Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Still in Lockdown So I Bought a Sink (Garage Series)

So as I slowly embark on creating the perfect GT-R space in my garage, given that one of the most important task is to keep my cars as clean as possible, when I rebuilt the house I insisted on a hot/cold tap in the garage, with drainage, where I could place a sink.



Of course things didn't go exactly as planned, so the first order of business was to have a plumber come over and fix a few things.

First, it turned out that most commercial sinks on the market were taller than what the housemaker thought. So first we had to raise the faucet.
so you can see the extensions put in to raise the faucet height.
And you can see one other thing I had done, which is to have the new faucet design one of those with a quick disconnect coupler.
you can see the original one didn't have the coupler
Once reassured that a proper sink would fit, I ordered a nice industrial one I found and waited... and about 2 weeks later...

Oooh very nice. Made in Japan. Going to hate to get this dirty.

Fits perfectly!
Proper drainage tubing
Going directly into the drainage hole in the garage. No more splash!
And why yes Mr. Watson, that IS a Roomba you see there.  And that is because, given how clean and white the garage floor is now, I quickly learned that it was too much labor for me to keep it clean.
The m6 Braava jet from Roomba
And I have to say it performs pretty well. Not perfect, but it does both dry and wet cleaning, so the floor keeps pretty clean! Can't quite get the corners but it's low enough to go under both cars and clean underneath both as well.

And yes, I've added stickers. Here is Roomba getting red with anger when I'm about to put on the Speedhunters sticker.
Anyway, now that I have a proper sink, the next step will finally be to look for and buy some proper garage cabinets. Meanwhile, I've been planning some stuff for the GT-R, so I hope the next post will be about that! Stay tuned and stay safe!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is some next level dedication to keeping the garage clean, I just settle for sweeping the leaves and dirt out every so often and using a broom + a bucket of soapy water and rinse water whenever I'm dealing with a big mess like brake dust + rust all over the floor from brake jobs or the residue from coolant spills or similar fluid changes. The instant I drive the car back into the garage I can see it tracking in some dirt anyways so I've made my peace with that. The house is 15 years old so the epoxy coat is already stained in many places from general neglect despite my attempts to clean it up with detergent and a brush.

BTW - in the work group chat recently the subject of the QuickJack came up due to a Costco deal on them (999 USD), one person that uses them mentioned that the construction seems a little flimsy and to use jack stands to make sure it can't drop if it fails for any reason. They also had the following to say:

"As for complaints; the quick disconnects on my unit leak, the old-style cylinder breathers (non-pressurized) eventually start weeping the fluid that’s slipped past the seals in the master cylinder. It doesn’t like uneven floors at all, and it can be difficult to get both sides unlocked at the top if the floor’s not flat (probably better with the new latches)"

"Honestly, it’s better than all the alternatives. Even with all the annoyances and belt-and-suspenders safety precautions, I still use it a ton and I’d have to do a lot of work to come up with a viable alternative."

I'm looking forward to your updates as always and hope you and your family manage to make it through these times unscathed.

Aki said...

Thanks man! Especially the QuickJack information - I wonder if I bought one locally here in Japan, with customer service being so good here, they would help me deal with such problems? Will look into it... as well as alternatives.

Yeah, driving the cars in always leaves some dirt. For that reason I laid out some industrial door mats at the front edge of the garage, on the theory that when driving back in 1) the rough surface on the outside driveway scrubs off a lot of dirt and then 2) the plastic car removes the remainder. Unfortunately if it's wet out yeah the floor gets dirty. And that's why the Roomba is nice, otherwise I'd have to break out the mop and do it myself.

In my old garage, I did exactly what you did. But in this new space, I like to walk around barefoot as I wax/polish my cars, so keeping it clean both looks good and prevents my feet from getting dirty. Plus, the white gloss... maybe not recommended unless you are prepared to get a robot vacuum/mop like me...

And likewise, hope all is safe and well with you. Thanks for the comment!