My Garage Build

[gr8kornholio]

Same with our shed.  They put some hardener in slabs no to help against cracks. It was already solid by the time they left.

[MiniDave]

Right, you can buy densifier at Home Depot and spray it on with a pump sprayer

I expect they'll be back tomorrow to cut the stress relief lines

[BruceK]

I expect they'll be back tomorrow to cut the stress relief lines

I think the cement crew are done with it.  I've never seen a garage in Texas with relief lines cut - they are just smooth slabs.   In fact, so are the slabs that houses are built upon here.

[jeff10049]

Looks nice.

I never got around to cutting lines in the back half of my shop that I added 5 years ago.

The front half has them and has way more cracks. So I would say better off without them.

Here we just compact the dirt if needed and pour the slab right on it with a footing on the perimeter of course and a deep one 36" due to freezing. I had them add fiberglass to my slab.

[BruceK]

I watered the slab 4 or 5 times a day for the first couple of days after it was poured to help enable the concrete to dry slowly.  I figured watering it couldn't hurt, and it could help. There was also a good rain shower one day.  Today I left the slab alone and it's dried to a chalky white color - no cracking or crazing visible. 

Lumber is to be dropped off this Saturday with more materials dropped on Monday.  The build is scheduled to begin on Monday too and I'm told it should take about 3 days.   So... this time next week I should have a completed garage! (Fingers crossed).

[MiniDave]

Put some sealer on that and it will stop that dustiness.....

[BruceK]

I'll have to look into that, but I don't want issues later should I decide to coat it with epoxy.  I was researching epoxy coatings on newly-poured concrete and I found that most manufacturers recommend a minimum of 30 days cure time.  Sometimes even longer.

Once I can park on the bare concrete I think I have to be careful not to have any oil or other chemical contamination.

[MiniDave]

I think most want you to etch it with a mild muriatic acid solution first.....

[tsumini]

I like  Ucoatit 2 part epoxy.
https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB
Oil won't hurt it and sops up with kitty litter. Easy to clean with wet mop. Does need to be acid etched.  Avoid any oil prior to coating. If the concrete is finished smooth repeated hot tires will cause it to flake. It appears that yours is fairly rough so it should adhere very well.
I discovered recently that my detached garage the floor will sweat in high humidity. It will be absorbed with raw concrete.

[Scargo]

It's difficult to tell in the photographs but, I'm wondering about the setback requirements between this garage and the
fenced property line of the adjacent home with the yellow awning.

[BruceK]

It's difficult to tell in the photographs but, I'm wondering about the setback requirements between this garage and the
fenced property line of the adjacent home with the yellow awning.

There is a 5' easement at the rear, and a 10' one on the side.  I told the concrete crew to add a foot to each of those measurements as a little bit of safety when they placed the forms and I doubled checked them the night before the concrete arrived.

[BruceK]

I like  Ucoatit 2 part epoxy.
https://ucoatit.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoaz3BRDnARIsAF1RfLeDH0eVbVAZLXiymKGytmb5aMDP8GU2DwJX3OPqDZtbWyMYMtC-AuQaAqnjEALw_wcB
Oil won't hurt it and sops up with kitty litter. Easy to clean with wet mop. Does need to be acid etched.  Avoid any oil prior to coating. If the concrete is finished smooth repeated hot tires will cause it to flake. It appears that yours is fairly rough so it should adhere very well.
I discovered recently that my detached garage the floor will sweat in high humidity. It will be absorbed with raw concrete.

I used Ucoat about 10 years ago at my old house.  I really liked it, and it held up well.  But it did fade where the sun hit it near the garage door opening.  But I guess that's to be expected.

I received word early this morning that the lumber delivery is now delayed until Tuesday, so a couple of days later start. 

[MiniDave]

What did the permit cost? Piddle or OMG?

[BruceK]

Permit?  Permit? We don't need no stinking permits.   ;D  No permit was needed. I live in an unincorporated part of the county.   There's an exclusion if the structure is not built for human habitation.

[jeff10049]

Permit?  Permit? We don't need no stinking permits.   ;D  No permit was needed. I live in an unincorporated part of the county.   There's an exclusion if the structure is not built for human habitation.

One more reason for me to move to Texas hill country.

[BruceK]

Progress.  Some materials arrived today: 24' joists, a pair of windows, and the 'man' door.   More stuff is due tomorrow. 

[MiniDave]

Did they park that stuff on top your new slab?

I forgot, what is your final size.....24X30?

[BruceK]

Did they park that stuff on top your new slab?

I forgot, what is your final size.....24X30?

No, they placed the materials on our regular driveway.  They can't get those 24' joists back there by forklift - in fact they had to pirouette the wide load around several trees bordering the driveway to get them as far as they did.  I installed a gate to the backyard at the end of our driveway, but it's just 14' wide (visible to the left of the forklift in the photo), and the distance between some trees on the winding gravel path I made to the garage site is even more narrow - so the end of the asphalt driveway is as far as they can do.   I discussed this with the contractor ahead of time and he said his guys will just have to hand carry that stuff to the garage build site.

And yes, the garage size is 24x30.

[BruceK]

Additional materials arrived today, along with a skilled forklift driver.   He was able to place some items right next to the worksite.

The crew arrives tomorrow to start the build!

[BruceK]

The Garage-a-Rama begins! 

The crew showed up this morning and it's a nice overcast day, not too hot, so I bet they'll make a lot of progress.  This is only 2 hours in.

[BruceK]

Moving right along!

[jedduh01]

Awesome stickbuilding process!

You'll have some nice attic space with them building the roof like that. Was that your spec?  Most builds i see are using pre manufactured roof trusses. Ruins  Attic space.

[94touring]

They'll be done by the end of the week at that rate.

[MiniDave]

Great progress!

[BruceK]

Awesome stickbuilding process!

You'll have some nice attic space with them building the roof like that. Was that your spec?  Most builds i see are using pre manufactured roof trusses. Ruins  Attic space.

There was an option to have a more steeply pitched roof with a full attic and a staircase going up to it.  I considered it, but the cost was more than $5K additional, and I really didn't want the added expense.  Especially since the existing attached 2-car garage (herein after to be known as the "wife's garage"  ;D ) already has a great attic which we only partially use. 

No pre-fab trusses - the crew is building it all from scratch.