What's been up at Fingerprints Workshop? - January 2023

Hey guys! It's been a bit since I've made an update post, and with lots of new faces around here, I figured what better time than now? As you may or may not know, I've been working on converting our detached garage into a proper workshop.

I'm happy to announce that the first stage of the process is 100% complete! It's open, has electricity, and the most recent development is that it's clean. I can technically start working on the 280Z if I wanted to, but there's sooOOoooOOoo much more I need to do to the place. 

The BIG plan is to convert the double single-wide garage doors into a single double-wide garage door, which means the complete re-framing of that wall. More than that, I want to maximize vertical space too, which means converting this into a cathedral ceiling and getting rid of the rafter ties. That way I'll actually be able to install a car lift! All this of course means I have to install a giant LVL ridge beam to support the roof, as well as new LVL beams for the garage door. I spoke to a structural engineer to get everything sized out, and a few weeks ago spent more money on wood than I ever have in my life!

Unfortunately, I didn't foresee flooding as something I would have to deal with. A really heavy storm blew in last week and it filled the garage. This was hours after it was at its worst, but the water got over an inch deep in some spots just from rain pooling in the driveway! I'm so glad I raised the LVL beams off the ground a few days prior! As for solving the issue, the concrete stem walls around the shop are about 4 inches tall, so there's plenty of room to pour more concrete and raise the floor up. Easy, but another thing to do / pay for. 

So what have I been doing?

Since the release of the first episode of the 280Z series, I've been organizing all the footage of the garage project spanning over a year, writing a script, and working on the edit for what will be the first episode in that series. There's still all the graphics/animations, narration, and of course, the actual nitty-gritty of condensing the 3.5 hour timeline into a 20-30 minute video. 

Elyse and I have also totally revamped my workspace! I started with a DIY tabletop sitting on top of a keyboard (piano) stand next to a completely cluttered Target shelf, and now we're here! It's all still very DIY, just an Ikea countertop screwed onto the shelf with some angle iron screwed below to prevent it from sagging, but it's great! The shelf, art, and color changing LED strip on the back really add too. Very cozy.

For the past year, I've been throwing a blanket over my head and computer screen with the mic in between to prevent it from sounding like I'm talking into a tin can when recording narration. But now with some proper acoustic treatment panels on the wall and curtains to dampen the sound, almost all the reverb in the room is gone! The setup now is such an improvement from where it was. I almost feel like a professional YouTuber or something.  

The first garage video should be out early February, then it's onto everything else! Thanks for reading, and thanks for being here! Love you guys :)

-Ronnie