An Old Garage Turned Into A New Office, Studio, Gym, and yet is still a Garage - Part 2

Garage Makeover

Before it became a multi-function space

Yesterday's post, here, has lots of "before" pictures of our old garage.  Before we turned it into a new office, studio, and gym I took a quick video of the area. Here is our before and after video:

This house is 60 years old and did not have any energy-saving measures when we moved in three years ago. When we knew we were going to move our home office out to the garage we started budgeting for all of the things necessary to make it a habitable space, even though it was not to be conditioned. It was important for us to keep in mind that this area would still need to function as a garage for future homeowners!

New Age flooring

Cost

The flooring was a big expense, about $2,000 for materials. Because my husband is very handy, we knew he could install it. However, there was a lot that needed to be done first! The cost of the mudjacking was about $2,500. The scarifier rental, the storage rental, the sheetrock, and lots of other smaller items added up to around $1,000. The door, window, and garage door were about $4,500. My husband installed the back door and window.  We ended up needing to buy a new garage door opener because the garage door installers broke the old one. The insulation was professionally installed. The total for the project was around $11,000. That is a lot of money! Especially since there is no HVAC. Though, this was by choice. We did not want it to be considered "living space" for two reasons - one is resale and the other is that our property taxes would likely go up.

Mini Home Gym

Components

That being said, we also needed the space to function for many different purposes. Therefore, we felt that we needed to make it as air-tight and comfortable as possible. 

Mudroom Area

Now that all of the work is done and we are enjoying the space, it was definitely worth the time, hassle, and money. It also forced us to re-evaluate how much stuff we could part with and what really needed to stay.

Home Office

One of the nicest things is that my husband can be working at his desk and I can be at mine and we are not in each other's way - and we are together. We had that in our previous house and I missed that. 

Tool Area

My husband has made some big sacrifices to fit his tools into this area. We have two Rubbermaid storage sheds on the side of the garage where he has moved the gardening tools and some of his other tools. 

Studio Area

The wood furniture that is pictured above and below was offered for free by someone in our community who was remodeling. They wanted to save it from the landfill. It had been custom made for their house by the previous owners and the new owners did not wish to keep it. My hubby built backs on the base cabinets and we made the pieces work for our garage. It was such a wonderful find for me! It really makes the garage seem less 'garage-like'.

Wonderful Light from the Backyard

My favorite thing in the garage is the window overlooking our shallow backyard. I love to see the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks enjoying their space as I enjoy working in mine.

Thank you for going on this home renovation journey with me! And now I can get back to papercrafting! 

Beverly

An Old Garage Turned Into A New Office, Studio, Gym, and yet is still a Garage - Part 1

Have you ever thought about converting your garage into something other than a parking spot for your car? Or maybe, like my family, you've been using it for storage and want to have a place to do other things. This summer we undertook this project so our home office, my art studio, our gym, and my husband's tools could be better housed in the space.

Old garage door

Our house was built in 1960. There is a two-car garage, which is attached to the kitchen. It had not been insulated or drywalled so it was drafty and had a healthy creepy-crawly habitat within the space. I was skeptical that I would want to have Any of My stuff out there. My husband assured me that it would be nice enough for me to work there. With a heavy dose of skepticism, I agreed that we could give it a go. At the bare minimum, it would help for resale in the future.

We had stuff piled from floor to rafters

In the beginning, I thought the biggest job would be clearing out all of the stuff. We had A Lot of Stuff! To house it while we worked on the garage, I rented a large storage unit to sit in the driveway. We rented it for three months. Unfortunately, that is how long this renovation took. 

The old door had huge gaps around the frame

The back door of the garage opens to the patio on the backside of our house. I wanted to have that be the new entryway for the family to use as a mudroom-like area. We bought a new door from Home Depot and my husband installed it. This was after he took out all of the rotting wood around the frame and fixed it. And he had to build a base for the threshold and pour leveling compound to get it to fit properly. The old threshold was built on wood. Lots of critters had used it as their main point of entry because the wood was essentially decomposed wood and splinters.

This is the Southeast corner of the garage

My husband works full-time so the work was done on his days off. He did not take any vacation time to complete this project. In retrospect, completing this over three months of weekends is pretty impressive! He did most of the work himself. For example, he ran the wiring for outlets and lighting. He fixes machines for a living and has electrical experience because of that and also from previous home renovations.

Part of this wall was inset and was brick on the other side

Every area had some type of conundrum that presented itself. The wall above had to be built so the drywall could be attached. Hubby put the sheet of insulation in and then built a wall in front of it. Then more insulation was added in between the studs.

Our refrigerator and storage unit in the driveway

The neighbors are probably as happy as we are that the project is finally done so that they don't have to see the driveway storage unit any longer. Most of them didn't know there was a refrigerator behind the unit, too!

Drywall had to be installed on the ceiling rafters

There were a few things for which we hired outside contractors. Originally, we hired a company to do the sheetrock. They were to install the ceiling sheetrock and then the insulation people would come the next day to do the blown-in insulation for the attic and put the batts in the walls. The drywall company would come the following day and finish hanging the drywall and start taping and mudding. They would finish their job by adding texture and sanding all of the surfaces. That did not go to plan. When the insulation company was here to do their part one of the pieces of sheetrock fell off the ceiling. The job stopped because none of the drywall had been properly installed. My husband ended up hanging all of the sheetrock because the insulation company had a tight schedule and had to come back when they could squeeze us in. I am so thankful no one was hurt.

The previous owner had taken out the window

There had been a window on the southside of the garage. We bought a window at Home Depot and my husband learned how to install it. He also learned how to uninstall, cut, and reinstall siding. The picture below shows the exterior with the work in progress.

This wall had a mystery cut in the insulation

The garage had a problem with water coming in and puddling. We hired a company to mud-jack the floor because half of the garage was much lower than the other half. The mud-jacking was done with a foam product that was pumped into the ground under the garage floor. It helped quite a bit but didn't even the floor as much as necessary. We rented a scarifier which is a big grinder and my husband ground down the high parts. Then he filled in the cracks.

Concrete crack filler

The floor prepped and the walls have been painted so the next step is flooring. As this still needs to be a garage, I opted for a very durable tile that is manufactured for garages. It looks like tile but is a vinyl product. The installation was pretty easy once the prep work was done!

 

This post is quite long. I will post the "After" pictures tomorrow. Here is the link to that post. 

Thanks for visiting today.

Beverly

Wellness Journal Part B: Occupational and Intellectual Wellness as Related to Crafting (a Better Life)

My workspace

On Friday's post, here, there was a link to the University of California's Riverside campus. They have outlined seven dimensions of wellness. Today, this post is specifically about including Occupational and Intellectual Wellness as related to crafting. And, for me, that makes for a Better Life.

Wellness Journal Part B

It makes sense to include things that make me happy in a wellness journal. Mainly because I am more likely to slog through unpleasant things (exercise!) if I get to reward myself with things that bring me joy (paper crafting and quilting!) 

Gardening is another area where one can meet their Occupational Wellness goals

Occupational Wellness

To read about this more fully, please visit the UCR website here.  They explain about work/home balance and the importance of working at something that you enjoy. I was an elementary school teacher for a decade.  I Loved teaching! I Loved my students and for most of that time, I Loved going to work every day. It was great until I decided to become a Principal. After completing the coursework necessary to apply for state certification, I found that I needed to change careers because I dreaded going to work each day. I still loved the students and teaching, just not the stuff that goes along with middle-level management. Why am I writing all of this? Because sometimes we forget that we can change our direction and head down a new path. So that is my call out to those who are worried about being labeled 'quitters'. You are free to make the choice to be a 'starter', instead.

Hubby's computer is surrounded by my craft stuff

Peonies from my yard

Intellectual Wellness

The link for more information on Intellectual Wellness is here. The main takeaway for me is this sentence:

As you develop your intellectual curiosity, you'll actively strive to expand and challenge your mind with creative endeavors.

Isn't that great? Someone, No, A University, told us that we should be pursuing creative endeavors!  I love that!  Now only if they could fund it. Or convince my hubby that it should be a line item in our budget. 😉

So back to how this fits into a Wellness Journal...
If you are gathering your thoughts and materials to make your own journal, you may want to give some space in your journal for including things that contribute to these two dimensions of wellness. You have likely thought of the Physical, Spiritual, and Emotional wellness aspects but maybe not the Occupational and Intellectual. Maybe figure out a way to include your craft time in your journal.  It has value if it is important to you.


My Wellness Journal will be posted later this week. I wanted to give people enough time to get their heads around the ideas and have time for shopping their stash.

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love to hear what you think about wellness and or journaling. Please comment below or send me an email at Stampinbev@msn.com.

Making a Wellness Journal From My Stash and the Appeal of Timeboxing

One of the challenges I have with paper-crafting is using up leftover materials from previous projects. Throwing large scraps away does not seem like a good idea to me. In all honesty, there are some things in my stash that have been long forgotten or have never even been opened. As I was thinking about making a new Wellness Journal, I realized that I needed to keep in mind my "mindful spending" goal.  With that as part of the plan, I used papers, washi, and a notebook that I already had on hand. I did buy some new stamps because I didn't have anything that would work well in my stash. If you want, grab a discarded notebook or extra sketch pad or an old book to alter and join me in making a wellness journal from your stash. Below, I'll talk about the appeal of timeboxing.

Goal Setting

Some people like to set goals and have trackers in their journals. Others like to use it as a kind of 'check-in' to see how they are feeling. This can be a good way to see how their sleep, eating, and energy levels are affected.  It can also be used for very specific fitness and food tracking. This can include lists and charts or narratives explaining what they did. The data can be recorded for the day or by each workout or meal. Mine is always a work in progress and is very different from one I made a few years ago.  My life is different now. So are my needs. That is also why making a custom journal fits me better than purchasing a generic one. Plus, it will be easy to alter it if it needs tweaking.

When life isn't all rainbows and unicorns, find your happy place

Seven Dimensions of Wellness

The University of California at Riverside explains the seven dimensions of wellness on their website. This may help you think of specific areas that are important for you to include in your journal. The outlined dimensions are here. Your journal is a personal document for you.  Craft it in a way that makes sense and adds value to your life.

Gathering Thoughts and Supplies

Looking around the house, I found a few notebooks that were purchased at Target a long time ago. I chose one that was big enough for me to write everything in, yet manageable enough in size that I can take it with me in a large purse.

The next step was figuring out what I wanted to include. Also, keeping in mind what type of format made the most sense for the type of information that was being recorded. This is where Timeboxing comes into it.

What is Timeboxing?

I didn't know that this time-management tool had a name until very recently. It is a technique that I have used for years to help me get through tasks that I did not look forward to doing. For example, exercising. Or calling the cellphone company's customer service department about an inaccurate bill. It can be used for all to-do list items. Last year, I started using it for a freelance marketing job. It helped me organize the tasks that I had to do and gave them each a place on my calendar.  By scheduling tasks and marking out the time that I would allow for each activity, it made me be more efficient with my time. It is unlikely that I will get rid of my to-do lists because I really like them! However, it is another way for me to make sure I am able to address all of the things that need to get done in a day, week, month and even over the course of a year.

Here is an example of my Timeboxing schedule this week:

Example of Timeboxing - Working from home

You may be wondering why I need a Wellness Journal if I already have a planner.  The planner is great and helps me to have a general overview of what is scheduled for me and the people for whom I am responsible, or to whom I am responsible.  It doesn't address my specific personal situation. Over the past couple of years, I have not been taking very good care of myself. It is time for me to have a way to record the things that I know I need to track. For example, my water intake used to be 10 glasses of water a day. Now, it is closer to four. I used to exercise regularly. Currently, nada.

As I set up my Wellness Journal, I decided not to include timeboxing. Organizing and customizing it to my needs makes this a more useful resource.  It seemed like a good idea to consider it, though.  Sometime in the next week, I will post the journal and how it is geared towards my current life. I hope that you find it useful as you travel your own journey towards well-being.

My Happy Place

Every week, I choose different, colorful, markers to record information in my planner. Some weeks it is artsier than the planner spread pictured above. But, this is the authentic me. 

These are the markers I used this week in my planner:  

Kelly Creates - Small Brush Pens - Multi Color
Scrapbook.com