My New House & Workshop

[Rick W]

How big is it? What by what? Approx?

& doing a thick skim coat for a garage floor inside is a lot different than the same thing in the weather.

if you check some prices, I don’t think it’s as bad as you think. Go down the local rent a Tex/mex & I’m sure you can find a couple guys with experience. They’ll break it up and pile it up and form it all out one day probably $150/day each, and pour and finish it second day. & remember I’m unreasonably cheap. You’ll end up with a valuable durable home addition for little money.another afterthought. If you go with the tick tac toe, you can do it in phases.

if you’d ever put a roof over it, check foundation specs and do that now. Your house will be worth more for it. & take pictures when you pour to record it for the buyer down the road.

finally, I live by Craigslist: post a wanted add for labor and truck & remember, if you’re getting your wisdom from me.....

you can call if you want to chat about it.

 

[Rick W]

Last thought considering your comments: I’d definitely get the old out. It won’t be as bad as you think, and if you build over crap you’re gonna end up with problems

If you want to keep the cost down and mix and pour it yourself, do the TicTacToe this way: build 5 x 5 forms, or 5 x 6, whatever to get your width right. level Ground of course. Turn down the edges of each and use the fibers in your mix. No rebar. You’re making big tiles. Buy thinnest pressure treated (Like 1x3”) you can get, and leave one inbetween each one of the squares. Architectural feature. Then you can pour one or two or three squares at a time as you have time. If you level the base, these big square tiles will come out level. The danger with this approach is a couple tiles may tilt over time, so make sure base is level, no soft spots and tamped well.

poor mans tamp: 3-4ft iron pipe with a flange on one end, pour a couple inches of concrete in a pail, set the flange on it, and fill it up. Best dirt tamp you can buy.

btw, if you’re doing it over time, buy a little mixer and sell it when you’re done. Buy a junk trailer to load the old concrete away and sell it when you’re done. Repeat....

good luck

 

[ericbphoto]

It takes a lot of bags.












A LOT of bags

 

[Jim Oaks]

This concrete pad is roughly 12' x 33'.

 

[ericbphoto]

This concrete pad is roughly 12' x 33'.

Way too many bags for somebody my age.

 

[Jim Oaks]

One of my first projects is getting rid of a shelf built in to the wall of my bedroom before my bed arrives. I was looking at it yesterday and realized that it appears to have been a window at one time before the house was sided. I hate that builders texture all the walls here in Texas. It would be easier to close this up and smooth it out than to try to match the wall texture.

(Ignore the long horn)

 

[Dirtman]

One of my first projects is getting rid of a shelf built in to the wall of my bedroom before my bed arrives. I was looking at it yesterday and realized that it appears to have been a window at one time before the house was sided. I hate that builders texture all the walls here in Texas. It would be easier to close this up and smooth it out than to try to match the wall texture.

(Ignore the long horn)

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If you get rid of that shelf where are you going to display your matchbox car collection?

 

[ericbphoto]

(Ignore the long horn)

That’s like saying “ignore the 200# anvil on your toes.”

I was going to say “that’s what she said”. But it didn’t sound right.

 

[sheep herder]

You're putting the horns on the Ranger, right?

 

[ericbphoto]

I need a pair of horns to mount on the bulldog in the hood of mine.

 

[97RangerXLT]

(Ignore the long horn)

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you mounting that on TRS-2's hood?

AJ

 

[Jim Oaks]

This doesn't seem like it's going to be that bad. I removed the trim and saw where there were 1/2 inch drywall strips in the gap behind it. Removed those and saw 2x4s on the right and left. Looks like there's original framing at the top and bottom. Also looks like this shelf is going to come out pretty easy.

Looks like I can either nail in a couple of 2x4s for wall studs, or make a small frame to nail in place. The only advantage to that would be that i could nail through the 2x4 to the existing 2x4s on the sides vs toenailing the new studs in at the top and bottom. I wonder if I should stick insulation in there? I don't need that much.

 

[Jim Oaks]

you mounting that on TRS-2's hood?

AJ

 

[ericbphoto]

I would stuff it with insulation. You don’t want to let the heat in. Every little bit helps.

 

[franklin2]

I would stuff it with insulation. You don’t want to let the heat in. Every little bit helps.

Yes that wall will get cold in the summer. If you have any humidity outside, it will hit that cold wall and turn to condensate and cause it to mold. Insulation is a good thing for cooling as well as heating.