Pender (maybe NC as a whole, idk) has some square footage under which you don't need inspections/permits. it's much less than 600 sq ft. it's pretty much there to cover those little storage sheds.

[Edited on August 30, 2014 at 7:26 AM. Reason : fads]

8/30/2014 7:25:54 AM

Build one high enough to accommodate a lift.

8/30/2014 3:19:48 PM

going that high in my wind zone triggers some ridiculous anchoring and wall bracing requirements. at that point it's easiest to build an engineered metal building.

8/30/2014 4:39:50 PM

Building permit size requirements is per county. Wake and most counties go on any dimension greater than 12' or an area greater than 144 sf. So a 13'x1' structure would technically need a permit.

8/30/2014 9:50:41 PM

yeah, it's 12' here too

8/30/2014 10:45:42 PM

header block laid yesterday.

8/31/2014 9:20:27 AM

did they not scrape away the grass and topsoil inside the footprint, or is that just dirt mounded that looks like grass? I'm assuming you are doing a poured concrete floor, they should have scraped the area first.

8/31/2014 11:28:41 AM

we haven't graded it yet

8/31/2014 11:49:48 AM

But you laid header block?? You gonna grade it with a rake and a shovel?

8/31/2014 4:48:37 PM

lol i'll show you tomorrow

these guys laid their block before grading as well: /message_topic.aspx?topic=418422


[Edited on August 31, 2014 at 5:06 PM. Reason : adfs]

8/31/2014 5:04:21 PM

^

Man that was back in the day.

8/31/2014 7:35:42 PM

scraping after blocks are in seems like a great way to put a bucket into your header blocks, make sure you check behind them

8/31/2014 7:44:28 PM

damn, if i'd known you were a foundation expert i would've got a quote from you

8/31/2014 8:07:42 PM

well i do have a GC license

8/31/2014 9:31:15 PM

congrats you have 17 grand and atleast half a brain

8/31/2014 9:40:01 PM

well $150k and half a brain (unlimited)

8/31/2014 10:04:40 PM

nice

sorry i work with gts all the time and half the time i

ps slut does building forensics

8/31/2014 10:06:12 PM

i don't really know the first thing about residential (except the little i've learned as a homeowner), but thinking to industrial stuff I've done that seemed backwards.

8/31/2014 10:11:30 PM

well, any residential building like this (footer, header block, slab ie not monolithic slab) that i've seen built has been done just the way i'm doing it. look through jeepman's thread i linked. they did the same thing and it works great.

8/31/2014 10:41:46 PM

if i graded first, i'd have to haul in fill dirt to bring the elevation up where i want it, then i'd have to haul off all the dirt from digging the footer. i guess you could try to grade it between digging the footer and pouring the footer, but it would still be just as difficult because you couldn't drive through the footer.

this way is easy. use a transit to get the top of the header blocks at the elevation where you want the slab (3" above the driveway, in my case). then you just grade it off level with the notch in the header block. pour the slab level with the top of the header block and you're ready to lay 3 more courses. that gives me 2' of block and i only have to build a little 8' wall to have a 10' ceiling.

8/31/2014 11:09:07 PM

Why would you need to bring in fill? You lay out the footprint, then scrape the grass/topsoil to compatible dirt, then dig and start your foundation.

8/31/2014 11:15:48 PM

because i want the floor of my shop above grade so it doesn't fill up with rainwater. this way what you dig up from the footer serves as fill.

8/31/2014 11:20:59 PM

but how are you not able to do that if you scrape first? are you saying that you plan on leaving the topsoil and organics as fill

9/1/2014 12:09:46 PM

most of the grass was raked out. our "topsoil" is very sandy. the way this foundation was done is standard practice in residential construction. like i said, look at how jeepman did his. he did put down gravel for whatever reason, but i won't be doing that.




termite treatment tomorrow. inspection wednesday. pouring thursday. block on friday. should see framing next week, barring inclement weather.

9/1/2014 2:18:00 PM

I'm assuming 4"+ slab with mesh or rebar?

9/1/2014 3:33:17 PM

yes, 4". the concrete comes with fiber mixed in it, which eliminates the need for mesh. just have to dowel into the existing driveway with rebar.

9/1/2014 3:35:36 PM

Oh, this is just a shed

9/3/2014 8:58:58 PM

you can call it a dollhouse if you want. i don't give a fuck as long as it holds my boat, truck, tools, and fishing equipment.

9/3/2014 9:05:31 PM

^I'll agree with that

9/4/2014 7:09:56 AM

I mean, with 4 inch slab and 10ft ceiling, you won't be putting a legit lift in there.

9/4/2014 7:45:43 AM

rightly so, but I think that NRR has made a well thought-out decision given his current needs.

9/4/2014 7:47:58 AM

I never had plans for a lift. I don't need one. The main purpose of this structure is somewhere to store my stuff and some workshop space.

9/4/2014 9:31:42 AM

I don't plan to live in this home the rest of my life. This detached garage will suit my immediate needs well and add some equity. I always have the option to add a lean-to shed on the back if I get a longer boat, which is not in my current plans anyway.

9/4/2014 9:35:29 AM

10 cu yds in the shed slab. 10 cu yds added to the driveway.

9/5/2014 4:37:42 PM

how much per yard?

9/5/2014 4:57:28 PM

$175 delivered

9/5/2014 5:02:26 PM

Damn... Nice!

9/5/2014 5:38:24 PM

Wow 175$ a yd sounds very reasonable. I'm planning on building a "shed" as well in the next year. I'm going to have to bounce ideas off the HOA as far as the look/shape. I think with the ceiling height i want (four post parked car lift setup) I will be adding dormers for solely appearance . I don't want to go smaller than 24x24 but I have to stay 15 feet from the property line so it may end up being 21x27 or something oblong.

thanks for posting the progress. its motivation.

9/5/2014 6:08:50 PM

That doesn't include the labor to put it down and finish it, of course. The guy I hired for the foundation and block work does a lot of business with that concrete company and gets a good price.

9/5/2014 6:35:24 PM

lookin good.

my only thought thus far, is that new concrete tie-in/corner at the bottom of the picture is very likely to crack (not a huge deal, as this is what concrete eventually does), but also separate. Did you dial into the existing driveway there?

9/5/2014 6:38:39 PM

We doweled into the existing driveway with rebar every however many feet all along the joint. Tapering the new slab down that narrow wasn't a very good idea and it will crack, but I knew that and it really doesn't bother me. The other option was to saw cut the existing driveway and square up that joint. If it bothers me down the road, that's something I can easily fix myself.

9/5/2014 6:49:40 PM

should start framing wednesday

9/6/2014 3:03:43 PM

How are tou running your electrical?

9/6/2014 3:06:49 PM

Running a feed from the house panel to a panel in the shed. A guy from work is licensed and is gonna pull the electrical permit and help me out with it.

9/6/2014 3:19:32 PM

got ya, i'm so used to commercial where we'd have put conduit in the slab and came up through the block... so you're going underground to a disconnect or something on the outside then into the garage for a panel ?

9/6/2014 8:05:19 PM

burying pvc conduit from the house to the shop, come up beside the shop and pop through the wall and then just pull to the main breaker in the panel. no need for a disconnect.

this is a lot easier from a permitting standpoint than putting the electrical in the foundation. if you do that, then you have to pull the electrical permit at the beginning and have an electrical inspection before you pour concrete. doing it this way, i'm able to go ahead and get four walls and a roof asap and then take care of electrical at my leisure.

i've got some time pressure on this job because my step mom has decided to sell her house and move. all the tools and fishing items my dad had in his shop are now mine, but i don't have room for it all. my dad was a diesel mechanic for Ryder for 20 yrs before he went to the power company. he had to supply all his own tools there, so we're talking about a huge box full of snap-on and such. and when i say fishing equipment, i mean like 40+ fishing rods (in addition to the 20 or so that were mine), several large tackle boxes, two pier carts, several cast nets, stuff for making your own jig heads and sinkers, etc.

the original plan was to just get it done by the end of the year and take my time and do more of the work myself. but then she told me she wanted to put it on the market in september, so now i'm in a bit of a hurry.



[Edited on September 6, 2014 at 10:14 PM. Reason : so 4 walls and a roof is the primary goal right now]

9/6/2014 10:03:13 PM

I see a lot of people, even DIYers, buying the roof trusses outright. I assume it's either because it's for certification purposes or cheaper, what would be the advantages/disadvantages of making my own for a building/garage this size or smaller?

[Edited on September 7, 2014 at 1:12 AM. Reason : .]

9/7/2014 1:07:31 AM

it can be cheaper since companies mass produce them, assuming you have a standard shape and size they use. it's also a quicker and easier install, if you have a way to install them.

[Edited on September 7, 2014 at 1:31 AM. Reason : .]

9/7/2014 1:31:23 AM

a lot of bulding depts won't allow you to build your own unless you have drawings of the design that have been stamped by a PE. your other option is to go with traditional rafter/ridge beam construction. trusses go up a lot faster than rafters and will probably be cheaper than the extra labor it takes to do rafters. the advantage of rafters is the attic space, but they make trusses now that have attic openings down the middle anyway.

even if they would allow you to make your own, like wdprice said, it's cheaper to buy the mass-produced trusses than to buy the lumber and gusset plates and pay the labor to put them together.

[Edited on September 7, 2014 at 7:08 AM. Reason : afds]

9/7/2014 7:03:53 AM

I see, good stuff. It's coming along quicker than I thought it would even with the whole parents moving thing accelerating it.

9/7/2014 1:51:56 PM