John Dewey's Workshop - Page 2

Jack · 9th May 2012, 09:51 PM

Making good progress there John. It's still going along pretty quickly.

JD · 10th May 2012, 09:54 PM

Day 19: We had rain most of the day, along with thunderstorms. I didn't expect any work to be done today (I wouldn't have done it), but when I got home, I found that they had put up most of the back wall sheeting and insulation.

JD · 11th May 2012, 11:54 PM

Day 20: More walls/insulation & trim applied today. Still have rain & electrical storms.
(apparently someone renamed the thread. I have put it back to the original name. - JD)

JD · 12th May 2012, 10:53 PM

Day 21, Saturday: They worked again this Saturday. They did most of the siding and roof sheeting today, along with the insulation. There is still about half of one wall to complete and some small sections of the roof. They also have to trim the tops of the siding to match the roof and install the trim. The horizontal trim on the front side of the shop is to cover the top of the brick (it will be 4' high along the front wall.) Now that it is (almost) closed in, it gives a better perspective of the size of the shop.

JD · 14th May 2012, 10:15 PM

Day 22: The now have all of sheet metal up on all sides and the roof. The trim is almost all on and they should be finished with the steel structure tomorrow if the weather holds (hail scheduled for tonight). They delivered the sand and mortor for the brick work today and are supposed to have that work done by Friday. The electric company called today and said that they have processed the work order for the new power poles, but it will still be 3-4 weeks before they get installed and wired and the meter installed. I am considering delaying the installation of the roll-up doors until I have power and can verify that they work properly (they are powered doors). Once they finish with the building, then I can get inside and do the wall work so we can get the plumbing finished out and the water connected. Then I can get to work on the floor to prep it for epoxy. That will probably take me as long to get that done as it has to get the whole building up.

Randy V · 14th May 2012, 11:24 PM

Wow that place is going up ////FAST/////

Dave Hood · 16th May 2012, 08:45 PM

That's a fantastic building, John! Your wife must be more supportive than mine!!

JD · 16th May 2012, 11:04 PM

Day 24: There was some clean-up & finishing work done yesterday on the building that didn't make for interesting photos. All of the sheet metal and trim are done and they finished sealing any openings in the insulation. Today, the electric company came out (ahead of schedule) and started boring holes for the power poles. The brick mason is supposed to do the bricks on Friday. Still moving forward.

Dave: You have no idea re the wife. I have been procrastinating on doing a garage for at least 15 years. This last year she has been pushing me to build it before I retire so I can have a place to relax. She has been the real motivator for me to get this project going. After 42 years of marriage, we always check with each other before we do something of significance. She has also given me her blessing to get one of Fran's creations after the shop gets set up. You have no idea how lucky I am.

JD · 17th May 2012, 10:14 PM

Day 25: Installed 3 power poles and tension cables mounts today. Bricks tomorrow.

Alan Watkins · 19th May 2012, 12:24 PM

John --

Although the shop I'm about to move into is not as big, it's about the same shape; I'm wondering what thoughts you've had about laying it out. Do you have any sketches or floorplans showing where you are going to put various things? In my case the items fall into some obvious categories, like toolboxes and small power equipment (eg angle grinder), parts and supplies, metal working machines (grinders, mill, bandsaw, lathe), wood working machines (table saw, planer), 2-post lift, compressor, etc.

JD · 19th May 2012, 05:58 PM

Day 26, May 18th (4 weeks & 3 days since breaking grond): Not much work today. The brick mason called to say he had not finished his last job and would have to postpone starting mine until Monday. The plumber ran the water line to the shop and had to use a rock saw (all of the white powder is rock dust). He can't connect the water line until it is inspected. I did have him include a separate cut-off valve between the house main line and the shop take-off line. They mounted the exhaust fan (48", 6-blade, 21,500 cfm) today. I have the septic inspector coming next Thursday (I have to have a septic release from the county before the electric company is allowed to install the meter.) Electrician is scheduled to come in on Weds. to put in the meter loop and the panel boxes (outside & inside). I haven't finalized the layout inside enough for that wiring to be done, except for the fan, 2 doors and 2 lifts. I may have him run the lines for those (they are all 230V) and a single 110V quad box just so I can get things running.

Alan: I have some hand sketches that I did to determine the layout & spacing. I will scan the floor plan and post it so you can see. Basically, the shop will have 2 lifts (2 & 4-post); a 16 x 20 office; stairs to the storage area over the office; space for a mill, workbench & welders, storage for shop equipment, racks for my reference book collection, plus room for cars & painting.

Alan Watkins · 19th May 2012, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Dewey

Alan: I have some hand sketches that I did to determine the layout & spacing. I will scan the floor plan and post it so you can see. Basically, the shop will have 2 lifts (2 & 4-post); a 16 x 20 office; stairs to the storage area over the office; space for a mill, workbench & welders, storage for shop equipment, racks for my reference book collection, plus room for cars & painting.

Great; I'm quite interested in how you decide to lay things out.

JD · 21st May 2012, 11:38 PM

Day 27: Brick mason was here today and almost finished bricking the front of the building. Tomorrow he will finish that and then do the bricks around the front vertical beams (up to 4' height). Electric company was here and ran the guy wires, power lines and installed the transformer. They won't connect to the building until I get the septic tank release from the county, which is scheduled to be done on Thurs. The electrician is supposed to be here on Weds to put in the power mast and meter box on the building, plus the main breaker panels. The general contractor started a rock wall to cover in the septic line running to the tank. He also buried the water line and connected it to the building after the city inspector checked it. The plumber also put in the hose bib through the front wall before the brick was installed. I won't be able to turn the water on to the building until I have put the office wall in place and put in the finish-out plumbing for the sinks and toilet. Roll up garage doors are supposed to arrive on Weds. Things are moving along nicely, with no dead time.

JD · 22nd May 2012, 10:40 PM

Day 28: Brick masons finished the front of the building today and started on the vertical posts at the front of the covered area. They are also making a stone wall to cover up the pipe to the septic tank. They should finish the columns tomorrow. I met with the electrician today and went over what I want them to do tomorrow when they put in the meter box and circuit panels. Electric company called today to say that since we are mounting the meter on the building, then we won't have to use the fourth pole and they will refund me some money for that. Door installers called to say they need to reschedule installation of the rollup doors for Monday, 5/28 (Memorial Day) if I will be home (of course). Septic inspection on Thursday; final city inspection on Friday. Final payment to the builder on Friday also.

JD · 23rd May 2012, 11:16 PM

Day 29: Brick masons finished all of the brick on the poles in front. Electicians installed the meter box and mast as well as the grounds on the outside. Inside, they installed the circuit box panel, the wiring and conduit for the fan switch & power, the garage door motor power terminal box and a 4-outlet box for my initial work in the garage. I haven't yet determined where I want to put outlets, so I asked the electrician to only add an outlet box that would allow me to work in the shop to build it out later. The contractor also added topsoil and graded the area over the water and septic line from the shop to the tank.
Tomorrow is the septic inspection that is needed to give approval for the electric company to connect the meter. I still don't understand the relationship, but that is necessary for the local government & utility company to let me get the shop running. Still moving ahead with good progress. I have also called the blacktop guy and have asked him to schedule completion of the driveway leading between the existing driveway and the new shop. I don't have a schedule yet.

"Thedoc14": Thanks for the comments. The covered area is one of the better features. It gets to low 100's here for 4-5 months of the year and shade is pretty valuable. This will let me roll things out of the garage and work outside with a breeze and also wash cars in the shade under the cover. The shop doors face almost due East so the area will be under cover most of the day.

JD · 26th May 2012, 07:14 PM

Day 31, Friday, May 25th: No pictures today - nothing much changed. Not much activity, but it was significant to the build. Yesterday (day 30), the general contractor cleaned up the construction site and hauled away all of the trash and graded the area around the shop. The electricians returned to finish running all of the wiring for the fan, doors and single outlet box as well as finish the circuit panel. We are still waiting for the rollup doors to be installed on Monday and for the utility company to connect the power and install the meter. The contractor also made cuts in the slab next to the wall to allow the door to go down all the way to the sloped entry ramps. I also had the septic inspection done and had no problems. They approved the release to the electric company to connect the power and install the meter. They also did not require any changes to the existing septic system. That was a relief. Made the final payment and release to the contractor.

Today, the city performed the final inspection for the shop and I got their approval, with one open item. They need to come back after the roll-up doors are installed to make certain that they have an automatic reversal feature installed. The doors have a momentary Up/Down/Stop button on each door that stop motion as soon as you release the button! But, I am adding the automatic reversal per the city requirements so that you don't crush the dog if you are not paying attention to what you are doing while you are holding the Down button (shades of McDonalds' coffee legal problems).

JD · 13th June 2012, 12:11 AM

Jun 7th: Contractor activity is over (except for the driveway). I was not happy with the garage door wiring when they installed the doors on Memorial Day and they came back out to re-do the wiring - much better! The utility company installed the meter about 1.5 weeks ago and the electrician came out to check the circuits. I am power washing the floors on the weekends, but it is very slow going at about a 2" wide strip per pass. After the floor is washed, then I will acid etch it and do an epoxy floor. I am still waiting for the driveway blacktop guy to call me back to let me know when he will finish the driveway so I can get into the shop - there is a 2' gap between the driveway base material and the concrete slab. I've also discovered that if you turn on the exhaust fan with all of the doors closed - it will pull the roll-up doors in about 6" from the suction! Note to self: open door(s) when running fan.

**brianstewart** · 13th June 2012, 12:24 AM

Very nice John. I love the fact that you have a low door for the sports car and a high door for whatever else...

Jack · 13th June 2012, 10:54 AM

Fantastic John. Very well done (read envy here)!

Doc Kaler · 13th June 2012, 11:12 AM

Nicely done John!