Category: Workshop

TJ came over and helped me hang the two outside doors. And then I installed the new garage door. I like the carriage door look of the overhead door. I’m going to get two more of them and replace the doors on the main garage some day.

Hung the door between the garage and the workshop. This will make it super easy to move stuff between the two spaces. I had to cut off the bottom threshold of the door and the lower inch or so of the jam. I wanted the door to sit as close to the floor as possible to keep any future heat in the shop from leaking out.

Joel Miller came out again and finished up the concrete work. After getting a delivery of rock and spreading it out, he put down a vapor barrier and some steel mesh.

Concrete was coming in the morning, and we wanted to keep everything from freezing, so we set up a diesel powered heater in the garage and aimed it through a cutout in the wall. This will eventually be where the door is placed.

Concrete pour went well. I kept the heater going over the entire weekend to keep the shop above freezing. The Joel came back and cut in the control joints in the concrete. This left a horrible mess that needed to be cleaned up.

The Amish carpenters only spent two and a half days to build the workshop. That includes framing, sheathing, wrapping, the roof and shingles. As well as hinging the windows. We can’t hang the doors as of yet until the floor goes in.

I was so impressed on how well they worked together, and how there was little to no wasted motion. I helped where I could, dragging lumber around or handing roof rafters up to the men n the scaffold.

Even got a fire going in the pit with the scrap wood.

I closed up the doors with left over OSB and a tarp to try and keep the heat in. I’m also using the concrete blankets to cover the floor. I need to keep the dirt from freezing in order to pour the concrete.

The carpenters will be here in a few days. I wanted to do a little prep work ahead of time. Took down the gutter and also the soffit material. I also trimmed back the cedar siding on the back of the garage to make it easier when we tie in the new shop.

I bought several bags of vermiculite from Menards to use as insulation in the concrete block. It wasn’t that expensive, and it should help a little to keep the cold out. I did a little research and I could have used spray foam or used foam insulation on the bottom. Both of which would have been more expensive and I don’t think would have made much of a difference.

Built this “trolly” out of some scrap. I poured the vermiculite in the top and just slid it across the block, lifting it where the anchor bolts were set.

Wonder what could be under all those tarps? A truck just delivered all this from Menard’s. I saved big money. 🙂

Joel Miller and his son arrived today with his excavator to start digging the foundation for the workshop. One of the requirements I had was that the finished pad be the same level as the floor in the garage. I am going to be installing a door between the two so it would be really easy to roll things around when needed.

Got the foundation dug, inspected by the city, and poured full of concrete. He covered the footers with concrete blankets to keep them warm overnight and keep them from freezing. The important part is to not let the water freeze before it has had a chance to set up.

He came back the following day and set one and a half rows of block. He covered it all again with the concrete blanks. They’ll stay on there until the carpenters come.