Chevy & GMC Vans

astroturf wrote:Congrats and Merry Christmas Matt & Family

Jim

Thanks Jim!

Hope you all had a Merry one as well!

Will you run water and elec before tou pour the slab? You'll want them through the slab and the building codes / inspectors may not let you lay conduit w/o the appropriate permits.
I put up a 20x 20' garage on my own property and didn't have funds for the extras when I put it up, unlike yours mine was a steel hoop construction like a barracks with the slab / footings a "monolith" pour so the slab is done first. I had the footing inspection and laid conduit after the inspector left. I cut them off 1" below grade, capped them and pushed a red hot insulaton support through the cap to stand above grade. I cut them off after the slab cured, got my C of O and put the goodies in after.

Nice xmas gift BTW, what did you give the wife to balance that one out?

WoodButcher wrote: Nice xmas gift BTW, what did you give the wife to balance that one out?

A new dinette set. Seems like a fair trade!

But she's counting on a new house down the road, and I've been doing a lot of remodeling on the current one until that happens. She knows this investment is a good one in that it gets all of my/our toys inside and protected, plus will clear the driveway of an ugly old Jeep and my Bronco.

WOW!

WAy to go, Matty! Merry CHristmas!

The only thing I would have done differently is I would have rode the quad over to the neighbors to see what it looked like instead of walked over.

peter wrote:Awesome build, Matt. I enjoyed watching this being built. Will you be working on the wiring etc during the holidays?

Coupla questions;

- Water supply, drains and 240v power? From where and into where?
- Styrofoam, fibreglas or sprayed-urethane insulation?
- Windows, or are you going windowless for higher security?

Wow, don't I deserve a break?! I watched those guys bust their butts for a week to put my building up, and now you expect me to work through the holdays?! Man, cut me some slack!

No drain. We have issues with 'stormwater runoff'... or so says our county, and they are looking for ways to regulate and charge us. I think adding a drain is just asking for more regulation on our property.

Not bringing in water at this time. Will likely do it in the dark of night when I do. Problem is my septic is up hill, and putting in one for the shop is a bit to extravagant. One day I would like to have a laundry sink in there, and a full bath would be nice way down the road. Just have to figure out how to get rid of the waste! Putting in an outside faucet between the four big doors would be nice for washing vehicles as this area is shaded in the morning and afternoon.

240v is coming, but maybe not right away. For now I might just pull a 50... or even a 30 amp 120v circuit from the house to get by. Just something I can run a few lights off of and power a couple of power tools. Someone on another forum I frequent mentioned he ran a 400 amp service to his shop and then ran his house's 200 amp from that. This might be something to consider since we will be building a new house sometime down the road. He did it so he wouldn't have to install (and pay a monthly charge) on a second meter. I've already got three meters and don't need a fourth. I can't really make any intelligent decisions on this until I get a quote from an electrician. (Basically this will dictate whether I start off with a non-permitted glorified extention cord or proper permitted underground installation.) Any interior electrical upgrades will be done over a long period of time, meeting my curent needs and/or to compliment other interior work.

Insulation is going to be a must. Right now I've only got a thin sheet of steel protecting me from the outside elements. Not very warm! Besides, it won't be long before I somehow manage to dent the wall on the inside, obviously leaving a mark on the outside too! Right now I'm leaning towards installing 2x3 firring strips with fiberglass insulation between, covered with plywood. Again, this would be a ongoing project, with no need to finish on any schedule. (You know how I am with finishing projects quickly....)

I would like to add some windows down the road. With a 14' high building, I'm thinking some short, maybe 24" tall, windows up high. Something to let light in, but ones that can't be easily reached. Probably non-opening.

WoodButcher wrote:Will you run water and elec before tou pour the slab? You'll want them through the slab and the building codes / inspectors may not let you lay conduit w/o the appropriate permits.

As mentioned above, I'm not doing water any time soon. I don't think I need to run the electric through the slab. It should be able to come in via a conduit on the outside of the building. Right now I'm expecting to put the service near the walk-in door on the left side of the building.

The priority for this building was/is to provide covered and secure storage. I've got just way too much stuff sitting outside, or under cover with no significant theft protection, that I wanted to get inside. Everything else is secondary and will likely take years to get to the point I'm satisfied.

And remember, "no new projects until the current ones are done!"

Agreed Matt.Services can be added at any point.Thing is to rent a trencher while the ground is torn up now might be a good idea.Electric with a 4" PVC and then 2" PVC for phone,cable,etc.Even if for now you leave them plugged up and empty for now,they will be there when you need them.Service size Dean could help you with that with suggestions.Trust me,the extension 110 cord will get old in a hurray.

Matt and I have been net friends for yrs.Before you say anything..........this took over a hr to type out. =;

mdmead wrote:
As mentioned above, I'm not doing water any time soon. I don't think I need to run the electric through the slab. It should be able to come in via a conduit on the outside of the building. Right now I'm expecting to put the service near the walk-in door on the left side of the building.

Yep, electric could be done later on top but as I pulled no permits I did it all underground and inside. My locals wouldn't allow "conduit for future use" as Gary suggested, why not? :-k dunno, don't care. I run it all to code and a good thing too because an ex caused me trouble I did need to get it permitted, (another story for another time!), but water you'll need below frost level and in the slab. A pex supply can be snaked though a 4" drain pipe, thinwall pvc is what I used to run under the slab to just outside the footing for a chase. For drainage a drywell, 250 gal oil tanks buried in gravel come to mind, that will get you in hot water but I'm sure the are alternatives. Thing is, once you pour it really stinks to do this later.
Good luck!

1Gary wrote:Agreed Matt.Services can be added at any point.Thing is to rent a trencher while the ground is torn up now might be a good idea.Electric with a 4" PVC and then 2" PVC for phone,cable,etc.Even if for now you leave them plugged up and empty for now,they will be there when you need them.Service size Dean could help you with that with suggestions.Trust me,the extension 110 cord will get old in a hurray.

Matt and I have been net friends for yrs.Before you say anything..........this took over a hr to type out. =;

Wow, Garry, I appreciate the effort!

Actually, I OWN a trencher. (Bought one a couple of years ago off Craigslist.... Sometimes you just can't pass up a good deal! I have a lot of sprinkler lines I need to run down on our lower acre + one of these days.)

I'm not too worried about digging up the ground now or in the future. The bigger issue is I need to get the power (and anything else I want/need) under my asphalt driveway and I'm not thrilled about cutting a section out of it to do it. (It's not like the driveway is in perfect shape, but I hate to cut it up anyway.)

WoodButcher wrote: water you'll need below frost level and in the slab..... .....it really stinks to do this later.

Yeah, I agree, but given that I don't know exactly where I'll want what, I think I'll just wait and figure it out later. Of all the things (electric, phone, cable, etc.) water is the last consideration and need. When the time comes, all I'll need to do is cut a small square out of the slab right up next to the interior wall somewhere. It may be more labor intensive to do it later, but it should patch up nicely and not be much of an eyesore.

Soooo many decisions!

mdmead wrote:

1Gary wrote:Agreed Matt.Services can be added at any point.Thing is to rent a trencher while the ground is torn up now might be a good idea.Electric with a 4" PVC and then 2" PVC for phone,cable,etc.Even if for now you leave them plugged up and empty for now,they will be there when you need them.Service size Dean could help you with that with suggestions.Trust me,the extension 110 cord will get old in a hurray.

Matt and I have been net friends for yrs.Before you say anything..........this took over a hr to type out. =;

Wow, Garry, I appreciate the effort!

Actually, I OWN a trencher. (Bought one a couple of years ago off Craigslist.... Sometimes you just can't pass up a good deal! I have a lot of sprinkler lines I need to run down on our lower acre + one of these days.)

I'm not too worried about digging up the ground now or in the future. The bigger issue is I need to get the power (and anything else I want/need) under my asphalt driveway and I'm not thrilled about cutting a section out of it to do it. (It's not like the driveway is in perfect shape, but I hate to cut it up anyway.)

In cases like that,you use a air over hydro missile digging a sender pit and a receiver trench.You would have to rent the missile,construction style compressor and the air line that hooks onto the back of the missile.The inside of the missile goes back and forth forcing itself forward leaving a tunnel to slide the PVC into.You need a eye for the laid of the land so you know weather to start the missile at level or 1/2 bubble down or up,etc so it hits the other side at the right height and dead center.I worked at one time on construction putting in underground utilities and that is what we did.Rarely did we cut driveways.The downside is if the missile hits a rock and you can't back it out,then you have to dig it up to get it back.The missiles cost about $10,000 to $12,000 grand for a 4".

well, I now know there really is a Santa Clause. Only two problems I can see Matt..one, there's snow on the ground and two,,it wasn't delivered to the 96 mile marker.
Glad for ya bud,,you did good.

Rebel wrote:well, I now know there really is a Santa Clause. Only two problems I can see Matt..one, there's snow on the ground and two,,it wasn't delivered to the 96 mile marker.
Glad for ya bud,,you did good.

Damn Larry, it's like the 'ghost of Christmas' past' with you checking in!

Well, there isn't MUCH snow. It actually rained on Saturday a bit. Temps now back to COLD though.

SHOP UPDATE: Garage doors scheduled to be installed on Thursday. Also, the concrete floor is being scheduled to happen after that. I don't have a firm price on the blankets and extra work for pouring now, but it should be under or around $1K additional.

Ghost of Christmas past.lol
Nice looking shop for sure. Know you're proud to get it up and going.
Looking forward to seeing pics of the first tranny or oil change spill.LOL

Larry, snow on the ground is NOT a problem. Snow is NOT a nasty word.

Matt, Jeeps ain't ugly. They do need love, though. Let's call them -- facially challenged.

facially challenged.

Now that's funny Mike. As far as snow not being BAD,,,,is dunnit !!LOL