Garage Wall Progress

Although I haven't posted much about it yet, the rebuilding of the garage wall is progressing nicely. So far I have:

- Jacked-up the roof for temporary support.
- Jacked-up the wall.
- Cut away the bottom of the wall.
- Cleaned-out about 200 lbs of rotted wood and dirt at the base of the wall.
- Made custom concrete forms for the new footings.
- Hand-mixed and filled the forms (26 1/2 bags of concrete, which was pure hell).
- Installed the bottom plate (pressure treated wood).
- Temporarily re-supported the wall at each 2x4 to remove the braces.
- Cut away the top of the wall.
- Installed the top plates (2 layers of 2x4s).

Now I'm at the point where I can install the vertical 2x4s (the easy part). I need to go pick up some more nails, and mark all the crowns in my 2x4s (the crowns are the cupped or curved edges).

I've been working at the "wall project" several hours a day, and I'm quite happy with the pace I've been managing to keep. The garage will be so nice and solid once this job is done. It will also mean that I can finally have the roof (safely) replaced. The roof should have been redone right after I bought the house, but after I discovered the condition of the wall I was afraid to have any workers up there.

I also plan to add electrical (probably with a small sub-panel) new lights, and drywall + paint.

I only plan to show a recap (photos) once the whole project is done (the wall - not the entire garage).

***

I've been keeping quite busy here. Aside from the "wall project" I've also redone the framing for the sloped ceiling in the back stairwell (which was quite tricky to figure out). That's now pretty much ready for insulation and wall covering (either drywall or beadboard).

I also started to do the taping and mudding in the "L" Room upstairs. I've been procrastinating about doing it for almost a year, and I was going to hire someone else to do it, but in the end, I'll do it myself. My imperfections (I'm only so-so at drywall) will just match the rest of the house.