New Home For Chevys

[pickup67man]

Some of you have been following my suburban build which has been put on hold with a new garage. I figured this is a good place to show this project. There are quite a few pictures of my work and am almost done when I wrote this. It will take a while to post all my pics but I will do it.

[pickup67man]

We will start how I started.

This was under the yard causing a sink hole


There was also garbage and tires under the yard.


There was junk everywhere


The hole was 20 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep


Look at the size compared to a wheelbarrow.


This was the toy I used to dig.


This is how much wood I got out of the yard.


This is what is looked like when the mud settled


Just a pond in the yard.


I had to move the storage shed before I built.


That is how far back the yard goes.


The toy of the day was a dump trailer


I moved 45000 lbs of gravel with a bobcat to make the ground solid.


The yard is more mud every day


That is a pile of sod.

[pickup67man]

More pics of the progress

All my tools were in the wood shed.


Last pic of the old garage.


Truck got parked out of the way for demolition.


The inside of the old garage. The header was there so the truck would fit.


Took the roof off on the first day.


Roofing and felt paper went into the trailer. Total of 2200 lbs of trash into the trailer.


End of the second day the garage was gone. It came down easily. Kinda scary that my truck was parked in it for 14 years.


Then I started digging for the footings.


Footings are ready for forms. I had to keep moving the truck out of the way.


Forms ready for footing to be poured. This is where I had the most help.


Concrete poured for the footing.

[jb1016]

Cool project...and a good use for a ford

[pickup67man]

Couldn't post any new pics this weekend. We had an ice storm and lost power for a couple days.

Set the forms for the foundation walls. Again I didn't do the forms.


Walls poured and forms knocked down.


These bolts are 28" long and go all the way into the footing. They are for the shear wall.


Ready to backfill all the concrete.


Have all the dirt backfilled and now need more.


Had lots of 5/8 minus delivered to fill under the slab.


Lots of gravel to spread.


Gravel spread and compacted. Ready for more concrete.


Slab is poured. Very hot this day. Needed to keep it wet so it wouldn't crack.

[pickup67man]

Truck keeps moving as I progress.


Garage is delivered, some assembly required.


Lots of pieces.


Got 3 walls up the first day. Tipped them up by myself. Amazing how people disappear when work shows up.


Day 2 got the front wall up with shearwalls, header and cripple wall above header.


Those 28" bolts attach to the brackets to hold wall down.


The top of the shearwall had metal straps to attach the header.


More shearwall


Look at all the bolts inside the bracket.


There were also 10 6" lag bolts that went into the header.


Sheathing done on walls.






Had to fully sheath the inside of the front wall so it would be ridged with the cripple wall built above the header.

[pickup67man]

This takes time to upload all the pics

Trusses delivered and set on the walls.


Took one day to slide the trusses into place, stand them up and brace them.






Then I built the gable overhang. That is fun pulling up 16 foot 2x6 boards to the peak 18 feet up. And the 2x4's they nail to.


Then I started the roof sheathing.


Took lots of energy to carry all the 4x8 sheets up to the roof.


Left a skylight for a while.


Roof sheathing done.


The next weekend I did the roofing.


My first full roof.


Roofing Done. It was almost dry inside.

[Sillyoldman]

Looking good. I can't wait to see more.

[chevyrestoguy]

Holy smokes, what a project!! You had more work just getting the site prepped than some guys have in their entire garage.

With all the compacted gravel, the stubwalls, all the Strong-Ties, and being 100% shear-walled, that thing is going to be built like a vault!! I think you could park your trucks on the roof of that thing!

You are doing a great job, and taking the time (and extra expense) of doing it RIGHT. Build it once, use it forever, I always say.

Are you in the construction business? You obviously know what you're doing, as the work you've done so far is first class. There are a lot of guys who are "pros" in that business that don't exercise that level of detail.

I'm very happy for you and also insanely jealous!!

[KShortell]

Great work! I know all too well the effort that goes into this. I've been chronicling my build over the last year at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=01b9e31da5.

IT IS WELL WORTH IT!

[pickup67man]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Holy smokes, what a project!! You had more work just getting the site prepped than some guys have in their entire garage.

With all the compacted gravel, the stubwalls, all the Strong-Ties, and being 100% shear-walled, that thing is going to be built like a vault!! I think you could park your trucks on the roof of that thing!

You are doing a great job, and taking the time (and extra expense) of doing it RIGHT. Build it once, use it forever, I always say.

Are you in the construction business? You obviously know what you're doing, as the work you've done so far is first class. There are a lot of guys who are "pros" in that business that don't exercise that level of detail.

I'm very happy for you and also insanely jealous!!

The building codes here are a lot like California. The shearwall is for seismic and wind forces. The strongwall is there because the garage is 20 feet wide with a 16 foot door. Any wall less than 2' 8" needs to be an engineered wall for lateral strength.
No I'm not in the construction business, I just want my garage done right. I read a lot before starting and during construction to know what to do.

[pickup67man]

Here are a few more pics

Wrapped the building in felt paper.


Got the door installed.


Back windows are installed. Found some old bathroom windows at a Habitat Restore. Privacy glass works for me.


Also have a side window.


Lots of work waterproofing.

[pickup67man]

Originally Posted by KShortell

Great work! I know all too well the effort that goes into this. I've been chronicling my build over the last year at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=01b9e31da5.

IT IS WELL WORTH IT!

You know how much work it is that the pics don't relay. Lots of long weekends. I found so much junk in the yard while digging. Even after the first hole. There were bricks and ashes from old burn piles I found while digging for the footings and more while digging the power trench.

[KShortell]

Originally Posted by pickup67man

You know how much work it is that the pics don't relay. Lots of long weekends. I found so much junk in the yard while digging. Even after the first hole. There were bricks and ashes from old burn piles I found while digging for the footings and more while digging the power trench.

Absolutely! I ran into the remains of an old koi pond when I dug the trench for the power line. I even kicked up a tape measure! It did make for some rough digging since even Ditch Witches don't like bricks and landscaping stones. I made sure I went at least 24" deep, though.

Thunder can dig 12" like nobody's business- HA!

[KShortell]

I did find one additional benefit to adding drywall. It helped to really add stiffness to the structure beyond the sheathing. It soaks up vibration and any "drum" effect when closing the side door. I actually broke a light bulb filament when the door slammed before putting up drywall- had a hollow sound. It's more like a vault now.

You'll LOVE the new space! It's really made boat maintenance and overhaul possible over the winter months. That'll be key since OPSAIL 2012 is coming and Uncle Sam is going to keep us very busy this year.

[pickup67man]

Originally Posted by KShortell

I did find one additional benefit to adding drywall. It helped to really add stiffness to the structure beyond the sheathing. It soaks up vibration and any "drum" effect when closing the side door. I actually broke a light bulb filament when the door slammed before putting up drywall- had a hollow sound. It's more like a vault now.

You'll LOVE the new space! It's really made boat maintenance and overhaul possible over the winter months. That'll be key since OPSAIL 2012 is coming and Uncle Sam is going to keep us very busy this year.

Check out the link to my other build and you will see what my garage/shop will be used for. It is almost done and I just started posting the build so I have to post pics while I have time. I started the project over a year ago and did the demo on the old garage in July 2011. But the small things are holding up the show.

[pickup67man]

More pics.

Got the siding up.


Earliest pic of the truck hiding.


Back of the garage.


Side shot.


Roll up door is installed. 16x8 insulated door.


I'm surprised my truck puts up with me. This is 35 sheets of 1/2" 4x12 sheetrock in a short bed truck. 2700 lbs that is halfway outside of the bed.



Every one of these steps took a while.

[pickup67man]

Now it was time for the electrical.

I dug a trench 120 feet long to connect with the house. Before anyone asks why I didn't get a trencher I will say I live in the valley. It is mostly sand with topsoil on top. Easy digging until I get to more buried treasures. Took 3 days after work until dark to hand dig 120 feet. And that was in October when the days were getting short here in the north.


2 1/2" conduit for the direct burial wire. Ran 1/0-1/0-2 AL triplexed direct burial feeder. 220v 100 amp service. This garage has the power. I can run my welder on a 20 amp circuit, have my air compressor running, stereo cranked up and my trailer plugged into its own 30 amp service.



Then I got to back fill the trench. Looks like I didn't do anything.


This was a happy day with the inspector.


Let there be light. There are 6 recessed lightes in the ceiling.


What a glow from a distance.


New view from inside. The rollup door has a high rail kit so it goes up as high as possible. When it is open it is over 9 feet up.



I ordered storage trusses. That is the reason for the 9-12 pitch. The entire attic floor is finished with recycled material from my old garage. The center is 6'2" high so I can almost walk standing straight up.

[pickup67man]

Well here is the outside after paint, trim and lots of caulking.





And my new yard light.


Just because it looks done on the outside doesn't mean its done.

[pickup67man]

Well here is the proof that I don't do this for a living. I had the correct info but I forgot and made a major oops. It was so major that my building inspector wouldn't approve my framing rough in, but it was so small that he had signed off and had to correct his approval.

Don't drill through engineered trusses.

I made a 3/4" hole to run the wiring. I wanted it in the trusses because I have a finished floor in the attic and sheetrock on the ceiling. I had to have the truss company reengineer the bottom cord to fix my hole.

I needed to scab a 6 foot 2x6 hem fir #2 or better to one side of the bottom cord. I needed 3 nails every 3" on center for the entire 6 feet.

This is what it looked like.


The mistake hole is circled in red.


I had to fix 8 trusses this way. Thank goodness I had a nail gun.
Then I had to reroute my wiring to run in the attic above the trusses. The inspector saw the repair and approved me.

[Palf70Step]

Nice work on the garage. Oh and thanks for the heads up on the truss thing.
I would have done like you to keep the wiring neat.

[rambler]

nice job! I have drilled through lots of trusses, but in MO, I think we have different inspections... love the pics !

[pickup67man]

Originally Posted by rambler

nice job! I have drilled through lots of trusses, but in MO, I think we have different inspections... love the pics !

I have seen wires run that way too. But I learned there is a difference between engineered trusses and handbuilt rafters. You can drill in the center 1/3 of a rafter. The top 1/3 is in compression, the bottom 1/3 is in tension and the middle is neutral. Engineered trussed have support webs that alter the compression and tension if it has a load or the web is supporting it from above. At some point the two switch and then the middle 1/3 is not neutral and you can weaken it. My truss company reengineered the truss and provided my with a repair. Normal charge is $75 per engineered drawing. I found the packet they sent and on the first page it said "do not drill, alter or modify trusses" on the second page they had a picture of a drill that was circled and crossed out. They said it was on the last page also, but I told them I gave up after 2 pages. They knew I admitted I screwed up and they didn't charge me for the drawings.

[pickup67man]

Now for some inside progress.

Insulation on the ceiling and walls. I used R-19.



Time for sheetrock.





I had sheet rock left over so I donated it to my dad who helped a lot on the garage. The problem was I loaded it in my truck again and then he couldn't take it until the next day. It was supposed to rain again so I parked in the garage.



It was a tight fit.


Then I needed to start the taping and mudding part. Oh fun.

[rambler]

I dont like the taping and mudding part,, that is going to look great when you are done, it will be so nice, you wont want to work in it, be afraid to get it dirty.. LOL.. also looks like you wont be in any short supply of electical outlets.. LOL.

nice job!