Welp,
I went and dun it.. I went and bought a house. Here are some pictures that were just taken.
2 story, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms, open concept kitchen/dining room/living room. It has a sun room, or "solarium" behind the house, which i'm thinking of making into either 1) a home gym, or 2) another workshop. 60x192 lot which backs onto a Park. The garage I measured to be about 24x32.
This is going to become my newest project. I'm going to try to do it most of the stuff myself and when i get stuck i'll be blessed with the help of someone who really knows what he's doing.
Anyways, here are some pictures:
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/house1.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/house2.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/house3.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/house4.jpg)
and here is the last pic, with me standing beside the garage to show some proportion ;)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/house5.jpg)
I dont think it's too bad for a First House.
Dang, cogratulations. Of course, the detached garage looks great. Detached is great for fumes and noise not penetrating the comforts of home.
Congrats! Looks like a nice score man. Buying a home (2 years ago) was one of the best things "WE" ever did and haven't looked back.
very nice
I would have loved this to be a "WE" type of purchase (whole other conversation for another day), but I went into this solo. I guess it's a big house for 1 person.
Hmmmm, Looks familiar. I think I've been there before....;)
Congrats on the house buying.
Pfft, in time I think you'll be there so much you'll even get sick of it ;)
Uh oh, jerry i think he's coming on to you lol jk.
Nice buy man.
congrats dude, I would love to have a garage like that. I work something half that size :(
I see a Canadian Catjam in the works.
congrat !!!! very nice house and garage.
Dude, we have to cut that concrete back on the garage.
It's making me dizzy looking at that pic
very nice man!
Congrats!!!!
Very nice! I'm amazed by the size of the garage. Takes some courage to take the leap. Congratulations!
I'd be torn between working on the house or working in the garage...
Nice grab Alex you'll fit in there real well dude. :D
Very nice! I'm a first time homeowner myself. I will warn you that any house project will end up taking priority over the fox. I hope you like staying busy!
Thanks guys, and yeah the house will definitely take priority for now but at least both my cougars will now have a nice home :) that garage is apparantly only 2 years old, and it shows. Now all i have to do is bring the rest of the house up to the garage standards LOL
This is a nice forum with alot of experienced people. It's a good place to start when researching a project.
http://www.diychatroom.com/ (http://"http://www.diychatroom.com/")
Congrats!! My wife and I bought our "first" house when we got married in 1983. Guess what, we're still in it. Moral of the story, if you like the house now, you may like it even more 26 years later. We sure do. Congrats again, and update the pics as you do stuff. Just keep Jerry away from it as he has way too many ideas.
Congrats Alex.
Nice, my first house will absolutely for sure have a garage.
were moving up bro u got room
Nice place Alex!
wish we could get our own too... but I don't know if that will ever happen. I might just have to come visit you a lot! lmao
Thanks for the comments,
Bear, Karen you guys have an open-door policy :D
Congrats! Oh and it isn't the newest project.....It's the never ending one ;)
Nice buy Baxo, we bought our first house two years ago (3 br 1 bath, 1 stall garage in front and a heated double stall out back) I've never looked back at renting again.
Very Nice Alex.... you need to pave that driveway first.... LOL
Love the Garage.
Right on. Having a car to work on and enjoy is nice but having a home is another thing all together. Working on it and changing it you learn new things and its a lot of fun. Even just painting and small things one at a time. In short it starts to feel like "you". Plus he scored a garage. When we were looking it was tough to find everything we were looking for and we were in a rush. No garage for me as of yet but i made sure i could build one here. Im totally jealous of that. Looks like its got plenty of room too.
Congrats Alex. We almost made the plunge too but someone beat us to the punch.
what did you get it for and what was your interest?
I really dig the sun room thing, seems like a good place to capture heat.
I'm glad your happy, looks like a really nice place you got there. curious bout the story you mentioned but hey, gettng the house on your own was the easy part, keeping it is the challenge we all fight every day., and i do mean fight.
good job!
humm ,
to the garage
- right side needs roof extended about 8'
- support with posts bout every 4'
- put up plastic white latus on the back and side leaving front open
- lay plastic on the ground and then load the plastic with crush and run gravel
- now you have a place to roll in lawn equipment and all the stuff that doesnt really need to take up room in the garage.
-keep in mind this area makes for an easy paint booth :hick:
-gotta weld you up or buy a wood heater.
-build an extention off the rear of the garage and cover with tin roofing so you can get about 2 chords of wood stacked behind the garage.
-penetrate the roof with a double lined flume and seal the top.
inside the garage
- open door and left wall will be shelves cieling to floor.
-work bench goes along rear wall and up right wall.
-work bench must have outlets along the front every 4'
-dead center would be a retracting extention chord to reach anywhere in the garage (this keeps chords off the floor.
-air compressor storage tank must sit outside within the extention mentioned earlier.
-air lines would traverse the interior and lead to a retracting air line mounted next to the extention chord spool.
-AC panel must have capacity for future heavy draw tools , if not, im sure the garage is pulling power by way of a feeder that is in conduit and can be repulled. 4/0 wire or more although my garage has 350mcm.
-overhead lighting must be arranged so there is light near the doors. one flaw with my garage is its hard to see back towards the doors at night.
haha wow that's quite the plan right there ;)
My interest rate is 3.9% locked for 5 years. The story involves a Fiancé who lives in Hungary, and some tough times due to distance.
And
one other honest suggestion, you are already pulling a debt so do one big favor for yourself.
that sun room,, it appears its late afternoon in the pic, correct?
Yep. about 6:30pm - 7pm.
ok
i do this kind of stuff everyday just by pictures.
id say the sunroom is on the lean side, about 30'x12'
go to the electrical box and take the cover off
clap on meter to L1 and L2
our house readings are approx L1-20Amps, L2-23amps
thats about 5.2kw of power consumption with every thing on possible.
buy yourself about 36) 170w solar panels
these run about 30vdc at approx 5A each.
you arrange them in strings like batteries
in all cases, you simply arrange string 1 until you get the L1 desired voltage. repeat for the L2. Now arrange the remaining 4 strings and tie in two more per line 1 and line 2.
you end up with three strings of solar panels per line leg.
you also get and inverter which takes in your solar @250vdc and converts it to single phase 120/240.
you take the output of the inverter and feed it to a disconnect.
you take your disconnect and feed it into a new "green meter".
you take your meter and run the wiring to a ganged 2x2pole 200a back feed breaker feeding your existing sub panel in the house.
the back feed breaker snaps right into an existing spot but it may end up taking up 4 positions.
the southern sky will have the greatest influence on power production, the reason i brought this up is because i noticed the roof angle is optimum for solar production. Up in canada, thats about the correct angle, looks to be bout 20deg. A little less than 13deg for places like tx and Az.
you can get a solar kit from us,,,,,,,,,http://www.alpha.com or hunt yourself down a good 8-10kva system with *****NO**** battery. batteries suck, maint is expensive and ownership can be costly.
the power company will read thier meter, then subtract your green meter reading you were pumping power back into the grid.
your looking at about 10k-20k expense on this investment if you install it.
Hmmmm........
And about 2 feet of snow to sit on top of it for about 6 months in our area.
We often have problems with solar panels over here. Unless they're on the side of a building.
the odd thing about you guys up there is short circuit Isc peak is often reached in the winter. its amazing to tell you the truth.
i imagine it being a c to keep them clear, a long pole with a squeegie on the end could be a way to clear the panels. the roof line is rather low enough to be gotten at ground level.
that's true, it can be reached from the ground at least. can a solar panel be heated using it's own power to stop snow accumulation?
Well if the solar panel uses its own power to clean itself then there won't be too much energy left over for the original purpose of the house because of the transfer of energy. I've looked into the solar panel idea there's big surface area on that sunroom and the garage roof, but yeah the winter is a killer because of the snow accumulation.
It's a good thought for the future, but right now I've already had to take out extra funds to do some generic interior renovations so i wouldn't be able to take out even more.
agreed!!!! not to be picky,, but looks like the pad was framed wrong.... or the garage is crooked!!!! Dont hate me!!!! PLZ
What happens after the 5 year mark?
It comes quick....September will be mine.
I can either pay the mortgage off or recalculate it at the rate it's going for at that time.
We believe the pad was framed wrong, the garage is pretty square.
Hey its no big deal anyway..as long as the whole agrage is on the pad!!
oh yeah for sure it is maybe i can use the extra pad for a miniature garage for a model car.
Nice score on that garage. Oh, is there a house too? ;)
I'm loving that sun room.
You wanna see a concrete pad poured wrong, you need only look at my garage. From front to back the floor drops by about 6" for every 12 feet. When it rains and there's an east wind the rain runs down the doors, drips onto the floor, then runs through the garage to the back (under the bench and woodstove) where there is a drain to let the water out. It's the exact opposite of how it's supposed to be - the low spot in a garage floor is supposed to be the doors, not the back frickin' wall!!!
As for solar power: I don't know about Niagara Falls, but here in the east wind power would make more sense. It's only sunny about 40% of the days, and in the summer it's a very hazy sunshine (nearly perpetual 100% humidity). It is ALWAYS windy, however. That's what comes from being jutted out into the north Atlantic, I suppose. Probably wouldn't work in an urban area though. City councils tend to frown on windmills in people's yards :hick:
Congrats! I was your age when I scored my first place...and the place I'm still in.
Congrats!:D There is nothing like having your own place, especially one that is yours and not someone elses (ie renting).
I'm in a similar situation to you in having a large house and being the only one living in it. I inherated a 3 story (basp00get, main floor, attic) 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 1.5 car detached garage house from my grandfather 2 years ago. It's odd living in a large house alone, let alone paying utilities when I'm the only one there. I don't even use all the space. It is nice to be able to play music as loud as I want at 2 am without waking anyone up though ;)
There is far too much that can be done with the sunroom.
Apart from that weird pouring job it looks pretty level and even, no wet spots or anything. it might be alright.
Yeah I would love to try to get a windmill in the back yard.. then i can be known as "the guy with the giant windmill"
Good to know I wasn't the only crazy 25 year old buying a house haha.
That's exactly it, i looked into renting and I just could never justify it. Like alright some people cant afford a house. And to be honest this is going to be VERY tight for me.
But to be perfectly honest, the reason I did it is to force responsibility on myself and to force myself to grow up and be a man. Also I can't convince a someone to come move to a whole other continent without having stuff to offer. To leave her parents to come here and live with mine just wasn't a wise way to convince her lol.
I think we got my house when we were 22-23ish? Man was my wife scared shiznit-less. Really makes you grow up but then so does having a child at 21 (like me) so we grew up pretty darn quick anyway.
\
Must be nice to not have a mortgage. With my family, I cant count on any freebies at all. Such is life.
That all changes you quick. Its the kids that really change you, and everything else.
Believe me I know
how lucky I am. I don't take it for granted at all.
Well I get the keys next friday And the excitement level is getting higher and higher, It will probably keep rising until I have to hand a big ass cheque over next week
yeah me and my wife are looking at a small house here. were sick of renting and just wasting money. And nice score on the house.
All I ask for is a garage I can work in. That is my single request. Whenever the time comes for me she can have whatever it is she is looking for as long as I have that garage. If not then that is the first project.
Well today was the closing day, i got the keys!!
Here's some more pics of the place
Open concept living room/kitchen/dining room:
(http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925547473_500247473_2558737_7501407_n.jpg)
(http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925552473_500247473_2558738_4493021_n.jpg)
(http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925557473_500247473_2558739_2201077_n.jpg)
(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925567473_500247473_2558740_7295892_n.jpg)
Here is the sunroom, which will become a home gym:
(http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925572473_500247473_2558741_950061_n.jpg)
(http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925582473_500247473_2558743_2080693_n.jpg)
(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925587473_500247473_2558744_3270950_n.jpg)
(http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925592473_500247473_2558745_6052014_n.jpg)
Here are some more shots of outside:
(http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925647473_500247473_2558755_6273091_n.jpg)
(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925692473_500247473_2558760_7343952_n.jpg)
(http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925697473_500247473_2558761_4180699_n.jpg)
Here is the backyard (dont mind the lawn i JUST moved in, yes it needs to be mowed :D )
(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925652473_500247473_2558756_6783937_n.jpg)
(http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925662473_500247473_2558757_1488813_n.jpg)
Here are some pictures of the path directly behind the property
(http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925672473_500247473_2558758_4699327_n.jpg)
(http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925677473_500247473_2558759_2511285_n.jpg)
Congratulations!!! Buying a home has to be the single most free feeling in the world. I can't wait to do it again, really soon.;) I'm diggin' the man cave. Can't live without one. That path is gonna be badass for a 2 mile morning jog. I'm envious!!! Congratulations again.
If you really want to stay fit, mow that yard with a push mower!!!:D
Congrats, I think you done good!!!
I've only rented twice in my life, when I first got married and first got divorced... :hick: Bought the first house when I was 21.. New, never lived in, three bedroom brick front ranch... Was $17,800 in '71... Had a attached garage, but was only 10ft wide, couldn't get the car doors fully open... Wound up closing it in for a den and building a garage out back...
I love the garage! I think I would just move into there and give the wife the house LOL.. Lots of luck with your new place!
Feels awesome doesn't it?
It sure does. I'm not wasting any time either. I started renovating today. Took out the kitchen cabinets. And I also took out a half-wall. I'll post pics tomorrow if people really wan to see the pictures but I don't think it would be right to start a house renovation thread on a car board.
Ah who cares go right on ahead! We're all friends here and would most likely enjoy something a little different.
I hear Jerry makes cabinets out of spare car parts, you should check with him.
Congrats looks good, love the garage.
Okay here is the progress of the demolition:
Before:
(http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925557473_500247473_2558739_2201077_n.jpg)
During:
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo1.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo2.jpg)
And After:
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo3.jpg)
And for cabinets:
Before:
(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs017.snc1/4226_98925567473_500247473_2558740_7295892_n.jpg)
After:
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo5.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo6.jpg)
(http://www.baxo.ca/house/demo7.jpg)
wow baxo....! Nice score man, congrats. I confess, I'm a little envious.
wow.
Alex, you wouldn't be the first to post about renovating on here....go for it!
I can't wait to see it finished! I am so jealous!!
I can't wait for my vacation so I can catch up on the little things that need attention aound my own house.
That looks MUCH better opened up like that BTW ;)
LOL Yeah Jerry can build a spaceship out of a toaster.. And he also has already been helping me a lot. He did my home inspection :D
I agreee..
also, even though the carpet and the tile's brand new.. and i would hate to tear it up but I think the entire thing can benefit from a uniform floor through the whole section
Breaking those new tools in I see. :D
What's with the strip of tile against the wall. I guess there's no turning back now......I suppose you want new custom made cabinets now.
I have no idea what's with those tiles.. maybe they just stuck the extras under there, there really is no purpose to them and yes custom cabinets for sure. after taking the old ones down i found that the only good thing about them was pretty much the doors.
Hardwood is the way to go... Gives a really nice look.. I hear Lumber Liquidators have really really good prices... ( I work there)
+1
I have hardwood floors in my living room and LOVE them. The stuff in my house is 1" thick oak from when the house was built in 1956. I had them refinished about 2 months after I moved in. If you want a pic I'll snap some. The floors weren't stained just sealed and coated.
If you are getting a dog you don't want hardwood. Especially a big dog. Trust me :hick:
Yeah...laminate flooring is the way to go if you have pets or it's a real high traffic area. I put some in my kitchen and love it. Easy to clean, impervious to everything, cost wasn't bad either. Kitty can't scratch it no matter how hard he tries LOL.
I have real hardwood floors in the bedrooms and it's fine for them, though.
yeah I was thinking laminate. A nice dark laminate flooring. I hear nothing but good things about them.
boats and hoes
Boats and hoes brotha!
Well it's been a few weeks, I have been busy around the house but not technically in the house. More like the shop :)
I have installed the kitchen cabinets that I took out of the house into the garage for storage. Then I have also built some shelves along the back wall to organize all my .
Afterwards, Me and my dad have been going crazy, we upgraded the electrical panel inside the house from fuses to a breaker panel, then we dug a trench from the house to the garage 2 feet deep, ran some wire in a conduit to the garage.. Installed a breaker panel inside the garage, and some plugs and lights.
Then we figured, alright it was time to take all my cougar stuff over, including my cougars too. I arranged the 2 cougars in a way that there's still a workspace left. I can freely walk around the cougars. I can get around the convertible with ease to get to the shelves.
Anyways, here's some pictures:
(http://static.baxo.ca/shop/shop1.jpg)
There was a fridge and a stove in the garage when i bought the house, so i decided to hook up the fridge temporarily to keep some cool while i worked in the garage (note all the room i still have).
(http://static.baxo.ca/shop/shop2.jpg)
Here's another view: Once I figure out what to do with the stove (more than likely toss it), i will have a great working area still to build the new cabinets, and other projects in the future.
(http://static.baxo.ca/shop/shop3.jpg)
What do ya'll think?
I think you need to come over and get another stove and some furniture. :D
ohhh yeah LOL
looks good man! Thats a pretty good size garage.
Congrats on the new house too! Im just seeing this thread
very nice bro looking good u gotta leave the fridge and stock it full of beer for when i come up.you know how us southern folks get down
pick me up one the way?? lol
Very nice Alex, Is your garage heated for the Winter Months ? :rollin:
Very nice!! I highly recommend some car dollies for under the vert. Then you can easily move it around and back again. Do not buy a cheap set either. Buy good ones and you will not regret it. Again, looking good!!
+1 on the dollies...
Looks pretty dang sweet man!
Oh just let me know when you wanna come and i'll be sure that fridge is stocked with some pure canadian brew for ya ;)
Not yet, one step at a time friend ;)
Oh yeah, 100% for sure, It's already in the plans. :hick:
Nothing funnier than giving an American some good Canadian beer :hick:
It is funny.
I'm immune to it being so close. but seeing someone after the 2nd one is priceless..
Keep the stove,buy a powder coating kit,and get to work.
Looks good Alex. Wish I had that much garage room.
I second keeping the stove. I'm working on moving one into my garage over the next couple weeks as well for the PC. I've been having to drive to the shop to use the one here when I coat my stuff. Kind of tedious.
if you do get rid of the stove, instead of tossing it... you should post it on freecycle.... then someone who needs it can get use from it....unless you plan to sell it. ;)
Nice garage!! I'm not letting Roger see that...he'll be jealous! LOL
Here's what you do....
Keep the stove in the garage, and use the oven for curing powder coating. ;)
Hmm thats true too well i'll keep it, but it doesnt need to take up in the garage right now.. it can go down in my basp00get. it's a big house for 1 person, don't need to hord all my stuff in one little corner, i can spread the stuff around.
Very nice garage! Nice work on the house demos too.
Alex, I like that high angle photo shot because it looks like it was taken from a security Camera in your garage friend. ;)
holy that is cool! I WISH i had a garage like that! I will have to bring the '84 don and park beside yours and get some pics. LOL.
Sorry I couldnt make it with the trailer, how did you get the vert home?
yeah man bring it over. Let's get 3 cats in here.
No problem about the trailer. The way we got her over was using this triangle hitch that we chained to the bumper and we towed it behind my dads truck. That's why the header panel and bumper cover are off. so I wouldn't mess em up.
I got a present for you
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/work%20stuff/IMG_5690.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee79/daminc/work%20stuff/IMG_5691.jpg)
Looks like a kitchen window to me.
awesome!
Check to see if you can use it. It's 25x41.
It's a Pella too.
Alright sounds good, i'll measure up that wall tonight and i'll let you know.