Shed upgrade started

[Old_Paint]

Cleaned up all the junk that accumulates around any small shed that is off the ground. Moved the attachments and trailers, and dug up the electrical service to my existing shed. Gonna replace the little tool shed with a 24x36 garage/shop/shed to protect my investments in equipment.
Sorry for the poor lighting, but got caught by the quittin whistle.

 

[Nicfin36]

What are you gonna do with the current shed?

 

[Old_Paint]

What are you gonna do with the current shed?

I've had it 16+ years, and pretty sure the PO's had it another 10 or so. Unless I can find someone to buy it and with a means transport it, I'll probably salvage it for the lumber and insulation, and scrap the aluminum siding at a recycler. It's 12 ft wide and 20 ft long, and probably 9-10 feet high at the apex, so will likely require a permit. That's my LX2610SU peeking around the corner. I'd be more than happy to see the shed leave in one piece with a purpose in mind, and will even help load it if needed. Will probably get a crappy price if I scrap it because the aluminum sheet is painted, but it's still better than paying to put it in a dump. I can always use scrap lumber for DIY projects around here, and I try not to waste anything. If I salvage it, I'm reasonably confident no one's going to pick any valuable content out of what I get rid of. I'm not gonna go all Andrew Camarata on it. Someone could probably make a pretty good little mini-camp for hunting with it. Better than sleeping on the ground, at least.

I'm not trying to build a Taj Mahal, but will likely finish the inside of the new shed with OSB so I can heat it some in the winters with a small wood stove, and have a place to get in out of the weather for servicing/project work. I cut wood for that stove when I was a kid, so it's kinda got some sentimental value. Gotta make sure to account for fuel vapors and fumes before I do that, though. Don't wanna launch the building and win a Darwin Award.

I see you're up in Decatur. If you're interested, and have access to a BIG roll-back or flatbed trailer, and know more than I do about hauling large objects, give me a PM with an offer. I'll consider most any reasonable offer that's better than scrap pricing. Just gonna have to wait until I move the contents into the new building.

 

[Old_Paint]

Ok, as is the luck, got NOTHING done on the shed yesterday. I have a nagging dripping tap on the back side of the house that MUST be repaired. Even the drain-to-waste cutoff inside won't stop it from dripping. The plumbing is nearly 50 years old now, so no real surprise that the valves are failing, especially since it's city water, and VERY hard water. The idiot plumber that put the piping through the wall somehow decided it was a good idea to sweat the copper to the sill cock, slide that through 16 inches of brick/block wall, then sweat a street L on flush with the block. Not only that, the the small end of the street L is in the cutoff, meaning any heat applied to remove the street L is going to burn the seat out of the cut-off. It's teed off the washing machine cold water supply, the valve for which will probably start leaking through the packing nut as soon as I try to turn it off. (It did last time I turned it off to replace the washing machine supply hoses). So, I'm gonna build up everything starting at the T, put THREADED valves on that are easy to replace, and use ONE Shark-Bite fitting to avoid the problems with water dripping through copper I'm trying to sweat. I'll just put a piece of hose on the feed line to drip in a bucket while I make up the joints at the L through the wall and the T which can be done on dry pipe and without risking the cut-off or the sill cock Pop on the Shark-Bite coupling, and bingo, plumbing job done mostly at the workbench.

Sided tracked to a plumbing repair/upgrade for a few days, but hopefully will get back to the shed soon. As I've said before, I'm glad I got to go to a high school that offered VoAg class. The plumbing skills I learned in that class are gonna save me about $1000 for a plumber to come out and do something this easy.

 

[D2Cat]

Old_Paint, don't your remember the teacher say, "Water(actually it was another word....s_it), runs downhill and payday is Friday"? Belittling the plumbing industry, until one has to actually do it, then one quickly understands the fee.

 

[DustyRusty]

When I had a pipe that I couldn't fully drain, and would drip, I would stuff it with a few bread balls made from white bread. When I turned the water on, they would dissolve and run out the faucet. I always found that with old pipe, that you need to clean it excessively to get a good sweat bond. Only takes a few minutes extra to clean them. I enjoy plumbing projects, but I hate sewer clogs. Had the first one a few weeks ago after 38 years in the home. Toilet paper clog at the inlet to the septic tank. Had the tank pumped, and then used a water balloon to blow it out. Because it happened on a weekend, had to pay an "emergency" fee for the pumping truck to come on a Saturday.

 

[Nicfin36]

I don't mind plumbing work most of the time. So far, all of my plumbing has consisted of PVC/CPVC work, and that has not been that difficult. I do have copper in the house.

Old Paint, I have absolutely no way to move something like that. I have one just like it now behind my house. I think you should be able to sell it if you no longer need it. Stuff ain't cheap any more and I would think you could get some decent money for it rather than salvaging. My coworker just bought a little storage building maybe that size and had it delivered and set up for him. 3500 dollars!

 

[Old_Paint]

I don't mind plumbing work most of the time. So far, all of my plumbing has consisted of PVC/CPVC work, and that has not been that difficult. I do have copper in the house.

Old Paint, I have absolutely no way to move something like that. I have one just like it now behind my house. I think you should be able to sell it if you no longer need it. Stuff ain't cheap any more and I would think you could get some decent money for it rather than salvaging. My coworker just bought a little storage building maybe that size and had it delivered and set up for him. 3500 dollars!

I'll give it a few weeks, but once the new shed is up and I've got it empty, it needs to disappear pretty quick. Hoping to have the new shed done by June. Assuming the concrete folks call me back soon......

 

[Old_Paint]

When I had a pipe that I couldn't fully drain, and would drip, I would stuff it with a few bread balls made from white bread. When I turned the water on, they would dissolve and run out the faucet. I always found that with old pipe, that you need to clean it excessively to get a good sweat bond. Only takes a few minutes extra to clean them. I enjoy plumbing projects, but I hate sewer clogs. Had the first one a few weeks ago after 38 years in the home. Toilet paper clog at the inlet to the septic tank. Had the tank pumped, and then used a water balloon to blow it out. Because it happened on a weekend, had to pay an "emergency" fee for the pumping truck to come on a Saturday.

Easier way to couple up a repair these days is what I did. Doesn't matter if the water's dripping a little if the right fittings are selected. I used one Shark Bite coupling. I assembled everything before I turned the water off, and as it turns out, the part I had to work on was the lowest spot in all the plumbing. Again, the only luck I have is bad. But, I closed the high pressure supply valve, opened up the high pressure tap (before the pressure regulator) on the front of the house, valved off cold supply to the hot water heater to keep it from siphoning, opened the kitchen, and both bathroom sink faucets, and bingo, it was drained pretty quick. For good measure, I flipped off the breaker for the HWH while I was at it, just to make sure I didn't blow an element. I was more concerned about how much water was gonna pour out than having to sweat the old pipe. I'd already made my mind up to use the Shark Bite fitting for a quick connection. I made up everything except one sweat joint on the elbow to turn through the wall for the outside sill cock. I plugged in the 'header' I made up and shut the ball valve off to isolate everything downstream, sweat the elbow, and bingo, job done, water off less than 30 minutes.



You can see the Shark Bite coupling I replaced everything below that, including the sill cock on the outside wall. I'm going to go ahead and put another isolation valve and replace the hot water valve for the washer, too. That's another side project.

Probably saved myself $1000 by not calling a plumber. He'd have to make two trips since it was one valve outside, and one inside. Took a lot longer to get the materials than it did to do the work. I learned how to fit copper pipe in high school. Freaked out the swimming pool company I worked for in college that I could do something they'd been paying plumbers to do for them. They didn't pay the plumber any more. Any pool that got a new heater had my name on it for the heater installation because that needed gas an also needed copper for the heated water. I ran black pipe, copper, pvc, poly, you name it. Wasn't any part of a swimming pool that I had a problem with.

I'm not fond of sewer problems either. When my grandson was 5, he flushed a pair of underwear down because he knew he'd have to wash them out if he messed 'em. Found sewage backing up into the washing machine one day. Pulled the first clean-out cap and there's his brand new Ironman undies. Papa (me) wasn't very happy. I had a few sewer problems until I found out how bad the installation was, and finally had it dug up to repair the connection at the tap. Got a good rate from the plumber because he figured out real quick I knew exactly what was needed and knew what the problem was before he got here. I'd already seen everything via pipe camera, and had the ground marked where the line turned down for the tap. I've had to make odd ball corners and re-align two pipes with two 45's more than once in my swimming pool construction days. All he had to supply was the adapter for the tap line to Schedule 80. It's all glued now, no more rubber sleeves, no more roots, no more clogged line. That was 12 years ago now.

 

[Old_Paint]

And THEN, back to the task intended. I dug up three stumps that were way harder than they should have been. I cut those trees at least 10 years ago, but they weren't nearly as rotten as I thought. One was water oak, and two were hickory. Gone now, though. Gonna shoot grades and start setting blocks where The red shed will have it's final resting place in my yard. Still need to dig the service wire back a ways for relocation. I won't disconnect it until I'm ready to actually move the shed.

I'll probably get the building permit next week, just to keep the city happy and prevent having my project shut down. I'll name myself as the contractor and use subs for anything I can't (or don't want to) do. Can do that on my property without a license, but not on someone else's.

 

[Old_Paint]

Old_Paint, don't your remember the teacher say, "Water(actually it was another word....s_it), runs downhill and payday is Friday"? Belittling the plumbing industry, until one has to actually do it, then one quickly understands the fee.

I'd never belittle the plumbing industry, just the brother-in-law that did the plumbing in this house to save the builder some money. Some plumbers are truly artists in what they do, and I admire the ones that take pride in their work and don't cut corners because it's cheaper and they make a better profit. I put myself through college building and servicing swimming pools, so have done my share of plumbing, probably a lot more than the average Joe. I actually learned how to fit copper pipe in High School. What's been done in this house is a tragedy. Pipes go places there's absolutely no reason for them to go, strange bends and jogs in them for no reason, and I can't count the number of bad sweats I've had to repair. I've always seemed to find the leaks before they got bad enough to start doing real damage. I guess that means I'm paranoid about my plumbing. There's no excuse for a sweat joint to leak. It's probably one of the easiest seals to make, other than PVC slip fittings. There really isn't much difference in the process of soldering copper and gluing PVC, just different material and temperature. Both have to be cleaned thoroughly to make a good joint.

 

[Old_Paint]

Managed to get a full day on the upgrade. Laid out and leveled the support blocks for the red shed relocation. The back two still need a little attention, but they’re close. The blocks are leftovers from my front porch overhaul project a few years ago.

 

[Old_Paint]

And then my reward for putting in a good day’s work. This one is called Workie Ticket.

 

[Old_Paint]

A bit more noticeable progress today, FINALLY. Been so soggy, not much way to do anything. But, called a gravel supplier today, and got the first 20 tons of rock waste (crusher run) delivered, and spread it in about 30 minutes. Found out a big dumper with 20 tons can actually cross my yard and not hurt anything. If it gets a little dryer, ANYTHING can cross it and not hurt it.

Ennyhoo, pictures are much louder than words.

Gravel delivered.

Gravel spread out.

Lil' 'bota very pleased with itself.

Oh, I forgot to mention sometime back, but I found a new Quick Hitch ready attachment for my tractor. It was absolutely FREE. It's a Quick Hitch ready shovel. Fastest mounting attachment I've ever seen.

Just kidding of course, but it's all plastic, and GREAT for cleaning the mud out of the tires when I get silly enough to cross the ditch with the tractor and come back. I scratched this up when box blading a few weeks ago, hung it on the QH, and as stated, it was FREE. My property is like a box of chocolates. I never know what I'm gonna get.

 

[Nicfin36]

Looking good so far. Hopefully, the rain will continue to cooperate for us in these parts. Although, we are supposed to receive some more Thursday.

Just curious, how much is a load of crusher run in your area? I plan to buy rock for a road I will be putting in behind my barn. I know a guy who sells foundry slag here and I bought a load from him last year, but wondered what rock prices were.

 

[Old_Paint]

I gave $500 for a 20T load, so call it $25/Ton. That's about as cheap as I can find anything resembling gravel up here. #57 is $750 for 18T load. It was surprisingly clean for what they called "Rock Waste". Not more than a hand-full of large rocks, and even most of those were easily hidden by kicking a hole with my heel and dragging the fines back over them. Incidentally, the load I got was supposed to be 18T as well, but they loaded me up heavy and hoped for the best with the local PD. I don't think the locals bother too much with weight restrictions, but get a bit cranky about 10 wheel dump trucks on the wrong roads if there's no local construction. How much for the slag? I guess a lot of that would be coming from the furnaces at Nucor.

 

[Nicfin36]

I gave $500 for a 20T load, so call it $25/Ton. That's about as cheap as I can find anything resembling gravel up here. #57 is $750 for 18T load. It was surprisingly clean for what they called "Rock Waste". Not more than a hand-full of large rocks, and even most of those were easily hidden by kicking a hole with my heel and dragging the fines back over them. Incidentally, the load I got was supposed to be 18T as well, but they loaded me up heavy and hoped for the best with the local PD. I don't think the locals bother too much with weight restrictions, but get a bit cranky about 10 wheel dump trucks on the wrong roads if there's no local construction. How much for the slag? I guess a lot of that would be coming from the furnaces at Nucor.

OK, thanks for letting me know. I figured it would be around $500. Yes, the foundry slag is from Nucor. I paid $225 for a dump truck load. If I can get it at roughly the same price, I will probably use the slag to make my road this year. Fuel prices will most likely increase the price though. I figure I need at least 5 dump truck loads, if not more.

 

[B737]

made short work of that 20 tons! nice job

 

[Old_Paint]

Yesterday's status:

1/2 the form built and leveled (but too high). The hose is my water level contraption. Can't see the new-fangled lazer that I bought in daylight more than about 5 feet (despite it being a 100' lazer), so turned back to the best level ever. Gravity and water. You can see the orange Home Depot bucket at the edge of the photo, and the white PVC pipe in the back corner of the form has a piece of 3/8" clear vinyl tubing attached to the side of it for my grade shooting. The only thing I don't like about it is how long it takes to settle down after moving it. I need to do something to dampen the 'bouncing water' when I move it or make significant level changes. I'm thinking an orifice at the bucket end.

Then, this morning, another 20T of crusher run:

Already got the first bucketful before I realized I didn't have a photo yet.

End of the day today:

Form finished, leveled, and straightened. I repurposed some old lumber from a deck replacement I did about 6 years ago. Knew I kept it for a reason. Ran 2x6's on the ends and across the front, 2x8's across the back. May still need to plug the bottom in the corner near the rolls of re-mesh. Pretty steep drop into the ditch back there next to the two sweet gums, and hoping I have enough surplus crusher run to bank up the form around the outside.

The missus got my best side while I was picking up tools.

Can't rave enough about pre-drilled forming pins. I griped plenty about how pricy they were, but after today, I figure they're well worth every penny spent on them. I worked in swimming pool construction for 4 years while putting myself through college. We always cut our own stakes from 2x4's for the forms when forming up pool decks. Pulling forms was usually tricky at best without chipping the edges because getting the stakes pulled back up was usually a nightmare. I can pull a 3 foot x 3/4" steel stake out of my HARD clay soil with a pair of channel-locks, driven in to the depth you see in the bottom photo.

Tomorrow's agenda:

Got one side of the form with some wrinkles I don't like (closest to the red shed), so will likely re-stake it and add a few to help with the old lumber. I repurposed a bunch of old lumber (16' 2x6's included) rather than wasting new lumber for concrete forms.

Level/grade the gravel. Pretty sure I have a surplus, but I see a culvert in my future for the ditch that runs behind the shed and new pad. I hope to get the rebar and re-mesh done, as well as a stub for unregulated water and power in the corner near the water level bucket.

If I get all tomorrow's agenda done, I'm calling the city to have the inspector come out to put his blessing on it for the pour. Still have to find a concrete contractor that's willing to come do a pour and finish without holding me for ransom since I don't need forming or reinforcing work. Last one I talked to never got back to me, even after the second e-mail. Guess he doesn't need my business.

 

[Magicman]

You are moving along quite nicely, but I am glad that it is you rather than me. My concrete days are long past, and so is my back, legs, arms, mind......