Getting Started !!!!

[Tbucit]

I just looked and saw that it was May when I made my first post about the new shop I was planning , and a lot has changed. I have made about 6 revisions of the starting plan and dozens of cost estimates. As of now this is what I am doing. The main shop will be 32 ft x 64ft with a 16ft x 24ft side area. The walls will be 2 blocks high with a standard 2x6 8ft wall on top of that. 44 ft of the main shop will have attic trusses with the remaining 20 ft being scissor trusses to allow for a lift in the future. The side room will be the machine shop (no it is nothing like Old Car Guys machine shop at all!) Below is the latest drawing of my dream (or nightmare) shop. Please note some of the things in the drawing are meant to confuse the wife.

 

[e-tek]

looks well-planned! and don't worry - the wife only has eyes for the kitchen!

 

[Tbucit]

Here are a few pics of the trees that I took the tops out of before the machines took them down. I did this to protect the other trees from having the limbs ripped off with the trees falling. We had so much rain here this year it put a major slow down on the build.

 

[Tbucit]

This is when we were starting the grading and it was the first change in the plans. I had intended to pour a 4 ft wall on the low end of the building but as I started to get prices things didn't add up! After talking to the grader he offered to build a pad from the driveway dirt and eliminate the need for the wall. This is what we did.



More to come!!!!

 

[Tbucit]

Got footers dug and poured. I ask for a brick ledge on the footer but I think I got a block ledge. It is a pretty wide footer. I also had several 8 inch holes drilled in the area that had the most dirt build up. These were drilled below the previous ground level and then rebar and concrete filled them. I am going to lay a header block to use to pour my floor next.

Randall

 

[c5golfguy]

To another GA member... I'm out in nw ga in Dallas. Gotta love that clay huh??

Lookin' forward to seeing the rest of your build.

 

[Tbucit]

Your right golfguy if you don't love it makes for a long day. The clay is great for a foundation but is hell on everything else. And with all the rain this summer it has been a mess. I hope to have it dried in and most of the outside done by Christmas. That way I can work on the in side as money allows.

Randall

 

[Tbucit]

After the footer was done I had a header block put down, then started spreading out the three loads of gravel so I could start the rebar and wire.

I had to cover up some drain lines.

After this is done I can put in the floor!!!

Randall

 

[Tbucit]

Lost (or can't find) some of the pictures. This is the shop after the floor has been poured and a two block high wall has been built. I will build a standard 8 foot wall on top of this.

Randall

 

[Tbucit]

Working on the walls. I am using 2 X 6 on 24" centers. Myself and my sons were able to lift all of them in place. Not sure if the trusses will be the same!

Its good that when the help lays down on you there is someone to pick up the slack!!!

Randall

 

[hidollartoys]

Randal, I am a little confused(not an unusual thing) about the layout. I see that you have a "work space" where the "cars" are at a right angle to the overhead door. How are you going to get them there?

 

[Tbucit]

I will take it that you are referring to the drawing. The two cars that you mention will be projects that will most likely be on rotisseries, so they will be able to move around on the casters. And the layout for the cars is pretty much a guess at this point.

Which part of OZ do you reside? I have made a few trips down there and it is a great place.


Randall

 

[Tbucit]

As I mention in a previous post I lost or can't find some of the pictures I took of the building process. To avoid that again I am going to post what I have now and add to it as I get something else finished, this will be a very long time between posts but at least I will have the pictures saved somewhere.The pictures are of putting the trusses up and one of the changes I made in adding a front carport to the garage. This area will be use for quick things and for washing the cars out of the sun in the summer time.
I had a buddy that had a buddy that helped by bringing a crane over.

The roof is done with all but the roll up door in. Still lots to do to have it closed in.

Randall

 

[uniongoon]

That is a huge space, and the woodland setting is beautiful. I hope you take the time to enjoy your accomplishment. Sometimes work for me gets so time consuming, I go a week or two without setting foot inside my garage.

 

[bluesman2a]

Nice shop you have going up there... Also good to see another Georgia member.

Where abouts are you east of Atlanta?

I'm up near Lawrenceville/Buford/Mall of Ga. area myself.

 

[Tbucit]

Uniongoon,thanks with the rain we have been having this year there has already been weeks that I have not been able to get up there and work. I retired a few years ago but work now as a contract engineer so I hope theer is enough time to work on the many projects I have going.

bluesman2a, Thanks I am on the south east side of Conyers.
Randall

 

[Motown 454]

Thats an awesome shop, nice job.

 

[Rte66Charlie]

YOU **** - and I mean that in the most sincere and jealous way!!! Nice looking shop - can't wait to see more!!!

 

[Tbucit]

With the holidays, the rain, and the cold I haven't gotten a lot to show. Not to say things haven't been getting done just doesn't seem to be picture worthy. We did get the roll up door installed. We have started the brick work and it should be done by the weekend and then the siding can start so there will be some good photo ops then. This is what is going on now, we are bricking the entire front of the building and up 3 ft with a roloc all the way around the rest. I will post more pictures if we get it all done this weekend.

The last is a full shot from the house

Randall

 

[Tbucit]

Well its down to just raining on the weekends, have still gotten a few things done. All the brick work is finished and I think the mason did a great job. He is a retired guy that just works on smaller jobs.

And you can see that "stuff" is already finding its way to the carport.

We used all the brick and were able to come up about 3 ft on the post. I will build a cover of some sort later for the upper half.

The siding should be done by the weekend before the rain.

Next will be finishing under the carport and prepping for the driveway.

This is a shot form the house.


Randall

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Man, your place is gonna kick ***. Love the way it's coming together...

 

[c5golfguy]

Lookin' good man!!!

What are your plans for the interior? rock? board? electrical?

 

[Tbucit]

Well they were working on the siding and I had the idea to do something on the front. After talking with the guys i went and got some shingle siding and they built an apron by the time I got back they were able to side it and it looks pretty good. The rest of the building is pretty basic but as the wife says its just a shop.

Rear wall

The air compressor house

The front gable

Randall

 

[bry@n]

This place looks awesome. Congrats on it.

 

[Mopar Fan]

Nice setup! Like the brick and siding

 

[930dreamer]

Great build.

 

[Tbucit]

Between the every other day rain and working it has been a while since I last posted. The first few pictures shows the post I have been working on under the carport. I have also got all the ceiling done as well.
The other pictures show what a difference a day makes. I don't have to walk up thru the mud hole any more
Randall

 

[GHOSTDANCER]

Great looking garage. I like the brick

 

[BZstang]

Very nice, i like the setting

 

[kizer]

Wow very impressive.

 

[nathank]

Nice!!! I like it.

 

[Tbucit]

Well is has been a while and I am still not finished. As some of you know sometimes life get in the way of the best laid plans. I was trying to wait until I could insulate and cover the walls before I truly started to use the shop. Well it has been a year and I think someone cut down my money tree cause I can't find it anywhere. So after a lot of thought I decided to move in with all my stuff even tho I will need to move all this stuff again maybe twice when the funds become available. So this is a few shots of the machine shop welding area. Hope I can keep going and have this finished someday.
Randall

Looking into the machine area

This is the welding area

My tool boxes

 

[Coyote Red]

Thanks for bumping this for newbs like me. Awesome build in every way.

 

[Tbucit]

I did take one other picture today it is of the main shop space.

Randall

 

[Tbucit]

I finally found some cash and was able to work on the shop again. The first few pictures show the insulation in progress

The next pictures are after a week

This is the machine area

This is looking up at the upper level

This how we boxed in the ceiling fan

This is the access to over the carport

The main shop

And hard to see but these are of the man room

It just goes to prove if you keep at it you can keep going

Randall

 

[onething]

Must feel great to take another step. It all looks great.

 

[Tbucit]

Got a little done in the last few weeks... This was after a near disaster of sheet rock finishing with an unbelievable stab at being painted. It took the better part of a month to get the shop to an acceptable condition. I figure it is a lesson learned to trust your instincts and not be lazy. Anyway here are a few pictures of how it stands tonight.

This is a bad shot of the upstairs storage area with some shelves my son and I put together. the plan is to keep everything I can put away to keep the clutter to a minimum.

This is a shot of the storage area from the floor. If you look close you can see the hoist setup I built to get stuff to the attic.

This is a shot of the machine shop but before I move all the small stuff (drill press, buffer, disc sander, and other stuff) back in this weekend.

This is from the machine shop and shows the two HF boxes I am going to use to make my work bench. I have a 2 inch maple top to mount on these after I get the wheels worked out so I can move it when it is bolted together.

The next two are just the shop with stuff waiting to be done.

Still have more painting to do and will be doing VCT flooring in early spring. Then my office and then...... it seems to never end.

Thanks for looking
Randall

 

[ejm1961Tbird]

Today is the first time I have seen your build. What a great looking place! It must feel great to get the insulation and drywall up, and get closer to the finish line. Keep us posted as you continue with the interior. Enjoy!

 

[Tbucit]

Thanks Tbird, with so many great looking and innovative garages and shops on this board it is hard to see them all (but I try). It was a long holiday season because as I said I got lazy and hired the same person to finish the sheetrock and then paint with the thought that as places were discovered the rock could be touched up as the job went along. That was the biggest mistake of the build, what I didn’t know was that the guy must have been blind or subbed the job out to Stevie Wonder because words cannot describe how bad the work was. I spent the next 4 weeks mudding and sanding and then repainted the entire shop so that put me another month behind where I wanted to be. And as this is the start of the 3rd year I am ready to get this thing done so I can use it. As I said I still have the office, storeroom, stairwell, and the bathroom to re-mud and paint by then it might be time for the floor. Then the fun stuff will start.
Thanks again for your comments!
Randall

 

[ejm1961Tbird]

Geez, sorry to hear about your lousy drywaller/painter. That is a situation we all worry about. You know that you can do most things better yourself, because nobody is going to care about your garage more than you do. However, sometimes it just makes sense to farm out certain things, for whatever reason. When you do farm something out, you hope the person has some skills and some pride in their work, but you never know. Sorry about your experience but it must feel good to have gone back and made things right (after you got over the urge to choke the guy). Good luck as you go forward. What is the first one or two projects that you would like to work on in the shop after you get the interior wrapped up?