Friday, October 23, 2020

sold some shelving units

 After I removed everything from the garage, I had the thought that I would see if I could sell some of the shelving units, specifically the Craftsman Corner shelf.  This is a solid item but a bit bulky and won't travel well if we move anyway.  


got $50 (I think I paid $100)
 

Surprisingly, this shelf that sold first and got a lot more responses was this one.

$30


I probably listed too low for it had quick moments of seller's remorse on both units.  But as I think about it, the garage workroom space isn't that big and it doubles as storage so I need to optimize the space.  That means finding some cabinets that I can mount on the walls to give it a cleaner look.

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Epoxy Garage project: Phase Finished

When I started this project, I tried to keep my expectations in check and not expect anything in the zip code of perfection.  I tried to mitigate common mistakes by doing my homework and reading up on best practices and also following the directions to the letter.

Unfortunately, some things are just beyond one's control.  I started painting Saturday and for a moment, I felt like I might be able to return the 1-car garage kit.  If I had a more even floor, with fewer pot marks that might have been the case.  As it turns out I was just 2 ft by 2 ft short.  But if we are being honest, the last gallon was spread too thin so I had to use the second kit anyway.  And I should have just sucked it up and done it Saturday but by that time I was tired and exhausted and I had to feed my kids who were probably wearing their welcome at my neighbor's house a little thin.



Also, I was a little defeated because my roller broke with just one small section to go.  I didn't think I had time to run to a nearby store and get another one (I did) and I really didn't want to spend the money because, after this project, I shouldn't need a roller extender anymore.


2 square feet to go, D'oh!

I finished up on Monday but because I waited a couple of days and left the sealed kit outside over several nights, it was too cold for the activator to work its magic.  In hindsight, I should have brought the kit in and kept it at room temperature and mixed it inside the warm house.  The first kit spread like butter.  The 2nd kit was thick and pasty, but I made it work.  



There is some good though. The floor definitely looks better than it did.  That horrible residue stain in the southwest corner is gone.  Some of the cracks have been sealed and are not noticeable. 

You would never know there was a black splash here

I've started to move somethings back in but it will be one more day before we can safely put the cars back.  

Costs

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray   22.97

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray   21.28

Rust-Oleum 301243 Cleaner and Degreaser, 1 Gallon      24.36

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray 22.40

Valspar Fast Prep Interior/Exterior Cleaner and Etcher (Gallon) 18.98

Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield 2-Part Tan Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit (2.5 car) 111.16

Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield 2-Part Tan Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit (1 car) 68.38

Purdy Golden Eagle 3-Pack 9-in x 3/8-in Knit Polyester Paint Roller Cover  9.48

Roller and extension pole  $17.20

Total = $316.21


Some of these items appear to be listed twice but I bought from different places, specifically Amazon and Lowe's.  The price for the kits was better at Lowe's as well, which makes sense since they probably sell more of them than Amazon and can give a better price.



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Saturday, October 17, 2020

Epoxy Garage project phase two

Today we paint.  At least I hope to paint.  Right now the temperature is only 51 degrees and you really want to be closer to 65.  My garage is usually a little warmer than outside, often exponentially, but still not warm enough to attempt this.  It is supposed to reach at least 63 today so hopefully, that happens and I can do this.




completed:  

  • empty garage (easier than I thought)  ✔
  • power wash it (did it myself)✔
  • patch any holes or cracks in the foundation ✔
  • clean with degreaser ✔
  • etch ✔
  • paint


In hindsight, I should have patched sooner.  There is a learning curve and while I was able to make the second box stretch more, I didn't do a great job of making one of the fillings super smooth.  (Fatigue and the lateness of the hour).


My two big worries are that I won't have enough paint and that it won't adhere properly.  There seems to be a white powdery residue from the etch which as me concerned. I don't have time to wash and wait for it to dry so I'm gonna use a broom and a leaf blower and hope for the best.  It is impossible to get a Clean Room effect anyway and I cannot imagine that other people haven't run into this problem.

My plan is to work from the back of the garage to the front and the north side to the south side.  The garage floor has break sections so if I can get the two sections where all the garage stuff lives and the one part where the cars are parked, I could theoretically do the last section another time.  I'm really hoping that it doesn't come to that.  A friend who did this herself last month came up with a brilliant suggestion.  Instead of me buying two 2-car garage kits, I bought one 2-car and one 1-car kit.  This should be enough.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Epoxy Garage project phase one

 One of the pipedream projects I have on my list is epoxy the garage floor.  In a perfect world, I'd have a cool design, like maybe the Bears logo or just a cool color combo.  In reality, I would go with a simple tan color for this garage since it isn't likely to be our forever house.

I might have missed the window to do it this year, but I'm slightly hopeful now that an opportunity has presented itself.  Nightingale has to go visit her sister for a family project and that means her car will be gone all weekend.  It would have been better last weekend weatherwise, but then again who wants to paint a garage floor when the weather is so beautiful.  

There are two things that I need to figure out first to see if it is worth doing.  First, I have a crack to fill.  There are lots of small cracks that the epoxy will mask, but the bigger ones do require patching.  


Second, I have this strange residue in one corner.  It looks like something spilled and then someone left a cardboard box on it for years and then finally ripped up the cardboard with just a thin layer of paper left behind.  Over the years I half heartedly tried to remove it with varying degrees of luck.  I swear I found something once that dissolved it but had to get going to work, forgot about it and now it's gone from my memory of what I used.



If I cannot get the majority of it off, it doesn't make sense to paint because the epoxy won't adhere properly.  I have been making progress with paint spirits and elbow grease so we shall see.  I'm hoping I can get it to a point where a good power washing will remove all the the microscopic remains.  

 The typical process is more or less the following:

  • empty garage (easiest to do when at least one car is out of the picture)
  • power wash it (might hire pro for that)
  • patch any holes or cracks in the foundation
  • clean with degreaser
  • etch
  • paint


All with a not insignificant amount of time in between.  Since this is a first go and not our forever home, I've given myself permission to do only a decent job i.e. not F it up for the next owner.  So I won't be doing two coats of epoxy and no clear coat.  

Today's I'm going to patch the cracks and let it set for two days.  According to the instructions, you typically patch and then as soon as the patch has set, you clean, etch and paint.  But I want to see how much one container of patching compound gets me so that I can decide if I need to order more or not.   

If the patching looks good and the strange residue is removed, I'll empty the garage on Thursday after Nightingale leaves for work.  I can have a crew come and power wash it.  That means I can do the degreasing and maybe the etching on Friday.  Unfortuantely, Moose and Squirrel are home from school on Friday, but luckily, they are friends with the kids down the street so I can send them there for a few hours.  

That means I should be able to start painting on Saturday.  It's typically 24 hours before you can walk on it and 72 before you can put things back including your car.  Nightingale gets back Sunday afternoon evening but a day or two in the driveway won't kill us.  

On another note:   On this day 6 years ago, I sold my condo.  And they money that went to that mortgage started going to daycare.


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