John Dewey's Workshop

Jun 18: Latest update: Finally got the driveway guy to get started on completing the driveway. I had told him that there was a crown in the base material that he had previously put down that needed to be taken out because my cars are are too low. He happens to be one of my old hot rod customers, so I assumed that he would know what I needed. He called me this afternoon to tell me that they had dug up a bunch of rocks, but everything was okay now. I got home around 8PM and my wife said she didn't think it was going to work, so I went out to look at what they had done. They had removed a lot of rock and put down the base material. He had earlier told me he was going to put down the blacktop tomorrow.

Long story - short. My wife was right. I went and got the Vette out of the house garage and tried it on the base material. I high centered the Vette at the peak and would have dug the nose into the base material if I had gone the full distance. I also had to slip the clutch badly just to back up the drive. Bottom line: It isn't going to work and they will have to redo the driveway to take out the crown and probably start the approach slope another 20'-30' further back. Unfortunately, it is also all rock. The Vette has the highest ground clearance of any of the cars I plan to put in that shop.

I called the guy tonight and told him the driveway wouldn't work as it is. He was very disappointed because he will have to jackhammer the rest of the rock. Although I can hear the "Ka-Ching" loud and clear, I can't see making a compromise after finally building the shop of my dreams. Some photos are enclosed. The pile of rocks in the background came out of the ground today.
 

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Keep after it John. At least you'll have a nice pile of decorative landscaping rocks. If you feel that you might get water intrusion during a "gully washer" storm now would be the time to figure in a drain system at the junction of the drive and shop apron. Otherwise, you'd be plagued by the "I should have done it" each time our infrequent mega-rains hit. But by the photos, it looks like you have a fairly nice drainage slope to your apron and water will drain around the shop.
 
Thanks for all of the nice comments.
Re the water flow, although it doesn't show up in the photos very well, Doc is right. I had the covered area concrete slope away from the shop doors and to the left (toward the power poles) so that water would run off away from the shop. The plan has been to have the driveway also graded to where it slopes to the same side. I have been told (by both the shop builder and the driveway guy) that I should not get water into the shop. We will have to see. Except for a little rain this past Sunday night, it's been a couple of months since we had any rain here.
I wanted to put a drain the full width at the front of the shop, but the concrete guy & shop builder talked me out of it because he said they were too much trouble to keep clean. Time will tell if they were right.

They brought in a hydraulic hammer today and took out a bunch more rock and removed the slope back about another 20'. I think it will work much better. I'll have some photos to post later. The driveway guy asked if I wanted to keep the rock (I do - I need it for fill in the back of the house, but that is next year's project). It seems he was willing to pay me $700. per truck for the big rocks because they are now used for landscaping. When I built the house 20+ years ago and they had to blast for the septic tank, I couldn't pay anyone to take them away.
 
It has been quite a while since I have updated the post as well as updated the shop. Unfortunately for the shop, my work and family have totally consumed me in the last year and I have not gotten much done. I am doing it by myself and I refuse to move anything into the shop until its complete. If I do, it will never get finished. I got back on it in June and am making some progress. The shop will have an office with a storage area above, a bathroom, stairs to the storage area, 2 lifts (4-post & 2-post) and (eventually) a mill. I have put in all of the office framing and the electrical boxes. I have also put in the disconnect cut-off boxes for the welding stations around the shop and the mill, as well as the outside box for the compressor (it will sit on a pad outside next to the building). Lighting is eight 6-lamp T8 units. I am only planning on having a false wall on the back wall of the shop. That framing is 12' high to give you a perspective. It will be covered in furniture-grade plywood as soon as I have the wiring complete. The floor is 2-part solid epoxy with a clear coat (it is not as slippery as it looks). Next thing on the schedule is to have an electrician do all of the wiring. It's coming, but it is slow progress with my work schedule.
 

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11/25/13 Update. Wiring is complete (almost) and the 1/2" plywood wall covering is in place on the back wall and office exterior walls. The side walls will remain open. All of the wiring is done except for the connections to the 2-post lift (installed last week) and the instant water heater. All of the lights are done (6 bulb T-8's). I need to get a plumber in to do the final connections for the bathroom and the shop sink/outdoor bib. I have the Ingersoll Rand SimplAir system parts on order for the compressed air lines and am building the overhang frame to support the metal roofing material to cover the outside compressor pad. Progress is being made, but it is slow going due to my work schedule. Enclosed is a photo of the progress to date from last weekend.
 

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