Garage/Workshop Build

[Freeheeler]

The BH is easy enough to lower to get in ... until you forget . I opted for 9 ft doors, wish I had gone taller. My tractor fits in easily without having to think about it, but I have to be careful with the snowboard racks on the truck.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It's having a 'seniors moment' or a 'hay there distraction' that"ll cost you BIG...ONE DAY...OOOPSY...

if your ceiling/trusses are 10', go with a 10' door, use a 'wall mount' GDO. Yes a few more bucks but worth it in the long run.

options and scenarios... gotta think a head, if possible....learn from others mistakes !!

 

[awesome]

I'm probably gonna be fine with 8'. This is a 7' door and you can see that it's only a few inches short. And the tractor is raised up a little because of the compacted snow.

But I'll see if I can fit a 9' door with those 10ft walls

 

[GreensvilleJay]

here's my custom sunroof on the BX23S.. standard 7' garage door.
A 10' wall, should allow for a 9' high door as header will be less than 1' tall( 3x 2by10s or 2by12).
Drawing things out on 1/4" square paper can help, easy to make changes and have cutouts of 'things' to move around.

 

[awesome]

Trusses are in. We just need the warm weather now

 

[Mrlunchbox]

View attachment 76017
Trusses are in. We just need the warm weather now

If you don't mind me asking, how much were the trusses?

 

[awesome]

If you don't mind me asking, how much were the trusses?

This was 4500CAD tax included.
That hit me in the face. I didn't think it'd be more than 2k$

 

[GreensvilleJay]

ain't a whole lot of sticks in that bundle of joy.....
BTW diesel here is now $1.87 /litre....

 

[awesome]

The shed is completely demolished. I just split the slab in 8. I was expecting this to take the whole evening but it was done in 1h30. I'm gonna reuse those blocks for a retaining wall down from where I need to fill.

It's surprising how little wood there is in there. This pile is all the lumber (except the trusses) of the old shed

So next step is to cut down that dying maple. Now that the boring part is done, it's time to start the real tractor work. If mother nature can cooperate, soil should be workable in 2 or 3 weeks. I'll take the snowblower off and put the BH back on. Material is gonna be a bit more expensive since the half-load period starts next week and last until around victoria day.

 

[awesome]

Looking for advices about what most people would do: if this is gonna be a floating slab, should I still be digging to the bedrock and fill with compacting sand after? It seems to be the best approach but I don't think I've seen people do that aroud here.

There's a corner that is swampy so I plan on digging out all the black soil (hopping I can hit the bedrock fast enough) and filling with what they call "pit run" over here. But would it be overkill to do this on the entire surface?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

If your doing a floating slab no need to go to bedrock, that would make it no floating.

Take out the top dirt put down some pit run lightly compact then pour over that.

You could always add a drain pipe under the slab to help keep it from getting waterlogged.
One thing is if your going to want to work on the slab, or close in the building even semi tight, put a vapor barrier under the slab.
Simple plastic will work

 

[GreensvilleJay]

here, Hamilton,Ont bylaws state it HAS to be a real foundation NOT floating slab. So go down 4', footings,wall in ground, then build up from there, floor slab is 4 to 6" concrete.
A floating slab ,say 4" thick, will have the perimeter dug deeper ,say 12" and about 12" wide to 'lock' the slab to an area..so it won't move .far,far away.
How it's built depends on the bylaws of the town you're in.....

 

[awesome]

here, Hamilton,Ont bylaws state it HAS to be a real foundation NOT floating slab. So go down 4', footings,wall in ground, then build up from there, floor slab is 4 to 6" concrete.
A floating slab ,say 4" thick, will have the perimeter dug deeper ,say 12" and about 12" wide to 'lock' the slab to an area..so it won't move .far,far away.
How it's built depends on the bylaws of the town you're in.....

I'm in the Ottawa region, QC side. I had to specify, on my permit request, that I wasn't doing a foundation and the permit didn't get rejected. So all good.

I can understand stricter rules for a house, but a floating slab in a garage is just fine IMO. I'm gonna put a good layer of stone, and drainage pipes. I'll also be reinforcing the slab with rebars.

 

[lynnmor]

The entire slab should have approximately the same support to prevent a nasty crack.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

The rules I quoted were FOR any garage or 'accessory building' larger than 12x20 (AKA single car garage ). We have lots of idiots running City Hall. The extra concrete around the perimeter actually helps keep concrete slab from cracking. Rebar is tied onto the slab rebar and goes down into the 'footing'. It also helps support the exterior walls. You'll have to scrape off all the top soil and power tamp the subsoil, then tamp the base material in 4" lifts. HPB (3/8 clear/washed) is what's used here these days. The key is to TAMP it down HARD and check that EACH lift is pretty level. You can't really level the last lift and say 'good enough'.

 

[awesome]

I'm slowly getting there. I hope I can pour next week. I juat went to buy the 2x10x12 for the forms. The local hardware store didn't have any but they had PTW. The PTW were 41$ vs 52 for regular. ?!?! Ok, so I got the PTW. Might be useful for another project some day.

I failed to get a picture that includes the tractor, but the snowblower is in, so that counts

As you can see from, I couldn't wait for the ground to dry before I start working on this. There's just no way I would spend another month inside doing nothing. I have to get out. Mud or no mud.

 

[fried1765]

ain't a whole lot of sticks in that bundle of joy.....
BTW diesel here is now $1.87 /litre....

$1.87 per litre in CAD = $5.61 USD/US gal.

 

[Thunder chicken]

Well I’m glad to hear the lumber prices are as silly there, as across the shield over here in Northern Ontario… PWF cheaper than spruce here too…. Lol. $50 for a 2x10x16’…. Nice looking project thanks for the updates!
I’m trying to add a lean-to, but this is what it looks like here…. No mud yet, still 3’+ of snow!!!

 

[awesome]

If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's that having dependencies on people/resources is always a nightmare in a construction project. I have no idea how a project manager can live this kind of life.

Tomorow, I'm pouring the slab. I got a call from from the ready-mix company saying they'll be here at 7h30 in the morning instead of 13h. My dad, who works in concrete, will be pouring a real job at that time. So I just lost my expert. At least he helped me with the forming and laying the steel.

So I go to my local rental shop to get the gas powered whatever thing thing it's called machine to flatten. Before I leave, I notice the tractor has a flat tire!. There doesn't seem to be a nail in it. I filled it up and it seems to hold it. But that is worrysome.

Once I get to the rental placeh, they can't start the machine. So now I just dont't have one. There goes my mirror finish.

Seems like the weather is the only dependency I have going well for me right now.

 

[awesome]

Slab is done.

The ready-mix was at the end of the driveway near the snowblower. So I was using the tractor from there to the slab.

About 20 loads away from being done, my front tire poped off. No time fix this. So I continued with a poped off tire for the rest. It was difficult, but still easier than a wheelbarrow. In the end, it seems like I haven't damaged the tire. But the wheel is full of mud. So I took it to a local car repair shop so that they can clean it. So now I don't have a tractor until monday...

At least I'm glad this part is done.