Start of something big.....

[wroughtn_harv]

I know. Most of y'all thought I had went to the big project in the sky since it's been so long since I've posted a project here. I've been doing stuff. It's just been little stuff. The kind of stuff that keeps the bills paid in these tough times. TBN is still my home page on the puter. And projects is still my favorite forums.

Late last year a friend approached me about a barn. He had purchased a forty by one forty metal building. It was a tear down but they had taken pictures of the demo so we had an idea of what all the parts were.

When I looked at the pictures and the pieces I found out a very interesting fact about the building he'd purchased. It was two buildings by two different manufacturers. One of them used structural steel for the major framework. The other used formed sheet metal components. The structural design has the purlins running between the arches. The formed design has the purlins running on the outside of the arches.

When we talked about how we should build it I suggested a twenty foot covered apron. He had me come up with what I thought I needed in addition to the materials we had from the demolition of the building. Which by the way was a strip shopping center in some west Texas town.

The next thing I know is he has the material all in place and it's ready to start when I am.

[wroughtn_harv]

We decided on a sixty by one hundred twenty under roof metal building. He had one of his employees make the pad. It's like a table top.

I decided to do it in two pours. The first one will be of the main framework, forty by one twenty. Then I'll do the twenty by one twenty approach on the second pour. This is keep us from needing a pump truck. Besides that the approach won't be laid out to the same specs as the main room.

The pad was so good I decided to have it finished grade for the concrete bed. He had a small trencher which helped with digging the beams. I did the three long beams and the one end. I used his Ford 340 skip loader to remove the tailings. It wasn't that bad and I had help. I used paint to guide the trencher and then I had help making a four inch cut twelve inches wide.

[wroughtn_harv]

We rented a Takekuchi track loader to drill the pier holes. There's sixteen in the main pad. I also used it to drill the holes for the drill stem posts for the canopy. The piers are eight feet deep and the Take worked great for putting those heavy pieces of drill stem into their holes. I don't know what they weigh but they're three and a half inches in diameter with about a one and a quarter center hole for mud and water flow.

One of the neat things about the Take is I could run all over that pad and not hurt a beam. Too kewel for words. The drill stem is damaged material. One end or the other is messed up. So I put the messed up end down. That way when it comes to framing up the canopy I can screw on an extension with no problem.

This will be weekly updates it seems. That's because there's no internet up there where I'm at. So I'll post progress reports and pictures when I come home. This next week I'll be doing the forming and the rebar. My wife will be at home doing home stuff this week. So I'll be on my own, with the weiner dog of course.

I need to let the engineers in on a secret. This is in the country. It's a farm shed and there's no permits, drawings, or real plan. I will be doing this thing my way. Some of the fun stuff will be designing ways to raise the walls about three feet higher than they were originally designed. Another will be designing and installing the canopy. One of the fun things we're considering is the doors to the main room will be all double slides that will over lap when opening.

I will be doing most of it by myself most of the time. I will bring in a crew to handle the concrete pour and finish when I have it formed and ready for concrete. Between a hundred and forty and a hundred and fifty yards of concrete kind of pour doesn't interest me.

[texasjohn]

wow... will watch your progress with interest....

[EddieWalker]

Hey Harvey,

Good to see a new thread and project from you. Looks like Glenda is enjoying her retirement too!!!!

Are you guys staying in the RV? I was wondering why you rented the skid steer and didn't use your JCB, but then thought that you must be a good ways away from home and pulled the RV there.

Will you be hiring a crew, or is this a job for the two of you?

Eddie

[weldingisfun]

Good to see you again, Harv.
Will be watching your thread with great interest. You always come up with some good stuff. Good luck to you.

[BayouMan]

Hey Harv,
I have been looking for a project by you for quite a while now. It will be interesting to see how you solve some of the constructions issues that come up as you go.

Did you ever have any luck with your new fastener system?

Mike

[wroughtn_harv]

I apologize for not being more diligent in updating the project. I've done the bulk of the work by myself. So it's almost like needing to drive a stake to measure progress.

One of the interesting challenges was forming up long lines (120 feet) by myself. The way I did it was pulling string for line. Then I drove in enough stakes for a sixteen foot two by six. I used regular old Vice Grip C clamps to hold the two by in what I guesstimated was height. I have a Hilti laser set up for shooting grade. I would then check and align for height the board. The first one was always the hardest. After that it was a matter of lining up one end with the previous board and setting the other for height with the laser.

The way it worked out I used approximately one stake every two feet. One of them was for height every three to four feet. Another was used to establish line about the same spacing. So after a hundred feet or so I was tired. The ten pound sledge and me bonded. We're buds for life.

I used the old pipe saw horses for making the iron work for the pier holes. I also used my trusty Riley made bender to form the rings and right angles as needed out of rebar.

[wroughtn_harv]

We had to cut a ton of two foot long pieces of rebar for the beams. Keep in mind I'm not a concrete guy and I don't always do things the way professionals would.

The way I did the beams was to pull a string and then pound into place pieces of rebar every four feet. I then tied two horizontal pieces of rebar to every vertical.

[Willl]

Originally Posted by wroughtn_harv

I don't always do things the way professionals would.

I believe it's the professionals that should be taking hints from you.

Nice work Harv.