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After putting everything in front of my own needs and wants I'm finally going to build my shop. I poured the concrete slab in 2012, installed the lift this past Momorial Day.

The plan is to lay 2 courses of blocks around the parimeter and stick build the walls and add a metal roof. It will have 2 10 x 10 roll up door, a 36 inch walk through door and 2 3 x4 windows. I will add insulation and sheetrock after everything is wired and dried in.

To start things off I unloaded 200 hundred cinder blocks in 40 degree rain. I got a deal on 100 of them, FREE, so yes I will load and unload blocks in the rain. The reason for the blocks being 2 high at the is due to the past water level during Hurricane Michael. As things progress I'll post pictures and look forward to your comments and suggestions.

TIP: Drill the sill plate anchors before you lay the block wall...then fill that web as you build with mortar or concrete.

Looking forward to your build!

Mike B

I was the former inspector for the JERICHO CONSTRUCTION CO., so I’ll come over to certify the walls as safe and plumb. I always announce my arrival with a short musical number played by my small band of trumpet players. Since you live in a flood area, my brother Noah can help with timber framing if needed.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a Southern Bolter's gathering to help put this together.
Count me in!

I'm a big fan of concrete aprons. When your trying to move something on wheel dollies, or a floor jack for that matter, bricks or gravel can be a pain. With an apron, you can roll it far enough out of the shop for the tow guy to get to it. At my buddies desert shop, I always have to deal with a 4-6" drop from his shop door to desert sand. Makes it a pain to get things in and out of the door opening from the back of a pickup truck. I keep threatening to come by and make him a 10' concrete apron!

Gotta, gotta, gotta have an apron. I think my concrete cost as much as the shop did.
Pull the truck out and have a party inside the shop!

I have asphalt right up to to the slab. The transition is so close I can push a truck in and out by myself, did it today with project "Death Trap"
I got all my rebar today, going cut the lengths I need tomorrow. I'm building the shop on the cheap, not that I'm cutting corners I'm just doing to myself and paying for it as I go. I would love to have an old fashioned barn raising but that would require me to have all the materials on hand and that's just not in the budget. The shop is going to be built in stages, walls, trusses and roofing. I will close in the sides once the roof is on.

Great! We’ll just drop in every now and then to tell you what isn’t right. You know, just enough criticism to cause minor regret but not ruin the whole project.

One thing I did that I was happy with, was my garage has 10' 2X6 walls and I put 1/2 plywood on the lower 8 feet with the top 2 feet dry wall. You can mount things on the walls so much easier. I also splurged and put radiant floor heating in, but I live in Canada so it can get cold and damp on the west coast. The shop is only 24 X 36, but the city made me get it engineered for an extra couple of thousand. Dang that hurt. It has 7" of concrete on the floor, and the first two feet of the entrance has 24". Don't ask me, that was the engineers idea. Good luck when it ever comes time to tear that down.

Craig, I'm excited for you. I've built a garage at every place I've lived (4 total). I can't imagine not having a place inside out of the weather to work and play.

Keep us informed on your progress.

John

I excited too, anything will beat what I'm working out of currently. I out grew my work shed years ago. We all know how life gets in the way but now I'm going to finally take the time to build something for me.

I like your idea using 2 coarses of concrete blocks and framing up from there. One suggestion I would make is to rod and fill all the blocks with rebar and concrete in addition to your required anchor bolts before framing. In the past, I've always done it (rod and filled) on the most important wall (in my mind) but in every case it would've been a better had I filled them all.

John

Although on second thought, the ground freezes here and it might just be over kill in your area.

John

John, I had already thought about that. We may not have frozen ground but we have Hurricanes, I want to have a solid base.
I was just laying out where to place the rebar. I plan to set the rebar 4 inches and epoxy them in. I will have 12 inches in the lock to fill with concrete. I discussed the layout with Alvin and the was one of his suggestions.
I have a few questions, should I set the blocks back from the edge or flush with it. I shouldn't need to run rebar horizontal with the course should I?

I would set the blocks flush with the edge of your concrete pad. That way when water runs down it will go right past and not have a chance to work through any cracks or crevices that may show up over time.

I've only run rebar horizontally in block one time and that's because the block wall is also serving as a retaining wall (holding back about 48" of dirt) due to the slope of the grade. In that case I had two coarses that utilized a v-shaped block filled with rebar and concrete. I believe it was called a bond-beam or something like that.

Unless you will have side pressure against the block I don't think it's necessary.

John

I built a foundation for a greenhouse and use the blocks with open ends (U-shaped cross section) for the top course and laid a horizontal rebar in there before filling the cores with concrete. That would tie everything together on your foundation. If you're talking rebar drilled in every 4 inches along the wall, that's way overkill, or I'm misunderstanding what you said about that. If you already have blocks with solid ends, if you're careful, you can knock the webs out to give space for a horizontal run of rebar. If you tie the horizontal rebar to the verticals, that will make it pretty much hurricane proof (I welded them together, which was probably overkill, too.)
I would set the blocks flush with the edge. That prevents rain from puddling on the slab at the outer edge if they were set back.

Concrete block will make it nice for the inside. When you do the 5 year cleaning (10 year?), scrub the floor with a degreaser and hose the place out. You won't have to worry about wood or drywall getting soaked.

I meant setting the rebar 4 inches into the slab. I have the rebar spaced at 16" around the parameter and will fill each core with concrete before setting the J bolts for the sill plates.
I think setting the blocks flush with edge makes sense for drainage. I don't think a horizontal rebar will be necessary.

Speaking as a former USCG architectural technician, I would recommend that when you've finished the CMU work and have allowed the mortar to cure, be sure to seal the outside of the CMUs with a concrete sealer. If you don't, over time you will see the salt from the concrete (that the blocks are made of) and the mortar driven to the inside and crystalizing on the surface. This is called "efflorescence." This is the same preventative step that should be taken when a basement is constructed. Putting a sealer on the inside surface after the fact is useless. The efflorescence will build up under the sealer and force it off. This was a constant problem in the light house towers that had failing outer protective coatings (usually thick paint), and much newer brick buildings (boat haul-out structures and such) that I dealt with.

I put an epoxy coating on my floor AFTER the building was up. I went with a medium gray and left the speckle flakes out of the epoxy. In my opinion, searching for a small screw or washer etc would be MUCH more difficult if the floor was speckled.

Link to video.

You may consider the wire mesh they use between the horizontal joints. You only have two block high so it may not be necessary.

Today I got all the rebar cut to length. I marked the lay out for drilling the concrete to set the rebar. I spent a minute or two on the phone with Alvin, picking his brain.
Brian, what type of coating would you recommend? Phil, I not sure I'm going to add anything other than the rebar as it's only 2 courses,

Will there be pizza and beer at this barn raising? Is Yuenglings available there? I'm just checking my schedule and need to know.

There are lots of exotic sealers on the market, but honestly you could use something from your local hardware store. I would recommend the product be a water based Silane product. I did a quick search and came up with this option:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VITAL-C...er-and-Water-Repellent-VCX4405/314241631

These kinds of products are the simplest to use since you can spray them on with a basic garden-type sprayer. You don't have to mask off anything, like if you were using one of the latex paint style products.

Hope that helps.

I made some progress on the rebar today. I set the rebar into slab 4 inches with epoxy. Once the epoxy has a chance to cure I will start settling the corner blocks.
I bought a Bosch SDS Hammer Drill from a pawnshop this week, using this to drill the holes for the rebar was like butter. I had priced a new Hammer Drill ($300.00 - $400.00) I thought I got a good price on this used one at $120.00, even had the case and a few bits.

I have finally gotten the first course of locks set. Seems that there is a shortage of people willing to take my money for work. I had my nephew jump in on the project but he didn't seem up to the task, he had worked in construction but not with masonry

I was tired of waiting for someone else to call and decided to take care of it myself. I'm not afraid of a challenge but really didn't want .y first attempt at laying blocks to be something I would look at for the rest of my life. I started on the back wall and just worked wat way around. The hardest part for me was trying to get the mixture to the right consistency, that's a trade secret I guess.

Once I set the second course I will fill the voids with concrete and set the "J" bolts for the walls.

You should have called me! I was the “chief block layer” for the Jericho Construction Company. Haha! (That’s an old one from the TV show Get Smart.)

I would love to build a shop/garage but I don't have the room. Municipal rules say that only a certain percentage of your property can be used for additional buildings. I have a garage built in 1934 into which my truck fits like a glove - literally. Can only open one truck door and cannot walk around the truck if the overhead is down.
I still have about 5% room available which means I could widen the garage by 4 feet but not worth the cost. However I am glad that at least I have a garage to house my truck.

An update on some of my progress. I have 2 courses of block set around 3/4 of the perimeter, I still need to fill most of the blocks but have completed one section.

I will leave one side wall for last, I need to move the shed I currently working out of prior to finishing that area. The an is to frame the walls and add the trusses and metal roofing so I will have a covered area to down load the shed. I'm handling everything twice but it seems the best option as I can't move the shed while it's loaded.

Looking good! Have you done a cost comparison between doing it all in block vs wood framing? With todays lumber costs block might be cheaper and it doesn't need siding...

Mike B

Mike B, I know the price of lumber is sky high but blocks aren't cheap either. I don't have the skill set to build a12 ft block wall, I can handle framing.

I have worked in both block buildings and steel , I prefer being able to mount plumping or electric without running conduit or boring holes through concrete blocks.

Bought a load of lumber this week, this should get most of my framing done. I tried to purchase lengths that would give me the least waste. I also worked on laying out the sill plates.

Going forward I'll post the actual total of the materials, the lumber was $1038.20.

Yikes! Probably why I haven't bought the lumber yet to replace my fences!

Up here in northern NH? lumber prices, concrete and roofing, siding, misc. supplies are up 60-100% plus from two plus years ago before the pandemic. Designed a shop addition to stick frame and decided to hold off. For the same price two years ago - the size of the building would have been 50% larger than the same price paid today. Ugggh! Inflation - recession, material shortages, supply chain issues, deliveries,....it hurts hard in the back pocket where my wallet remains.

I have a section in the yard of 8 foot high piles of stacked pine I logged and milled and several piles of stacked pine beams...was going to save these for another day - but seeing that prices are so high now - I may end up timber framing and using up these materials than buying dimension lumber. My timber framing skills are basic - so I need to take another class to do that. Might as well use up what's on hand than buying at inflated prices.

Keep sharing your shop project. Its helpful to see how and what you are doing and helping me think that maybe I should tackle the foundation myself too. NIce work!

This is the cost associated with this project so far: $5797.06

I originally poured the slab, 28' x 40', in 2012: $4200.00

Concrete blocks: $277.00 (200)
Concrete Mix 80 Lbs. bags : $198.69 (22)
Hardware (rebar, J-bolts, deck screws): $83.17
Lumber ( 60-2"x4"x12'
8-2"x4"x16'
4-2"x6"x16'
8-2"x8"x16') : $1038.20

I had 10 80 Lbs. bags of Type "S" mortar donated to me by a friend

Keep that lumber strapped together while it’s sitting there or you may end up with pieces that get too twisted to use. Lookin good!

And keep it out of the sun so it dries evenly...

Mike B

And cover it with a loose tarp

All of the lumber is pressure treated, the lumber yard had it bundled out in the yard. I have it tarped and set along the side of the house in the shade.

I'm going to use deck screws to assemble everything, I don't have a nail gun and honestly prefer the holding power of screws. I don't claim to be a professional carpenter but learned a lot from my Dad and Grandpa, both were great at building anything. I did all the drawings for the permits, just hope it looks as good when it's done.

Nail guns are cheap considering how much time you save. You'd be surprised the holding power of those nails.

John

I agree! The nails are treated to help them hold.

I will have to price a decent nail gun. I would like to have a cordless but I do have a compressor for a pneumatic type. If I purchase a cordless I would like to stick with DeWalt as I already have several tools, batteries and chargers. Any recommendations?

Find a gun that has a popular nail associated with it. My pneumatic DeWalt uses 22 degree, 16d and smaller nail. Great gun, but trying to find 22 degree nails is getting harder to do. Usually Amazon has what I need and DeWalt makes rebuild kits still.

I have pneumatic, never tried a cordless.

John

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case...make sure the nails are rated for the pressure treated wood as common nails will rust away in a few years.

Mike B

Stopped by Lowe's after work just to look at Nail Guns. The cheapest was over $200.00 and wouldn't handle the size of nails I would be using. The cordless versions were twice as much as the pneumatic and you still had to have a battery and charger, no DeWalt's though.

I may just go with my original plan and use decking screws, I can get 5 lbs. for around $30.00.

For a short time usage run by your local Pawn Shop. Educate yourself on exactly what you need, then when you find one negotiate for a good price, insisting on a “It better work” warranty with the shop owner. Talk to him about what your doing and that you might just bring it back to “Pawn” it when your done. That way he makes $ twice. Offer to take him for a ride in your truck when finished. It doesn’t hurt to have a Pawn Shop guy as a friend.

Most municipalities don’t allow PT lumber inside buildings, so you better check with you code enforcer before you use it.

I prefer to use plain old SPF 2x’s because they are kiln dried and resist twisting and warping much better that PT. You won’t need treated nails for PT wood which is twice the cost. I have a Bostitch framing gun (pneumatic) and dragging a hose around is not a big deal. My Dad was a carpenter (before nail guns,) he (and the trade) used 8 and 12 penny nails for framing. 8 (2-1/2”) for toe nailing and 12 penny (3-1/4”) for everything else. You can really get away with 10 penny (3”) for everything with a nail gun and just add a few more nails for the 12 penny applications.

There are plenty of Bostitch nailers in the pawn shops. Check it out, you won’t be sorry.

I suppose that being in the South may have something to do with this but my county doesn't consider a "Garage" to be indoor space. Actually the only consideration for a permit was the square footage of the building, the permit was accessed at $0.25 per foot. Even if I add HVAC it's still not listed as "Heated" space.

The main reason was using PT over common was purely cost. A 2"x4"x12' was $15.38 for common and $9.99 for PT.

Still looking into the nail gun.

Craig,

Pressure Treated dimensional lumber is also less expensive than common here in Colorado. I just bought some to deck a trailer I just built, and was very surprised to learn this.

I pray this never happens, but if it does, please be safe in case of a fire. When PT burns, it outputs a poisonous gas that is way more dangerous than the smoke it makes. I think this might be the reason it's not allowed for the construction of walls for human occupied indoor spaces.

Your project looks really great.

David

Well as things go I got my feelings hurt... BAD! I had priced trusses awhile back and thought maybe the price wouldn't have changed that much, WRONG. The quote as of yesterday was $5900.00, that was for 28, 3/12 pitch with a span of 28ft (delivered).

I may have a work around. I have a 12" tall I-beam that I could run the length of the shop and stick build the rafters off of that. I realize that the pitch would be less, I could work with a 24" rise as we don't deal with snow loads here. The cost of the lumber to do this with a 24" on center build would be just over $2000.00, or $1300.00 with a 36" on center. Keep in mind that I still need to purchase the roof panels and hardware.

Still need to crunch some more numbers and do a little "Jethro Bodine" ciphering on this.

3/12 is a pretty shallow pitch on a roof, what are you using for the roofing material (shingles or metal)?

What is the actual size of your 12" beam and is it rated to span the distance carrying the roof? Will there be columns under the beam or is it clear span?

Mike B

I would try to raise that peak to a minimum 3/12 and better yet 4/12. The greater the slope, the less issues you will have with your roof and you’ll be able to use whatever roofing material you want.

If the beam is rated for the span and load, you can build post on each end to raise that beam as high as you want.

Phil, I had to go back a research the Roofing Code for Ga. I want to use metal roofing panels and the minimum pitch for these is 3/12. I allow need to verify the rating on the steel beam, I'm sure it is more than adequate to support the roof without center posts but I will verify this.

The roof line on our house is a 3/12 pitch, I would like to have the shop roof look close too if not match the house, that is purely for ascetics.

I have also checked on roll up doors, I am required to have a wind rating of 110 MPH. A 10'x10' door door to meet this rating will run me about $1250.00 each plus delivery.

3/12 with a metal roof would be great! I have metal roof’s on both my house and garage and think it’s the only way to go. Ouch on those roll up doors. I’m sure the metal for the roof won’t be cheap

My 10 x 10 doors are barely wide enough. They do allow good ventilation when the shop is hot.

I know that the 10 x 10 doors are just big enough, going larger would just be too much out of the pockets. As for the metal roof, let's just say I know a guy. I've been told that I can get the sheeting cut to length for under $3.00 a linear ft.

I had an interesting discussion with a friend who is a Mortgage lender, he thinks that now with the interest rates going up again that the price of materials will come down drastically. I suppose we'll need to wait and see as I will still need to sheet the sides.

Made a lot of progress today. I enlisted some help and got two walls framed and set in place. So far it's been a lot of labor and plenty of head scratching.

I’m envious of the size of your shop but I’m not envious of the labor involved.
Three very hard working gents built mine in 13hrs. No kidding.

Since your waiting on sheathing, there will be nothing preventing the walls from racking. Level your studs than nail a couple diagonals at a 45° angle to your studs. Make sure you start at a side and finish on the top or bottom plate to create a triangle. Apply them to the inside so you can sheath without removing them. Once sheathed, they can be removed

Phil, we had diagonals in place while we set the walls and removed them afterwards to square things up. Once it was all level and plumb we put the diagonals back in place just as you said to hold everything. Jay, it's been a lot of work but it's great to step out the door and see the walls coming together.

I worked on the front wall section today. I framed what I could untill I complete a section of the roof and move the shed. Was on my own today so I wasn't able to set the front wall, hopefully I can get that done in the next few days.

For now though here are a couple of pictures.

I see you already pressed the lift into service.

Looks like it's coming along well.

Love the chop saw extension!

Your shop is looking great. Thanks for sharing your progress.

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts and interest in this project.

I was thinking about the last time I was involved with building a structure, it was with my Dad and Grandpa, both are gone now. I'm glad I had the chance to learn somethings from them before they past. My dad and Grandpa had built several houses together over the years, I only got to be a short part of that but now I'm glad I was.

Not wanting to criticize but I normally apply double studs at the header. One stud just as you have it with the extra stud under the header thus allowing it to rest on the extra stud. Too late to change it now as the header would need to be 3 inches longer (1.5 inches each way). Should work either way. Make sure to use plenty of nails as that is supporting the weight of the header and that portion of your roof. Something else you could do is apply sheeting inside and out cut in an "L" profile for added support.

Otherwise looking good.

John

Which way are you positioning the roof trusses...Gables on the sides or front/back? If on the sides to match the house you really need to fix the header so you have a King and Jack stud on both sides of the door to carry the roof load. If the gables are on the front and back, you might be OK until the inspector shows up.

Mike B

John, Mike...
I left an additional 3 inches to the door opening to allow for a second stud. The additional stud will actually be a 2 x 6 running from the slab to the header. the area for the door frame will be boxed to allow the roll up door to have an adequate mounting surface.

As for the roof, the gables will be on the side to match the house. I am working out the framing now, the trusses will be set 24 inches on center.

Attaboy about the Jack Stud! Looking good! Carpentry can be like riding a bicycle. Once you learn the basics and principles, the skill is not forgotten even after a long wait or years of not driving nails. If I lived in the neighborhood I would help you frame and lift the wall sections. I built my shop wall sections in 12’ lengths so I could lift alone. That was 25 years ago. Now, those sections would need to be 8 feet long.

Here is a book that helped me build mine without help:

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Alone-Tips-Techniques-Building/dp/1561585459

Tom,
I'm used to doing thing by myself, I even had a plan for lifting the wall section into place. I have a HOA named Linda that's 4' 9" that said "NO".

I was going to attach a 10k rated strap to the opposite footing an loop it over the post on my lift and use a come-along to winch it it place. well the "BOSS" caught me rigging it all together and put the brakes on the whole process. I have tried to explain to her that in a past life I was a Combat Engineer and trained to handle unique situations, she still said "NO". Happy wife happy life, so now I'll wait a couple of days and get the crew together to set this wall.

yeah, I get it. Best to wait if you know extra hands and strong backs are on the way. What's the rush? Sometimes, as you know, its best to slow down to speed up. I always had to "work on" my patience at times wanting to see how the project will look and forcing myself to take it one step, one bolt, one cut at at a time. Most certainly it is a disciplined mindset to accomplish outstanding work and results you can live with. Good posting!

Tut,
Have you considered renting a nail gun? When finished just return the gun.
Type brunswick,ga. nail gun rental in your browser.
All sorts of options in your browser
Harold[b][/b]

I dream of a garage in which I can make a U-turn.

Worked a lot on the framing this weekend, set the front wall and started the area for the breezeway.

I have settled on building my own trusses, the lumber will be about $1800.00 and the labor free. I plan on using a jig for the layout to keep all the trusses uniform. I want to run them 24 in on center. As the only weight that will supported is the roof panels I think 2x4's will be more than sufficient to use for truss framing.

I have a lot yet to work out on measurements and angles for cuts. More head scratching.

Looks great! Good when a plan comes together 😀

Are you building a standard truss, scissors truss or a truss with storage? I wish I had used a scissors truss to gain more ceiling height for at least half or 2/3 of floor space and other 1/3 for loft storage. Everything is a tradeoff. I built my own trusses too, but paid a structural engineer friend in beers and a dinner to give me the snow loads and design. 2x8 Rafters, 2x6 bottom chords... 24" o.c. 9/12 pitch. I don't think you need to worry about snow loads in Georgia - unless that freak storm drops a few feet. In hindsight - I should have just hired a truss company to build and deliver them...a lot of work. (to be honest, consider 2x6 rafters and bottom chords)

You can try a chalk layout on your shop floor for a full scale to layout a model truss and check your angles after calculating them.

Trigonometry and Pythagoras are your friends (many know this and just need a refresher...as for me? I had to start all over and re-learn these math skills). If there is a local HS math teacher there, buy him or her some beers and a dinner - and sit there to do the calculations for angles and lengths. (don't forget to add the rafter tail length after you calculate the rafter length...and a little extra to snap a chalk line on the tails after the trusses are up to make a nice straight fascia line.)

There are Trig Apps too to download into your phone. You will know several variables: the 90 degree angle, length from the one half of building width, Height of the roof - that will give you two legs of the triangle and more than likely you can calculate the hypotenuse (rafter) , opposite and complementary angles.

You may calculate the angles in 100th's of an inch. If you can acquire a framing square in 100th's that will help. Bit not necessary - just convert inch fractions to decimal....but you know this anyhow.

Tom,
I searched the web for truss calculators and found several that give you the the corrected angles and lengths required. The two truss builders I have locally were going to frame a standard truss from 2x4's, the overall length would be 28ft with a 3/12 pitch. I had thought of using 2x6's for construction but the cost almost doubles. Given that the overall roof load will only the roof panels, trim and hardware and a 26 gauge panel is 0.88 lbs per sq foot I believe 2x4's 24in on center will be more than sufficient.

The last snow that had any accumulation here was in 1989, that was 2 inches. For me the main concern is the wind rating and hurricane fasteners required by code. We are required to add steel strapping to the trusses at the point where they meet the top plates every 48 inches. I lean toward the side of caution and will more than likely double up on the requirements and add strapping on each truss.

I have several sheets of 1/2in plywood left from another project and considered using these to form an actual pattern for the trusses, I think it will aid in keeping my framing uniform. I will be ordering the lumber this week so I will need to make a decision.

You are well on your way! Nice job. I almost didnt go into details - but posted anyhow for the curious minded who will read this long after I am gone. I admire your effort!

Ordered more lumber for the trusses this morning. 80 2x4x16's, came in at $1168.35, got a 10% Veterans discount for this weekend. Every nickel counts. I'll pick up the lumber the first of the week.

10% is alot of nickels at apr $110 of saving to get to your $1100 bill. Thank for your service... hopefully many more nickels will find there way to ya...

Coming along nicely.

I picked up the lumber purchased for the trusses this week. I'm still waiting on the last delivery of truss plates, should be here this afternoon. I'm going to start layout for trusses this week, I plan on building a jig after I get all the measurement for the first truss. I figure that by using a jig I can keep the the trusses uniform and avoid any problems with the layout. I'll post some pics as thing progress.

Concrete blocks: $277.00 (200)
Concrete Mix 80 Lbs. bags : $198.69 (22)
Hardware (rebar, J-bolts, deck screws): $83.17
Lumber ( 60-2"x4"x12'
8-2"x4"x16'
4-2"x6"x16'
8-2"x8"x16') : $1038.20
80-2"x4"x16' : $1168.35
truss Plates : $900.48