Garage build thread.

[JackB]

Ceiling is completed, apart from paint and finishing.

Particle board soon completed:

Driving crushed rock for filling in behind and around the garage. I think it took 18 loads:

Insulation on the outside is done all over. Putting on the plastic:

All the crushed rock is filled back and covered:

Plastic is done too (obviously before the rock was filled back). Time: middle of august 2008 - 16 months from start.

 

[JackB]

Electric system almost complete. The cabinet is temporary though. Main circuit breaker is 50Amp 220V 3-phase.
On the right the tubes to the groundheat well. Next to them the connection to the house. Then a few tubes for wires and such. Under the cabinet is the tubes for floor heat.

Ready for roof metal:

Roof metal almost done:

Outside wood is going up. We painted it before I put it up. The double air gap can also be seen here

 

[JackB]

Missing the finishing of the roof.

Burning a few pallets and misc other burnable trash. Not the first and certainly not the last fire.

Net to keep flies and bugs out of the attic. Below is the inspection-hatch. Used when electricity has gotten so expensive you need to isulate the ceiling more.

Completed the wood on the walls. 2 windows missing. Obviously the hard-to-do ones with no frames.

Machining room taking shape. Before parting it off.

Gutters done just in time for winter:

Any questions regarding construction and design are welcome. I am a building engineer so I might be able to answer some questions.

 

[HKB3]

love the "murdered out" look on the garage, always wondered what an all black garage would like. would make the perfect home for something like this:

or

or

well you get the point, sorry for the hi-jack with all the pics

 

[hpw]

Any questions regarding construction and design are welcome. I am a building engineer so I might be able to answer some questions.

How is the bottom edge of the siding sealed from bugs/critters? Is that a
solid horizontal piece at the bottom ?

More on the roofing material and the top down installation technique.

What is the membrane over the roof framing and under the strapping?

Oh yeah, nice build

 

[JackB]

Thanks for the nice words!

HKB3: I wouldn't have a chance at getting that first car up my road.. It's pretty steep and not too good looking either. But I like the look of the cars

HPW:
The bottom edge isn't sealed against small critters. The knobby plastic makes it pretty tight but there is a an intermittent gap of maybe 1/8". The sealing of the building is with the asphalt plates inside of the wood.

The roofing material is Isola Powertekk. It is coated steel. They are just screwed to the strapping. 30 year guarantee
Here is more info: Isola roofing
The price is about the same as quality concrete roofing, but it is extremely lightweight.

The roof membrane is bitumen covered fiberglass. Isola too. More info here.
It's not really needed but it allows lots of time from the wood goes up until the steel needs to be done. If water condenses on the underside of the steel it protects against that too.

 

[JackB]

Insulation on the side rooms complete:

Dividing walls going up and being insulated (for sound)

Dividing and door opening for the technical room:

Storage room:

 

[51rider]

Great looking project
Am particularly interested in your roof as it is very similar to the one I intend to install on my build:
http://www.decra.co.uk/Products/Decra%20Classic%20Tile.aspx
The install instructions on your product are far easier to follow than mine

Look forward to the next update.

 

[JackB]

The most important thing when laying a metal roof like the Decra is to have the correct distance between the timbers you screw the roof to. There is 2 ways to finish it off at the bottom: standard metal with one angle, and the Decra solution with 3 angles. The Decra solution looks neater but function is the same IMO.

 

[JackB]

Technical room almost ready for heating. First room to get floor paint:

Storage room missing floor and ceiling paint:

Machining room. Trying to get rid of some moisture, but the dehumidifier gave up:

Other side of room:

First light fixture going up in the main room, only 9 more to do:

Entrance:

All the light fixtures are up in the main room. It got bright. Painful to come inside when it is dark outside:

Storage room almost done. Just need light and floor paint:

 

[51rider]

"The most important thing when laying a metal roof like the Decra is to have the correct distance between the timbers you screw the roof to."

Sage advice sir & one I will heed.

I just cannot get my head around the spacing for the battens for the ridge. I know that I will have to cut & bend the tile but seeing as this, according to the instructions is the starting point, I end up going no where fast.

I also have two roof windows to install whose instructions make no sense & between that & trying to work out the aforementoned spacing & thus quantities of timber to order, progress on this crucial part has been zero.

 

[JackB]

I can't quite understand what you mean. Or where you can't understand the inctructions..
On my roof the bottom of the first timber is 30mm from the bottom of the roof (I use the metal sheeting that is proprietary for my roof), then it is 369mm center/center all the way to the last one, where I had to cut off the last row of metal plates and bend the top up so that water can't run up under the top metal piece (The one that is almost a half-circle in profile). I will see if I can find any pictures of it.

 

[JackB]

Here is how I did it. I think it is close to according to the instructions. The height of the top timber has to be adjusted to suit your roof angle. Does this clarify how to do it ?

 

[JackB]

Heat pump and partially built system for floor heating:

Machining room is getting ready. Painter is going at it:

Circulation pump for the floor pump, and accumulation tank:

Half of the main room floor is painted. More than enough work in one go. Too much stuff in there for painting it all at once also:

Entrance floor is painted:

 

[JackB]

Only a few details missing on the outside:

Using the tractor to lift in the machines. It barely fits:

More lifting:

Machines in place:

All the floors are painted and the first Lista cabinet and workbench is in place:

Finished the outside apart from the slab in front of garagedoor:

Workbench and toolbox:

The salt stains on the concrete are from water ingress during the building. It is completely waterproof after the outside was finished so it is not a problem. I will paint the concrete gray sometime when I feel the need, but until then it will be a little cosmetic blemish.

 

[Blase]

very nice! Since it sounds like you are pretty far out in the country how are you going to get enough power to run your mill and lathe?

 

[klkruser]

Albert Lea = Minnesota :}

 

[JackB]

very nice! Since it sounds like you are pretty far out in the country how are you going to get enough power to run your mill and lathe?

No problems with that. We have electricity here too
Besides, both are small machines: 1500w motor on the lathe I think, and 3000w on the Bridgeport-clone. Nothing like a 20hp pacemaker sadly..

 

[flybefree]

Jack,

Great looking shop, great looking Bridgeport...I thought they only came in one color, dingy, oil soaked gray? Hah.

Shaun

 

[JackB]

Thank you flybefree!

If it were a real Bridgeport I am sure you are right. Mine is a Chinese knock-off so I am sure I could get any color I wanted as long as i paid for it
I am also sure mine will acquire the proper color after a few years of use too

 

[JackB]

The storage shelving were full about a week after they were put up. The floor in the storage room then started filling up alarmingly quick:

Heat pump and system getting filled with anti-freeze and water mix:

Second Lista cabinet. This is full of accessories for the mill and lathe, as can be seen from the overflow at the top. It has a ribbed rubber-top with 3 edges. Really nice for keeping things from rolling off. Won't chip the milling inserts either:

 

[Stuntmonkey]

Great build! Are you running a business out of there or are you just a machinist by hobby?

 

[robarosa]

Real neat setup.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

That is one impressive building! I won't call it just a garage with those machines living there; its got to be considered a manufacturing facility in the far north. lol


When do you plan to insulate the back walls on the inside? Even with the foam board and block coating on the exterior, that's got to be one heck of a heat-sink! Interior insulation there would probably reduce the load on your heating system drastically. I've read a bit on the U.S. Gov. site about energy losses due to water vapor migration across concrete/block walls and floors and how to mitigate heat losses due to that mechanism. Just reducing the porosity of the material via a sealing coating (paint) can slow the rate of transfer. It may be a miniscule loss per square foot of surface, but it looks like you've got many sq. ft. of surface to deal with. It might make a big difference in your annual heating bill by maximizing the heat gain by minimizing the heat loss via the block walls. Playing around with some contact thermometers on the floor and walls this winter may tell you if it is worth the extra money, time, and effort to deal with it. (I am not a professional, so my thoughts here may be worth exactly what it cost you - $0.00 - )

Thanks for sharing your progress with GJ!

 

[JackB]

Great build! Are you running a business out of there or are you just a machinist by hobby?

Thank you! I was running a part-time business selling hobby-machines, but not anymore. The garage is not part of the business though, just storing some stuff I haven't sold yet,

Real neat setup.

Thank you !

That is one impressive building! I won't call it just a garage with those machines living there; its got to be considered a manufacturing facility in the far north. lol

LOL! Thank you! Manufacturing anything with those machines I would go broke before you could say China

When do you plan to insulate the back walls on the inside? Even with the foam board and block coating on the exterior, that's got to be one heck of a heat-sink! Interior insulation there would probably reduce the load on your heating system drastically. I've read a bit on the U.S. Gov. site about energy losses due to water vapor migration across concrete/block walls and floors and how to mitigate heat losses due to that mechanism. Just reducing the porosity of the material via a sealing coating (paint) can slow the rate of transfer. It may be a miniscule loss per square foot of surface, but it looks like you've got many sq. ft. of surface to deal with. It might make a big difference in your annual heating bill by maximizing the heat gain by minimizing the heat loss via the block walls. Playing around with some contact thermometers on the floor and walls this winter may tell you if it is worth the extra money, time, and effort to deal with it. (I am not a professional, so my thoughts here may be worth exactly what it cost you - $0.00 - )

Thanks for sharing your progress with GJ!

Thank you for your idea and kind words. It is greatly appreciated. I haven't really considered insulating any more. I have never heard about the energy loss due to water vapor transfer but it makes sense. You are absolutely right about the heat-sink effect since the walls are in direct contact with the heated floor. If I were to insulate the walls I feel I would need to add 2" to the complete wall height so I don't get an unsightly shelf halfway up. That means tearing off the board and moving electrics out 2 inches too. And putting up new drywall or particle board, painting etc. Although I am sure I would save on the heating bill, I am not sure if it would pay off in the foreseeable future. Since I have a heat-pump that draws heat from a 180meter hole in the bedrock the heating of the garage is very cheap. The heat-pump is connected to my house too though so it is difficult to gauge how much electricity the garage uses. I keep track of the total usage though and in the worst case scenario the garage needs 6000kwh each year. I keep it at 58F when I am not working in there and 65F when I am there.
I will take your advice and paint the concrete walls though, since that is relatively cheap and might help quite a bit.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Very impressive!

When you drove the tractor in my first thought was "You're getting the floor all dirty!"

 

[JackB]

Very impressive!

When you drove the tractor in my first thought was "You're getting the floor all dirty!"

Thank you!

Here is the solution to stuff accumulating on the floor:
Lista storage wall. Still haven't managed to fill it up (this picture is just after I put it up so it was empty). I should have ordered less shelves and more drawers though. The shelves gets dusty, and they are so deep that the stuff in the back is hard to reach.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Very nice work!

Jim

 

[JackB]

Got some more storage. It was badly needed as tooling for the lathe and milling machine had started accumulating on the floor again. The top drawer has Lista dividers for drills. Made it very tidy ! I'll take some pictures of the drawers later.
I see that I have bypassed a few things I have added to the shop lately. One of them is to the left in the picture. I'll be back with more on those later.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Looking great, thanks for the update.

 

[metalhead140]

Great building! I'm very jealous of your garage and contents, if not your climate... I look forward to more updates.