Unfortunately we had an emergency which necessitated immediate repair. I might as well document it.
One day, our air conditioner stopped working. We had the repairman come over just as I got home from work. First, he replaced the capacitor, next her fixed a wire that came off of the motor. The condenser finally started working but had no coolant. Next, he charged the system. Refrigerant blew out everywhere. There were leaks in the coils. That's it. The whole system had to be replaced. I wasn't expecting this for another 2-3 years but had to get it done. So, we did.
Here is the new 4 ton condenser unit which replaced the old one that broke.
Here is the new blower. Getting the higher rated, energy efficient blower was less expensive than the lower rated blowers after rebates. We did have to buy a new condensate pump separate because our old one was not up to the new building codes. I'm happier with this new pump anyway. It will be much easier to detect clogs and clean.
We have a full one year warranty and a 10 year warranty on all parts.
While I didn't expect to replace the a/c system this year, after seeing the old blower, I understand why the system failed earlier than expected. The condenser may have been new when we bought the house, but I believe the blower was original construction, or at least 20 years old. It was so old some people mistook it as part of the house and the workers who installed the new system couldn't even determine the manufacturer. This likely made the condenser work harder over the years and ultimately fail before it's intended lifespan.
Replacing the blower lead to the next project.
We had stored a work bench, tools, and an organizer in front of the blower. All of that had to get moved for the workers to replace the system. The plan for over a year was to move all of that stuff across the garage anyway, so the failure of the a/c system set this plan in motion once and for all.
The next day we moved the outdoor freezer closer to the kitchen door, next to the blower. It is now more practical for retrieving food from the freezer. This will be the new work station.
The plan is to build a faux wall in order to hang tools, shelves, hooks, etc. We cannot hang what we want because the garage wall is concrete block. The plan is to build a frame and hang plywood on the frame which will support the hooks, shelves, etc.
I started by bolting an 8' long 2x4 to the concrete floor as a base. Knowing the garage floor gets wet sometimes, this was a pressure treated 2x4.
The rest of the 2x4s were standard lumber. I then attached an 8' long 2x4 to the ceiling, bolting the board into the rafters.
Next, I built the skeleton frame. These are not load bearing so when I accidentally miscut a board, I was still able to salvage it (see if you can spot the mistake). I also had to cut notches out of the board for the electrical lines to the socket.
Another view.
This was the trickiest part but not too hard. I had to measure where the electrical socket would be and cut out a hole so we could use it after the plywood went up.
After measuring and cutting out a starter hole, I used the jigsaw to cut out the access for the electrical socket.
Hanging this by myself was tricky. To hang this heavy board in just the right spot, I set the sheet of plywood on boards at just the right height. Because the plywood bowed, I had to use different types of screws besides just the cheap ones. At least the hole lined up.
Looks good from this angle too.
The next board went up faster. Not only was it easier, I got some help too. The boards lined up almost perfectly. If you are wondering why there is a gap at the bottom, that is intentional. No, I did not cut the plywood, these are standard 8x4 sheets and have not been cut. The gap at the bottom is for cleaning purposes or to retrieve anything dropped in the hole, like screws and such.
The next day, I was the one babysitting while the new faux wall was painted with primer. This was a cheap way to make the area look less garage-y.
The final plan is to remove the pegboard from the workbench and then move the workbench in front of the wall with the new organizers installed.
