Backyard Fab Shop Build in NE Ohio

[Graham08]

I finally get my own build thread!

I'm in the process of building a new shop in my backyard to give my metalworking equipment and racecar a new place to live (and me some room to work!), and make the attached garage back into parking.

The overall size is 36' x 48', with a 12' x 48' covered "party porch". The porch was my wife's idea, but it has turned out to be a good one, even though it has been a bunch of extra work. The finished ceiling will be right at 13'. We framed 12' tall walls, which stand on the block foundation, which has about 1-1/2 block exposed above the finished floor.

A lot of the work has been done by my dad, father-in-law, my friends, and myself on the weekends and evenings. I hired out the concrete (I've never even poured a sidewalk!) and setting the trusses and sheathing the roof. The plan is to do pretty much the rest ourselves, except for garage doors.

Here's the start...excavating! My concrete guy excavated the footers and the subgrade.

The clay here ***** for drainage, but makes a great base for a building. I was surprised that all of the excavation was done with the mini excavator.

Here are a couple shots of the block work and subgrade. There are six courses of block on top of the footer, which is 24" wide by 12" thick, with 5/8" rebar.

This was before we raised the grade another 6" or so. There was a miscommunication that resulted in the finished floor being lower than the surrounding grade. I chose to spend the extra few bucks on gravel instead of fighting to keep water out for eternity!

Part of the new shop is an electrical upgrade for the property. We're going to 400 amp service, with a remote meter pedestal, so I can have 200 amp panels in the shop and the house. My father-in-law is a retired electrician, and he was a huge help in planning the job (new service cable for the shop and the house) and actually doing the work. The new meter base is part of his handywork.

Here are a few pictures of the concrete guys doing their thing. The slab is 5" thick, over top of 2" rigid foam. My last shop had the foam under the floor, and it makes a huge difference in heating the building, as well as keeping the floor from sweating in the humid Ohio summers.

And the finished floor...

 

[930dreamer]

Great start, keep the pics coming. It's great to have family members with skills.

 

[Graham08]

Once the concrete guys were done, construction became my responsibility. The day we started framing was the day the rains came...and didn't seem to want to leave. So here is dad, Josh, and I working in the rain. This is actually day two. The OSB standing in the background was from us proving to ourselves that even a couple sheets of 5/8" OSB make a 12' x 12' wall section too heavy for three guys to lift onto the stem wall.

Eventually the sun came out...

Here's a shot of most of the wall framing completed. My major screwup in the whole project is in this shot. When I originally framed the garage door headers, I only had one jack stud on each end of the headers. This got fixed (there are now three per side)...just cost me some time and a few extra 2 x 12's.

Here we are setting the posts for the covered porch. Charlie (the Australian Shepherd) is supervising.

Here's the beam attached to all those posts...

The porch ceiling attaches to the main building via a ledger board and joist hangers. I elected to stick frame the porch roof as opposed to buying trusses. Here's the finished porch roof framing.

 

[Graham08]

It was at this point that my neighbor set me up with his buddy that owns a framing company. After a conversation that started out with Eric sharing some insight into how I should go about setting my trusses, I hired him and his crew to do it. Definitely one of the best decisions I've made recently. Here's why:

I certainly wouldn't be walking that 2 x 6 top plate myself! It took them about two hours to get all 25 trusses set. We wouldn't have gotten that far in an entire weekend.

One thing they did was to build the overhangs on the ground. I like big overhangs, so I went with 24", and the drop-top gable end trusses to support them.

These are storage trusses (2 x 6 bottom chord with spread center webs), so we're planning a stairwell in the back of the shop for access. The first truss is skipped, and the second is doubled on the back end.

After a full day's work, they were to this point...

 

[Graham08]

Eric's crew also handled the roof sheathing and felt. Here it is after all their work (and dad and I finished sheathing the walls, and got some Tyvek on):

Then this past weekend we got all the shingles on the roof. 31 square worth...a LOT of shingles! I need to take some pictures of the finished roof.

And that's about where we stand right now. This weekend, we're going to finish out the garage door openings, and hopefully get started on the stairs so I can get the framing inspection done...then continue working on getting it closed in so I can work on the inside this winter.

 

[B-RAD77]

I really like the party porch

 

[Cheap5.0]

Great looking building!

 

[Graham08]

Here are a couple of pictures from my wife's phone of the roofing...

First is my dad, my pal Mark, and me putting down shingles. We managed to get them all done in about two full days. Rooftop delivery is awesome! I will never carry another bundle of shingles up a ladder.

Second is the finished roof. I'll have to get some better pictures of this...

 

[gts340]

That's one heck of a garage. Very nice!

 

[Falcon67]

I love that - and for sure you will too! Several good calls - the crane team got it done quick. I built my small overhangs in place up on the roof - a big one like that, that would be a "challenge".

There was a miscommunication that resulted in the finished floor being lower than the surrounding grade. I chose to spend the extra few bucks on gravel instead of fighting to keep water out for eternity!

Having owned a nice shop with a slab that got poured at grade for similar reasons, you absolutely did the right thing. We don't get a lot of rain and I did gutters to help, but I squeegeed a lot of water out the door of that shop over the years.

> I will never carry another bundle of shingles up a ladder.
Weenie - he says while popping another aspirin and favoring his left knee that still hurts from the roofing work. Good work on that, took me 3 days for 13 square by myself.

 

[westray]

Love the shed and the size. The lean-to will be great and you will use it more then you know.

Cant wait to see more updates!

 

[JC23]

Great job!

Can you tell us about yer racing?

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Good looking building! Your wife's suggestion of a porch is a winner. You should feel very fortunate to have such friends and family helping with the planning and build.

 

[vntperformance]

subscribed!

 

[richtersrodz]

Cool looking build...

Edit: I had a one car garage that was built low. The neighbors behind me, parked right up
against it, when there was no fence (put that in later). They made a huge low area from
flying into the driveway, and slamming on their brakes in the gravel (idiots). This lead to
a unseen water issue. Every good rain, the area would fill up with water, and flood the back
of my garage. Open the door, to the floor covered in mud. Had lots of stuff ruined over
the years. Will never build one like that again.. Live and learn... I wish I had thought to put
in a small wall like that on the back side.

 

[Graham08]

Thanks everyone! I certainly am thankful for the all help I've received to this point.

Great job!

Can you tell us about yer racing?

I'm involved mostly with sprint cars and supermodifieds, but I'll work on about anything.

Here are a few pics of my first sprint car, which was a dirt car converted over to run asphalt. These are from 2004, which was my only season behind the wheel.

After that, my dad and I completely rebuilt this supermodified for a friend of ours. We ended up cutting the frame off immediately in front of and behind the rollcage. It probably would have been easier to build a new car from scratch.

More recently, we did a complete rebuild of this super. It ran this past season with the Midwest Supermodified Association, which runs at Sandusky, Toledo, and Lorain, Ohio, plus some other trips out of state.

A build thread for this car is at: http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5424

And, last but not least is my own new sprint car. I am finally getting to work on it a little bit, after it has sat neglected for a few years.

 

[tinbender 66]

Super nice garage.

I love sprint cars!! We have a 3/10ths dirt (clay) track about a half hour from home. I go every chance I get. When I had my sheet metal shop I built a couple wings for a local guy. No money, just got my name on the car and pitboard. They didn't last long enough for me to get to see them in action.

Those offset cars are wicked!

 

[Graham08]

Well, I've been busy the past couple weeks, mostly working on a set of stairs to access the attic storage. This was in the plans the whole time, and has easily been the most difficult carpentry project I've ever tackled. I'm pretty happy with the finished product. Because of the span, I couldn't make them free standing, and took that opportunity to frame in a closet which will house my air compressor.

Here's an overall view:

In order to make things fit, there ends up being two flights of stairs and a landing. Here's a closer look at the lower flight:

The treads are 2" x 10" yellow pine, and I went ahead and made risers to close them in out of 1" x 8". I borrowed my dad's router to put a quarter round on the edge, and it makes all the difference in the world in making these look professionally done.

One last shot going up to the attic:

I was able to borrow a flashing brake this weekend, and Dad and I got the overhead door openings wrapped with aluminum. This clears the way for the overhead door guy, who is coming in about a week or so. I wanted to get the aluminum done before the doors went in, so I didn't have to either take the screws out of the tracks, or notch the trim around the mounts for the tracks.

These are white to match the doors. We ended up with white doors because we couldn't find something that was a match for the other trim we're planning on using.

I also ordered entry doors this week. I was originally looking at steel-frame commercial doors, but decided on a pair of ProVia's. I'm pretty impressed with their construction, and can't wait for them to get here!

 

[vntperformance]

How about some updated exterior pixs?

 

[Graham08]

Not much has changed on the outside, except for more Tyvek. I'm waiting 'til spring to do the siding. I'll post some more exterior pics when I get doors!

 

[Rocket Racer]

Lookin good Graham!! Now you just need to get that sprint car done with a 305 stuffed in it!

 

[NASTYZEN]

Nice place Graham!
Those sprint cars are sure using funky suspension. I never had a chance to look at one like this before.
Takes a man to drive one. There awesome to watch , but scary when they tangle.
Thank's for showing us.

 

[Nighttrain]

Very nice build. Those off set cars are really cool.

 

[Graham08]

Lookin good Graham!! Now you just need to get that sprint car done with a 305 stuffed in it!

Thanks Mike!

Believe me, I've thought about the 305. For now, we're going to try to get ready and run Spartan next year, and see where it goes.

 

[pontifex4]

I really like the look of your door trim. Nice work!

 

[Graham08]

Passed the framing inspection and picked up my entry doors yesterday! That clears the way for some major progress (insulation and drywall).

 

[ejm1961Tbird]

I am really enjoying this build. I like the size of the garage, the porch, and the great job you are doing in documenting it for us. Thanks!

 

[ZTFab]

Looking really good Graham!!

 

[Graham08]

Major progress today...overhead doors got installed!

These are 12' wide x 10' high Clopay's. We sprung for raised panels and three windows per door to spruce them up a bit. This makes a huge difference working inside without the winter wind whistling through!

Also, last week we got the entry doors installed. Dad, dad-in-law, and little brother all helped.

The doors are made by ProVia, and I am very impressed with the quality of them and the frames. Not cheap by any stretch, but I feel like they're a good value.

I'm making progress on insulation, and hopefully will be starting drywall soon.

 

[knixon804]

looks awesome man! what are you going to heat it with?

 

[Graham08]

I'm planning on an Enerco radiant tube setup. I had one in my last shop. They make very warm heat, and aren't terribly expensive to run. Also pretty easy to install.

 

[Graham08]

Got the main electrical panel hung and the cables terminated today.

Here's the view from the outside.

I secured the conduit to the outside of the building using short pieces of unistrut and clamps.

The bottom piece is lagged into the bottom plate, while the top is thru-bolted to the sheathing with fender washers on the inside. I used the unistrut to give enough clearance to get siding underneath the conduit later on.

Working on insulation so I can get some heat going...it was COLD out there today!

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Great. Build, love it when someone puts in the work themselves.

 

[mikeylikesit5805]

Looking good! I am right down the street, Kent Ohio!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looks like you made the stairs nice and wide.

 

[vvk645]

looks like you're making good progress on your shop,

 

[Graham08]

Great. Build, love it when someone puts in the work themselves.

Thanks. Putting work in myself is the only way I can afford something like this!

Looking good! I am right down the street, Kent Ohio!

Cool. My wife works for Kent State in their athletic department.

Looks like you made the stairs nice and wide.

Sure did. They're about 42" wide, which will be nice when carrying stuff up to the attic.

looks like you're making good progress on your shop,

Thanks! Sometimes I get bogged down in details and it seems like I'm getting nowhere...then I look at some of the pictures from the start and realize how far I've come.

 

[csp]

Nice work on the housewrap. Not many people know how to wrap and tape properly where you have service entrances/windows/doors.

That looks like it's going to be a great building once it's done.

 

[Graham08]

Thanks. Amazing what you can learn by reading Fine Homebuilding!

 

[rinker1]

Graham, The garage looks great, looks like a lot of room for toys! I see your from Rootstown, I never heard of it until last summer when I came your way to look at a 53 Ford a guy had for sale.