Driveway and lot clearing progress and what are you all up to?

MossRoad · Mar 25, 2020

Very nice!!! :thumbsup:

RalphVa · Mar 25, 2020

Got a new pooter and reinstalled everything. Office 365 install was a PITA because MS does not tell you anything: gotta click on each icon.

Shredding up piles of vines, limbs and autumn olives left by the wife when dry enough to get the tractor down the back hill. Using the MacKissic TPH-122, 15 years old.

Ralph

PowerTracManiac · Mar 29, 2020

Woodland: Glad you are able to keep working and awesome job on the countertops. :applause: I am going to follow your lead and do concrete countertops when the time comes. Did you get special concrete gfrc mix? I was checking into gfrc concrete mixes they are quite impressive.

Moss: I am still working on the garage clearing and started the plans for the garage/shop. I know the garage size is going to be about 22 by 46. Still debating on pole barn style vs regular construction style?

RalphVa: Hey neighbor in Virginia. You are prolly about 30mins from me. Good to hear you are staying busy!

MossRoad · Mar 29, 2020

Got the estimate from the concrete guy.... YIKES! $6500 in concrete for a $5200 garage. Nope.

Guess who's going to learn how to do concrete? :laughing:

I've done foundations and walls before (when I was a young man). Haven't done flatwork before. This'll be a good place to learn, as it's just a storage room and behind view from the street.

I already figured out the concrete will cost $1800. I'll have to figure in rebar and forms, + tools. I've already started the excavation this evening with my little PT425. Got half of it done in about an hour.

marrt · Mar 29, 2020

I just put an extension on the back of my pole barn and paid $270 per yard for 5K PSI with fiber! That's $2700 for 10 yards of concrete alone. Insane. But I had no choice. All the concrete companies around here stay busy. They won't even promise a specific DAY they will deliver....never mind a day and time. So, some enterprising guy figured out he can charge double using one of those mix on site trucks. At that price, I could pick my day and time. This was two weeks ago. Business has almost stopped now. Late last week I received an email from the company indicating they were offering special deals due to the virus impact.

woodlandfarms · Mar 31, 2020

PTM thanks for the comments. I bought quikrete countertop mix as it was the only thing available locally. It worked ok but if I were to do it again I would make sure I use a retarder as it set up way too fast for someone like me with no experience.

I am massively unemployed. The movie business was the first thing to get shut down in la. Only people who work directly for the studios (corporate) still have a job. Today I fly back to the farm. Not looking forward to the flight but probably way less crowded than my local Home Depot.

MossRoad · Mar 31, 2020

My nephew works on a popular Netflix series. They were 2 weeks away from finishing next season when the plug got pulled due to the current virus. No pay while production is halted.

woodlandfarms · Mar 31, 2020

Oh and I need to pour a monolith for my new shop (3500 sq ft). The cost is higher than the shop. Guess what I am not getting this year.

PowerTracManiac · Mar 31, 2020

Safe travels Woodland and glad you were able to finish the needed work then go home.

Seems like several of us are in the shop building mode.
I just finished clearing the garage/shop area and checked with transit and I have a slope down from front (where the doors will be) to the back of the building of about 2 feet over 30 feet. Will be good for drainage around the shop but I think a little too much out of level to do a monolithic slab pour.
So now I am thinking of either just doing pole barn style and filling in concrete floor later or going all out and doing a footing and block wall foundation. Seems the footing and block wall will ramp up the amount of work needed and cost alot?

I would like to get something built as I have stuff that needs to get under covered space (like the PT1460). I could live with crushed stone for a while before the slab got done.