New to building and need help

[police5.0]

Hello, I'm new to this site and I am going to attempt to build a 36x46 Garage with limited building experience. So I have questions if ya'll can help please.

The garage- 36' wide and 46' long
Walls will be 12' tall made from 2x4's
4/12 pitch engineered trusses
Front of the shop has to 10x12 openings for doors.
Slab is poured and has a brick ledge around the front and two sides.
The front will be 4' brick and the rest Oklahoma stone
The two sides will be 4' brick and the rest 4x8 sheets of hardiplank stucco or LP stucco. The back will be all 4x8 stucco

First question- I have j bolts in the concrete, not all are straight. I've been told I need to snap a line around the entire building so all the walls are straight. I was told to put my tape measure on the lip of the concrete slab (not including the brick ledge) and measure 3 1/2" and mark it. Do this all the way around the slab and use a snap line to mark where the walls will go. Is this right? Also, how in the heck do I know where to drill the holes in the bottom plate?

So far that's my question. My wood is being delivered on 2/27/13. I am going to begin framing. I will take pics and post on here to show my progress. Thanks
Brandon

 

[Rebelphotog]

For marking for the walls, that sounds fine to me. As for marking where the j bolts are to drill your holes, how I've always done it is lined up the plate on top of the bolts and hit the plate board with a sledge hammer so the bolts leave an impression in the wood, and then drill that spot. This works great, but you have to make sure you have your board lined up perfectly with your chalk line.

You could always do it the old fashioned way and measure for each bolt, but that takes forever, and my way has never let me down.

 

[readhead]

Don't assume that the slab is correct. Do some checking and you might have to square it up while you are snapping plate lines. The walls have to be in the correct location to line up with the trusses. Once you have snapped your layout place the bottom plate to the inside of the line and use a square to mark both sides of the bolt and then measure from the line to the bolt and transfer that number to the plate. I don't know where you live but you may want to check with your inspector on the bolting requirements. I know, how hard is it to install a washer and a nut? Some areas have adopted newer codes that may specify certain oversized washers or some other requirements.
Spending some time now on layout will translate through the whole structure. Be sure to check the slab for square and elevation also.
Sounds like this is the first time you are doing this. I am not trying to scare you with all this checking. It should only take about an hour for a couple of people to do the layout. And all these items are easily overcome. Time spent now will keep you from scratching your head trying to figure out why you are having trouble sheeting the roof.
Sounds like you are going to have a great shop. Have fun.

 

[police5.0]

Thank you for your input. Striking the bottom plate with a sledge is an awesome idea! I live in the country and there is not building code. However, I do wanna build it correctly. Hey red head, I see that you live in Durango. That's where my family is from. My dad went to a college in Gunnison but grew up in Durango. I was born in Denver but spent some time there as a baby. Then we ended up in Texas! Wish I was back in Colorado. Thanks for your input. Check back as when I get going I will have more questions.

 

[readhead]

Good luck with the build. PM me if you have any questions. Hitting the plates works but make sure they are straight.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Personally, with 12' walls, I would use 2x6. Holds more insulation also.

Second, if you want absolutely straight walls, set up batter boards on all 4 corners (they should have done this for the slab) and run string.

Use the 3-4-5 method on each corner to make sure you have a perfect 90° corner.

You can oversize your holes for your J bolts by a 1/4". Use galvanized washers and nuts when you torque down the plate.

 

[Toolfool]

You might want to hire some experienced help by the hour. Having two guys makes framing a hell of a lot easier and faster. And you get to learn without "shoulda,coulda,woulda".

 

[tomshep]

Hello, I'm new to this site and I am going to attempt to build a 36x46 Garage with limited building experience. So I have questions if ya'll can help please.

The garage- 36' wide and 46' long
Walls will be 12' tall made from 2x4's
4/12 pitch engineered trusses
Front of the shop has to 10x12 openings for doors.
Slab is poured and has a brick ledge around the front and two sides.
The front will be 4' brick and the rest Oklahoma stone
The two sides will be 4' brick and the rest 4x8 sheets of hardiplank stucco or LP stucco. The back will be all 4x8 stucco

First question- I have j bolts in the concrete, not all are straight. I've been told I need to snap a line around the entire building so all the walls are straight. I was told to put my tape measure on the lip of the concrete slab (not including the brick ledge) and measure 3 1/2" and mark it. Do this all the way around the slab and use a snap line to mark where the walls will go. Is this right? Also, how in the heck do I know where to drill the holes in the bottom plate?

So far that's my question. My wood is being delivered on 2/27/13. I am going to begin framing. I will take pics and post on here to show my progress. Thanks
Brandon

Go 2x6 walls. My guess is you are using engineered trusses so you don't have to use any bracing down the center. That is a lot of weight to carry down the walls.

Cosider a 5/12 pitch if you are going to store anything up there. I have 5/12 and I am also 36" wide. I have still hit my head so hard on the rafters I have seen stars. At 4/12 you are losing a lot of height to get around up there.

See if you can make at least one door 12' wide. You should have the width.

I would hire some guys to help as stated. If not just for the first day or two so you can learn. You don't want to be off and have issues later.

Have fun!

Tom

 

[KPSquared]

Wow man. I'm not exactly "inexperienced" and doing my own garage has been a HUGE project.

Congrats on the build and good luck! You are about to become very aware of how much you don't know! Keep asking questions here and make sure you do it right.

I'm impressed by your willingness to tackle such a huge project with no experience! You will come out of this a better person.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You might want to hire some experienced help by the hour. Having two guys makes framing a hell of a lot easier and faster. And you get to learn without "shoulda,coulda,woulda".

Great advice !

 

[ddawg16]

I would also go 2x6 walls. 2x4's are bad enough when it's 8'. When you get over 10', your wall is going to have more waves than the ocean.....considering that the difference in cost might be 20%.....it gives you 100% straighter walls.

You haven't put down your location, but if it's anywhere cold....the extra 2" of insulation will pay for itself.

One last thing.....I concur with hiring some experienced framers....at least one to help you.

The question your asking is so basic that I'm afraid that your already in over your head.

 

[440-6 Shaker]

It may seem like too late in the game to be changing a bunch of things but... I would aboulutely, without a doubt make those walls 2x6.
Don't trust that your slab is square but be sure your layout is.
Hire a local carpenter for a day or two, a good one will give you a crash apprenticeship course in framing.
Good luck, and keep asking questions.
Measure twice and cut once... or... I cut it twice and it's still too short....

 

[Todd.Brock]

Lay the bottom plate next to the j bolts and mark where they come in contact with the board. Measure about how far in the bolt will be and mark that. That will give you a good start on the bottom. I recommend laying the top and bottom plates next to each other in parallel. As you measure out your joists, mark them both at the same time and X out to which side of the line they should be placed. That way your joists will be straight. Then Measure it again. It's easy to get ahead of yourself. Before you assemble your walls, mark and drill all the bolts so you don't end up with a joist where a bolt needs to be and you have stood up a wall and it has to come down to rebuild.
Put the bottom plates on and square it up. Use a carpenters square, 3-4-5 and measure the diagonals. You HAVE to get this right or everything else will be out I square. You will have to trim corners off of sheathing, and on and on. Set your self for more success by having it square. That said... Don't be afraid to hire a framing crew if all that doesn't make sense. Good luck!!

 

[SteveCh]

Besides the "hit the sill plate with a hammer" trick, which I've used many times to great success, drill the holes sightly oversized, then when you drop the sill plates over the bolts you can do a final tweak for squareness by pushing the sill plates around. Then you pull up the plates, frame the walls right next to the anchor bolts, lift the wall and it will drop right on to the bolts. Once the walls are braced upright, and the nuts are screwed loosely onto the bolts, you can walk around and use a little hand sledge to nudge the walls to the exact square position and then tighten the nuts. It is as easy as it sounds. Helps to have another person, but I've done it a number of times all by myself. Though I've been told I am crazy.

 

[Kevin54]

Lay the bottom plate next to the j bolts and mark where they come in contact with the board. Measure about how far in the bolt will be and mark that. That will give you a good start on the bottom. I recommend laying the top and bottom plates next to each other in parallel. As you measure out your joists, mark them both at the same time and X out to which side of the line they should be placed. That way your joists will be straight. Then Measure it again. It's easy to get ahead of yourself. Before you assemble your walls, mark and drill all the bolts so you don't end up with a joist where a bolt needs to be and you have stood up a wall and it has to come down to rebuild.
Put the bottom plates on and square it up. Use a carpenters square, 3-4-5 and measure the diagonals. You HAVE to get this right or everything else will be out I square. You will have to trim corners off of sheathing, and on and on. Set your self for more success by having it square. That said... Don't be afraid to hire a framing crew if all that doesn't make sense. Good luck!!

^^^^THIS^^^^

If you don't have any experience building, my suggestion is to go to Lowes, go to the magazine section, and pick up one of the books on building a garage.

While you are there, get a good supply of carpenter pencils, a sharpener for the pencils, and get a speed square. You'll find that the speed square is a valuable asset.

Once you know where your bottom plate is going to set, slide it up against the plate bolts, and lat the speed square on each side of the bolt and draw your lines across your bottom plate. The measure back from where the outside edge of the concrete slab is to the center of the bolt, then transfer that measurement from the outside edge of the plate to where the center of the bolt will be. Drill slightly oversize to allow for crooked plate bolts.

If the concrete guys randomly placed the bolts, you will find that some will end up right where a stud goes. One thing you can do is cut that bolt off. After the wall is up, come back between the studs and drill down for an anchor.

And like mentioned above, mark your top plate and bottom plate together for your studs. 46' deep is going to be a fairly long wall. Remember that after it is built on the ground, it will have to be lifted up and over the bolts to set it. Consider building your wall in sections. You can build it in three sections if you don't have help, or at least have one other person. You will need to set down and figure out stud spacing. At the end of a wall, and the beginning of the next wall, you can add a stud at each to tie together. So in the 46' length, you will have two double studs.

If you, or you and one other person can't handle sheeting the wall while it is laying down, put at least one sheet of OSB one the end corners. This will help to keep your wall square.

Doing it yourself, is still going to take some sort of game plan. Most walls are built on the slab, then lifted up. To try and build a wall with starting with just a bottom plate, will do nothing but kick in the aggravation mode. You don't mention in your profile where you are located. If you put that in there, it may be close to another member that could help you out for a day.

Good luck and don't be afraid to come on here and ask questions. Almost every member on here will help answer your questions in one way or another.

BTW....Welcome to GJ

 

[Higgins]

Here in IL, when we built the garage, not only did they want larger washers, we had to install 2 washeres. No big deal, but check ahead!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'll agree on the 2x6 walls, even in Texas, plenty of insulation will help keep it cool.

Take a measurement from corner to corner of the slab. if you get the same measurement, your slab should be square.

 

[SteveCh]

I say to the OP to go ahead and do it yourself. I had no building experience when I built my home. Yes, it took me six years of free time and I had to go to people and ask many, many questions. But at some point, common sense takes over and you just do it. I made a few mistakes, but we have been living in this house for 27 yr. with no mortgage.

You have to be careful to build to code. I live in an area where the building dep't takes a very dim view of owner building. It cost me some months of delay getting started to get my permits because of this. One inspector flat out told me they felt like owner builders were morons and treated them as such.

But I did it. You can, too. It will take you significantly longer than it would an experienced crew [some months compared with a few days, in your case]. But you can do it if you want. A garage/barn/workshop/whatever is simpler than a house. Just be patient, do not be in a hurry, and ask questions. Then ask some more.

 

[Kevin54]

Ditto on the 2"x6" walls. It's just a tad more to begin with, but it will more than pay for itself in the first year as far as heating and cooling. That is one thing that you would never regret doing.

 

[readhead]

Not necessarily Nuttsgt. If two parallel walls are equal length and the other two parallel walls are unequal the diagonals will read the same but it won't be square.

 

[bczygan]

You are about to embark on a fun and frustrating and enlightening adventure. I'm jealous!
Enjoy the journey.
Think about the fastening of sheathing on walls and roof. Use clips to space the roof sheathing. Even if code does not require it, consider galv. steel straps (Strongtie) to secure the bottom plate to the slab or foundation and the top plates to the trusses.
Use 30# felt for the roof and ice and water shield at the eaves. Don't forget proper ventilation and good insulation and sealing.

And we need PICTURES to satisfy our cravings for new and exciting projects that we ourselves can't afford to do.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Not necessarily Nuttsgt. If two parallel walls are equal length and the other two parallel walls are unequal the diagonals will read the same but it won't be square.

If you measure corner to corner, and get the same measurement off both diagonals, it will be square.

If it is out of square, you will not get the same measurement. It doesn't matter if the floor is 24x24, 40x60 or 80x100. It's the same as measuring a stud wall before you sheet it to make it square.