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The last post was mostly about finishing details and fixing problems.  Now for some fun stuff and lots of pictures.

U.W. didn’t think this was much fun, but it sure looks good.  Back in November I took advantage of sale pricing and ordered RaceDeck flooring for the garage and shop. However, I had them hold the shipment, so it did not arrive until January 5.  I decided to install it myself with the help of U.W.  But in January there were still too many people coming and going for us to be comfortable installing the garage flooring.  By mid-February we were ready. 

RaceDeck and many videos on YouTube claim it can be installed in a few hours. Usually they are showing a 1 or 2 car garage. In comparison this is the GarageDominium with a 6+ car garage and just under 500 sqft of shop.  We also decided to use RaceDeck for the trends on the attic staircase.  We received 57 boxes containing almost 2700 tiles.

First up was the staircase.  The project manager decided to do the stairs with his crew.  They needed to get them complete before the inspection and almost every tile had to be cut to fit.  While the tiles are easily cut with a table saw, you must be sure to cut the correct edges, or they won’t lock together.  Yes, we made that mistake a time or three.

For the garage floor, we started by making sure we had the pattern right.  My garage floor design uses four colors – Alloy, Graphite, Black, Blue – to form a plaid looking pattern.  The workshop floor is just one color, Beige.  Maybe the Beige will hide some of the saw dust.  The tiles are 12” x 12” but in the box they come with 4 tiles snapped together.  Those 4 tiles can be left together or taken apart as needed to fit the pattern.

We started in one corner and built our way out.  The tiles just snap together.  U.W. laid out the tiles and I used a rubber mallet to snap them together.  It took just over 11 hours to install everything except the cut edges.  Then the hard part.  We had to cut tiles to fit around the perimeter, center support post, and doorway to the shop.  Cutting wasn’t difficult but it took a lot of time to measure each tile and do the cuts.  So, we spent another 12 hours or so doing the edges.  In total it took us 23.5 hours over the span of 3 days to complete the installation.  I think it turned out great.  U.W. never wants to see another plastic tile. I may have to start using a lower-case u for her initials since the “understanding” part of the understanding wife moniker is fading away.

I have a lot of plans for the garage and shop.  Cabinets and workbenches are definitely needed.  I plan to get some new toolboxes for the garage.  There will be a designated place in the garage for boating / fishing equipment.  A four-post lift will be installed in April.  The workshop gets a new table saw, band saw, planer, and a dust collection system.  I also have an air compressor to install.

A feature of the garage is the wood barn doors and wood wrapped support post.  As a custom touch I found some door handles from a 1964 Corvette to use for barn door handles.  You can even depress the door latch button (it doesn’t do anything except push in and spring back, but hey, it feels cool!).

Months ago, Dominion Design and Integration installed security and audio/video wiring.  Now for the fun stuff.  First, they checked the wiring to make sure nothing had been damaged during construction.  Then they installed terminations for all of the equipment connections.  Finally they installed 5 TV’s (Great Room, Master Bedroom, Sewing Room, Patio, Workshop), all of the smoke/CO and heat detectors, security system hardware, wired and wireless networking hardware, Ring doorbell and security cameras, and the Sonos sound system.

The Sonos system is amazing!  In the study they connected a Port to my old Yamaha receiver.  I set up my old surround sound speakers in the study and connected them to the Yamaha.  In the great room we have Sonos and Sonance speakers connected to a Sonos Amp for surround sound.  In the garage they installed 4 more of my old speakers and connected them to another Sonos Amp.  On the patio a Sonos Amp powers Sonance outdoor speakers.  We also have 2 pairs of Sonos One wireless speakers and 2 Sonos Five wireless speakers.  The wireless speakers will be used in the sewing room, dining room, and workshop.

Sonos lets me select different music for each room or play the same music in multiple rooms.  I can use Sonos radio or other popular streaming sources.  I can also use Airplay to play my own collection from my computer or iPhone/iPad.

You probably noticed the lawn tractor in the garage floor pictures.  In early February we had and ice storm.  Trees all over the area suffered.  There were downed trees and limbs everywhere, including our property.  I was already thinking about getting a lawn tractor, and this event made the decision.  We used the new tractor and a cart to haul off the cut-up branches.

Aside from the ice storm damage, Circle R Landscaping has done a tremendous amount of work on our property. The retaining walls are complete.  Where once was a steep slope in front of the garage, they built terraces.  There is a meandering creek bed of river stone that stretches from the front driveway, behind the garage and then under a stone bridge in the back yard.  There are crushed granite paths and a guest parking area.  The retaining walls were built from stone excavated from our property.  They also used some large accent stones from the excavation.  U.W. had them pull some large old cedar stumps to decorate strategic spots in the front.

While discussing the landscape design and how water would flow off of the lot, we decided we needed a swale between the house and the shed.  But I wanted to be able to easily wheel a lawn tractor and carts into the shed.  Circle R said, let’s just build a bridge.  The bridge makes a nice focal point in the back.  Like the other stonework, it is built from stone excavated on site.

There is some TifTuf Bermuda grass in the front and the back and knockout roses along the front porch, but the majority is native grasses and other native plants.  To the existing persimmon, live oak, and mountain cedar, we added a Texas redbud tree.

Here is a complete plant list:

• Texas Redbud
• Knockout Roses
• Vitex
• Red Yucca
• Mexican Sage
• Compact Texas Sage
• Flax Lily
• Jasmine
• Mexican Feather Grass
• Purple Fountain Grass

The builder had professional photos taken for marketing purposes.  Here are a few of those. It may never look this good again with all of our junk in it.