New workshop build, 30' x 50' with a basement!

bwolfie

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Been busy around here trying to get this done before the snow flies. I ordered a 30' wide by 50' long with 12' tall sidewall building kit from Versatube. The foundation is almost done, need to get the basement ceiling in and pour the slab. It has taken many years to get to be able to do this. I am super excited to get this finished so I can start working on the bikes again.

Things have taken longer than expected, cost more and been fighting the weather.

Some progress photos:

New workshop build, 30' x 50' with a basement!




http://s1029.photobucket.com/user/brent ... uild/story
 
Looking good. There's nothing like a decent sized workshop. I built mine out back almost 30 years ago, and have been enjoying it ever since.

Ken
 
Y'all sure do things bigger over there doncha' y'all ?!?

I could fit my tiny, pathetic, little shop into that several times over. And that's just the basement !!
 
Concrete blocks seem to be a waste of time down in this part of the world at the moment, deep wooden piles ,rubber mounts, plenty of wood and let it flex.
 
My "double" garage is 25'x25' and is far too small. Large enough for "others" to fill with crap they don't want in the garden shed along side the ride-on and wheel barrows, but not so large it can cope with me to be able to easily work on my crap.
It is very dry at least, the parsnips put in store are desiccating.

Yours looks much better. Good luck.
You have plans for lighting? Sky lights? LEDs?
 
I hope to do something similar after the first of the year, only full basement in concrete and pre-cast floor. Always wanted a drive-over pit for working on the cars and truck. Might do those walls in block.
 
Going with LED lighting. Had to fight the city to get a metal building approved. I was going to use precast concrete panels, but it looks like plans changed and composit steel decking will be used instead.
 
Congrats bwolfie; looks great.

Your pic reminds me of a few weeks in 1971 when I rode my new Commando to visit relations in the Midwest. While there a relative got me a job with a ready mix company building concrete horizontal silos. Backhoe dug a hole, we poured a slab, then we poured a wall, tilted it up, poured another wall, tilted it up, poured the third wall, tilted it up; poured a ramp. Done.

Danno, when I built my garage, I put 1x6s into the slab to more easily build the pit that I planned to dig/ build later. Never did. Those 1x6s are still there. I found a used two post lift on Craig's list. Better idea and the cost of the blocks/walls, the concrete floor, steps, labor, etc of building the pit would have exceeded what I paid for the lift. Access/stairs takes up space, and there's the risk of falling into a pit, and the planks to ensure against that are a PITA.
 
The truck place I worked at, built a new extension with a truck pit, so not very deep. We came back after the xmas holidays to find it full of water. Contractor was not pleased he was going to have to bear the cost. Only thing that worked - after all the cheap solutions had been tried - was to partially fill with water proof concrete and re screed the sides. Crap height to work in.
For anything less than an HGV, I would get a lift. My personal preference would be a wheel free four post one. Seen a few cars fall off two posts, and a single ram always blocks the underside.

The composite steel - is that like 3mm profile galv with polystyrene which is then screeded over?
Having laid on more cold floors than I care to think about, and had the chilblains and now arthritis to show for my efforts, I like the idea of a really well insulated deck, preferably with heat.

In industrial workshops, a polished concrete floor has always been pretty durable. I don't know if a treatment was applied - I am fairly sure it wasn't to the workshop with the pit, above.
 
Good move heating the floor, I bet your winters are a might bit chilly in Wisconsin. I miss having a garage. At 55 years old this is the first time in my life where for about two years now I haven't had a real shop or at least a two car garage to myself. My stuff is all crammed together right now in a little space that's hard to work in. It really takes the joy out of working on stuff. Keep us posted on how it goes.
 
bwolfie said:
This is the flooring, 3" composite galvanized steel, http://www.cordeck.com/metal-deck-produ ... floor-deck

I am running PEX tubing throughout the slab for future floor heat.

Going for a smooth floor finish with saw cut cracks.
Click to expand...

That's similar to the pan decking I used on my attached garage with basement underneath. I poured a 4" slab of lightweight concrete with a #8 rebar 1' on center each way. The slab (20'x20') is a half-ton lighter using the lightweight concrete.
 
More progress and good deals. Picked up my used I beams today and was talking to the guy, he has the steel decking I need for a good price. Got the upper stone all done and ready to install the drains, insulation, wire mesh and pex tubing. Lower is ready to set the beams and posts, get the last block in place, set the lintles and install the decking. Hopefully pouring concrete in about 2 weeks.

Not the sight I wanted to wake up to the other morning.
New workshop build, 30' x 50' with a basement!


And tonight's progress.
New workshop build, 30' x 50' with a basement!
 
Well Fuck.... We had about 2" of rain monday night, and about 10pm the middle wall collapsed.
Now to get it cleaned up and rebuilt..... So much for finishing the concrete this year.

New workshop build, 30' x 50' with a basement!
 
Good job you weren't moved in then - or under it !!

Anything with earth pressing against it needs serious reinforcement, AND allowance for drainage.
Even garden walls here can't be more than 1 metre without an engineering certificate.
(Sounds like your engineering guy was asleep at the helm ?)
Have fun....
 
What they call "dead men" is what I've seen used.

Basically re-bar is extended out from a height mid or 2/3 the way up the wall 8 or 10 feet and buried in a trench and that trench is filled with concrete around the re-bar. At the far end the re-bar is T'eed into more re-bar which is also trenched and concreted. At the wall, of course, the re-bar is tied into the re-bar that is inside the wall.
 
Brent
As a Building Surveyor/engineer I can say that I am surprised that the wall stood that long. Do not attempt to rebuild the wall as it will collapse again once any filling goes in. Only next time the roof may be on and you may be in the basement. Unreinforced blockwork cannot be used to retaining filling.
I have investigated many building collapses, have attended a coroners court, and have only just been subpoenaed to court over a deck collapse where I did an investigation following a collapse that severely injured several people. One woman lost an arm and was almost killed.
Make an appointment with a local civil or structural engineer, ask him to do a site visit and ask for a design for your building. You will be looking at a footing that is about 4 feet wide with L starter bars engaging into a 16” wide block wall that extends up about 5 feet high before dropping back to 8” wide block work. The wall will be reinforced with ¾” reinforcing bar at 16” centres each way. The blockwork will be core filled with concrete. And there is also the external walls to contend with. The engineer may also choose to have cranked reinforcing bars from the walls engage into the slab.
Ando
 
I've seen solid concrete basement walls collapse from the hydrostatic pressure of wet backfill. Common practice was always to build on top first, then backfill later. A good product for forming footings is called Form-a-Drain. It stays after pouring and acts as drainage to keep hydrostatic pressure from building up. There are also products to attach to the wall to conduct moisture downward to the drains. I see these steps and methods being bypassed quite often in the name of economy as well as a lack of reinforcement steel in the pours.

Never have used or trusted block for sub-grade building, although I've seen old block foundations that are dry and uncracked.
 
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