The garage was abandoned for many years before I got here. It is a solid building: the framing is all oak, constructed in the 1940's. However, it had a dirt floor and no way to enclose the front. I opted to joist the floor up, instead of pouring concrete...it would have been near to impossible to get a concrete truck in that area.

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A combination of "Great Stuff" expanding foam (also called "Architect's Foam") and concrete padding supports the joists, specifically where I knew weight was going to be distributed. The joists are 14" on-center instead of 16". 3/4" plywood was glued-and-screwed to the joists, with foam insulation strips placed between joists (an ultimate recycling project: the insulation strips were cut-offs from some previous project).

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The walls were firred out with 2x4's, insulated and paneled with 1/2" plywood ("shear paneling"), glued with construction adhesive and screwed with drywall screws (2").

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5 huge 2x8 solid oak rafter beams were originally installed very low, so I removed them and took the rafters up to the wall tops, more than doubling the rafter count, with two 2x8's in the center, where window openings existed, and new windows would go.

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