12x4 Plywood garage build thread

[mscamp02]

So I have decided to go ahead with the build. I purchased my first wave of materials to get started and so far have only completed the base. I decided to stray from the original concept to save room on the height to keep some of the wall storage and to simplify the process. The reason why I went with concrete block on the bottom is because I wanted to make sure the wood was elevated away from the concrete floor because during heavy rain I sometime get a bit of water coming in from the garage door.


A quick disclaimer before I get into the pics, the garage has been used for my other hobbies over the years and has several stains from painting vehicles and is still highly crowded with tools. I had intentions of moving the car out of the middle before getting started but it was completely dead so I just covered her back up and went to work. I should still have room to do what is needed.


Here are a couple shots of the general tank plans (I may stray a bit from it as we go and interior/exterior will all be skinned and filled with insulation.






Then I used R13 to insulate the bottom held up by wire and nails (really not sure if this is the best way to do it but it worked with what I had laying around the garage.




And this is where I left it, there are two layers of plywood with the seem on opposite sides, hopefully this will help prevent issues in the future. The seems also rest on top of a 2x8 which is sitting directly on the concrete blocks, should be zero flex.

 

[Kentrob11]

Great Start!

 

[blindkiller85]

insulation won't work like that. If you get water in underneath the insulation with a warm fish tank on top that's a perfect breeding ground for mold. Warm dark and wet. Put a vapor barrier for the insulation, preferably both sides. Even if water never makes its way up to it concrete can release moisture from below. That's why wood floors have to have a thick cost of glue or for floating wood floors they have to have a vapor barrier

 

[mscamp02]

insulation won't work like that. If you get water in underneath the insulation with a warm fish tank on top that's a perfect breeding ground for mold. Warm dark and wet. Put a vapor barrier for the insulation, preferably both sides. Even if water never makes its way up to it concrete can release moisture from below. That's why wood floors have to have a thick cost of glue or for floating wood floors they have to have a vapor barrier

I'm not to far in so what do you suggest for a vapor barrier? Just the standard cheap stiff for flooring? I know I have some left over from redoing my house a few months back

 

[millerkid519]

Go buy 2 inch Styrofoam it is a better bet. But none the less if you get water underneath you will get mold. Does not matter what you use, my beat suggestion is to space the tank up with 2x4 so you can monitor a small leak on the bottom side of the tank. If you do everything right it will not leak

 

[mscamp02]

well I ended up running a layer of left over blue hawk moisture barrier underneath the stand just as an additive.

So I have been a little busy the past couple of days and have managed to make some good progress I think. I have the frame 99% completed out and last night I completed cutting the 3/4 plywood to fit inside the tank although I still need to cut off the angle on the sides and the front window, just test fitted now.

I also got in my first wave of fiberglass.I picked up a couple gallons of hair resin and I have a gallon of regular resin. Hair resin is extremely easy to work with when dealing with vertical surfaces. I also have some matting that will go in all corners/seams. The plan is to fill all the screw holes with rage gold filler, then fiberglass, and then use pentair epoxy paint like I have seen several use on this forum.







And here is the current state.



here is my worst plywood gap in the top right (probably about 1/16th at the lowest point) but I think just filling it and making sure I do a good fiberglass job will be fine, there is plenty of support behind the plywood.



This is the angle I still have to cut off the sides but even after I do that I have decided exactly how I will be doing the two lids after I put in the center brace.



Front


The goal today/tonight is to finish off the 3/4 plywood by cutting out the window, side angles, and the 24" strip for the "ceiling" or top. Get the back insulated prior to pllywood install because It is going to be hard to do once sealed. Get everything screwed in and begin work with the body filler.

 

[mscamp02]

Didn't do much this morning but my daughter and I hung all of the insulation but 4 pieces. Used the same wire/nail method to make sure it stays still until I get around to doing the exterior plywood.

 

[millerkid519]

I have been helping a friend build a 8x4x3 and when we had a gap in one spot we used quarter round to cover the gap. Our little bit of a gap was on the bottom of the tank tho

 

[KAWAMIKIE]

Is the Pentair epoxy paint your final top coat?
This stuff?
http://pentairaes.com/plumbing-electrical-paint/electrical-paint-safety/epoxy-paint/show/all

 

[blindkiller85]

Assuming you can seal it well, any moisture barrier should do the job. But for something like this I would recommend 3mil visqueen. The wood floor stuff will work too, just has padding for the floor and open cells to let moisture dissipate underneath. But I would think aquarium and need both sides. Last thing you want to do is have all of the moisture and mold rot your awesome DIY project down the road.

Same reason I've used 2.5 pints of polyurethane on my stand canopy that I'm building for a 120 (4x2x2 32 tall stand/14 tall canopy)