Our next big project is our garage renovation! We are tearing it down to studs and starting over. We have to replace a beam above the garage so this project has an extra tough component.

So this is how it started. Packed with crap and very little storage or room for Dale’s tools. 

So we set about tearing it apart. 

We sectioned off the back with tarps and moved a lot of stuff into the driveway and then started tearing into the drywall. 

Dale picked up a Bagster from Home Depot, assuming it would hold everything. It didn’t! We ended up needing two of them. Incidentally, the Bagster service worked like a charm for us despite the mixed reviews we’d seen for it around the internet. 

Dale had to tear out some wood. The pipe you see running along the top created a problem. The 2x4s were doubled up every four feet. Dale wanted to ensure that when the drywall went back up, the 2x4s were doubled up everywhere so we’d be able to put nails in anywhere.

You can see here where Dale has started doubling up the 2x4s, Surprisingly, this wasn’t a time-consuming process. We tore out one day and the next day we put all the new wood in place in an assembly line process. I got to use a mitre saw, band saw and a drill press to make this happen. I was in charge of the drill press to pre-drill holes. It made the whole process move a little faster, according to Dale. 

All was going swimmingly until we discovered that some of the wood at the back of the house had rotted! And it really needed to be replaced! So we had to buy a special jack (the black pipe you see in the photo) to ensure the house was secure while replacing these boards. 

You can see here where Dale took the boards out!
Check out the rotted boards! Ugh. Dale used a sawzall to get them out. He replaced them with new boards.

The next phase is fixing the beam and putting in insulation. Dale is gunning for spray foam insulation so that will be a big project all on its own. Then we’ll put up new drywall and much-need storage elements.