Bob: I didn't take very many pictures before I started working on the garage. This one, though dark and blurry, shows the atmosphere to a tee. One of the first things I did to the property, even before the seller accepted our offer, was to bar the doors to the garage. Kids must've broken in some time in the years previous to our seeing it, and they vandalized the garage with paint. You see some of it here, on the garage door.
Nan: Empty and Dark...that says it all. This was the drearest space I've ever seen. Even for a garage.
Yes, we could have moved right in, and left any improvements for a later date. But, gosh, it's so empty. What an oportunity to work in here before a gazillion things take up residence. Think of all the stuff that would have been in the way of any improvement.
We took advantage of this emptiness and filled it with light and happiness. Bob's waited
YEARS for a workshop! Why not start out with a nice clean, bright workspace instead of all that dreariness?
Bob: This is the door to the alley on the north side of the garage, with paint vandalism. All the walls in here were previously covered with what appears to be old porch ceiling boards, with varying amounts of porch-gray paint on them.
Nan: When we were waiting to hear if the bank had accepted our offer, vandals knocked down a
portion of the fence, broke the lock on the alley door, and who knows when they tossed the paint?
Bob: This is the corner between the alley and the patio. A long shelf was built-in in this corner. Kitchen base cabinet from who-knows-where sits dejectedly under a boarded-in window from some previous lifetime. Previous owner's taste in interior decorating comes into question here...
Nan: Each picture you see here tells it's own story of gloom.
Bob: An old box of vinyl siding (doesn't match mine) rests comfortably between the L-shaped shelf and the floor. As far as I can tell, the previous owner was an electrical contractor, and probably a jack-of-all-trades as well; he left this here, as well as small electrical parts in the driveway and everywhere in here. I even found a four-foot (no kidding) spade bit in one of the lofts!
Nan: Most of this junk was of no use to us. We eventually paid the dump to allow us to dispose of it there. Believe me, we could find no reuse or repurpose for this stuff. However, the dump we use sorts through and recycles everything they can.
Bob: Well, Nan, I think I'll keep that four-foot bit, if you don't mind ;-}~
Bob: This is the existing workbench, along the south wall next to Rubber Duckie. As you can see, I'm already moving things in, in preparation of renovation in here. For example, this workbench had a top made of half-inch OSB baord, woefully under-strength for my purposes. To the left, you can barely see the two lofts. The upper one was shelved with pieces of an old bed headboard and the sides of a bureau! I mean, I do things on the cheap, but this is extreme. ;-}~
Nan: Only a man could look at this and see a useful work space.
Bob: Even the ceiling needs renovation. This is just a sample of the junk crammed into the joist pockets on old porch-roof boards nailed to the joists. Lotsa nails and bits of wire, too, probably used to tie up various supplies for the previous owner. Aesthetics score a big zero. That is, until I got ahold of it...
Nan: Bob even went so far as to DUST the ceiling, after he took all that junk down. Couldn't prime and paint with all that dust hanging around.
Bob: Eventually, we'll insulate and sheetrock the ceiling.
But first, let's do some work...