OP
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Welcome......To Odd Acres
- Thread starter Finallygotit
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
When we finally got the OK from our HOA to build the shop, they gave us until the end of December to complete the project. Little did we know this was going to take this much time. 
So, I contacted the HOA management company over the weekend for an extension and they said no problem; we'll extend it to the end of March. Ummmm....no. How about the end of June? Their first response was "really"? If past history is any indication, we will need until June to get this building finished. They happily agreed. So let's hope this is done by then.
So, I contacted the HOA management company over the weekend for an extension and they said no problem; we'll extend it to the end of March. Ummmm....no. How about the end of June? Their first response was "really"? If past history is any indication, we will need until June to get this building finished. They happily agreed. So let's hope this is done by then.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Dan, this is probably too late and with the pandemic probably not even doable. When I submitted some plans to the city they requested half a dozen seemingly unnecessary extras. Because I was the builder/contractor/janitor on the project I went to the building department and asked the old guy for advice. Don't ask the young guy and if the young lady asks to help, tell her you forgot to wear underwear and come back another time. Five minutes with the old man (he was my age) and all the extras were stricken from the approval and I had a couple of good time-saver suggestions to boot.Just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber, I just got the updated info from the county. The county now wants an 18" footer instead of a 12" footer plus the 6" slab plus the 18" stem wall for a grand total of 3-1/2' of concrete before the bottom plates touch.
Have I mentioned that there is a 6' block wall surrounding my backyard?? Their argument is that block walls can be altered. This is what I say to that.
UGH!!!
It helps to admit you don't know much about construction even if you think you do.
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Grump and thanks for stopping by.
Hi Bob! I hear ya and really appreciate the thought. And you're right, with Covid we cannot go and talk to the "old guy". And in this case I'm glad I can't go see the old guy(s) because I would probably be put in a room with vertical iron round stock. These are the seasoned veterans in the department. My engineer has worked with these guys for years and is wondering why they have gone off the tracks and into the weeds.
I just keep putting one foot in front of the other. As the saying goes, this too shall pass.
slodat
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Dan - great news on your success pushing wet rope up hill! All joking aside, it will all be worth it when the final inspection is signed off. When do we get to see.. ANYTHING? 
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
.....When do we get to see.. ANYTHING?
Well.....the ground is cleared of the rocks.
Does that count?
Duker
Well-known member
Well.....the ground is cleared of the rocks.
Does that count?
I already see the first mistake...... it needs to be bigger! [emoji51]
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OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Dan, out of curiosity what kind of setback or easements do you have to contend with on those two property lines?
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mike, nothing really with regard to setbacks or easements. The wall on the right is about 30' from the property line. The back wall starts at about 30' from the property line and that distance increases due to the lots pie shape. We cannot build anything outside of the block wall. I plan to have the shop built 5' from both of those walls with concrete in between for run-off and low maintenance.
I hope that answers your question.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Mike, nothing really with regard to setbacks or easements. The wall on the right is about 30' from the property line. The back wall starts at about 30' from the property line and that distance increases due to the lots pie shape. We cannot build anything outside of the block wall. I plan to have the shop built 5' from both of those walls with concrete in between for run-off and low maintenance.
I hope that answers your question.
Awesome. Thanks for answering, I was just curious as different areas seem to treat easements a bit differently.
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Hallelujah we have finally broke ground!
StormcrowAz
Well-known member
Dan - That's awesome!
Is that tree (mesquite?) staying there? All the ones I've had grew like weeds and I can see a lot of trimming to keep it from rubbing against the new shop?
Is that tree (mesquite?) staying there? All the ones I've had grew like weeds and I can see a lot of trimming to keep it from rubbing against the new shop?
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Todd! I'm trying my best to keep the mesquite. I should be able to trim it and keep it away form the wall. We lost so many trees and limbs around here last August when a micro-burst hit, I just want to save what I can.
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OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
One of the projects I have been working on lately was refurbishing the gnarly coach lights on the outside of the house. These were in pretty bad condition. I was also surprised at how bad the wiring was inside the fixture. In some places there was no insulation. 
So new lamp sockets, new wiring, sand blasted all the brass parts, primed then two coats of hammered finish Rustoleum. Also added Rain-X to the glass to help keep them clean for a while
Any way, here are some before and after pics.
And here is my nice little work bench. Man I miss my shop.....
So new lamp sockets, new wiring, sand blasted all the brass parts, primed then two coats of hammered finish Rustoleum. Also added Rain-X to the glass to help keep them clean for a whileAny way, here are some before and after pics.
And here is my nice little work bench. Man I miss my shop.....
OutlawDrifter
Well-known member
Nice job on the carriage lights, Dan, they look great!
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Marc! Thanks for stopping by.
My wonderful wife is quite pleased as well.
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Duker
Well-known member
Dan, great news on breaking ground on the new shop! Congratulations on surviving that stage as it can get quite frustrating getting to just that point!
Nice work on the lights. If you feel the need for some time in a shop, I have plenty of projects that you can work on!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Nice work on the lights. If you feel the need for some time in a shop, I have plenty of projects that you can work on!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Bret
Thanks for stopping by Bret!
Duker, you will have to coordinate that with my lovely wife. No shortage of little projects around here.
Thanks for stopping by.
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Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I love the smell of concrete in the morning!
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
madison069
Well-known member
That new garage should be a nice one! Hopefully the weather and the construction crew in on your side!
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Man I'm hoping so Madison and thanks for stopping by. This is like pulling teeth to get this pad formed and poured. GEEEEEZZ!!!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I was trying to resist but Bob beat me to it.
Far be it from me to give Dan a hard time about concrete.
ridestreet
Well-known member
Finallygotit, just found your thread today and am slowly going through all of it. Initially when I clicked and started looking at the pictures before looking at your profile I said to myself, hey that looks a lot like Tucson and sure enough it is. Great to see another Tucsonian on the forum. I may have to pick your brain sometime for who you used for certain projects as I go about doing the same or similar projects at my place.
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I was trying to resist but Bob beat me to it.
Far be it from me to give Dan a hard time about concrete.
Hahahahaha......... Good to see you Mike!
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Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Welcome ridestreet! If you are on the base, thank you very much for your service.
Feel free to pick away. Glad to help out when/where I can.
ridestreet
Well-known member
Dan,
Sent you a message, seems like we might not be too far away from each other.
-Cheers
Henry
Sent you a message, seems like we might not be too far away from each other.
-Cheers
Henry
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Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
madison069
Well-known member
Thanks Todd! I'm trying my best to keep the mesquite. I should be able to trim it and keep it away form the wall. We lost so many trees and limbs around here last August when a micro-burst hit, I just want to save what I can.
Missed this post, but I've grown mesquite trees from the seed pods by starting them in flower pots on the porch. I actually got some seeds here in PA that I've been thinking long and hard about growing. I love mesquite woods when they get plenty of water so they don't grow needles. Here in PA they would get a lot of water but I'm worried about the winter we get here. Either way, it wont hurt to try it I guess. Use to camp in Cristoval, TX by the river at a private land. Those mesquite trees was huge due to all of the water that they got from the river. The wood is such a dark and rich color wood that I've always wanted to make a nice box out of it for family knick knacks.
cros13
Well-known member
Ohhhh looking forward to seeing it get built!
Rudi.
Rudi.
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Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Hello Madison and thanks for stopping by. We love our mesquites, the palo verde's, not so much. We had a problem here where ants were all over these mesquites eating at them and weakening their limbs. We have since taken care of the ants but the damage they did on the trees was horrible.
Hi Rudi, I'm looking forward to see it get built too. This is taking forever.
Speaking of which...........
When they dug the trenches for the footings, the contractor was hoping that those tailings would be enough to level out the land in that area. Turns out that wasn't the case, by a long shot. So we now hove a pile of ABC (aggregate base course) to help level things out. This stuff is a lot like what some folks call "road pack". The land where the shop is going to be is about 8" - 9" out of level.
So I go into work yesterday and find my computer shut down. I always leave it running during the week and shut it down for the weekend.
So I commence to start it up and get this message
This is NOT good!! Our IT guys better be able to retrieve some of the data off that hard drive otherwise I will have lost literally years worth of data. I thought my backup files were being kept on the server. Turns out our IT folks, when they gave me this new laptop, changed it and they were kept locally on the hard drive.
Not happy here!slodat
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Glad to see it has started, Dan!
OP
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks Bret, as for progress, this is what is defined as baby steps; really tiny baby steps. As for the computer, this too shall pass. But what really frosts my cookies is how inefficient I am now. Every time I turn around, I'm either looking for files or configuring software. I finally got admin rights to do that.
Me too Steven!!
Thanks for stopping by guys.
madison069
Well-known member
The days of when I used to handle complex tool configurations software, modified software, and sensitive data is something I kind of miss these days. But then again, I stored them on 3 different hard drives due to common failures with computers. Two external hard drives that stayed locked up in my office's safe. But that don't help you after the fact of your computer failing huh.
Good luck recovering the files and data. If it's a solid state drive you're dealing with then I don't envy you at all.
Good luck recovering the files and data. If it's a solid state drive you're dealing with then I don't envy you at all.