ssathre's 26x32 garage build

ssathre · Apr 19, 2011

Hello everyone!

Well I guess it’s my turn at starting a build thread. The structure will be 26'D x 32'W - 9' ceiling, 2x4 walls. This is the biggest I can go, city ordinance says I can't exceed the total square footage of the main residence. I’m contracting out the basic structure, concrete and electrical service but I will be finishing off the rest... if my back holds up.

Besides the obvious uses (parking) I’m an avid DIY'er and this will also serve as my workshop. I have several hobbies (my girlfriend calls them part time careers) that will be moved out of our overcrowded house and into a space of their own. I could go into great length on the “hobby” topic, but that’s for another thread...

At any rate, here are the pics:

Here are some ultra hi tech plans:
This one shows my lot, existing house and where the garage will go.

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Basic floor plan:

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This shows the roof system, walls and the floating slab details.

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Here is a shot of my backyard. The garage will be replacing my poor little shed that’s packed to the rafters. All of the trees to the left are getting cut down and the terrible concrete job along the side of the house is getting ripped out as well. It looks as if the previous owner finished it with the back side of a shovel and has driven me nuts for 12 years.

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49stude2r6 · Apr 19, 2011

Looks like you have a plan. Keep us posted on progress. I can't believe they will let you have that much driveway, around here that would violate the amount of impervious surface you can have on a piece of property.

ssathre · Apr 19, 2011

Tree removal:

The tree guys were supposed be here the previous Monday, but sadly a neighboring community was devastated by a tornado. All of the regional tree companies were called into help clean up the mess. I was pleasantly surprised to have them knocking on my door Sunday morning.

This pic was taken from my neighbor’s deck. They had just topped the first Elm when this was taken. Once they got that one cut down there was a dozen more to go!

Notice that the little shed is now blocking my bedrooms egress window. (OOOPS, I hope there isn’t a fire) we really didnt have any other place to put it.

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A few hours later... Still cutting.

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Almost 5 oclock and all the trees are down. They came back the next morning and finished cleaning up the mess.

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Heres a shot looking back at the mess. the deck where i took the first picture is in the background.

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The concrete guy was supposed to be here this morning to start the dirt work but we woke up to a couple inches of heavy wet snow/slush all over the place. Creepy weather we are having. Last week it was up in the 80's with tornados and now we are back to snow.

More pics to follow as the build continues... weather permitting.

ssathre · Apr 19, 2011

49stude2r6 said:
Looks like you have a plan. Keep us posted on progress. I can't believe they will let you have that much driveway, around here that would violate the amount of impervious surface you can have on a piece of property.

The city actualy told me that I couldnt have the garage without a paved driveway. I was going to go with footings and rough in radient heat but this paved driveway requirement threw a wrench into things. Now im stuck with a thickend edge and a used forced air funace and AC compressor.

xrdad · Apr 21, 2011

Geez that looks peaceful..
Reminds me of my first house.. built in 1902. Sawdust insulation and a coal fired furnace.. Some wicked memories of that little house..

Keep up the great work, it's going to be amazing when you're done!

BEAVO · Apr 21, 2011

you cant have a gravel drive that *****..your garage is close to the size of mine yours is just a little bigger mines 24x30 and theres plenty of room......well im getting there starting to get things stored better i can prob fit 3 cars in mine if i dolleyed them over side by side. i will be watching this one.

ssathre · Apr 21, 2011

xrdad said:
Geez that looks peaceful..
Reminds me of my first house.. built in 1902. Sawdust insulation and a coal fired furnace.. Some wicked memories of that little house..

Keep up the great work, it's going to be amazing when you're done!

Thanks, xrdad. by the way it sounds like this house was in about the same condition as yours when I bought it. Lots of work later and its looks like a new house on this inside. I gutted the house, put in new insulation (previous insulation was breads sacks and newspapers) drywall, electrical, HVAC and plumbing. But even with all that work, I sometimes feel like all I did was just polish a turd. LOL.

BEAVO said:
you cant have a gravel drive that *****..your garage is close to the size of mine yours is just a little bigger mines 24x30 and theres plenty of room......well im getting there starting to get things stored better i can prob fit 3 cars in mine if i dolleyed them over side by side. i will be watching this one.

Thanks, BEAVO. What’s odd is that until a few years ago my driveway had been gravel for years. Evidently putting a garage up changes all that. I have lots of plans, I'm a hopeless technology junkie, so there will be lots of cool toys on the inside.

uniongoon · Apr 21, 2011

Mine is 23X33. It gets constant use of all types of DIY. Woodworking, welding, mechanical etc. I am sure you have read how, it is never big enough, and this does hold true, but this can be kept in check with careful thought to shelving and cabinetry measured and made to fit what you have. I measure my tools and supplies and build a dedicated spot for everything instead of buying or building a generic shelf and making things fit.

BEAVO · Apr 21, 2011

ssathre said:
Thanks, BEAVO. What’s odd is that until a few years ago my driveway had been gravel for years. Evidently putting a garage up changes all that. I have lots of plans, I'm a hopeless technology junkie, so there will be lots of cool toys on the inside.

ssathre · Apr 21, 2011

uniongoon said:
Mine is 23X33. It gets constant use of all types of DIY. Woodworking, welding, mechanical etc. I am sure you have read how, it is never big enough, and this does hold true, but this can be kept in check with careful thought to shelving and cabinetry measured and made to fit what you have. I measure my tools and supplies and build a dedicated spot for everything instead of buying or building a generic shelf and making things fit.

thanks for the tip. your shop reminds me of my dads workshop, there was little or no wasted space. With the clearance that you have in there the shop looks huge!

this will also double as my man cave and have an entertainment area: bar, pinball machines, big screen and the like. I'll probably have to re arrange the shop several times to get tools and materials in the most efficient/practical area... without looking cluttered. of course every time I see something cool on GJ or get a new piece of equipment, I'll be moving things around again.

ssathre · May 5, 2011

After a few weeks of rain we managed to finally see some progress on the build. I had to go to Chicago on business for a couple of days but gave the GF strict orders to document, EVERYTHING. Here is what happened Monday while I was gone:

She was still at work when they were grading but managed to get some pics of the forms and rebar going in.

Looking West:

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Looking South:

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Looking NorthWest:

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Getting it all buttoned up. The pour was supposed to happen the next day.

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ssathre · May 5, 2011

Contractor called around 10 AM and said they called off the pour due to rain in the area. Yeah! This meant that I would be home in time to watch the pour. 7:30 AM this morning the bob kitty started up and I was wearing a "perma-grin" for the next 4 hours. Here are the pics of the action:

Here they are starting the pour.

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They didnt want the cement truck to end up in my neighbors bedroom so they used the bob kitty haul the cement in. I offered my wheelbarrow but they declined for some reason...

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Here is the cute little scree they were using. When I worked concrete the screes were the equivalant of a radio tower on its side. They were so big that we had to move them with a crew of guys or a skid loader. This guy was carring it around with one arm… makes it much easier to clean the concrete off of as well.

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Getting closer, southwest corner of the pad.

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Just about done. They ended up 1.5 yards short and had to call in another truck. Hope they wave the minimum delivery charge BS!

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All done with the pour. Now onto the finish... it’s going to have a light broom finish so my new Epoxy-Coat floor has something nice to bond to. They roughed up the edges so the block can bond better.

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Finishing in progress:

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They started forming the driveway and ripped out that crappy concrete that was poured up against the side of the house. I was glad to see it go.

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That’s it for today. Tomorrow they should be done with the block and the driveway. Hopfully they will start framing, SOON! At least the weather is supposed to be in the 80's next week. We went from winter to summer in about 3 days.

more to come

tstoggie · May 5, 2011

We are not that far apart based on the storms you are talking about. I am surprised you can build that size garage without a footing.

Falcon67 · May 5, 2011

Interesting that they put the fill on top of that grass without at least scalping it off. We don't need much footing around here, but they at least scrape the site before the forms go up.

ssathre · May 5, 2011

Falcon67 said:
Interesting that they put the fill on top of that grass without at least scalping it off. We don't need much footing around here, but they at least scrape the site before the forms go up.

I'm pretty sure they did scrape it all off. what picture are you looking at?

ssathre · May 5, 2011

tstoggie said:
We are not that far apart based on the storms you are talking about. I am surprised you can build that size garage without a footing.

I'm in northwest Iowa, I sure would like to send some of this rain down to west Texas!

I would have liked to go with footings, but the budget is tight after finding out that I had to do the driveway at the same time as the shop. it does have a 12" d thickened edge though.

ssathre · May 8, 2011

The last update were pictures from 12:00 on Thursday. That night when I got home they had everything formed up and ready to pour the following morning.

Driveway all ready to go

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Another shot of the driveway

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rebar at the start of the pour and a good shot of the saw cuts on the pad.

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Next up, the Friday morning pour.

ssathre · May 8, 2011

Friday morning they were here at 7 am starting to lay block. By 7:30 the first truck was here and they were pouring the driveway. it all went really fast and now problems came up, they were out of here at 11:30.

Walked outside and found this going on

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Long way to go

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About an hour later... viola

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blockwork done as well

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I bought a new pressure washer Saturday morning and cleaned the pad, new and old driveway. I managed to get a nasty sunburn in the process so the last thing i wanted to do was take any pictures. I'll try to take some tomorrow and get them posted.

Framing is scheduled to start this Wednesday.

Bib Overalls · May 8, 2011

Hope they are pulling that rebar up as they place the concrete. Gravel is OK. That is what I have. But concrete is the cats meow.

ssathre · May 8, 2011

Bib Overalls said:
Hope they are pulling that rebar up as they place the concrete. Gravel is OK. That is what I have. But concrete is the cats meow.

I watched both pours pretty closely. They were pulling the rebar up as they went along. since they were using the bobcat to cart in the concrete they had to wait to put it in so it wouldn't get ran over.

I'm not missing the gravel driveway at all. :bounce:

NewShockerGuy · May 9, 2011

This is great! Love watching these as it gives me lots of ideas for when I get my own house!

If you don't mind telling us what does this cost? That seems like lot of work for the concrete.. not counting the actual garage.

Thanks much,
-Nigel

ssathre · May 9, 2011

NewShockerGuy said:
This is great! Love watching these as it gives me lots of ideas for when I get my own house!

If you don't mind telling us what does this cost? That seems like lot of work for the concrete.. not counting the actual garage.

Thanks much,
-Nigel

I don't have pricing just for the concrete work it includes the structure as well. that's hovering in the low 20's at the moment.

slimpickins · May 9, 2011

That's going to be a nice space when you're done! Fast progress so far too. Just curious. It looks like your yard is quite a bit higher than your neighbor's yard. Do you need to do anything to prevent erosion to that side that might undermine your garage and driveway? I also like the concrete pony wall.

Keep us posted.

ssathre · May 9, 2011

slimpickins said:
That's going to be a nice space when you're done! Fast progress so far too. Just curious. It looks like your yard is quite a bit higher than your neighbor's yard. Do you need to do anything to prevent erosion to that side that might undermine your garage and driveway? I also like the concrete pony wall.

Keep us posted.

Thanks for the comment.

Yes, the retaining wall that is there looks like it has seen better days. I was told when the survey was done that the wall is actually on the neighbor’s property and their responsibility. This gave me no great comfort as I don’t think that they would be able to replace it.

With all that said, everyone that has been to the jobsite from the city inspectors to the contractor and concrete guys said that while the wall is ugly it won’t have an issue holding up my yard... as long as we get the drainage right.

Falcon67 · May 9, 2011

ssathre said:
I'm pretty sure they did scrape it all off. what picture are you looking at?

I was looking at #11, first pic. So the form was just a 2x6 to get the thickness you needed? I'm thinking on keeping mine around 6" max above ground, with maybe a just a little sand under it. Lot of people here go right on top of the black dirt.

ssathre · May 9, 2011

Falcon67 said:
I was looking at #11, first pic. So the form was just a 2x6 to get the thickness you needed? I'm thinking on keeping mine around 6" max above ground, with maybe a just a little sand under it. Lot of people here go right on top of the black dirt.

Look at the last picture in #11 you will see 1 of 2 piles of dirt and sod they scraped off. The north side is actually about 1.5 feet below the grade of the yard. The south side is dug out about 8 inches. They took out the dirt just where the garage needed to go.

For the forms they used a 2x6 and then dug it down to 12 inches to get the thickened edge. I worked in the trade a few decades back... we always took the dirt out and brought in sand. I guess a lot has changed since I was pouring concrete as I had 4 contractors bid it the exact same way.

The guy that we ended up using has a good reputation amongst his previous clients and the other trades as well. Hopefully I will be just as happy with this, but time will tell.

xrdad · May 9, 2011

Great build ssathre..

It's gonna be one the best shops on this forum! :beer:

ssathre · May 10, 2011

xrdad said:
Great build ssathre..

It's gonna be one the best shops on this forum!

thanks for the support, xrdad. It definitely won't be one of the best on this forum, but maybe on my block?

xrdad · May 10, 2011

oh, I don't know...

If you take a little from xcyz, and a little from the 12 gauge garage, + put in some of your own ideas...

When I get to my build, I'll show you what I mean.
And if all that epoxy is in your way, I'll pay the shipping and will store if for you
:thumbup:

ssathre · May 10, 2011

xrdad said:
oh, I don't know...

If you take a little from xcyz, and a little from the 12 gauge garage, + put in some of your own ideas...

When I get to my build, I'll show you what I mean.
And if all that epoxy is in your way, I'll pay the shipping and will store if for you

Odd that you mention xcyz and Jacks 12 guage. I like the paint scheme that xcyz used and for some sick (jk) reason I really like the green in Jacks shop. Still working on a paint scheme but I thought of doing something like xcyz but using a green instead of a Red...

and no, you cant have my epoxy-coat!

Falcon67 · May 10, 2011

Thanks very much for the info. Nice project!

ssathre · May 11, 2011

Falcon67 said:
Thanks very much for the info. Nice project!

No Problem. Thanks again for the comments!

ssathre · May 11, 2011

Found another essential piece of equipment for the garage on Craigslist Monday Night for a good price. I have been looking for this one for a while now and I couldn’t pass it up.

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Note: this isn’t the actual machine, but mine is exactly the same. The cell phone pictures I took turned out like ****.

Mikie · May 11, 2011

This is why I love this place, all these build threads & great ideas. Nice score on the pinball machine!

ssathre · May 11, 2011

Mikie said:
This is why I love this place, all these build threads & great ideas. Nice score on the pinball machine!

Thanks, Mikie. I wanted to add this pin to my collection for some time. This is one of the reasons For the garage, I don't have room left for anymore pins!

ssathre · May 19, 2011

Between all the rain we have been having and my contractors other obligations there has not been much in the way of progress the last couple of weeks. Tuesday a load of lumber arrived and this morning the crew showed up bright and early to start framing. I went home at lunch to see the progress and took a couple of pics.

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As you can see in the pictures it looks like rain so I don’t know how much more they will get done today. The forecast calls for rain the rest of the week and most of the following week as well. At this rate it will be july before we get it done.

ssathre · May 19, 2011

and when I came home the sheeting was up.

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Morrisman · May 19, 2011

ssathre said:
... we always took the dirt out and brought in sand. I guess a lot has changed since I was pouring concrete as I had 4 contractors bid it the exact same way.

The American contractor we are using for our garage and house in the Philippines pointed that out to us, that the way it is done now is not to dig compacted base soil out and replace it with gravel or sand, as that is just one more thing to try to compact and flatten down. There is no benefit doing it that way. He digs down to solid heavy subsoil and pours the concrete straight onto that.

ssathre · May 20, 2011

Morrisman said:
The American contractor we are using for our garage and house in the Philippines pointed that out to us, that the way it is done now is not to dig compacted base soil out and replace it with gravel or sand, as that is just one more thing to try to compact and flatten down. There is no benefit doing it that way. He digs down to solid heavy subsoil and pours the concrete straight onto that.

Very interesting… I’m glad to hear that it’s the way to do things now. Back in the late 80's - early 90's it was totally the opposite. I guess that goes hand and hand with everything else from that period... like the mullet, the music and the clothes. HA!

Morrisman · May 20, 2011

When I built my shop in the UK I threw down all sorts of rubble and gravel onto the hard clay bed, then had to hammer on it for days to compress it....

It did seem a little counter-productive at the time.

ssathre's 26x32 garage build

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