Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Eric's Tucson Garage Project

[Eric W11]

Thanks - forms off today, plus they left some material for setting the walls - foam barrier, washers, etc. Actually some clouds in the sky today and rain in the area. Usually doesn't rain here until about the July 4th holiday weekend, but there was rain to the east and west of here today (9 June). I thought this might be built up and dried in before rain, but maybe not.

I know - I see other threads here where you're fighting rain, building through rain, etc., but here, it's pretty predictable for there to be zero rain from February into July, then 2/3 of the year's rain in 6-8 weeks, then nothing again until late December.

 

[rattle_snake]

I would keep that slab as wet as possible!! for a month if possible. Cover in plastic, keep wet underneath.
I sprayed mine with water 2x a day for a week and it was not enough even in March. Curled up on all cut joints.

 

[Eric W11]

Thanks. Saw this early Friday afternoon, and sprayed it down multiple times Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No issues with the joints or edges. These are the fairly large troweled style, not cut.

 

[Boostingaz]

We ran one of those tripod sprinklers around on ours for a few days.

 

[Eric W11]

Lumber delivered...

Beams for the doors...

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks. Saw this early Friday afternoon, and sprayed it down multiple times Friday, Saturday and Sunday. No issues with the joints or edges. These are the fairly large troweled style, not cut.

I hope you don't have issues. it took 6 months for them to really show.

That said all the track houses are poured and built on quick with no care for drying or what really happens to slab.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Unless they modify ordinary mixes - and they would in VERY hot climates, typical concrete mixes develop 75% of design strength in as little as 24 hours. Physical movement, i.e. "curling up" should never take place unless you're talking nearly microscopical movement.

Ordinary shrinkage cracking will take place but should be tight as hell and not become any bigger if built on soon.

 

[Eric W11]

Expecting framing next week, but trying it on for size. With smaller cars like this, there should be good space for tool cabinets and storage shelves down both of the outer sides. Much better than what I've got now, anyway. Behind the Miata will be a 1930 Model A, which is about the same footprint, but obviously a lot taller.

Also a photo from about 3 streets north of here, which has more elevation for a wider view. Here's from about a year ago with snow on the mountains...

 

[Eric W11]

Framing started & trusses delivered. That wall is ~3 hours work with 4 guys - they did some other stuff as well - got the bottom plates laid out and cut for the other long wall, and cut the remaining studs for the designed ceiling height. Ok, it's less than efficient to pay for a certain stud length just to cut them all a little, but aside from me not knowing what I didn't know (see if a ceiling height could be set up for a stock stud length), the garage also has to comply with a requirement to be no higher than the main house, which it will make by only a couple of inches, so given another requirement that the roof style match the main house, there wasn't much choice on the wall height.

Yes, the studs are unequally spaced for a window pattern that matches what's on the main house. Not sure that anyone will ever notice, but me and the architect know that it's there. It isn't very obvious because the windows face the property line. You might be able to tell from my photos but there's nothing over the wall but the back portions of two other properties - my neighbor up the slope and another house that is actually on the next street over, so nobody will be walking around over there to see that side of the garage.

They'll let some light in, but I won't be surprised if I add blinds or something inside, as that wall is almost exactly south-facing. Also have a similar window pattern on the north wall, but it's towards the back (between the house & garage), so that's not super obvious either. But it adds some intentional design connection between the house & garage.

 

[Eric W11]

One bare framed walls photo that my wife took sometime during the day, the rest after I got back from work.

Side facing the house: 3 windows + door openings will be cut here.

 

[OOBER]

Looking great! You will like that setup. I love having my shop right off the driveway, makes it really easy to run over to the shop to grab something or park daily drivers in there.

Is there a man door on the far side of your garage facing the shop?


Delays are inevitable, glad you got your concrete. If it makes you feel any better, my build permit can be open for up to 2 years and I have about 3 months left to get finished up before I hit the time limit . Most of that is my fault though for going slow and trying to do too many things myself.

 

[Eric W11]

There isn't a man door on the garage attached to the house, so I'll either open the the garage door or go in/out the back door of the house (or I get tired of it and have a man door added). Hopefully I can get everything tool-related into the new building to reduce trips between the different areas.

 

[rattle_snake]

We have walls!

 

[Eric W11]

About half of the roof trusses up, some more OSB on the walls...

Beam for the rear door was the wrong length, so that's why that's wide open, but they already have the correct replacement onsite.

 

[Eric W11]

My wife said they felt like they were moving a little slower today. One of the guys couldn't make it, so that could be part of it. Seems like they have tomorrow planned in, and it should be reasonable to complete the sheathing of the roof tomorrow. Today completed the roof trusses, the back wall beam at the door, and sheathing most all of the walls.

View from a ladder in my backyard. The property slopes down towards the back, so nobody (outside our yard and not on a ladder) can really see this much of the building.

 

[jimmie jam]

Wow, looking very nice so far!!

 

[Swanny1953]

subscribed - good luck with the build.

 

[Eric W11]

Fewer guys showed up today. Not sure if that was because they realized they didn't have a good way to get the OSB onto the roof or what, but my wife said that was an issue today. They've got a lift or something that they'll bring Monday and get the roof covered. Looks like main accomplishment today was trimming the rafters and adding the outer fascia boards. Rain is ~2 weeks early this year. Great week to not have a roof...

 

[ScottW]

It’s looking so good! I can already tell it’s going to integrate well on your property and it doesn’t have any matching exterior yet. Remind me what the interior ceiling height is?

 

[Eric W11]

Inside ceiling is 13'-6" (or something really close, maybe less the thickness of the drywall).

Yes, it's planned to have the same kind of cornice detail across the front and wrapped a couple feet down each side. There's also a "bump out" near the bottom.

Electrician stopped by today. He was thinking it was a major job to run power from the main panel to this building, then I showed him the old hot tub junction box that's less than 10' away. With LEDs for the main ceiling lights, a couple of 110v outlet circuits, 2x220 for AC and compressor, a couple of exterior lights and garage door openers, the existing hot tub circuit will cover all of that. We're in a "dark sky" area, so we don't do exterior floodlights. This neighborhood really doesn't enforce that very well (or they've approved installations in conflict with the rules), but having actual darkness at night doesn't bother me, and its fewer fixtures that I have to buy and pay to operate.

 

[Eric W11]

So getting the OSB on the roof looks like the lifting was done with a temporary scaffold. Got somewhat more than half of the roof sheathed today. Looks like they had to add some bracing on the shorter front/rear roof sections where the lateral (26' span) truss meets the shorter truss segments that join it to the front wall. I thought there would need to be something there, as that area didn't look like complete support for the OSB. Now that they've got that figured out for the front roof, it should go faster tomorrow to finish the rest of it. Then there's town inspection at this stage of completion.

 

[Eric W11]

Roof sheathing complete, and temporary bracing removed.

Near the bottom of the wall of the existing garage is the "bump out" that will also be duplicated on the new garage. Also will be similar-style lights. I couldn't find the exact same, as the house is from 2003.

 

[jbrentd]

Looks great. I like your choice of window placement.

 

[Eric W11]

Looks great. I like your choice of window placement.

Thanks - that was the Architect adding a design feature that makes a connection with the main house. I wouldn't have thought of it, but I think a little style connection between the two buildings is a good addition to the overall project.

Framing inspection today. No pass. Not enough little clips and straps. So contractor will be back to add a little more steel, and then hopefully things can continue.

 

[Eric W11]

Saw some of the clips added 7/1, then I went out of town. Back on 7/5, and saw they'd installed everything, but the retro hold-down was in the wrong place. Yesterday it was pulled out from the wrong place and sitting in the right place, and the windows were in. Today, the retro hold-down is nailed to the stud, and it looks like the bolt is there, but not installed.

Here's the side that nobody will really see. Maybe sometime I'll go up to the next street over and see what it looks like from up there. There's really only one neighbor up on this side, and they built an extensive dog-training "ring" between their back yard and where I'm standing, and this dog-training "ring" is maybe as big as a full-size basketball court and has a 5' high block wall all the way around it.


Here's the retro hold-down to make up for where one of the strong ties on the outside got pushed against the form and chipped out. I'm not sure what the all-thread is for. I think all they have to install is that expanding bolt.

 

[PugetDude]

Great build and documentation, Eric.
Following for updates.

 

[ScottW]

Here's the retro hold-down to make up for where one of the strong ties on the outside got pushed against the form and chipped out. I'm not sure what the all-thread is for. I think all they have to install is that expanding bolt.

They used all-thread on a good number of my hold-downs as well, I think it was where the embedded J-bolts wouldn’t have been long enough to go through the hold-down and expose enough threads? In my case everywhere they did that they used a hefty thread coupler, which made them attach those hold-downs up a little higher on the studs. Not sure in your case, maybe they were setting both their options side by side to determine which would work best?

 

[drmarkr]

I like the hip roof design. That's gonna be a great space. Looks like your at the base of the Tucson Mts??

Who is your contractor using for the roof, if you know?

 

[Eric W11]

Scott W - they had the hold down installed in the wrong place with only the expanding bolt. I guess I'll find out in the next couple of days what will end up here.

drmarkr - for the trusses, they used MiTek USA Inc. I'm not sure how to contact them in Tucson - the contractor did that. For the truss installation / assembly and sheathing, the contractor has his own crew. For the tile, the installer will be Ruiz Affordable Roofing in Tucson.

 

[Eric W11]

The side I said that nobody would really see - here's a photo from 2 streets over, and when it's got the tile roof and painted the house color, it will blend right in. From 1 street over, you can't see it at all, because the houses on that side of the street are higher than my property, so it's only visible if you went into their backyards, and even then, since the slope is down to my house, they might look right over the top and only see it if they walked up to their wall and looked over.

 

[bugman-74]

Howdy from Saguaro Park West. Cool build

 

[Eric W11]

So the inspector's good with everything but that retro hold down. That's why there's an expanding bolt and a piece of all-thread there - not resolved, but not a hold-up right now. Stucco team showed up today, and here comes the stucco.

 

[Eric W11]

Scaffolds delivered Wednesday the 13th. They completed the top row of foam panels. No action Thursday. Nobody here yet today (Friday).

They set up the scaffold outside of the wall on a slope, and there's extension pieces that reach back over the wall, so building this distance from the wall actually works pretty well for scaffolding.

 

[Eric W11]

Sunday morning, they just showed up and finished off the structure under the stucco. Must have had a deadline for tomorrow.

 

[Eric W11]

This week for electrical rough-in. First day (Tuesday), didn't look like a whole lot happened - just some of the outlet boxes on the walls. Maybe wasn't a full day. Nothing yesterday, then today, there's pretty much all the junction boxes on the walls, ceiling, for the exterior lights, and a lot of the wiring laid into place.

 

[PugetDude]

Looks expensive…
12/2 Romex is now $165/roll…???
Local Home Depot is keeping it under lock and key..

 

[Eric W11]

Looks expensive…

Don't know, Dude. It's all included in the overall price with the contractor. Though I'll probably have an up-charge for the AC circuit, as it wasn't well defined in the plan. I should have looked closer there, but better to get wire run and disconnect box for it now than to retrofit after everything's all closed up.

 

[Eric W11]

No progress today. Was in the backyard early this morning to make sure the dogs didn't get out through the construction fence and it was raining just enough for a double rainbow. This went away just a couple minutes later when the sun went behind the cloud layer.

 

[Eric W11]

That about finishes the electrical rough-in. They did add the line for the AC, but no outside junction box for it yet. Not sure if they need that for inspection or not. Otherwise, I think that's pretty much it.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I just found this thread and it looks like it's going to be very very nice and spacious. I can't imagine having this big a garage.

What are your plans after it is complete? Will you do epoxy floor, a lift? Any of the typical Large GJ garage features?

It's FRICKIN HOT here, I can only imagine what it must be like living in Tucson. I've only been there once many years ago on business. Can't wait to see the completion of the project.