Small Construction Project

Back on June 10-11, I finally got started on a project I’d wanted to tackle for quite awhile. My new townhouse complex has two five-car garages that are shared by the ten houses. Each garage locks, but we’ve had very frequent break-ins and have quickly learned that anything not locked/bolted down is likely to disappear, sooner rather than later. After losing a bicycle that was only there for 36 hours, as well as a bike pump and a bike rack in separate incidents, I’d been eager to come up with a more secure way to store my stuff.

I’d talked with my dad and with some friends about possibly building a storage locker or closet downstairs. Other residents had installed cabinets above or in front of their car… but I wanted something big enough to accommodate bikes, and I had some space next to my parking stall. So… dad and I designed a little storage closet, and once we had the design I figured we might as well shop for materials… and once we had materials I figured we might as well start cutting… and once we were cutting, I figured we might as well assemble… and once we had assembled a wall, I figured we might as well install it… so before we knew it, the structure was complete! On the second day we modified and installed a locking door, and the project was complete from design-to-done in maybe 36 hours! Whoop whoop! As mentioned earlier, this project gave me the confidence and inspiration to finally get started on the mutant trike.

Photos:

Home Depot will do up to two custom cuts per piece of wood:

 

Station wagons are good for hauling stuff, like wood:

Dad’s design had us frame out two walls and then hang plywood on said walls:

Halfway there? the first wall set into place, but not secured. yet.

Construction adhesive to bond our wall to the concrete garage

After we did the adhesive,the house’s builder stopped by with a hammer drill, so we also nailed the walls to the garage walls. Win. This structure is super-strong now. You could climb on it and it won’t move.

The finished product, next to my car. Check out that closet door! How pro is that??