor was . The plan was to roll the compressor over to the tailgate and push it over . I had a bunch of moving blankets stacked up on the tailgate to soften the landing of the compressor .

When I had the compressor at the previous house I had made a small four wheeled dolly for it , two wheels swivel and two wheels solid . The compressor is bolted to this dolly so it's easy to roll on concrete . But my plan to " push it over " also had to include stopping the wheels of the dolly from kicking out . So I estimated how far the truck had to be from the compressor and I ran straps from the truck hitch to the dolly , the straps would stop the dolly from kicking out .

I looked everything over a couple of times and then decided to go . I slowly pushed the compressor over and with a soft thud she landed :D Great now all I have to do is lift up on the dolly and push the compressor in the truck about two feet and we're good to go . That's where the plan took a crap :D The compressor tank being round rolled on me when I went to lift/push it in :mad: So now I'm stuck there is no way I can push it in and there's no way I can stand it back up :( I made several phone calls to neighbors and friends EVERYONE is busy . I called my oldest son and he's home.........great ! He only lives 20 minutes away . With two guys it took all of 2 minutes to fix the situation . I drove the truck around to the man cave , backed her partially in and we dropped the compressor down slowly onto the wheels .

We rolled it into the compressor room , it fit and I plugged in the electric . Turned it on and the sweet sound of manly machinery was in the air ;) The way I have the compressor positioned I have about a foot to the left and about two feet to the right to maneuver in . Once I get the air lines run I'll never have to move it just need to go into the room for draining the tank and air filter/oil replacement . I am REALLY glad this part is done . Here's a pic of the compressor in its new home .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1526841551.jpg

Check out this itty bitty man cave build I just ran across looking at modelling sites... more pics here: Scale Model Garage


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What is that, a man cave for ants?!

Hey guys it has been an interesting week it started with me taking my wife to the emergency room :( . Turns out the stomach/back pain she has is a kidney stone........ lovely . So we have done follow up visit with urologist and waiting to get an appointment to " blast " it and be done , in the mean time she's waiting to give birth :D .

So zero work on the garage but there has been progress . I was able to borrow a real hammer drill and 3/4 bit and today I will start the install of the 2 post lift . Also yesterday did a run to Northern Tool and picked up a 3/4 " 100 ' Rapid Air kit to install the air lines in the garage . It comes with three manifold/outlets which is perfect for my setup . Two will be used for hose reels at the front of the garage ( one for each bay ) and one will be for the safety latches on the lift . Each manifold has a ball valve for draining any moisture . So starting at the compressor it will be a rubber hose feeding about 5 ' of 3/4 black iron which will exit the compressor room through the wall . There will be a tee at that junction with another ball valve for draining and that is where the Rapid Air will start . The fittings that come with the kit are exactly the amount I need .

That's it for now don't forget the Stanley Cup starts on Monday !!!

It looks great. I really like the wainscote!

Sorry to hear that your wife is stoned! ;)

Nice looking compressor. Ingersoll Rand purchased the Trane Company from American Standard a few years back. It looks as though they adopted Trane's colours, executive beige and black.

Good choice, think you will get many years of home shop service from it. Does it have two stages of compression?

Garage is looking good

I bought the IR compressor used when I lived in Marietta . To my knowledge it is a 2 stage but not 100 % sure , I was never lacking air in the Marietta garage . It's not like I use it every day so should last my lifetime and beyond . Appreciate the positive comments on the garage .

Looking good, Rick!

Funny story about moving your air compressor. Sounds like something that I would do!

Hope things work out OK for your wife.

Thanks for all the updates!

Hey Baz thanks . Today was a good day I have both posts of the 2 post lift 100 % installed ! I must have measured a 100 times :D before I finally said to myself drill the damn holes already ! Started with the post closest to the wall and started drilling . The big a$$ Dewalt hammer drill I borrowed from the electrician went through 9 " of high strength concrete like a hot knife through butter ;) . Installed the six " special bolts " and played around with shims to get it right . Cranked the bolts down and moved to the second post .

My wife even with the kidney stone was out in the garage on a ladder helping me get all the dimensions just right for the positioning of the 2nd post .......... she is a real trooper ! By tape measure and 4 ' level all looked good so started drilling the 2nd post . Installed all the bolts/shims and started cranking down with the torque wrench . Supposed to get these bad boys to 150 ft lbs I was only able to get them to 140 with just the torque wrench :( I will have to put a cheater pipe on the wrench to get to 150 , at 140 I felt my testicles in my throat :D . So the only nasty job left for the lift install is to lift/position the top connecting channel , this damn thing is heavy and bulky :( But I have a friend of mine that will give me a hand getting it into position .

After that it's just a matter of running the cables , installing the pump and the wiring , install the lift arms and we should have lift off :D . Will also have to run the air lines for the safety locks . I am friggen beat from torquing those bolts down I'm glad this is almost over . Enjoy the weekend guys and please remember all of those that have fallen for our freedoms .

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I haven't touched the garage since installing the posts , my wifes kidney stone has kept me busy taking care of her . She feels pretty good but has not passed it yet , the cocktail of meds we have seem to be a good mix :D . Today I purchased a solid core interior door to close off the compressor room . Trying to figure out what type of hinge to go with ( piano vs. conventional ) but we'll get that resolved .

I can't believe we're coming up on June and the building is not done yet :( . I still have so much to go to get everything done ! Last week I ordered and have since received the outside mount brackets for the mini split AC/heat unit and the last piece I need to complete the vinyl chase to enclose the copper pipes/drain line/elect. wire for the mini split . I need to get my head out of my a$$ and keep moving ;) I have a friend lined up to come over this weekend to help me lift the lift cross brace into place . That will be a good step forward maybe by next week I can have a working lift ! That would be huge .

Today I was out in the garage in between helping/asking the wife what she needs and two humming birds fly into the garage :( They buzzed around for over an hour they couldn't figure out how to get out . I think they were attracted to the red lift posts . I went in the house to eat lunch and left both garage doors open and the entry door . Apparently that did it because they are gone now . Good grief I don't need outside delays !!! :D

Can use regular hinges on the door, there's no reason to use a piano hinge. Whenever you buy door, try to buy a pre-hung door.

It is always surprising how small the amount of work you get done when working by yourself.

UGH ! You're not kidding not only is it going slower than expected I'm getting dangerously close to the limit on funds that I had set at the beginning of the build ! :( No chance of me not completing but may go over budget........... gee that never happens :rolleyes: As of yesterday's door purchase for the compressor room I have spent $25,085.00 out of a budget of 26 K . The big purchases I have left is the ceiling metal , ventilated soffits and gutters . There will be misc. electrical items when I install the ceiling lights ( already have lights ) and piddly stuff here and there but that's about it . I will purchase a storm door for the entry door and the very last item is the retaining wall . Crap I just remembered I'll have to pay an HVAC dude to complete my rough install of the mini split . Oh well it is what it is I just want to get her done !

Not to side track the cave build but my wife has been feeling better the past few days . Still taking all her meds and screening her urine each time she goes to catch the big one :D We went to the urologist yesterday for a follow up exam and x-ray in anticipation of blasting the stone next Tuesday . X-ray was taken in the morning and we were told we should go home it will take a while for the doc to get to and read the images , they will call in the afternoon . Sure enough around 3:30 they call and the stone is GONE !!! So apparently she passed it and it somehow got passed the " urine screen defense system ;) " . While a little puzzling we are happy this saga is over . SmileWavy

Got a call last night from my buddy he's coming over this morning to help me lift the top connecting channel onto the two posts of the lift . I'm not looking forward to each of us climbing a ladder with this hunk of iron in our hands but there is no other way . I just hope all my install measurements are correct and it fits and neither of us get hurt . So this afternoon I'll either post a pic of the completed top rail or me in the ER :D

You could rent the type of lift normally used by air-conditioning contractors for raising ducts and lift those beams into place without killing your backs...

You can rent them from tool rental places. I think even Home Depot has them.

Genie lift?

That's one brand. Generically, they are called material lifts.

I am happy to report I am typing this from my house vs. the ER :D My buddy came over , we took a few dimensions and positioned the ladders . Aprox. 45 seconds later the top connecting rail was lowered into place . All bolt holes lined up perfectly I was impressed with my work ;) While the cross channel is cumbersome it was not back breaking in any way . So the cross bar is now 100 % done and all bolts tight . Now I have to run the cables then the hydraulic lines . I hope to get that done this afternoon . Then tomorrow I'll install the pump/motor assembly and complete the wiring . Next will be to install the lift arms , at that point it should be a working lift . Last item I need to run are the air lines because one line goes to the lift to actuate the safety locks . Anyway here are two pics of this mornings progress . I'm going to hoist a few cold ones to celebrate ! :D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1527956991.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1527956991.jpg

Well done!

You should always hoist a few once you’re successful at hoisting one!

Outstanding.

That doesn't sound quite right to me. I hope there is a lock out switch if no air pressure present.

Milt on both sides of the lift are air lock mechanisms . With no air to them the default position is each time the lift passes a " detent " the mechanisms click into place to hold the lift up . When you apply air to these mechanisms they push out away from the locking detent to allow the lift to be lowered . I hope that makes sense .

So after I posted with the success of the cross beam I went back out to the garage . I installed all the pre-bent hydraulic hardlines . Then I lifted the pump/motor into place and finalized that part of the install . Ran the last hardline to the pump . I was really wanting to see if she would work so I rigged up the power lines and tried it .......... hey it goes up and down ! :D It doesn't look like any lines are leaking so that's good . I also installed the overhead safety bar this is so if you have too many beers in you :D and you lift a vehicle so high in the air that the roof makes contact with the safety bar it shuts off the pump .

So tomorrow I will finalize the cables , after that I just need to run the air lines for the safety locks . I am feeling really good about today's progress . Plus it gets a bunch of crap out of my basement ;) . And I will complete the final electric install and tidy that up . Now I can't wait to lift something :D

Thanks for all the updates, Rick. Very inspirational! Go go go! :)

Woohoo !!! The lift is 99 % installed . Today I finalized the wiring , double checked all hydraulic connections , completed the cable install and added the lift arms......... I am pooped :D Those lift arms especially the rear/longer ones are HEAVY ;) So far no leaks and the arms are locked once the lift is an inch off the concrete and free swinging in the fully down position which is how it's supposed to work .

The overhead safety bar is not working :( , I think the mercury switch is kaput . So for now the bar is bypassed it's not that big a deal , if I'm too stupid to keep an eye out when lifting a vehicle then shame on me :rolleyes: . So all I have left to do is run the air lines for the safety latches and do one more torquing of the base mounting bolts .

By dumb luck when I ran the cables I just started the nuts on the ends , I could see where they had been tightened to before by dirt/grime lines on the cable ends . I cranked up the air compressor and with an air ratchet cranked them down . I did this one time on each side . The " test " to see if both sides are in sync is to raise the lift and listen for the safety latches on both sides to click . If they click at the same time you have the cables adjusted properly . First shot at it they were dead nuts perfect :D , it may be time to buy another lottery ticket !!!

This is a big step forward for the completion of the man cave , still have quite a ways to go but today felt great ! Oh yeah I'm already on my 4th adult beverage in celebration !!! :D

Woohoo! A celebration well earned too!

And not too big of a cost overrun either, well done.

Cheers Richard

Haha we'll see on the cost over run ! I am at a point now where I am REALLY watching the pennies we'll just have to see where I end up . But make no mistake about it the man cave WILL be completed !!! :D

Today I decided to figure out what I needed for 3/4 " black iron pipe/fittings for the compressor room so out I went . Took a few dimensions and off to HD I went . Got home and started putting it together . So here is the iron layout .

1.A 8 " nipple angled down will be where the rubber hose from the compressor will hook into .

2.A 12 " nipple heading into an elbow transitions from the back wall to the sidewall of the compressor room .

3.A 40 " piece goes through the wall into the man cave .

4.A tee is installed at the end of the pipe coming out of the wall . The tee has another short nipple facing down with a ball valve to allow for draining moisture . The top of the tee has a straight Rapid Air fitting . So will start running the RA pipe soon . I also put together the three manifolds with supplied plugs/ball valves/RA straight fittings . Pipe dope on every thread I am hoping for no leaks .

Doesn't look like a lot of work but took me a while then I had to peel off to mow the lawn . Here are two pics of today's progress .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1528142610.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1528142610.jpg

I was ready to head out to the man cave this morning to start running the Rapid Air compressor lines . But had to finish off some coffee so did a little surfing on Craigslist . Found a company selling off used metal framed work benches . After looking them over on the ad and calling the seller the air lines would wait :D . Bought three of these for $75.00 each they measure 32 " deep x 73 " wide x 32 1/2 " tall with a 1 " thick particle board top . I just set them into place to see how they fit......... 18 ' 3 " of manly workbench !!! ;) Now I have to decide keep the metal frames blue , paint them red to match the lift , paint them black or silver to match my Gladiator wall cabinets ? I'll make up my mind and will bolt them end to end and probably will put one more layer of plywood/particle board/masonite to cover the seams which will make it even stronger . So a good day and another item checked off the list , there is no way I could have made these for 75.00 and be as strong as these are .


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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1528231709.jpg

That wall could use another window, or a skylight above, for some more natural sunshine. imho.

Yer probably going to be doing fine assembly exceptional creations or some other fancy craftsmanship on that table there.

I built a small table in front of my only window on the east side but unless it's early morning blaze sun I can't see a dang thing without turning on the overhead lights. Of course everything is run off one leg from the house (still grr), so using a grinder etc affects the overhead lights. Danger will robinson. Without me pulling the noisy work outside and ticking off my neighbors, which I won't do on off hours, my work times become somewhat limited.

Ummm the garage is basically done so NO I am not installing additional windows or skylights . Lighting is cheap . But thanks for the feedback .

Today I decided to first clean up some outdoor stuff that I was delayed on by all the rain we had . When I ran the radiant barrier I left it long and flapping in the breeze on the outside of the building :D No rain for the past 5 days dried up the ground so I grabbed my ladder , pulled tight the barrier and stapled to the lower perlon . Cut it off flush looking good ! Both sides are done and I'm getting closer to installing soffit and gutters .

Then I decided to get the compressor room door hung as I'm tired of moving it ;) Darn thing is quite heavy being solid core but I mortised in the hinges on the door and decided to install it with the hinges surface mounted on the jamb to " see how it looks " . You gotta be kidding me it missed closing by 1/16th of an inch !!! :mad: So while the door was up made pencil lines around the hinges then removed the door . Grabbed my sharpest chisel and started working the three hinge locations . After about 30 minutes it looked good to my eye back to hanging the door .

I'm happy to report the door fits perfect , is plumb and level and closes great . There is a gap at the top that I have to fill aprox. 1 " I was excessive on the height until I knew the compressor would fit . Once the filler piece is in then I will reinstall the moulding and install stops with weatherstripping on them . Will finish off the door with at least one door sweep at the bottom and I'm going to staple one layer of radiant barrier on the compressor side of the door along with some 1/2 " foam as the final noise reduction . I did close the door with the compressor running and I am happy with just the dull sound of the compressor .

I found some 3 " long screws so all 9 screws into the jamb are 3 " and 6 of the 9 on the door side are 3 " I don't think she's going anywhere :D Not sure what I'm going to do for a handle/latch but will come up with something . Another step closer .



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