GJ Fabrication rebuilds

[gj67stang]

After the storm of July 10th, the cleanup of my 40' x 60' pole building began.

The roof was entirely removed from the structure (and blown up to half a mile away).

Four 6" x 6" posts were snapped off at the ground.

Thanks to the help of my parents, my brother-in-law, and some good friends, screws were removed, nails pried, metal and boards piled high, and belongings sorted.

Of course, my little guy was a huge help, too!

 

[gj67stang]

Thankfully, I had the building and contents insured adequately, so the process of rebuilding was a little less stressful.

Pictures, plans, designs and options were studied and eventually a plan developed:
40' x 60' x 13' with 7/12 room-in-attic trusses for a 16' x 60' room upstairs; 12' x 60' lean-to on the north wall; four overhead doors; two man-doors; fully insulated with white metal on the ceiling and OSB on the walls.

A building constructed by The Amish Tradesmen served as a "model" for what we're building.

 

[gj67stang]

Six weeks after signing the contract, the first signs of rebuilding appeared: trusses!

One skillful driver backed his rig down my narrow ~1000' lane and dropped 31 trusses in the yard.

Hopefully later next week there will be a crew of guys here to start setting new posts and frame in the new building.

 

[ADSR]

Off to a great start! Can't wait till the next update. That pic of your son hammering the nails out is awesome!

 

[don long]

My first reaction to your garage hurt me bad
my heart almost stopped and I can't imagine how you felt

I'm glad to see it coming back together for ya!!

 

[gj67stang]

Another delivery today:

Hardware:

As always, the site foreman is watching:

The projected start date of last Thursday has been extended to later this week, so hopefully tonight's rain dries up and work commences soon!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Awesome, I was just wondering if the build had got started yet.

 

[gj67stang]

Friday's delivery:

Sure doesn't look like much when you consider it's enough metal for the roof, walls, lean-to and interior ceiling - probably close to 9500 sq. ft. plus all the soffits, fascias, drip edges, corner trims, J/F-channel, etc.

It did take the delivery guy 2.5+ hours to unload the metal as the small pieces had to be unstacked by hand, and the long pieces were gently rolled off the trailer so as to not bend or damage them. He also took his time to drop them in the yard out of the way of the lumber stacks, but still close enough to the site.

 

[gj67stang]

15 days late, the crew showed up Friday morning.


The first task was removing the 27 6x6 poles still in the ground. A chain a the Bobcat made quick work of that task.

A little more work (digging) was required to remove the 4 posts that had snapped off at the ground.

Each hole was then bored out with an 18" auger in order to drop in a new 16" round x 8" think foundation "cookie."

Working around the existing slab required some good control as each hole had to be angled under the slab for the center of the cookie to line up with the existing pole location.

The crew finished the day breaking up ~300 sq. ft. of the slab with the hydraulic hammer. 6 posts on this end of the building are sandwiched between the floor slab and a 25' x 40' concrete apron, so something had to give in order to remove the existing poles and set the new ones.

I'm using this opportunity to change from 12' and 16' wide doors to three 10' wide doors to allow for three separate bays.

As usual, all work was supervised by the Digging Foreman (note: trowel in hand).

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looking good. Been cool in the morning but not too bad outside if you stay busy.

 

[bluebolt]

I was actually looking to have you build me a custom handle ratchet and came across this. Sorry for your storm damage and glad you are getting a nice new shop. Hopefully in while you will be back to making some custom ratchets. I want to do a Craftsman RHFT that I will supply with the blue/clear Craftsman handles.

 

[gj67stang]

Monday's update:

New posts set and purlins started:

More concrete removal:

Even the Hammering Foreman took a few minutes to help set some nails:

 

[gj67stang]

Can you find the problem(s)?

Yep, the 4-ply columns that were specified for the west-facing wall (the one that snapped off at the ground) have been notched to fit around the slab, despite the plan to notch the concrete to fit the post. I am expecting a phone call in the morning to let me know how they are going to fix this.....

 

[rancherbill]

It's too bad they did that. I do not see where they used any wood preservative in the area where they cut. Rot will set in that area.

 

[gj67stang]

After numerous phone calls with the column manufacturer, the project manager, and the site foreman, the crew will be replacing the notched columns with 4-ply columns in properly enlarged holes in the slab.

Despite this setback, they are supposed to be setting the trusses (via crane) Wednesday.

 

[mrtoolfool]

After numerous phone calls with the column manufacturer, the project manager, and the site foreman, the crew will be replacing the notched columns with 4-ply columns in properly enlarged holes in the slab.

Despite this setback, they are supposed to be setting the trusses (via crane) Wednesday.

Sorry to hear about your loss but glad you were insured.

It amazes me when people do stuff like this. I'd have done the same as you.
Made them do it RIGHT.

This reminds me of a time I had a new electrical panel put in my first house years ago. When I looked at the completed job the electricians helper had "clipped off" about a half dozen strands of the 3/0 cable coming in so it would fit into the main lug. I made them redo that job also.

What do people think when they do this sort of ****?

And people wonder why a lot of us would prefer to do stuff ourselves.

Glad you got it worked out. Good luck with the rest of the build.

 

[gj67stang]

I spent Tuesday on the phone with the column manufacturer, the project manager, and the foreman. Ultimately, they agreed to replace the notched columns with unaltered 4-ply columns. A frustrating delay in the rebuild process, but should result in a stronger building.


Today, the crane showed up just after 10am; by 1pm he was packed up and on the road to the next jobsite.

A peek into the 16' x 60' attic:

Surprise visit from the building inspector. Hopefully we passed!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Wow, it's looking great, the crews have had 3 nice days to work. Are you taking time off work to be there during this part of the build ?

 

[gj67stang]

Wow, it's looking great, the crews have had 3 nice days to work. Are you taking time off work to be there during this part of the build ?

Thanks. They made some good progress so far this week, but it looks like tomorrow's rain and wind will slow (stop?) them a bit. Unfortunately I have not gotten to be here much during their working hours except today - I took a long lunch to watch the crane for a bit.

 

[Mach5]

Like your altitudinally challenged project manager.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Thanks. They made some good progress so far this week, but it looks like tomorrow's rain and wind will slow (stop?) them a bit. Unfortunately I have not gotten to be here much during their working hours except today - I took a long lunch to watch the crane for a bit.

Hopefully, the weather won't any problems like before. I need to swing by and check out the progress.

 

[ratdoggy]

Beautiful building you have there.

 

[ARCTIC_RAGTOP]

Sorry to hear of your loss, great job on the rebuild. This is going to be an awesome shop! Great shots of your supervising manager as well!

 

[80WTI_55_CHEV]

Very sorry to see this happen, I hope you never have to go threw anything like this again mate. Can you send me your name and address to my inbox and i will send you over a nice Aussie flag and a couple number plates to get the inside rebuild going. cheers Lee

 

[Pointbock]

What's the strength comparison between a solid 6x6 and the 4-ply columns? And what were the wind speeds during the storm?

 

[NUTTSGT]

And what were the wind speeds during the storm?

We got hit by the same storm front as Gareth. It was mighty wicked when it came through. As it rolled in, I had the dog outside and the wind started to howl, sounding much like a freight train. There were thoughts of a few tornado touch downs but I believe it was all due to straight line winds or microbursts. There were more than a few telephone poles and trees that were knocked over.

 

[gj67stang]

Thanks for all the compliments so far. No progress today due to the rain and wind.

In July, the barn probably experienced gusts in the 70-90 mph range due to straight-line or microbursts, as NUTTSGT said.

As for strength, a well-made 3-ply column is 30-40% stronger than a good quality 6x6 post. The 4th ply adds another 15-20%, so a 50% stronger wall is expected by using the 4-ply posts.

 

[ihredo4]

Its a shame you had to go thru the trauma you had with losing the building. It doesn't appear that insurance has caused any problems for you and you are making some useful changes to suit you. That in itself makes the build worth doing. Good thing you had that project manager on hand to locate those notched posts. From my height I would have never seen them. LOL. Cute boy you have there. Made me go "AWE" and wish I had a son to raise besides my girls.

 

[gj67stang]

No progress Friday either; I guess they didn't want to get their boots muddy....

 

[gj67stang]

Question of the day:

Is it acceptable to have a 0.4(deg) slope on a 16' wide attic floor? That equates to a little less than 1.5" of difference across the attic width and about 3.5" across the entire building (40').

 

[rancherbill]

Question of the day:

Is it acceptable to have a 0.4(deg) slope on a 16' wide attic floor? That equates to a little less than 1.5" of difference across the width.

No. Your width is 40' so (40/16= 2.5, 1.5"*2.5= 3.75") one wall is 3.75" lower than the other. Assuming the concrete is level, and it usually is pretty close, one of your wall is 3.75 taller than the other.

Structurally, My guess is your are OK, but, it will be a real pain to deal with the slope one the floor in the attic. The problem will also make interior finishing a pain and it will stand out like a sore thumb.

I'd be bitching about this. It looks like you are spending the big bucks for a professional building, this is Mickey Mouse.

 

[gj67stang]

Some photographic evidence of the 'level' trusses:

North side, ceiling to floor:

South side, ceiling to floor:

Some 'plumb' columns:

A 'straight' wall:

South side; trusses only setting on one of the two rim joists:

Problems getting the nails into the header:

 

[rancherbill]

This job is junk. There is no other way to say it.

The first pic looks like a 60 year old rotten structure that ready to fall over.

The columns, in the pic and what your level is showing, are at least the thickness of the column off of vertical.

The trusses are disturbing. The one measurement to get is the distance across the floor for the columns and the top measurement of the columns. IMHO, truss manufacturers do not generally make mistakes. The columns are really ****-eyed.

The storm disaster, just seems to keep going and going and...

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think I would be talking to the GC. I know alot of people get Amish/Mennonites to put up their stuff because they work cheap and fast. I've have heard more than a few people not happy about their work, stuff like wall studs for a house cut with a chainsaw and stuff you have right now. For a cow barn, it's fine but when it's going to be a finished structure, that's different.

I was in the area and I should have stopped by today when I ran to my parents house. I was only a few "blocks" away when we ran over to Benton. I actually thought of you on the way over. Their neighbors right down the road (on St Rt 100) had some storm damage from Thursday night. One lost his pole barn for his sheep, it was probably a 60x80, it's completely down. Another lost about half the roof on his old (probably 80 year old) red barn.

 

[gj67stang]

Today, it was confirmed that the truss carriers on the south wall were mounted 2.5" lower than those on the north. The issue will be fixed by installing a spacer/shim under each truss, extending the vertical nailer and refastening everything. When finished, all trusses will be getting hurricane-straps.

The crew also finished the roof purlins on the north face:

Both man-doors were framed and installed:

The window openings on both gable ends were framed:

OSB was delivered. Sort of.

The Ford 650 was sunk 8" and a Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 AND Chevy Avalanche Z71 couldn't budge him. Of course it doesn't help all the weight is directly over the wheels of the trailer, effectively making it a giant anchor. The tow truck is expected to be here sometime Tuesday.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Today, it was confirmed that the truss carriers on the south wall were mounted 2.5" lower than those on the north. The issue will be fixed by installing a spacer/shim under each truss, extending the vertical nailer and refastening everything. When finished, all trusses will be getting hurricane-straps.

If that was mine, I think I would be out there with some pieces of plywood, gluing and screwing the shims and trusses together. Then I'd have a 2x8 (ripped to size) nailed in between the trusses but on top of the double header. If you sheet the interior walls with plywood or OSB, it'll create a nailer for the top edge, effectively tying the headers and shims together. Maybe I'm over thinking (overkill) but I would want those shim having a chance to move at all.

BTW, if you glue/screw some plywood over those shims, you'll probably have to predrill the holes so they don't split.

 

[rancherbill]

What did they do about the vertical straightness. This pic still looks crooked to me, but, I'm 3000 miles away.

My other question is how they "stretched" the truss to get it to fit correctly.

Is that a milling machine in there already?

 

[gj67stang]

If that was mine, I think I would be out there with some pieces of plywood, gluing and screwing the shims and trusses together. Then I'd have a 2x8 (ripped to size) nailed in between the trusses but on top of the double header. If you sheet the interior walls with plywood or OSB, it'll create a nailer for the top edge, effectively tying the headers and shims together. Maybe I'm over thinking (overkill) but I would want those shim having a chance to move at all.

BTW, if you glue/screw some plywood over those shims, you'll probably have to predrill the holes so they don't split.

They are supposed to be installing a longer 2x6 nailer between the truss carriers to support the spacer and the end of the truss.

What did they do about the vertical straightness. This pic still looks crooked to me, but, I'm 3000 miles away.


My other question is how they "stretched" the truss to get it to fit correctly.

Is that a milling machine in there already?[/QUOTE]

It's probably my bad photography skewing the posts. For the most part, the columns and posts are straight and plumb now. The other end of the trusses were joined with the 2x12 rafters for the lean-to, thereby spreading the load to both truss carriers. Yes, there is an old Bridgeport mill in there; in fact it never left. The effort of moving it outweighed the inconvenience of leaving it there.

 

[gj67stang]

Today's accomplishments:

The 10-ton trailer was unloaded and drug out of the mud. Sorry no pictures as I just finished a few minutes ago.



2x12 rafters put up on lean-to:

The four modified 4-ply columns were replaced. This time, they notched the concrete slab like they were supposed to.

 

[-Brent-]

WTF?

This would not be acceptable if this were my build. Putting spacers on top rather than a "cap plate" is hokey and will not last the test of time. Granted, I come from stick-built buildings but that I do not like. Plus, how is it fastened?