Theres something else in the middle that you are unaware of. Maybe a buried jbox in a wall?

I'de go with option #2 or #3.

I'de go with option #2 or #3.

Drywall is installed 1/2" off the floor, but it should be fastened tight against the bottom plate. There should never be unsealed openings into the wall space. Concrete and walls will be different temps, but the foam is a thermal insulator, so excessive condensation shouldn't be a factor.

If you are doing this to keep drafts out, I think you should do just that. No reason it shouldnt work. I would use the Great Stuff for windows and doors... minimal expansion... Then mask off any areas nearby that you dont want the finish ruined, and don't touch the overflow until it has dried completely. Then just clean it up with a sharp knife. If your primary motivation is keeping critters out, it may or may not work. A few insects and rodents, if determined can dig or chew through it. And If you are hoping to keep moisture out, you would be better off with a good, quality silicone sealer, but you wont be able to paint it.

If you are going to remove 1/2 the insulation, you might as well remove it all. With 1/2 the door unprotected, insulating the other 1/2 is pointless. The only way that would make any sense is to remove half the thickness from every panel, and leave none uncovered. I find it very difficult to believe that the extra weight added by the styrofoam is enough to make any difference to the garage door opener. When the door springs are properly adjusted to the door WITHOUT any styrofoam insulation, you should be able to disconnect it from the mechanical opener, and open and close the door with one hand. After that the garage door opener should be able to open and close it without even straining. And adding styrofoam after that won't add enough weight to upset that equation. Just trying to upgrade to a bigger motor is just asking for unnecessary problems, IMHO.

>"You have to do this quickly with no time to waste once caulk is applied, or it will be a disaster." I feel should have been in big, capital, red letters... lol
>
>You are absolutely correct. Use tape, and quickly remove excess with a soapy wet finger. keep paper towels close by to wipe your fingers on.You can't let the silicone skin-up, maybe 5 minutes, before you remove the excess. These can be very hard learned, and sometimes re-learned lessons. Another tip with silicone, if it's cold, pre-warm your tubes in warm water for 15 minutes.

I am surprised this hasn't been said yet, but you need to stabilize and secure your cabinets first. Do it however you like, screws, nails, construction adhesive, whatever, but that has to be secure before anything else. you should be able to stand on it without it moving at all! And the tops of the cabinets must all be absolutely level in both directions on the horizontal. Use shims to solidify the base anywhere that there is a mismatch with the floor. If you use adhesive to secure it to the wall, give it a few days to set properly before moving forward. Once you have a solid base, getting the top to stay in place should be a piece of cake. 100% silicone on top the cabinets, wherever you can, stick it down and leave it alone for 24 hours.

That is how I would do it.

Hollow-core doors are not really hollow. It is more correctly corragated-core, as there is usually a skeleton of cardboard criss-crossing inside the door. in other words, the foam won' t be able to spread out.

Okay. Wouldnt the drain go next to the expansion joint?

Im confused. I thought expansion joints were only 3/4" wide, so im unsure how you want to cut it down. Also, is that the drain running along the dirt edge?

What you need is a small, extremely simple mining car set-up, so look at how-to mining literature. Historical stuff should be loaded with calculations you might need to consider. Another good place to start would be to look at roller coaster lifts, and the like, along with diy backyard roller coasters that people have built. I would think you are mostly limited by your available skills and budget. If you can weld, and are fairly mechanically inclined, this should be a piece of cake. There are no-weld options as well. Steel is damn pricey these days, at least it is in my parts, so without some source of surplus materials, it might not be worth it. That is, not until you need it one day, and don't have it! Lol good luck!

Yeah the Decora style switches and outlets are pretty standard these days, and btw, I hate those safety outlets. How in the world do you expect kids to learn about electricity? Lol. First we took away the bobby pins, and now they have to fiddle with the outlet, trying to get dinner forks stuck in both sides at the same time!

Oh, wow. It is going to be difficult to walk you backwards through this. My best advice is that you really need an electrician to untangle this for you. Seriously. Before you do anything else, you need to realize that if everything was fine BEFORE you replaced them, then: A) Why did you replace those particular units? B) If you are experiencing problems AFTER you replaced them, then your issue is with a connection at one of the boxes you were working in. There is no need to open anything else, especially the service panel, looking for the problem. C) Are you 100% positive that all of the new devices are direct replacements for the units removed? D) Did any of the outlets have the isolation links removed? E) Were any dimmers, or 3way switches installed/removed/replaced?

Not so much with the pancake LED. Most of those are IC rated.

No, you didn't mislead him, and rightfully, he should have mentioned that little detail, but he chose not to. The reason, I believe, because it works most of the time. People that do this, know ahead of time they will use a super low priced service to get through the door, and then drop an upcharge after getting all set up, and beginning the work. 95% of the time, people with just figure it's their dumb luck that the project will cost a lot more than anticipated, and pay the upcharge. You did the correct thing by sending him on his way, IMO.

A ton of blown in insulation can, and will fall out during the process, unless you clear it well away from each hole. Add to that the hazards of working in a hazardous space, and it really isnt worth doing for $65.

Would you like to know how to determine a doors "swing"? It's simple. Stand in the doorway, with your back against the hinge-side door jam. If the door opens to your Left it is "Left-Handed", to the Right would be "Right-Handed". Next if the door opens into the room space it is " inswing", if it opens away from the room space it is "outswing". (Ex: if you were entering a room from a hall way, and as you move to open the door, you notice the door handle on the right side of the door, and that you will need to push the door to open it, that door would be left-handed inswing door.) Hope this helps.