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My garage is 22x22 and it's too small. I can work in there but it's tight. Luckily my folks bought the neighbors property and the past two years we've been fixing up that garage. It's 36x38 and although much larger than my garage, that garage could still be bigger! If you can go 24x24 or a...

If your curious, go to the link below to see the Iowa DOT spec on cold weather protection. Sounds like you were on the boarder line with the cold. I really think it's more likely they added water to the slab. That would also explain why the sidewalk is ok, because they probably didn't add water...

Like mentioned above, looks like spaulding. Could be from the cold but more than likely they threw water on the surface while they were finishing to make it finish easier and look smooth. The problem is this causes spaulding. If you have them lined up for more work and they are a good company...

They won't pave it in the rain or if they use binder on the subbase than it needs to be dry or the binder won't stick. If it's a driveway on dirt or rock though a little rain won't hurt. You can't pave anything on mud and expect it to work out well though. But yes, rain after it's paved won't be...

The Iowa DOT standard time is 7 days on the PCC they pour. As stated above, depending on the temperatures it's usually at strength in 3-5 days but without making cylinders and having them tested than 7 day waiting period is standard. In the hot part of the summer we may have a 9" roadway hit...

You can measure the un-compacted HMA before they roll it. It will obviously be thicker before compaction and that number should be 1/4" per 1" of material. So if your final compacted layer is to be 2" thick than the um-compacted it will be 2.5" thick. The contractor should have a probe and can...

Good call on the 6". I do civil work including inspection and all driveways or sidewalks crossing driveways are always 6" thick. No rebar or fiber or anything fancy in it. Just a good quality 4,000 psi concrete mix and 6" thick. The subbase work is of course very important but extra thickness...

From all my research is seemed that pressure treated pine was the best for posts and stringers and cedar for pickets. I did this at the end of last year. For my short fence, like 30' or so, I have discovered 1 slightly warped post and one that has a pretty big weather check in it. Otherwise the...

For part of my job I do concrete inspection. In Iowa the DOT is pouring lots of sidewalk and driveways through towns to conform with Federal ADA standards. When doing this work they simply pour and finish the concrete and then spray with a cure agent and walk away. The concrete drives are opened...

My garage looks just like yours on the inside. The tops of my walls are now starting to bow out and the roof is sagging. For now I added a floor jack to help out but at some point I have to pull the walls in and add rafter ties. Make sure you fix things correctly now or you'll end up with the...