Shop Build...should be a fun journey...

[Jim Becker]

I agree, Adam. The pad is going to be rock hard by September for sure! Honestly, it's already impressively hard after compaction of multiple layers.

Speaking of the pad...it's essentially complete. 115 ton of recycled concrete modified stone plus about 5 ton I scarfed from next door. I have about 10 ton of that 115 left and available for additional needs and repairing things when the folks drilling post holes mess it up. LOL Why so much stone? Excavation of about 16" of organics. That meant a total of about 28" of thickness at the back and about 16" at the front. I have some minor work to do to improve the flat/level from about a current up to 1.5" shallow in spots but will do that manually in the coming days after I move the pile of remaining stone to a more convenient place. I may also cut out and put in stone for a small apron at the big door and for a walkway in front of the man-door in my copious free time.

Last load! (of...five)

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Don't be fooled by the surface looking "rough" in the photos...it's not, but the newly applied stone is darker until it dries out.

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I have to say that I'm extremely pleased by the performance of the Big Orange Power Tool (BX-22). Yea, it's a sub-compact TLB and it was purchased new in 2001. But darn, it works hard and was lifting full buckets of that heavy modified stone mix after I did that little rejuvenation of the hydraulic pressure relief valve a few days ago by adding some shims. (multiple videos on the 'Tube show how to accomplish this with aging and/or small tractors) Darn...that little orange thing just moved, leveled and helped to compact 100 tons of stone! (Additional compaction was done by a rented plate compactor)

Other than the little detail things I'll do that's mentioned above, I may also grab back some of my extracted topsoil to feather and further stabilize the raised end of the pad. It's not like I don't have time to do it. LOL

[Tom Bender]

Jim
Have you included an egress window? It's probably not required as this may not be an 'occupied space' but with the number of hours you will be there it makes sense. Then you would need to keep it clear of obstacles. Also it might be good to have a window somewhere near the back corner just for the light and view. Of course this could be added later after the shop layout settles.

[Bob Riefer]

I may have missed it earlier - since you're building up the grade considerably, have you gone well past the actual building footprint before tapering back down to prevailing grade? (i.e., how are you ensuring the built up portion won't 'unbuild' itself)

[Jim Becker]

Jim
Have you included an egress window? It's probably not required as this may not be an 'occupied space' but with the number of hours you will be there it makes sense. Then you would need to keep it clear of obstacles. Also it might be good to have a window somewhere near the back corner just for the light and view. Of course this could be added later after the shop layout settles.

Not necessary or required. There are windows and two doors. I did consider a door toward the back, but rulled it out because the space is so small. The actual windows are sash windows so if I really, really had to exit via one of them, I would fit.

I may have missed it earlier - since you're building up the grade considerably, have you gone well past the actual building footprint before tapering back down to prevailing grade? (i.e., how are you ensuring the built up portion won't 'unbuild' itself)

Yes, the compacted base extends beyond the building foot print. I would have liked to go further than I did, but I'd then run afoul of county stormwater management planning due to disturbed square footage which would raise my cost by thousands of dollars for formal engineering, etc. The built-up areas are about to be backfilled "as we speak"...that work starts today, weather permitting. I'm not really worried in that respect. My largest concern will be that the skid steer that will be used for the drilling in September will damage my nearly perfectly flat and level, compact pad. LOL

[Adam Herman]

My largest concern will be that the skid steer that will be used for the drilling in September will damage my nearly perfectly flat and level, compact pad. LOL

the skid steer on our pad made a bit of a mess, but because it was well compacted it only took a few min for the operator to back drag the loose stuff off the top.

[Jim Becker]

the skid steer on our pad made a bit of a mess, but because it was well compacted it only took a few min for the operator to back drag the loose stuff off the top.

Yea, I'm sure I'm obsessing, but I'm sorta "proud" of how well the pad turned out, given I've never done that kind of project before! LOL

[Jim Becker]

Today was cleanup and backfill day...and it went well. I first moved the remaining modified stone pile to a more convenient storage location (instead of in the middle of the lawn) and used the small amount of remaining stone on the ground to start the backfill in the deepest areas while also scraping off/cleaning what's supposed to be lawn surface. From there, it was bringing many, many buckets of soil back from the pile I created on the property next door to complete the backfill and contouring work. Multiple compacted layers were used to build up the deepest areas at the back and "south" side of the pad. Raking and cleanup of root debris, etc, completed the task and I'm very pleased with the result.

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Had I actually thought of it, I would have picked up straw mulch and seed yesterday and the whole grass restoration thing could have been completed today, too. That will likely have to wait until Monday because rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Yes, the grass will likely get messed up in September when the building goes up, but it can't be left bare for so long.

[Bob Riefer]

Really fits in nicely especially with the feathering of the soil that you did. Looks like it was always meant to be there!

[Jim Becker]

Really fits in nicely especially with the feathering of the soil that you did. Looks like it was always meant to be there!

Thanks, Bob. I'm actually really pleased as I was worried that the "hump" at the back would be super noticeable but in reality, it contoured out nicely and in a way that's not going to hamper maintaining grass. I do not intend to put in garden beds along the sides and back of the building because I don't want to have to maintain them. I may do a narrow stone border to eliminate any need to trim grass right up to the structure, but other than than, grass it is. I so wish I would have gotten this seeded yesterday as todays rain (as you'll know from looking out your windows) would have made for a nice start.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Jim, I would definitely do a border, stone or even a 4x4. I wouldn’t want to scrape the paint on the metal siding and potentially start a rust issue.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I would definitely do a border, stone or even a 4x4. I wouldn’t want to scrape the paint on the metal siding and potentially start a rust issue.

Yes, the pan is for about 12" of stone edging the grass around the perimeter which coincidentally matches the soffit width. That's a long way off (unfortunately...) right now. LOL

[Adam Herman]

your dirt work looks top notch Jim!

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, Adam!

I'm sure it will get messed up when the builder comes to drill for the posts...LOL Nature of the beast.

[derek labian]

How exciting Jim! It looks like your having quiet the fun time

[Jim Becker]

How exciting Jim! It looks like your having quiet the fun time

So far, yes...but now we enter the "hurry up and wait" period until mid-September unless by some stroke of luck there is a "cancellation" that allows the schedule to move up. That's not likely and a slip is the bigger risk.