Above 1200 Sq/FT The Never Ending Retirement Garage/Shop Projects

For years, we had been looking for property that had a nice view (wife’s requirement) and enough land to build a nice garage/woodworking shop for me and all of this within our property “hunt” budget. We lucked out one weekend and ended up finding the property we both loved, but it was not currently listed for sale. The owners of this property liked to winter in Boston…… I know… the reverse of “snowbirds” and they were enjoying the winter there. Our realtor said he knew the family and would call them to ask if they had any renewed interest in selling. Over the next year, a deal was worked out and new friendships were established. The big concession on this deal was that the current owners wanted to spend the next spring-summer-fall in the house rent free, tax free, and with the final agreed to price for the property in their pocket. We thought that was a reasonable request as long as the final price of the property met our budget. In the end, we are all happy, actually, very happy. The first picture is of Andy & Kay, who owned the property for about 22 years (third owners).

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As an aside, Andy is a retired surgeon and a bit eccentric. One of his hobbies is making cross-bows from Jeep leaf springs and making the arrows to launch from the bow…. Very powerful stuff. Then in the front (north) yard, he built what he called a Trebuchet, or what I called, an eye-sore Catapult. He liked to load this sucker up with old bowling balls, pumpkins and who knows what-all, and launch them. To power this hummer, he would put Kay in the Volvo, hook up a rope, and tell her: “Hit It Honey!” I’m sure it was fun. I made great friends with the close neighbors the first day we moved in after I chained up my Kubota to this thing and put it on the burn pile…..

After taking possession and for the next several years, we use this location on the weekends, holidays, vacation, and anytime we can slip away from business requirements. Along with keeping the rain out of the house, (had to poke cedar shingles under the other rotted shingles with a long pole---- could not walk on the roof for fear of falling through, getting the yard in shape because there was hardly any yard maintenance in about the last 5 or 6 years of their ownership) we designed the garage/shop space. My drawings are turned over to an architect friend which I work with for many of my business projects and he gets the drawings/engineering/permit sets ready and they are in turn sent out to several contractors for the bid process and to the county for their review and our local government revenue-stream collectors. The week after Thanksgiving, 2004, we break ground.

The heated space (in floor hydronic) is 30x54 with an 8x16 bump-out, 10’-6” clear from finished floor in all areas save for the bump-out. Covered porch is 10x20 and the car port is roughly 26x30.

We wanted something that would be architecturally pleasing as well as functional. We would be partially blocking the neighbors mountain view, however, Margareta, was 94 at that time and she said it would be fun to watch the building go up and she had been looking at essentially the same view to the south since 1966. This second picture is of Margareta. We loved this ‘ol gal. Talk about interesting. A graduate of Yale University in their art program during the late 1920’s. She married a fellow from Yale who held 2x doctorate degrees, one in Archaeology, (was involved in the early digs in Egypt) and the other in Paleontology (this one from Cal-Tech). He worked for Shell Oil and traveled the world looking for oil reserves. We have some of his pictures of the travels and his notes he kept from the late 20’s, through the early 60’s. Would have loved to have met this fellow. We were able to have a few of Margareta’s water color paintings after she died…. Simply stunning and were painted in the early 1930’s while travelling with her husband.

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The new septic system was all that was left to install prior to picking up the permit to start the new garage/woodworking shop. The third picture is of the property after we put many hours into the yard.

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This picture is of the septic tank excavation. Man, that’s a big hole and the next picture is of the septic mounds. This system is called a Glen-Don (so named after the inventors) Bio-Filter. It is essentially a mini waste water treatment plant. Solids/liquids are collected in a 2.5K gallon baffled tank, and then transferred by gravity (liquids) to another 2.5K gallon tank, then pumped to 3x, 2K gallon tanks that are partially buried and these tanks are filled with several different layers of media, then are all covered with clean sand. Why such an elaborated septic system? Our property is on essentially impermeable clay and very near the ocean (located between the Olympic Mountain Range and Vancouver Island, BC). So, this is the hoop that needed to be jumped to get the building permit. 5th picture is of the septic tank mounds. Pretty huh?...
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The usual disruption to the landscape that happened while completing the new septic along with the utilities trenching/footings/stem walls/concrete/back-fill/material delivery for the garage/shop. What a mess…… My once beautiful lawn is gone and there is little to do about it except wait for Mother Nature to heal it all.

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Accessories installed prior to concrete. The insulated boxes are the in-floor ducting for the dust collection system and some (we hoped) well placed electrical outlets for the woodworking equipment (No Extension Cords Allowed) and the low voltage conduit for the automated blast gates.

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Oh yeah, the wife getting after it...!

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Ready to pour the floor. The two pipes sticking up by the floor heat manifolds are for future ground loop (geothermal) heat source, because, one of these days, (now) propane is going to get way too expensive.
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Feeling pretty good with the progress and the shape it is taking. Pictures 12-15.
We are actually thrilled with the progress.

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Electricians are pretty good and allow me to do all the low voltage wire and pulls under their permit. Security (alarm), Closed Circuit Video to a financial (bank) application DVR, Cable/SAT TV, Surround Sound for the shop and garage space. Plumbers let me help out with the copper for the compressed air (they did not charge extra for my “help” so this worked out pretty well.) Copper system is designed to have condensation collect at a central low point at the end of the system with a gate valve to drain the lines. Have an operable trap at each outlet as well. We will see how this all works out. And, “While We Are At It” a term that will be costly going forward, we choose to sprinkle the building for fire mitigation, not a requirement, but a choice we hope will never be used.

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The 500 Gallon LP Tank.

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Drywall is in and it looks HUGE! I know I can make it look smaller in a heart beat.....

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Paint still smells fresh here and hanging the lights. T8's and 4x four footers. Lots of light. I know I'm going to love this place.

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The double doors to the right of French Doors in car port are for the air compressor and the cyclonic wood dust collector.

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We move in and live here for a couple of years while we take on the very extensive house remodel/rebuild. This space is very comfortable and we are reluctant to move out when the time comes.

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Thanks for reading and enduring the pictures. Will continue to add posts with further progress we made. The project was (is) a ton of fun at times (and now too), and, then there were other moments... I think we all experience little issues with like projects. Always, we try to remember not to sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff.......

Ody.

I love the living room picture with the tractors in the background! Thanks for sharing, post more when you get a chance.

Great pictures and narrative on the story. That is quite a project you took on. Keep the updates coming.

Strouty said:

I love the living room picture with the tractors in the background! Thanks for sharing, post more when you get a chance.

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Thanks Strouty. Many visitors got a kick out of what was being stored on the other side of the shop. Usually had one or two of my collector cars in there at times. Was always fun to wake up and to see my "babies" in the stable.

aqr81 said:

Great pictures and narrative on the story. That is quite a project you took on. Keep the updates coming.

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Thank you aqr81. Have met some really great folks in this area and we are lucky to have known them and had them for friends. Many new friends here too. A great area to be living in with little traffic to deal with. Still have plenty to do in this shop and will keep you posted as other aspects of the build come together.

Kind regards to you both.

Ody.

Very nice pic,s of your complex. shop is comming along just fine will be following your progress

Don

Wow, great looking shop...great build!

Shaun

Very nice!!! Your pictures help me envision our eventual retirement house build on the Restored 1930s Auto Shop property.

Chris

I like the fire sprinkler system. I want to install such a system in my next build... should give a little peace of mind and knock some bucks off from the insurance.

Wow, great looking place. I think I'd be reluctant on moving out of the garage also.

How large is the property? From the first pic it didn't look overly large, but looking at it with the garage it looks like you maybe have 2+ acres?

Looking forward to seeing more progression pics!!!

flybefree said:

Wow, great looking shop...great build!
Shaun

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Thank you, flybefree. Like your screen name. I take it you are or were a pilot? I have several hundred hours as a VFR pilot in Cessna 172/182. Loved Flying. Decided that I would get into cars and go fast & low. Still, I miss being able to hop into a plane and go for that famous 80 or 100 dollar (I'm sure the cost is waaay more today) hamburger depending on location and the airport restaurant. Thanks again for your comments on the shop.

markviii said:

Very nice!!! Your pictures help me envision our eventual retirement house build on the Restored 1930s Auto Shop property.
Chris

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Appreciate your comments, markviii. More to come on the house/attached garage project. If you are willing to take the time, you might investigate a free 3 dimensional modeling program from Google called Sketch Up. Allows you to build nearly anything in 3D. It has been said it is intuitive to learn, so that must mean I'm in the "special needs" group, however, there are great books and lots of on-line tutorials should you want to learn the program. Looking forward to seeing your next project and have thoroughly enjoyed your thread.

ockie said:

I like the fire sprinkler system. I want to install such a system in my next build... should give a little peace of mind and knock some bucks off from the insurance.

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Thanks for posting, ockie. You are correct on the reduction in insurance premiums. Our systems need to be flushed periodically. Maybe that is because the fire system is fed by our well. The one change I'd make here is to terminate the system to one or all of the toilets. This way, I'd never need to worry about junk settling in the pipes and the potential of a clogged sprinkler head. For your area, would be a good to check with your fire sprinkler contractor to see if the "toilet" connections will pass code. Yes, the piece of mind the system brings is wonderful, but, we still keep hand held fire suppression available.

Kevin54 said:

Wow, great looking place. I think I'd be reluctant on moving out of the garage also.
How large is the property? From the first pic it didn't look overly large, but looking at it with the garage it looks like you maybe have 2+ acres?
Looking forward to seeing more progression pics!!!

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Appreciate your comments, Kevin54. You can not believe the remorse we experienced about moving out of the shop. The new house is nice and all that, but for some reason, the shop felt like more of a home than a shop. I'm sure we will look back on those feelings and ask our selves: "What Could We Have Possibly Been Thinking?"

Correct on the acreage. 2.05ac where the house and shop are located. Then add 1 acre for the road into the property. This gives control over who can use the road into the property..... at least, I think this is the case.

Yes, more pictures on the way. Need to get some other work completed first. Need to keep my better half happy too.

Picture of the driveway:

don long said:

Very nice pic,s of your complex. shop is comming along just fine will be following your progress

Don

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Hi Don,

Overlooked your post. Sorry for that. Appreciate your comments. Yes, will be sending out more pictures this next week. The attached garage to the house is up next. An interesting project as well. Thanks again for posting to this thread.

Ody.

Odis, I forgot to ask, but what is your avatar? Whatever it is it looks like a lot of them sitting there.

Kevin54 said:

Odis, I forgot to ask, but what is your avatar? Whatever it is it looks like a lot of them sitting there.

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Thanks for asking, Kevin54.

1963, 356 T-6 Porsche Engines at the factory in Stuttgart waiting to be installed. Pretty sure one of these might belong to me........

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Thanks for your question and post.

ODIS said:

Picture 18 is of the 500 Gallon LP Tank.

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That is a very nice place you have there Ody. I know you must be enjoying it.

This is the first time I have seen a LP gas tank buried. Perhaps it is common in your area, but not around here. I would be concerned that the tank could corrode due to any moisture in the soil if there are any scratches in that coating. We use fusion bonded epoxy coatings on buried natural gas lines and have seen the localized corrosion that happens when the coating is breached. Hopefully you have a powder coated tank and the coating is a bit more durable.

Buried propane tanks are the norm here in Maryland. They are buried along with sacrificial anodes to help with the corrosion. Most nicer homes have them buried here.

Tom

welder4956 said:

That is a very nice place you have there Ody. I know you must be enjoying it.

This is the first time I have seen a LP gas tank buried. Perhaps it is common in your area, but not around here. I would be concerned that the tank could corrode due to any moisture in the soil if there are any scratches in that coating. We use fusion bonded epoxy coatings on buried natural gas lines and have seen the localized corrosion that happens when the coating is breached. Hopefully you have a powder coated tank and the coating is a bit more durable.

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Thank you, welder4956. All too many times have I just sat in the shop and looked around. I am indeed lucky to have the place. There are a few hoops to jump for the in ground tanks. Hole and tank are inspected prior to back fill. If any of the spoils are rocky, can not be used to back fill, so, sand must be used. Lucky we are able to install in the ground too. Don't think these tanks are very good to look at.

Thanks for taking the time to post to this thread.

thammel said:

Buried propane tanks are the norm here in Maryland. They are buried along with sacrificial anodes to help with the corrosion. Most nicer homes have them buried here.

Tom

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Yep, Tom has it correct.

Tom, thanks for your post too.

Regards to you both.

Ody.

Phase two of "The Never Ending Retirement Garage/Shop Project" is the remodel of the house and the addition of the attached garage.

House gets all remaining walls/ceilings stripped to the studs and are furred out to 6". All existing electrical/plumbing had to come out as well. Clearly, we should have taken the entire structure down to the foundation but, for some silly sentimental reasons, we chose to save as much of the original structure as feasible.

The original home was built in 1941 and added onto several times over the years leaving the interior a bit choppy and rooms that did not seem to work well. Pocket doors are everywhere without seemingly good reason...... Then it became cold out and with base board electric heat, the pocket doors now made perfect sense.

There was a two car garage that was added some time in the early 60’s and a small shop added on to the garage in the mid to late 70’s which faced to the north. Andy, the previous owner, liked to cook his salmon on the BBQ in the shop space….. The aroma from this epicurean adventure was nearly heart stopping. I tried my best to remove this smell and it was all to no avail.

Next to this garage/shop space was a small alcove with a deck surrounded by old sliding glass doors. When the wind would kick up, which it frequently does, the wind would just burble over the glass panes and create a wind funnel. Maybe this spot could be used one or two days a year when the sun would be out and the winds calm. This area too would be treated to the track hoe.

The new attached garage space is 24’x55’ with a bump out like the shop of 8’x16’. So, this new structure is a flipped, mirror image, of the standalone garage/shop space. Heat for this garage is simply LP fired forced air.

One of the design elements for the this entire project was to eliminate seeing garage doors while entering the property from the driveway. Entry is from the south, prevailing winds are from the west so the doors for the attached garage are on the east side of the structure. Garage doors on the standalone garage/shop face the north. This should be a great solution and has actually worked out very well.

The first picture is taken from the standalone garage/shop porch, as are many of the pictures in this post segment.

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View media item 102719A good days work.

View media item 102722Excavation is complete for the garage, mud-room, guest bath, guest bedroom and my office.

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No doubt, that is a big hole.


Thanks again for reading and looking at the pictures.

Ody.

Fantastic. You're doing a nice job of saving the "bones" of a great cottage.

What goes in the hole?

"What goes in the hole?"



Money - Lots and lots of money! lol

Zeke said:

Fantastic. You're doing a nice job of saving the "bones" of a great cottage.

What goes in the hole?

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Zeke, the following is fill for the hole: Garage, mud-room, guest bath, guest bedroom and my office. As for the "bones" they are in some areas just fine, in others, well, let's just say they could not be saved and I'll explain as the project progresses.

Omphaloskeptic, no truer words spoken....... "Money - Lots and lots of money!"

Footings, stem walls, sill plates installed:

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Area where the little deck was located will be the great room.



A look back towards the completed standalone garage/shop.

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Engineered floor joists are installed:

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And underlayment is down.

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Garage space is back-filled and compacted. Interesting on the choice of back fill material different concrete contractors use. At the standalone shop, pea gravel was used because I was told this material does not need to be compacted (it can't actually) but once concrete is poured over the top, it instantly compacts to 99%. Okay, I'm actually in agreement here. To this day, the standalone shop floor is PERFECT. Not one crack.......anywhere and the floor is as flat as could be. The attached garage back fill is a mix of crushed rock/sand and once the compactor is run over it, it seems stable..... Or, or, or, maybe not. More on that later.

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We are working on the landscaping for the standalone garage/shop by transplanting the displaced rhododendrons that were located in the future driveway to the attached garage.

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Some framing and garage floor insulation and wire mesh is installed.

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During one of my crawl space journeys to clean out all the demolition debris, I start to look closely at the foundation wall that was once the south wall of the existing kitchen. There is a little more light now in this area due to the demolition process and I discover that the stem wall is actually a large wood beam covered with a heaver gage aluminum cover. Clearly, this is not a good discovery. So, that entire wall and subsequent rafters/floor had to come out so that a new footing and stem wall could be created. How did everyone miss this? Yikes! Out with old, in with the new. Another phrase that would continue to add cost to the project.

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Then, when the inspector was out, he told us that the north stem wall was not to code. Existing CMU, but not filled with concrete. Also, there were no tie-downs at this location, so……..Out with the old, in with the new…. Will these cost over-runs ever stop?

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More on the garage progress in the next post. Thanks again for reading. Ody.

The progress is a bit slow at times and during this construction time period, our economy is strong and everyone is building. Concrete is in and framing has commenced.


As you saw in the previous post, the north stem wall is now in compliance. CMU’s have been back filled with concrete and tie downs have been added.

The south wall, the kitchen stem wall (where the wooden beam was covered in aluminum and in contact with the soil), has been corrected as well.

This is going to be a nice space!



View to the south: my office, guest room, guest bath, mud room, attached garage.

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Garage is getting framed in and it is starting to take shape.

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More demolition completed.

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Exterior sheathing is going up and is defining the shape of the garage much better.

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Dry weather cannot come soon enough.

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View media item 102929It is all coming together, however, it seems like it is taking forever. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

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At this point, we are concerned about the chimney. Is it holding up the house or is the house holding up the chimney?

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OH HOLY ****! Trusses are delivered and installed. Tails are not long enough……….. Who the heck ordered these? Contractor did not read the fine print. OOPS….. We did get this worked out without too much fuss.

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Thanks again for reading and looking at the pictures.

Ody.

Rafter tails are fixed and will be installing soffit material to support the new tails. We keep moving on. This is the east side.

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And the west side of garage.

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Interior shot. I’m concerned because of the little lakes on the floor. The next big rain, I measure the depth and they are deeper than a quarter on edge. I think this is a problem.

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Another picture taken from the porch of the standalone garage/shop.

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My future office. Wonder if I’ll ever get any work completed and not just staring out the window.

View media item 102943Shingles! Starting to look like a home now. Will be fun to see the siding go on.

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Tyvek and now ready for siding. Nice.

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Siding is going on and the gable ends are completed. Looks pretty good to me!

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Thanks again for reading. Ody.

Water views. I miss those from my youth growing up on lakefront property in Minnesota.

I had to LOL at your comment about dry weather. Aren't you in the Pacific NW? What day of the year is it dry?

Beautiful property, house, and shop.

Electricians are again really good to work with and they are doing a masterful job. We were allowed to do all the low voltage wire and pulls under their permit again. Alarm, closed circuit surveillance, phone, network, surround sound, etc.

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Exterior is painted and the colors match perfectly to the existing standalone garage/shop. Our painter was a joy to work with and this fellow was very particular on everything he did.

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Garage is rocked, taped, sanded and nearly ready to paint.

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This is the bump out area, 8 x 16 feet. Going to install work benched eventually here.

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Stone facing is installed and the grout “almost” matched the shop. No one will ever know the difference.…

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Another 500 gallon LP tank is buried for heat in the attached garage, hot water, BBQ, and the two lazy-man fireplaces. Inspector wanted this one back filled with clean sand. No problem!

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Insulated garage doors are hung and they look pretty darn good.

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Once I get all the scrap cleaned up, this place will look better.

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I've been busy installing the new sewer line to the stub-outs, and installing footing drains and all the down-spout drains. Footing drains are allowed to connect to the old septic drain field and the down spout drains go their own dry well.

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Ditching from the well to the garage is completed too. Could not believe how hard the soil was while digging this trench. Had to go pretty deep since there will be considerable elevation drop when the driveway is cut in.

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Interior paint in the garage is just perfect and I’m ready to hang the lights. However, and this is the painful part, I've been discussing the garage floor for months now on how to handle the large swales in the floor. I need 10’-6” clear for the lifts and adding filler to the floor might work but I’m concerned about how well the fill would stand the test of time in addition to losing the height requirements. Now the concrete guy is saying it’s not his problem and the contractor is saying the same. I hate this. Up to this point, the build has been without many issues, but this issue has me stopped cold and pondering my next steps.

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Thanks again for reading. I've been enjoying many of the other garage threads.

Ody.

admranger said:

Water views. I miss those from my youth growing up on lakefront property in Minnesota.

I had to LOL at your comment about dry weather. Aren't you in the Pacific NW? What day of the year is it dry?

Beautiful property, house, and shop.

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Thanks, admranger.

Water view here is very interesting. Lots of maritime traffic to watch. There is a good sized bay and then the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and this is where all the action is. See all the container ships heading to Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia to off load/reload for return trip. Cruise Ships departing from Seattle to Alaska and then there is the military. Carriers and the like from Bremerton Naval Ship Yard and then from Bangor, the Ohio Class Subs. I'm always impressed with the size of these Subs and a little awe struck of the power they can dispense at a twist of a key.

Okay, the weather. I only complain about it because I can. Last year, less than 15 inches of total precip. Then, just about 50 or 60 miles from us, is the Hoh Rain Forrest which gets about 300 inches per year. I will still find something to gripe about when it comes to weather.
Ody.

Great job

But I missed the explanation on the fireplace.

have you priced up having the concrete ground down to be flat and level? its not cheap, but you don't have the worry of adding something and it cracking later on down the track. also you won't lose any ceiling height. then maybe try to negotiate a deal with the concreter/contractor to cover some of the costs because they should have laid a flatter surface?

That is one heck of an exciting project. Terrific shop build and just a beautiful property.

Enjoy!

Beautiful place ODIS!! Quite the transformation!

I'm guessing from the scenery that we are not real far apart. I'm in Arlington.

You didn't happen to be in Arlington a couple weeks ago with the red car were you? I was in Union Bank and there was one across the street at the post office. I said to the teller, "Look at that car!!" and she said "Is that a Porsche?" .

Very nice build! I am impressed!

Shoottx said:

Great job

But I missed the explanation on the fireplace.

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Thanks Shoottx.

Okay, let me back up a little here. Here is a picture of what was in the house originally:

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And this is the initial interior demo at the fireplace (actually it is a double sided fire place):

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The picture when we ask: "What is holding up that chimney anyway?"

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So now, with abandon, the surrounding structure is removed. "With abandon" is a little strong, but the guys were pretty cautious while removing the supporting structure:

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Framing is being completed for the library and trusses are installed so the chimney is once again secure, however, the overall look is pretty sad. Had the crew frame it all in to conceal the masonry.

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Library is sheet-rocked/painted and I need to make decisions on the finish for this side of the fireplace. I know I want stone facing but I don't want to see any grout. End up choosing Lantana Stack Stone and Lilac Sand Stone for hearth/mantles/shelves. Picking out the sand stone was a job. Spent the better part of a day in the stone yard picking through the palate loads to find natural edges that were straight, stones that were consistent thickness, and ones that were reasonable in color match. Did this in mid February and froze my **** off picking out the stone:

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Anyway, I rebuilt the fireplace insert with new ceramic glass, new door seals, new fire brick, and several coats of new paint after a good sandblasting This is the final product:

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Kinda long answer to your question......sorry.

tinbender 66 said:

Beautiful place ODIS!! Quite the transformation!

I'm guessing from the scenery that we are not real far apart. I'm in Arlington.

You didn't happen to be in Arlington a couple weeks ago with the red car were you? I was in Union Bank and there was one across the street at the post office. I said to the teller, "Look at that car!!" and she said "Is that a Porsche?" .

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Thank you so kindly, tinbender 66.

The transformation continues to this day, clearly, not at the same pace, but still making headway.

You bet! We are close by! Spent several nice afternoons doing touch-n-goes at the airport there. And years ago, nearly bought a 65 Vette from a guy there that built Rotax Engines for experimental airplanes. Nice fellow as I recall.

No, not me in Arlington that day you saw the "red" car. At least the bank teller had the right continent for the marque. You would not believe the number of times people have said to me: "What a nice red Mustang you have there." I just say thank you and tell them that Ford did not make very many like this. I guess one prancing stallion is like any other horse that is on the run.....

Thanks for your comments and post.

Ody.

PS: Enjoyed reading your thread and am always looking to see your up-dates.

jeffmoss26 said:

Very nice build! I am impressed!

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Thanks Jeff. Appreciate your post and kind words.

Ody.

PS: Have been to your city of Cleveland many times for business and business-pleasure. Have taken many customers to the RR Hall of Fame and to several baseball games. Also have spent a good bit of time in Akron and a ton of time in North Canton.

Thanks for the response!

340i said:

have you priced up having the concrete ground down to be flat and level? its not cheap, but you don't have the worry of adding something and it cracking later on down the track. also you won't lose any ceiling height. then maybe try to negotiate a deal with the concreter/contractor to cover some of the costs because they should have laid a flatter surface?

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Thanks for your post, 340i.

I don't recall discussing the grinding option. Today, I think that might have been a pretty good way to go. The fellow that ran all the different crews on this job is a good man, car guy, and did care what was going on at this build (this fellow is not the building contractor). He told me that the concrete guy has completed a lot of work for him and he was now considering looking elsewhere for this type of work. He also told me the conc. guy has always been a "stand up" kind of fellow and was pretty sure that Matt will come through for me. If not, then we could go to plan "B" and seek out a consultant that would review the work contract and mediate a resolution(s) to the issue at hand. The following week, the concrete guy said he would cut out the bad sections and replace the slab at his cost. Perfect. We move forward without any apparent animosity. I like it.

iancoletx said:

That is one heck of an exciting project. Terrific shop build and just a beautiful property.

Enjoy!

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Thanks for your post as well, iancoletx. Yes, it has been exciting, demanding, rewarding, and at times, caused many a sleepless night. Appreciate your comment on the property too. Wife and I think this is a slice of heaven.

Regards to you both.

Ody.

Fireplace looks amazing! Really nice work.

Nice description of the ship traffic. That would be fantastic to have in one's backyard.

Wow Otis!!

I've seen places like this that are absolutely in a perfect location but the house leaves a little to be desired. You found that diamond in the rough for sure!

That is a location where I could spend the rest of my days. I believe your Wife is correct in wanting that View, except how are you ever going to get any work done when finished? I would buy me a real nice lounger and spend my days watching the water.

Was just up your way not long ago and took the ferry across to Friday Harbor, beautiful area up there. I'm jealous of your setup.

Nice!

Mm

The concrete guy is good for his word. They get started and take out 90% of the floor. At first, they started with wet saws but there was so much slurry being slung that clean up was going to be one nasty job. Remainder of the job was cut dry along with some jack hammer work too. They were going to snap off lines so that I could recycle the 2x2’ cut concrete as big pavers (save them from having to haul off and dispose of), however that did not happen and the last thing I’m going to do is complain about that.

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After the last pour and the concrete has cured somewhat, the concrete guy and his girl friend come over to clean the garage top to bottom. Not a spot of dust anywhere. Over time the floor starts to crack and I talk to the architect about my plan to use ceramic tile in the garage and he advises not to do this because once the tiles are down, they too will crack at the same location where the floor is cracking. We are considering the pvc sticky back tiles from one of the GJ sponsors and have the samples in hand.

All in all, the concrete guy gets a big "You ****" (not the good kind) as they did not put any steel in the floor and they were going to pour over the remaining concrete chunks........


Couple of pictures on my installation of the “mondo” pavers.

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Finally, the way I want them placed. Probably not the best use of my time on this part of the project, but they are down and not going anywhere.....

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As always, appreciate you reading and looking at the pictures.

Odis

dang! awesome build so far. Its so nice to have a waterfront like that. I think those are the biggest "pavers" I have ever seen! LOL

admranger said:

Fireplace looks amazing! Really nice work.

Nice description of the ship traffic. That would be fantastic to have in one's backyard.

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Thanks again, admranger. We receive lots of nice comments on the Lantana Stack Stone fireplace. Our mason was a hoot to work with and a car guy too. He did work for us on the FP on the opposite wall too. He did all the prep work save for removing the river rock veneer (wife did that) and our granite guy did the soapstone work. Will spare you all the details and just go with pre and post shots:

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The shipping lanes are in fact a sight to behold.

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Thanks again for your comments.

Ody.