Weekends booked for the foreseeable future

[twistsol]

My oldest daughter and her husband bought their first house in Sioux Falls yesterday. It was built in 1920 and I was informed that it needs new basement stairs and the single car garage needs to be replaced. I'm sure they'll find more once they close and move in.

Other than my ShopSmith and router table, my entire shop is now portable Festool and can be loaded into the truck in about half an hour.

Anyone have any tips for working on older houses and / or working from a portable shop?

[Black wallnut]

Woodworking and carpentry at someone else's expense, fun stuff! Enjoy.

[JR]

I recently moved, so my shop was entirely in boxes. I have found it very frustrating to have to search through cardboard boxes whenever I needed a tool. The festool setup should be a lot better, but it will be helpful to spend some time organizing in a way that will continue to make sense once you're working. A labeler couldn't hurt.

The remodeling experience is very different from the shop experience for me. You have to plan which tools and supplies you'll need to have at hand. Having it on the truck is not good enough when you're under the basement stairs.

You'll probably want the biggest, heaviest tool bags you can handle. You want to have all the fasteners necessary for the job plus a variety of small hand tools. I always carry a painter's five-in-one plus a leatherman.

A Wonderbar is the go to demo tool.

Painting should be be done by someone who likes to do it.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Sounds like fun - and a broad range of work, from demo to finish carpentry. On that garage - will you also do roofing, plumbing or electrical?

I'd probably start by listing the tasks, make a checklist of the tools, materials, and hardware needed for each, and consider work area needs - surface(s), power, lighting and ventilation.

[Bill in Buena Park]

A Wonderbar is the go to demo tool.

And don't forget the recip saw!

[leehljp]

How old are you? If older than 60, RUN from it!

[twistsol]

How old are you? If older than 60, RUN from it!

Dang, I'm only 51, so you're saying if it takes me 9 years to get to Sioux Falls, Im off the hook?

[atgcpaul]

Things I always forget to bring to my Dad's are sawhorses. I abhor having to crouch down to make cuts, measure, mark, etc. The up and down is just unnecessary.

Do some recon of the closest home improvement store so you don't waste time trying to find it and then trying to find the items you need in that store. Also know what time they close so at 9:30pm you don't start a task that MUST be completed the same night and for which you don't have the parts for.

Maybe this is an opportunity to school your SIL on DIY if he isn't already. He can have his own stash of tools in case you forget something or you need 2 of something to complete the job faster (like a drill/driver).

Extra saw blades. Extra pencils.

[gerti]

Darn, I was in Cannon Falls last Saturday, should have said hi! Anyway congrats to your daughter. Sioux Falls isn't exactly around the corner from you now, is it? Anyway if they already know stairs and garage need replacing, chances are that is just the tip of the ice berg. I hope I am wrong for your daughter's sake.

Good luck!

[capncarl]

An expandable sawhorse or 2 is a must. Flop a piece of plywood on top and you have a nice table or a scaffold.

capncarl