84
votes
Can I cut the small tab off of these rafters to make drywalling easier
Do not remove those. That small bit of wood prevents horizontal sliding of the roof beams, and therefore roof collapse. Those two screws that attach the horizontal beam can't compensate for that if ...
- 2,395
58
votes
Accepted
Why is this pipe in my garage filled with concrete?
It's just a bollard to protect the gas appliances from your vehicle impacting them.
- 19.7k
31
votes
Did my installer give me the wrong overhead door springs or is my motor just too weak?
Your installer either does not understand how garage door springs work or he's lying to you because he thinks you're an idiot and will believe any crap he says.
The facts are that the springs are NOT ...
- 23.5k
30
votes
Did my installer give me the wrong overhead door springs or is my motor just too weak?
Automatic door motors are optional.
Every garage door is designed to work manually without a motor. You use your hands and a stick to push it up, and a rope to pull it down. The door action should ...
30
votes
Accepted
What are these metal strips on our garage walls for?
Those are hurricane clips or straps. I'd imagine that there are more than these two, and that they're spaced evenly around the walls.
That wooden rail at the top of the brick work is called a "...
- 48k
28
votes
Garage door leaks
Garage doors are not made to be watertight. Seeping of water from heavy or wind driven rain is normal. If the seepage you are showing is from water running toward the door, then you need to correct ...
- 42.7k
27
votes
Why would remotes work reliably on one garage door opener, but unreliable on another?
When 3-4 minutes has passed since activation, the room light on the garage door opener turns off. This suggests that the light is creating RF interference. Remove the light bulb and see if your remote ...
- 12.8k
25
votes
Crack across front of garage floor
Good news, that is not a crack in your garage floor. It's just a damaged cosmetic connection from garage floor to the pawers. Someone already patched it before. Since those are thin, it will not ...
- 19.2k
25
votes
Can I bend drywall around a metal post sticking out between two of the studs?
You have asked for the "best approach...".
That would be to add furring strips to the studs and across the top and bottom plates. Then the drywall.
Yes, it is a bit more work and expense. ...
- 42.7k
25
votes
Accepted
Does an electric heater lose efficiency if the elements are rusty/corroded?
A resistive electric heater is very good at doing one thing: turning electricity in to heat. In fact, that's basically all it can do.
Corrosion in the heater might:
Reduce the total heat output. If ...
- 12.7k
23
votes
Accepted
White marks on garage ceiling
The white marks are joint compound (aka "drywall mud") - kind of like plaster. The stripes are where separate sheets of drywall are joined with tape and mud and the little splotches are where screw ...
- 357
23
votes
Garage door leaks
No garage door is leak-proof. You need a slightly raised threshold outside the door to keep water from entering. If you can't raise the level of the concrete outside the door, you can try adding a ...
- 8,997
22
votes
Accepted
What is this electrical cord for?
That looks like heating tape.
You wrap it round water pipes in the garage or somewhere else cold. It provides just enough heat to stop the pipes freezing.
I've used this in the past on outside taps....
- 1,286
22
votes
Accepted
How to make garage door easy to manually lift for 5 year old
I have a recollection of being able to open my dad's double-wide garage door at the age of 5-ish, kindergarten, first grade times, to ride my bicycle. So yes it ought to be possible to tension the ...
- 12.1k
22
votes
How to make garage door easy to manually lift for 5 year old
Your door should be moveable by a small person if it's balanced properly. If the springs are correctly set it'll hold position when halfway open. You could bias toward too loaded so the door opens ...
- 149k
21
votes
Accepted
Can I connect 12 AWG wire to 10 AWG in a junction box?
You can't do that
You cannot come off a 30A breaker with #10 wire (so far so good) and then terminate it at 15-20A receptacles. (nope, nope, nope!)
Unfortunately people sometimes become aware of ...
20
votes
Accepted
Would a bit of grease on overhead door cables or bearings cause the springs to break?
TLDR: The spring failed naturally due to old age or manufacturing defect. Not your fault. As an aside, learn to properly grease garage doors.
Oh boy. The bull-oney here is thick. Let's start with ...
20
votes
What are these metal strips on our garage walls for?
This is a wall plate strap:
source
It's designed to stop vertical movement of the timber wall plate beam the connects the roof to the wall. The wall plate is mortared to the top of the wall, but ...
- 1,581
20
votes
Accepted
Why isn't my overhead door closing completely?
You need two bolts in the arm brackets to hold them together, not just one. That might be what caused the problem, one bolt fell out.
See the picture below, from German garages, to get an idea about ...
- 86.2k
19
votes
Accepted
How does ventilation help in a detached garage
You ask how ventilation helps with reducing humidity. Here's how:
An enclosed space, such as a garage, holds the air inside it fairly still. At the same time, it's warmed from the outside by the sun ...
- 374
19
votes
How can I install a garage door on a carport that was not originally designed to have a door?
Thinking out of the box, literally.
Instead of a traditional door that flips or rolls into the garage, or a sideways door like you are thinking of (which is a bit unusual, at least for the US), go for ...
18
votes
Accepted
What are these horizontal boards screwed to my garage wall studs?
No reason they have to be there. They were likely added for some sort of shelving or mount. Technically they do add some structural integrity as the framing of a house is quite flimsy without ...
- 584
18
votes
How can I hang heavy bikes under a thick wooden shelf?
You can store bicycles vertically with the rear wheel resting on the ground:
You don't need to lift the bike to hang it
The fastener doesn't need to hold the full weight of the bike, only prevent it ...
- 10.5k
18
votes
Accepted
Is it helpful to use a thicker gauge wire for only part of a long circuit run that could have higher loads?
It's madness to add electrical circuits to a garage without thinking about EV charging. Because that is a real thing that IS coming. I realize there were EV attempts in the 90s and 00s that went ...
16
votes
Accepted
How should I refurbish a concrete slab with a rough surface?
This surface isn't a result of poor workmanship. It has been severely degraded, either by overwatering, a faulty mix, or chemical damage. This is why you see so much aggregate (and aggregate pockets).
...
- 149k
15
votes
Why are there nails only half way in, in my garage?
People were using them to secure things or hang things on. They serve no purpose. I would just pull them out since hammering them in probably will not be that easy. You might want to get a small ...
- 50.4k
15
votes
Are there safety concerns or code violations with my garage sub-panel?
It is bad, more than a few violations here if I understand what is being fed.
First violation no clamps /bushings coming into the panel 2 places.
Next a 40 amp breaker feeding #12 possibly 14 awg wire ...
- 103k
15
votes
What size breaker box/amps do you think I'll need for my new pole barn gymnasium?
Spaces are cheap. Buy a 30-40+ space 200A panel and don't have the regret later on of not having spent small change on the difference between that and the smallest panel for the number of breakers you ...
- 226k
14
votes
If it is not going to actively heated or cooled, is there any value in insulating a garage?
Oh, yes
It's a cornerstone of passive solar design.
We spent $2.4M on a large building we intend to never heat. We insulated it to the nines. Here's what that does.
Extremes of temperature are ...
14
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons on installing a typical garage floodlight kit, inside your garage?
The immediate issue I see is that a floodlight is not great for lighting a room. They cast harsh shadows, create a lot of glare if you look anywhere near their direction, and will leave plenty of ...
- 28.3k
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