Flat land in Tennessee

[Jim Bollman]

I'm having a new garage built, but in TN you have to have something rare called flat land. Here are the pictures after 4 days of work.  1 day he had to bring in a Bobcat with jackhammer attached and got all the big rocks but one that he found after the place he rented the Bobcat already picked it up. He thinks we can make it work. It is planned at 28'X28'.  This not going to be a shop just extra storage and the wife gets her first inside parking place in 54 years.  She did have a carport at the previous house.  It will have a 200 amp service just in case plans change in the future.  Thought I had plenty of place for the free dirt but I'm running out of place. Did make some more flat land along the driveway filling my side of a raven.

First picture is from my back porch.

 

[TAKerry]

I have a sister in law from Tenn. Years ago talking with her brother that was an excavation contractor, he made the comment that they did not dig holes, they blasted them!

[Jim Bollman]

Progress, after a week of a rain then a sick contractor and a digger that was over committed. With a little luck they should start laying block next week.

 

[Jim Bollman]

Slow going but progress. With a little luck the mason will show in the morning.

 

[Ronnie]

I live in East TN and understand what you are going through. When I look at your footers and the blocks sitting there I have some good advice for you. Put in good drains (dig down below the footers) and don't skimp on waterproofing the blocks before you backfill with dirt. I had a similar garage located in a hillside at my last house and during heavy rains water came in between the floor and block walls.  Stopping the water from the inside is all but impossible. Take the time to do it right on the outside now and it will save you a lot of heartache in the future.

[Jim Bollman]

I have a contract that I trust, he has been building in the area for 40+ years, but water worries me.  The floor will be a full block+ above the footer. He explained his approach for water proofing and it sounds like it should work.  He said that the block with have a cement wash and then tar rolled on them allowing the tar to pool on top of the footer to seal the bottom of the block.  He will then put the drain tile around on the outside of the block on top of the footer and cover with gravel. Both ends end in a swale that goes along the drive.  He is also going to put tar impregnated fiber board of some sort on the outside of the blocks where it will be underground to add more water proofing and a cushion to keep any rocks from damaging the blocks or tar sealer. The building will have gutters emptying into the swale along the drive.  A 6" pipe will allow the swale to drain under the apron going into the garage. The side and back grade will be tapered down towards the building then back up to keep water away from wall and sloped to dump any runoff water into the swale.  Also plan to have a vapor barrier under the floor.  The back and side walls are 12" block that will be filled with concrete with rebar, 8" block in the front.  I'm sure the occasional very heavy rain will cause the swale to over run into the drive but it does that now, but it drains into the ground within an hour or so after the rain stops and the floor will be well above the drive so water will not run in.

 

One none drainage concern is there is a 7,200 volt power line above it feeding the house transformer. The building will have a steel roof so I decided it should be grounded so if it ever came down on the building it would blow the fuse out at the road faster and not sit and sizzle for awhile and maybe start a fire in the rafters. Talked to the electrician today and he didn't disagree with the idea. The plan is to put a 200 amp panel in even though I currently only plan it to be a garage not a shop, I already have my shop I just need to get some of the finished projects out of it to make a little more space.

[TAKerry]

Looking good. There is a way to prevent water. Sounds like your contractor is on the right track. In the commercial building world we would use a drainage system that put a primer on the wall, then a moisture barrier that was similar to roofing ice shield only about 5 times thicker. It would come in 4 ft rolls that glued to the primer. The seams were all sealed as well. Then a corrugated drain board (actually another roll of material) would go on. Backfilled with a gravel to allow drainage and a series of drain pipes connected. Never had a water problem! After putting these systems in I laugh at tar foundation coating!

[Jim Bollman]

Progress this week.  All the block laid as of today.  Fellow is scheduled to pump the blocks full of concrete and add rebar tomorrow morning.  

 

[Jim Bollman]

They put 14 yards of concrete in the walls with rebar every 4 or 5 feet with 2 bars in each piers in front. They also got the tar on the walls and the drain around the outer walls with gravel on top of them. Not much visibly different. Trusses and wood for the caps on the walls are due Monday. Should start looking like a real garage by sometime next week.  They need to bring some more stone for inside after they chip down two more rocks that are to high yet.  They beat on them a bit yesterday and got them close but they are planning to bring an electric chip hammer on Monday to get another inch or so of clearance under the slab.  They marked off where the top of the floor will be and it looks like about 2" above the first course of block in back and slat down to a little below the top of the first row of blocks in front so any water will run out.  Planning on 5" of rebar enforced concrete for floor with a vapor barrier, seamed into 13'X13' quarters for cracking. That should give me a little over 8.5' foot ceiling.  I don't want the building so high that it over powers the house, that should make the peak a little lower than the house.

[Jim Bollman]

Making progress. Lost a couple days to rain this past week and one worker got sent home for drinking at lunch, so roof got delayed till Monday. At least it is on the trailer waiting.

 

[Marty Roth]

Jim, 

You should be able to fit a dozen Crosleys, even before adding a 4-post lift

[Jim Bollman]

I realized it has been over a month since my last update.  Not done yet but close. White door needs painting, second coat of floor sealer, some ground cover seeding and the stone work on the cement blocks yet.  To many subcontractor delays and to much rain so running a few weeks behind original plans.

 

[TAKerry]

Looks great! Fits in with the environment perfectly. If it had carriage doors it would look like it had been there for the last hundred years! One advantage of building into a hill, a lot less exterior finishes! (and I am sure it will stay cooler inside).

[Jim Bollman]

Well started using the new garage this past week.  Still a few little things to do plus the stone work on the block, but that will have to wait a few weeks since the contractor had a knee replace this past week. All the smoothing out around the sides done and seeded, not sure if grass will take in the red clay but weeds are ok.