Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Garage at The Place in The Valley (Garage Condo 45x23x20)

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

@SiGmA_X - I think you nailed it on the big truck. It apparently had nothing to do with the condo construction. There is a concrete plant that is only a 1/2 mile away and they may have just used our relatively unused segment of road to "store" the vehicle for a day.

@wasfast - I think you are correct. They will wait to put the final glass pieces in until the concrete has been poured. No reason do damage the glass at the last minute.

@69gp - If you think a full res image will help, the full size images and more photos can be found on my flickr album. There are over 500 pics and counting.

The Place Garage Condo Construction

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

There was a person working today so I did a quick in and out photo shoot. I hate bothering people that are actually working. I mainly looked in my building to see what progress was made. There are garage doors installed on 4 of the 12 units in the small building (but not my door). The sprinklers have started to get installed with long runs of pipe going length wise on the building. (The third pic is really bad but the only one I took that you might actually be able to see the sprinkler lines.)

The roof does not appear to be water proof yet. Looking through the wall drain hole from the ground you can see foam stacked up on the roof. So I guess they are forming the peaks/valleys for the water to drain with the foam and the liner will come later. (Good luck seeing that in the picture below).

The last thing I noticed is that they marked on the floor where c-channel for the stud walls will be located in my unit. If you look at the first picture in this post, you can see that the roof trusses are centered on the concrete wall break between poured slabs and the floor saw lines. It sure makes it look like the stud wall will be centered on that truss rather than go all the way to the ceiling. That is different than what has been done on the large u-shaped building to date. I doubt I will have to wait long to find out. I know they are pushing hard to get the electrical and plumbing settled for what needs to get installed in the walls. Hopefully, I'll have some better pics of my own garage door and my unit's walls soon.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

The main building is now weather proof (or at least resistant). All the clerestory windows are in, the garage doors are all in, and the club house put the last windows in the entrance.

It rained again today but held off for just long enough to get the roof down on the smaller center building. I got there just as the rain stopped and the water was still pouring out of the wall drain ports. I'd call them scuppers but I don't know if that is the correct term. I am hoping there is some sort of drain spout before they are done but I don't see anything in the artist renditions. They also now have 8 of the 12 large garage doors installed - including my unit. I have a roof and a garage door!!!!

They have also graded the areas between the building in prep for pouring and stamping concrete in the courtyard. They must have brought in some fill dirt that was dry because this side was not muddy even after the brief downpour. You can also see in this picture that the man sized doors are getting painted or primed.

The last of the stone work was completed. I say completed, but I am still guessing that there will be a cap to the stones and it needs to be grouted between the stones.

Both buildings have had their sprinkler systems connected to the main water line. It looks like there is some sort of device connected here. Could it be a flow meter that would set off an alarm if the water in the sprinkler system was flowing?

The club house is taking shape with the wall studs getting placed on all four sides. Some insulation is getting installed as well as the first electrical for wall sockets.

I also had my meeting with the building project manager and electrician today. We went over the items that are getting installed prior to closing. I've got to do a final approval tomorrow and get a check to the title company for this work. I'm not getting as much installed as I wanted to but it is as much as is practical before the mezzanine gets installed. The mezzanine and its earthquake bracing is going to keep me from installing items under the mezzanine at this time. So, the tankless hot water heater and sink won't get installed under the mezzanine. I'll get the garage door opener, six of my overhead lights, a rough in for the ceiling fan, the HVAC system suspended in the rafters, and all my wall mounted receptacles - even the ones on the balcony. I did confirm today as well that the circular cutout in the ceiling is for a ventilation fan. The county is making them put one in since a vehicle can be driven in the space. I plan on using an Ecobee 3 Wifi thermostat so I asked that they hook it up to the ventilation fan. That way I can control it for a set number of air changes when i'm there, a different number when I'm not there, and I think you can also manually turn the fan on when you want.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

The painting continues. The paint is getting applied above the brick areas. They must be spraying because they have left quite a bit of extra space to the brick that I assume will be hand painted to keep from overspraying the brick. They have also added a cap to stone work and started to grout all of the stone. It looks nice if you ask me.

The next photo is in front of my unit. They have started to put down some stone in prep of pouring concrete. I believe there will be a 4 foot border around the units in one color and then the middle will be a stamped pattern. I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure they are going to pour in two stages/patterns.

The center building that contains my unit is now weather tight. The last four 12' x 14' doors are installed. They have also put the base plate for the wall studs ins place over the majority of the perimeter of my unit. There is some junk on the floor in the back corner that kept them from boxing it out completely. It is still really dirty but it is dry.

Another unit is the main u-shaped building is further along. They have most (if not all) of the studs up and have started to insulate the garage door wall.

The club house has dry wall getting installed at this point.

I've been trading e-mails with the architect this week. My mezzanine went from 6 poles in the corners and mid-span on the front and back to suddenly needing 9 poles including one right in the middle of the mezzanine. Imagine your 20'x20' garage with a pole right in the middle of the garage (10' from every wall). I don't think I would be able to open my car door if I parked a car underneath the mezzanine. I'm not looking forward to the cost but I think I'm going to wind up cutting concrete and putting footers in to support the mezzanine at the corners and having the entire front open (no pole mid span). I'll see if I can find some drawings I can convert to jpegs to post.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Not the best pics (screen captures from pdfs) but what I have.

The mezzanine had devolved into the following with 9 posts and probably no good way to park underneath. The shear walls were added on the side for earthquake code and the extra poles were added to keep the bearing loads on the concrete low enough to not need to cut the floor and add footings. The 9'4" was wide enough to get a 100" wide four post lift to fit but I'm not sure I could open a car door once the car was parked due to the mid-depth post.

I had them re-look because I really did not think the above was useful. I'm going to wind-up cutting the floor and going with fewer posts but actually have usable space underneath. They have not officially said the footers are needed yet but I think they are just trying to keep me from running away screaming.

 

[SiGmA_X]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I've been trading e-mails with the architect this week. My mezzanine went from 6 poles in the corners and mid-span on the front and back to suddenly needing 9 poles including one right in the middle of the mezzanine. Imagine your 20'x20' garage with a pole right in the middle of the garage (10' from every wall). I don't think I would be able to open my car door if I parked a car underneath the mezzanine. I'm not looking forward to the cost but I think I'm going to wind up cutting concrete and putting footers in to support the mezzanine at the corners and having the entire front open (no pole mid span). I'll see if I can find some drawings I can convert to jpegs to post.

Progress looks good. I'm surprised you and your engineer didn't figure this out ahead of time, they could have poured footers with the floor.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Not for a lack of trying on my part. I tried to get them to look at plans for the last six months but could get no traction. It was only when the internal walls were ready to get built that they finally decided they wanted to talk to me.

 

[readhead]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

The shear walls could be replaced with beams with moment connections if you want more room. One suggestion would be to not offer suggestions to the design team. Simply state what your requirements are and let them come up with solutions until you are satisfied.

 

[Boosted1]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

That looks like it is going to be a very nice place.
Good luck on resolving the mezzanine with the builders.
Looking forward to your updates.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

We went to the STL European Autoshow today. Lots of nice cars and very reasonable weather for STL this time of year. It was only about 75 and there was plenty of clouds to keep the sun from being too oppressive.

Flickr Album of Euro Auto Show

The show has almost as many cars to look at in the parking lot of people that came to the show as where in the show. It was funny that when we were ready to leave we saw that a white 997 parked next to our black 997.

The Place was at the show with their scale model of the condos. It really is the demographic that I think they are after. We stopped by the The Place after the show since it was not far from the show. Our unit had been swept out which was nice to see. It is really not clean but it is dry and looks much better. All the units are weather tight now but the doors have been left open to let everything dry (I assume). I even noticed that the glass is in all the person sized doors now.

I bought my first item to put in the unit. It's just a thermostat but I wanted an Ecobee 3 WiFi thermostat with the remote sensors. I figure I'll have a remote sensor up on the mezzanine at the very least. I'd like to see if I can also get one sensor up around 18' and do a delta temperature from the main thermostat and have that drive the ceiling fan. Driving the fan from a delta temperature could need an automation hub, a smart switch for the fan and some IFTTT configuration. That probably won't happen immediately but I will get the main thermostat installed now and it gives me things to play with over the next year....

 

[bww_mnm]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Flickr Album of Euro Auto Show

VW Bus might be my favorite!

 

[jay8s]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I missed the show today, but I did see my dad and his z8 made it out. Nice cars for sure.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Both buildings have had their sprinkler systems connected to the main water line. It looks like there is some sort of device connected here. Could it be a flow meter that would set off an alarm if the water in the sprinkler system was flowing?

Yes, there's typically a flow switch that's connected to a fire alarm system. They also include a tamper switch, to detect if someone shuts off the water valve.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

A small update today: The painting was cleaned up some where it had gotten caught in the rain and had some runs of the dark maroon color onto the tan. They also finished the stripe on the front.

The clubhouse continues its progress with the bathrooms framed out.

It looks like some wood got dropped off to start making forms for the courtyard. This is a guess on my part but I believe they are going to pour 3-4 feet in front of the garage doors first and then the center. I think you would need a form to create the boundary for that first pour.

There were folks there working at 7:30 at night in both the club house and some of the units. I violated one of my rules of not taking pictures of people working. I did ask if I could take their picture before I did at least. Some units are getting the concrete polished. It was included in the price as an incentive for those of us that bought in early. I think I am going the epoxy route and the builder recommended not polishing if if I was going the epoxy route. The concrete needs to be a little rough for the epoxy to adhere (or something like that). I am interested in seeing how the polishing turns out. If it looks good, I could in theory do that after I close on the white box building but before I finish out the mezzanine.

At the car show, I talked to the developers that are the force behind The Place. The rain canopies that are over each garage and the club house area are getting built and painted off site. They said they were all built and half of them were painted already. They also said that they will not be silver like in the renderings but will actually be a darker color that matches the frames around the windows and doors in the clubhouse.

 

[SiGmA_X]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

IMO, I would DEFINITELY acid wash and polish vs epoxy. It is VASTLY more durable and looks great. Or tile it. I think epoxy looks good, but it isn't nearly as durable as tile or concrete.

I use to be pro epoxy, until I started seeing it wear off in local shops and all over the forums. I still like it, but I wouldn't do it. I weld and I don't want to worry about my floor.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Great thread!
This kind of grace condos is starting to become really popular here in Sweden since a year or two, so I will follow this thread with great interest since I'm tempted to buy one for myself.

Anders

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Lots more work done today.

It is hard to tell in these pictures but they are finishing the painting on the building. The first pass looked to be a primer sprayed on and left some room to the bricks. They have gone back with the final coats that look like a paint instead of primer and have worked all the way to the brick edges. The door handles have been installed on all of the units. I didn't see any yesterday so that was fast. I do wonder if we are getting deadbolts or not.....

The forms for the 3 foot concrete strip next to the building have started to be placed. You can also see a wiring pigtail coming out of the brick wall between the first two garage doors. I don't know if this will be lighting or what. I noticed other pigtails but they are not between every door. They are spaced out far enough apart that I think they may not be lights but may fire alarm indicators or sirens.

The studs have started getting installed in my unit. I have one of four walls studded. The studs do fall directly on a roof joist so I think there will be some creative drywalling before we are all done. The second shot is actually from my neighbors side of the wall.

There were workers there again tonight working on the concrete polishing. I thought I might get a chance to take some before and after pictures using a unit that has not been polished and one that has. But they are not ready for the after shots yet....

I feel like I almost have to go everyday now because so much is happening.

 

[drivesitfar]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

GREG: I read the first couple pages because I wanted to know about what you had to pay for something like this. is your costs still in the $130 per sq ft range plus your own additions? also what is the HOA fees since you mentioned a clubhouse and probably security too?

I've seen a few 30 x 60 versions of these an hour from our house that sold 15-20 years ago and I wish I would have developed one while I was selling Real Estate to some wealthy developers. it would have been nice to have a couple of these spaces and be able to have my own power and secured space since I can't build a bigger shop/garage at my home.

great idea and the space and facility look great.

thanks for sharing

 

[kjdhawkhill]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I'm in to see shop/mezzanine layout. This is a really interesting idea... Has anyone seen one of these go up near or on the grounds of a track?

I don't follow motor sports or ever intend to get into track days myself,but I can see it as a real value at a facility in a relatively dense population zone like Chicago or California, maybe even Indy... Shower, a small office/bedroom, kitchenette and you're set for the race weekend. Season pass for the races...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

The builders poured the first section of concrete. It is stamped or formed into a brick herringbone pattern. As you can see from the pics, the finished sections appear grey on the surface but the concrete underneath is red. I don't know if there is some sort of coating on top to facilitate the stamping process and it will be removed later. I wonder if the grey color gets pushed between the "bricks" in the stamping process so that there will be a "grout" line left when all is done. It will be fun to see how this takes shape.

No luck on getting a good picture of the polished concrete. It is covered in cardboard and roped off. I guess I will have to wait.

There are lots of exterior fittings for the sprinkler systems getting installed and the main breaker panel is getting it's main feeds.

My unit is really starting to take shape. The studs are up on all three interior walls. The stud walls are centered on the joists on each side and the main beam on the back wall. The last 2 feet of drywall may be interesting.

It is nice to be able to look at the space and understand how much room is there without having to visualize the borders in your mind. I can't wait to get drywall up but there is lots of plumbing and wiring to do in the walls first.

 

[SiGmA_X]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

What did you discover regarding the footer for your mezzanine?

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I'd say I'm still in the discovery phase. We needed to place the items in the current walls since they were getting built. The architect did the basic layout so we could put switches and bathroom rough outs on the mezzanine level. But, I needed to get them and the engineering firm under contract for the mezzanine before the analysis is done. I will take the signed contract to the architect tomorrow which means the analysis can start. I keep telling myself it is a process and a complicated one at that.

 

[west_perf]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Looking good. I'm surprised they just use metal studs and drywall - any concerns about security between units?

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

@west_perf - Concerned - maybe. I figure by the point you get to the drywall, you have gone over a fence (or hacked a keypad), avoided the security cameras, broken through a concrete wall or steel door .... or your my neighbor. Either way, I'm doubting the drywall is really the weak link.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I didn't see as much today. That doesn't mean that a lot is not happening. The doors were all closed on the units in the c-shaped building and I didn't probe in. A couple doors on the center building were open as they were getting swept out (cleaned). They have put more studs up. It looks like all six units in the center building that are sold have studs up now.

The forms were pulled off the concrete that was poured and more was poured around the perimeter of the u-shaped building.

There is lots of painting and caulking going on. The electrical meter boxes are actually painted to color match the walls. Caulking of the tops of the stone wall to the concrete is also happening.

I did open the club house door and snap one photo from the door way. The floor polishing is completed and protected with cardboard. It looks like some more electrical switches and outlets have been run.

 

[Greg_STL]

Garage Condo 45x23

I think the painting and caulking is basically done. I saw some spots low on the outside walls that have not been painted but everything high up has been completed. My guess is that they wanted to get the courtyard side all painted so they can start the awning installation. Look at those blue skies. It is very hot and dry out there today. I can remember sloshing through mud only a couple weeks ago.

I am assuming at some point we will get downspouts from the scuppers on the sides of the buildings. The picture below is from a nearby pour/tilt building that has downspouts similar to what I assume we will get.

The person sized steel doors are getting some more hardware. There is a security plate going on the outside to prevent using a wedge to bypass the locks. The insides are also getting pnuematic closers.

I talked to my architect today and he believes that I will not need footers poured for the balcony. He said it was close but they think they can work around it. That sounds great to me.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

The down spouts are getting painted indoors for installation soon. The walls outside have gotten a coat of the darker paint on the lower walls directly under the scuppers. My guess is that the lower section of wall will be painted the darker color full width and they are just making sure that it gets painted behind the downspout before they get installed.

More "bricks" are getting poured in the courtyard.

Some of the units are getting wired.

My unit has had the insulation installed on the concrete wall with the man door and the vehicle door.

The entrance road is getting final grading done in preparation for pouring concrete.

 

[drivesitfar]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

GREG: it's looking better every time i check in. i had my doubts that the cement in front of the units would look that nice. did they paint it red or did it dry that color? it looks a lot better now.

are you getting a little more excited every day now?

good luck

 

[mp_tx]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Very neat concept. Hope to see something like this pop up in Austin!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

@drivesitfar It is not painted. It just dries to the red color. I'm not sure why the gray coating is over the red concrete when first poured. I figure it must be an antiquing technique so it is not too red. And, yes I am excited but I'm also getting fatigued some since it has been over a year already. I'm supposed to close on the basic building in 5 weeks but then the mezzanine build starts.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

They spread quite a bit of rock/gravel base for the courtyard pour today.

There is also drywall going up in some of the units (not mine yet). I am still interested in how the drywall will look as it goes up into the trusses.

The entrance from the main street is also getting a new rock base and forms set up to prepare for concrete.

I had talked to the developers during the European car show and I thought the awnings were next on the list. It appears that they are working to get the concrete poured first. It is not supposed to rain much if at all over the next week so they may have shifted things around.

 

[TurboEuro88]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Wow this is an excellent thread and such a unique building idea. Would have never imagined there'd be so much of a demand for basically a "community" of these kinds of units. How many of the units are sold? It's sounded like you're going to have very few neighbors once you're "moved in"

 

[gordyy]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

I love this excellent sized units subscribed for sure

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

According to their website, 11 of 35 units are sold at this point. I know I have seen steel studs going up in at least 9 units plus the clubhouse unit. I actually believe more units will sell once they have a few units to show as examples. It is just unique enough I think people will need to see it to understand it.

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Concrete was poured in the entrance today and supplies are getting stacked up to pour much more.

The stamped bricks are almost complete with just one long segment on the center building that needs to be completed. I always thought the fire hydrants looked high but it appears that they got it just right.

The club house is getting external lighting wired. The holes that will attach a strut that will support the awnings can be seen in the upper left on the first photo. The second photo is actually on the center building where they are getting those awning strut holes drilled as well.

The plumbing is getting installed in the walls in the clubhouse bathrooms. Wiring for the bathroom ceiling fans can be seen in the second photo along with the extension of the sprinkler system into the bathroom. Code requires the sprinklers in any closed room or under any mezzanine in the units.

My unit is starting to get outlets wired (well conduit at least).

Remember those doors between the units. It does appear that they were just to be able to move the lifts between the units during construction. They are being closed out now.

There has been lots of drywall delivered so I expect to see it going up soon.

All in all, another productive week.

 

[gordyy]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

excellent progress
we really need a like button just so you know we are following along!!

 

[Palmer02]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Looking good

 

[Bib Overalls]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

Could an owner run a small automotive enterprise out of one or two units? Hot rod builds or specialized CNC machining for example?

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

@Bib Overalls - the condo rules say so businesses and no permanent residence. I take that to mean no retail and no customer traffic. I can't imagine how you could police someone making something in their garage that they sold on e-bay. Like wise on the residence. I can't imagine wanting to live permanently in the unit but I am also sure people will crash for the night every once in a while if they are working on something late. Again, who would know, and who would really care....

@gordyy - there is a rating system

@kjdhawkhill - I know there is at least one thread on here for a condo at a race track. Search for NJ Motorsports Park. I also thought I heard about one in Kansas but I can't remember if there is a thread or not. There is no track with this one but it is next door to a 7485 ft long runway. I think it would be cool if we could set up a "No Fly Zone" flying half mile or mile event in association with The Place. I can dream.....

 

[Greg_STL]

Re: Garage Condo 45x23

There was a small contingent working on the weekend yesterday. That means more pictures for the you!

I've always been curious how they were going to drywall to the ceiling. The clubhouse is getting that work done now. They have a tool that they pre-cut the drywall to match the corrugated roof. Then, they match the drywall up and it looks like the caulk or seal the last small gap. This works where they go all the way to the ceiling. In my unit, they actually attached the top of the studs to the bottom of a truss. That will be a little different but I'm sure it will look very similar.

It looks like they are setting up for some main courtyard pours. I am interested how this turns out. The storm drains run through the center of the courtyard so there will need to be some slope to the drains. I can't tell in the pictures, but I think this form is set up not to centerline but a little to one side of center. I am not sure why....

I looked in my unit and they are wiring some of the outlets. I see some of the outlets there and others not. None of the switches have been started yet. No water pipes started yet. I guess I need to get with the project manager and make sure there is a buy-off step from me before they start putting drywall in place.