Building the Garage (updated 10 Apr 06)

East Carport Finished

Office, North Wall

Office, West Wall

Office, South Wall

Office, East Wall

South Garage Door and Slab

West Garage Door and Carport

East Garage Door Carport Structure

Micah, Kim, and Pheona

West garage door carport slab after forms placed.

West garage door before slab forms placed.

East Garage door carport slab forms placed.

Kitchenette cabinets roughed in, no facings or doors yet.

Building an access port for the main water supply shut-off valve; near the shovel. (east side)

South and west sides of garage. Still needs outside wood trim around door and windows.

Garage side of office wall. Washer and dryer connections behind the lawn chair.

Computer corner, eating table under light at window. Refrigerator goes to left of window.
Floor is not tiled yet, just concrete until I build the cabinets.

Bathroom, floor is tiled with marble step-up. Step-up required to re-position toilet on slab drain.
The step-up matches the shower stall entrance opposite of the toilet, door goes into the garage.

Decided to add a wash basin after the slab was poured. Had to squeeze toilet over to make room.
Still needs floor woodwork trim installed.

Kitchen countertop frame, needs drawers, doors and cabinets above. Electric range will be
to the left of the countertop. The dangling plug goes under the cabinets for countertop lighting.
.

Platform in use placing a ceiling sheet rock panel into place. Now just get on a ladder and nail.

Built a platform which connects to my engine lift stand. Platform stays level due to the
control arm at the bottom, as the engine lift raises the entire platform. Used hot water pipe
insulation to prevent the sheet rock from being marred by the metal arms.

Garage side of bathroom. Toilet and sink left of door, shower right of door.
Washer and dryer go behind the large ladder. Water heater is above shower area.

Office area where sink and cabinets will go. Doorway into the bathroom. 05 Feb 05

South side with facia trim installed. Hip and ridge caps not fully installed. 22 Jan 05

East side with facia trim installed. Hip and ridge caps not fully installed.

South end of garage with partial metal roof installed.

Soffit trim detail. Still needs facia trim cap.

North side of garage partial metal roof installed.

East side of garage with partial metal roof installed. No facia trim yet.

Roof sheeting, roof felt and drip cap installed. Temporary garage doors installed.

The 2 boards over the front door is the crib. Place 5 sheets on the crib
and then get on the roof and pull them up one sheet at a time.

Hardest first row of sheeting completed. Now there's a place to walk.

Clamping board to eves at 6 foot spacing, prevented sheeting from sliding off until aligned and nailed.

Installing bottom row of sheeting, getting alignment without the sheet sliding off proved difficult.

Trusses viewed from inside the garage.

Both hip end trusses installed, middle trusses still on ground.

Placing the first trusses

Concrete hopper in position on stand for dumping concrete from mixer

Concrete hopper on cable moving into hopper stand

Concrete hopper frame and gate assembly

Winch to lift concrete to top of wall to pour vertical rebar and bond beam

All formed and ready to pour concrete into wall cells and bond beam

Garage door header forms for solid concrete tied into bond beam

All formed and ready to pour concrete into wall cells and bond beam

Window header before being sprayed with surface bonding

Pouring more window headers

More window headers

Concrete and rebar form the bond beam above window header. Top row of blocks
are called lintels, and are u-shaped to contain the bond beam and concrete which
goes all the way around the top of the building walls for strength.

Dry stacking more blocks

Freshly poured window header with forms removed

Dry stacking more blocks

South end of garage looking towards future house

North end of garage

North end of garage

Dry stacking first corner. Car rotissorie reconfigured into
scaffolding on wheels using sixteen foot planks

Surface bonded first five rows, then brought entire building up four more rows

Hand made surface bonding cement sprayer from plans found on the internet by some guy in
Canada. Air from brass nozzle, blasts mortar out the 5/8 hole in the front of the mortar box .

Made of 2 inch PVC pipe and 1/2 inch copper tubing and galvanized tin scoop box.

Trigger is a blow gun mounted within PVC with hose inside to the sprayer nozzle.

First five courses of block dry-stacked to window bottoms. Roll roofing felt keeps rain out
of the walls during construction. Built just like Rome was built, one block at a time.

Holes at bottom are for building inspectors to verify rebar from top bond-beam rebar
down to slab rebar after the wall is built and before the rebar cells are filled with concrete.

Garage viewed from driveway which is cleared back to fifth acre.

House fill graded level and bermed to prevent soil erosion.
Looks slanted due to property slope.

Garage slab with blocks delivered

Driveway looking from first acre towards second acre, 2Sept04

House fill dirt as dug from sand pit.

Contractor power trowling

Contractor starting pour Mid Aug 04

Garage slab with iron work ready to pour.

Finished Pond, about 80 feet on each side. 2Sept04

My own private sandpit. Started as 50' X 40' X 4' deep and growing.
Will become a water pond in the future. 6Aug 04

Raised grade level about 12 inches all around the garage slab.
This is so flat they name haircuts after it! 51' x 32'. 6 Aug 04
Looks sloped due to natural slope of property for good drainage.

Termite treated, bagged and tagged, ready for iron work

Rough slab plumbing 5 Aug 04

Garage slab after rough grading fill sand 5-30-04
Note opening to get tractor in and out for final sand grading.

Before digging the footer for monolithic slab

Used neighbor's transit to set form height within 1/4 inch all around perimeter.

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