Interesting items during garage renovation

[cxgvd]

My home was built in 1954 and I am the second owner.  My garage was likely built at the same time and is in need of much renovations, however a few items from 1954 will be reused.  The workbench as photographed is nearly twelve feet long twenty inches wide and two inches thick and is one piece of Elm wood.  I parked my Buick beside the plank to give you some perspective.  Then I have an old school blackboard 4 X 6 feet and the ceiling tiles are 1/2" thick 12 X12 " plywood and will go back up.  I threw out the fuse box and plan to replace it with modern breakers.

Regards, Gary

 

 

[EmTee]

Chalkboard  -- I need one of those in my garage! 

 

Be careful handling those ceiling tiles.  Given their age, they may contain asbestos...

[dibarlaw]

Yes, one may assume they have some percentage of friable asbestos. When the abatement scourge went through the high school where I taught back in the 1990s removing all asbestos materials from the building built in 1954. It was estimated that the ceiling tiles and floor tiles had only 2% friable asbestos. Everything had to come up! Except they did not know I had painted over the work bench in the back of my Industrial Arts shop. That was the 1/2" solid cement asbestos top where the soldering furnaces were.

Just like all the brake jobs I did 45 years ago. All the hot water heating pipes were wrapped in asbestos in my home. The Spring factory I worked at in 1974 had furnaces that we relined with new fire brick and asbestos refractory cement. Handling red hot leaf springs with blacksmith tongs then putting them in the cambering forms. Our full-length asbestos gauntlet gloves were a necessity. At Combustion Engineering where I worked from 1977-1984, we had to line boiler doors with packed raw asbestos. All our family's kitchens came equipped with asbestos hot pads. 

 I understand it is a health hazard of great concern. If properly disposed of not so much. But more damage is done by disturbing it.

[cxgvd]

I appreciate the caution warnings on asbestos.  These tiles as mentioned above are made from 1/2" plywood and also have been painted over by me, I can't see how asbestos enters the picture.  Since my property was built in the fifties I try to modernize and keep the old time feel.

 

Thanks again, Gary

Edited May 11, 2022 by cxgvd (see edit history)