What a great day unfortunately it all took place while I was at work :( The AC dude texted me this morning that he was on his way , I was already at work so asked are you coming to just give a quote or coming to do the install ? He said how about $400.00 and I said fine . Fast forward to lunch and I send a text asking him how its going , he replied pulling a vacumn now we'll see from there . I get a text back later he said vacumn was rock steady ( no leaks ) and my rough install was done to such a professional level and made his job so much easier he lowered the price to $300.00 !

To say the least I was happy AND quite proud of my work :D . My wife was standing there when he inspected my electric wiring of the 220 and the four conductor from inside unit to outside unit and he actually said to her " your husband does nice work " ;) . My wife texted me saying she paid him and they left the unit on " econo cool " and 70 degrees . When I got home I went out and opened the garage door and was hit with a wall of cool air :D . It felt so good . I kicked it up to 78 degrees that's about where I'll leave it when not working out there . That will pull humidity and not run up the electric too much . But being 18 SEER it should be very economical to run . So now I am down to one more job to hire out and that's the install of gutters and downspouts . I'll get that done in the next few weeks . This weekend I'll make the attic hatch and then start installing wall cabinets , pics and posters . Very exciting time !!!

That was good of your AC dude to lower his price and as good a compliment as they come too!

Nearly there, what's next after you've done your man cave as you don't strike me as the type of person to just sit back and relax.

(I'm just sayin'...That is a very nice build and congrats. A lot of work put into that.)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/06/japan-earthquake-landslide-traps-residents-in-homes

Haha you know me well :D . I still have the retaining wall to purchase/build that will take some $$$ and time . The previous owners of the house did minimal maintenance to the deck on the backside of the house so all decking boards need to be replaced :( . I have a 1968 Avion truck camper that I gutted to rebuild/restore that's in the hopper , this retirement gig is killing me :D Oh yeah I picked up a part time job at local Porsche shop so I am a busy boy !

john70t that's a great pic to remind me how far it has come . The build at times seemed like a blur but for a one man army it has gone pretty well . Just goes to show what you can do when motivated and determined to succeed , let's face it failure was not an option :D

So today when I got home from work ( still can't believe I have a job again ! :D ) I collected all the pertinent info to get my mini split registered for warranty . The typical model # + serial # along with installers name/phone number . It took all of one minute to register online and it's done ! Reading the fine print of the warranty cards/paperwork included with the unit I have a 10 year warranty on parts and compressor ! And that warranty is from the install date ( yesterday ) vs. purchase date which was 9/28/17 .

Because I had copper line sets left over from previous install plus leftover vinyl chase I didn't have to purchase those items . For this unit/install I'm all in at $2375.00 for an 18 SEER AC/heat pump . And it's top quality to boot :D I'm happy with the results . Now hopefully we don't drown from this hurricane :(

Today I put together the attic hatch cover , I was determined NOT to go to big box store :D so I pieced it together with 1/4 " luan and 7/16 wafer board that were leftovers . I had one tube of construction adhesive which was just enough and used 1/2 " staples from air nailer to assemble . After assembly I put it on the floor and put four 80 lb. bags of concrete and four 50 lb. garden tractor wheel weights on it to keep it flat while it cures . Tomorrow I will trim to size and install . At some point I will glue some foam insulation to it but for now just want to close the large hole in the ceiling :D . Oh yeah the AC is working GREAT !

Today I continued to whip this nag across the finish line :D First I cut the attic hatch to size and fit it into place , still trying to figure out if I will hinge it or just simple lift off . After that I installed three wall mounted fans , these will be used when AC or heat are not needed or in extreme cases to push exhaust gas out the garage doors . After the fans I installed ten wall cabinets and one " work station " cabinet . The work station cabinet has a fold out work surface that I will use for a laptop computer . Also it will be home base for the flat screen TV and stereo system ......... hey you gotta have tunes or racing on when working :D

It was soooooo nice ;) working in the AC , for once I wasn't sweating like a pig :eek: The amount of water dripping out the drain line proved how much humidity was being removed . My wife came out at one point and said " it's chilly in here " :D . That tells you it is working . So tomorrow I will tackle all the Porsche pics and posters along with other automotive decorations to truly make this my man cave . I also installed the Boxster hard top removal system , it is basically a manual boat winch and cabling that allows one person to remove and store the top . It was another great day , here are pics of today's progress . I don't have too much more to go and the interior is done . It has been a long journey . SmileWavy

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looking great!

must be a very comfortable environment to work in considering the hot/humid weather you have

Man you are not kidding ! It is VERY humid right now it hits you like a hammer when you walk outside :D But step into the man cave and all is good ;) While our builds are totally different we will both end up with what we want , can't ask for more than that ! SmileWavy

Don't forget to wear your sunglasses...........wow it's bright in there:cool:

Not quite for me as my car won't be colour coordinated to my garage :cool:

Well there is that :D

Since day one this has been a MAN CAVE build and so today I started making it LOOK like a man cave :D I found my framed posters in the sea of moving boxes but there is more to find but I put up what I found . Late in the day found more posters I had forgotten about :( that are not in frames I think I will frame them . Found the flat screen TV but not the wall mount so need to keep looking . Also haven't found all of my old license plates , those will be installed around the perimeter under the LED lights . Also haven't found my two large Porsche flags , those will be installed over the lift under the LED lights in the raised ceiling .

But in these pics you can see it coming together ;) . A few years ago my wife bought me two mini wooden gas pumps that have a hinged door on them with shelves inside , my plan for those it to install between the garage doors and put all my Porsche models/hot wheels cars in them . This is so cool to be at this point of just doing fun stuff :D Here are the pics from today . I especially like the one on the entry door warning entry into my cave :D



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Hello everyone today I am stating this is the final man cave update :( . While no project is really ever done I am close enough to call it over . I have a call in to the gutter dude to come install the gutters and downspouts . Yes I still have to decide on the retaining wall but that has nothing to do with the garage build . I might update with a pic when the traffic light and parking meter are installed but pretty much I am done .

The original intent of this posting was for others to hopefully learn a thing or two and just enjoy my build , I hope I have achieved those goals . I am not an expert in anything :D just an avid DIYer . I am proud that I have built 90 % of this all by myself I never would have thought I could do it . I think I did a pretty good job . So today I installed various Porsche/German flags , some small scale gas pumps that will house my Porsche model cars and drop lights above the lift . I also installed the 24 " flat screen TV I just have to extend my wifi and buy another Roku stick and I'll be good to go :D A brand new American flag will be purchased to " christen " the build .

Here are the final pics of today's progress , it has been a long journey through some lousy weather and it has tested my DIY spirit :D But I can claim success and start enjoying the garage for what it is . Good bye for now .

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Congratulations!

Hey Milt how are you ? Always great to hear from you !

Well done!
I'll be starting mine soon.

Very much enjoyed this build. It looks great. Have fun in your cave.

WOW didn't realize I had a viewer from Japan , thanks for the positive comment . SmileWavy