Search results

Here they are framing.... Not sure what the stuffed bird is all about. Maybe good luck? They nailed it to the pole the day they arrived. Maybe it's an attention-getter so the SkyTrak operator doesn't drive into the pole...

They did an awesome job on the concrete floor. Mirror smooth, angled toward the drains, thresholds are angled outward so rain doesn't wash in. You know, all those little details that unprofessionals overlook. :thumbup:

There was a small miscommunication, and the masons only put in 5 courses of block. This would've put my siding about 4 inches above ground -- not good in Michigan. A quick phone call and I had one more course of block. Now the siding is/will be 12 inches off the ground and I am pleased. I...

It required a ridiculous amount of sand back-fill, but they did it right, compacting each load of sand. I guess I never took a picture of it, but they definitely used a plate compactor on each load, not just a dozer and a front loader.

The next day, the masons showed up. I've never seen a wall so smooth. Every block was laid with precision, and the building ended up perfectly square. :bowdown:

The day of the dig was awesome. 60-something degrees and sunny. They dug for a few hours and then poured the footing. When they say "footing ought to be on undisturbed soil" this is the digger you want. One guy was in the trench with a laser level while the backhoe operator ever-so-carefully...

After asking many questions and getting many great answers from Garage Journal members, I got my 26x46 barn drawn up the way I wanted. I went to the building inspector and said "here, 1192 square feet, just under that maximum you mentioned a few weeks ago." He gave me a funny look and said...

Been meaning to post pics for a long time!!! First off, the old shed. Wow, what an engineering marvel! It was made from telephone poles, those horizontal wooden beams near the top of telephone poles that hold the wires, old plywood road signs (no, I am not kidding), and corrugated steel &...

We'd need to know how far the wire will need to run -- how many feet? There is a concept called de-rating that applies to long runs, and that is where you must use a bigger wire than what a Google search might indicate. As for a rough estimate, look for a local electrical supply warehouse. I...

how far is your garage from the house? 30 seems weak for what you're doing. especially if you ever want to do anything else out there (power tools, etc). i have no plans to do anything in my garage in the near future, but i am still going to run 100 amps out there so that i only do the job once.

If I read this right, your walls are 14' high, and the room under your loft is 8' high. So that leaves you with 6' at the edges, and more than that at the center because you have scissors trusses. Do you know the pitch of the bottom chord of your trusses? If the bottom chord is 4:12 then you...

it's irrelevant in my neck of the woods... when the county needs money, they either raise tax rates or property values to meet their needs. if they get the feeling that people don't like the tax increase, they scare everyone into approving it by threatening to reduce the police force or lower...

this sounds like a fun project. here's my idea coming out from left field. you'd build a deck like you described and drew. maybe with K bracing underneath so that it's less likely to warp??? then you'd put posts in every 4' leading up to the edge of the moat. the first 2 posts on either...

we have a clothesline year round, even in the winter. we don't always use it, but we try to use it on sunny, dry days. i've never put a dress shirt on it, but everything else has required no ironing.

Though I went stick-built on mine, I did get a bid for a pole barn with attic trusses that would've yielded a 13x46x8 loft, so they are definitely doable.

For comparison... My garage is similar construction, but 32x52x10 with only 4" of concrete. Also, I have attic trusses that will give me a 16x52x8 attic and I have 3 overhead doors. Site prep was included, and I needed a LOT of sand. Also, I had a footing poured, then had 6 courses of cement...

I guess not, because I'm the electrician, and I'm not in the system. :headscrat

I hate to see the small guys go, too. There are only 2 left in my town -- a DoIt and an Ace. There used to be 2 full-size lumber yards and countless hardware and building supply shops. I don't see how they can survive when Lowe's and Home Depot are within 1/4 mile of each other slashing...

I kicked around the idea of being the GC and ultimately decided that I didn't want to deal with the stress of coordinating everyone. I found that my GC and his connections are more skilled and do higher quality work than the subs I found on my own, not to mention his prices were better. The...

step 6 on this page makes it sound like you just use regular old 6x6 lumber http://www.socketsys.com/easy/building_sequence_photos.htm