85
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 ...
- 2,098
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 ...
- 20.7k
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 "...
- 31.3k
29
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 ...
24
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 ...
- 2,909
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 ...
- 346
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....
- 1,294
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
Cutting a window to see your garage from within the house
You'd do this like you would add any other new window. Find the studs, choose a location, cut square holes in the drywall on both sides, cut sections out of the intervening studs to make room for the ...
- 12.2k
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 ...
- 401
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
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 ...
- 46.3k
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 ...
- 100k
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 ...
- 140k
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 ...
- 26.8k
13
votes
Can I install a switch on my overhead door opener's circuit for added security?
Yes, a switch that shuts off power to the garage door opener would make it unresponsive to commands from a remote (or anything else, such as a hardwired button). In some models, it may be possible to ...
- 8,027
13
votes
Should I resurface my concrete before laying epoxy on a garage floor?
With the epoxies I have used minor imperfections like small divots from a heavy object chipping the floor are usually filled in. The epoxy can make a very slick surface. For instance, I coated one bay ...
- 100k
13
votes
Can I cut the small tab off of these rafters to make drywalling easier
It isn't a big pain. You plasterboard up the walls to the bottom of the bits you want to cut off (Don't). You plasterboard the ceiling till you reach the same bits. You put strips along that slanting ...
- 3,835
12
votes
What can I do about my new driveway that is higher than the garage floor?
Looks badly done - grass should have been removed before paving, grade fixed if needed so water won't run from driveway into garage.
For a crude fix, place a slot drain right up against the garage to ...
- 140k
12
votes
Accepted
How to repair garage interior back wall damage hit lightly by my car
It is almost certainly drywall (also called wallboard or plasterboard), which usually consists of a gypsum based core with paper faces on each side.
The damage looks only cosmetic. You could cut out ...
- 33.2k
10
votes
Clean and lubricate garage door rails
(mild) Soap and water, sure.
Don't use WD-40. It isn't a lubricant. Instead, look for white lithium grease. You can get it in a spray can with one of those small straw like things to put it exactly ...
- 538
10
votes
If it is not going to actively heated or cooled, is there any value in insulating a garage?
A few things come into play. One is heat transfer from your home (or to it, in your case). If you keep your garage more comfortable, you improve the efficiency of the home's HVAC system. In my case, ...
- 108k
10
votes
What are the pros and cons on installing a typical garage floodlight kit, inside your garage?
Due to medical conditions I need lots of light and I don't due well with harsh direct lighting or shadows.
For lots of light, I have often installed alternate 'outdoor' lighting inside. I even have a ...
- 5,611
10
votes
What size breaker box/amps do you think I'll need for my new pole barn gymnasium?
A bunch of little, but possibly important, things:
Panel Size - You will need a big panel. Don't count on 1/2-size breakers - plan on completing this entire project with full-size breakers and ...
9
votes
Accepted
Why is this transformer in my garage?
Since the transformer says "Gaslight Conversions", that's a pretty strong clue that it's part of a lighting system from Gaslight Conversions, located in St Paul MN, which also matches what's written ...
- 4,724
9
votes
Accepted
How can I properly secure these tarps?
Wrap the edges of the tarp around a 1x2 and then screw through the 1x2 and into the garage frame. The more times you can wrap, the better.
EDIT - just saw the last photo. You could screw a 1x2 ...
- 636
9
votes
Accepted
9
votes
White marks on garage ceiling
This is what an unpainted surface looks like. Those white marks are joint/drywall compound and under them are screws holding the drywall to the joists. The long white lines are the same thing except ...
- 290
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible