AGBill Garage/Workshop

[AGBill]

Things are coming along reasonably well on my garage build, so I thought I would post some pictures. It is a steel building, 40' X 40' X 16' high. I live in Arroyo Grande, along the central coast of California. The building site is on a small hill, so I need to cut/fill to create a flat building pad.

PART 1: GRADING

Here is the building site. Downhill is to the right in the picture. This is about 60 feet from the house. The entire site is a hilly 5 acres.

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Because there is fill on the side of a hill, you must cut a series of benches or slots across the hill to anchor the compacted earth into the hill...this is earthquake country!

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Grading in work. Note sheep's foot compactor that shook the entire neighborhood!

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Here is the perspective on how far the workshop is from the existing house.

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Here is the uphill side, the lower cut is the overexcavation and recompaction level and the upper cut is the final pad height. The remaining cut will then require a retaining wall to hold up the hill. I will use Allan Block, stackable gravity block with no mortar or foundation.

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Final pad elevation

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Pictures to come....the Retaining Wall!

 

[rich1956]

Things are coming along reasonably well on my garage build, so I thought I would post some pictures. It is a steel building, 40' X 40' X 16' high. I live in Arroyo Grande, along the central coast of California. The building site is on a small hill, so I need to cut/fill to create a flat building pad.

PART 1: GRADING

Here is the building site. Downhill is to the right in the picture. This is about 60 feet from the house. The entire site is a hilly 5 acres.

[/IMG]



Because there is fill on the side of a hill, you must cut a series of benches or slots across the hill to anchor the compacted earth into the hill...this is earthquake country!

[/IMG]



Grading in work. Note sheep's foot compactor that shook the entire neighborhood!

[/IMG]



Here is the perspective on how far the workshop is from the existing house.

[/IMG]



Here is the uphill side, the lower cut is the overexcavation and recompaction level and the upper cut is the final pad height. The remaining cut will then require a retaining wall to hold up the hill. I will use Allan Block, stackable gravity block with no mortar or foundation.

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Final pad elevation

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Pictures to come....the Retaining Wall!

great pics!...keep them coming!...rich

 

[bmwpower]

Nice freakin' view there Bill! Gotta see the rest of the picts.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Some serious dirt work. Looking forward to more pictures as you progress to your goal.

 

[AGBill]

Part 2: The Retaining Wall

I am using Allan Block, a gravity type block that needs no foundation or mortar. The first block is set below grade on a plate compacted base and 1-1/2 inch gravel is used to fill the block voids and behind the wall for drainage. Each block weighs about 65 pounds...back braces are required if you are over 18.....



First excavate for the first block course to key it into the building pad.

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Install some 4" PVC perferated drainage pipe with a silt sock on it before adding 4" of compacted 1-1/2 gravel.

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Install the first course of block.

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The first course complete with compacted gravel, ready for second course. You can see the lip on the front of the block that retains the second course from moving forward.

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The completed wall, back section.

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The completed wall, curved section in front.

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Next: Part 3, the Foundation & Slab...

 

[AGBill]

Part 3: Foundation & Slab

The slab is a 6" thick slab over 4" of sand and a vapor barrier with footings for the steel building columns. There is plumbing in the slab for a full bath, a shop sink and an RV dump station.



Plumbing for the bathroom and shop sink.

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Ready for rebar with 4" of sand and vapor barrier.

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J-type anchor bolts and rebar in column footing.

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Ready for concrete.

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The completed slab.

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Coming soon: Part 4: Building Erection.

 

[AGBill]

Part 4: Building Erection

Pretty straight forward construction for a 40' X 40' X 16' High steel building.

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Vinyl backed insulation in ceiling and walls.

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Door sizes are 12' by 13.5' high for RV door on left and 16' by 10' high for shop door on right.

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An interior shot showing skylights and window for my office.

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A picture as of today showing completed building shell. I am waiting for sectional doors that are on order.

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That's it for now. More pics in the future after more progress.

 

[coW]

Beautiful!

 

[SWA Guy]

That is awesome! I think 40 x 40 is a good size too. That's about the size I would like to build. Now if I can just convince the wife that we need a house on some property! Great job, keep the pics coming. Guy

 

[Bib Overalls]

Very nice! Hoping to see more pictures as you finish up inside.

 

[cdrewferd]

Good looking shop. What are your plans for the interior?

 

[AGBill]

Interior finishing plans include:
1. Steel stud housekeeping walls with sheetrock, minimum of 10' high, might go 12' around the entire perimeter walls
2. Steel stud framing for an office, full bath, utility room for compressor & vacuum system. Mezzanine storage over the top of this area.
3. Air system piping (probably copper), vacuum system piping
4. Low bay metal halide 320 W light fixtures
5. Some sort of floor coating, no final decision yet
6. 125 Amp 120/240 V power panel
7. Security system, telephone, cable TV, intercom to house
8. Large stainless steel shop sink, instant on demand water heater, ventilation fan (sidewall type)
9. Vinyl cupola on roof with copper roof and copper antique car weathervane just for fun

 

[73super]

How thick is that slab? Looks to be good 12"!

 

[C_F]

Man, if I lived on that spot, I'd never want to leave home!

Thanks for sharing those pics, the garage looks great.

 

[AGBill]

The actual floor slab is 6" thick, but the footing around the perimeter of the slab is about 12" X 12" and the footings under the major columns are 45" X
45" X 24" deep. All to keep the building up during an earthquake, hopefully....

 

[bluesman2a]

Part 2: The Retaining Wall

I am using Allan Block, a gravity type block that needs no foundation or mortar. The first block is set below grade on a plate compacted base and 1-1/2 inch gravel is used to fill the block voids and behind the wall for drainage. Each block weighs about 65 pounds...back braces are required if you are over 18.....

I like that solution, would you mind if I asked for some more information on this material? How was cost? Looks like a DIY dream, are you happy with the final outcome?

I find myself potentially having to redo a wood retaining wall (about 6 feet) put in by previous owners, so I'm looking for something relatively easy/fairly inexpensive that I can do myself. I wouldn't consider anything that is not masonry of some sort.

 

[AGBill]

The retaining wall looks very nice, but unfortunately, like most nice things in life it was not that easy to do and not that inexpensive...

The concrete blocks are in the $4 to $5 each range, depending on your supplier. I purchased mine last February when sales are slow and they had them on sale for $4.05 each. The wall you see in the pictures has about $3,000 worth of block including the caps.

I installed the wall myself with no help, so it can be done one block at a time. Getting the wall to look like a professional installed it takes a certain type of personality...Do you have a lot of patience and attention to detail? I found that you can set one block on the compacted gravel base, and it will be level/straight the first time you set it down, (total time 20 seconds). The very next block will require you to set/re-set the block 6 times before it is level/straight and take 10 minutes! If the first course of block is not perfectly straight and level, the defects get magified in the following courses and it can look pretty bad....

The total time to install the wall was about 7 weekends, working 6 hours a day, both days. The total cost was about $4,500 including block, gravel, tractor rentals, drainage pipe, etc. You will have to decide if that is relatively easy and not too expensive...

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Hey Bill, I live in Atascadero and I was going to ask you who did your wall. LOL I did a few on my own property and at 65 lb a block its more exercise than I really wanted.
Your right about the first course some go down fast and some take forever.
It takes some time but I bet it would have cost a ton of dough to get someone else to do it.
Great looking shop by the way.

 

[AGBill]

Part 5: Sectional Door Installation

I ordered Raynor StyleForm Optima sectional insulated doors will metal panels on both sides of rigid polystyrene insulation with an R value of 10.25.

The installation crew:

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The door sections are approximately 2" thick with an embossed inside panel

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The 13' - 6" H by 12' wide door has a Liftmaster trolley drive operator

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The 10' H by 16' wide door has a Liftmaster jackshaft type drive operator

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The installed doors

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[Morrisman]

To steal an Americanism; that place is awesome! I just love the open ground around it, the views, the space, and especially the size of the shop. I'm green with envy dude.

Looks like it was a hell of a lot of work just getting the base sorted, but it's worth it in the end. Will you run a business from it, or just do your own stuff?

 

[AGBill]

The garage/workshop is for my own use, not a business. I just needed a place to work on my mechanical projects like most people who visit this forum. Projects on the list include restoration of a 1930 Model A Ford Sport Coupe, reassembly of a much modified 1967 Lotus Elan, reassembly of two BSA 441 Victor motorcycles, repairs on a Yale forklift and repairs on a tractor trencher.

I also realize how lucky I am to have found this 5 acre home site and that I have the financial resources to build a new shop. Sometimes in life you are at the right place at the right time.....

 

[David Ferguson]

Any update on the interior? I am looking for something similar, and would like to see some projects using either steel studs, or structure to support a storage loft.

 

[AGBill]

It has been a while since I posted some updated pictures because I am in the save money/buy material/do the work mode.....

I am framing an office, full bath and utility room for an air compressor inside my steel building. I am using steel studs to keep with an all steel construction, mostly for fire protection. I have never done steel stud construction, so I bought a book "Steel Frame House Construction" by Tim Waite, that has many standard details and photos. I read the book, had a little help from a friend who is an architect and learned as I went along...

Some Assembly Required.

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I started construction in the corner of the office and framed around the window.

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I assembled the studs in the tracks on the floor, screwed them together, flipped them over and put screws in the other side, and then tilted them up and anchored them into the floor.

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The completed Office, Bath and Utility Room.

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I then installed 2 X 8 ceiling joists that will also support light storage above for a loft or mezzanine.

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I installed 3/4" tongue and groove plywood for the loft floor. The opening in the floor is for a pull down ladder. The 5 foot opening in the front half wall is for me to forklift stuff up to the loft.

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The office area framing complete, including the back wall.

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I am now installing studs (16 ft long!) around the rest of the interior walls so I can sheet rock and finish the walls. More pictures to come....

 

[David Ferguson]

Bill,

Thanks for sharing -- I'll have to learn some more about steel stud framing. Where did you buy your materials from? We're building our shop just up the road in Paso Robles.

 

[AGBill]

David:

I purchased my steel studs from El Camino Building Supply in Atascadero. They are good people and will work with you on small orders for us garage guys. Talk to Paul Johnson.

Bill

 

[volvo]

.
Thanks Bill, you have a very nice place. I can appreciate the fine work and your attention to detail, it really shows. ....H

 

[AGBill]

Time for another update....I have finished all the interior metal stud framing.

I used 16 ft long 20 gage studs and bolted them to the horizontal girts. The copper pipe you see in the walls is for the compressed air system. I framed in the I-beam columns on the two side walls.

Taking pictures counterclockwise around the garage:

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Another shot of the loft showing the addition of two small wing walls to keep me from falling into the pull down ladder hole and additional bracing for lateral stiffness of the half walls.

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Next tasks:

1. Install plumbing including DWV using Schedule 40 PVC, PEX plastic piping for water distribution

2. 3/4" type L copper pipe for compressed air system

3. 3/4" corrugated stainless steel tubing for propane for water heater and space heating

4. 2" PVC for a central vacuum system

5. Electrical using type MC metal clad flex and EMT conduit

More pictures in a few months!

 

[Bib Overalls]

Coming right along. Very impressed. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[AGBill]

Thanks for the encouragement....
Bill

 

[Dustoff 35]

Nice work!

 

[cdrewferd]

Great looking shop. The office, bathroom, utility room area look really nice.

 

[C_F]

Very impressive! The metal studs sure give it a commercial, 'all business' feel to it.

 

[Homebody]

God, that's sweet!

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Nice build. Looks well thought out.

 

[shocksystems]

Any new pictures? Update?

Cheers!

Jim

 

[MXtras]

I agree - we desperately need an update.

This is a nice build!

Scott

 

[Kevin54]

Sometimes in life you are at the right place at the right time.....

I just wish someone would tell me what time and place to be there. LOL!!!

Impressive with the steel studs. I've been around a few guys putting them in and at times actually looks easier than wood. The only thing is the screws are a lot sharper than nails. In noticing your ceiling/floor joist for the mezzanine....what kind of load rating does the steel have compared to wood or do you know? Any concerns that if the load rating gets close that one box too many might be the straw that breaks the camels back so to say. What I mean is that the joist is just a steel channel. If it would start to bow or open up, I would think that would then shift the load to the next one and so on and so forth, whereas wood would not have the domino effect. It may not be that way at all though. Most that I have been around just have dropped ceilings attached to them, and I have not seen floors put on them. Just curious. But the place does look super!!!

 

[AGBill]

Sorry I have not done an update in a while, but like everyone else these days, I have been busy. My mother passed away 2 weeks ago and I am also dealing with family issues, not doing construction....

I have finished installing the 2" PVC piping and 6 inlets for the central vacuum system. I am out 90% done with the drain, waste, vent 2" PVC plumbing piping.

Will post some more pictures in a few weeks.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Bill, my condolences on the passing of your mother.
And thanks for recommending Arron Mills. He helped out a lot on my shop.

 

[porschedude996TT]

Sorry about your Mother Bill, lost mine a year or so ago and my Dad 1-1/2 years before that. To honor my Dad, I am putting some of his ashes in the foundation of my new build. Since he was the Foundation that propped me up and I built upon personally, I thought it would be poetic to have him in the concrete.

Keith