Whitewater Garage Build

The plans were finalized 10/2017. The plans were finally approved 7/2018. Ground breaking began 7/15/2018.

Hi, I am Jim, a blueberry & timber farmer in Oregon, just east of Eugene. We have a ranch along the McKenzie River that we call home. After quite a few years of talking about it, the dream is about to become real. The wife and I always wanted a small house and a large garage.

The new building will have a foot print of 60 x 35.

The first floor will have 2 regular size bays and a double bay in the middle. The majority of the first floor will have 10' ceilings and the the far left bay will have a 13' ceiling for a lift. Behind the garage area will be a workout room (currently shown on the plan as irrigation parts and tools), hobby shop room and a restroom.

The second floor will have a bedroom, restroom, kitchenette, great room and large storage area. The second story will also have a recessed deck that will look out over the blueberries and mountains.

About me, I worked in the financial industry for a long time and 10 years ago took over management of the ranch from my father in-law. I love fly fishing, restoring Willys Jeep vehicles, and flying model airplanes via FPV.

Look forward to sharing the build, reading about your builds and asking many questions. Let's see where this thing goes!

Last week the following progress was completed:
Foundation poured, exterior foundation poured, rebar and footings dug out and vapor barrier installed. And the first load of framing lumber arrived.

Ready for the slab and driveway pour this next week.

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Great! Sounds like the start of a nice place.

Billy

Cant wait to lurk. That is a beautiful area too.

Looks like a nice plan.
Any pics of the model planes?

Boosted1 said:

Any pics of the model planes?

Click to expand...

Here are two of my favorite videos. You have to imagine me sitting in my driveway with video goggles on flying the planes.

Jim

Cessna tour of the Ranch:

T-28 "Old Time Movie":

Great videos. Thanks for the reply.
So do you take off and land with the goggles too? Seems like that would be hard to judge the landing compared to seeing the plane height.
I realized while watching the second video you have actual instrument information on altitude and speed. Very cool.

Boosted1 said:

So do you take off and land with the goggles too? Seems like that would be hard to judge the landing compared to seeing the plane height.

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Yes, I land with and take off with the goggles on. I have done it so much I now have trouble flying the traditional way called, Line of Site. I use a flight controller hardware/software called Eagle Tree Vector that helps maintain level flight, automatically return home if things go bad and provide all sorts of data while flying.

My planes are stacked in my 2 car garage along with lots of other projects waiting for the new shop to be completed.

Nothing like hearing cement trucks in your yard at 6am!

I went with a 6" pour all the way around. The shop floor is 4k psi with ABC mono tough fibers for strength.

They plan to begin framing on Friday or next Monday.


It was still misty and 36 degrees when they began.



First half of the shop poured.


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Pour finished now working it smooth.

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Back side complete.

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Front side complete

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Lol, it really looks like a foundation now!

Watching; remember, we love pictures.

That's a good start. Looking forward to the updates.

Hello I have bin following along are there any updates.

The very beginings of framing started today. The guys are plating the stem wall. They are doing a good job but it all seems so slow. After a very dry summer, we expect quite a bit of rain this weekend, but being Oregon, the crew says that shouldn't slow them down. Here are a few photos. You will see a black cat throughout the build, that is my little buddy Timber (Tim). What else would you call a cat that grew up on a timber ranch?



They put down plywood over the interior slab so they would not damage it while working.



Foam insulation between the stem wall and plating.



Tim checking out the guys work. Yes, they will cut that out when they are ready to frame the door.



They plan to build this wall first.



The back side of the building.



Today's progress, the sky is looking a bit unsettled.

A little progress today. The guys finished the plating around the foundation and began the first story wall for the East side of the building.

This side has two entrances, effectively a "his" and "hers" entrance, his goes right into the garage shop hers will go into the stairway to the second floor and her workout room.

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The East side wall on the plans is the top right elevation drawing. The door on the left (His door) goes directly into the garage and the door on the right (Her door) goes to the staircase to the second floor and to the workout room on the first floor. She did not want to have to walk through the shop to get to her workout room.

This side of the building is a bit more fancy since it is visible from our home.



East side wall with "his" entrance which will go directly into the garage.



Second shot of the East wall.



East wall with "her" entrance which will go to the second story stairs and doorway to her workout room.

Beautiful design and incredible scenery! Subscribed to follow progess.

Hoping they can move along so you can at least get a roof on before Monsoon season starts I was born and lived in Oregon for 51 years so I get the weather focus. Really nice place!

Few more pictures, being a blueberry farmer I had to spend a full 8 hours with the federal government in a mandatory food safety meeting. The best part of the day was coming back to the ranch to see two walls of my building standing!

The West wall and the East wall are up. The large window opening in the West wall is where my 10x25 shop will be. I explained the His and Hers doors in the post above but you can see them a little more clearly.

My two working ranch cats Tim (black cat) and Beans (calico) can be seen inspecting the work.


The East wall with the His (left) and Hers (right) doors. Remember, she id not want to see the garage when she went into her workout room. Tim is inspecting the work.



2 walls up!


Interior view of the window (and Tim) of my hobby workshop window.


Exterior view of the hobby workshop window with Beans.


View of the west wall and east wall, and you can see some color change in our hard wood trees.

This is looking good. Man, I can not get over the amazing back yard you have. And you can just walk out back and pick blueberries... That is close to perfection in my book!

Looking forward to seeing this one come together. I've really been enjoying the barndominium threads.

-Clint

Fantastic garage I am sticking around to see this come together!!! Nice yard!

The 60' back wall went up today. Being Oregon we had 1/4" of rain to work in. Fortunately, we have several forklifts at the ranch that we use to load blueberries so the wall was raised in a single section. If you are with OSHA, please do not watch the video below or look at this group of photos.

At the bottom I have a link to an edited video of the raising.


My ranch hands contemplating the lift.

View media item 87361And we have a back wall!

View media item 87360Bracing in place.


Tomorrow the garage door framing (Tim inspecting a PNW glulam beam).

Video link:
1.47 video of the wall going up.

My wife and I have visited Oregon on a few occasions and it is probably our favorite place in the US, if not our favorite place period.

The garage is great but judging by the photos, the property is spectacular! Please share more about the ranch if you're comfortable with it.

Keep up the good work!

TiFJ said:

My wife and I have visited Oregon on a few occasions and it is probably our favorite place in the US, if not our favorite place period.

The garage is great but judging by the photos, the property is spectacular! Please share more about the ranch if you're comfortable with it.

Keep up the good work!

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Thanks for the kind words. Here is a link to our website, we wholesale blueberries so it is not a commerce site, but more of a "who we are site". The link is to the Gallery page, feel free to look around the site, but be sure to click on the video links near the top of the Gallery page. As mentioned in my intro, I like to fly drones and airplanes. I also like to take photos.

Whitewater Ranch:
http://www.whitewaterranch.com/Gallery.html

Looking great! Tim and Beans seem to have everything under control.

Wow, that's gonna be nice! Congrats, beautiful place and things going on there!

End of the week update:
All three garage door walls are in place so we have an effective 4 walled structure. An interior wall will be build next week, some big glulam beams have arrived and the trusses will arrive next Friday.

This set of photos is to provide an update of the front and give you an idea of the area around the building. Our ranch is just under 2000 acres and 100 of those acres are the blueberries directly in front of the shop. Behind the ranch is the McKenzie River. And yes, there are native rainbows and cutthroats in the river as well as Chinook salmon (we call them "Springers")and steelhead. And yes, I fly fish.



All three bays are framed, the 2 small bays are 10Wx8H and the larger one is 16Wx8H. The front bay extends out 2 feet to allow a bit more room inside and allow for the deck above.



This is a 24"x 28' glulam beam that will go next to the bay with the raised (13') ceiling. The contractor was happy that we have forklifts at the ranch.



This will be my hobby shop window view through the middle bay. We have to move the gate and fence to the blueberries to create a new road for our big rig.

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This is about 100 acres of blueberries. We grow 4 different varieties organically and sell them wholesale. Our harvest is generally mid July - - mid August.



This is a view from what will be a kitchenette on the second floor. The Mckenzie River runs along the property line.



My home is just on the other side of the shop where the red maple is. The timber that we grow is Douglass Fir, yes we cut it down as well as grow it. The forestry rules here are very strict about how much can be harvested, where it can be harvested and how quickly you must replant. A timber crop is now about 30-35 years.



Another view of the blueberries and the timber. The blueberries are just beginning to turn Fall colors, the Douglas Fir stays green and various hard woods in the area turn Fall colors.

I hope that gives a little better picture of the area.

All first floor framing is complete and we are waiting for the trusses to arrive on Thursday of this week.

You can see the massive glulam beam at the left end, that is where the ceiling height will be raised from 10' to 13' for the lift.

Behind the garage will be my hobby shop on the left (near the lift), a 6x10 restroom in the middle and a workout room on the right. On the back right will be the stairway to the second floor.

The builders seem to be doing a good job and are open to my adjustments on the fly. We downsized the restroom from 10x10 to 6x10 to allow more room for the workout room. I hope my wife appreciates that.

I have also included a photo of the front yard (blueberries and mountains) and the back yard (McKenzie River).

View media item 87615First floor framed. The lift will be on the left side where the large beam is. The garage openings are 10'x8' tall excet the middle is 16' wide.

View media item 87616Interior view, lift area on left, hobby shop back left, back right workout room. The garage floor area is 60'x25'.

View media item 87617View from opposite side. You can see I put in a 4' door from the hobby shop to the garage so I can move large things like model airplanes in and out easily. I also have a window look into the shop from the hobby shop.

View media item 87618View from the workout room and stairway to second story. You can see the restroom framed in here. The workout room is 10'x22'.

View media item 87619View from the hobby shop. You can see the door to the garage, window to the garage and restroom. The hobby shop is 10'x25'.


This is a shot of the front yard at dusk in October. The blueberries in the foreground are turning a deep red, the maples and alders in the back are turning yellow and the Douglas Firs remain green.


This is the backyard viewed from my patio. The McKenzie River runs along the property and is the source of water for the blueberries and the drinking water for Eugene and Springfield, OR. It flows into the Willamette River and goes north to Portland (150 miles) to meet the Columbia River and then into the Pacific ocean.

Yesterday was Truss Day! We live on the other side of a river accessed by several bridges. The bridge closest to us was too narrow so the delivery truck had to go up river a few miles to a covered bridge and cross there. That meant they also had to drive through about 8 miles of gravel logging roads to get to our job site. Needless to say it was an adventure. But they are here. We will need to bring the crane back to move the center trusses and girders into place . . . hopefully Monday.

Here is a short video showing the build and the left half if the trusses in place:

The driver was not please driving 8 miles through logging roads but he did say it would make a great story to tell for the next few years.


The first pack of trusses are actually for the middle of the building and included two girders. The crane truck did not have the time to place them.


The following groups of trusses were for either end of the building, the roof caps and the dormer windows.


I know this is their job, but I still get dizzy just watching these guys walk across the beams. It is actually kind of cool to imagine where he is walking will be the Great Room for our upstairs business office.

Please take a look at the video above, it will give you a good idea of what blueberries look like in Fall. More to come as the work progresses!

Video works fine but the last set of pictures don't show for me.

The last set of pics didnt work for me either.

Thanks for posting additional photos of the property! I can feel myself turning green with envy over your 2000(!) acres in that part of the world. You are very fortunate!!

Hmmm. Can you see the pictures from post #26 on 10/21? I am trying to use Google photos instead of uploading to GJ. Thanks.

I can see the first few photos in post #26.

The one captioned:

This is a shot of the front yard at dusk in October. The blueberries in the foreground are turning a deep red, the maples and alders in the back are turning yellow and the Douglas Firs remain green.

Click to expand...

is the first that doesnt work and none below that show up.

Ok, I was trying to use Google Photos, I can see them just fine but I guess everybody else can't. I will go back to the GJ photo hosting. You should be able to see all of the pictures now.

3" of rain fell from Friday through Monday (that's Oregon) but the guys continued to work like it was no big deal. We are waiting for the crane to return to raise the last pack of trusses and girder. In the mean time, during a "sunbreak" I shot a photo of the blueberries from where our second story deck will be.


Waiting for the crane to raise the last group of trusses, but lots of hangers to install in the mean time.


Nothing like a Fall rain in our valley. This shot is from the elevation of the new deck. It gives an idea of what 100 acres of blueberries looks like.

Very nice build. Despite the size, the design makes it a beautiful building! Subscribing for this one!

The garage is looking great, but that back patio view.....

I am currently away from the build for a few weeks, but the builder was excited to see the last trusses put in place. In the photo below, you can see one of the dormer windows and next to the dormer window will be the inset deck. Now you can begin to see the roof line of the building.




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How is the shop coming along?

Fantastic building!!!

Sorry it has been so long since the last update, besides blueberries in the summer we run a U-Cut Christmas store that also makes wreaths, I have been a bit busy.

The shop is moving right along. The sheeting is up on the walls, the paper is on the roof and we are awaiting a framing inspection to move forward (hopefully this Tuesday).

Much of the recent focus has been on the upstairs. If you remember, the goal upstairs is to create a business meeting room and in the same space an apartment for guests to stay.

When I asked about installing a lift and raising my garage ceiling from 10' to 13' over the lift, I should have just raised all of the garage ceiling to 13'. I did not realize there would be a 3' bump up in the the second story over the lift. Now we have an interesting dilemma to work around. Maybe if I used an architect to design the building and not just a general contractor I would have been alerted to this. Anyway, we plan to see if we can rework the trusses in that area to create something higher than a 5' ceiling. The contractor is now working with the truss company to see if we can replace the truss bracing with steel.

Some current photos of the build:

View looking east. The large center section is an inset deck that is 16'wx9' deep. We are waiting for the framing inspection and then will begin siding, windows and roof.

View media item 89084Looking north east you can see all 3 bays. The bay on the left will have the lift. Behind the bays are from left to right, my hobby shop, bathroom and a workout room. The second story from left to right, guest bedroom/ storage, the middle will be our business meeting room and on the right will be a kitchen, small office and a full bath.

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This is a view inside my hobby shop/man cave, the next room is a small bathroom and after that is my wife's workout room and at the end are the stairs to go the second floor.

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As you come up the stairs to the second floor you can see the bump up in the floor from the 13' ceiling where the lift is located below. We are trying to figure out a way to engineer supports that will allow a higher ceiling in that area. Where the saw horse is located is where our business meeting table will be. I have some milled and aged maple slabs that I would like to make into a large meeting table. The window to the right looks down to the McKenzie River. The blue tape on the floor in the foreground is where a U shaped kitchen will go and the close tape is the bathroom wall.

View media item 89087This view is from the other side of the second floor. The large window looks out to our home and an open field. You can see the tape for the kitchen and bathroom. On the right in the dormer we will have a small office for our ranch manager.

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This is another view of the kitchen and bath room area. The drop off to the right is the staircase. The window area in the back of the photo is the window that looks down to the river, we plan to have an inset (propane) fireplace in that wall and create a cozy couch and reading area.

View media item 89095Besides having a lift, this area is turning into may favorite area. This is where the meeting table will be and just beyond is the inset deck. There will be a large double sliding glass door to access the deck. The deck will be covered by a membrane call Dec-Tec. We will continue the building siding right into the deck and use a very simple yet clean railing system to maximize the view. We will build out the inside of the trusses on each side to create storage cabinets for chairs etc. out on the deck. Yes, those are blueberries out in the distance and douglas fir trees (timber) in the distance. As you can see the walls inside have some pretty complex angles to work around but they also create a really neat ceiling. We are hoping to keep some of the beams exposed.

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The garage/shop is just to the right in this picture. This is what the ranch looks like on a brisk winter morning (when it is not raining).

As those of you who have been through the process know, this is the point where a lot of things happen fast and lots of decisions need to be made. I have met with the electrician, we are trying to put in a 200 amp panel but the power company only has a transformer large enough for a 125. I also met with the HVAC guy, we will have two mini splits, one for upstairs and one for the hobby shop and workout room downstairs and a propane heater to warm up the garage area. The plumber is ready to get going so we have to finalize the two bathrooms and kitchen. It is all exciting but a little nerve wracking as I want to make the right choices as we move forward.

Willypu you have one awesome build sir..

A beautiful build with fantastic views. It is always good to see other builds from Oregon!

Assuming you have a 25KVA transformer, I am surprised the power company wouldn't deliver a 240V/200A service. Most power companies will service load their distribution transformers at close to 200%, and if they have a problem with a particular transformer replace it when it fails with a larger one. It is unlikely you would be pulling 200As for any significant amount of time.

Congrats on the great shop!

Jeff

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My new shop build:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...d.php?t=409988