The Garage Re-Do (Picture Heavy)

[quorra]

Continuing on from this thread (which now has updated pics - the outside of the house is 100% done with the exception of painting the floor of the porch, decorating it, and landscaping)....the garage.

Yeah, it was basically a death trap of spiders, creepy crawlies, and poisionious items that shouldn't be here.  We are about 90% done with it.  We have to finish a few light switches, finish taking off the asbestos like ceiling, paint the ceiling, then put in the shelves and racks this weekend.  Should take Saturday and then we'll be done.

The before pics were taken about a week before we moved in.  NONE OF THIS STUFF WAS OURS IN THESE BEFORE PHOTOS.  The items all belonged to my inlaws, and it was how they lived.

I'll start with the photo I posted in the other thread - the picture that launched a million nightmares.  The cobwebs were insane.  Just all over the place.  Dirt, dirt, dirt.  We got everything out, tore everything down off the walls, pressure washed, and painted.  The air conditoner unit in the photo has to be cleaned by a professional company, and after that's done, we will paint that.  Notice all of the oil containers on the ground?  Yeaaaahhh that's not a fire hazard.  Know what else we found out?  That there was no exhaust system in the wall for the dryer.  My father in law left the metal dryer vent laying on top of the oil and that's how it was for YEARS.  My brain almost oozed out of my ears with that one.

Put in the vent thing when we got a new washer and dryer - the guys were really amazed that there wasn't one, and that the house didn't go up in flames before this.


This was their laundry center.  NO IDEA why they had all of those cleaners and bug spray because they were obviously never used.  I initially cleaned up the area, and those shelves are now gone - will be "floating" type wood shelves this weekend.  Sorry about the random laundry stuff on the dryer - but I actually needed to wash clothes in the middle of this mess




The door needs a little more frosting (it looks bad in this photo because my 5 year old was literally having a rave with two flashlights and going insane with them inside by the door), and I have a "hello" decal I'm putting on it.  'Cause I'm lame like that.  We made the door red like the front door of the house.  New light switch going in this weekend.  Random wires that were attached to nothing are gone.  I'm trying to figure out how to hide the water tank - suggestions?


This was just a hodgepodge of...shit.  Really, I don't know what the hell any of this stuff was.  It's all been ripped out and we're putting a storage rack in here this weekend.  Those pipes on the wall?  Yeah, my father in law made a serious mess out of the a/c system.  He rigged up some weird piping to take the condensation out of the machine, and it was all over the garage.  We had to make it look like it does in the 2nd photos - it looks goofy, but it's the only way it would work.  Luckily, it won't be noticeable once the rack is in.  You can see the original hose system my father in law put down in the 1st pic - the black hose that was leaking all over the garage.  We took those nails out of the wall in the 2nd pic after we took this photo.



More dust, and random moldy lumber - all gone.



They had a million paint cans, rags, and who knows that the hell else on these shelves.  After getting rid of it all, you can just see the years of dirt and stains.







So there you go for the moment - once everything is in place this weekend, I'll post the final garage pic.  Then I'll start on the inside pictures for you guys.

(the rag on the floor is catching the leftover condensation from the a/c pipe - pay no attention to the back porch, the stuff from the garage is there)

[sb9411]

WOW! What a turnaround. You guys have been working so hard. It's definitely paying off. Looks great.

[moonlight]

Huge difference! Looks great!

Did the in laws think the before was better here also? Smh

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 4:51:37 GMT -5 moonlight said:

Huge difference! Looks great!

Did the in laws think the before was better here also? Smh

So much so that they literally left everything as is, and expected us to just continue living the way that they did.  

[my4girls]

I love seeing your before and afters, the differences are so amazing!

[mcfelix]

Great job - what a difference!

[pitterwoo]

Jul 24, 2014 7:19:15 GMT -5 quorra said:

Jul 24, 2014 4:51:37 GMT -5 moonlight said:

Huge difference! Looks great!

Did the in laws think the before was better here also? Smh

So much so that they literally left everything as is, and expected us to just continue living the way that they did.  

I find this horrifying.  Do you think they will feel embarrassed when they see how clean you have it?  I would just DIE if someone had to come in and clean up my mess and then I had to see how they kept their shit together.  I'm just projecting how I would feel in the situation though.  Of course that's because I would never leave a mess like that in the first place.

I'm also curious how your H didn't end up like this if it's how he grew up.  Did you have to teach him or does he have any tendencies like his parents?  Just curious, feel free not to answer.

[texassmith]

Wow. The transformations are amazing.

Did you DIY the garage floor? What product did you use? I think this a project I may try to tackle this fall/winter when spending an extended length of time in the garage isn't a recipe for heat stroke.

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 8:28:10 GMT -5 pitterwoo said:

Jul 24, 2014 7:19:15 GMT -5 quorra said:

So much so that they literally left everything as is, and expected us to just continue living the way that they did.  

I find this horrifying.  Do you think they will feel embarrassed when they see how clean you have it?  I would just DIE if someone had to come in and clean up my mess and then I had to see how they kept their shit together.  I'm just projecting how I would feel in the situation though.  Of course that's because I would never leave a mess like that in the first place.

I'm also curious how your H didn't end up like this if it's how he grew up.  Did you have to teach him or does he have any tendencies like his parents?  Just curious, feel free not to answer.

I don't mind answering!

My husband is the oldest of 3 boys.  The middle brother was the slob (still is to this day), the youngest is a general clean but messy once in awhile guy.  My husband?  Well, except for dishes and yardwork (he hates both of those) he is a freaking anal retentive guy who keeps everything JUST SO. I'm talking the extensive movie collection in alphabetical/numerical order (and if there are 3 versions of the same movie, they're put in order according to the DVD release date).  Stuff is organized in ziploc bags, labeled, stored in specific Rubbermaid boxes.  Clothes are hung up specific ways.  It's a little bit of overkill sometimes, but I'm happy that I never need to know where the hell he puts stuff, because it's already taken care of.  Our kids haven't picked up on that trait yet, though - I wish they did.

My mother in law acts embarrassed now that she's seen the side by side photos.  When we first moved in, she was emotional over everything and was upset that we weren't happy with the state of the house because in her mind, it was still HER house - the house she raised a family in.  I think she saw the house for what it USED to be, and not what it was in the current state.  

My father in law - god bless that man, he is the biggest slob I have ever met, which is weird, because he claims he has insane allergies and asthma.  His car literally looks like a traveling dumpster.  He'll eat in the car and just toss crap down on the floor.  I hated having him help me out with tasks once in awhile, because he would insist on driving - this would be I would be mid calf deep in Filet o' Fish wrappers and what not.

This is the master bedroom right before we moved in.  I didn't get full shots of that room (I was really so angry with everything at that point that I wasn't think about doing a lot of "before" photos). The linoleum floor had not been swept in years, and they didn't do Swiffer/mop/etc.   There was no carpeting in the bedrooms because "carpet holds dust" and again, FIL claimed he was allergic.  The mattresses and box springs still had their original plastic wraps on them from the factory, and they never took them off - just put sheets on over them.  My FIL also wrapped his pillow in a garage bag before putting the pillow case on it...all to keep dust levels down.  

The beds were the only things they took from there (and those shoes on the floor - my FIL owns about 100 pairs of shoes).  If you were standing next to the bed and looking at the other wall, there were 2 file cabinets, a giant safe (that thing is a thorn in my side - it's still in the house, and that's a whole other story), a weird dresser filled with bags and a TV on top of it.  You can see the corner of the safe with the paper taped to it in the corner of the photo.  Forgot to mention that ALL file cabinets, the fridge, and the safe had papers taped to them with random things about schedules, plants, etc.

The bed that is closest to the door was my FIL's bed - I will NOT tell you what those tissues were for, but I bet if you think hard enough, you'll figure out why.......  ((sobbing))



That room doesn't look as bad as some of the others, but still...

I wish I had taken photos of the Florida room before we emptied it.  I'm actually mad at myself that I didn't.  You could quite literally NOT see the floor in there at all, and had to climb over stuff.  There was a pool table in the middle of the room and it took 2 or 3 days to get to it, because it was covered in boxes, bags, newspapers, etc etc etc. 

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 8:45:46 GMT -5 texassmith said:

Wow. The transformations are amazing.

Did you DIY the garage floor? What product did you use? I think this a project I may try to tackle this fall/winter when spending an extended length of time in the garage isn't a recipe for heat stroke.

Yes ma'am!

The floor was pressure washed, then Kilz primer was put down because the stains were so bad.  2 coats went down to help cover those.  

The gray paint was a Valspar Garage Floor paint; I would have to look at the container to see which specific one it was.  2 coats went down, but really 1 coat would have been fine.  Can't park on it for about 48 hours.

Florida humidity made the Kilz the worst part, it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to dry. 

ETA: The Valspar garage floor paint was about $60.

[texassmith]

Jul 24, 2014 8:57:17 GMT -5 quorra said:

Jul 24, 2014 8:45:46 GMT -5 texassmith said:

Wow. The transformations are amazing.

Did you DIY the garage floor? What product did you use? I think this a project I may try to tackle this fall/winter when spending an extended length of time in the garage isn't a recipe for heat stroke.

Yes ma'am!

The floor was pressure washed, then Kilz primer was put down because the stains were so bad.  2 coats went down to help cover those.  

The gray paint was a Valspar Garage Floor paint; I would have to look at the container to see which specific one it was.  2 coats went down, but really 1 coat would have been fine.  Can't park on it for about 48 hours.

Florida humidity made the Kilz the worst part, it took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to dry. 

ETA: The Valspar garage floor paint was about $60.

Thanks!

[raangoli]

The transformation is amazing!

[sjh722]

You guys are doing amazing work! It's so much fun to see your pictures side-by-side.

Good luck with your FIL.

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 9:38:03 GMT -5 sjh722 said:

You guys are doing amazing work! It's so much fun to see your pictures side-by-side.

Good luck with your FIL.

Ahahahahaha yeaaaaaaaaaah, I'm still expecting an earth shattering kaboom.  I asked MIL again last night if we could show him the pics, and she said to give it a little more time.

[BAMFMrsB]

Jul 24, 2014 7:19:15 GMT -5 quorra said:

Jul 24, 2014 4:51:37 GMT -5 moonlight said:

Huge difference! Looks great!

Did the in laws think the before was better here also? Smh

So much so that they literally left everything as is, and expected us to just continue living the way that they did.  

SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.



I've seen HORROR MOVIES with happier murder scenes. That garage was so wrong. so very, VERY wrong.

GREAT work! Our previous owner also updated our garage and I LOVE it. Shelving, that blue/painted/sparkly floor, painted the walls white. It is so not creepy and fully functional!

[mrsreynolds4]

Jul 24, 2014 10:07:58 GMT -5 quorra said:

Jul 24, 2014 9:38:03 GMT -5 sjh722 said:

You guys are doing amazing work! It's so much fun to see your pictures side-by-side.

Good luck with your FIL.

Ahahahahaha yeaaaaaaaaaah, I'm still expecting an earth shattering kaboom.  I asked MIL again last night if we could show him the pics, and she said to give it a little more time.

I'm glad MIL seems to be finally getting it - why you changed everything and how much better it is now.

Hopefully she'll help FIL understand before his head explodes.

[simpsongal]

Please come to my house
Our garage isn't that bad but I was dying to paint the walls & floor. It's just a low priority...maybe in 15 years.

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 10:15:56 GMT -5 BAMFMrsB said:

Jul 24, 2014 7:19:15 GMT -5 quorra said:

So much so that they literally left everything as is, and expected us to just continue living the way that they did.  

SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.



I've seen HORROR MOVIES with happier murder scenes. That garage was so wrong. so very, VERY wrong.

GREAT work! Our previous owner also updated our garage and I LOVE it. Shelving, that blue/painted/sparkly floor, painted the walls white. It is so not creepy and fully functional!

Ahahahaha love this gif  Thank you!

[cjeanette]

I am laughing at the Ozzie and Harriet beds!

I have been toying with that garage floor paint. Was it a pain to put down?

[womet]

Wow, it doesn't even look like the same place. Kudos to you and your H for all of your hard work.

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 10:57:12 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

I am laughing at the Ozzie and Harriet beds!

I have been toying with that garage floor paint. Was it a pain to put down?

Honestly the only thing that was a pain was when the jerry-rigged air conditioner thing kept leaking and it was making the paint run - so the whole pipe for that had to be rebuilt.  

[dr.girlfriend]

Awesome job! What yellow is that? Yellows are so hard, and that's a great one.

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 12:09:10 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Awesome job! What yellow is that? Yellows are so hard, and that's a great one.

It's Valspar Homestead Resort Tea Room Cream

[pixy0stix]

::clutches chest:: Holeee crap. I'm so very impressed with the work you've done.

[ssmjlm]

Amazing job! It looks great!


My FIL's house is almost like your befores. Which is also why we rarely go over there.

[pitterwoo]

Jul 24, 2014 8:53:15 GMT -5 quorra said:

Jul 24, 2014 8:28:10 GMT -5 pitterwoo said:

That makes sense, that she wasn't seeing it in its current state.  I'm just so fascinated by the mentality behind all this in addition to seeing your great before and afters.  lol at carpet holding dust when they weren't doing anything to remove dust from the vinyl floors.  Would have been better off having some of the dust trapped in carpeting.  Barf!

[pickel]

Wow! You have done one hell of a job. What a fantastic transformation! You guys should be proud!

[quorra]

Jul 24, 2014 14:35:34 GMT -5 nursecramer said:

and @ the tissues. OMG. OMG. OMG. I just couldn't. That would be it for me. The vindictive side of me would be glad to torture FIL with the afters, just to repay him for THOSE.

How long have you guys been at this? You've made such amazing progress. Kudos!

We moved in Jan 2012 (I think I said 2011 in another thread, I was incorrect) and we finally started major work to the outside of the house about a month ago.  By major I mean the painting, cleaning, etc.  I had furiously hacked away some plant life when I first moved in.

[ktzmoh]

Looks amazing! The floor looks fantastic!

[purrbox]

I am absolutely amazed with the transformations you guys have made on this house. I can't imagine how long it would take me and DH to do this and I'm not sure our marriage would survive, lol.