Day 24: There was some clean-up & finishing work done yesterday on the building that didn't make for interesting photos. All of the sheet metal and trim are done and they finished sealing any openings in the insulation. Today, the elecctric company came out (ahead of schedule) and started boring holes for the power poles. The brick mason is supposed to do the bricks on Friday. Still moving forward.
Retirement Home Under Construction
- Thread starter JDewey
- Start date
Day 26, May 18th (4 weeks & 3 days since breaking grond): Not much work today. The brick mason called to say he had not finished his last job and would have to postpone starting mine until Monday. The plumber ran the water line to the shop and had to use a rock saw (all of the white powder is rock dust). He can't connect the water line until it is inspected. I did have him include a separate cut-off valve between the house main line and the shop take-off line. They mounted the exhaust fan (48", 6-blade, 21,500 cfm) today. I have the septic inspector coming next Thursday (I have to have a septic release from the county before the electric company is allowed to install the meter.) Electrician is scheduled to come in on Weds. to put in the meter loop and the panel boxes (outside & inside). I haven't finalized the layout inside enough for that wiring to be done, except for the fan, 2 doors and 2 lifts. I may have him run the lines for those (they are all 230V) and a single 110V quad box just so I can get things running.
Attachments
Day 27: Brick mason was here today and almost finished bricking the front of the building. Tomorrow he will finish that and then do the bricks around the front vertical beams (up to 4' height). Electric company was here and ran the guy wires, power lines and installed the transformer. They won't connect to the building until I get the septic tank release from the county, which is scheduled to be done on Thurs. The electrician is supposed to be here on Weds to put in the power mast and meter box on the building, plus the main breaker panels. The general contractor started a rock wall to cover in the septic line running to the tank. He also buried the water line and connected it to the building after the city inspector checked it. The plumber also put in the hose bib through the front wall before the brick was installed. I won't be able to turn the water on to the building until I have put the office wall in place and put in the finish-out plumbing for the sinks and toilet. Roll up garage doors are supposed to arrive on Weds. Things are moving along nicely, with no dead time.
Attachments
Day 28: Brick masons finished the front of the building today and started on the vertical posts at the front of the covered area. They are also making a stone wall to cover up the pipe to the septic tank. They should finish the columns tomorrow. I met with the electrician today and went over what I want them to do tomorrow when they put in the meter box and circuit panels. Electric company called today to say that since we are mounting the meter on the building, then we won't have to use the fourth pole and they will refund me some money for that. Door installers called to say they need to reschedule installation of the rollup doors for Monday, 5/28 (Memorial Day) if I will be home (of course). Septic inspection on Thursday; final city inspection on Friday. Final payment to the builder on Friday also.
Attachments
Thedoc14
Well-known member
That covered in area, Awning or veranda down under. Is a great place for the kids to play and have a bbq. Not to mention keeping the cars out of the weather.
Great build so far may Murphy keep away until you have finished.
Great build so far may Murphy keep away until you have finished.
Day 29: Brick masons finished all of the brick on the poles in front. Electicians installed the meter box and mast as well as the grounds on the outside. Inside, they installed the circuit box panel, the wiring and conduit for the fan switch & power, the garage door motor power terminal box and a 4-outlet box for my initial work in the garage. I haven't yet determined where I want to put outlets, so I asked the electrician to only add an outlet box that would allow me to work in the shop to build it out later. The contractor also added topsoil and graded the area over the water and septic line from the shop to the tank.
Tomorrow is the septic inspection that is needed to give approval for the electric company to connect the meter. I still don't understand the relationship, but that is necessary for the local government & utility company to let me get the shop running. Still moving ahead with good progress. I have also called the blacktop guy and have asked him to schedule completion of the driveway leading between the existing driveway and the new shop. I don't have a schedule yet.
"Thedoc14": Thanks for the comments. The covered area is one of the better features. It gets to low 100's here for 4-5 months of the year and shade is pretty valuable. This will let me roll things out of the garage and work outside with a breeze and also wash cars in the shade under the cover. The shop doors face almost due East so the area will be under cover most of the day.
Tomorrow is the septic inspection that is needed to give approval for the electric company to connect the meter. I still don't understand the relationship, but that is necessary for the local government & utility company to let me get the shop running. Still moving ahead with good progress. I have also called the blacktop guy and have asked him to schedule completion of the driveway leading between the existing driveway and the new shop. I don't have a schedule yet.
"Thedoc14": Thanks for the comments. The covered area is one of the better features. It gets to low 100's here for 4-5 months of the year and shade is pretty valuable. This will let me roll things out of the garage and work outside with a breeze and also wash cars in the shade under the cover. The shop doors face almost due East so the area will be under cover most of the day.
Attachments
Day 31: No pictures today - nothing much changed. Not much activity, but it was significant to the build. Yesterday (day 30), the general contractor cleaned up the construction site and hauled away all of the trash and graded the area around the shop. The electricians returned to finish running all of the wiring for the fan, doors and single outlet box as well as finish the circuit panel. We are still waiting for the rollup doors to be installed on Monday and for the utility company to connect the power and install the meter. The contractor also made cuts in the slab next to the wall to allow the door to go down all the way to the sloped entry ramps. I also had the septic inspection done and had no problems. They approved the release to the electric company to connect the power and install the meter. They also did not require any changes to the existing septic system. That was a relief. Made the final payment and release to the contractor.
Today, the city performed the final inspection for the shop and I got their approval, with one open item. They need to come back after the roll-up doors are installed to make certain that they have an automatic reversal feature installed. The doors have a momentary Up/Down/Stop button on each door that stop motion as soon as you release the button! But, I am adding the automatic reversal per the city requirements so that you don't crush the dog if you are not paying attention to what you are doing while you are holding the Down button (shades of McDonalds' coffee legal problems).
Today, the city performed the final inspection for the shop and I got their approval, with one open item. They need to come back after the roll-up doors are installed to make certain that they have an automatic reversal feature installed. The doors have a momentary Up/Down/Stop button on each door that stop motion as soon as you release the button! But, I am adding the automatic reversal per the city requirements so that you don't crush the dog if you are not paying attention to what you are doing while you are holding the Down button (shades of McDonalds' coffee legal problems).
Okay, now that the commercial construction portion of the shop is done, it's time for me to ask for help from the forum.
I was power washing the floor today to get rid of all of the construction marks, including tire marks from the equipment used to erect the building and various mud, etc marks on the floor. After 8 hours, I only finished power washing about 1/4 of the floor inside the building (2000 sq ft). The tire marks from the construction equipments (lifts, front loaders, etc) are really embedded into the surface of the concrete. I can power wash them out, but it means setting the washer on narrow (approx. 1/4" wide spray) and takes forever. I can get the mud, etc up with a wide spray. Also with the narrow spray, it is blowing some of the top surface off of the concrete floor, revealing the aggregate. My thought is to only deal with the dirt/mud with the power washer and hope the acid etch (to come in the future before I epoxy the floor) will take care of the tire marks. Any comments/suggestions/thoughts?
The second problem is that now I am putting water on the floor, it all accumulates in the area where I am planning on putting my office. The floor apparently flows back to the rear of the building (instead of toward the shop doors). Unfortunately, it leaves as much as 1" of water in the area where the office is to be built. I am one of those people that washes my shop floor at least once a week. With that potential for water flow/standing water, what is the best way for me to keep water out of the office area and what should I use when I put the office walls in place to keep (1) water from coming under the walls and (2) keep the walls from rotting from the water. Although I squeege the water up when I clean, it is a lot of water right at the area where the shop office is goigin to be located.
I was power washing the floor today to get rid of all of the construction marks, including tire marks from the equipment used to erect the building and various mud, etc marks on the floor. After 8 hours, I only finished power washing about 1/4 of the floor inside the building (2000 sq ft). The tire marks from the construction equipments (lifts, front loaders, etc) are really embedded into the surface of the concrete. I can power wash them out, but it means setting the washer on narrow (approx. 1/4" wide spray) and takes forever. I can get the mud, etc up with a wide spray. Also with the narrow spray, it is blowing some of the top surface off of the concrete floor, revealing the aggregate. My thought is to only deal with the dirt/mud with the power washer and hope the acid etch (to come in the future before I epoxy the floor) will take care of the tire marks. Any comments/suggestions/thoughts?
The second problem is that now I am putting water on the floor, it all accumulates in the area where I am planning on putting my office. The floor apparently flows back to the rear of the building (instead of toward the shop doors). Unfortunately, it leaves as much as 1" of water in the area where the office is to be built. I am one of those people that washes my shop floor at least once a week. With that potential for water flow/standing water, what is the best way for me to keep water out of the office area and what should I use when I put the office walls in place to keep (1) water from coming under the walls and (2) keep the walls from rotting from the water. Although I squeege the water up when I clean, it is a lot of water right at the area where the shop office is goigin to be located.
Bruce4310TX
Well-known member
I live in the DFW area its not a code requirement for post tension just the cheaper prefered way builders like to do it, not worth a **** full re-bar is the only way to go. More expensive but worth it. Very nice shop
bgarrett: I asked around to several people that had steel buildings installed in the last year and one guy's name kept coming up. I looked at some of his work and liked it, but even more so, he was highly recommended by the people. Although his primary business is concrete, he does a lot of steel building work as the general contractor. The one thing that impressed most was that he really MANAGED the whole project. There was not one day that didn't have something going on and it was all very well orchestrated. The only problem we have had is with the electric company and that is not something that he can control. He was also quick to deal with any problems that came up (like the school bus sized rock in the path of the septic and water lines) and the adjustments for the slope of the septic line. He probably called me at least once a day to ask how I wanted to do something or give me recommendations on making the shop better. There were some cost increases during the build, but they were all items that I asked to have added or because of the rock in ground.
BTW, the crew just showed up to install the 2 roll-up doors (on a national holiday). Now if I just had electricity....
BTW, the crew just showed up to install the 2 roll-up doors (on a national holiday). Now if I just had electricity....
admranger
Well-known member
For your water issue, you can apply a self leveling epoxy to fill the low spots. Used in race shops (and I'm sure other places) to make a level floor area. Race shops need a dead level floor for their alignment work.
Jun 2: Continued power washing the floor. I did approx. 180 sq ft in 4 hours at 2" wide per pass! This is taking a lot longer than I anticipated. At this rate, I should have the floor cleaned in another 3 weeks and then I can apply the acid wash. After that, I will work on applying the epoxy. Still have a long way to go before I can start the move in. After I get the floor done, then I will have to build the office walls and have the inside plumbing finished. The electic company installed the meter last Weds. The garage door people installed the roll-up doors on Monday (Memorial Day), but I am not happy with the installation. I spoke to the salesman on Tues and told him that they needed to fix the wiring, etc before I cut the final check for the doors. They agreed and I am waiting for them to fix things. I also talked to the driveway people and they are looking to fix the driveway approach and put down blacktop in the next week. Then I will be able to get my equipment and cars onto the covered area (nothing goes into the shop until the floor is epoxyed.)
Jun 7th: Contractor activity is over (except for the driveway). As noted earlier, I was not happy with the garage door wiring and they came back out to re-do the wiring - much better! As noted, the utility company installed the meter and the electrician came out to check the circuits. I am continuing to power wash the floors on the weekends, but it is very slow going. I am still waiting for the driveway blacktop guy to call me back about when he will finish the driveway so I can get into the shop - there is a 2' gap between the driveway base material and the concrete slab. I've discovered that if you turn on the exhaust fan with all of the doors closed - it will pull the roll-up doors in about 6" from the suction! Note to self: open door(s) when running fan.
Attachments
bluejeep
Well-known member
It is looking good!! I am right behind you on my barn construction. Did you ever figure out an effective way to get the tire marks up from the concrete? I have the same problem from the man lift they are using.
bluejeep: I tried powerwashing the tire marks with a narrow blast from the power washer, but I started to break thru the top surface of the concrete and into the aggregate so I stopped. I finally decided that I would just power wash to get the dirt, etc out of the floor. I believe that the acid etch will take care of the black tire marks, but I have not tried it yet. At the rate the power wash is going (and I can only work on weekends), it will probably be July before I acid etch the floor. I will post the results at that time.
bluesman2a
Well-known member
For the first problem, go to home depot and get one of these:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103312
For the second problem, a couple of potential solutions:
1) cut the floor in FRONT of the wall for the office. install a slit/trench drain system and have it dump outside or into septic/whatever.
2) before you build the office walls, either have your concrete guys come back and build a curb on top of the slab to mount the wall on or put in a row of concrete block at the base of the wall. I had my slab poured with these in for the exterior walls and for my shower basin, it was good forethought and I'll never do another slab without it again.
Jun 18: Latest update: Finally got the driveway guy to get started on completing the driveway. I had told him that there was a crown in the base material that he had previously put down that needed to be taken out because my cars are are too low. He happens to be one of my old hot rod customers, so I assumed that he would know what I needed. He called me this afternoon to tell me that they had dug up a bunch of rocks, but everything was okay now. I got home around 8PM and my wife said she didn't think it was going to work, so I went out to look at what they had done. They had removed a lot of rock and put down the base material. He had earlier told me he was going to put down the blacktop tomorrow.
Long story - short. My wife was right. I went and got the Vette out of the house garage and tried it on the base material. I high centered the Vette at the peak and would have dug the nose into the base material if I had gone the full distance. I also had to slip the clutch badly just to back up the drive. Bottom line: It isn't going to work and they will have to redo the driveway to take out the crown and probably start the approach slope another 20'-30' further back. Unfortunately, it is also all rock. The Vette has the highest ground clearance of any of the cars I plan to put in that shop.
I called the guy tonight and told him the driveway wouldn't work as it is. He was very disappointed because he will have to jackhammer the rest of the rock. Although I can hear the "Ka-Ching" loud and clear, I can't see making a compromise after finally building the shop of my dreams. Some photos are enclosed. The pile of rocks in the background came out of the ground today.
Long story - short. My wife was right. I went and got the Vette out of the house garage and tried it on the base material. I high centered the Vette at the peak and would have dug the nose into the base material if I had gone the full distance. I also had to slip the clutch badly just to back up the drive. Bottom line: It isn't going to work and they will have to redo the driveway to take out the crown and probably start the approach slope another 20'-30' further back. Unfortunately, it is also all rock. The Vette has the highest ground clearance of any of the cars I plan to put in that shop.
I called the guy tonight and told him the driveway wouldn't work as it is. He was very disappointed because he will have to jackhammer the rest of the rock. Although I can hear the "Ka-Ching" loud and clear, I can't see making a compromise after finally building the shop of my dreams. Some photos are enclosed. The pile of rocks in the background came out of the ground today.
Attachments
bluejeep
Well-known member
i have a 2005 Roush Mustang. It would have drug the front clip off on that. Make them fix it. You have come too far to compromise now.
bluejeep
Well-known member
Did you ever get your floor cleaned up and sealed? Give us an update when you get a chance
Boyd
Well-known member
Boyd
Well-known member
Also, any update on this build?
I assume "sparky foam" is the spray stuff that looks like a "popcorn" ceiling. It wouldn't work with my shop because I have the insulation material in the ceiling between the beams and the roofing sheet metal.
Re the shop progress, my work and family have totally consumed me in the last year and I have not gotten much done. I am doing it by myself and I refuse to move anything into the shop until its complete. If I do, it will never get finished. I got back on it in June and am making some progress. The shop will have an office with a storage area above, a bathroom, stairs to the storage area, 2 lifts (4-post & 2-post) and (eventually) a mill. I have put in all of the office framing and the electrical boxes. I have also put in the disconnect cut-off boxes for the welding stations around the shop and the mill, as well as the outside box for the compressor (it will sit on a pad outside next to the building). Lighting is eight 6-lamp T8 units. I am only planning on having a false wall on the back wall of the shop. That framing is 12' high to give you a perspective. It will be covered in furniture-grade plywood as soon as I have the wiring complete. The floor is 2-part solid epoxy with a clear coat (it is not as slippery as it looks). Next thing on the schedule is to have an electrician do all of the wiring. It's coming, but it is slow progress with my work schedule.
Re the shop progress, my work and family have totally consumed me in the last year and I have not gotten much done. I am doing it by myself and I refuse to move anything into the shop until its complete. If I do, it will never get finished. I got back on it in June and am making some progress. The shop will have an office with a storage area above, a bathroom, stairs to the storage area, 2 lifts (4-post & 2-post) and (eventually) a mill. I have put in all of the office framing and the electrical boxes. I have also put in the disconnect cut-off boxes for the welding stations around the shop and the mill, as well as the outside box for the compressor (it will sit on a pad outside next to the building). Lighting is eight 6-lamp T8 units. I am only planning on having a false wall on the back wall of the shop. That framing is 12' high to give you a perspective. It will be covered in furniture-grade plywood as soon as I have the wiring complete. The floor is 2-part solid epoxy with a clear coat (it is not as slippery as it looks). Next thing on the schedule is to have an electrician do all of the wiring. It's coming, but it is slow progress with my work schedule.
Attachments
11/25/13 Update. Wiring is complete (almost) and the 1/2" plywood wall covering is in place on the back wall and office exterior walls. The side walls will remain open. All of the wiring is done except for the connections to the 2-post lift (installed last week) and the instant water heater. All of the lights are done (6 bulb T-8's). I need to get a plumber in to do the final connections for the bathroom and the shop sink/outdoor bib. I have the Ingersoll Rand SimplAir system parts on order for the compressed air lines and am building the overhang frame to support the metal roofing material to cover the outside compressor pad. Progress is being made, but it is slow going due to my work schedule. Enclosed is a photo of the progress to date from last weekend.
Attachments
Zeke
Well-known member
All I read is your work schedule prevents progress on your retirement home. A little contradictory but not if it's your future retirement home. 
billmoody1
New member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2014
- Messages
- 1
JDwey; you have a pm--I'm asking for the name of the guy that built you garage, thanks
Current status. The shop is never done. Still need to complete the rest of the wall cabinets, finish the man-cave/office, build the stairs to the upstairs storage area, finish the bathroom, paint, & install the 4-post lift where the Mustang & coupe are sitting, but it is good enough to use as is.
John
John
