Decided to build a garage. Now the fun begins.

[South VA]

Climbed up the ladder to scope out exactly how I’m going to mount these shop lights.

You must be registered for see images attach

Probably should have done so first, but afterwards I gathered the safety gear needed to avoid a 10’ or so fall with a sudden stop on the concrete floor.

My rock climbing harness, webbing, and some ‘biners will serve to tether me to the truss while I’m working. The HF straps recommended by Erik will tether the ladder to the truss. Between the two I should be covered.

You must be registered for see images attach

I was planning on using #10 ¾“ self-drilling hex head sheetmetal screws for flush mounting the fixtures, as I have a box of them on hand for attaching electrical boxes.

Unfortunately I just discovered that the #10 hex heads are too large to fit through the holes on the light fixtures. So I need to get some smaller screws (maybe #8), or ream out the plastic fixture holes so that the screws I have can fit.

Or, buy some #8 screws and ream the fixtures out just a little bit. Either way, I’m a bit concerned about the risk of cracking the plastic.

You must be registered for see images attach

However, it just might turn out to be simpler to hang them by the chains. Doing so would also give the cooling fins on top of the fixtures more breathing room, which would probably be a good thing. These fixtures run hot, according to a number of reviews on amazon.

I’m making a trip into town tomorrow anyway, so I’ll see if I can find some smaller hex heads, just in case, along with some magnetic driver bits. I’ll need the driver bits regardless, as mine seem to have mysteriously disappeared.

 

[thinger2]

They need to be quartz casted while they are wet.
Which is a horrible job but easy to do.
This is another reason why you need to time your mixes based on temp and humidity.
You quartz cast an epoxy floor by rolling it all out in a defined area based on the cure time and them some lucky guy puts on a set of golf shoes with steel cleats and walks all of the way into the far corner of the pour and broadcasts quarts sand really thick over the whole thing while walking backwards.
The epoxy when wet enough is self leveling so the cleat divots fill in as you walk backwards.
We used to call it the hooker walk.
you are basically walking like you are wearing high heels because wet epoxy is slick as grease and falling on your ass in curing epoxy while holding a bucket of sand really, really, really, really sucks.
You also need two other guys standing by with golf cleats in case you go down on your ass.
That is so they can come in and rescue you without wrecking the pour because you have about a minute or two to get all of your clothes off and wash your ass with isopropyl alchohol.
when it starts to cure alchohol wont work anymore so now you need to switch to MEK.
Or have a chemical burnt ass.You quartz a floor in small sections at a time and use duct tape as the limits of that pour.
Again, timing is everything but duct tape when pulled in a linear way and with the right timing has low adhesion to clean and dry concrete but high shear strength.
When that section cures, it will have way to much sand on it. Which is the whole idea.
Whatever sticks is the non-skid.
Sweep off the excess quartz and re-use on the next pour.
The ideal situation is to roll out a pour and broadcast the quartz in between expansion joints.
And just like any chemical mix prep is everything.
Rent a floor scrubber and degrease the whole place several times and then absolutely flood it with water.
Floor sqeweegies and water. and beer.
Let it dry.
Acid etch the concrtete with a mild mix of muriatic acid
swimming pool acid.
Hose the floor off and let it dry overnight.
Read the instructions. You want it etched but you dont want it to turn into powder.
Buy a paddle mixer and a good half inch corder drill and 30 five gallon buckets and do it.
It sounds complicated but it really isnt.
Ive never met a glue sniffer with a PHD.
I did have an employee pass out and epoxy his head to the floor.
The epoxy flooring business at the industrial and commercial level is not some group of professionals.
It one or two guys who are making a **** load of money by herding temp service employees.
They sniff glue for a living and they quit when you try to make them wear a respirator.
Either wait and do it yourself which you can do and if you have any questions I will answer.
Or wait untill you are confident in the concrete pour and then hire a professional coating company.
I think they want you to pay for an "add" that really doesnt help you at all.

I forgot about fumes and birds and rabbits.
Normally we go into a big space and shoot the pidgeons with a pellet gun.
The fumes will rise and kill birds and they will drop on the floor and get glued to the floor.
And you need to close the doors and make sure the place is rodent proof.
Ive had to kill live rats and mice and rabbits the next day with a shovel because they were glued to the floor and chemical burnt and it was ******* horrible
Another one of the reasons why I got out of that business.

 

[South VA]

Started hanging the light fixtures, and decided to hang them by chains, maybe 4" below the truss members. I'll have to pick up some adel clamps. It took but two fixtures to realize that 40 or so trips up and down this 12' stepladder to hang 16 fixtures is going to be a workout for my old retired self. So, as suggested earlier in this thread, I decided to check out renting a lift, even though I assumed it would be too expensive. Turns out it's not. Including delivery, the cost is $300 a day, or for the weekend if I rent it on Friday. This is definitely doable.

You must be registered for see images attach

The trick will be getting it into the garage, as it doesn't do well going across a yard with grass. It has to be on a hard surface. Fortunately it's delivered via a rollback truck, which means it could be placed either on the apron, once that's finished, or even directly onto the slab. I'll stop by the rental shop and show them some pictures of the garage access, and see if they can put it right inside one of the bay doors. I'm thinking they ought to be able to do that.

Again, as was pointed out by some folks earlier in this thread, a lift would be a huge improvement over my current method. It would save a bunch of time, at a point when I really need to save some time; and would be easier on me. And safer.

With proper planning, I could also use the lift to do all of the overhead wiring, including outlets for the future garage door openers, exhaust fan(s), and the power for the two post lift. I could also hang the mini split, generously provided by @Keeper

Being winter and therefore wet, it will take at least a couple of weeks for the yard to dry out from all the rain we've had, enough to allow the rollback truck in without further destroying our back yard. The ground is saturated. Looks like more rain is headed this way, so it may take longer.

No matter, I can use that time to finish up the electrical plan so that I can get the needed supplies and know where it all goes.

Speaking of the apron, it looks like it's going to be asphalt millings instead of concrete. This will address my concerns over covering tree roots with an impermeable surface, and potential for those roots to crack the concrete. I have one bid for the job and am waiting on another. The problem locally is that the supply is spotty. The local guy is currently out of millings. This may not turn out to be a problem, as the yard needs to dry out for that as well.

Slowly progressing.

 

[someotherguy]

A good rollback operator should have no issue at all unloading that lift on your slab, unless the yard leading up to the door is pretty uneven, which could mean the rollback deck not wanting to sit flat against the slab. By uneven I don't mean a slope which we expect anyway, but uneven side to side, or excessively lumpy.

If they send a rookie.. I'd be nervous. Sometimes an operator's apparent confidence does not come from experience.

Some quick thinking on it says if you're not sure, have a thick piece of plywood you can lay down bridging the ground and the slab edge and set the rollback deck down on the portion on the ground, instead of the slab.

Richard

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

If they send a rookie.. I'd be nervous. Sometimes an operator's apparent confidence does not come from experience.

^^^This, plus while loading/unloading watch your overhead clearance! It may become a concern depending on how far back the roll-off goes into your shop.

 

[South VA]

A good rollback operator should have no issue at all unloading that lift on your slab, unless the yard leading up to the door is pretty uneven, which could mean the rollback deck not wanting to sit flat against the slab. By uneven I don't mean a slope which we expect anyway, but uneven side to side, or excessively lumpy.

If they send a rookie.. I'd be nervous. Sometimes an operator's apparent confidence does not come from experience.

Some quick thinking on it says if you're not sure, have a thick piece of plywood you can lay down bridging the ground and the slab edge and set the rollback deck down on the portion on the ground, instead of the slab.

Richard

The ground has a side slope relative to the slab, so that may be an issue. Having a sheet of plywood on hand makes all kinds of sense! Thanks!

^^^This, plus while loading/unloading watch your overhead clearance! It may become a concern depending on how far back the roll-off goes into your shop.

Good point! I'll have him put it into a 10' high door instead of the 8' high door.
Also have to find out how wide the rollback is. Hopefully narrower than 10'. I'm going to drop by there this morning on my way into town, to get this figured out.

 

[Keeper]

The problem locally is that the supply is spotty. The local guy is currently out of millings. This may not turn out to be a problem, as the yard needs to dry out for that as well.

Nice progress!

Around here, millings are still in winter shut down, or are just barely beginning. Your dry-out time should be perfect for the paving companies to get some big jobs going. Supplies will go up quickly, and prices will drop... especially after the waiting list guys get taken care of. I still recommend walking right up to the truck drivers themselves. You can tell the ones who are hauling hot rock one way and millings the other... they are a mess! I catch them at my closest diesel pump, that way I know they are hauling local.

 

[South VA]

Nice progress!

Around here, millings are still in winter shut down, or are just barely beginning. Your dry-out time should be perfect for the paving companies to get some big jobs going. Supplies will go up quickly, and prices will drop... especially after the waiting list guys get taken care of. I still recommend walking right up to the truck drivers themselves. You can tell the ones who are hauling hot rock one way and millings the other... they are a mess! I catch them at my closest diesel pump, that way I know they are hauling local.

Thanks!
That makes sense, the millings being seasonal. As you say, between that and the weather, the timing could work out.

I do know a local guy that hauls rock, so I’ll ask him what the deal is locally. But I still need to have someone spread the millings out. Not sure that my skid steer fu is quite good enough for DIY.

 

[South VA]

This morning’s trip to the equipment rental place was worthwhile. I showed the guy pictures of the garage and access, and asked if they could place the lift inside the garage, even given a slight sideways slope. He thought they could, although the guy that does most of the deliveries was out on a delivery.

So in the next few weeks, assuming it dries out enough, I should be able to get my hands on a lift for a weekend. Which should be enough time to get the bulk of the overhead stuff done, if I have my ducks in a row.

 

[BuiltToWork]

This morning’s trip to the equipment rental place was worthwhile. I showed the guy pictures of the garage and access, and asked if they could place the lift inside the garage, even given a slight sideways slope. He thought they could, although the guy that does most of the deliveries was out on a delivery.

So in the next few weeks, assuming it dries out enough, I should be able to get my hands on a lift for a weekend. Which should be enough time to get the bulk of the overhead stuff done, if I have my ducks in a row.

I'm in construction and two sheets of plywood will be your friend. If he can drop the lift right into the garage, put plywood down anyway so the bed doesn't scrape your new concrete.
Love the progress.