Finishing the Lower Wall in the Barndominium Garage

Our choices for the wall between home and garage were Hardie siding like we used on the porches, ribbed steel to match the rest of the barn, or T1-11 plywood siding.  We rejected Hardie because it requires a special saw blade and the one we used to do the small amount on the front and back porches was already ruined.  We rejected the steel siding because it dents fairly easy and this will be a working garage/shop.  So we chose T1-11 despite all the complaints about it.  But being used inside, we shouldn't have much trouble with delamination.

 

I tested out a dark green to see how it looks with the unfinished pine and galvanized steel that we will use on the upper section.  I like it!  Then I hung the brooms and rakes to get them off the floor.

We used fake brick panels on this section just to make it look a little less odd.  It's actually the back of the refrigerator and freezer that will be recessed in the kitchen.

I don't know if I mentioned it here, but we found an auction from an appliance store and bought nearly everything for the kitchen.  Hubby installed the dishwasher here temporarily.  Sooo nice to have a dishwasher again!  When we finish the inside kitchen, the shop sink will go in this spot.

Keeping Cool in the Garage - Without an Air Conditioner

We designed our barndominium with garage doors facing north and south so we could have passive cooling in the garage too.  With the doors on each side open, we can catch a breeze on days with even a slight wind.  But with cattle and ponds nearby, flies and mosquitoes were a problem.  We even had barn swallows fly in and not want to leave.  So I built six screened frames, three tall ones and three short ones.  They fit in the garage door tracks, and simple latches keep them together.  When the garage door is pulled down, they are stable.  While not completely sealed, very few insects get in.  Problem solved.  And the cat likes them too.