MountPilot's 24x40 Garage/Shop Build

[MountPilot]

As a little background, my wife and I bought and remodeled a 100 year old farm house with 7 acres a little over two years ago. We spent about 6 months gutting and remodeling every square inch of the house to get it just like we wanted it...the only thing it was missing is a garage/workshop. We planned to build something, it was really just a matter of timing (new baby, busy work schedule, savings, etc). I work full time, but maintain our vehicles and other family members as well as tractors/equipment for my father-in-laws farm, as well as many number of other projects I dream up. The driveway and small (10x20 garden shed) we not working out well at all...

So this year, I acquired a bunch of cabinets, countertop, and shelving from a remodel project of laboratory space at work that kicked off the conversation again and I got the Green Light to start planning over the summer. Then the real fun began!

Basic Specifications: 24x40x9 with 13' peak at center, 2x6 framing, 4 windows, entry door, and a 16x9 standard garage door

Some Cliff Notes of the Build progress:
August 22 2015- began clearing trees
Sept 22- Poured the 24x40 monolithic slab
October 6- first wall up!
October 19- all trusses set
November 12- Siding Completed and Roofing Completed
December 2- 16ftx9ft Garage Door Installed

Projects left to do:
Seal concrete floor
Run all electrical (trenching, outlets, lighting, etc, etc)
Insulation
Cabinets/shelving
Paneling (OSB/plywood)
and much, more more

I have done a ton of research over the last year on this forum and others, so I thought I would document the history and some of the future progress as I try to finish up. Be patient as I add some past pictures and descriptions to the thread, as well as current progress (Full time job, toddler, pregnant wife, and a big project to finish before the cold sets in)

Since people seem to get roasted for no pictures, here you go:



Enjoy!

 

[MountPilot]

Shop Site Before:





Shop Site After Tree Clearing:

 

[MountPilot]

This is from 9/8/2015 as we cleared the lot of stumps and brought up to level grade. We encountered a HUGE rock when digging the footing that required another 2 truck loads of rock/dirt to bring up the pad.

Stumps cleared



getting closer



roughly staked out for backfill

 

[Bob Hall]

Great start! Pilot Mountain is such a beautiful area. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride.

 

[billspit]

That is a beautiful area. Years ago I interviewed for a county agent position in Surry County. I didn't get the job. Every time I pass through on I-77 headed to WV to visit my daughter, it's all I can do to keep from pulling over and crying.

 

[MountPilot]

It is a very beautiful area! I feel very fortunate to live here

 

[MountPilot]

So being the new to the forum, I have yet to master the art of attaching images...a quick search yielded plenty of help in that arena. If there are any other pointers you guys can share please let me know

 

[MountPilot]

After clearing 17 trees, trimming the very large white oak overhanging the future building, removing stumps, grading, and compacting, it was finally time to set up forms and get the pad poured. Due to time constraints, I contracted out the cement. The Local crew (Turney and Sons Concrete) did a fantastic job!

Basic Specs on the Slab:

• 24'x40'
• 4 inches thick with 12x12 inch footing
• 15 yards of 3000psi cement
• fiber reinforcement
• 2 strips of 1/2 Rebar around footing
• mesh rebar in field
• 6 mil poly in field
  

The Forming:



The Pouring:



The Finished Product:

 

[MountPilot]

The J-bolts ended up being 6 short of what was needed to attach sill-plate, so 5/8" anchors were added to complete all spacing.

Over a 10 day period before the September 22nd Cement pour we got close to 6" of rain, which delayed things quite a bit. Then the sky opened up for another week straight of rain as soon as the framing materials and sheathing was delivered. This delay set me back as the after work daylight continued to fade, but I finally cut my first board on October 5th!

 

[MountPilot]

Spent the whole weekend trenching and prepping for the addition of power and exterior hydrants. since I managed to cut my well water line (more on this later), I wasnt able to post any updates.

The materials were delivered the last week of September (except for trusses), and the rain didn't let up for almost two weeks. It was very hard to just look at a few grand worth of lumber sit in the rain covered up and not be able to put a nail in.

With the help of my brother in law, we managed to get all four walls up in a few weekday evenings and one Saturday. All framing was 2x6 with PT sill plate and double top plate. I used standard 105" Studs which gave a total wall height of 9ft 3 inches.





Basic Framing Outline- front and back


Basic Framing Outline- sides


First wall up! the 24Ft sections was a little heavy


we built the sides (40') in 3 sections due to limited lifting resources


all walls complete (minus 1 piece of top plate)

 

[MountPilot]

This week has been trenches for water and electrical (to be detailed more in future posts), but for now I will continue with the build sequence.

7/16" OSB sheathing was used on the exterior on the upper 8 ft of the wall and 1/2" pressure treated plywood was used for the remainder along the base. The cost was a little higher than OSB, but I felt more comfortable with the potential for splashing and rot near the foundation.

more bracing was added after the photos.








next up: Trusses!

 

[captain14]

Thanks for the update.
I am Am along for the journey.

 

[MountPilot]

For the truss package I went with scissor trusses with a 5/12 roof and a 3/12 ceiling pitch. the cost difference was only a few dollars per truss and I like the option of overhead storage and the potential for a lift long term.

I had originally envisioned 1/3 attic trusses and 2/3 scissor, but to make the roof line match the house and keep size down for the wifey, I couldn't go any steeper. If/when I run our of space (which from what I can tell on here will happen fast) I will construct a loft or an extension on the back side.

All of the trusses were put up in the evenings and on a Saturday evening. I had 1-2 helpers for most of them, and put a few up myself (not recommended). I am a big guy at 6'3" 270lbs, but a 26ft scissor truss can be a little hard to handle.

This was my fist time setting trusses, so I was very pleased with the outcome and learned a lot by the time the last one was set! I thought adding the hurricane ties along the whole wall ahead of time would be helpful, but it made staging the trusses and sliding into position difficult. When nailing the ties in, use a palm nailer to save time, but wear good hearing protection

As in the previous post, I added a lot of bracing after snapping a picture, but most of it was done with a headlight at night thanks to rain delays and daylight savings ending.

 

[drivesitfar]

Mp: it looks like your garage is finished and you are going back and showing us how you built it? Looks great and yes post lots of pictures if you have time and as far as i know we havent kicked a member out for not posting pictures, but they are like **** to us so post all garage, tools, and car pics you can and you'll get more members looking st your threads.

Good luck

 

[Wood87]

You've got a sweet shop going, I just finished my structure and floor on my 24x26x9, it was as big as I could go where I live. Man I wish I could have all that extra depth, that would be awesome! Can't wait to see the progress

 

[captain14]

I have been. Following your thread and yiur other thread about underground service since your first posting. Were you constricted by space for 20 feet wide? Or other reasons?

I think the outside is very nice looking and you have it closed up for the winter even though your winters are shorter and warmer than for us to the north of you.

Please keep posting yiur progress since we all enjoy reading the threads.

 

[MountPilot]

Mp: it looks like your garage is finished and you are going back and showing us how you built it?

The exterior shell is completed, but the interior is still a blank canvas (minus some electrical I have started on). I have a few more "catch up" posts and the updates will be current

 

[MountPilot]

I have been. Following your thread and yiur other thread about underground service since your first posting. Were you constricted by space for 20 feet wide? Or other reasons?

I think the outside is very nice looking and you have it closed up for the winter even though your winters are shorter and warmer than for us to the north of you.

Please keep posting yiur progress since we all enjoy reading the threads.

I went 24ft wide primarily due to property line on one side and a 300 year old White Oak on the other. It has been a warm winter so far, but having it closed in will be nice as I finish up electrical, lighting, paneling and shelving

 

[drivesitfar]

MP: best of luck with the wiring, lighting and putting stuff inside your new garage/shop. do you have a plan for all the things that you want inside because it will fill up quickly and before you know it you won't be able to pull a car in or work in there?

it looks like your side of the US has some pretty warm weather for Christmas and ours isn't too cold so hope you have a great holiday and a better 2016 than this year and years in the past.

cheers

 

[CNGsaves]

Beautiful lot and great progress on the garage !!

QUESTION: Why no garage door header ??

 

[469 runner]

Nice build. I know that area well. This is a view from some property we have there. I grew up near Westfield and have lived away for 28 years. Looking forward to returning soon.

 

[MountPilot]

Beautiful lot and great progress on the garage !!

QUESTION: Why no garage door header ??

Thanks! I am really excited about the progress so far

As for the header, I used two 18' LVL headers above the top plate to span the 16 ft opening. The top plate 2x6 was nailed and strapped to the header and the bottom chord of the Gable Truss and the first 12" of the vertical members were tied to the header as well. This may not be the conventional header, but with it being a non-load bearing (or very minimal load) wall. I wanted to get as large of a door as possible for tractor and equipment clearance.

Ill post pictures sometime today of the header in place.

 

[MountPilot]

Nice build. I know that area well. This is a view from some property we have there. I grew up near Westfield and have lived away for 28 years. Looking forward to returning soon.

469 runner, I think I have driven by that farm. If you like muscle cars and live music, you should try to come back to Pilot next year during one of the Cruise-Ins (April 30th, June 4th, July 2nd, August 6th, September 3rd, October 1st). It has turned into one of the largest open street events in the southeast!

 

[MountPilot]

As with most projects, they usually end up taking a little longer than expected. This is especially true when North Carolina had the wettest October and November in decades and when you have to travel to Europe for 10 days for a business trip and daylight savings ends with sunset at 5:30 and have family obligations over the Thanksgiving...

Some other factors that I cant really complain about are beginning of Deer Hunting season and 4 day Surf Fishing trip to Cape Hatteras


All that being said, I ended up contracting out the roof sheathing, metal, and siding to local connection because I got the trusses completed on Wednesday, built the ladders for the gable eaves Thursday and had to hop on a plane to Germany on Friday evening. With 3 inches of rain forecasted while I was away, I didn't have many options. For the end result and the price I paid, I was extremely pleased! They got done in 4 days what would have taken me 4 weeks. With his contractor discount for siding, he saved about 30% on siding material cost from what I was going to pay.


So after going back through my photos, it looks like I did not take many photos of the header, final sheathing, windows, and siding in detail, but I found a few:

This was a sweet find at a local hardware store. $75 each for double window. they were clearing out their warehouse and I found two of them the day before I framed the side wall! more light and cheaper than one new single


My wife's brother and father helping with some house wrap


Finishing up the last little bit of siding from Norandex!



Metal going up. Galvalume 40 year to match what we have on the house.

 

[MountPilot]

A little delay on the posting, but I hope to catch up to the current status in the next few days.

With the siding completed and the metal roof installed, I was finally able to have the garage door installed, work on the interior, and start the electrical. To save the surface of the finished concrete slab from orange Carolina clay, I had a load of #57 gravel delivered to create the driveway. On minor oversight was the trench I had to dig for water and electrical to my pasture went right through my 4” of gravel so I had to rake it all out of the way to make room for the trencher.

Here is the before with a ton of leaves:


And the after with some fresh stone:


And from another angle:

 

[MountPilot]

The 16’x9’ Insulated garage door was purchased from a local company and included a motor, installation, and service warranty. The price was very comparable to the online vendors I researched, and I didn’t have to touch it. In order to get as large of a door as possible, I had to use the low-overhead track kit for the door. Overall I was VERY pleased with the result!

Finished Product:


Interior:





From a distance:

 

[MountPilot]

I dug over 400' of 24" deep with a walk behind ditch witch and it took a little over 6 hours on the machine and about 6 hours with shovel (cleanout and intersections of existing utilities). With the $2.50/ft price that was quoted by a local trenching company. I was very happy with the $140 rental and the exercise over the weekend.

The 220 electrical line going to my well was only buried 5-6 inches deep and I discovered that the previous owner did not run the electrical wire with the water line (about 20' apart and several random bends). So was able to dig a new trench for that line. Bad News: I managed to fracture the water line in the process of digging the main trench. Good news: I was able to replace a bunch of copper/brass plumbing in the house that cracked when the line pulled from the trench over 25' away. I was tired and sore but was able to fix a bunch of poor workmanship from previous owners to get water back on...gotta love 100year old houses!

With about 30ft of trench remaining, the front control bar of the Ditch Witch fell off. The weld on the supporting bracket for the bar was pretty poor quality and could not hold up the vibrations. I was able to rig the machine to finish the job, but moved a lot slower with the safety concerns.

I added the 100amp service MHF, 3/4” water line, and two hydrants (one at the shop) and one at my pasture.

The first 75 feet


The big oak and maple trees caused some root issues


Even with the Ditch witch, there is a lot of shovel time. The 5” trenching shovel is a great investment


Fun intersection to dig by hand (New service line to shop, well power, water line, new service line to utility shed:


The cracked weld from the Ditch witch