driftpin
Well-known member
I don't have the time, or the ability on my own to get some quick storage, by making my own. The zoning restrictions are keeping me from making something myself. I'm going with a pre-fab 10' X 20' steel-framed, 3/4" plywood-sheathed, Hardieplank-covered gable ended building with a roll-up door at one end. The concrete slab will be the floor. Ten-by-twenty is the largest stand-alone accessory structure I'm allowed.
Right now I'm getting the concrete poured for the floor slab. The building will be craned into place on the slab. I've got plenty of room to do that.
The contract called for the poured slab to match the elevation of the house at the entrance from the carport into the house. The slab is a T-off the driveway which was asphalt, it's been removed, and will be replaced by a concrete poured driveway. I've lived here on the block nearly 40 years and never had rising waters approach the threshold of the dwelling. That includes a storm of 14" of rain in eight hours, which really did make the area look like "the Venice of America," as Ft. Lauderdale likes to refer to itself, which is close-by.
The contract for scope of work was written expressly for that slab elevation. I asked repeatedly that the layout crew come out and shoot the elevation, but they just eyeballed it and threw up the forms after the excavation. I used a surveyor's twine and a clip-on line level to see that their estimate was probably 2 inches too-low. I've called the business office and spoken in person with the excavator, who seems to be the responsible layout person. He assured me they will 'make it right,' the same thing I've heard from the business office. But when I ask, "when is someone coming with a transit to shoot the elevation," no one is making an appointment. I want to be here when they do, so that they can show me it's accurately laid-out.
I had an acquaintance who's a GC come-out and lay it out on his time/money, and for his crew to do the work, but then two weeks of ignored phone calls, hang-ups, and ignored texts, I gave up on them and signed a contract with another company that I had known-of that specializes in driveways and slabs. That's the company who has done the excavation and formwork.
Today I sent them an email about the need to not pour the slab and driveway until I was satisfied that my elevation requirement specified in the scope of work contract was satisfied. I referenced the written contract, the site visit when I spoke w/the demolition guy while he was removing the asphalt driveway and excavating for the slab, the phone call following-up when I saw the form work done but not to contract, a text to him about the corrections, and sent an email to the business office with all of that.
I shortly got a reply that said because of the heavy rains south Florida has been having (up-to 5 inches in places, in the past 24 hours) that they haven't been able to get out to adjust the formboards. OK, I accept that, it's been torrential at times. But I still haven't had anyone tell me, "we can be there Monday after 9 am to make the formboard adjustments."
My question still is, are you going to use a transit to give me what I asked-for?"
Today I was going from one campus to another, where I teach, and stopped at Habitat for Humanity. I think Jesus was listening, because He put a nearly-new CST/berger 54-200K transit level in the tools section! Here's the Wally World ad for it: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Berger-S...0X-1-4-in-at-75-ft-Accuracy-Aluminum/15676025 They want $416 for it. It looks like it was used a few times and brought to H for H. OK! It's not even dirty, and all the parts are there, it's in the factory cardboard box. So, I'm gonna shoot my own elevations and set some batterboards, and tell the driveway/slab contractor, "this is what the contract calls-for."
I almost called a local surveyor to see what they would charge, which I know is a lot-more than I paid for the transit level! Compared to Wally World, it was downright cheap, less than one-third price. Take a look at the pics. It's perfect.
I wanted the slab in and done before I placed my order for the premanufactured building. The local jobber said it's two weeks from order to delivery, and it includes delivery and set-up. Where I live is a HVHZ area (high-velocity hurricane zone) and the product is approved by the state to withstand 175 mph gusts. Seeing as this week is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hurricane Andrew ( http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadly5.shtml) which caused $43 billion loss adjusted by the Consumer Price Index, I'm happy for the requirement! Andrew had winds of 165 mph, and destroyed thousands of homes, entire trailer parks, commercial and industrial sites, and caused tens of thousands residing in the areas where homes were destroyed to take their insurance payouts and move north. It also force multiple revisions in the Florida Building Code. I was a firefighter/paramedic here when it hit, and I saw the devastation first-hand. It was horrible, for months. If you were within 20 miles of where it made landfall, and you got your electricity back within 4 weeks, you were lucky, and one of the few who got it back that quickly. Downtown Miami curtain wall high-rise buildings looked more-like Beirut, with all the missing panes of glass. If it made landfall 20 miles further north of where it did hit in Homestead which was low-density housing, and rural in nature; it would have hit downtown Miami, and Miami Beach before that. Estimates of expected losses would have been triple what they actually were for the Homestead landfall. I think that figure is low. The housing density of the City of Miami (and Miami Beach) is much higher because of hundreds of high-rises. The City of Miami had in 1992 probably fourteen times the population of Homestead (359,000 vs 25,000).
It took the local municipality a month to approve the driveway permit, I hope it takes less time for the premanufactured garage plans, which has sealed drawings from a P.E. I'd like to think that I could get the building up before October, but Thanksgiving may be more-realistic. As the POTUS tweets, "sad!"
Right now I'm getting the concrete poured for the floor slab. The building will be craned into place on the slab. I've got plenty of room to do that.
The contract called for the poured slab to match the elevation of the house at the entrance from the carport into the house. The slab is a T-off the driveway which was asphalt, it's been removed, and will be replaced by a concrete poured driveway. I've lived here on the block nearly 40 years and never had rising waters approach the threshold of the dwelling. That includes a storm of 14" of rain in eight hours, which really did make the area look like "the Venice of America," as Ft. Lauderdale likes to refer to itself, which is close-by.
The contract for scope of work was written expressly for that slab elevation. I asked repeatedly that the layout crew come out and shoot the elevation, but they just eyeballed it and threw up the forms after the excavation. I used a surveyor's twine and a clip-on line level to see that their estimate was probably 2 inches too-low. I've called the business office and spoken in person with the excavator, who seems to be the responsible layout person. He assured me they will 'make it right,' the same thing I've heard from the business office. But when I ask, "when is someone coming with a transit to shoot the elevation," no one is making an appointment. I want to be here when they do, so that they can show me it's accurately laid-out.
I had an acquaintance who's a GC come-out and lay it out on his time/money, and for his crew to do the work, but then two weeks of ignored phone calls, hang-ups, and ignored texts, I gave up on them and signed a contract with another company that I had known-of that specializes in driveways and slabs. That's the company who has done the excavation and formwork.
Today I sent them an email about the need to not pour the slab and driveway until I was satisfied that my elevation requirement specified in the scope of work contract was satisfied. I referenced the written contract, the site visit when I spoke w/the demolition guy while he was removing the asphalt driveway and excavating for the slab, the phone call following-up when I saw the form work done but not to contract, a text to him about the corrections, and sent an email to the business office with all of that.
I shortly got a reply that said because of the heavy rains south Florida has been having (up-to 5 inches in places, in the past 24 hours) that they haven't been able to get out to adjust the formboards. OK, I accept that, it's been torrential at times. But I still haven't had anyone tell me, "we can be there Monday after 9 am to make the formboard adjustments."
My question still is, are you going to use a transit to give me what I asked-for?"
Today I was going from one campus to another, where I teach, and stopped at Habitat for Humanity. I think Jesus was listening, because He put a nearly-new CST/berger 54-200K transit level in the tools section! Here's the Wally World ad for it: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Berger-S...0X-1-4-in-at-75-ft-Accuracy-Aluminum/15676025 They want $416 for it. It looks like it was used a few times and brought to H for H. OK! It's not even dirty, and all the parts are there, it's in the factory cardboard box. So, I'm gonna shoot my own elevations and set some batterboards, and tell the driveway/slab contractor, "this is what the contract calls-for."
I almost called a local surveyor to see what they would charge, which I know is a lot-more than I paid for the transit level! Compared to Wally World, it was downright cheap, less than one-third price. Take a look at the pics. It's perfect.
I wanted the slab in and done before I placed my order for the premanufactured building. The local jobber said it's two weeks from order to delivery, and it includes delivery and set-up. Where I live is a HVHZ area (high-velocity hurricane zone) and the product is approved by the state to withstand 175 mph gusts. Seeing as this week is the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hurricane Andrew ( http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadly5.shtml) which caused $43 billion loss adjusted by the Consumer Price Index, I'm happy for the requirement! Andrew had winds of 165 mph, and destroyed thousands of homes, entire trailer parks, commercial and industrial sites, and caused tens of thousands residing in the areas where homes were destroyed to take their insurance payouts and move north. It also force multiple revisions in the Florida Building Code. I was a firefighter/paramedic here when it hit, and I saw the devastation first-hand. It was horrible, for months. If you were within 20 miles of where it made landfall, and you got your electricity back within 4 weeks, you were lucky, and one of the few who got it back that quickly. Downtown Miami curtain wall high-rise buildings looked more-like Beirut, with all the missing panes of glass. If it made landfall 20 miles further north of where it did hit in Homestead which was low-density housing, and rural in nature; it would have hit downtown Miami, and Miami Beach before that. Estimates of expected losses would have been triple what they actually were for the Homestead landfall. I think that figure is low. The housing density of the City of Miami (and Miami Beach) is much higher because of hundreds of high-rises. The City of Miami had in 1992 probably fourteen times the population of Homestead (359,000 vs 25,000).
It took the local municipality a month to approve the driveway permit, I hope it takes less time for the premanufactured garage plans, which has sealed drawings from a P.E. I'd like to think that I could get the building up before October, but Thanksgiving may be more-realistic. As the POTUS tweets, "sad!"
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