Recent content by ICT_Kevin

Hey Brad. I sent a direct note with a lot more, but the short version on zoning resources is to find your zoning region at this first link, and look up the limits at the second link. Besides looking at the limits for your zoning type, be sure to look at the accessory structure limits (page 168...

The sit/stand rig is nice. I'm glad I built it. If I build a second one, I have some ideas to reduce the labor and effort in it. Engineering becomes a lifestyle sometimes. You're right about the vise. It's quite a tool and deserves some attention. It may lay in wait a while yet. The green...

Hobbies continue. I got hooked on the idea of a sit/stand desk for work. It was hard to imagine paying $500 for an Ergotron Workfit S or Humanscale Quick Stand. Since I have a welder and foolish ambition, I put around $200 into building my own. I might not have, if I could have gone back at the...

I'm almost caught up on house and garage photos. It's been a nice spring here - starting in February this time. The path around the house is complete again, after 3 or 4 years of missing the rear stretch. Sewer replacements trump patios. The beveled edges on the bricks really look good to us...

Maybe I will put something together on the car, Cory. It's really not an engineering masterpiece. The rookie build on anything will have rough spots. The chassis was inspired by the Ariel Atom for style, but the SL300 or Maserati Birdcage for concept. The triangulated side frames carry torsion...

Last summer and fall were busy. The summer was spent getting the back yard back together for my wife. I estimated 16 tons of dirt, gravel, sand, railroad ties, and brick before we laid sod. We recessed the ground about 6-7 inches to prep and re-lay our brick patio. When we laid sod to the...

Hey Charlie. To estimate materials, I worked down from what I paid in total. There were a few large labor items like the framing and sheetrock upstairs. For plumbing and electrical, I estimated about half as labor. I haven't tried to estimate concrete labor since I don't know enough. If I did...

Hi Charlie. Sorry I missed your post a couple months ago. A quick look has about $10,000 labor in tree removal, framing,siding, roofing, and sheetrock. I don't have separate line items for plumbing, electrical, or concrete, but I'd venture $4,000 for plumbing and electrical labor. I did...

Thanks JB. It seemed like the best option, and if I have my tools nearby, I'll be a happy guy. I have modest progress on the racer, but I expect to pick up speed in the spring. The steering column is back in with a new cross-bar that gives me a lot more knee space. I'm about to buy a newer...

The floor center beam is more than I did. A plain slab 4" thick over soil is supposedly adequate for most lifts. Pulling an engine shouldn't be any worse. A 5" slab isn't a terrible cost hit for a lot more strength. Just going to rebar is a good step beyond most. 9' isn't much height for a...

Thanks Davegonz. I figured the osb would hold more weight and allow more freedom hanging things. Sheetrock anchors do reasonably well, but they seem to tear out under repeated use. I really don't like sheetrock in general. In Kansas, we also get high winds with storms. Sheeting both sides of...

I have a new insulation challenge for GJ suggestions. The first pic shows sheet insulation I installed this evening where the back of the garage foundation is exposed about 20 inches above grade. It's 2" thick, 11 inches tall, and the bottom stops about 4" above existing grade. The ground is...

That's how I've dug this round. We would have hired a bobcat, but we had no 3-day stretches of dry for 3 months. We got started with my dad's tiller, and about the time we could have hired a bobcat, we were getting close to ready. We're really clay for soil and up at the top of a wide hill in...

Good notes. Thanks everyone. I'll take a look at how many tons if I adjust depths, and get going. Off-hand it sounds like 3 tons and 1 ton. Maybe another ton if I bring the bed up to 5". I have a small amount of gravel left over from the first 500 sft of the brick work. When I did the first...

Hi. I got the garage built, so now I'm indebted to my wife to finish the back yard. I have 280 square foot of brick to lay. I'm planning a 2" bed of gravel under a 2" layer of sand for a bed. My old source of 3/8 gravel has gone away. Is 1/2 inch and under gravel too big for the job, or just...