Shop and storage barn

[hayden]

The final step is a layer of insulation over the sand and wire mesh to reinforce the slab.

It looks like a giant swimming pool.

That's my temporary power panel under the bucket.

 

[hayden]

Wednesday was slab-pour day. At one point we had 4 cement trucks dancing around each other.

 

[hayden]

Yesterday the first delivery of materials arrived, including the two steel beams that will enable a clear span in the shop. You can see the finished slab, and check out those beams!

 

[hayden]

After all the work getting the foundation and slab in I concluded that I needed to remove another maple tree. I was hoping to save it, but as part of the grading and trenching I had already cut a number of big roots, and I'll never be able to get the grade right around that side of the building. So, this morning, out it came.

The first picture shows the grade around the building and the offending tree. It's the one with the trash pile at it's base. I think you can see how the grade slopes towards the foundation and is at or above the foundation top. My goal is to have the finished grade 1 foot below the slab top, so it needs to come down a good foot.

The next picture shows the tree on the ground and me starting to limb it. I put a choker around the tree and used the tractor and winch to be sure the tree didn't inadvertently fall onto the new slab since that's the way it was leaning. The fall was a bulls-eye. Axe men stand aside - there's a new kid in town .

And here's the space with the tree removed. Now there's room to cut down the grade and not leave a tree that will be dead in 5 years and REALLY hard to remove without damage. Tomorrow I'll fire up the dozer and have at the stump and grade.

 

[MarkV]

Looking great Peter! Thanks for sharing all the photos as the project evolves. I will be looking forward to seeing the building go up.

MarkV

 

[dillo99]

Great project Peter. That is going to be awesome...so much space! You will have to buy more toys. By the way...very nice property you have there.

 

[hayden]

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to seeing it go up too . I go back and forth on the size. Sometimes I look at it and it seems really excessive, and other times I wonder how I'm going to fit everything. The garage bays will fill up real fast. There's a boat, utility trailer, dozer, truck, gator, and field mower all competing for the 4 garage bays, plus one will be partially consumed by the generator. The shop will house all the other tractor implements, tractor, and whatever is being worked on at the time. I think it will fill up real fast.

I'll be fixing the grade on that one side today, then switch attention back to the solar power project.

 

[EddieWalker]

WOW!!! Like everything you do, this is looking awesome. I'm looking forward to your updates just because I know that with you building it, there's going to be some interesting workmanship involved.

The foundation is a piece of beauty that I bet most people don't have a clue how complicated and dificult it was to get just right. Very nice!!!

Eddie

 

[hayden]

Thanks, Eddie, but I can only take credit for small parts of the work. I'm fortunate to have found an excellent builder so I use him for everything. The foundation crew was really good too.

 

[hayden]

Well, that took longer than I expected. Today's project was to remove the maple stump and cut down the grade on the west side of the shop. The removed material then needed to be used on the north-east corner to build up a roadway that wraps around the building.

Here are pictures of the stump up close and in context. I didn't measure it and am too lazy to go out now and measure it, but I'd guess it's 20" where I cut it. You can see how the ground slopes down from the stump base towards the foundation - not good for drainage.

The third picture shows the corner that needs to be built up. Everything should be up at the level of that small pile covering the electrical conduit