World’s worst garage not so bad

Here it is on July 17. . .

. . . and one month later.

 

The rusty hummingbird-and-flower sculpture came from my mother-in-law’s home. It makes the garage look better than adequate.

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Next project: Who knows?

Ants and snakes and planarian worms, oh my!

While disposing of plywood debris, I was on the lookout for snakes. I know they like to hide under flat boards, and the ant-covered plywood would be a perfect place for them to dine.

I had already found a very common brown (DeKay’s) snake, but was quite surprised to find a less-common ring-necked snake. This snake is nocturnal and secretive, and I’ve seen only a few in my life. They’re small, gentle, and very pretty with their black back, light belly, and bright necklace.

 

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Those slimy flat worms—again
Living right next to the snake was an entire family (or maybe just a friendly group) of land planarians, or planarian worms. I counted maybe five or six; it’s hard to tell when they’re clustered in mucus-covered lump—much like something in a sushi bar.

Please don’t chew with your mouth open
We learned last week that these things have a mouth on their belly, about halfway between the head and tail. That mouth is also an anus—which I find to be a confusing anatomical issue. The worm’s pharynx comes out of its mouth (anus) and sucks the fluids out of its prey.

If you’re still reading, congratulations.

Because I don’t see flatworms very often (until lately), I decided to investigate this mouth-anus-pharynx phenomenon. In fact, I took a picture of its protruding plicate pharynx. Ready or not, here it is:

It’s that little white lump in the middle. I’ve arranged the worm so you can see the pharynx sticking out. Earlier, it was not even there and all I could see was a small slit. Regrettably, my phone camera could not focus any closer, but trust me, this is a plicate (pleated) pharynx.

From the Web: “[the pharynx can] become much expanded, ruffled, and funnel-shaped.”

For all you members of Flatworm Friends of America: no worms were harmed. I put this one back on the ground where he sped away in a path of slime.

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Next: The completed garage

Completing the trim preparing to paint

The trim is taking longer than expected. It’s tough to do it all by myself, so I brought in some help. He’s a hard worker and has a good sense of fashion.

My first experience with Hardie siding
I found some HardieSoffit at Lowe’s. Really, that’s what they call it.

I had to trim its width from 12 inches to about 10 inches. Cutting two inches from the edge of a 12-foot cement-impregnated board makes lots of dust. That means wearing a mask and holding my breath. I chose a monkey mask from last Halloween.

Here’s the soffit installed on the north side.

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Paint
I have this old paint sprayer that can chew up and spit out five gallons of paint without a whimper.

 

It’s all in the technique
I’ve used the sprayer to paint several buildings, but I’ve never been totally satisfied. I think it’s a hassle to get a paint brush, spray the brush, paint a few strokes, then spray the brush again (below). I’ve considered just dipping the brush into the paint but that defeats the purpose.

This time, I’m going to eliminate a step and spray the paint directly onto the garage. I know, I know—it’s daring and crazy, but I’m going to give it a try. We’ll see how that works.

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Next: Painting the garage

 

 

Trim

Wooden trim covers corner joints and makes the structure look better . . . or at least, adequate.

My trim begins with the eaves, where two 1 x 6 boards run from front to back. The lower piece conceals the top of the plywood and supports the soffit.

The other piece is the fascia. It covers the ends of the rafters and also supports the soffit (not yet installed). The clamps are holding a 3/4” x 3/4” strip glued to the inside-bottom edge of the fascia to support the soffit.

 

 

Here’s a diagram showing the main parts.

Installing long pieces of wood requires help, but it doesn’t need to be another person. Here’s a picture of some of my assistants. Temporary supports keep things roughly aligned at one end while I attach the other end.

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Next: Who knows?

Open-door policy

While basking in the glory of my new automatic garage door, I realized that it wouldn’t operate without power. But that’s OK; I have a gasoline generator. Well, it’s not really OK because the generator resides in the garage, so I can’t get to it when I really need it. Hmmm.

I  needed a separate door on the side, and I wanted it to be wide enough to move the generator in and out—that would be about 36 inches.

A quick trip to Lowe’s treated me to some discouraging prices on exterior steel doors, but I found one with a broken frame and a few minor dents. A bit of discussion with a manager resulted in a substantial discount. Here’s the door leaning against the garage.

The rough opening with the studs still in place.

Installed—a perfectly adequate door that meets minimum expectations.

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Next: Fascia, soffit, and trim

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men

If you’ve been reading all my posts, you know that I had to rewire my garage outlets so that at least one of them would remain active all the time.

Here’s the finished wiring, with plenty of wires stuffed into a box and a box extension. The cover plate is not attached in this picture—otherwise, it would be pretty dull.

Things you probably don’t need to know
The National Electrical Code limits the number of things you can squeeze into an electrical box—based on the size of the box, the size of the wires, and devices you need—like the duplex outlet above (right). This is to protect the wires from damage and to prevent overheating.

• First, you need to know the volume (in cubic inches) of the box. In my case, the two boxes’ total volume is 60.6 cubic inches. Each 12-gauge wire counts as 2.25 cubic inches.
• I have 15 conductors for a total of 33.75 cubic inches. Then there’s the duplex outlet. It counts as two conductors, for a total or 38.5 cubic inches.
• If you’re keeping track, you see that I’m well under the allowable 60.6 cubic inches. But if you take a look at the photo you’ll wonder how more stuff could be squeezed into the box.

If you simply don’t have a life and want to learn more, check out this excellent site:

Electrical box fill requirements

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Dammit!
After verifying that the door really operates with or without the lights, I noticed this troubling thing. If you’re saying to yourself, “That looks like a broken hinge,” you’re exactly right.

This is the center hinge. There are three of them, and all three were damaged. I’ll say right now that it’s my own fault, but I want those terrible instructions to take part of the blame.

I installed them backwards. When they’re installed backwards, here’s what happens:

Why don’t you rewrite the instructions?
I called the manufacturer. The technician knew the problem before I finished my sentence. It’s apparently a very common mistake due to some confusing words and pictures in the instructions.

She’s sending four new hinges (free, of course). I’m not supposed to operate the door until they’re installed. Sounds like another dare, doesn’t it?

I removed the broken hinges, straightened them, clamped them in a vise, welded them back together, then reinstalled them. The door is once again operating while I wait for the new hardware. Ha!

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Next: More siding, trim, and thoughts about a regular door

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*This famous line from Robert Burns’ poem: To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, describes how man’s plans often don’t work out. It also describes how humans think about the past and future and worry, while a mouse lives only in the present.

Read the entire poem in its original form with its standard English translation here:

To a Mouse . . .