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How is everyone doing with the summer heat. I think I cursed myself by saying a couple of weeks ago about how it's been a nice summer so far. The last two weeks have been blazing here in Souther California. The heat has really kept me out of the garage.

I really need to insulate and finish the garage. Only the wall that is shared with the house is drywalled. The ceiling is pretty much vaulted, so there is nothing to drywall there. I will probably build one more loft in the garage for storage then drywall the rest of the garage and the bottom sides of the lofts for a finished look. I have been trying to collect old garage/gas/oil signs as I want my garage to have that retro service station look.

I must admit that I love the Southern California winters, as I can get a lot done it weather that is in the low 60's. Last time I looked it was 103 in the garage. I only wish the days were as long as the summer ones during the winter.

By the time I get home from work, it pretty much dark. I think this winter I will be adding two more over head lights to the garage. I have two already, but they are located towards the back of the garage because of the sectional gararge doors. I really need more light towards the front of the garage. The problem is that I really cannot work on the front of the car with garage door shut. The car only has about 30" of clearance with the door shut, and I need that extra space at the back of the garage. So with the garage door open, it would block the light coming from any light mounted in the front part of the garage ceiling. It's almost like I need a light mounted on the underside of the garage door when it's up. I do have a portable shop light that does work. But nothing is as good as regular natural light during the day. What I really need is another 6' of garage depth. But I am sure the neighbors would frown on that.

Anyway enough of my babble, every try to stay cool out there.

BigKev at least you can open your garage door when you work on your car. I live in a Condo and when I work on mine I have to do it in secret. The CC&Rs don't allow auto mechanical work to be done. I got written up by security for draining my radiator, and all it had in it was water.
They would have had a hissy fit if they knew I replaced my broken valve spring. Hahahahaha What they don't see can't hurt me. 104 degrees here today, I can't wait till fall.

I love how you guy's out there in the dry heat don't like the 100+ temps. Come to Kansas this time a year, when it's 100 and 80% humidity!

When I went out to Craig's place last year for the First and only annual Packard V8 Club meet, those boys were stopping when it hit 90, which felt like 70 to me. As long as I have plenty to drink, and take breaks every hour, I can go all day long in your temps. It's all about perspective, man!

You being in Valencia, I think we have pretty much the same weather.

When my wife and I were looking to buy our first house about two years ago, we specificlly looked for an older home that was not part of any home owners association. I just have a problem paying a monthly fee so some association can tell me I can't do something. If I wanted that, I would still be living in an apartment.

There is a guy about 4 or 5 houses down that has a restored 50's F-100 and a 20's something ratrod. Once I saw that, I knew we were looking in the right neighborhood.

Big Kevin: The first thing that you might consider if you insulate your garage is do the over joist spaces first. Use R19 insulation in the rafter spaces. What makes a garage so hot in the summer is the heat coming down through the roof, from the beating sun. If you take that step first you will find the garage stays a lot cooler. I found this out when I did the remodel job on my garage

Since I have completely insulated my garage, the temperature has been in the high 90's most of the week. I walked up to the garage the other day and its was 93 outside, in the garage it was about 74 degrees. I had not been up in the garage for a couple of days and the ac or fans had not been run. Another thing that helps keep my garage cool is that I only have one window in the garage. I have a pair of shutters for this window that I built out of plywood, this help keep the sun light out of the garage.

Turbo: I am getting to old to work on a car outside in the summer time in the heat and humidity. That's why my garage has an wall unit ac in it. The two fans I have mounted from the ceiling help spread the ac around and keep it cool. This winter I will tilt the fans and it will help with the heating of the garage. The fans will help blow the hot air back down into the work area.

John F. Shireman

Great work! Sure wish you could do my garage while you are at it. :) As for lights in the front of garage, I have seen guys put them just where the windows in the doors are so that when the doors are up, the light shines through the glass.
Dan

My garage has vaulted ceiling, so there are really no raftersto speak of. It only has 3 rafters that run front to back and a single one that run side to side. That is why I built the lofts so I would have over head storage. I am trying to get at much stuff up and off the floor as possible. The shed I built has been a godsend. I was able to move both fenders out to the shed. Those fenders took up a lot of floor space. Plus I moved all my wood working tools such at my tablesaw and scrowsall out to the shed, as only use them every once in awhile. That helps to keep the work bench clear that runs the length of one of the side walls.

My garage is bascically 20x20, and but a 24x24 would make all the difference. I hate not being able to walk all the way around the car without the garage door open. The other thing I dont like about my garage, is that the garage door is the only access into the garage. It has no side door. Beacuse of where the garage is placed on the front on the house, it makes it impractical to add one. The garage is attached to the house on wall shared by the bedrooms. So I dont think my daughters would like me cutting a door through their bedroom into the garage. I may try to cut a door though a wall that leads into the backyard, but it would have to be close to the corner of the garage and that may cause an issue with the diagonal earthquake braces that are built into the stud framing. So I will have to see if it is possible to even add a door in that location.

BigKev you can cut those diagonal braces if you shear nail a good grade plywood at least 4'wide x8'high on the sides of the opening. Shear nailing is 1 - 8 penny nail every 3 inches on the perimeter and 6" in the field. Use 1/2" plywood. If you can't get 4' on each side of the opening go 8 foot wide on one side and whatever you can on the other side of the opening. It will be 100 times stronger than that old diag bracing. I built homes for 10 years and am a certified Construction Coordinator with 27 years of experience for the film industry. Piece of cake. If ya need a hand let me know.

Ron, thanks for the info. That corner of the garage wall is about 8 feet long before it merges with the house. That is the only portion of the garage that has exposure to the backyard. So the only place for a door logically would be in that section of the wall where the overlap with the house ends and the corner, and that is where the brace is currently. Being that the wall is also 60-70% shared with the house, does that make any differnce? Would just plywood sheeting the interior of that 8 foot section, and putting a door in the middle of it work?

BigKev Not a problem. You mentioned earlier that your house is an older building. Not one builder I know of today in California is allowed to rely on the old style diag bracing. All local and state codes have been up graded and require shearing. If you feel it is necessary, check with your local planning commission. Before you shear it make sure you have your electrical in. A double light switch at the door is handy for a exterior light and turning on the interior lights, and maybe a receptical box for inside and outside. Its easy to do now before the shear treatment. I'm not an electrician so your on your own with things that go ZZZZAP.
5 or six 2x4s, 2 sheets of 1/2 inch ply and a 4' 4x8 and your in business. I'm assuming your exterior wall is stucco. I have a diamond blade for the skill saw that can cut the opening to size for the new door. try to buy one that is already mounted in a jamb and is solid core. Tell them it is for exterior use. Because you cannot use stucco molding, it will have to have casing for the weather.
Do you plan on mounting the door unit on top of the existing raised footing or flat with the garage floor? Take into consideration if your yard floods during heavy rains. Removing that piece of footing can be challenging but it is possible. Don't forget a lockset for the new door, any local lock shop can key it to your existing locks, and for piece of mind a dead bolt is reccomended.
We have got to be boring the heck out of folks with this PM me next time and lets give them a break unless you feel this is an ok place to talk about it.
Ron