Workshop Renovation 2004

February 15, 2004

The Kitchen Project

With the weather being a bit cold for the last few weeks, I have not been able to do as much outside in my workshop as I would want to.  But I just HAVE to create something amazing, so I have turned indoors to my kitchen to start a slow transformation.  Starting with the washer/dryer area below, we will see where this leads us.

The area behind these doors is about to be attacked !

When you open the doors, you can see a mess of stuff that needs a bit of organizing.

See what happens when you don't move your washer and dryer for years !

Floor cleans up nicely !

Where did the hole go ?

February 17 - Here is my 3:00 am paint job ... anxious to finish this !

And how am I going to fix this ???

February 20, 2004 - Removed a bit of the rotten wallboard before heading into work this morning.

This is the washer/dryer area, and it needs some updating.

I plan to replace this single wooden shelf with two wire shelves, along with some other amazing things along the way !

Well, the floor needs a bit of cleaning, along with a repair of the hole in the wall where the dryer vent used to exit the house.

Here are the tools for fixing the hole. First I insert a piece of wood behind the hole and screw it in from each side. After cutting some sheetrock to fit the hole, I will insert it and secure it with two wallboard screws.

Looking better already ! When the sheetrock mud dries, I will sand it smooth and apply another coat to fill any remaining imperfections.

I started painting the washer/dryer area this morning ... it is hard to see in this picture, but the 1 X 4 is still there. As it turns out, the 1 X 4 makes the distance between the walls perfect to fit the 6' wire shelving that will go in here.

The water inlet area was poorly constructed, resulting in some water damage to the wallboard below. I am going to have to remove the two valves, construct a more perfect inlet area, then replace the valves with new ones (the hot water valve won't turn anyway !)

Finally getting to see what I am up against here ... the copper pipes are 8 inches on center, while the new washer hookup kit is about 5 1/2 inches on center ... let's see how I deal with this !

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The area behind these doors is about to be attacked !

This is the washer/dryer area, and it needs some updating.

February 21, 2004

Time to get to the hard stuff !  I cut away the wallboard that had been damaged over the years from a few leaks here and there, exposing today's prey.  The plumbing must be done ... so let's get on with it !

The first thing I had to do was cut the 1/2" copper pipe to make room for a modification in this area.  The original hot and cold water shut-off was 8" on center, but the kit I bought to make a neater shut-off area is only 5 1/2" on center .... time for the solution !

I used two 45 degree elbows to route the copper pipe in just enough to line up with the new hot and cold water valves.  Damn, it looks pretty !

Same area, just zoomed out a bit.

The final connection ... I used a Qest 1/2" female compression fitting to join the supply lines with the shut-off valves.  The amazing thing about this whole plumbing project today is ........ NO LEAKS !  Yes !  It held the first time !  What a feeling .... sighhhhhhhhhhhh.  I will leave this area open for awhile to make sure I don't have any problems, then the wallboard will be next !

February 22, 2004

Up early this morning to try and get this project well on the way to completion.  Someone had some wire floating around the pipes, which sounds like a poor idea to me, so I secured it to the stud, making sure it will not come into contact with the copper pipes.

Next there is a pipe that comes into close contact with the drain pipe for the washer.  Knowing that years of contact and pipe vibration will eventually cause the pipe to leak, I placed some insulation between the two to offer a level of protection.

The insulation is next ... however this was a bit tricky.  If I just placed the insulation in front of the pipes, it would have caused the wallboard to compress the insulation against the pipes, putting stress on the pipes and reducing the effectiveness of the insulation.  So I sheared the insulation in half, putting part of it behind the pipes, and the rest in front, solving this small challenge.

The wallboard is now up and the first coat of mud is drying.  You may notice a section in the lower left where the insulation is still exposed.  It turns out that the drain pipe extends a bit past the stud here.  Instead of having the wallboard pressing against the drain pipe, I decided to simply place a cover on top of the wall at this point.  This will prevent contact with the drain pipe, and also allow easy access to this area should I ever have to do a repair here.

February 23, 2004

Got up this morning to finish painting the bottom part of the washer/dryer area.  While I am back there, I plan to replace the 220 outlet cover and the 110 outlet and cover.  Then I just need to cut the hole for the dryer vent, create a cover for the hole left where the drain pipe extends out, paint and install that ... then I can move the washer and dryer back into place and please my wife immensely !  Beyond that, I still have an upper wire shelf to install, and a narrow lower shelf just above the washer/dryer height, and then I get to start ripping the paneling off the front so I can install a light and light switch for this area.  Geezzzzzzzzzzzz ..... and just when you thought you were about finished !

February 24, 2004

The top shelf was installed early this morning.  It is 16" wide, compared to the bottom shelf, which is 12".   This allows for an overhang from the top, and the bar you see can be used to hang shirts, etc. when emptying the dryer !  I had to modify the way the front supports on the left and right are attached.  They are designed for drywall, and since I am going into wood, I used some of my gutter screws and rubber-cushioned washers to attach them.  I think that will work significantly better than the way they came.

During lunch today I managed to get the hole cut for the dryer vent, got a few pieces of trim cut, and installed a new outlet (not seen in this picture).  Due to the urgency of getting the washer and dryer back in place, I cut a piece of wallboard to fit over the remaining hole as a temporary fix.

Washer all connected now ... no leaks ... used new hoses and put filter screens in prior to installation.

And here we are ... all put back together and in working order.  I still have a few remaining tasks left to finish, but I can do them with these guys in place.  The shelves still need some support  bars installed, and I plan to put another small wooden shelf just above the washer/dryer for additional convenience, and also to prevent anything that falls through the wire shelving from above from going behind these machines.  Next I will be ripping the paneling off the front and hopefully installing a new light in this area.