Final Finishing of the Shop

June 23:  The concrete didn't get done last Friday.  I was called Thursday night and told that they would start at 4:45 AM with the concrete starting at 6 AM.  Since the access to the shop is also a driveway to a house in behind ours and the truck would block it, I told them no.  It was too early and they would have to re-schedule with the concrete arriving no early than 7:30.  One guy did come over on Friday and finished laying the rebar along with framing for the steps going down to the existing garage.  I was going to have this as a ramp, but the building inspector gave me the rules and it wouldn't pass.

Speaking of building inspectors, the framing inspection of the building failed.  On the end with the double doors, the rafters were specified as #1 Douglas fir wood.  The ones installed are #2 (not as strong).  So the construction company has to go back to the engineer and determine how to resolve the situation.  The probable solution will be to add another rafter on the inside and additional blocking but the inspector requires new engineering calculations and the stamped paper from the engineer (CYA!).

The roofing material did come on Friday and the roofing crew on Saturday.  So now I have a roof and skylights.  I've also started painting the building with primer.

So now I just wait for the concrete to be re-scheduled.  The gutters and downspouts are supposed to be installed tomorrow.

Today is a Ferrari day.  I'm out to wash the car and then take it down to the Ferraris on 12th event at the the local Seattle Ferrari dealer.  They close off the street in front of the dealership and later in the day, we parade over to a park on Mercer Island overlooking Lake Washington.  It's a little cloudy, but sun breaks are expected this afternoon, so it should be a pleasant day and not too hot.  I'll post some pictures later.

June 24:  The concrete is poured.

June 29:  The construction company is done with the building.  The concrete was poured, gutters and the rollup garage door got installed this last week.  The engineer also provided the piece of paper necessary for the framing inspection.  I have the electric ready for final inspection and then get the final inspection for the building signed off.  I still have to finish painting the outside and close in the walkway from the existing garage to the new shop.  We have to get a couple loads of gravel to finish off the driveways and it'll be ready for use.

So now I'm just counting the days until the concrete will be cured enough to install the lift.

July 4: I've been moving in all of the automotive tools, parts, etc.  It did fill up the shop some, but there's still plenty of room.  Perhaps even enough for another Ferrari or two.

We had Lowell and Shirley Brown over for a 4th of July barbecue.  As usual in Seattle, the weather didn't cooperate, so we just moved everything inside.  You can see all of the boxes on the far wall that still need to be emptied, sorted and stored.

The final electrical inspection was done yesterday and the final building inspection is scheduled for tomorrow.  I also got the garage door opener put in and working.  Since the door follows the roof line to prevent interference with the lift, the opener also is up against the roof.  That put the motor end about 13' in the air, just enough to clear our 6' high van plus the 6½' rise from the lift.

July 13: I've been working on the walls and roof covering the walkway that connects the garage with the shop.  It's only about 10 feet long, so one would think that it isn't too difficult of task.  However, as you can see from the pictures, everything is at an angle to everything else.  The ramp slopes down, but not uniformly.  The roof line is an even slope, but different that the ramp.  The width varies and thus the back wall is at a slight angle to the shop.  It meets the garage at 36.5° (I had to cut two studs to fit).  Remember, this walkway existed going to the old shop, so I inherited a basket case.  Not to different than buying an old Ferrari that hasn't been maintained.

Siding is done, so now the garage is secure.

I still have to put the roofing material on, trim it out and paint.  But at least I can get to the shop when it's raining without getting wet.  I'm going to order the lift on Monday.  By the time the lift gets here, the concrete will have cured for four weeks and be able to support it.  Please click here for the continuing story on the lift.