Higher, Stronger, Faster

The Summer Olympics started yesterday, and their motto could be applied to Monster Garage.  It certainly will be higher and stronger than other garages, but as for faster...hmm...we spent 12 hours doing rebar yesterday.  In 29 degree heat.  On a task that was only supposed to take a few hours and then we would head to the lake.

So on Friday, we had laid out all the pieces and got two thirds of it tied together.  That took six hours.  Then we called it a night, and Rob decided to put the tarp back on.  The forecast called for no rain,but he thought he'd put it on.  Good thing, because at midnight it rained solid for about half an hour.  And when we got up on Saturday, we saw this.    Like a reverse Cadbury bar or a fluffy pillow--170 individual pockets filled with rain water.  Rob took the pump and sucked out each and every pocket before we could remove the tarp.  That took an hour.   

Then it was time to tie all the remaining pieces together.  Then adjust the chairs (piece of brick holding the rebar up so the concrete can flow under them). 

Then we had to mark spaces on each outside board, install screws,and run string to make a grid (we ran out of string, so we raided my yarn stash!).  So within that grid, we drove stakes pre-adorned with tape.  Then we surveyed each stake.  Then we adjsutested each stake for height.  The stakes will mark the taper of the garage floor so the concrete guys know how much concrete to put down, and where.  And then, we made our own home conncotion (diesel fuel and oil) of form release liquid--like greasing a cake pan--so you apply this stuff to the sides of the forms so they release from the set concrete.

So at 9:00 p.m., we called it a night.  We delicately put the tarp back on, as now there are 50 stakes protruding and we don't want to rip the tarp.  They are calling for thundershowers tonight, so let's hope it holds.

By my calculations, we used about 140 pieces of rebar and tied over 500 joins.  We used two full rolls of rebar wire.  It is the Olympics of garage building!



This is a close up shot of the rebar on the decking of the new Circle Drive South Bridge.  Now that is rebar!



Tying one on???? (more like tying 152!)

We are now finally official--I picked up the building permit last week--it only took 5 working days--way to go City!

On Thursday night, Rob came up and we spent 3 hours pumping the pool.

So we both took Friday off to work more on the garage and I to help with a friend's 50th birthday party set up.  First we did more surveying so Rob knew how much to move from the south side to the north side, and also to taper in to the middle.

Then Rob dug a small pit in the middle of the pad to put in a sump pump to catch water drainage.

After that, it was time to tamp the site.  Rob had rented a tamper--it weighed a ton!  He tamped all afternoon.



Oh, and after all this chaos, we attended the wonderful incredible birthday party Saturday night--Rob and I even got to set off fireworks--what a hoot!

Then on Sunday, we started laying down the rebar.  Rob has 152 pieces of rebar, many different sizes, so it was like piecing a jigsaw puzzle.  Then we had the joy of tying the rebar.  

It was so joyous that we ran out of time, so that's what we're doing this weekend.  I also met the SaskEnergy guy on site on Monday to go over where the line will be relocated. And on Wednesday, I got to take the drill with the wire brush attachment, and whisk off all the cruddy rust on the remaining pieces of rebar.  Luckily the drill batteries gave up after an hour and had to recharge.  Darn.  Rob owes me big time for this hideous time consuming and unfun task.

We want to get the rebar tied this weekend and finished, so we are all ready for the concrete guy in a couple of weeks.  Then I have a week of holidays at the lake--yay (Rob, because of the new job, doesn't have that many holidays, so he will have to get up in the morning, and leave the cabin and commute in to work--poor Rob!).  So one more weekend of garage chores, and then we can go do lake chores!

We're Now Building a Pool Instead of a Garage!

This is what the site looks like after three days of rain. It's supposed to be 29 for the next few days. Perhaps it will dry out.....



No Turning Back Now!

The Building Permit Application

It's been a busy few days for Monster Garage.  And I think we are at the no-turning-back point, since we have done a few things that make us committed (or is that we should be committed???)

 First, on Thursday, Rob filled out the Building Permit Application, made it into a PDF, emailed me, and I ran it upstairs to submit it  They looked it over and said it seemed okay, and that it would take 12 working days to process.  Yay!





The first jackhammer


 




Nothing like heavy machinery to bring the guys out to watch!



Before


Then on Friday, we both took the day offwork to await bobcat guy.  He showed up at 8:15 a.m..  First, he put on an attachment on his bobcat and jackhammered the old concrete pad.  Pretty cool.  That took only half an hour.



After

 Then he put on the bucket scoop on the bobcat and scooped up all the pieces into a dump truck.  That took 45 minutes.



After that, then he spent about another 45 minutes digging out the old soil, sand, and grass to get the area to the the right even depth.  Put that in the dump truck.  Then for the next two hours, he put gravel in the area, stopping and eye balling the level, then Rob and I surveying for the level.  Back and forth, back and forth....Kept running out of gravel...they went back for two more loads, so 16 cubic yards of gravel in total.

It was too high in one area and too low in another.  Finally, it was as close as it could get and he left--at 3:30 p.m.  Seven hours.  We called it a day.



It's finished!



Then on Saturday, we spent the afternoon surveying, digging up high spots and moving to low spots.  More surveying.

Then came a rain delay, so we rushed out with a giant tarp to keep the area dry (kind like when they rush out to cover baseball diamonds on TV).

The rain let up and we built the forms for the site for the concrete.  Then the rain cam back, so we called it a night.

 

And I'm writing this on Sunday--it's been raining all night, and off and on all day.  So no more levelling today.  We'll try next weekend to get it level and then rent a tamper to compact the gravel.  Then tie the rebar.  Then concrete.



So as I said, we can't turn back now, so a garage is in our future!



 









152 Pieces of Rebar

Yes, that's how I spent my Saturday--moving and counting 152 pieces of rebar Rob had in the backyard.  Oh, and

I sorted them by thickness.  Four different types.  And then length--some were 6 feet long, others were 20 feet long.  Now that the rebar is all laid out nicely, we will spend this coming weekend tying the rebar for the garage concrete pad.  Rob is trying to woo me to help and says it's like weaving or crocheting with metal--nice try!

We did do other Monster Garage activities:  Rob cut a fence panel in half and made a gate on the side of the yard.  This will be used to bring our truck into the yard for the winter (and it will also be used for the bobcat guy and concrete guy to gain access to the yard this summer).  He also put down railway ties to contain the gravel.  This involved a few trips to the hardware store for more wood and supplies. 

We also grubbed the side of the yard--clearing all the roots, bushes, and overhanging bushes in the way of construction.  So on Friday, the bobcat guy will arrive to break up the old concrete pad and haul that away, dig away the dirt to level the site, and bring in some lifts (layers) of gravel and then compact it.  This becomes the base for the rebar, and then the concrete on top. 

I feel we are so close!

Monster Garage is Back!

Just when you thought it was safe to park your car, the spectre of Monster Garage rears its head...again! For those of you following the saga from two years ago (and perhaps you gave up thinking Monster Garage was just a fantasy), fear not: It’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

So we started Monster Garage (MG) in 2010 (please read the previous posts dear new reader), got the team shirts made, cut off and moved the old garage down the back alley, and were all prepped—then Rob’s mom in Regina decided to move in with his sister in Winnipeg—which meant we spent the rest of that summer moving her, emptying 40 years of family stuff, and getting the house ready to sell. Then in June 2011, Rob’s mom passed away and two weeks later, he started a new job... with the City of Regina (yay Rob), and moved away (ooh). Which meant another summer whooshed by without MG (too busy moving Rob and commuting).

But this year.. this year, MG is a reality. But we are still commuting, often going to Regina, the lake, and Saskatoon all in one weekend.

So we officially started site work on June 23. But Rob has been thinking about it for two years, so that has to count as well! Our first round of work consisted of trenching—relocating a gas, phone, and power line from beneath where the new concrete pad will be, to outside the new pad. Boy, those things are buried deep. And as I’m cutting the many roots around the lines, I kept having to remind myself “cut the brown root not the black wire”—kinda like the tense scenes in the movies where the hero has to decide which wire to cut when defusing a bomb. Yes, the crazy things that run through your head due to exhaustion. Oh, and we had to relocate our underground sprinklers too.

This week brings us the joy of sorting our re-bar, buying landscape ties and lumber, and prepping to have the bobcat guy come next week to break up the old pad, dig out dirt, and lay down the appropriate amount of gravel....in anticipation of concrete guy the next weekend.

Yes, the fun never ends!