Why bother with a window? Just make a hole big enough to fit the unit. Frame with 2x4s.

it's just so daunting a task that we last for a few days then give up. Then it's worse because he just drags everything back out and when we work up the nerve to tackle it again we just are re-doing what was already done. Organizing is a process, not something that is ever "done". The Shaker motto is: "A place for everything, and everything in its place" ... you need to start by making a place for everything, even if it's temporary, so that you don't backslide too badly. ORGANIZING METHODS: There are two basic ways to handle tools ... each has its strong and weak points. Which would suit him better? Discuss this with him, because having a system that works the way he works is critical to his maintaining it. 1 - Group by function, so all wrenches are hung together, all hammers, etc. Advantage - Fewer duplicates. Disadvantage - Have to pick tools to take to the job if you can't bring the job to the bench, have to put tools back at least weekly, or it all falls apart. WORKS BEST FOR naturally organized person, a "handyman" who works in a single area, one who has wall space to make it all visible. Pegboard and hooks would make this work. BIG pegboards. 2 - Sort tools into labelled, task-specific toolboxes so the "plumbing" box has the pipe wrenches, the washers, etc. The "wood work" box has the rasps, the wood chisels, etc. (a variant of this would be to have different workbenches or drawers or pegboards, each with the tools for that task) Advantage - Faster to pick and store. If you are working on a faucet, you grab the "plumbing" box and it has the pipe tape, the washers, the wrenches, the valve-puller, the fittings, and the commonly used screwdrivers for faucets. At the end of the repair, you replace the used supplies, put it all back in the box and put the box on the shelf. Disadvantage - Duplicate tools needed, usually the common types. You can get around the duplicates by having one box of the generic tools: screwdrivers, common wrenches, a good hammer, etc. It means grabbing two boxes for any job - the generic tools and the specialty box. WORKS BEST FOR "handyman" who works in several locations and can't take the work to the workshop. I got used to this working on rental properties. Also works well for the person who finds the first method to be too "nit-picky" ... just dumping it all into the box may be enough organization for them. ======================= It may make sense for any power tool to have its own toolbox with its blades or bits, chuck key and extension cord, and ear and eye protection, etc. When I grab the "multi-tool'" box, I get everything I need to use the tool. When I grab the door planer box, I get everything. Ditto for the drills, the circular saw, etc. ======================= GETTING THERE - for either system - starts out by finding and sorting it so you know what you have. And it assumes you have some shelf space. FIRST STEP: Get a bunch of bins - shoeboxes work well - label them with categories and start tossing things into them. This is a speed exercise. You are doing a fast top-level sort, trying to clear the clutter into small chunks of clutter. Pliers and wrenches Screwdrivers Hammers Drill bits, hole saws (anything you attach to a drill) Scrapers, chisels, sanders, rasps (anything that shapes wood) Fasteners - all rivets, screws, nails, bolts, etc. (recycle plastic jars for this) Power tools and accessories (blades, guides, etc.) Files and rasps Painting tools Drywall repair Demolition (sledges, prybars, wrecking bars) Put the boxes on the shelves. MAINTENANCE for this phase is just tossing things back in the right box. It may be enough of an improvement that you can stop here. SECOND STEP PREP: If you are going for the "all on the wall", next you put up the pegboards and also shelves for boxes of things that can't be hung. If you are going to do the project-specific boxes, find toolboxes. Any box should be large enough to hold ALL the tools for that task, but not much bigger. My plumbing box holds the torch and a small snake as well as the wrenches, so it's honking ginormous. THIRD STEP IMPLEMENTING: Here's where the project box method makes it easy. Any time you have a certain kind of project, grab the box for it. If there isn't a box, go through the bins from Step 1 and collect your tools and fill a box for it. If you are using method 1, sort each box into finer categories if it makes sense: phillips versus straight versus funny-shaped screwdrivers ... pipe wrenches versus Hang them up by type. ============= As time permits, sort out the fasteners into smaller categories. The trick is to NOT get too finely divided with the main containers because that is its own sort of clutter. If I grab a box that says "drywall screws" from the shelf and inside it there are 17 containers with various sizes, that's great. If those 17 containers are on the shelf, no matter how nicely labelled they are, I have to look at every container to make sure I have all the drywall screws.

I think that this garage height differential to the main floor is an often overlooked detail even in custom homebuilding. Even in my first build, we had more steps into the house than I would have wanted. That appears to have been a function of not wanting to dig the foundation for the main house lower ($$$) for the basement or crawlspace, since the garage is a slab. So I need up with 4 steps into the house and had to take some valuable real estate for stairs AND a landing at the top (which I think you need for anything over 2 steps...). And I've seen instances with FAR more. So that garage on paper is rarely an accurate reflection of the "as built" site interpretation....

Generally for residential overhead doors, starting at the bottom hinge, #1, then #2, then #3 and so on. The higher you go, the greater the stand-off for the roller, enabling it to work with the slightly non-vertical track to push the door against the frame as it closes, making for a more weather resistant seal. The center hinges are all #1.