7th Kahuna
Well-known member
After several years discussion, in the fall of 2015, my dad and I finally started construction of a new shop building. We broke ground just as the winter rains arrived, with hope of getting the building out of the dirt before the expected El Nino storms turned that dirt to mud. It was close, but we made it happen. Note the rainbow in the background of the fifth photo. Of course, El Nino never truly made it, but that's beside the point. We were making some of the best time ever on a part time project. These photos were all taken December 2015 through March 2016.
My first ever 'inspected' plumbing work. I passed! Getting that toilet in the right place was fun. Unfortunately I didn't quite get the toilet vent in the right place. My dad double checked everything, but he missed it too. It's in the wall, no problem, just not as far back as it should have been. Oh well. We'll work around it.
For those who are maybe curious why the toilet is set so far from the back wall, we have plans to build a closet for the air compressor between the bathroom and the rear wall.
It's not a very big shop, especially given the number and variety of projects we have in mind, but it's all we could get away with given the lot size and existing structures. It's 20 x 25 with 10 foot walls and an open ceiling, which will allow for a loft storage space on one side. Woodworking on the left, automotive on the right, metal work tbd.
I wish I could have talked my dad into a basement. I couldn't convince him that we could keep the water out.
I have to say, I find myself envious of some of the larger shops featured on this board.
The big day. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves but had a crew to set the forms and pour the concrete. My dad wanted an especially smooth finish which I don't think we could have managed on our own. The plan is to epoxy the floors.
The morning started out cold, but it turned into a beautiful day. Thomas, the guy heading up the concrete work brought everyone fresh made, warm red pozole for lunch. It really hit the spot.
Ok, we ate it out of styrofoam, but you get the idea.
After a bit of dry time, the walls started going up.
Getting that beam (covered in white plastic above) positioned and up was fun. Just me and my dad and 400 pounds of timber. Fortunately my dad taught me about leverage at a young age.
I don't have any pictures of it going into place, but we had to raise it 16 feet into the air and then slide the posts and saddles under it. After some thought, it occurred to me to use a pair of scaffold jacks. Small problem, on the day we were ready to go, just one of the newly ordered jacks had arrived. We ended up using a scaffold jack on one end and an old commercial (hand cranked, non-hydraulic) bumper jack on the other. Hard to believe, but it worked. As it was on its way up, we were hit with a wind driven rain. No stopping now, we got it done.
Just a few late nights.
By mid March, the beam was up and maybe 5 rafters were set in place. We were still pushing to beat the now tardy El Nino. Unfortunately my dad had to go back to Washington for a couple weeks. We tarped all the materials and off he went. Fingers were crossed. April and May can be wet months here in Southern California.
Two weeks later, middle of the night, I got the call that my dad had been seriously injured. No one knew if he was going to pull through.
Over the next 24 hours I learned that he had fractured his skull in two spots, broken five vertebrae in his neck, broken a rib, torn his septum, broken an arm, and servery bruised both ankles. Heavy blood loss. There was more but it escapes me at the moment. The doctors said they had never seen anyone survive such serious injuries. He was very lucky. He was smart enough not to try to move after the fall, the two paramedics that arrived were said to be the best in the county, and they were near by. The local hospital was able to quickly life flight him to Portland, Oregon, and doctors there were ready and well trained for the task. My dad on the other hand turned out to be a difficult patient. He wouldn't stay still, wouldn't eat or drink, and seemed to think that if he was ornery enough, they would be forced to send him home. He spent a couple weeks in the hospital followed by months of in-patient rehabilitative care. He didn't make it back home until September. He is only now starting to feel like himself again. I am very thankful for his physical therapist who is doing wonders for him.
So here we are, December 2016, just in time for the rain to start again.
I need to take some new pictures. In the last couple weeks we got the rest of the rafters in and I've started the blocking. I didn't mention it before, but dad's injuries resulted from a single story fall from a ladder. It seems the extension ladder collapsed out from under him, he remembers hearing the clicks, though the details will never be known. The ladder has gone to the metal recyclers. Dad is permanently banned from ladder use, doctor's order. He's not listening, but I'm doing my best to keep him on the ground. I'm not a framer, but I'm figuring it out as I go. Right now I'm having an issue getting the rafters straight. As much as I hate working wet lumber, lumber that's sat out all summer is worse. Oh, and then there's the termites. You'd think we were termite farmers. Too hard for nails but easy pickings for our winged (and wingless) friends. It's good to be back to work.
I was afraid to post this project originally because dad's projects tend to happen in their own time, then afraid to post it for fear this project might never get started again, but today I post it in celebration of the fact that dad is getting back to work.
From those of you who choose to follow along, I only ask for patience, this may take a while. 2017 is going to be a good year.
My first ever 'inspected' plumbing work. I passed! Getting that toilet in the right place was fun. Unfortunately I didn't quite get the toilet vent in the right place. My dad double checked everything, but he missed it too. It's in the wall, no problem, just not as far back as it should have been. Oh well. We'll work around it.
For those who are maybe curious why the toilet is set so far from the back wall, we have plans to build a closet for the air compressor between the bathroom and the rear wall.
It's not a very big shop, especially given the number and variety of projects we have in mind, but it's all we could get away with given the lot size and existing structures. It's 20 x 25 with 10 foot walls and an open ceiling, which will allow for a loft storage space on one side. Woodworking on the left, automotive on the right, metal work tbd.
I wish I could have talked my dad into a basement. I couldn't convince him that we could keep the water out.I have to say, I find myself envious of some of the larger shops featured on this board.
The big day. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves but had a crew to set the forms and pour the concrete. My dad wanted an especially smooth finish which I don't think we could have managed on our own. The plan is to epoxy the floors.
The morning started out cold, but it turned into a beautiful day. Thomas, the guy heading up the concrete work brought everyone fresh made, warm red pozole for lunch. It really hit the spot.
Ok, we ate it out of styrofoam, but you get the idea.
After a bit of dry time, the walls started going up.
Getting that beam (covered in white plastic above) positioned and up was fun. Just me and my dad and 400 pounds of timber. Fortunately my dad taught me about leverage at a young age.
I don't have any pictures of it going into place, but we had to raise it 16 feet into the air and then slide the posts and saddles under it. After some thought, it occurred to me to use a pair of scaffold jacks. Small problem, on the day we were ready to go, just one of the newly ordered jacks had arrived. We ended up using a scaffold jack on one end and an old commercial (hand cranked, non-hydraulic) bumper jack on the other. Hard to believe, but it worked. As it was on its way up, we were hit with a wind driven rain. No stopping now, we got it done.
Just a few late nights.
By mid March, the beam was up and maybe 5 rafters were set in place. We were still pushing to beat the now tardy El Nino. Unfortunately my dad had to go back to Washington for a couple weeks. We tarped all the materials and off he went. Fingers were crossed. April and May can be wet months here in Southern California.
Two weeks later, middle of the night, I got the call that my dad had been seriously injured. No one knew if he was going to pull through.
Over the next 24 hours I learned that he had fractured his skull in two spots, broken five vertebrae in his neck, broken a rib, torn his septum, broken an arm, and servery bruised both ankles. Heavy blood loss. There was more but it escapes me at the moment. The doctors said they had never seen anyone survive such serious injuries. He was very lucky. He was smart enough not to try to move after the fall, the two paramedics that arrived were said to be the best in the county, and they were near by. The local hospital was able to quickly life flight him to Portland, Oregon, and doctors there were ready and well trained for the task. My dad on the other hand turned out to be a difficult patient. He wouldn't stay still, wouldn't eat or drink, and seemed to think that if he was ornery enough, they would be forced to send him home. He spent a couple weeks in the hospital followed by months of in-patient rehabilitative care. He didn't make it back home until September. He is only now starting to feel like himself again. I am very thankful for his physical therapist who is doing wonders for him.
So here we are, December 2016, just in time for the rain to start again.
I need to take some new pictures. In the last couple weeks we got the rest of the rafters in and I've started the blocking. I didn't mention it before, but dad's injuries resulted from a single story fall from a ladder. It seems the extension ladder collapsed out from under him, he remembers hearing the clicks, though the details will never be known. The ladder has gone to the metal recyclers. Dad is permanently banned from ladder use, doctor's order. He's not listening, but I'm doing my best to keep him on the ground. I'm not a framer, but I'm figuring it out as I go. Right now I'm having an issue getting the rafters straight. As much as I hate working wet lumber, lumber that's sat out all summer is worse. Oh, and then there's the termites. You'd think we were termite farmers. Too hard for nails but easy pickings for our winged (and wingless) friends. It's good to be back to work.
I was afraid to post this project originally because dad's projects tend to happen in their own time, then afraid to post it for fear this project might never get started again, but today I post it in celebration of the fact that dad is getting back to work.
From those of you who choose to follow along, I only ask for patience, this may take a while. 2017 is going to be a good year.
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