Dream shop?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Beautiful addition to your property Jesse. I'd bet all that money spent was way better than keeping in a 401k. You just added huge value to your place.

I've got money in multiple accounts. You have to be in it for the long haul and don't put all your eggs in one basket

The area I live in has gone nuts. According to zillo and several recent sales in my neighborhood, before the garage, my house was worth about 100K more than I paid in 2009 already. My neighbors house across the street just sold for $360K last month, almost 185K more than I paid for mine in 2009! But the lot is bigger, the house is bigger, it has a pool and a KILLER outdoor kitchen. I was very neighborly with the owner that built all that stuff. He always had an awesome 4th of July party at his house. He was the VP of a local construction company, he moved out of our hood and into one of them swanky 500-600K ones.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

It was a lot of extra work, but my stem wall is rebared to the foundation and the block is fully grouted. It was a ton of extra work, but should pay off in longevity.

Block walls are terrible for adsorbing water when used in a "basement" condition. They LOVE water. Set a block in a little puddle of water and it will suck it up (conversely, if set in the sun, they also dry out very quickly). You have to do a really good job water proofing block if used in a basement condition, even if fully grouted. So many people cheap out on the water proofing and drainage part.

One year I got the bright idea to set a concrete block in a water trough so that small animals could climb out and not drown.

A few months later there was a pile of crumbled concrete in the bottom of the trough

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

One year I got the bright idea to set a concrete block in a water trough so that small animals could climb out and not drown.

A few months later there was a pile of crumbled concrete in the bottom of the trough

I'm going to pressure wash and water proof my block before I mess with the siding. We've gotten so much rain, that just being soaked for 3-4 days straight was enough for them to be "damp" on the inside of my garage. They're not letting enough in to get anything wet, but it is annoying. seeing the block damp. I also have to install a trench drain on the back side because it's so flat, it builds up a couple inches of water before it finally drains across the driveway. It will never get higher than those couple inches, but it does take a couple days to fully dry out. I did plan this out with a stub to my houses roof drain system, just haven't felt like digging a 60' long trench yet...

[special-K]

Cinder block is super absorbent, it is true. But the fact is, concrete sucks up the water and passes it through also. Especially in constant exposure, such as down in the ground well below grade. Just not as much, but any is too much. It is all a moisture problem in an enclosed structure. How dry it stays inside is all about the waterproofing outside. And it all starts with the grading at the surface. That can steer most of the water away so that your waterproofing is dealing with "moisture" not "water".

[cornerstone]

I made some progress today. I started with cleaning the site of obvious trash, and moving the storage box full of truck parts to the center of where the building will be. Initially I thought I could work around it if I shoved it to the center of the space. Again, I plan to pour the floor later and just need enough space to dig out the holes for the piers on the sides and corners. I soon realized how much better it would be to move it totally out of the way. I used my tractor to pull and push the thing around and eventually got it clear of the future shop area. I plan to set the stakes back in the corners and use a laser level and mark on the stakes to see how far off I am from level. I did the cut by eye several years ago and I know its not level enough since it tends to hold water in the back corners.

After I raked the area I tried to use the front loader to clean up the corners where dirt had fallen from the walls, and place it where it looked like it was low. I was only able to get one bucket of dirt before the seals on both hydraulic cylinders let loose and sprayed oil at least 6 feet. It really had some serious high pressure to spray like it did. So now I need to get that taken care of before I can get much more work done.

[kingsolver72]

You did make so progress today. Keep the momentum!!
It’s going to nice.

[67ChevyRedneck]

That escalated quickly! Nice!

[special-K]

Originally Posted by kingsolver72

You did make so progress today. Keep the momentum!!
It’s going to nice.

Originally Posted by cornerstone

I made some progress today. After I raked the area I tried to use the front loader to clean up the corners where dirt had fallen from the walls, and place it where it looked like it was low. I was only able to get one bucket of dirt before the seals on both hydraulic cylinders let loose and sprayed oil at least 6 feet. It really had some serious high pressure to spray like it did. So now I need to get that taken care of before I can get much more work done.

Time to get the shovel out!!

Isn't that how it works? Just as you get going on a direction and POOF... or more like SCHWizzzzzzzzzzzzz……….

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by special-K

SCHWizzzzzzzzzzzzz……….

That's pretty much exactly how it sounded Tim. You definitely have a way with letters... I mean words...wait, ...... sounds!

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

How far up the back wall is under grade?

About 6'.

[1976gmc20]

I was only able to get one bucket of dirt before the seals on both hydraulic cylinders let loose and sprayed oil at least 6 feet. It really had some serious high pressure to spray like it did.

One time years ago I was delivering a load of firewood logs in town, and one of the jib boom hoses let go and shot me right in the face and chest. I was of course sitting on the tractor seat up above the cab running the valves. The break as usual was near the end of the hose so I managed to cut it off and reattach the fitting (one of those old aeroquip type) and finish unloading. But it was awful to be soaked in oil the rest of the day

[cornerstone]

I've debated on building one of these used tire retaining walls. I got this picture from the Pangea Builders website. If I position the shop a few more feet forward I think I could build it first, then stand up the steel frame after that. When I get around to adding a block wall to the backside of the shop, I can envision adding proper drainage and back fill while the wall goes up. Basically, set the footer first, then lay 2-3 rows of block, then add schedule 40 pipe with holes drilled in it to carry any water that seeps down that far and finally cover with gravel. Repeat the process til I get to the top. Part of me says it's double the work and overkill.... as in one properly built retaining wall is enough. What do you think fellas?

[1976gmc20]

Well, all I can say is that the trenches between a retaining wall and a building are a pain to keep the grass and weeds trimmed

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Well, all I can say is that the trenches between a retaining wall and a building are a pain to keep the grass and weeds trimmed

I wasn't very clear. I wouldn't have a trench at all. Basically the tire retaining wall first, then build the "car port", then build a block wall under the carport to enclose it. While I'm building the block wall, fill in the gap between the tire wall and the building with material conducive to good drainage. Ill draw something up to better illustrate what I'm trying to say.