20 years of grime

[f6john]

I’ve been busy this week trying to make my basement garage/shop area more conducive to use and improve the flow of things. The more things I move the more grime I uncover.

This wall is one of few that is drywall with most walls being poured concrete. I bought storage racks to hold a lot of my construction tools and this wall has a offset so that it doesn’t impede vehicle parking.


As you can see that wall had never been painted and so I found a new home for the racks and after priming and 2 coats of white paint it looks a little better.


Across the end wall is a 12’6” steel homemade workbench that was left by the previous owner. He was a farmer and the treated this area as if it was in a shed in one of his barns. I’ve cleaned it once using various solvents and scrapers and it’s still dirty and unsightly.


I decided I needed that space to create more room for hopefully parking two vehicles end to end. So I decided to move the bench to the offset space that the storage racks used to be. Moving it turned out to be more of a job than I anticipated. The table is 1/8” steel along with everything else. The floor jack and casters worked but it was a slow go.


The workbench had never been moved and the walls behind it suffered the consequences.


The wall opposite the the new workbench location is not much better. I’m trying to decide what to use to clean them before painting. The walls have a white waterproofing coating on them now so all I’m concerned about is getting any oil based grime off so I don’t have adhesion issues.



I did go ahead and mount the hangers for my Quickjack. I’ll have to take them back down when I paint but I wanted to get the concrete drilling out of the way.



I mounted them on opposite walls because they have to be slid in on each side of the vehicle and they are heavy



To make it more Valkyrie related, you can see the bike in its current resting place.

[Jess from VA]

John, I don't care how dirty stuff is, I'd kill to have that kind of work and storage space.

But nice work.  

Though I admit that when I bought my current little house (with no garage), I scrubbed down my little unfinished basement utility room, and painted all the exposed block with UGL Drylocker (waterproofing paint), put a few sheets of cheap white paneling in places not covered with exposed wiring or plumbing, added as much shelving and storage as I could, painted the floor (mistake) and later threw down carpet remnants in a near wall to wall manner, and put in good lights.  And added more wall outlets around work areas (there's never enough where you need them).

And in 28 years, only 6 mice got in a small hole in the block chinking right at floor level, behind the refrigerator.  

My question is this:  Is there a french drain under the foundation and do you have one or more sump pump holes with good pumps and is all that in good repair?  In my area (and house), that is an important issue.  Basement flooding is a real son of a bitch.

[f6john]

No sump pumps. I’m assuming there are foundation drains all around the perimeter but I’m not absolutely sure. The way my property lays it drains really good.

Water doesn’t stand a chance in my backyard with the slope and storm drains just below my driveway.


I have too much house but garage and workspace was, I thought, a must have. At my age, not as much work will probably take place and a lot of what I’m doing will just be for the next owners.

[Bret SD]

f6John

Man I would love to have that much space to store tools, work on vehicles.. I'd set up a nice gym in there too!

My honey says I'm a cave man, cuz I practically live in the garage Haha

[f6john]

I had what could be called a one sided agreement with the wife. When we bought this place I said the upstairs is yours, upgraded to meet your wants(within reason) and the basement was mine. I’m beginning to see cracks in my plan as she now sees a need for a storage pantry in the basement! If that’s all I have to give up I’ll consider myself lucky but I’m going to have to make it sound like I’m giving away the farm.

[Gryphon Rider]

I'd far rather turn a spare bedroom closet into a pantry than give up garage space!

For cleaning the greasy wall, the first thing I would consider is a TSP solution.  I'm not an expert, but found this article might be a good starting point:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cleaning-with-tsp-trisodium-phosphate/

[f6john]

The pantry in question would come out of the “living area” of the basement not the garage space. She knows that would be a deal breaker.

I just so happen to have some tsp on hand, I’ll give it a try.

[Deerslayer]

I'd far rather turn a spare bedroom closet into a pantry than give up garage space!

For cleaning the greasy wall, the first thing I would consider is a TSP solution.  I'm not an expert, but found this article might be a good starting point:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cleaning-with-tsp-trisodium-phosphate/

agreed..
TSP, followed by white pigmented shellac primer.
lot's of fresh air while in use

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zinsser-1-gal-B-I-N-Shellac-Based-White-Interior-Primer-and-Sealer-00901/100398381

..Slayer

[f6john]

I'd far rather turn a spare bedroom closet into a pantry than give up garage space!

For cleaning the greasy wall, the first thing I would consider is a TSP solution.  I'm not an expert, but found this article might be a good starting point:
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cleaning-with-tsp-trisodium-phosphate/

agreed..
TSP, followed by white pigmented shellac primer.
lot's of fresh air while in use

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zinsser-1-gal-B-I-N-Shellac-Based-White-Interior-Primer-and-Sealer-00901/100398381

..Slayer

Great minds must think alike! I used the shellac based primer sealer on the walls I just painted and it did a great job, although they weren’t as grimy as the remaining walls that need cleaning and painting. I will have to get some more though, I used about 1/2 gallon from a can I had for years. I never throw anything out! I was glad to see the empty can go in the trash though.

[Bret SD]

I had what could be called a one sided agreement with the wife. When we bought this place I said the upstairs is yours, upgraded to meet your wants(within reason) and the basement was mine. I’m beginning to see cracks in my plan as she now sees a need for a storage pantry in the basement! If that’s all I have to give up I’ll consider myself lucky but I’m going to have to make it sound like I’m giving away the farm.

Ha! That's exactly the deal I just made.. we moved into a townhome together for the first time after 10 yrs.. she had all her stuff, and I had mine.. I told her I don't care what she does in the house, keep furniture you want, decorate as you see fit.. whatever stuff of mine she didn't want I'd get rid of etc..

The deal was the garage is my domain! And it is.. except for where it isn't Haha, she still has some storage in there 

[Jess from VA]

Water doesn’t stand a chance in my backyard with the slope and storm drains just below my driveway.

Yes, it looks like you're on a pretty big hill, so groundwater level probably never gets to 18" like at my house (region). 

[f6john]

Water doesn’t stand a chance in my backyard with the slope and storm drains just below my driveway.

Yes, it looks like you're on a pretty big hill, so groundwater level probably never gets to 18" like at my house (region). 

Yep, I live on some pretty high ground. It’s hills and hollors around here. It’s only about 5 miles to the Kentucky River so just about everything drains that direction. I imagine I’m close to 500 feet in elevation from the river too.

[f6john]

I had what could be called a one sided agreement with the wife. When we bought this place I said the upstairs is yours, upgraded to meet your wants(within reason) and the basement was mine. I’m beginning to see cracks in my plan as she now sees a need for a storage pantry in the basement! If that’s all I have to give up I’ll consider myself lucky but I’m going to have to make it sound like I’m giving away the farm.

Ha! That's exactly the deal I just made.. we moved into a townhome together for the first time after 10 yrs.. she had all her stuff, and I had mine.. I told her I don't care what she does in the house, keep furniture you want, decorate as you see fit.. whatever stuff of mine she didn't want I'd get rid of etc..

The deal was the garage is my domain! And it is.. except for where it isn't Haha, she still has some storage in there 

Has to be a little give and take, in my circumstances, my wife does all the cooking, except for the grilling, and I enjoy my food! My son seems to have most everything his way. Everything in his garage is his, his wife has to park in the driveway. But he has to fend for hisself for most all his meals as they have crazy work habits and eating habits for that matter. Works for him but not for me.