Garage - Next Steps

Our garage construction has taken on a turtle pace. First the electricians needed to come in...two different crews; one for the solar batteries and solar panels (on the RV garage roof), and the other crew to wire the garage for outlets and lights, as well as to put in the electrical panel. Once they finished we could move on to have the building insulated. 

The garage will accommodate two vehicles. It is deep enough for our truck,

and it is wide enough so we can easily move around the vehicles. 

There is an area in the back of the garage for lawn equipment,

bicycles, and can also house a small workshop area.

Yesterday the insulation was blown in:

First, plastic was put down, and also taped around doors and windows.

This fellow was very adept at scaffold scooting, as he mover around 

the perimeter putting batting where the roof and concrete meet.

The nozzles of the spray guns had to be cleaned.

They  were ready to roll.

Both fellows worked and the insulating was completed within an hour. 

Most of their time was spent preparing the area and heating up the mix

that turns to foam and expands, sticking to the surface. 

All done. 

 

Lonely Days

 It won't be long until all of our projects are complete. Mornings will be so very quiet without workers showing up. We will be able to lounge about in our PJ's and relax, well, that's not exactly our style. 

Today the roofing crew came to complete the metal roof on our garage. 

Our contractor has surprised us with his attention to detail.

He has always made sure that our build site and yard are picked up. 

I noticed that he came by with a new trailer for hauling building debris. 

Perhaps we paid for that with all of our projects?! 

We contracted for solar power installation months ago.

That crew showed up this morning as well. 

We had to wait a period of time before the install,

as one needs a roof for the solar panels....

so we had to wait for the RV barn to be completed!

It will be a happy day when we begin producing our own power!

Worker on the Roof

I heard the roar of an engine, and then a "thump".

I looked outside and the truck (on the right) was leaving

after having dumped trusses for our garage in our pasture. 

A few hours later, the "guys" appeared. 

This "kid" worries me when I see him walking around on top of the concrete block wall.

The crane arrived, and within 30 minutes had all of our trusses on the building.

The first truss assembly is put in place.

The last truss if placed for the roof. 

The round discs are used to support the "feet" of the crane.

The license plate on the disc tickled me. 

And just like that, the trusses are in place. 

 

Concrete Pour

Yet another concrete truck arrived at our house today. When the block is being laid some of the concrete blocks have to be chipped so the County inspector can see that the steel rods go up through the walls. Then, the holes are blocked with pieces of plywood and concrete is poured down through the walls. 

As the concrete begins to harden metal stakes are pushed into the drying concrete along the 

top wall. The trusses will be attached to the stakes. The workers also brush extra concrete off of the walls. 

A short time later the lumber company delivered a stack of lumber and sheathing

for the roof. I wondered how he was going to get those long pieces of lumber 

though our gate; no problem - just pick it up and carry it above the fence! 

 

Out of my Window....

Many years ago I used to sing a song at camp that began, "Out of my window, looking at the night, I can see the barges flickering light."

The song came to mind when I recorded the following image, captured from a camera looking 'out of my window' at home! 

While we were out of town, the cement block crew came to erect the walls of our garage. I was able to capture this picture of the men as they first arrived....and I am 550 miles from home! 

I thought I had saved a few more pics of the progress they were making, as seen by the camera in the window, but I can't seem to locate them. (That's technology for you!)

At the end of the day our builder sent us the following pictures: 

I can't wait to see the real thing when we pull into our driveway in a few days!

Tenement Town

 The block for our garage arrived! The truck backed into the dirt driveway that we use for the RV. You can see the flat bed in the distance. Each pallet of blocks was brought over by a mega fork lift. The delivery guy had already brought 6 or 7 pallets in before I even realized he was here. 

The way that the blocks are stacked, and the placement of the pallets

makes me think of tall tenement buildings in a city. 

There appear to be streets, alleys and areas for parks amongst and in between the "buildings".

The grey block reminds me of Soviet apartments we have seen in our travels. 

It won't be long before they are transformed into a garage that our two vehicles can park in. 

See' ment

Many southern folk pronounce cement as "see' ment". 

Today we get to see our next step in the garage construction.  

It was an early start...for all of us!

6:53 AM

6:59 AM

7:17 AM

7:44 AM 

8:11 AM

2:03 PM

Now we let it cure before the block walls are constructed. 

Garage - Next Step

I wrote about our having space prepared for a new garage next to the house a few weeks ago.

This week the contractor and his crew were back to prepare the slab and footings before the concrete could be poured.

The inspector came and we passed.

Concrete should be poured soon.

The girls are not happy. They loved running and wrestling on the packed sandy surface. Now the wire and plastic have taken all of their fun away! 

I am looking forward to this project being complete, not just because it will be nice to have a garage and storage for lawn and garden tools, but the sand we drag in is terrible. I am constantly sweeping, swiffering, or vacuuming, No matter how hard we stomp our feet, sand sticks to the soles of our shoes. 

 

The Hacienda: Phase III

 ....or is it Phase IV? or V?

We have completed a number of improvements on our property. We feel that we are almost "finished" and, we both know that's a joke!  We will always be adding, changing, remaking....

Today I arrived home from an errand and noticed a trailer parked on the side of the road near our gate to the barn. I pulled into the drive and lo and behold, Al was here with his excavator. He was beginning to prepare the area next to our home for our new garage (since my sewing/craft room took over the former garage!)

We wanted a place where the truck would actually fit and wanted enough space so we could easily get in or out of the vehicles. We also wanted an enclosed space at the back of the building for lawn mowers and other garden equipment, and for those sort of things that end up in garages. We've been planning the new structure for months, and we're finally ready to move ahead. The plans were submitted to our HOA for approval last week, and were submitted to the County for approval a few weeks ago. Both entities approved the plans and our builder is ready to get started. 

The tall tree trunks were left when we removed some trees that were overhanging the house earlier this year. We knew the garage was going there and the arborist knew it would be easier to have the rootballs removed if he cut them high. 

Al dug around the base of the trees, and he dug some more. 

He used the bucket to try to pull each tree over. 

The trees' roots were so ensnarled that it took a lot more digging, tugging, pushing and pulling until he could get them down. The massive root network firmly anchored them in the ground and finally the last two trees came down together. 

It's interesting to watch Al work with the excavator. (This is his "small" one!) He is so deft with the claw that he can delicately (if you can call the motion of a large steel bucket and claw "delicate"!) separates roots, pipes and pieces of concrete from the dirt. 

Towards the end of the day we had piles of remains carefully sorted for later removal,

and a drop of almost three feet at the end of the concrete.

The Corgis were a little surprised when they first ran around the corner!

That was fast work!

This morning we had trucks parked all over our yard...

none of which belonged to us.

They cut out most of the concrete in front of what once was the garage.

We will plant shrubs there to make it look like there never had

been a garage there at all!

Al continued to sculpt our back yard for drainage,

and brought in fresh dirt where they will pour the footings and 

foundation for the new building.

More amazing work by Al, who picked up the 

piece of concrete they cut out...

And placed it in the bucket of the tractor. 

It is my understanding that the next step will be placing rebar and wire.

Then we will have our first inspection before they can pour the concrete pad.

I have been so impressed with our builder/contractor. Kevin is juggling 4 or 5 garage conversions, additions and new garages. I think that he had a few contracts for houses, but people backed out the project because of too many unknowns about how the tariffs will impact prices during the span of time needed to build a home. 

Regardless, I find him to be very responsive to our concerns and jumps in to get things done. How refreshing!