Borednows Garage Build

Ah, I rented a lockup for the Escort, the daily parked along side the container. My motorhome was farmed out to a friends farm (see what I did there ) but I then sold it as life on the road, even with all mod cons, wasn't for me. I had been planning the build for a year so I had plenty of time to get all my ducks in a row.

Well I'm sure you've all been wondering what I've been up to……….???????

No!?

Shame on you!

I'm going to tell you anyway  

Finally got all the Calcs back and after paying someone to do them, reviewed them and asked them to do it again properly!  

I spent a few days doing loads of research and wrote my Contaminated Land Report myself.  

Sent them through to the Building Regs people and got full approval! Yay      

Also been busy prepping up and gathering stuff.

Free stuff so far:
2 sheets of reinforecment
loads of mars bars
7ft up and over garage door
UPVC person door
UPVC window
Loads of timber

Oh yeah. Also took down the olf garage            
which was slightly dodgy to say the least!

Part of the reason for the renewal was the frame had rotted out at ground level on about 1/3 of the entire structure. The only thing holding it up was my wooden frame inside and all the ply I'd lined the walls with.

Anyway, with a bit of thinking and careful structural analysis, a reciprocating saw,  a couple of step ladders and a friend we managed it with only two bruised fingers and 2 minor cuts between us! And only one piece of angle got away from us and fell. Luckily it fell away from us and missed the gas meter box by about a foot and of course it was virtually the last bit too.    Oh well  































So just the rest to do!

But this is a big moment as I can finally move on and begin programming all the rest of it in as I now have a empty site.

Hopefully movement shall now be a but quicker.

Wish me luck

Ideas for lifts, pits, lighting etc all still welcome.

Ian

How big are you going? I couldn't make my new one tall enough for a ramp due to being tight to the boundary, so I've just got 2.2m internal height as the flat roof including insulation took me to 2.5m permitted max. I didn't get a pit due to building regs being a pain + expense, but 40'x12" internal, insulated double block is a nice size and cozy and I have a 10'w x 7' h roller shutter door. I can get both cars, bench, 30' of racking, plus spares in, and open and close the Cabrio roof inside, so I'm happy.

Jammy blighter,your lucky you have a nice size garden to do your build on. I love the fact it’s finished in timber also,I don’t think I’d leave my house ,well only for work if I had a half decent garage. Plus you live in one of the nicest part of England, nice. Living the dream.Keep us posted on your progress

TBigJohn

That sounds like a nice sized garage. Square I presume?

I think I need picture though!

Mines about 18m (60ft) long and about 5.5m (18ft) wide. it's split, roofing wise, with the first third being pitched and the rest of it being flat at 2.2m high.
The first third ends at about 2.5m high on the wall and goes up to about 3.5m against the house. This is where I though the lift would go.

Interstingly I was down my MOT place the other day for Mynx's MOT (passed Yay!) and had a chat with all the guys down there and it was about 50/50 on two post vs 4 post so now I'm completely confused!

gafo Yup fairly lucky!  

I was going to stick the garage at then end of the garden which would have been better but Lady Borednow had other ideas! Although I can't complain as my tool box is currently in the dining room   

Todays works will be to tidy up a bit more and asses what materials from the old garage can be re-used or sold or scrapped.

Boring day then     

Still got to be done  

Ian

That's not a garage, it's a warehouse, will it have a different postcode! If I had tried to build something that big my wife would think I was leaving her…….

So after a holiday and sorting out some other things that modern life seems to keep throwing at you, I'm finally pushing ahead!

Had a digger bloke over and discussions over how and when to clear the site were had. Looks like later in the week  

From discussions I realised I needed to cut a line at the edge of the new build from my existing paths and bases and my gates were too narrow to get his digger through, so a bit of work was needed to open up the entrance a bit.

Luckily the gates were hung on the house on one side and on a bit of block wall on the other.

I hired a disc cutter and although it's been many years since I'd used one I thought it's got to be the way forward. Chop a nice straight line and re-attach gate posts to wall, add a bit of timber to the gate and voila    and cut the breaking lines on the concrete as needed.

To get my hand and eye back in it (so to speak) i thought I'd start with the straight cuts on the floor. Easy, I thought to myself, I've seen this done loads before. How hard can it be?  

Erm, well after an hour of trying to start the damn thing, including reading the instructions ( I know! How often do we ever read the flaming instructions!), watching vids on youtube of how to start it, going to Stihls website and reading their instructions, I finally gave up and returned to Speedy Hire.

"Look, I know it's been a while and I may have turned into a big girl over the last 10 years, but I can't get this bl00dy thing to start!"

"Ah, we've had some problems with some out of this batch let me try" says the chap behind the counter.

Nope the saw was broke. It turns out I'm not a big girl after all. Yay    

So return and try again.

Dammit, forgot the water suppression kit. Oh Well I'm sure it'll be fine. Donned the appropriate goggles, ear defenders and dust mask and cracked on.
Now what I hadn't reaslised was just how much dust would be made when cutting a 10m long line would creat so much dust. It looked like it'd been snowing! and of course I forgot to close the back door, erm, and the kitchen window.

DOH!!!!!    



SO then onto the wall. Gates came off ok but the fastenings holding the gate frame to the wall weren't so easy. Snapped fixings and all sorts of trouble. Oh well, the usual then!

Marked out the cut on the wall and went at it. Biggest problem was being up a ladder with a disc cutter! it's heavy, unweildy and water goes everywhere! Still I was due my annual shower anyway.

But it's done. and not to bad a cut, given I had to come from both sides and try to join them up.



Just a bit of render and then we should be good to go.

Ian

  Consaws are  a nasty piece of work , filthy too, but they do leave  a half decent finish in capable hands.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

will look forward to see a fleet of cars stored in there

Well this arrived yesterday and will be in full operation Monday.  

Digging commences!  

Of course the Cornish Winter is here and it's raining as usual   



Hopefully some more updates of muddy holes later in the week  

Ian

No way it rains in Cornwall when does this happen? I’m keeping a weather eye on your progress. I’m house hunting at the moment, no She hasn’t thrown me out again. Looking for something with a garage or room to build one. I’m gonna have a polycarbonate roof on it ,great for natural light and in the warm weather brilliant for drying 2k paint . Have one on my present garage, keep up the good work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

gafo
 That roofing idea sounds good, I checked it out. Then looked at the price. Erm    That's the problem with something this size! Costs are ridiculous.

So I also got my plot dug out yesterday. But I did cheat somewhat in the use of an 8t exc and 16t lorries to take away the spoil. 3 and half loads removed. That's over 50t!!!!!!! It would definitely taken several years with a shovel and skips.  

Remember the gates I took and down and widened? Well I widened them to around 104 inches. Did you know that a 6 wheel muck away lorry is 100" wide? Well you do now! Plus with a really good driver it will fit in the gap  





There was a bit of shuffling to get him in the drive and requests to neighbours to move a car but apart from that no issues.

I was dreading this bit due to tight confines and digging at the side of a house over 120 years old and what we might find!

As it turn out we only found seven unknown pipes in the ground!! Luckily the actual 'live services' were a bit deeper so we only skimmed the top of the water and gas which were in new alkathene pipes as they should be, they also even had a sand layer over the top which gave us a clue  

Thickness of the old base to the garage  



And the finished flat and level pad. we still have to the extra 300mm depth for the 450 wide foundations around the edge and then add in a 25mm blinding layer but as I'm busy with other stuff for the next couple of weeks I'm leaving it like this so the excavations don't deteriorate and make life harder for shuttering, steel and concrete.



Pray for dryness for the next month for me!

Ian

Getting there now .

I wish I had access for a 16t lorry (very jealous). Well I could get one on the drive but then have to cart earth over 20 metres  I'm sure it's going to be a dry winter in Devon and Cornwall, well for the next week at least  

borednow said

gafo
 That roofing idea sounds good, I checked it out. Then looked at the price. Erm   That's the problem with something this size! Costs are ridiculous.

So I also got my plot dug out yesterday. But I did cheat somewhat in the use of an 8t exc and 16t lorries to take away the spoil. 3 and half loads removed. That's over 50t!!!!!!! It would definitely taken several years with a shovel and skips.  Remember the gates I took and down and widened? Well I widened them to around 104 inches. Did you know that a 6 wheel muck away lorry is 100" wide? Well you do now! Plus with a really good driver it will fit in the gap  There was a bit of shuffling to get him in the drive and requests to neighbours to move a car but apart from that no issues.

I was dreading this bit due to tight confines and digging at the side of a house over 120 years old and what we might find!

As it turn out we only found seven unknown pipes in the ground!! Luckily the actual 'live services' were a bit deeper so we only skimmed the top of the water and gas which were in new alkathene pipes as they should be, they also even had a sand layer over the top which gave us a clue  Thickness of the old base to the garage  And the finished flat and level pad. we still have to the extra 300mm depth for the 450 wide foundations around the edge and then add in a 25mm blinding layer but as I'm busy with other stuff for the next couple of weeks I'm leaving it like this so the excavations don't deteriorate and make life harder for shuttering, steel and concrete.

Pray for dryness for the next month for me!

Ian

Damn right Ian erm , it’s expensive stuff for sure. Great progress by the way , you are shifting some amount of soil there, holy s*it you are cheating a bit though In my day we used our backs none of that machinery malarkey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

gafo said

Damn right Ian erm , it’s expensive stuff for sure. Great progress by the way , you are shifting some amount of soil there, holy s*it you are cheating a bit though In my day we used our backs none of that machinery malarkey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup that was one way of doing it! I did think about renting a flat bed, driving to the tip, unloading, driving back etc etc etc.
Would probably have cost more and broken me even more that I am already broken!

At least this way it's done. Well kinda. Just the footings to do now!

Just had the gas board out on site as apparently I'm not allowed to have a plastic pipe under my garage. So they've got to move the pipe and re position my meter and then I've gotta get a Corgi guy out to join it all back up again. Weirdly I can have a copper pipe on the wall of the garage but not a plastic one under it  

Who knew?

Looks like the Water Board don't care though. 'Dunno what you got or where it is mate. Can you send us details when you know please?'  Very odd!

By the way the weathers broke down here and I now have a swimming pool. Plus the wind has destroyed part of the boundary hedge too. Oh joy!

Ian

More bigger hole  

(just to prove I'm still doing stuff)



Just need to cut down the chamber and set in the new airtight lid now  

Steel ordered (    ) and on it's way. DPM ordered and on it's way along with concrete spacer blocks etc and a helper is also ordered  

Hopefully pouring middle of next week.

Wish me luck

Ian

borednow said

Hopefully pouring middle of next week.

Wish me luck

Ian

Hopefully not rain pouring  

Good luck  

So smaller digger back in today. Just a dinky 3tonner.

Got the edges of the raft dug, some 803 regulating layer in and the soft spots dug out and filled up.

Also managed to get the sand blinding layer in.

I hurt!



Steel delivery due tomorrow!

Ian

borednow said

Got the edges of the raft dug, some 803 regulating layer in and the soft spots dug out and filled up.

Also managed to get the sand blinding layer in.

I hurt!

Steel delivery due tomorrow!

Ian

Looking good Ian, that's some footprint. Going to be a handy space when done

So been wondering if I'd given up?

Nearly!

After a major issue with the steel supplier (turned up without half the steel! "It's ok we'll drop it in Monday" Erm no I'm pouring Tuesday" "Oh")

We've moved 1.6t of steel and made up a load of beams and laid mesh and two rolls of visqueen complete with double taped and sealed joints. All ties with enough cable ties to have supported the 4th rail bridge!  

And after all this hard work, the inspector arrives, glances down it from the end of the drive and says 'Yup, that'll do. Crack on' and wanders off again    



So concrete confirmed for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!      !!!!!!

Please let there be sun and no rain! Please let the wagon fit on the drive, please let the conveyor go far enough, please don't let the wagon crush the drive!

 

Wish me luck

Ian