25 x 40 Texas Detached Garage

[TexZ]

I was gonna come post asking for progress but seems I am the one that hasn't been keeping up!

Keep up the good work man, cant wait to see and use the finished product. You got the shop, i got the pool.

William

Definitely ready for a pool party soon, sweated by **** off outside today and didn't start working until 5:30!

Vacation was good but ended too soon as always. We had a great trip to Tulum, Mexico. Very quiet town and a great place for R&R.




I made a slight bit of progress today but I had to start by draining the hole and digging some of the mud out that was the product of tropical storm Bill. I finally decided just to set the post and let the remaining water/mud soup mix dry out over the next couple of days while I'm digging the hole for the other post...thank goodness that one doesn't have to be set in as much concrete as this one.


Post is in, that was one heavy dude. I was able to set it within .5" of the property line, good enough for me!




View from front of the house. Going to have to torch off about 1.5' but will be covered with a post cap with a solar light similar to this: http://www.deckorators.com/products/lighting/solar-post-caps/versacaps/traditional-solar-versacaps




This is what it looked like in the hole after emptying as much water as possible and setting the post. It looks like a lot of water left, but its actually a very soupy mud with sandy clay below which is almost impossible to shovel out when wet. Going to need a couple of sunny days to dry out the rest before shoveling out.




Also had a lot of washout due to the rain, almost a foot lost beneath the driveway...going to require me to level the soil beneath the sod surrounding the post hole so that I don't end up with puddles around the post when everything is said and done.




I'm taking off of work on Friday to buy the concrete, the local equipment rental store has a small trailer that can hold up to 2 yards, should be perfect. You have to pour within 45 minutes of them filling the trailer so I'm glad it's less than 2 miles away. Should be a fun filled week

 

[TexZ]

I was able to make some progress this weekend, although it doesn't look like much once you fill the holes in. And yes, I know I overdid it on the concrete, so what. Sometimes you just have to shoot for the moon and hope you don't get burned out in the process.

On Friday with a friend's help, I welded on a cantilever beam for support for the closed position of the gate...just a bit of making this "small" project more overkill. We also got all the rebar set. You can also see where I cut out the sod that had the soil washed out from beneath it from the heavy rains in the past two weeks; something I didn't want to do because of how much work it added but I knew it had to be done to do it right.




On Saturday morning another friend helped me run the conduit for the magnetic lock (royal PITA) and also for pouring the concrete. This made for a long day but the wife and I had some friends over for dinner and beers so it was a nice end to the day.




I rented a ready-mix concrete trailer with 1.25 yards thinking I would have enough to fill both post holes, wrong. The trailer was handy and easy to use though.




End of the day on Saturday after buying 10, 80lb bags to use on the latch post. Not quite enough, but close.




Today I bought the last two 80lb bags needed to finish pouring the latch post. I was also able to finish backfilling the main post hole and laying the sod.








I plan to take off this week so I'm going to push to get as far as possible with finishing the gate. I need to paint the gate, hang the gate, and install the pickets and the additional ~20ft of privacy fence to connect to the gate post. Also need to fab up the bolt style lock. All that hopefully before I head to the coast for the 4th, guess you have to have goals!

 

[Will69camaro]

Looks awesome man. Good work.

 

[kerryt1]

Dang, that is stout looking. Also, I assume those are taller than final height?

 

[Will69camaro]

Going to have to torch off about 1.5' but will be covered with a post cap with a solar light similar to this: http://www.deckorators.com/products/lighting/solar-post-caps/versacaps/traditional-solar-versacaps

I'd venture to say it's about 1.5ft too tall currently

 

[TexZ]

Roger, planning on having them around 7' when finished.


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[TexZ]

Made a little progress today, but got stopped by the rain at about 3pm. Hopefully tomorrow will be drier.


First thing I cut down the posts to 7'.






Next I started with the latch post by masking off the house and then grinding with a flapper disc. Once I finished grinding I cleaned with mineral spirits.




I sprayed one coat of Rust-oleum Professional high performance enamel primer and two coats of gloss black enamel.




Overall I'm happy with the results. I'll take a look tomorrow once cured to see if I want to spray a 3rd coat.

 

[OzarkMan]

Looks good! Nice burbs too

 

[texasOFT]

Nice work Bub!

 

[TexZ]

Thankfully I finally have something worthwhile to show you guys/gals! I was able to get the gate finished, hung and also install the pickets. Pictures of the progress below:

So after all the agony of painting the gate in an a non air conditioned garage in Houston, in July, I was able to move on to the next step of painting the hinges and bolting them up to the gate. Here is a link to the hinges, rated to a 1000lb for the pair, worked out great and came primed: http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/specialty-hinges/heavy-duty-hinges/heavy-duty-gate-hinges-1/heavy-duty-bolt-on-hinges-2607








Next was making a few trips to pick up the lumber and remaining hardware, etc.




Not getting any cooler in Houston any time soon, time to get to work. I had a good friend who helped out in hanging the gate today, he's always willing to help and never complains...many thanks for his help. He gave me a hand with drilling and mounting the gate frame. We started by blocking up the gate and clamping down the hinges, tracing the base, and disassembling to allow for precise marking of the holes. After drilling we bolted up half of the hinge to the post and then reassembled the hinges to the gate frame...all grade 5 1/2" hardware.










Next came running the rails for the pickets; these were 5/4" x 6" standard deck boards attached with 5/16" carriage bolts.




After that, I set up the pickets for the gate on the driveway so that I could cut them to match the slope in the driveway for drainage...was 4" over 12'. Hard to see in the picture but I marked for 1" spacing off the driveway using a chalk line and then trimmed with the circular saw, nice and quick.




And finally we have something that almost resembles a gate. I still need to trim a few pickets to fit around the posts, build the dead bolt, and eventually weld on the provisions for the gate opener and electromagnetic lock.








Also, drum roll...garage news! After many slows months of working on the garage plans, I submitted them to the HOA architectural committee last week! Hoping it will be a quick approval. This week I will be working on installing the two sections of fence to tie in to the gate post and fab/install of the dead bolt.

 

[TexZ]

Quick update...I got my HOA approval! I know it's not all that exciting but they were really the one possible roadblock I had as the deed restrictions stated no more than a two car garage (not defined in detail). All the surrounding neighborhoods that were also built in the late 40s define it by the number of garage doors you have (one 16-20' door or two 8-10' doors) and not the square footage. Thankfully the HOA member I worked with was reasonable and understood this. I'll be submitting plans to the city in the next week or two.

Update on the gate: I finished connecting the existing fence to the driveway gate. If you noticed in my previous pictures, I purchased mounting bolts for the hinges that protruded 3.5" on the back side of the main gate post. I used these to mount the fence post to tie in the fencing.










I was also able to build a locking bolt latch for the gate. I couldn't find one I liked locally or online so I picked up some 1" (1/8" WT) square tubing, 5/8" cold rolled bar, and some 1/4" plate to build it from.

 

[gipraw]

Looking good. Nicely done on the latch .. where did you pick up the steel ?

 

[TexZ]

Looking good. Nicely done on the latch .. where did you pick up the steel ?

Rose Steel on Pinemont, they are a discount/scrap/used yard that has probably 40-50% new stuff stored indoors and the rest is either partially covered or stored outside...great for garage fabricators. I got the posts and gate tubing there as well...best thing is that it's only a mile away!

 

[gipraw]

Rose Steel on Pinemont, they are a discount/scrap/used yard that has probably 40-50% new stuff stored indoors and the rest is either partially covered or stored outside...great for garage fabricators. I got the posts and gate tubing there as well...best thing is that it's only a mile away!

Cool. thanks ..

 

[TexZ]

Over the last week and a half I was able to get the steel fence removed and also have the 4 trees along the back fence removed. These had to go as they would've been too close to the new foundation; the stumps will be grinded today.

The back section of fence will be replaced with something a bit taller and more private once the stumps are ground down.


Before:




After:

 

[1949 caddyman]

I need to have some trees removed also, can I ask the cost for what you had done. Also how high were they?

 

[TexZ]

I need to have some trees removed also, can I ask the cost for what you had done. Also how high were they?

It was $800 total for cutting down the 4 trees, grinding the stumps, trimming another large tree., and hauling away everything. The 4 trees we removed were about 25-30 feet, well above the power lines.


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[gipraw]

Looking good.

It was $800 total for cutting down the 4 trees, grinding

the stumps, trimming another large tree., and hauling away everything. The 4 trees we removed were about 25-30 feet, well above the power lines.


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Cool .. who did you use? My wife was not happy with the last guys we used.

 

[TexZ]

Looking good.







Cool .. who did you use? My wife was not happy with the last guys we used.

Houston Tree Team: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Houston-Tree-Team/177041832337386

They did a lot of work for me at my last house too. Pricing has always been reasonable.

 

[Falcon67]

Nicely done. I think that patio idea will work out nice for you - on those winter days, with a north wind and a chilly 75F outside. (former Spring resident).

 

[gipraw]

Nicely done. I think that patio idea will work out nice for you - on those winter days, with a north wind and a chilly 75F outside. (former Spring resident).

Lol. I'd love a couple of those days right now. My shop was almost unbearable this weekend.

 

[jbrentd]

I've been following your thread for a bit, but just realized I never through in a comment. Nice work on that new gate. Looks good. I like the layout you've come up with. My build will also have a wife-approved patio area.

It was $800 total for cutting down the 4 trees, grinding the stumps, trimming another large tree., and hauling away everything. The 4 trees we removed were about 25-30 feet, well above the power lines.

That is a good price. I'll need 4 walnut trees removed for my build and was quoted $1500 (included stump grinding). They range in size from 8" to 15". Another quote was $3000.

 

[TexZ]

Nicely done. I think that patio idea will work out nice for you - on those winter days, with a north wind and a chilly 75F outside. (former Spring resident).

Thanks, I think we're going to use the patio a lot especially because the sun will set on the opposite side of the building so it will make the patio perfect for afternoons/evenings.

Lol. I'd love a couple of those days right now. My shop was almost unbearable this weekend.

I hear ya, I had to finish changing the struts on my wife's car yesterday on the driveway...it was miserable. And to add insult to injury, the AC condenser went out Friday night!

I've been following your thread for a bit, but just realized I never through in a comment. Nice work on that new gate. Looks good. I like the layout you've come up with. My build will also have a wife-approved patio area.



That is a good price. I'll need 4 walnut trees removed for my build and was quoted $1500 (included stump grinding). They range in size from 8" to 15". Another quote was $3000.

Thanks for the compliment. I definitely had to shop around on the tree guys, I had a few quotes like that...very frustrating when you know a contractor is purposely price gouging.

 

[Falcon67]

Lol. I'd love a couple of those days right now. My shop was almost unbearable this weekend.

We take pics for the local drag strip and this last weekend was probably the first time in 13 years we did not because it was just too damn hot.

 

[Trey T]

Good job on the gate, looks like a tough job. How did you install that conduit beneath and accross the driveway? You said it was a PITA; can you explain your method and perhaps give me some advise?

 

[TexZ]

Good job on the gate, looks like a tough job. How did you install that conduit beneath and accross the driveway? You said it was a PITA; can you explain your method and perhaps give me some advise?

Thanks for the compliments. I knew if I hired someone to build the gate I wanted it would've been much more expensive than what I will have in it when finished.

I used a combination of a pressure washer, rebar, and a 2lb sledge to drive the conduit through the soil. The pressure washer will blast some of the soil away while also softening it for the rebar to be driven through making a path. Then using a small block of wood with the sledge, I hammered the conduit through this path moving it 4-5 inches at a time.

I'm not sure if there is a more efficient method of doing this without trenching, but it was the most effective with what I had available.

I used a 90 on each end of the conduit and then heated the vertical sections with a heat gun (didn't have a torch) to get it in the exact position I wanted. Hope this helps.

 

[Trey T]

Cool. How did you determine the location of the gate? Which direction does the gate swing?

 

[TexZ]

Cool. How did you determine the location of the gate? Which direction does the gate swing?

I took the length of my truck plus the length of my car trailer and measured that distance away from the proposed front wall of the new garage. That was the closest point that the gate could be in the open position. I then added a few feet for contingency and marked my post off of that.

The gate will swing in, away from the street. I wanted the opener to be inside the fence with the gate closed. Also, I knew that the pickets would collide if the gate swung out.

 

[Burnt C6]

That is going to be sweet when finished. The gate looks nice. going to subscribe to follow it to the end.

 

[aggie91]

Nice project so far. I like how you did the gate and looking forward to the demo and new construction.

Do you have your building permit yet?

 

[TexZ]

Nice project so far. I like how you did the gate and looking forward to the demo and new construction.

Do you have your building permit yet?

Thanks. I'm working on the permit package this week but have been delayed a bit in submitting it, hoping to get it in next week. Houston has quite a few extra worksheets to complete in addition to the actual application.

 

[Trey T]

I took the length of my truck plus the length of my car trailer and measured that distance away from the proposed front wall of the new garage. That was the closest point that the gate could be in the open position. I then added a few feet for contingency and marked my post off of that.

The gate will swing in, away from the street. I wanted the opener to be inside the fence with the gate closed. Also, I knew that the pickets would collide if the gate swung out.

makes sense, good planning. Have you decided on the style or brand of opener?

 

[TexZ]

makes sense, good planning. Have you decided on the style or brand of opener?

I just pulled the trigger with a company to install the Liftmaster LA500 along with a magnetic lock and provide a couple 894LT 4 button remotes that will also control the Liftmaster 8500s on the garage doors once the garage is finished.

I'm waiting on scheduling, looking like 2-3 weeks until install.

 

[Binrat]

for running PVC under the driveway or sidewalk use an Orbit Walkway tunnel kit. put it on each end of your PVC hook it up to the hose, blast your way under the driveway.. i've used these for several jobs for years great tool to have. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Orbit-Walkway-Tunnel-Kit-53333/100127846

 

[Trey T]

I just pulled the trigger with a company to install the Liftmaster LA500 along with a magnetic lock and provide a couple 894LT 4 button remotes that will also control the Liftmaster 8500s on the garage doors once the garage is finished.

I'm waiting on scheduling, looking like 2-3 weeks until install.

hmm... I wonder if my 3800 remote is compatible bc that's a system I might get.

Update with picture when you have the opener and magnetic lock installed.

for running PVC under the driveway or sidewalk use an Orbit Walkway tunnel kit. put it on each end of your PVC hook it up to the hose, blast your way under the driveway.. i've used these for several jobs for years great tool to have. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Orbit-Walkway-Tunnel-Kit-53333/100127846

That's the answer, right there!!!

 

[TexZ]

hmm... I wonder if my 3800 remote is compatible bc that's a system I might get.

Update with picture when you have the opener and magnetic lock installed.

I'm still waiting on the gate opener installers to get back to me with a date for installation. Not much to update on the garage but I did make some vehicle changes over the last few weeks.

The old truck was a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500. It was a great truck and had the 6.2, it did everything I asked of it very well. Mileage was a bit poor and obviously I was limited to 10k towing. The value was holding very well on the truck so I figured it was a good time to sell.




The truck previous to the GMC was a 2005 Ram 2500 and I absolutely loved it. I knew my next truck had to have a big cab, some decent amenities, tow better and get better mileage. I decided on a 2016 Ram 2500 Laramie with the cummins...I love it. It has everything I liked about the 2005 Ram and much more. I got a great deal from Chris Lebouef at Nyle Maxwell in Austin if anyone is in the market. We did the entire transaction over email and he was able to deliver the truck to Houston for me, very pain free process and a fantastic price.






I also picked up a used Midsota 6'x10' hydraulic dump trailer that I split with a good friend, I plan on getting quite a bit of use out of it during the garage construction. It has a payload capacity of 12,600 pounds plus ramps so I can haul skid steers or loaders. http://www.midsotamfg.com/pages/HESeries



And finally, the sad vehicle news. I decided to the sell the ZR1; with less and less time to enjoy it, upcoming garage construction and the downturn in the oil market, I'd rather have the capital in savings than in a car that I'm not currently able to enjoy much. I really enjoyed my time with the car and will always remember the experiences I had while driving it. A new project will follow once the garage is complete, a few parting shots though of the car:




Me in the garages during a weekend at COTA:




In track gear:




On Track:

 

[GoodJobTim]

Hey TexZ, looking forward to your build and subscribed. I live in Magnolia outside of Houston.

Curious as to your thoughts on real costs gas vs diesel and mileage with diesel fuel and exhaust oil and parts prices always so much higher.

 

[TexZ]

Hey TexZ, looking forward to your build and subscribed. I live in Magnolia outside of Houston.

Curious as to your thoughts on real costs gas vs diesel and mileage with diesel fuel and exhaust oil and parts prices always so much higher.

Thank you. The current options in the gas market are significantly better than they were 2011, as well as the number of options increasing every year. I think by 2016 there will be three levels of diesel options (light, midsize, and heavy duty) that will finally make it cost effective for those that want to move to diesel. I believe the more diesels that are produced the cheaper that it will be for consumers. I did find comfort in the simplicity of the 6.2 liter L9H that was in the GMC, it was a simple pushrod V8 that I knew how to fix. The 2500 is quite a bit more complex with regards to number of drivetrain parts and systems.

Yearly expenses for me will go down minimally; GMC oil change was 6 quarts every 5,000 miles, the 2500 is 12 quarts every 15,000 miles (plus fuel filters). The 2500 is already averaging about 17-18 mpg mixed driving with highway mileage around 20. The GMC averaged about 13-14, with highway around 17-18.


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[GoodJobTim]

Thanks TexZ, I did not realize service intervals where so drastically different. That does make a difference.

 

[TexZ]

After quite a few weeks, I finally have an update for yall.

I went to see the city at the end of August where I expected to get all of my permits at once. Wrong. Instead, they I needed a Taps & Meters inspector on site to verify no sewer/water disconnects needed before I can obtain the demo permit. Next, they said I will probably have a separate foundation permit and then one for the structure (not sure about that one yet...). So after that bombshell I had to go back home and wait on the inspector to take literally 30 seconds to walk around the existing garage to see that there wasn't a sewer vent.

In the meantime, I was out of town for 3 weekends in a row and also had some travel for work so I wasn't able to accomplish much until this past weekend. I decided to replace the back section of fence before doing demo since I've been getting complaints from the church on the other side of the fence for my plywood patch that was covering up the section of fence that had to be removed when we took out all the trees.

I had the materials delivered to save as much of my time as possible. The church has a school during the week so that only gave me from Friday afternoon until Sunday night to have it finished; made for a few long days.




Tight squeeze:





Demo went fairly quick except for a few stubborn posts and one sinkhole next to the manhole above the sewer line which runs somewhat under the back property line. I had to add a bunch of clay and dirt, wet and compact, and add a few extra bags of concrete to get the new post set.

Sinkhole discovered while pulling out the old post:









New corner post set:




Remaining posts to be set:




New post in sinkhole before adding fill:




I decided to go with pickets on each side to add extra privacy and a height of 8'. I used 2x12 rot boards double stacked to get to 8' which is as high as I can go without a permit. With the added weight of the second line of pickets I opted for 4x6 posts for the extra support and lateral stiffness. I still need to add the pickets on my side of the fence, but I was able to wrap up one side thanks to the awesome help of a couple friends.


So a shot of the old fence:




And the new:




I plan to get the demo permit this week and then demo starting in two weeks. I was also able to get quotes for the dirt work/site prep, trusses, and I'm still waiting on the concrete quotes to come in. The dirt work was priced outrageously high so it looks like that's something else I'll be doing myself along with some guidance of some buddies that work in large scale commercial construction. Along with saving money means the schedule will push right. Hope to have more progress pictures to post this month, be back soon.