The Fun Has Begun

[zeebad1]

I have spent countless hours on this site, getting ready for the day that has finally arrived. We have been dreaming about this for a long time, and we decided to wait no longer...

This is the tentative floorplan for our new shop. The building will actually be 56' by 72' by 16', but the program I used would only allow 70'. This will be a post frame structure, with in-floor heat. 24' X 14 1/2' door on the end, and small doors to access the toyroom.

Main use will be a toy shop, but enough room to get large equipment in, if needed. (Being the fact that I sell large farm equipment, I'm sure that the need will arise!) I'll have office space, a mechanical room, full bath with washer & dryer, and a kitchenette. The large room in the back will be sealed toy storage. All of this will allow quite a bit of loft space.

It all began 2 weeks ago with destruction. The old building was tougher than everyone thought....

and a tree removal...

Residue management was next. I'm glad we have a resident fireman. He came in handy several times!

Burial & tree relocaton followed...

Last Sunday was the busy day. Everything clicked, with all equipment & help lined up, the 15 semi loads & 9 tandem loads of fill, (which was only 4 miles away, and FREE!!) were hauled in quickly. The dozer & vibrating padfoot compactor made short order of site preparation...

I don't have any pictures of the site in its current state. The building was ordered last Monday, and I need to haul some road rock in to give the crew a good work surface. They are optimistic that they can get the posts in before the ground freezes. Hopefully, it could be enclosed by Christmas, and work can continue on the interior projects.

Ant thought or suggestions are always welcome. I have big plans, but that doesn't mean that I'm right!!

 

[bofus]

How exciting for you!!! I can well remember how excited I was at the beginning of my project. You are very fortunate to have the ability to burn the refuse from your old structure. No buring is allowed here due to tree hugger lawmakers and disposal was very expensive. Speaking of trees, were you able to get your tree to burn completely or did you end up having to bury a big chunk of it?

The time spent planning and replanning before you start construction will pay off big-time. For example, knowing where you want to put the lift will save you a lot of grief later on when you have to drill anchor holes. You will still make changes along the way, but they will be tweaks. One thing I wish I did more of was installing empty conduit runs from inside and outside and the power panel to the attic. Even if you never use them, they are cheap and easy to install and make life so much simpler after the inside is finished when decide you want to add something later.

Keep us informed on your progress...and thanks for sharing your project with us.

 

[R1chy]

You plans look good, but I don't understand the vertical line (wall) just inside what appears to be your garage door?

Keep the pictures coming and good Luck, R1chy

 

[justinmc]

Man now that just looks like some good old fashioned fun. I hope you roasted some marshmellows on that fire

 

[G-force]

Nice Fire!

...and International Harvester (IH)

 

[igneous]

awesome, and holy **** that is some flat land there

 

[zeebad1]

Speaking of trees, were you able to get your tree to burn completely or did you end up having to bury a big chunk of it?

One thing I wish I did more of was installing empty conduit runs from inside and outside and the power panel to the attic. Even if you never use them, they are cheap and easy to install and make life so much simpler after the inside is finished when decide you want to add something later.

I have looked at your project, and have been very impressed. Got a lot of good ideas also.

The old tree was pretty rotten, so it burned up fairly well. There was a small piece of the trunk that went in the hole.

Someone else mentioned plenty of spare conduit. I think that's a great idea.

You plans look good, but I don't understand the vertical line (wall) just inside what appears to be your garage door?

Good question! That's actually my idea of a floor drain.

http://images.grizzly.com/shopplanner/resources/shopplanner.aspx

that I used was easy, but it didn't have everything that I wanted. I just threw something in there that resembles the Zurn trench drain.

I would like to thank everyone for the encouragement. I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law, and know that everything won't go as smooth as planned.

I will always be open to suggestions, and will also be asking a lot of questions as we go. I'll also try to keep a photo trail up to date.

Thanks, Gary.

 

[R1chy]

...That's actually my idea of a floor drain. ...

I think the floor drain is an excellent idea, just make sure that it is big enough to carry the volume you anticipate and is easy to clean out (e.g., has clean out access at the right points). When I lived in Europe my apartment had a heated garage with hot water access and a floor drain. The only problem was the drain was clogged down line somewhere with no ability to snake it out - took about a week for the small lake to disappear and my neighbors were not too happy with me

I too will build one into my next garage project.

R1chy

 

[zeebad1]

We finally got do do some more work on the site.

this is what it looked like after we got the fill leveled & compacted...

I hauled in 145.5 tons of roadrock yesterday. It doesn't seem to go far.

The tractor & blade did a quick job of the rough grade. Then the light duty equipment came in to do the final smoothing. The DR Power Grader works great. I moved a lot of rock, in a short period of time with that little thing.

The gas grill did a nice job of holding the laser level.

The lawn roller put the finishing touch on the base.

The building is scheduled to arrive next Tuesday, and they are planning on drilling for the posts right away. If all goes well, it will be up in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that the weather stays nice for a while.

 

[woodbutcher]

good for you, when i started building i had to keep countin money lol it started out at 100 x 100 when i was done counting, i had enough for a 24x 32 lol one of these days itll be that big.

 

[6 Grrrs]

looks like it'll be a nice garage

 

[zeebad1]

The weather has slowed things down a bit. Ready for trusses. Straw down to hopefully keep the frost from setting in too deep. I'm hoping that it could still be closed up before Christmas.

This is just giving me more time to plan things out.

 

[boiler7904]

Looks like good progress considering the weather the last couple of weeks.

Are you building near Morris, IL by chance?

 

[Kevin54]

I see a huge front door, and two side doors for the enclosed area. Why no back door? And if what I have arrowed in red is a wall, you may want to reconsider that location, especially if any heavy equipment gets pulled in. It is right smack in the middle of the doorway

 

[zeebad1]

Looks like good progress considering the weather the last couple of weeks.

Are you building near Morris, IL by chance?

Not real close. 70 miles Northwest, near Dixon. The padfoot roller came from Illinois Truck & Equipment @ Morris, IL. Great people to deal with.

I see a huge front door, and two side doors for the enclosed area. Why no back door? And if what I have arrowed in red is a wall, you may want to reconsider that location, especially if any heavy equipment gets pulled in. It is right smack in the middle of the doorway

The 24' door is large enough to get equipment in side by side, and we are only 15' off of our property line on the top & left sides.. There is an overhead door between the shop & storage room.

The line in the center is supposed to be a trench drain. I didn't know how else to show it.

 

[nathank]

I'm definitely following this one.

subscribed!

 

[boiler7904]

The Illinois Truck & Equipment logo is what made me think you were from Morris. It also looks like the firefighter's jacket says Morris across the bottom.

Been through Dixon a few times. I have relatives in and south of Princeton.

 

[zeebad1]

The Illinois Truck & Equipment logo is what made me think you were from Morris. It also looks like the firefighter's jacket says Morris across the bottom.

Been through Dixon a few times. I have relatives in and south of Princeton.

I understand the confusion. Equipment from Morris, IL., and our last name is "Morris."

I've got aquaintances in the Princeton area myself.

With the temps, and another 6" of snow today, no progress on the building.

 

[zeebad1]

After a long, nasty winter, the building is finally up...

and the latest floorplan...

Waiting for a little warmth to have the closed-cell spray-on insulation applied.
They need a dry, 40° surface.

I'm going to try to get the holes closed up this weekend, clear off the straw that was put down in December, and try to get it warmed up, and ready for concrete. I don't know how much frost is under the straw, but it won't get any help from the sun now.

The one advantage of dragging on so long is that I've had a chance to visit a lot of shops over the last 2 months, and have heard a lot of do's & don'ts.

Hopefully the work will progress more steadily now, and I'll have more information to share.

 

[Bull]

Man, I'd be in heaven with that much space! Looks awesome.

 

[waltmcq]

Gotta love it!

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

4000+ Sq ft.
Storage area
2 post lift
Washer/dryer
kitchen
24' x 14' bay door

The fun really has began!!!

 

[Dragster Racer]

I live north of Sterling, IL. Who are you having spray the insulation, and if you don't mind some nosyness, what kind of cost/sqft? Great build. I am building my 40X40X15 near Morrison,IL currently.

 

[Dragster Racer]

You probably do have some frost left, even with the soggy weather this last week. It's cold enough now that it won't be helping.

 

[zeebad1]

I live north of Sterling, IL. Who are you having spray the insulation, and if you don't mind some nosyness, what kind of cost/sqft? Great build. I am building my 40X40X15 near Morrison,IL currently.

I've shopped all around for the insulation, and decided to have Slagel Insulation, from Fairbury, IL. do the job. With my work, I get to travel all over the north 1/2 of Il., and get to see a lot of shops. I've seen plenty of their work, and they come highly recommended by many satisfied customers.

They are putting an "R-21 equivilant" on the sidewalls & gables, and an "R-28 equivilant" on the underside of the roof. It's all figuring out to $1.65/sq. ft.

Oh yeah, they're charging a $300.00 trip fee, which I consider very reasonable, for coming nearly 100 miles to do this job. That's almost 4 cents a sq. ft.

I met with Bob Wilcox for the concrete, and I'm thinking that's who is going to get that job.

I didn't realize that you were that close to me. I worked for JP Ag for 10 years, and knew most every back road around the Sterling/Rock Falls area.

We may even know each other!?!?

 

[Dragster Racer]

I stopped by to see this project today. They were spraying the foam insulation on. What a great (big) project. Zbad is a great guy to meet too. Thanks for the tour!

 

[zeebad1]

It was a pleasure to visit with you also. It's always nice to put a face with a name. You're welcome to stop by anytime, and check out the progress.


These guys really got rolling. They didn't leave until 6:30, and are well over 1/2 done. If everything goes well, they should wrap it up by mid-afternoon tomorrow. I'm very pleased with the job.

 

[R1chy]

Nice build. What is the R value and cost of insulating that way? Also, any idea how much extra weight it adds to you roof?

Anyone else use this method and can give us a long term view of it?

Rich

It was a pleasure to visit with you also. It's always nice to put a face with a name. You're welcome to stop by anytime, and check out the progress.


These guys really got rolling. They didn't leave until 6:30, and are well over 1/2 done. If everything goes well, they should wrap it up by mid-afternoon tomorrow. I'm very pleased with the job.

 

[35mastr]

Nice build. What is the R value and cost of insulating that way? Also, any idea how much extra weight it adds to you roof?

Anyone else use this method and can give us a long term view of it?

Rich

I've shopped all around for the insulation, and decided to have Slagel Insulation, from Fairbury, IL. do the job. With my work, I get to travel all over the north 1/2 of Il., and get to see a lot of shops. I've seen plenty of their work, and they come highly recommended by many satisfied customers.

They are putting an "R-21 equivilant" on the sidewalls & gables, and an "R-28 equivilant" on the underside of the roof. It's all figuring out to $1.65/sq. ft.

Oh yeah, they're charging a $300.00 trip fee, which I consider very reasonable, for coming nearly 100 miles to do this job. That's almost 4 cents a sq. ft.

 

[zeebad1]

Also, any idea how much extra weight it adds to you roof?

Rich

6 oz./sq. ft.

 

[Old61]

Nice space. That insulation should deaden the noise from rain!

 

[rao]

Very nice.

 

[zeebad1]

I have to apologize for not keeping this up to date. as you will see, it's gotten very busy around here....

We got started with the OSB.

and got the lights up...

We used a mini excavator to dig the footing...

and then built a form with the insulation, and back filled with chips...

Painted the end wall before the door went in...

Another piece of equipment that I thought was necessary to complete this project. 84" bucket, and a set of pallet forks.

The plumbing looks like a puzzle factory. All dug in by hand!

The jib crane post was a challenge. Especially finding out that it was too tall. After an hour with a torch & welder, it went in just fine.

The final floor prep...

The tubing all laid out, and stapled to the foam. That was easy!!

The mesh, and anchor pots are in. Ready for concrete.

Pumping the concrete. That hose is HEAVY!! And then after the first 4 loads, the ready mix plant loses power. They sent trucks to another town 30 miles away, and that plant sent 2 trucks to us. It was tense for a while.

The finished product. These guys do a great job.

We even got the walls framed up last weekend...

And another piece of machinery that I couldn't do without. This will come in very handy.

The plan for the weekend is to coat the outside of the underground foam, put up some more OSB, paint what is up, and get ready for the concrete pad out front.

We'll see how much gets done.

 

[Boosted1]

Wow that is alot of progress. Nice work and nice garage.

 

[chrislehr]

amazing place.

 

[Jack Olsen]

That is just... awesome.

I did the math, and your garage has enough storage to hold 16 full-size copies of my garage. (When you live in the city, the country looks pretty great.)

Enjoy it.
________
Honda CB900F

 

[JCQuick]

what type of anchor pots are those and what are your plans for them?

 

[zeebad1]

what type of anchor pots are those and what are your plans for them?

These are the ones I got...

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/pc-11538-504-champ-floor-anchor-pot-1600.aspx

along with the "new floor plates."

As far as my plans for them, I tend to be a little hard on things sometimes, and end up needing to pull, tug, push, or straighten something.

These were cheap, but will be invaluable if I ever need to use them.

 

[jolakki]

Thats a *big* garage you got there!

Mind me asking but wont the moisture from the ground get to those wooden structures and start rotting them?

 

[zeebad1]

Mind me asking but wont the moisture from the ground get to those wooden structures and start rotting them?

It's a typical post frame building. The bottom portion of the posts are treated lumber, and yes, they will rot someday.

I'm fairly sure that they will outlast me. We have an open sided post building, with the 6X6 posts, that are at least 40 years old, and they are still solid.