Recent content by cleveman

There is no reason why you guys shouldn't be able to find a good porcelain tile on closeout prices for $1.50/square foot or less. Add maybe 20 cents for the mortar and grout and you are in business.

you'll still need to side an icf wall. It would be sweet if you could find a tie-in system to allow you to put in 3" of poly iso on the exterior of your block, then a brick veneer over that with the 1/2" airspace. I just can't think of what to attach wall ties to the concrete block with...

Around here, you could have that garage built for $15,000 minus the brick. The materials might run you $7,500. Add on $8,000 for the brickwork but substract a bit for the siding you won't use. Everything always works out for me if I can pay myself a decent wage to build it and break even on...

I think they are both wrong. You may want to insulate your footing as well.

One isn't supposed to use a vapor barrier such as plastic, then a tilebacker with a liquid membrane on it because then the tilebacker can't dry out if it becomes wet somehow. So skip the vapor barrier against the studs and just use a tilebacker, then a liquid waterproofer like aquadefence...

Nice build. I've always wanted to have a garage where I could have a second story and access it like you have. I would have to do some research, but I think I have seen barns where there were earthen ramps on both ends and they were set up probably so you could drive a team of oxen or horses...

Whatever you do, don't trust the gov't. We have had three county sanitarians in my years here and I know sanitarians in other counties and they don't always agree on things. We have every opinion from outlawing all septic systems and only allowing sewered properties to the exact opposite. The...

I'm just saying for a sq. of concrete material it will cost you your yard cost/81. If your yard cost is $120, it will cost you $148/square foot. Around here, people are getting $4/square foot for everything. As the area grows, the price/sq. ft. decreases. For example, if you want a 16 square...

I didn't notice your location, but you can figure $4/foot. The way to figure this is to imagine a cubic yard in front of you. If you want your concrete 4" thick, go ahead and slice 4" off the top of that cube and put it on the ground. Now on the ground you have a chunk of concrete which is...

I had a workbench which I used for years which I just dragged around. It was 24" wide and maybe 5' long and had a shelf on the bottom. Chances are you are just pulling it out and away from a wall a few feet.

I would think that they would be awash in beer in Wisconsin and they could throw a couple of pallets worth into all trucks which are below weight and have a bit of space left over. They could really draw people into their stores with $12/case beer.

Why haven't they started selling beer & cheese? One would think they would own a brewery and a cheesery by now.

There are some garage builders here which advertise in the newspaper and have for years. You may start with such an outfit and see what their contract looks like. I'm pretty old school and I'm not sure why you would pay for something like this before it is completed. The contractor will...

Put a ceiling in it, such as sheetrock. Insulate the walls with r-13 fiberglass, then wrap with plastic and sheetrock if you desire. Now you can blow some insulation in the attic or put some fiberglass batting up there. I was blown away by a detached, insulated garage here in Iowa. I don't...

Can't go wrong at that price. Might make a good TV table or bar as well.