The Stovebolt Forums Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Let's Build a Shop

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