Things are about to change, new garage loading

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

A lot has happened over the last few days!!
New roof on the house, that was 2.5 days of busting ass...good for another 20-25 years.
Monday I guess we broke a local record for the most rainfall on November 6th. I sat in the house next to the fire looking out the window at the incomplete foundation...*sigh*. Rebar showed up.
Today the rebar was installed and the pex was laid. The builder put in the conduits for water line and electrical service.

Tomorrow my engineer will be out to sign off on the rebar work and the city will be by for foundation inspection.
Concrete pour scheduled for Thursday AM.

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

So Thursday AM started with this mess...

But the show must go on, and the team didnt stop. 3 loads of concrete. Everything went smooth, by the time I came home the last of the power trowel work was just starting. I asked they not seal and polish the finish as I will be having an epoxy coating applied. This will save the epoxy contractor about a day of grinding to remove if sealed & polished. The slope looks nice and even to the drain. Plus the hand work at the garage door is perfect, a small scallop with a slope out the door opening.

Unfortunately I didnt get any pictures of the finished pad. I was busy throwing down extension cords for lighting as it was getting dark.
Tomorrow the builder will return to ICF and pour the curb walls. Then the slab will sit for a few days. It feels good to have something tangible built. The pace for the structure should pickup from here, plus the return to some reasonable temperatures for construction next week will help.

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

The project train is in full motion now, big swings are happening. The pad cured for about 3 days, there was still warmth in the pour the Tuesday it was uncovered. We had some difficult weather to work around with this part of the build, but in the end everything came together and I am pleased with the results. I think the finish will be perfect for the epoxy crew, level with a sandpaper like finish. ICF foam on the inside of the garage curb walls isnt an ideal surface for the epoxy guys to apply up to, however the ICF forms my builder uses has solid bracing built in to affix finishes to such as sheeting, drywall or baseboards. I will be able to mount some 4-6" sheeting strips and the epoxy will be applied up the walls a few inches creating a water safe seal at the walls. It will be easy to degrease and flood these floors to clean them.

Talked to the builder about the look I was going for as he was assembling materials for the walls and roof. Lumber, sheeting, ice shield & tar paper showed up. I chose a 2 colour brown motif for the siding and trim, but the tones arent finalized.
Friday the walls went up, came together like Tetris, man these guys are good!


The front wall completed the building. Now I can really see what I had spent so much time measuring and scrutinizing. I used my old garage before I moved to compare what I had and what I wanted. Three times I measured out the footprint with survey stakes so I could walk it out and be sure it was going to be big enough and avoid conflicts with my tools & equipment. Well, in the end, this thing is the Taj Mahal. That 10x10 rollup door is colossal. Everything is looking perfect for the addition of the second bay on the north side later, all is in the right places. In my minds eye the south wall real estate was largely taken up by the solar collectors for the heating, but with the lay of the land if I grade properly, I will be able to add a lower 8' high drive shed for my tractor. That is a bonus as I was previously just going to lay a gravel pad for parking.


My wife figured I was going to hang my 50" TV, hammock and sleep out there!

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

Today was another day of pure enjoyment to watch. I am in the process of burning off a few holiday days because I dont have enough to make a full week off, and I have sick days...use 'em or lose 'em. So between now and Christmas I have 4 day weeks. Perfect to watch this garage get done.
Todays focus was the trusses up and roof sheeting done.

The ice shield and tar paper for the roof are already here, I am assuming the bundles will be delivered to the roof tomorrow. I sure as hell wouldnt want to run the bundles up a ladder to this roof! Today in the "Blue Room" I switched to my winter tires and serviced the brake pins on my DD. I cant wait for this garage, I need this garage!