Posts Tagged ‘upgrades’

Last summer I ventured into the attic and tackled a project aimed at more efficiently cooling my condo. I installed air ducts to pull the hottest air down from the ceiling and into the air conditioner unit in the basement. I used vent covers that could be opened in the summer and closed in the winter. It worked pretty well.

Now I’m aiming to do the same thing for the winter. For about $25 in parts, I’m installing a return air vent in the basement to suck in the coldest air and heat it. I did most of the work today – cutting the drywall and assembling the duct piping – and need only to obtain a six inch circular hole saw to complete the project. Hopefully I can do that over the next week or two.

What I really don’t understand is why most homes aren’t built with more efficient return air ducts in the first place. Is it because builders know most home owners won’t open and close the vents twice a year with the changing of the seasons? It blows my mind…

This weekend I took advantage of the beautiful weather and finished the last two steps in the garage project of 2009. I got up into the attic and installed the gable vent on the backside of the garage (see photo) and I finished installing weatherstripping around the garage service door. Now we’re officially ready for winter.

I really liked this vent from Builder’s Edge. I special ordered it at Lowes in the brown finish to closely match the exterior of the building and it looks great. Aside from being off-centered (didn’t feel like cutting structural wood) it could almost pass for being original – which is important given that there are a few members of our condo association who disapprove of any changes to the external of the buildings.

I learned how to cut and install trim this weekend – spending a good chunk of Saturday with a miter saw, hammer and nails. Here is the finished result.

I’m enclosing the word finished in quotation simply because I still would like to put some trim up around the garage and I still need to install a gable vent and create an attic hole covering. Aside from that though, the Gladiator gear arrived a day or two before we left for Puerto Vallarta and I had most of it up before we left. I finished up some last steps Sunday after we returned and snapped these pictures. (Yes, I drilled into the new cabinets to install the under cabinet lighting courtesy of Steelcase.. well Details actually. It was horrifying to drill into brand new cabinets but my measurements were precise..)

The Firebolt.

The Workshop.

Open house.

Drawer 1 of 5 – tool organization.

Drawer 3 of 5 – more organization.

I took Friday off from work and did the prep work in the garage. This involved triple-sweeping out the whole floor and getting rid of every last bit of dust and debris. Next was washing, degreasing, and etching the floor. I donned some rubber boots, gloves, and safety glasses and got to scrubbing the entire floor and hosing it down afterward until “the water flowed clean.” Dry out took overnight.

Saturday morning finally arrived and it was time to paint. It went on pretty easy other than the fact that the paint/epoxy doesn’t have a lot of life.. it thickens and is impossible to apply after about two hours. Work quickly is what I learned.. I just barely finished the garage. I even broke a paint roller halfway through trying to apply the last bit of the first can of paint (it was like mud). All in all though, it turned out beautifully! Here are pictures from this morning.

The floor will take a few more days to dry and then we can park the cars in the garage again. The remaining gladiator pieces are coming on Thursday (bench, gear locker, two cabinets, and a tool drawer). The garage could be back together as soon as next weekend!

Found some time last week to install the Gladiator GearTrack on the walls. I’m really happy with how it turned out. In addition to a wide assortment of hooks, I ordered a ball caddy, clean up caddy, and a storage tub holder (used for recyclables).

This past weekend I mustered up the courage to attack the floor. I rented a walk behind cutter for making grooves and a hammer drill with 3/4″ drill bit for the holes. The channels guide the water to the holes, where the water drains down into the ground. This should make this coming winter much more bearable. Thanks Derek for your help!

Next weekend I hope to apply the epoxy floor coating, order the remaining Gladiator items, and finally check the garage project off as done.

I took the afternoon off and finished putting up the last two Hyloft 3ft x 3ft hanging storage units. This brings the total up to 4 in the garage: 3 on the north side and 1 on the south side. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out and I still have plenty of space left for future use. In these pictures, I have everything up there that I had planned to store on them.

I also snapped a picture of the two bike lifts I installed a little while back. They are the pulley-type that allow you to raise and lower heavier bikes (which the cruisers definitely are..).

The garage is really starting to come together now. I’ve given in to Kellie’s wish that we not take on priming and painting the garage this year. I fear that we won’t ever get back to doing it but alas, it is only a garage and while paint would add that extra splash of style and finish, it is definitely not necessary.

I spec’ed out the two remaining tools I need to rent to groove and drain the garage floor and now that I have a hitch on the TT, I just need a free day to head over to Home Depot and pick them up. Then I’ll epoxy the garage floor and it’ll pretty much be done!

I wrote three days ago about purchasing a hitch by Curt Mfg for the TT and a Thule hitch mount bicycle rack. Both parts arrived yesterday – amazingly – and I was able to get the hitch installed this morning at Community Auto Center – which, I might add, was an extremely satisfying experience. Not only are the employees passionate about nice cars AND their customers, they actually let me in the back to take a look at the underside of my ride. I have a LOT of respect for shops that will do that – I know it’s a huge legal risk and that makes me appreciate it all the more. The tech who worked on my vehicle (Jim) also owns a 2001 TT just like mine (except it’s the roadster) and that instantly gave me a lot of faith in his work (attention to detail, cares about the car, etc.). The hitch went on without a problem and I’m a very happy customer – can you tell??

Back in the garage at the condo.

The hitch is hardly noticeable with nothing attached!

Add on Thule 912. Plenty of clearance from the back bumper.

Extend the rack arms.

Add the bicycles!

Check width and height.. centered behind car very well.

Check the quick release (and other) clearances… no rubbing.. not even close when putting pressure on it. The two anti-sway attachments keep the bikes VERY sturdy.

Final product. A hitch on the TT with bike rack (and soon to be snowboard rack and the occasional trailer to and from Lowes).

Overall I’m extremely pleased with how this turned out. It seems like inevitably there’s always a flaw in my ideas or something doesn’t turn out just how I’d hoped it would. I can’t see anything with this upgrade yet that fits that bill.

As an added bonus, Jim gave me a ride in his TT which has the APR stage I chip upgrade… what an amazing difference! About 50-60 extra horses and better fuel economy all around. I’m just waiting for the next APR sale (perhaps Christmas?) and I’ll probably jump at that. His TT pulled hard! It reminds me of the Altima…

About a month ago, I ordered new EBC rotors and Hawk brake pads for the TT. I haven’t installed them yet because the rear rotors are on back order and I’m still waiting on them. The vendor said it could be another month so I’m just being patient (and easy on the brakes to avoid any emergency replacement need).

For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to locate an OEM roof rack for the vehicle. I’d like to transport my bikes and my snowboard and the OEM rack is such a nice fit. The aftermarket roof racks just don’t interest me. I haven’t had any luck searching ebay or classified ads in all this time so I’m moving on to plan B.

I found out today that a company called Curt Mfg makes an aftermarket hitch add-on for the TT. I’ve never thought about having a hitch before because I always naively assumed they were just for trucks and towing things. There are many bike carriers and snowboard/ski carriers that fit on hitches and as an added benefit, I could hook up a small trailer for transporting things (such as building supplies from Lowes!).

All of a sudden, the TT seems much more practical in my mind. I can still have the sleek, fun, sporty car but it can be versatile too. I ordered up the hitch and the bike rack and am excited to get all that setup. I’ll pick up the snowboard carrier closer to winter. Does anyone think it’s weird having a sports car with a hitch?!

Just a quick update before bed: on Saturday I rented an Attic Cat insulation blower from Lowes and picked up a few more bags of insulation. I ended up blowing two bags into the garage attic and the remaining three bags into the condo attic. It was actually pretty fun and I’m satisfied knowing that will pay dividends not only for the garage but for the condo as well.

On Sunday I found a leak in the basement. The piping behind the shower sprung a small leak sometime recently and the laundry room floor and under the shower were covered in water. I was able to find the leak without too much difficulty after ruling out the dehumidifier and the shower drain. I cut open the drywall and hired out a plumber to weld/solder in a new section of pipe. Here’s the new pipe.

Here’s the piece that was removed… notice the water deposits.. making me think this has been a slow leak for a while that widened after the shower was used on Saturday.

That’s all patched up now and I had the contractor who is mudding our garage today and tomorrow patch up a few spots in the house too. After the mudding is done in the garage, I’ll:
-mount up all the accessories that need studs (to create the holes)
-remove accessories and prime and paint
-cut floor, install drains?, apply floor covering
-reinstall accessories

It’s hard to believe the garage project is getting close to completion!