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Garage remodel - just getting started, could use some pointers

4K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  rebelranger 
#1 ·
So I started on my garage remodel alot sooner than I thought I would, due to getting a new job that requires working from home. We're in a 2 bedroom house right now, and don't have any space for an office - hence the garage...

Anyways, I'm on a tight timeframe. I'm trying to get everything done by the 16th - 6 days away. Also, I'm not experienced at any of this stuff - this is by far my largest project.

So far, I've stripped it, had all new electrical run, and made some repairs to the structure. The garage is 400 sq ft.

Tomorrow, I plan on insulating it, and putting up drywall...not sure if I can do it in a day.

I could use some tips on the insulation for the ceiling, and the floor - here are some pics:



The picture above should help - the beams are more than 24" apart. Best way to insulate? Should I just do it piece by piece over the sheetrock, and try and throw it over?

Next up:



I'm planning on putting on laminate flooring - but there are a few cracks like this one in the floor. Should I grind them down or just put it on over it? Any other solutions?

Some other pictures:







 
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#9 · (Edited)
Pictures of the outside where the water's coming in would be helpful. We had a similar situation, but our sill was rotted out and gone in several places. We needed to re-side the garage along with our house, so our only good option & permanent fix was to add footings to the garage and resheath it to get ready for the siding.

We had them raise the footings about 4" to get above grade and level with the driveway for future plans to pour a new slab, they dug down 42" for the footings. We hired out the footings ($4000 in Iowa) & resheathed ourselves. In raising the footing, they also cut off any water damage in the framing, saving us a lot of work.

Link to photos of the footing construction:
http://s898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/007Pianolady/Home%20Improvements%202012/Garage/Schmidt%20Construction%2019%20Jun%202012/

Before/After Pics
http://s898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/007Pianolady/Home%20Improvements%202012/Garage/
 
#2 ·
You have some other issues that need to be address before any insulation or drywall goes in.
There's holes in the siding. The slab was pored to close to grade and the sidings rotted on the outside, it looks like someone knew this and tryed to back fill over the old slab with more concrete.
Looks like in at least that corner there's bottom plate rot.

With a slab on grade knowing water has been getting in laminite is not going to work.
 
#10 ·
The slab was pored to close to grade and the sidings rotted on the outside, it looks like someone knew this and tryed to back fill over the old slab with more concrete.
Looks like in at least that corner there's bottom plate rot.
That's exactly what they did with our garage, which was not a good idea. Water just ran between the concrete and siding rotting the siding and the sill plate, our sill plate was actually gone in that area. You can see pics of it in the before/after link in my other post. This is one of those things if you can afford to fix it with proper footings now, you'll recoup the cost in saving headaches later imo.
 
#4 ·
Joe - I planned on replacing all of the siding next month, after I've completed the inside. I talked to the GC I had on-site today, and that was what he recommended.

We checked the bottom plate all around, although it looks bad, it's not actually rotted, so it can stay.

Now, what do you mean about a slab on grade? Sorry, that is new to me, not sure what it means.

I do have concrete contractors coming out tomorrow to give quotes, what should I be asking them?
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to ask the concrete contractors about my options.

I guess my main question is that if it's lasted this long, will it be ok for another 10 years?

Or is it to the point where I need to say, jack up the structure and pour a footing around it? Although that would probably be very costly and could involve other headaches.

I'm just not sure of a good solution to prevent moisture from wicking in from under the slab.

I have ideas on how to prevent moisture from getting in around the slab on the sides, but not underneath it...
 
#11 ·
So I started on my garage remodel alot sooner than I thought I would, due to getting a new job that requires working from home.
If this is the reasoning I'll suggest that you stop right now.

Use the garage to store whatever household stuff is in the way of placing a desk, lamp, shelves etc in some quiet corner to use as an office.
Set this up in the basement even but get to work

If/when the garage ever really needs/warrants pouring a ton of cash into...
you can it then.
 
#12 ·
Excellent pics pianolady. There's been several threads about this same issue. Why anyone wastes there time and money putting a slab that close to grade is beyond me. Anyone that has this issue will get directed to your photobucket. Props for not just putting a band-aide(replace sill plate) and getting a permanent fix that will last for many years to come.. :thumbsup:
 
#13 · (Edited)
Thanks CopperClad. I added some descriptions to the photos so they'd make more sense.

Cyberfire - If you have a good contractor, the process of adding the footings wasn't as stressful as it looks. Not sure what the costs would be in California, I didn't think it was that bad here in Iowa. They actually leveled out our garage quite a bit too, it's much better than it was, and cutting off any and all water damage in the process was an added plus when they raised the footings. If you go ahead without the footings, I'd at the very least make sure water is draining away from the garage (regrade if you need), maybe install a french drain on the exterior, make sure downspouts are carrying water away from the garage, and get the siding/sheathing replaced where there's damage. Your garage is about where our's was 14 years ago when we bought our fixer-upper property. We made it limp through this long with various patches, but it was an unfinished space. Eventually our concrete slab cracked and shifted causing the sill plate no longer to be in contact with the slab in some places in addition to the water rot. Our walls were hanging from the rafters. Luckily we'd built a center wall to shore up the garage. Getting the footings and doing some re-framing was our only option at this point short of tearing it down and starting over.
 
#14 ·
First of all, thanks for the great feedback everyone. Pianolady, your pictures and posts were very helpful. I'm going to dig out around the sides of the garage tomorrow morning to see how extensive the rot is, and to see if I can find any evidence of them having repoured any of the slab. It doesn't look like it from inside though.

I'll post more pictures after that. I did put drywall on the ceiling and insulate everything, but I guess, worst case scenario, is that all of that work could be re-done if it was structurally necessary.

Originally Posted by cyberfire
So I started on my garage remodel alot sooner than I thought I would, due to getting a new job that requires working from home.
If this is the reasoning I'll suggest that you stop right now.
This is actually one of the original projects planned for the house. All of our interior house projects are completed - you can see my bathroom remodel thread for pics of that. Eventually, we'll be doing an addition, but that is years out. The new job just served as a jumping off point, and a great excuse to persuade the wife to go along with the home office / man cave project :thumbsup:

Enough text, more pics:




It's hard to tell from this pic, but the grade of the concrete is actually slanted INTO the garage. This is where some of the worst of the water damage is. I've had 2 concrete contractors come out, both had different ideas on how to fix it, but it needs to get done before winter.





This is some of the damage done by having the water sit against the siding. Not good.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lxlvUBipJ6g/UADazLWmXQI/AAAAAAAAA4U/iSEAmIvyUck/s144/IMAG0105.jpg

The other side isn't as bad...less of an angle here.


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZJatBvIdXKk/UADauObYL2I/AAAAAAAAA4A/EtLYLLUmO9I/s640/IMAG0102.jpg

Termite damage. Going to replace this beam tomorrow.




Drywall is up on the ceiling finally. It was my first time doing a ceiling - definitely challenging. It's a good thing my buddy is 6' 5" and could hold the pieces from the ground!





I definitely won't have this done by Monday. Electrical took longer than thought, since we had to fix a bunch of issues with the previous work. The framing for the attic was also very...weird, so we had to do some framing before we could finish the drywall.
 
#15 ·
Here are some pics of the exterior - after reading pianolady's post, I wanted to grab my shovel and take some pics. I'll need to dig out the rest of the garage on the 2 sides. The front is on a concrete pad, and so is one of the sides.




This is a very weird side here - they added a pressure treated 2x4 along the side, and I'm not sure if it was to hold in the siding, or what.

Here's a close up:



Here is the other side:




Close up - this side makes more sense to me...



This side is on concrete...

 
#16 ·
Some updates:

Replaced damaged beam and some of the mudsill.




Checked the mudsill around the structure this morning, and it's actually in much better condition than I thought. There was almost no rot, and very little termite damage. However, the entire structure only had about 5 anchor bolts. So, we drilled out holes and sunk in new anchor bolts all around.




Got 2 walls done today - leaving the rest for tomorrow.

 
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