madmagnus garage (Sweden)

[madmagnus]

At first i would like to say hi and present myself,

My name is Magnus and im 35 years old, married and have 2 small kids ( 3 and 5 years old ). I make my living as an maintenance mechanic at the Volvo trucks facility in the small town of Umeå located in the north of Sweden,
the population is about 110000 i think.
My house is located in an even smaller town (suburb) by the coast called Holmsund, this is the place where the Umeå harbour is locaten.

My house was built in 1926 and has gone through renovations during the years, i have a quite small yard by Swedish standard witch made this build a bit tougher than normal.

This is a simple blueprint of the garage / workshop.

And this is the latest outdoor picture i have at the current state of the build ( picture taken in january i think)

I hope its ok if i stick to the metric system for dimentions etc....

 

[Hesketh]

That looks like a cosy place to spend a dark winter night? what heating are you using and how do you get up stairs?

 

[madmagnus]

Here we go, today i will show you the first stage of the build.
The first picture was taken less than a year ago.

All work was done by me learning by doing, no contractors at any stage exept for prefab trusses and a friend helping me with heavy lifting a couple of times.

Here we go, foundation work ahead, but first dirt and gravel......

Pictures speak for themself, this is how we roll in sweden.

Drainage going down.

More gravel.

Forming.

Concrete. me holding the pipe

Thats all i have time for today but i will continue posting tomorrow........

 

[madmagnus]

That looks like a cosy place to spend a dark winter night? what heating are you using and how do you get up stairs?

For now i use a small electric fan-heater (2 kw), with heavy insulation it works quite well but will be replaced by a air-air heaterpump, very common heating here.
The loft is only for storage at the moment and i get up there trough a hatch in the sealing using a ladder.

 

[bams50]

All work was done by me learning by doing, no contractors at any stage exept for prefab trusses and a friend helping me with heavy lifting a couple of times.

Wow, learning by doing?? I don't have the skills for ANY of that. Nor do I have the courage to try to figure it out. Very well done!

 

[ConCretin]

Welcome to GJ. It looks like you used some kind of modular insulation system to form your monolithic slab. Very very cool!

Are the perimeter panels coated with a cementitious material on the outside face?

It looks like the vertical panels taper at the top. What is the purpose of this and how are the walls framed?

Love your build.

 

[madmagnus]

Welcome to GJ. It looks like you used some kind of modular insulation system to form your monolithic slab. Very very cool!

Are the perimeter panels coated with a cementitious material on the outside face?

It looks like the vertical panels taper at the top. What is the purpose of this and how are the walls framed?

Love your build.

Thank you!
This is a forming system that became more or less standard when floorheating went popular, due to cold winters the ground freeses wery deep ( 1-1,5 meters ) so insulation under the slab is good for the economy.
Even if dont use floorheating myself the concretefloor stays the same temperature as the air, if not insulated it would be colder and drain heat from the air.
And yes, the outside of the form is covered with fiber reinforced cement.

Tomorrow i will post pictures of the next stage and maby answer some of your other questions, im off to work now.

 

[M. Blue 240]

Welcome to GJ. Looks like a good build, but I'm excited to see what you have parked in it. I'll cross my fingers and hope for a patina Duett.

My garage at the moment:

 

[slaskman]

The duett is located in my garage !

 

[madmagnus]

Welcome to GJ. Looks like a good build, but I'm excited to see what you have parked in it. I'll cross my fingers and hope for a patina Duett.

My garage at the moment:

Thanx! nice set of cars u got
I havent had any space for a project car since i bougth the house 4 years ago, rented a space in a club garage for 10 years before, working mainly on vintage german cars ( BMW )
The only toy sitting in the garage at the moment is this little *******.

 

[ericburns4]

Hey Magnus I should say one thing about you. You have done the fantastic job of taking pictures from time to time. This is really helping us to get the idea as to how the work was actually done.

 

[madmagnus]

Back to the build......
The day we made the floor was a bit to hot and sunny for concrete work, it burnt to fast in combination with lack of manpower.
We did the best we could and the result was ok in the end.

One thing did not work out however, i was supposed to put down rebar along the wall footings before the concrete hardened, because the process was quick there wasnt time for this so i had to let it be for the moment.
This took me an extra day of work drilling holes in the floor, using anchorcement to fasten the U-shaped rebar.

After this i built an internal form of plywood for the footing ( about 8 inches high )

I took a few days of from the build between the first and second pour of concrete.

Here's the pictures of the mess.......

2 days after the second pour of concrete i trashed the form.

Some minor cosmetic adjustments.

More to come.

 

[madmagnus]

Hey Magnus I should say one thing about you. You have done the fantastic job of taking pictures from time to time. This is really helping us to get the idea as to how the work was actually done.

Thank you, i'm trying to show you the differense and similarities in the various stages when butting up a building.
I have about 400 pictures from the start one year ago up until today, i cant post everything but i will try to cover every step as i bring you up to date.

Pictures i post today is almost one year old.

 

[ConCretin]

Now I get it. Thanks for the additional information. Very interesting.

 

[abstamaria]

Magnus, great job and thank you for posting.

Coming from the tropics (32 degrees C today), I loved the picture of your garage in snow.

Best,

Andy

 

[madmagnus]

Magnus, great job and thank you for posting.

Coming from the tropics (32 degrees C today), I loved the picture of your garage in snow.

Best,

Andy

Lucky *******! but i guess the tropic heat can be a pain when your working hard.

 

[madmagnus]

Lets continue.

I took a few days of for som recreation before i got to the woodwork, because i had no help i had to raise the wall sections piece by piece.

First i started with the sill. the main isolation and moistbarrier is a new type of foamplastic made by the same company that delivered the ground isolation (Jackon) I also added strips of tarpaper for leveling.

The sill is fastened with large expanding nails, a hole is drilled through the sill and concrete with a drillhammer and then you just wham the nail in place.

Raising the first wall.

Got some material to continue.

A heavy truck with an impressive crane mounted stopped by with the trusses on a rainy Friday, this day i actually had some extra hands ( we were 4 ) the mounting took us only an hour and a half.

Thats all i had for today folks, I hope you enjoy.

 

[John in OH]

Magnus, Nice build!! For someone learning as he goes, you are doing a really nice job! I really enjoy seeing the building materials available and building techniques used in different countries. There seem to be lots of really good ideas and materials out there that aren't used in the US.

Also, I like the very unique red/white color scheme!!

 

[abstamaria]

Snow

Lucky *******! but i guess the tropic heat can be a pain when your working hard.

Haha. Yes, heat can be a problem when working outdoors. I do wish it were cooler sometimes. I also miss the snow (I lived in the US for some years a long time ago).

Great build, and it's good of you to post, Magnus.

Best,

Andy

 

[madmagnus]

Magnus, Nice build!! For someone learning as he goes, you are doing a really nice job! I really enjoy seeing the building materials available and building techniques used in different countries. There seem to be lots of really good ideas and materials out there that aren't used in the US.

Also, I like the very unique red/white color scheme!!

Thank you.
Internet is a great resource for knowlege theese days.
I've been helping out on building projects before but this is the biggest challange so far. In Sweden we dont have inspections during the build, instead you apply or hire for someone to be in charge of that ( Quality responsibility ) in my case it is my father that works in the construction business, he's dropping by from time to time to check out the progress. He also works as a consultant for me when i need phone support.

I guess the climate is the biggest reason for the development of new building materials. It is very expensive to hire craftsmen in Sweden therefore we get used to do everything by ourself.

The red / white is a wery classical colour scheme here, especially on barns and houses built before the 30:s.
I'm ging for a vintage look of the building so it will blend in with the surroundings.

 

[madmagnus]

It's getting late here but i'll post some pictures of the roof construction before i go to bed.
This part was also done without help so you can imagine how many times i ran up and down with the material. The roofconstruction is a bit overkill even by swedish standards but that's the way i like it.

 

[madmagnus]

So, the roof was watertight and i was able to work even if it would rain ( witch it did often last summer ) I had to decide witch type of wind barrier to use for the walls. i was choosing between a impregnated outdoor sheetrock or the oldshool asfaboard,
I decided to go for the asfabord since it's been around atleast 60 years, it was half the price and it's extremely lightweigt. Weight is very important when working alone i have notised

I also found a used door to mount.

 

[admranger]

Your dimensional lumber looks very clean and straight. Seems like all we can get here now is warped 2x4's with sap oozing out all over...

What is the spacing on your vertical pieces? 1/2 meter?

Nice build!

 

[madmagnus]

Your dimensional lumber looks very clean and straight. Seems like all we can get here now is warped 2x4's with sap oozing out all over...

What is the spacing on your vertical pieces? 1/2 meter?

Nice build!

There are several supplyers of material in this small city, i didn't go for the cheapest one. Since im normally working with steel and used to high precision it was a big challange to convert to lumber that's never 100% straight.
The spacing between the vertical pieces are 60 cm (center to center) to match insulation and board measures that's european standard.

 

[madmagnus]

It's been a couple of days since my last update but here are som pics.
The photos are from last fall as i was trying to race against mother nature.

 

[machine_punk]

That looks fantastic! It looks like you are building a very high quality building. I look forward to seeing the completed shop and the projects you work on!

M_P

 

[madmagnus]

That looks fantastic! It looks like you are building a very high quality building. I look forward to seeing the completed shop and the projects you work on!

M_P

thank you for the positive feedback.

These are random photos from the work with the outer panel. There will also be a thinner rib covering the gaps between the first layer but it's not mounted yet because i wanted to start with the inside as soon as the building was weatherproof.
As the winter was closing in on me i didn't bother to cut any holes for windows since i didnt have any at the moment.

Powercable between garage and house going down.

And finally the aluminium framed door arrived, put some oil on it for conservation because it was to cold to paint it.

To be continued........

 

[GOLF for LIFE]

Magnus, the shop looks very nice and have to look up to the European building methods. Some here in the USA have lost there quality standards. Looking forward to the next installments.

 

[magnusk750]

Hej Magnus hälsar Magnus!

Great project, and inspiring for me who have a similar project in mind. Think I've seen it on some swedish forum. byggahus.se?

 

[madmagnus]

Hej Magnus hälsar Magnus!

Great project, and inspiring for me who have a similar project in mind. Think I've seen it on some swedish forum. byggahus.se?

Hi. I Also have a Building thread at the Swedish forum www.maskinisten.net and maby some pictures posted at byggahus.se that iv'e seem to have forgotten

 

[madmagnus]

Magnus, the shop looks very nice and have to look up to the European building methods. Some here in the USA have lost there quality standards. Looking forward to the next installments.

Thank you! The garage is built in the same way as most buildings here in sweden, my workshop might be a little "better" then a normal Swedish garage but i will spend lots of time in there and since i'm doing all the work myself i can spend more money on building material.

 

[madmagnus]

That looks like a cosy place to spend a dark winter night? what heating are you using and how do you get up stairs?

The past winter iv'e had a temporary small heaterfan (2kw) a permanent installation of a air-air heaterpump this fall.
The loft storage area is entered with a ladder trough a hatch in the seling.

 

[madmagnus]

The power was connected to the new central + one 230/400 volt outlet.

Starting with the celing.

And finally in January the insulation was delivered.

 

[Zeke]

Nice build. I too like to see alternate building styles.

 

[Shoottx]

You have a great build documented here. I really like the clean and neat nature of your garage.

As Andy from the Philippines mentioned, this site is a great window into the construction methods around the world. Please keep posting pictures.

 

[madmagnus]

got some time to kill tonight so i post some more pictures of the process of insulation.
I use Rockwool because it's the most fire resistant insulation on the market, it's also a lot more comfortable to work with compared to fiberglass.
As u can se i decided to dismount the horisontal 2x2 i put up earlier, it was a pain to get the insulation in place with them in the way and i had some regrets about the nails i used to fasten them.
when i put them back i used large woodscrews insted

60 sheets of osb!

You can also see that i mounted the vapour barrier 1/4 into the wall, this is very common when the electric wires and outlets are drawn inside the walls, my reason for this was that i didn't want to worry about penetrating the plastic everytime i put something up on the wall.

 

[admranger]

Excellent work. Good idea on using rock wool instead of fiberglass. I hate working with fiberglass.

I like the way you took care of the vapor barrier to avoid puncturing it in the future. Vapor barriers are something we do not have in Las Vegas -- too dry to worry about moisture! I can leave a bag of potato chips open for a week and they are still crisp and tasty!

 

[sports.racer]

I hope its ok if i stick to the metric system for dimentions etc....

Please do, that other system is for the birds.

 

[Jagmandave]

Pics don't show for me, it says you need to upgrade your Photobucket account.

Another reason why I hate Photobucket and all those other online photo repositories!

It's also why I'm dreading when everything moves to "the cloud", it's all gonna cost us - big time. When someone else has control of your access to your own stuff, it can't be good......

Back to your regularly scheduled build thread!

 

[madmagnus]

Pics don't show for me, it says you need to upgrade your Photobucket account.

Another reason why I hate Photobucket and all those other online photo repositories!

It's also why I'm dreading when everything moves to "the cloud", it's all gonna cost us - big time. When someone else has control of your access to your own stuff, it can't be good......

Back to your regularly scheduled build thread!

I paid up for a pro account ( one month ) i don't have the time to re-post on a different host.