Real Estate Update

[Mikey]

Howdy @Mailman / All:

Yeah, I have been falling down on my social duties recently - work has been nuts. Why the heck didn't I stay retired last Sept?
The key thing is that while I am not yet winning, I think that I have stopped loosing - so that is a plus.

Anyhow, the Great Canadian Pole Barn project is reaching a climax - the exterior is complete except for two lights on the south and east walls, and the interior is nearly done as well. The latest project involved hanging about 15-16 4'x8' sheets of 1/2" G1S plywood on their long edges around the walls and then putting up 28 sheets of the same material vertically above the horizontal sheets (the walls are 12' high - see the photo).

All of this had to be done with the barn crammed full of bikes, parts, machine tools, and general crapola so it involved a fair bit of shuffling stuff around.

I will put up some better photos likely tomorrow showing the whole interior, but for now, here are a couple of in-process views to give you an idea of what I was blathering about above....

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The next big step will come next year after my wallet has cooled down - I will be installing a 24,000 BTU / 2 ton mini-split AC unit.

Between now and then, Daughter #3 is getting married in mid-Sept. and I have a lot of other stuff on the go - including getting my 1976 XS650C, the redoubtable Lucille , going again (alternator and voltage regulator issues) and building the 1981 XS650SG cafe bike - Demi, using those beautiful tins that Jim painted for me so very long ago.....

Pete

Looking good it's just takes awhile especially if you have other commitments
I like those saddle bags on the ?? I have a pair along with the backpack to go with it
Take a tme out you'll get there before winter sets in

 

[Mikey]

Yep......(sorry haven't been paying attention lately)
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It's coming along fine !!
I just need to clean out mine again and it might look half as nice

 

[MaxPete]

Thanks Mikey and Bob - much appreciated!

Pete

 

[bosco659]

Heater mounted to wall. 4KW, keeps it nice and warm (until I see my electricity bill for last month).

View attachment 231996

A couple of years ago when I spray foamed the garage, I installed a forced air electric heater. The heated has its own simple temperature control but I wanted a proper thermostat. I was fortunate to find a digital, wifi controllable thermostat that was capable of actually switching the full current to the heater without additional relays. Unfortunately with a weak wifi signal (my metal clad garage acting as a farady box?), I was never able to use the Wifi function. We got a new internet provider and with it a quite strong wifi signal around our home and to the garage. With help from a friend, I’m now able to read and control garage temps with my phone or iPad. I use this heater to maintain above freezing temps all winter and the diesel heater to boost up the heat when I want to work out in the garage.

During the day I run the temp up to 20C and with all heat off overnight, in the morning, the temps do not fall below 14C. **That’s with outdoor temps dropping to as low as single digits. I’m quite happy about the heating and heat retention. I plan to spend more time in the garage this winter and am picking up a TV tonight for this home away from home

 

[Raymond]

A couple of years ago when I spray foamed the garage, I installed a forced air electric heater. The heated has its own simple temperature control but I wanted a proper thermostat. I was fortunate to find a digital, wifi controllable thermostat that was capable of actually switching the full current to the heater without additional relays. Unfortunately with a weak wifi signal (my metal clad garage acting as a farady box?), I was never able to use the Wifi function. We got a new internet provider and with it a quite strong wifi signal around our home and to the garage. With help from a friend, I’m now able to read and control garage temps with my phone or iPad. I use this heater to maintain above freezing temps all winter and the diesel heater to boost up the heat when I want to work out in the garage.

During the day I run the temp up to 20C and with all heat off overnight, in the morning, the temps do not fall below 14C. **That’s with outdoor temps dropping to as low as single digits. I’m quite happy about the heating and heat retention. I plan to spend more time in the garage this winter and am picking up a TV tonight for this home away from home

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Garage heater envy . . .

 

[JOHNDADDY]

Mine's broke. Need a new thermocouple.
May have to switch to the wood pit.

 

[gggGary]

Ole cheap azz has a portable electric heater for the garage but HATES to turn it on.

So I fire up the basement wood stove, put a fan by it and open the door between hoping the heat will sneak over two rooms.
Putting the cold car back in the garage pretty much torpedoes the scheme.

@JOHNDADDY that pic scares me!

Heard the salt truck go by a bit ago...

 

[Raymond]

You allow a car in your garage? Oh well, spose there the SOIR too.

 

[bosco659]

I bought a new, spare electric wall heater for the garage. The one that’s in there now was removed from our cottage after we installed a mini split. I figured that heater won’t last forever and those wall heaters seem to be getting harder to find. For those seeking heat in the garage, check out a diesel heater. Mine cost me less than $150 all in and runs at max about .4L per hour (about $.60 Cdn at todays diesel prices). Best money I spent on heating the garage.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Garage heater envy . . .

Mine's broke. Need a new thermocouple.
May have to switch to the wood pit.

View attachment 339715

Ole cheap azz has a portable electric heater for the garage but HATES to turn it on.
View attachment 339721
So I fire up the basement wood stove, put a fan by it and open the door between hoping the heat will sneak over two rooms.
Putting the cold car back in the garage pretty much torpedoes the scheme.
View attachment 339720 View attachment 339719
@JOHNDADDY that pic scares me!
View attachment 339718
Heard the salt truck go by a bit ago...

I bought a new, spare electric wall heater for the garage. The one that’s in there now was removed from our cottage after we installed a mini split. I figured that heater won’t last forever and those wall heaters seem to be getting harder to find. For those seeking heat in the garage, check out a diesel heater. Mine cost me less than $150 all in and runs at max about .4L per hour (about $.60 Cdn at todays diesel prices). Best money I spent on heating the garage.

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Our southern friends are laughing right now... My attached garage, 3 stalls with 3 insulated overhead doors, has home exterior walls for approximately 40% of the perimeter. The ceiling has R40 blown in. I insulated the exterior 2x4 walls to R11 or R14 myself before finishing the interior. The area at the slop sink never goes below38 degrees F (-10 F outside), generally it stays above 43 degrees F. I have a little electric heater that looks like a woodstove, a $10 garage sale purchase. If I leave that on the low setting in my XS650 (end) stall, the temp stays in the low 50s which is perfectly comfy for me doing maintenance work on my bikes or just sitting enjoying a smoke and sipping a beverage.
We do practice garage door discipline, only open an overhead door to exit or enter and promptly close it.

 

[Downeaster]

Kevin, you obviously have MUCH better door seals than I do. I have Clopay insulated metal doors on my garage and brush seals on the sides and the usual rubber boot on the bottom. Leak air like a freakin' sieve. One reason I decided to convert the tool shed rather than try to heat the garage.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Our southern friends are laughing right now... My attached garage, 3 stalls with 3 insulated overhead doors, has home exterior walls for approximately 40% of the perimeter. The ceiling has R40 blown in. I insulated the exterior 2x4 walls to R11 or R14 myself before finishing the interior. The area at the slop sink never goes below38 degrees F (-10 F outside), generally it stays above 43 degrees F. I have a little electric heater that looks like a woodstove, a $10 garage sale purchase. If I leave that on the low setting in my XS650 (end) stall, the temp stays in the low 50s which is perfectly comfy for me doing maintenance work on my bikes or just sitting enjoying a smoke and sipping a beverage.
We do practice garage door discipline, only open an overhead door to exit or enter and promptly close it.

Down here we do the same thing although it’s mostly to keep the heat OUT.

 

[bosco659]

Well, I’m getting closer to getting the man cave finished. TV with local cable and access to apps such as Netflix, YouTube…. Got a feeling my wife will be seeing less of me soon

I scored a great deal on the TV. It’s an older 32” Sharp LCD but has 1080P resolution. The tv looks small in the pic but is actually a perfect size for me. The picture and sound are great. Included in the deal was a really nice quality tv wall mount that’s adjustable in all directions. Best part was $50 for everything. I’ll tidy up the wires tonight.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Kevin, you obviously have MUCH better door seals than I do. I have Clopay insulated metal doors on my garage and brush seals on the sides and the usual rubber boot on the bottom. Leak air like a freakin' sieve. One reason I decided to convert the tool shed rather than try to heat the garage.

Kevin, you obviously have MUCH better door seals than I do. I have Clopay insulated metal doors on my garage and brush seals on the sides and the usual rubber boot on the bottom. Leak air like a freakin' sieve. One reason I decided to convert the tool shed rather than try to heat the garage.

In a 20x36 I have ~44feet of house (heated behind R24 or R30)wall so the garage is an extended dead air space. The overhead door seals were placed carefully after the doors were installed so they do seal fairly well. I have 1 dbl 0ane window and 2 walk-in access doors, both with decent seals and foam cored steel construction. All pretty standard with my builder. I opted for ceiling insulation. In the process of finishing the garage I poked my head through the access hatch and found no insulation. The builder or installer missed it. Don't know, don't care. Installer showed up aweek later to blow in the 20x36 space. I wouldn't be surprised if the blew an extra few inches.
My overhead doors do have a Crack of light one side or the other on each of the three so sealing is imperfect.
My garage doors face east and our prevailing winds tend SW-NW so the doors rarely get an "arctic blast". A NE-SE wind is generally tempered by a hundred zillion gallons of 32-35 degree lake Michigan water. Easterling are generally pretty close to Lake water temperature.
It was mid high 30s all day and my M/C stall is at a comfy 59 without any heat.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Well, I’m getting closer to getting the man cave finished. TV with local cable and access to apps such as Netflix, YouTube…. Got a feeling my wife will be seeing less of me soon

I scored a great deal on the TV. It’s an older 32” Sharp LCD but has 1080P resolution. The tv looks small in the pic but is actually a perfect size for me. The picture and sound are great. Included in the deal was a really nice quality tv wall mount that’s adjustable in all directions. Best part was $50 for everything. I’ll tidy up the wires tonight.

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Hint... put a soundboard or audio system to the audio out then scroll you tube. I listened to (on YouTube)Aerosmith, Willie, Black Sabbath and John Prine today. Small admission, I also rewatched the Packers/Bears blocked fieldgoal a couple of (OK, lots) times.

 

[bosco659]

Heating update - recap: spray foamed garage - roughly a bit more than 400 sq ft. Last night it was about 17C (garage) when I came back in the house around 11:00 pm (heat had been shiut down around 10:00 pm). Outdoor temps about 0 - 1C overnight. 12 hours later the garage was 11C. I turned on the diesel heater and in less than 2 hours, it’s 17.5C (front half of the garage where I work - I’m sure the back is cooler). Overall I’m really happy with this work space. Only improvement would be a natural gas heater but issues running the gas line prevent me from doing so.

 

[Adamc]

Garage heater envy . . .

Me too.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Hint... put a soundboard or audio system to the audio out then scroll you tube. I listened to (on YouTube)Aerosmith, Willie, Black Sabbath and John Prine today. Small admission, I also rewatched the Packers/Bears blocked fieldgoal a couple of (OK, lots) times.

Soundbar not sound board... Sorry. Another hint is that pretty good audio recievers and speakers are available cheap on Craigs List and FaceBook Marketplace. Most of us have older and less efficient ears and a pretty good set of speakers sound great. The plus is you don't feel bad drilling and scewing mount brackets if needed. Good (enough) speakers transform TV when watching football or hockey or other sports. The reciever drives the speakers and can be used in AM/FM mode if that blows your hair back.