Yet another shop build.... McFarlane

[mark mcfarlane]

After a 9 month battle with the local water district over an easement, we started clearing the land for my new shop today. It was amazing to watch these guys clear the land.

We had three 80-100' pine trees removed and about a dozen smaller ones.

One of the tall trees was 2 feet off my back porch. They didn't drop a single branch or even a pine cone on the porch.
A 60 year old man trimmed his way up to the top of the 100' trees, then cut off 3'-4' sections from the top, working his way to the ground. Took him about 1:15 per tree. I posted a picture of the stump and porch to get a feel for how big this tree was.

The dozen or so smaller trees (30-50') got chomped up by a guy in an an excavator. It was amazing to watch him strip the limbs, break the trunks into sections, pile them neatly, and load up the dumpster bins from his air conditioned cab.

Rained off and on, didn't slow anyone down. I felt bad for the older guy 100' up in the tree with rain and wind but he wasn't going to climb the tree twice.

My wife and I watched them work all day. I shot a bunch of video that someday I will edit and share.


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Tomorrow the brick comes off the side of the house that abuts the shop ( I decided I didn't want a brick accent wall), then we dig for the slab. Should have a piered slab in another week or two.

[mark mcfarlane]

One quick note, the big tree next to my porch didn't need to be removed for the shop. In fact, it wasn't on my land but my wife talked the owner of the golf course into letting us pay to cut it down. It was near our bedroom and if a hurricane blew the top off, as they do, we likely wouldn't survive.

[Bruce Page]

Exciting! When will you move in?

[mark mcfarlane]

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The plan...

[Bryan Lisowski]

Good luck with the build. How big is the new shop going to be? Too bad you couldn't have kept some of the large tree to mill and build something for the house or shop as a momento.

[mark mcfarlane]

Exciting! When will you move in?

Hopefully early September, weather permitting,... If I'm real lucky, late July. Met with the electrician today for a few hours.

[mark mcfarlane]

Good luck with the build. How big is the new shop going to be? Too bad you couldn't have kept some of the large tree to mill and build something for the house or shop as a momento.

I kept a short branch, maybe 5" in diameter to make 'something'. The shop side is a hair over 1000 sq feet. No spray room, which I'll probably regret, but there is a dedicated machine room. I'm doing some electrical and DC ducting through the slab, so I won't have too much flexibility after I move in, unless I abandon the ducting and electrical.

[Jim Becker]

I'm really glad you're "getting this show on the road"!! Very exciting!

[mark mcfarlane]

Here's a 4 minute look at the 1:30 that it took to cut down one of the 100' pine trees on our lot. This one wasn't in the way of the shop, but made me nervous (too close to the house) and dropped a LOT of sap and pollen on our porch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGc6F2qOYsw

[Bruce Page]

Thanks, that was a gas to watch! I don't know what kind of money he makes but it isn't enough!

[Tim Bueler]

What a great video! Like my wife said, that is a well oiled team!

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks, that was a gas to watch! I don't know what kind of money he makes but it isn't enough!

We'll see when the invoice comes, but I'm expecting about $500-700 per tree for the big trees + hauling charges ($400 per bin, we filled 4 or 5 bins from the lot). The 'tree toppings crew' cleared 3 trees in my yard and ran off to do another job the same day. The 'excavator' spent 1.5 days clearing off other smaller trees but these 3 90' pine trees were too big to just drop, they had to be 'topped'.

[mark mcfarlane]

The slab was poured today. 7 truckloads of 3000 PSI cement. A crew of 12 working the cement, plus 4 others driving trucks and running the pumper truck. Lots of steel. 8' Bellbottomed piers. That's the good news.

Unfortunately, walking the slab this evening I noticed something didn't look right. Turns out the plumbers misplaced my in-floor 6" DC pipe by 3 feet (to be used for a 5-combo machine), which throws a real monkey wrench in my current machine layout. The electrician did his placements correctly. It would have been better if they both made the same mistake.

Moving the DC 3' requires shifting the combo machine 3', which now gets in the way of an aisle that was 4 feet, and will now be 1 foot when the 8' slider is all the way back on the infeed side. I suspect it will be rare that I cut 8', I am not a cabinet shop. That same 3' move puts the in-slab electrical feed for the combo machine underneath the machine, and puts the in-slab electrical feed for the stock feeder in a trip-hazard location.

I am kicking myself for not measuring the plumbing before the pour. The plumbers made 2 other mistakes that were caught and rectified before the steel went in, they were measuring from the wrong reference, which would have put several walls about a foot off.

Should have been a fabulous day but I feel like ****. Pics to come.

[mark mcfarlane]

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[Peter Aeschliman]

Bummer, man. Sorry to hear that. But I bet you figure out a good solution!

[Steve Southwood]

Pretty simple really. Tear it out, have the plumbers pay for it. 3" miss is correctable, 3-0 is inexcusable. Hold them accountable

[Malcolm McLeod]

Pretty simple really. Tear it out, have the plumbers pay for it. 3" miss is correctable, 3-0 is inexcusable. Hold them accountable

Accountability can be a real problem for anyone contracting for a one-time event. A builder or full-time GC has the next job, or next 10 jobs, as leverage to get a sub to 'make it right'.

Unfortunately a home-owner, who's typically a one-off job for a given sub, has no such advantage. The internet and forums (like SMC!) have made negative advertising a risk for subs who practice their profession in a slip-shod manner, but many just change their name (if they have one) and move on.

It becomes a balancing act for the owner- - when does my fix-it demand reduce the sub's profit to 0%. Many will walk away at that point. This is Texas, and I'll let you paint your own picture of the job market for the trades here.

Mark, best wishes with the build!

[Steve Southwood]

I think I will stop right here, before I get this thread locked. Enjoy the shop, hope it gets better, as it goes along.

[Roger Green]

If it were me, I'd fix it now. Cut the concrete, move the pipe and pour a patch. I've had to do it myself. Good luck & have fun.

[mark mcfarlane]

If it were me, I'd fix it now. Cut the concrete, move the pipe and pour a patch. I've had to do it myself. Good luck & have fun.

The soil in Houston is problematic due to its high clay content and moisture changes. I paid about $1600 (I think) for the slab design. Deep bell bottom piers, 2' thick concrete beams, lots of rebar....

Cutting into the slab is a little scary, but I will consult with the engineer. I do think we can extend without cutting into a concrete beam. I'll probably hear back from the GC today, I emailed him last night.

The master plumber (on site during the dig), and the GC both should have caught this problem after the pipe was laid but before the beams got dug, termite treatment performed, plastic laid, and then the steel went in.

FWIW, the slab prep process was somewhat interesting. Lots of different crews working for the better parts of 7 days.

[mark mcfarlane]

Accountability can be a real problem for anyone contracting for a one-time event. A builder or full-time GC has the next job, or next 10 jobs, as leverage to get a sub to 'make it right'. ...
Mark, best wishes with the build!

FYI, I have a GC. 70 year old guy that builds 'nice' homes. Same guy that built my house.

[John K Jordan]

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It's so exciting when it all starts to come together!

Large bummer about the plumbing. That, plus the cost, is the reason I did my shop myself, from clearing, compacting, and leveling to forming and rebar to the underground electrical and light switches - any big goofs and I can only blame myself. Of course it took me several years! (And still not completely done - just needs a little "trim"!)

I look forward to more pictures. An updated floor plan diagram with tool placement and such would be fun - I love looking at other's ideas.

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

... (And still not completely done - just needs a little "trim"!)...
JKJ

I'm marking the date. Will get back to you John in 5 more years.

[mark mcfarlane]

A few more layout pics, as requested

[mark mcfarlane]

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And the view from my bandsaw location...

[Rick Fisher]

Great Project Mark ..

Are you going to pipe compressed air through the walls and ceilings ? I finished my shop about 8 months ago, compressed air in the walls and ceilings is the #1 favorite .. Dust and wiring under the floor is a close #2 ..

Have fun I will keep checking in ..

[mark mcfarlane]

Great Project Mark ..

Are you going to pipe compressed air through the walls and ceilings ? I finished my shop about 8 months ago, compressed air in the walls and ceilings is the #1 favorite .. Dust and wiring under the floor is a close #2 ..

Have fun I will keep checking in ..

Thanks Rick for the reminder, I do plan to pipe air to a few places. Not copper, but one of those plastic kits designed for shop air distribution. I already have an HVLP turbine, so the air will be mostly for dusting and nail guns at the bench.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks Rick for the reminder, I do plan to pipe air to a few places. Not copper, but one of those plastic kits designed for shop air distribution. I already have an HVLP turbine, so the air will be mostly for dusting and nail guns at the bench.

I installed the 1/2" RapidAir pipe and fittings across the attic and in the walls. No problems. It is so nice to have air outlets at the wood lathes, sharpening, etc., without having to drape a long hose across the room. In the bay area next to a garage door I put a reel with a 50' hose - air up tractor tires outside and run impact wrenches inside and out. Another outlet is outside on the other end of the shop - I use it more than I imagined to blow the junk off chainsaws, when shearing llamas, etc. Another one in my little weld shop for the plasma cutter and one by the milling machine/lathes. 8 outlets all together.

I don't remember if you discussed this earlier but putting the dust collection and air compressor in a sound-isolated spot is a big plus. I put all my filters, valves, regulator, and electrical cutoff outside the closet where I can access it easily in the main shop. If you can swing copper for the first 25' or so before the water separator/dryer/filter and distribution manifold I understand it will give the hot air from the compressor time to cool and condense the moisture and keep it out of the lines. I haven't done this yet but it's on my list to get done (in the next 5 years!) I plan on making a loop around the inside of the noise closet with the pipe sloped toward a water trap.

Your shop diagrams look good. But I don't see the woodturning alcove.

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

... I don't see the woodturning alcove.

JKJ

There is a lathe along the left wall by the machine room. I didn't label it because I don't plan to buy one for at least a few years. My wife has expressed an interest in turning so we'll see what happens.

The 6'*7' machine room will house electric cutoffs, the j-box for he shop, air compressor and DC. Exterior-grade door, insulated.

[Jim Andrew]

Just got through reading about your problem with the plumber. In my building career, the biggest problem people to work with were plumbers. Think the only reason some have jobs is because of licensing. But the thing is, you could have run the DC piping yourself. No licensing of piping for a DC.

[mark mcfarlane]

...But the thing is, you could have run the DC piping yourself. No licensing of piping for a DC.

I thought about that, but only briefly.

The plumbers used a riding trench digger to put in the trench. I specified 45 degree bends so the trench goes fairly deep.

We are building in a forest and had to cut down two 100' tall pine trees plus maybe 15 other shorter trees within the area of the slab. Some of the horizontal roots in the trench were 5" in diameter. Plus the soil is a very dense, plastic clay. Digging that trench by hand would have taken me several days and probably laid me up with back pain before I could have finished the job.

[mark mcfarlane]

Met with the plumber and GC this afternoon. Plumber is coming back in a few days to cut the slab and redo the DC run. Framing crew arrives Thursday, should have the walls up and the walls and roof sheathed by next Monday afternoon... Not a bad schedule - ~3 weeks from clearing the land to having the structure in place.

[Tim Bueler]

I am kicking myself for not measuring the plumbing before the pour. The plumbers made 2 other mistakes that were caught and rectified before the steel went in, they were measuring from the wrong reference, which would have put several walls about a foot off.

Pics are great! Great, too, that it sounds like the GC and plumber are going to rectify their mistake. Hopefully your concrete guy is as good as mine and makes a seamless repair. I remember the day my slab was poured as being a "OK, now we're movin' forward" kind of day. Leading up to that I also had plumber troubles. There were 4 penetrations in the slab, every one was off. The plumber I used gave the same excuse as yours...wrong reference point. Fired!

Good luck! It'll be exciting to see pics of the walls going up!

[Van Huskey]

While I know I am jumping ahead a little all this talk of concrete has me curious, how to you plan to finish the shop floors?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Mark,
Glad to hear the mistake is to be corrected. From your other threads, I suspect you might have invested more hours planning this than than you'll have in construction labor. So, I'll bet its a relief not to have to redesign your entire layout.:D

I GC'd my own house, and 'my' plumber was a prince. He had just hung out his own shingle after years working for another company. After rain and mud slowed their start, he and his 'crew' (aka helper) busted their hump to get the rough work completed on a Friday evening, so concrete could start as planned on Monday AM. He called to inform me they were done and reluctantly asked if it was too late to cut a check for the agreed 1/3 of quote (1/3 each at completion of rough/top-out/final trim). I had been traveling, but when I got home I drove out to the construction site and wrote him a check. He seemed overly grateful.

I found out later that it was the only way he could pay his helper for the last 2 week's work. My brother is in the construction business and I learned from him that more typical is sub's get paid Friday for work completed up to COB on Thursdays. Some builders even have a 'previous Friday' work cutoff.

There was not a single mistake or issue with the plumbing. He even came back out and repaired a Pex leak from the idiot drywall'er who used at least one 2-1/2" screw in a wet-wall to go around the nail plate the plumber installed.

Other subs were not as joyful to work with. The foreman of the cornice crew threatened to kill the framer during a fight. (They were fighting over who got to cut up my 2x10 collar ties so they could use them as staging - while I bought more ties.) The roofers left raw chicken tossed up under the trim molding rack in the garage (lovely after 3 days in the Texas sun). Cheeseburgers in my attic (I was lucky. My brother has found 'processed food' in a couple of attics.)

I'll spare you the rest, but perhaps it will explain my pessimism and cautioning about the building process. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was about to start digging graves in my back yard to-be. ...Some people are worth fighting for. Others? Not so much.

Best wishes and keep your eyes open.

[mark mcfarlane]

While I know I am jumping ahead a little all this talk of concrete has me curious, how to you plan to finish the shop floors?

Right now I'm looking at engineered oak flooring. I recently had my existing garage (not the new shop) epoxied with a very high flake/solids mix and it looks beautiful, but the cost was about $2.66 sq/foot. I can get interlocking 2mm engineered oak from Lumber Liquidators for $2.50 + installation. I can probably install it myself for about $1.50 sq/foot for underlayment and adhesive.

Not matter what I put down, cushioned mats are in the plan. I'm using the SAM's Club interlocking mats now and they work pretty well, which kind of raises the question - why do anything to the floor other than cover it in interlocking rubber tiles...

[mark mcfarlane]

Mark,
Glad to hear the mistake is to be corrected. From your other threads, I suspect you might have invested more hours planning this than than you'll have in construction labor. So, I'll bet its a relief not to have to redesign your entire layout.:D
...

I think you are right, I spent about a year working on half-a-dozen 3 models, several hundred hours of work.

I think most of my subs are getting paid onsite when they complete a stage. At least I know a few of them have been 'cause I've seen the GC write the checks. I am prepaying for the 'next work stage' as the job progresses. Slab and framing are already paid for by me.

I'm doing my own site cleaning every day. Today I spent a couple hours with a shovel and wagon leveling around the slab and the framing kit staging area and dumpster so no one trips or twists an ankle. I'm kind of a safety nut so I'll find any leftover food the day it happens.

The build includes a recording studio, which is in essence like a semi-large 1 bedroom apartment. It is taking me much longer than I expected to source the doors, locks, tile, flooring, plumbing fixtures,... I'm splurging on the doors, locks, fixtures, etc. Shaker and Craftsman doors, solid brass lock sets,... Turns out I need 7 exterior doors and 4 interior doors, although 3 of exterior doors are actually interior: machine room and two passage doors between the shop and garage and shop and recording studio that will each have thresholds and weather stripping. The shop and studio will have independent HVAC systems.

My plan is to build a 48" vanity out of solid oak with my TS55 and Domino, but I haven't been able to find the time because the build is going so fast. I have a lot of strange cabling to do in the studio before the drywall goes in, + compressed air lines which I forgot about,...

[Van Huskey]

Right now I'm looking at engineered oak flooring. I recently had my existing garage (not the new shop) epoxied with a very high flake/solids mix and it looks beautiful, but the cost was about $2.66 sq/foot. I can get interlocking 2mm engineered oak from Lumber Liquidators for $2.50 + installation. I can probably install it myself for about $1.50 sq/foot for underlayment and adhesive.

Not matter what I put down, cushioned mats are in the plan. I'm using the SAM's Club interlocking mats now and they work pretty well, which kind of raises the question - why do anything to the floor other than cover it in interlocking rubber tiles...


Check Builddirect.com for the engineered wood, the prices are similar to LL but have BD send samples and if you take them and compare I have found in every instance the quality was much better than LL when the price was similar. I bought over 2K sq ft of bamboo from them about 9 years ago and as extremely pleased with the quality. They also sell underlayment and all the other supplies needed to either glue or float.

The only issue with a full rubber tile floor is if it is hard enough to roll machines it doesn't do much for your body and vice versa. My last shop had a full flake floor, it was gorgeous BUT I could never find small parts I dropped. I think this time around I will skip the flake.

[John Jenkins4]

1+ for Builddirect. I recently bought 1,000 feet of laminate for my shop from BD for $1.59/foot. Add sound choice underlayment for 59¢ and I'm in business. If you go the laminate route, I found that a textured surface is a good idea to avoid an overly slick surface. It really is essential to get the samples to see and feel in person. Finally, watch the volume price breaks. I really only needed 900 feet, but the price break at 1000 feet meant I could get an extra 100 feet for 13 bucks.

[Jim Becker]

Mark, all of my anti-fatigue matts are from ULine, both in my shop and in my kitchen galley. (brick floor in there!)

[mark mcfarlane]

Check Builddirect.com for the engineered wood, the prices are similar to LL but have BD send samples and if you take them and compare I have found in every instance the quality was much better than LL when the price was similar. I bought over 2K sq ft of bamboo from them about 9 years ago and as extremely pleased with the quality. They also sell underlayment and all the other supplies needed to either glue or float.

The only issue with a full rubber tile floor is if it is hard enough to roll machines it doesn't do much for your body and vice versa. My last shop had a full flake floor, it was gorgeous BUT I could never find small parts I dropped. I think this time around I will skip the flake.

Thanks Van. I think I have enough space to avoid moving machines around, but I will have a few rolling carts to deal with. I built one with 4" wheels and it seems to roll OK on the rubber floor tiles.

I know what you are saying about the epoxy flakes and dropped parts. I have the same problem in my garage. I also have some Iranian and Afghani carpets in my house and they have the same problem. I have gotten used to putting my head down the floor and looking along the floor line to find small things.

Thanks for the pointer to Builddirect.com.

[mark mcfarlane]

Mark, all of my anti-fatigue matts are from ULine, both in my shop and in my kitchen galley. (brick floor in there!)

Thanks Jim, did you get the 3/8 or 5/8 versions? Anti-Fatgue or 'cadillac' surface, or something else?

[Jim Becker]

I believe I purchase the 3/8" Anti-Fatigue versions. What's nice about ULine is that they have very broad sizing options. Most of what I've purchased has been 4' wide. For a new shop like yours, it may be more economical to buy a "roll" and cut to length. The material is easy to customize, too. At my Stubby lathe, for example, I used a 5' x 6' mat and cut out for the legs so that I have material on the floor that completely covers then entire area where I might stand, both in front and at the tailstock end. Before I cut down the right side table on my slider to get a little more room between it and my J/P, the floor was completely covered between the tools. As you can see from this photo, I need to make an adjustment to fill a 16" gap and will do so at whatever point I replace the mat in the kitchen. (They only last a few years because of the uneven brick underneath) The mat in there will go to the shop and get cut up to fill in where I need more mat. :) You can also see in this photo that I cut around the J/P so the mat also covers the infeed side.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/shop/IMG_3739_zpsyfsgydr5.jpg

[mark mcfarlane]

After the framing crew was onsite for 3 hours, most of the walls are up. The schedule is to have the structure water tight by next Wednesday or Thursday.

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[Chris Padilla]

Sweet! How exciting to watch the progress! Ahh, one day perhaps...one day.... :)

[Peter Aeschliman]

Must be so fun for you, despite the concrete/DC piping setback!

[mark mcfarlane]

The DC pipe has been properly repositioned 3 feet away from the first location. A crew of 5 showed up for 3.5 hours to cut the slab and extend the pipe 3 feet and fill it in and re-concrete. Mostly they stood chatting while one guy worked. Half of the time was waiting for the framers to get out of their way. Glad I'm not paying for it.

[mark mcfarlane]

I believe I purchase the 3/8" Anti-Fatigue versions. What's nice about ULine is that they have very broad sizing options. Most of what I've purchased has been 4' wide. For a new shop like yours, it may be more economical to buy a "roll" and cut to length. The material is easy to customize, too. At my Stubby lathe, for example, I used a 5' x 6' mat and cut out for the legs so that I have material on the floor that completely covers then entire area where I might stand, both in front and at the tailstock end. Before I cut down the right side table on my slider to get a little more room between it and my J/P, the floor was completely covered between the tools. As you can see from this photo, I need to make an adjustment to fill a 16" gap and will do so at whatever point I replace the mat in the kitchen. (They only last a few years because of the uneven brick underneath) The mat in there will go to the shop and get cut up to fill in where I need more mat. :) You can also see in this photo that I cut around the J/P so the mat also covers the infeed side.

...

The rolls look interesting, but I'd have to cut my own bevels and the minimum freight charge is $131 for one 4'*60'*5/8" roll, although it appears I can get 2 rolls for the same freight cost.

Jim, I don't suppose you have tried the 5/8" mat? 40% more thickness = 40% more cost, but I've been on my feet most of the past 2 days and wish I was on clouds instead of concrete.

[Jim Becker]

While I have not tried the thicker mat, I'm sure it's very nice. The quality on these mats is good.

I don't worry about the bevels on the ends of things I had to cut. I only suggested that perhaps a roll might be cost effective because you're starting from scratch with a whole shop to equip. :) Check to see where their closest warehouse is...if it's anywhere that costs less than $100 to travel, you could pick up rather than pay freight.

[mark mcfarlane]

...Check to see where their closest warehouse is...if it's anywhere that costs less than $100 to travel, you could pick up rather than pay freight.

I checked yesterday. Carrollton, TX (NW of Dallas) is where they would ship from. 3.5 hours each way, avoiding rush hour driving through Dallas... With wear-and-tear on the truck, not a good proposition.

[mark mcfarlane]

Here are a few more pics of progress. Rough in plumbing is done, except for water heater which should happen today. Electrical starts in a few minutes and should take 2-3 days. The window locations don't show up, they are covered in Tyvek.

The neighbors think I am a bit crazy. It looks like part of the house, so they think we are building a 'mansion'.

[mark mcfarlane]

Progress has slowed down a bit. Electricians took closer to 3 weeks as opposed to 3 days. But they did an excellent job. It's actually the only crew I have been really happy with. Father-son team. Dad used to teach NEC code. Son is up on all the latest tech, generators,... They are doing a great job.

I'm on the second HVAC contractor. First one was unreliable. Second one subcontracted out the rough in and we ended up firing them as idiots. Hopefully someone will show up today to rough in the HVAC mini splits. I settled on 2 Mitsubishi cassettes for the music rooms and a Mitsubishi wall mount for the shop. Ended up costing a bit more than I expected.

Also had a miscommunication and ended up with windows that don't open. Had to repurchase 3 windows so I could get some fresh air in the shop. If anyone is in Texas and wants some free windows let me know. They were surprisingly inexpensive. Double insulated, Low E, 5'*5' for $200. 2' * 5' was $100.

Looks like the end of June for completion, if we get back on schedule... Next is HVAC, insulation, sheetrock, paint, flooring, final plumbing...

Oh ya, we can't find a brick that matches. I have someone coming out later in the week to build some test walls and hand splatter the brick by flicking mortar off a broom,.... 8000 brick to paint this way. Kind of makes me crazy. I was told the GC had brick that matched. When I asked for samples to be deliverd only the name matched, not the colors or texture. If I had known the brick was going to be a problem I would have built a detached structure, avoided the 9 month fight with the water district over an easement, and would already be working in the new shop.

One interesting thing I did (and hope it works) is put the rapidair 90 degree junctions in electrical outlet boxes. This will theoretically allow me to do fix any leaks on the last 90 degree bend after the spray foam goes in. We'll see how that works in practice.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Looking awesome, man!!! Hang in there. Once the shop is done, the frustrations will fade!

[Bill Dufour]

With a big dc pipe misplaced I question if the piers are where they need to be now. I think the structural eng needs to be in the loop at this point before you cut into the slab. How thick is the concrete above and below the dc pipe?
Bill

[Jim Becker]

With a big dc pipe misplaced I question if the piers are where they need to be now. I think the structural eng needs to be in the loop at this point before you cut into the slab. How thick is the concrete above and below the dc pipe?
Bill
That remediation work was already done a long time ago...

[mark mcfarlane]

With a big dc pipe misplaced I question if the piers are where they need to be now. I think the structural eng needs to be in the loop at this point before you cut into the slab. How thick is the concrete above and below the dc pipe?
Bill

The DC pipe runs underneath the slab, not through it. The cuts required were made between the concrete beams. Slab between beams is about 5" thick. Beams are ~30" thick, piers go down another 3-4 feet.

As Jim said, the slab cut was made about 6 weeks ago.

Spray foam is going into the walls and ceiling as I write this. Should have sheetrock up on the walls Monday, taping and all finished by the end of the week. We had a 'pause' in construction for a few weeks, so I took over driving the schedule :).

I found a solution to the brick matching problem, but it's going to require hand texturing 8000 bricks. Still cheaper than replacing the brick on the rest of the home.

[Bill Dufour]

Glad to hear the pipe misplacement was not as big a problem as it could have been. So I guess this is a pier and grade beam foundation with a slab on top? Never heard of such.
In the San Francisco area some hillside houses the foundation can be half the house cost or more. And we are talking multimillion dollars just for the foundation. All the easy sites have been built on already so only unbuildable? lots are left to build on today.
Bill

[mark mcfarlane]

Glad to hear the pipe misplacement was not as big a problem as it could have been. So I guess this is a pier and grade beam foundation with a slab on top? Never heard of such. ...
Bill

Hi Bill,

The piers are poured concrete. The beams and slab were poured together, tied together with steel (rebar). There is a pic of the beams before the slab was poured in post #14 of this thread (page 1).

[mark mcfarlane]

Not real exciting, but shows some progress. The spray foam is done. It was fun watching the spray guy walk his ladder around the room. He never got off of it. The guy trimming the foam (pictured) did cut through an AC condensate line so I need to get that fixed before the walls get sheet rocked, which is supposed to happen tomorrow (Monday).

[Chris Padilla]

Is that open or close cell spray foam there, Mark? What kind of tool is he using to cut it back? I used a longish handsaw to do mine but that is some work. It looks like he has a 3' long sawzall blade or something! I also chopped into an electrical line that had somehow gotten pushed out beyond the stud-face plane. I'm guessing the spray foam forced it out and I didn't see it until sparks and that burnt spell stopped me. That was a pain to fix. It is also a pain getting rid of all the excess chunks of foam. I like the stuff, however, as it seals well and has a very high R-value.

[mark mcfarlane]

Is that open or close cell spray foam there, Mark? What kind of tool is he using to cut it back? I used a longish handsaw to do mine but that is some work. It looks like he has a 3' long sawzall blade or something! I also chopped into an electrical line that had somehow gotten pushed out beyond the stud-face plane. I'm guessing the spray foam forced it out and I didn't see it until sparks and that burnt spell stopped me. That was a pain to fix. It is also a pain getting rid of all the excess chunks of foam. I like the stuff, however, as it seals well and has a very high R-value.

Its open cell foam. The trimmer looked like a sawzall with a 3 foot long blade on it. I tried cutting the foam with a razor to do some final trimming around outlets and in corners and it didn't cut easy, but the guys electrical machine just sheared through the foam leaving a very clean, flat surface. The R value for open celled foam isn't as good as closed cell, ~1/2 the R for ~1/2 the price. Its comparable to fiberglass batts, but with much better air resistance.

[mark mcfarlane]

...and the drywall is up. Tapers haven't shown yet, were supposed to come today. Small hole in ceiling is return vent for DC. Room to right is the machine room.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Starting to look like you mean it!:)

[Chris Padilla]

Looking good!!! Well, open-cell should be quite easy to remove...you can use your hands to rip out chunks. The closed-cell is like cement...needs cut.

But, yeah, open is about R-3.5/in and closed R-7/in. And you're right, the foam seals way way better than batts. Moving air within your walls is bad.

[mark mcfarlane]

I prototyped some molding designs out of plywood over the weekend and ordered the raw material (yellow pine) yesterday. Should arrive Thursday.

There is going to be bit of milling to do, I'm not using stock moldings although some items like the crown build are made from a couple stock pieces plus 7" strips of birch plywood as the frieze. Mostly ordered 1* FJ Pine material for casings, jambs, frieze, baseboard,...

Craftsman style. Here's a pic of the window/door casing design and the plinths and baseboard. I cut up some stair treads to make the plinths. Worked brilliantly.

[mark mcfarlane]

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Slow but steady progress. Trim is done. Brick is 90% done. Bathroom tile is 80% done. Garage door went in yesterday. It's a nice R17 door, we'll just have to see if I can get it to seal well enough to warrant the extra insulation and expense of the door. The door faces NW, so at the least I'll get some benefit from the afternoon sun baking the door. Hopefully the electrical service will be completed early next week, along with painting and final AC install.

I decided to go with a professional epoxy floor with some uLine mats and Sam's foam tiles various places. Same guy who did my garage, which is beautiful and durable.

I did the full trim treatment on the garage door. Used my Domino to piece together some left over scraps, I think there are 12 pieces of scrap in the header. Its getting closer, I should be in the shop in 2-3 more weeks... Landscaping, driveway,final grading,... to follow.

[Jim Becker]

Great progress there!

Mark, can they do that epoxy floor in a non-slip surface?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Looking great.
You'll really like the jack-shaft opener. I put in the same in my current shop and it's nice to have one less thing to hit while moving lumber ... or block the light.:cool:

[mark mcfarlane]

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My current garage floor has the same epoxy on it and it is not slippery. The surface is fairly textured, there were a lot of solids put down. Here is a pic of my current floor, showing some of the surface relief (and a little sawdust).

[mark mcfarlane]

Looking great.
You'll really like the jack-shaft opener. I put in the same in my current shop and it's nice to have one less thing to hit while moving lumber ... or block the light.:cool:

That was my thought when I paid the 2X price :). It is also extremely quiet. Very cool opener. Lots of 'features' available: phone control, motion detector for lighting, lock out, timed closing,...

[mark mcfarlane]

I built my SCMS station. It will have fold down extensions, some day...

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And the carcasses for my first 14' of cabinets is done, and finished with ARM-R-Seal inside. Eventually it will have doors and drawers, but I built it for shelfs also. Gotta jump start the shop. Hopefully the electrical meter will be gone next week and I'll have the new 400 AMP service in place (200 for house, 200 for shop, separate systems).

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I also got a 'decent' deal on a beautiful 5' chunk of granite for the sink area. It will be nicer than our kitchen sink, which may cause problems :).

This weekend I'll build some wall shelfs/cabinets...

[Peter Christensen]

Very nice workshop. If you haven't already bought the floor mats you might want to have a look at the rubber mats used in barns for horses and cattle. Made of recycled tires and about 3/4 inches thick.

Pete

[Jim Becker]

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My current garage floor has the same epoxy on it and it is not slippery. The surface is fairly textured, there were a lot of solids put down. Here is a pic of my current floor, showing some of the surface relief (and a little sawdust).

Kewel. I only asked because sawdust on a slick floor is, well...you know..."interesting". :)

[John K Jordan]

Kewel. I only asked because sawdust on a slick floor is, well...you know..."interesting". :)

AnchorSeal on concrete is also interesting.

The friend who surfaced my concrete asked me if Ii wanted it polished slick and I said "NO!"

Mark's floor looks perfect. Maybe I'll get that done when I win the lottery. Oh, wait, someone told me you can't win if you don't play...

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

Very nice workshop. If you haven't already bought the floor mats you might want to have a look at the rubber mats used in barns for horses and cattle. Made of recycled tires and about 3/4 inches thick.

Pete

I weigh a lot less than a horse. I think I should want a 'softer' mat with more flex for the max benefit to my knees and hips. At least, that's what I currently think.

[Peter Christensen]

I stood on soft mats like those at work and found my feet didn't like it because the boots would flex a little, putting more pressure on it instep. The firmer rubber of the horse mats still cushions without deforming as much. You could get one and try it for a while and see how you like it. They don't cost as much as some of the anti-fatigue mats.

Pete

[mark mcfarlane]

I stood on soft mats like those at work and found my feet didn't like it because the boots would flex a little, putting more pressure on it instep. The firmer rubber of the horse mats still cushions without deforming as much. You could get one and try it for a while and see how you like it. They don't cost as much as some of the anti-fatigue mats.

Pete

Thanks Peter. There are plenty of tack stores in my area to check them out. I currently have the cheap SAMs club foam tiles and they work amazingly well, but I want something even a little more cushy.

[mark mcfarlane]

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Ditch has been dug for electrical service. Trim has been painted. Walls should get painted today.

SCM called me and my new toys have cleared customs, so now I have to arrange for the last 50 miles of shipment (but I need a driveway poured first)

Epoxy floor is scheduled for week of July 11th, so hopefully I'll start moving in on the 16th...

[Peter Aeschliman]

So awesome, man. Congrats again. Sorry for your landscaping, but the grass will grow back. :)

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful! You've come a long way, you must be excited!

[mark mcfarlane]

I'm so tired (been working 10-12 hour days on the shop for 4 months) that it is hard to get excited. But I'll get there. I mostly just want to crank up the AC and sit in my stool...

[Jim Becker]

I'm so tired (been working 10-12 hour days on the shop for 4 months) that it is hard to get excited. But I'll get there. I mostly just want to crank up the AC and sit in my stool...
But you're retired... :D :D :D

[mark mcfarlane]

But you're retired... :D :D :D

I spent 40 years sitting at a desk.

What I've chosen to do in retirement is much more physical, but I'm also getting in better shape. Over the past 7 months I've probably restored my strength and endurance to what they were to 5-10 years ago.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, I understand...it was just too good an opportunity to pass up on, however..."retired" doesn't mean "no work"... ;)

[Peter Aeschliman]

... and sit in my stool...

Gross. But I don't judge. ;)

[mark mcfarlane]

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Still no power, but the floor is done so I moved in today. Stationary and benchtop tools start arriving next week. Lighting is 4 LED strips sitting on chairs and counter tops. Its gonna be really bright when all 30 are lit up....

I had a heck of a time tonight installing my base cabinets. Built Euro style / frameless boxes using an MFT, parallel guides, and a track saw. There is very little tolerance to the boxes not being perfectly sized/square. 1mm off in width from front to back adds up when you put 7 of them in a row and want the sides to be tight against each other.

I'm pretty sure the lengths of components are all uniform, I was very careful. I am guessing I didn't seat every dado fully. The bottoms, backs, and top braces and all dadoed. Add in a crooked wall and it took some thought and re-engineering. At least I recessed the backs so I could trim the backs where the wall bulged.

Anyway, I worked 14 hours on this today, Time for a bath, some Motrin, and bed :)

[Bruce Page]

Sweet! The floor looks really nice.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Mark, very nice. Also agree with Bruce on the nice looking floor. Best regards, Patrick

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks Bruce and Patrick.

[Chris Padilla]

Awesome, Mark, just awesome! Almost (ALMOST) makes me want to speed up time to retirement so I can do such a thing! :D

[Mike Heidrick]

Great job!!

[Malcolm McLeod]

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Still no power, but the floor is done so I moved in today. Stationary and benchtop tools start arriving next week. Lighting is 4 LED strips sitting on chairs and counter tops. Its gonna be really bright when all 30 are lit up....

I had a heck of a time tonight installing my base cabinets. Built Euro style / frameless boxes using an MFT, parallel guides, and a track saw. There is very little tolerance to the boxes not being perfectly sized/square. 1mm off in width from front to back adds up when you put 7 of them in a row and want the sides to be tight against each other.

I'm pretty sure the lengths of components are all uniform, I was very careful. I am guessing I didn't seat every dado fully. The bottoms, backs, and top braces and all dadoed. Add in a crooked wall and it took some thought and re-engineering. At least I recessed the backs so I could trim the backs where the wall bulged.

Anyway, I worked 14 hours on this today, Time for a bath, some Motrin, and bed :)

With no power, I'll assume that fan in the doorway is the HVAC (for now). Which in a Houston summer makes you a better man than I. I'd have waited til the cool day y'all have. (...I hear it's scheduled for Dec 12 this year?)

[mark mcfarlane]

With no power, I'll assume that fan in the doorway is the HVAC (for now). Which in a Houston summer makes you a better man than I. I'd have waited til the cool day y'all have. (...I hear it's scheduled for Dec 12 this year?)

That is the HVAC :). If I open up the shop doors/windows at 6AM and close it up by 8AM, it stays around 86 all day in the shop, which is manageable. Much better than the 94-96 outside. The spray foam insulation is doing its job.

[John K Jordan]

That is the HVAC :). If I open up the shop doors/windows at 6AM and close it up by 8AM, it stays around 86 all day in the shop, which is manageable. Much better than the 94-96 outside. The spray foam insulation is doing its job.

I'm sure there are plenty of people here who grew up without air conditioning like I did. My mother opened the windows at night and ran one fan then closed them in late morning - the house was always cool enough even when it was 90+ outside and I never imagined it wasn't perfect.

I have heat and air in my shop and usually keep the thermostat around 80 or higher in the summer, 79-80 in the house. I can't believe some people keep their houses at 68. I'd need a jacket and long pants.

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

I'm sure there are plenty of people here who grew up without air conditioning like I did. My mother opened the windows at night and ran one fan then closed them in late morning - the house was always cool enough even when it was 90+ outside and I never imagined it wasn't perfect.

I have heat and air in my shop and usually keep the thermostat around 80 or higher in the summer, 79-80 in the house. I can't believe some people keep their houses at 68. I'd need a jacket and long pants.

JKJ

I feel like a dehumidified 80 would feel pretty good in the shop. 86 at 72% humidity is fairly uncomfortable, but better then 95 at the same humidity.

I grew up in Chicago without AC. We wanted it for about 6 weeks in the summer, we just moved to the basement for those weeks. We had one neighbor I knew of with AC out of maybe 300 homes. I'm sure they all have central AC now. We moved to Texas in the summer of '79 with no AC in either of our cars. That was pretty miserable...

[mark mcfarlane]

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Ther' be power in the shop, matey.

The AC guys should be here any minute now. Minimax shipment came Wednesday (I arranged riggers to move it from a local terminal, not cheap but these guys were really good). New sink is working. DC arrived yesterday. Life is good.

I suspect it will take me 2-3 weeks to commission the DC and other new stationary tools, hang the lights,.... Then I need to buy a metal detector and mill up the shipping crates :).

[mark mcfarlane]

Oh ya, I built a plywood storage rack over last weekend. Got a really good idea off Youtube to use moveable vertical dividers made of 3/4" conduit (the video I watched used 1/2" conduit, but I tend to over engineer).

[Jim Becker]

Great progress, Mark! And congrats on the "hardware", err..."toys"...arrival. :)

[Chris Padilla]

Nice rack! ;)

[mark mcfarlane]

The HVAC guys showed at at 3:30 PM (for their 9AM appointment). Looks like I'm going to have my first cool weekend in the shop, while its 98 outside.

[John K Jordan]

The HVAC guys showed at at 3:30 PM (for their 9AM appointment). Looks like I'm going to have my first cool weekend in the shop, while its 98 outside.

THAT will be time to celebrate! The best thing this ol' guy has ever done was put HVAC in the shop. Above 90 or below freezing I can still play, er, work productively.

I hired a company but for an unbelievable discount they agreed to let me install the unit, wiring, ductwork, basically everything but the copper connections and the freon charge. I still can't imagine how I worked without heat and air in my last three shops.

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

Its coming along, slowly. Still haven't had time to setup the Cu300, maybe today I'll get back to it. A few updated pics, one of a 1950s era Craftsman wall toolbox - shop art. A few of the original tools are missing.

It is amazingly convenient to have running water in the shop. A first for me.

My Oneida DC is all hooked up, but I have been waiting for over a month now for them to come back with a design for the ductwork. Been calling/writing every other day. I am very disappointed.

[Andy Giddings]

Looks like a great workshop space, Mark. Light and airy with plenty of space. Hope Oneida get their finger out

[Mike Heidrick]

Is it not a ductwork plan you can figure out yourself?

[mark mcfarlane]

Is it not a ductwork plan you can figure out yourself?

Yes Mike, I can do it, but I prefer for them to send me their plan. I didn't want to spend the time figuring out all the necessary couplings/fittings, buying things that didn't quite fit. I wanted to avoid that headache.

I've been plenty busy on other projects, but if they don't do something next week I'll order the stuff myself.

[mark mcfarlane]

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I built some upper cabinets over the past week. It's coming together. I still have to commission a few new tools and get ductwork delivered and installed.

My favorite feature in the new shop is the sink. Never had one before, saves a bunch of time running into the house to clean brushes, wet down a rag for glue squeeze out,...

One item I wish I had added was a bathroom type fan to help evacuate the air. The varnish/oil I am using on the cabinets stinks for a few days, and the bugs get pretty bad this time of year, in the forrest, in Texas. Opening the windows helps, but a fan would help more.

I used my stationary belt sander on the 'finishing supplies' cabinet to square up the edges, without DC. Big mistake. Took longer to clean up the mess than if I had used the Rotex, but it was fun. Just a few seconds and the corners matched perfectly.

Natural gas whole-house generator is coming next week. It was supposed to get installed during the hurricane, which has some humor associated with it. The gene is for the house, not the shop, which is on a separate sub panel.

I'm taking a well deserved 4 day vacation next week to visit some old friends in Northern Michigan.

[Jefferey Scott]

You're shop is really organized, and really clean! Nice!

[mark mcfarlane]

You're shop is really organized, and really clean! Nice!

Thanks Jefferey. I actually keep it pretty clean, even when I am working a project I will stop every few hours and put things away, clear off the floor,...

[Todd Willhoit]

I've really enjoyed your shop build, Mark. Inspiring. My CU300 is shoehorned into a single-car space in a three-car garage and I am tripping over DC hose. What part of town are you in?

[mark mcfarlane]

I've really enjoyed your shop build, Mark. Inspiring. My CU300 is shoehorned into a single-car space in a three-car garage and I am tripping over DC hose. What part of town are you in?

Thanks Todd. We are north of Houston in Montgomery, specifically Walden. We used to live a mile or so east of the Katy city limits. 16 years ago, near Barker's Cypress and Clay Road.

I still don't have the CU300 running. I've had too many other projects related to the building completion, landscaping, and particularly getting the recording studio half of the new building operational.

I've almost finished the recording studio over the past 2 weeks. Did software yesterday and hardware testing today. Refinished some furniture for the space. I still have a bunch of low voltage cabling in the walls that need to be soldered up, but I can operate without them.

I also spent about a week setting up a new mesh network, installing security cameras, video conferencing, and automation. Most of the lighting in my house is now either on timers (outside) or controllable by voice. Its really convenient: when I leave a space I can just say 'turn out the lights', or do it from another room, or from another city. My wife can also check in on me from the kitchen.

Next week I should have all of the pieces for the DC ductwork on site, so I have some new impetus for completing commissioning of the CU300 and MM16. You can't really run a large multi-function machine without dust collection.

I added a couple grainy pics of the music studio side of the new build. I know at least Jim will get a kick out of it. I designed the moulding and milled some of the trim.


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[Jim Becker]

Darn...that studio looks great!!!! {drool...} Strangely enough, a work friend in Florida also showed me photos of his studio in Florida about an hour ago. I may or may not get to see it in early October as I'm headed down there to visit with the 'rents the day after I officially retire ( :D ) at the end of the month and he may be interested in some of my old gear.

[mark mcfarlane]

The saw function of the CU300 is operational, and dust collection is operational. Now I just need to insert the planner blades, put a blade on the MM16, and do some tuning, but overall the major pieces of the shop are finally in place. Yipee. Maybe 1 more week... then the clamp stand, wood storage,... Maybe 3 more months :).

The Nordfab ductwork was quite nice to work with. The slip-joints came in very handy when I had to hit very specific targets, like the overhead collection, the in-slab ductwork, and routing around an attic stop-down stair. The attic stair isn't perfect. I thought it was until I tried dropping the stairs and they hit the ductwork, but only slightly. Wonder if I'll ever fix that 1/2" problem... :).
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[Mike Heidrick]

Nordfab is amazing and makes my worship those of you that do true spiral up high. I cant imagine having to do the hard stuff!

Great job on thevsaw!