Workshop Project

Forming the stem walls and the retaining wall on the right side of the work shop. Retaining walls have to be engineered and you need to have a variable retaining wall height on the plans. If you don't you'll be back to the building department and they'll want almost $300 for changes to the plans.

The concrete is being pumped into the forms. A vibrator is used to prevent cavities and we are finishing the top of the forms. Now is the time that foundation bolts are placed in accordance with the engineered spacing.

Forms have been removed. Notice how nice the concrete looks. You can do this by vibrating the concrete to avoid cavities. The wall is about 42" high from the ground.. Anything over 48" has to be engineered. The building code states that the measurement is made from the bottom of the footing. Therefore, this wall is over 48" according to code.	Back filling the inside of the stem walls. Notice that we use pea gravel. We will now compact the pea gravel, place a plastic membrane and then 2" of sand. This will act as a moisture barrier.

The slab floor is poured. The floor is being finished. Note that we only slope a portion of the workshop in the area that a car can be parked in. The rest is level for the work shop equipment. Rough plumbing is in for the bath room.	The exterior is being framed now. The crew is leveling and squaring the walls. The OSB shear wall will be nailed on the framing prior to placing the trusses. We have the floor covered so that the concrete will not get dirty and muddy.

Trusses have arrived at the jobsite. Note the rectangular area in the center of the truss. That is called an attic truss and I designed it so the client can put light storage above the workshop.	The trusses are being lifted to the top of the upper plates. A better view of the attic truss in this picture. Note that the shear wall is in, has being nailed off and approved by the Nevada County Building Department.

Trusses are in place, braced and the roof sheathing is being nailed on. Note that the exterior is papered, the bathroom inside is framed. The next step is to complete the roof sheathing and have it nailed off and inspected by the County.	Here it's the end of November, we started this month and the siding is on, the windows are in and we will have the roof completed today. Next week, the rough electrical will be completed, gutters on, and we'll insulate the workshop. The siding is Hardi-Plank which is a fiber cement material which is fire resistant, pre-primed and is easy to paint.

It's the first week in December. The rough plumbing, wiring and framing is complete and signed off by the County. Insulation is complete, R21 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling. Gutters have been installed. They are seamless and it makes for a nice finish on the outside.	Today is the 7th of December and the sheetrock will be completed today. Next, sheetrock inspection on Monday. The space heater is to be installed Monday and fired up on Tuesday so that the taping and texturing can be kept warm.

The garage has been taped and textured. The corners on the windows are rounded. The owners painted the inside and outside of the garage. The electricians are doing the finished electrical. All that's left is finished plumbing which will be completed as soon as the owners finish tiling the bathroom.	A view of the eight foot high x sixteen foot wide garage door and opener. The garage door is insulated. It's the last week of December.
	Completed and finaled the first week of January 2008, in spite of some heavy storms. Gutters were installed with leaf guards because of the heavy tree cover.