I have a history of sciatic pain in my left hamstring area which comes from my L5 and some numbness in my left foot from my S1. I have been able to mitigate the pain with cortisone injections and had even started the process for another before this event on Saturday! It’s a mitigation as I’m positive some sort of surgery is in my future. Here’s my annotated frame of an early 2024 MRI showing the difference in the space around my nerve bundle 😩 🧵11/

Yes this is still in progress - mostly done. Printers are printing in the space now! I started working on re-organizing the remainder of the garage which means cleaning up first. So Saturday I started on that but was rudely interrupted by my back. It I don’t know the actual term, but it snapped, crackers and popped… and I was thrust into a world of hurt. 6.5 hours laid out on the floor before I could move again. Most things have come to a standstill since. 🧵10/

Made it 🎉

After getting the electrical stuff sorted and creating a quick automation in #homeassistant for the switch and lights I added some blocking to frame openings for vents to be sure my heatnpump water heater gets enough air. got them cut out on tje inside of the new space and then packed the rest of the wall cavity with rockwool insulation. then got the alreay cut sheathing up and the opposite side of the vent holes cut out. thianisnpretty mich where I am now in the build. 🧵8/

I forgot before doing the sheathing I had to get the romex past through a joist and down into the new wall cavity. Holes on either side of the joist were a necessity no matter how much I don’t want to deal with patching the drywall. I then spent the evening following the sheathing installing 2 ewelink zigbee ceiling lights and an Innoveli switch. The next morning I cut power for about 5 minutes and got the new circuit installed - I so wanted to do it hot but knew it was probably too risky. 🧵7/

Next I got the .5 inch plywood sheathing up on the inside of the new space. This ended up taking more time as space was limited for getting a 48x84 panel into the area, but after that it was more narrow panels. Ended up setting up outside for cutting the plywood despite to the temperature being in the 20s°F. Got everything cut for the other side knowing snow was coming and got all packed back inside before having to get my daughter to a bday party. Later that night the snow and sleet came.🧵6/

Okay lots of progress made. First issue was the location of the new partition wall was about an inch and a half away from the closest ceiling joist as the joists run parallel to the new wall. Problem solved by just picking up a 12ft 2x6 to use as the header. Went to the nearest home store and had about 2.5 feet sticking out the passenger window of my id.4 but it worked like a charm and the framing went up quickly after that.
🧵5/

First round of painting done, floor cleaned and rough electrical work done. Ceiling lights and 2 gang outlet box will be on new dedicated 20amp circuit. The existing outlet on the other side of the wall got bumped out to 3 gang as it’s another 20 amp circuit. Running the wire in the ceiling was supposed to be easy, but all the insulation and small access holes against the wall made this pretty frustrating. Couldn’t find a 3 gang outlet cover so printed one. Kolbalt shelf built today too! 🧵4/

Cleared the area. Next up is cleaning and painting. The garage has historically had water infiltration on that side wall. I had drainage work done last summer and made it through the fall with no water which is one of the traditional times it comes in - one year it was the week before Xmas and all the kid’s gifts were out there 🙈. Space heater because it was 19 °F/ -7.2 °C out this morning. 🧵3/