Shopping and Building on a budget

Howdy Y’all! Welcome back! Before the rest of the story, I need to share these two things. 1st.) I received some questions, asking, “what are those grey foam squares on top of your truck?” Funny y’all asking. 🤠 I always begin my projects with a tight budget. I study what is FREE and available to me within reason. My son purchases “Organic, Range Free Eggs” from a company. I noticed the packing, to protect the eggs during shipping. “I can use those.” So I asked. “Can I have those?” “Can you save me more?” He laughed and said, “sure Dad”. LOL! It came in very handy as an insulation and keeps birds, bugs and more, out of my shop. 🤠 

2nd.) “Yes, I’ve been thinking.” … “A dangerous pastime, I know.” LOL! 🤠 When the kids come over, I call them kids, they’re all grown up, finished their Education, making a living, but still gather here. I can’t complain, Maria Elena loves them here and loves cooking and visiting with them. Me? I try to get some free labor out of them as much as I can. LOL! 🤠 Any way…. They want a room for “Gaming”. So I’m thinking of turning the Dining Room into a Game room. Oh my, I’m thinking too much. I need more just sits time. I need to continue the Shop. Pictured below are my baby steps after the Electrical was complete. The “Kraken” (spray insulation) arrived via Amazon get Kraken spray here.   Please make sure to follow all instructions. The first can of spray can get away from you. Definitely wear all safety equipment.

This line I’m trying to follow is about 8 feet off the floor like I explained earlier. It's not the prettiest, but it will do the trick. 🤠

I mentioned earlier in my story. The Office area ( all 4 walls would be insulated ). Here you can see my plan for the A/C window unit. I will build a wooden square out of existing 2”x6” boards that I have. Cutting the metal, I’ll use my older Ryobi 5.5 amp. 4 ½ inch Angle Grinder. Check out the Home Depot site for other Brands and good deals.  . I bought mine at Home Depot a while back. I remember it being quite inexpensive. It is small and easy to use. 

The A/C window unit itself is an older GE Model that I purchased at Lowes.   find Lowes a/c window units here   a few years back. Of course Home Depot also carries window units  Home Depot A/C window units  It was an emergency purchase and Lowes had the unit I needed on sale. 🤠 The A/C went out in the main house one summer and I needed a quick fix until the A/C Professionals arrived. A story I’d rather not tell. 😅

I finished spraying the entire area that I had planned for. Before I finished spraying the Kraken Insulation, I had to finish the two other walls with existing plywood. See my pictures below. I only had to purchase one sheet of plywood to complete the job. I am totally a keeper and had all the plywood I needed except that one sheet. That one sheet, I purchased with my ONE big purchase at Home Depot check out Home Depot here and utilized that 24 months of no interest. 🤠 Again, read the fine print. This is a great offer only if you make timely payments and pay off the balance on time.

All that plywood I had, really came in handy. 🤠I was lucky that all the sheets of plywood were ½ inch except one piece that was a ¾ inch. I’m not sure where that piece came from, but I used it. It serves as a strong kick plate on the door entrance side. You can see it, kind of even with my hat below. That lovely Resistol Hat, I got for a heck of a deal, on Amazon check Amazon deals here I know my perfect size is 7 1/4 and it is a 10xxxxxxxxxx quality hat.🤠  

My two step ladder, my yellow level and the blue painters tape were all older purchases at Home Depot.  See Home Depot here. Search for your needs. I used that last sheet of plywood to finish off the top deck. For the ceiling insulation, I had plenty of those grey foam squares. I just stapled them to the bottom of the decking before installing the ceiling sheetrock / drywall. Ten sheets from Home Depot  “big purchase”.

There is a trick to installing the ceiling by yourself, but I chose to get my son to help me. LOL! 🤠One full sheet and the second one had to be stripped as a three feet wide and notched out for the metal brace of the shop. I had an old half box of drywall nails, but my son suggested screws. Screws offer a more secure and reliable hold, especially over time. A little bit more expensive, but both can be purchased at any of my Retailers or even Amazon🤠 Over all, I used a little less than nine full sheets of drywall. If you look closely at my pictures, the A/C wall, I decided to utilize all the extra trimmed off pieces. No waste! $

I’m gonna plaster and paint anyway. LOL! The tenth sheet I could return for a refund, but again, my son suggested that I keep it. “You never know when you might need a sheet of drywall, ” he said.  

More pictures below show my cuts of sheetrock. Be careful. Use proper attire and always use a face mask when installing sheetrock. It can be hazardous to your lungs. Safety First! 

One of the pictures shows the metal brace of the shop that I had to work around with. No worries, I’m sure I’ll hang something off of that brace. 🤠LOL!!! The A/C unit also came out pretty good. With the help of my son, it fit perfectly. We also made sure it is leaning down toward the outside. This gives the unit draining capability. The unit has a metal bracket/brace across the front top. Up against the wood frame, I placed two strong screws into the header board. That thing is going “NOwhere”. On the outside, I used a little bit of window sealer to make sure rain water could not enter. I also sealed the inside. We plugged it in and “VIOLA!” Cold air! LOL! 🤠 WAIT! I have to install the door! Also, there is more.  

Here is my Resistol Hat. Also, y’all can get a good view of that ¾” plywood. I used it like a kick plate on that one side. No waste on my watch. 🤠

Yes, I also forgot to mention. Before I finished this wall, I decided to install a water source. Nothing fancy, just a hook up ( of a water hose from the main house )  to bring fresh water inside the shop. I plan on a sink or small tub for hand washing and even a manmade urinal for “Beer drinking time”. LOL! Greywater only.” NO Blackwater in this shop”. No contaminates,  “greywater” ONLY, making it potentially reusable for certain purposes like irrigation. 🤠 Now the door.

I will seal around the door frame and then I will be ready to plaster and paint. To the right, you can also see my hand washing canister. I also installed that blue handle water valve. This water valve and extension pipe was purchased at Home Depot , but you can find them at any of my other retailers, Lowes and or Amazon . 

 Well, I think I’ve done enough damage for one day. 🤠 

Join me next time for the rest of the story. Don’t forget to click on my LINKS to save time and money. Tap the LIKE button👍, send feedback, ask questions and definitely SUBSCRIBE by placing your email on the home page for a notice of NEW Chapters at the DURON RANCH. Until next time, stay safe, make good choices and we'll see y’all soon! 🤠