Pavering & Sheathing

Steven put on the rest of the top plates and we started closing in the garage with sheathing.  Through trial and error we discovered a way to install the awkward 4 x 8 OSB and installed 8 sheets before we wore out and a light rain began.

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Me with the air hammer
Me with the air hammer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steven put screws in the sheathing to hold it and I used the air hammer to put nails at (mostly) appropriate distances.

The sheathing on the right side of the garage door needed extra nails.  I put them 4″  apart.  They needed to be 3″ apart, so now they are 2″ apart!

Moral:  read the directions first!

Driveway and sidewalk from 642 pavers
Driveway and sidewalk from 642 pavers

All the pavers have been laid from the 4    pallets (642 pavers).   I need to measure and decide if we still need the 489 pavers that are scheduled to be delivered with the trusses.  We need to extend the driveway (to the left) 15′ to the street.  (We are still waiting for MNDOT approval.)  I also want to curve the lower section more and I need to add to the area in front of the shed (which will be removed).  We also want to extend the sidewalk to the doorway to the left.

Header Up/Sidewalk Down

Steven finished the header – 2 x 12s glued and nailed together and in place.

14' header glued & nailed
14′ header glued & nailed

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I pulled up the bricks that were the sidewalk previously and laid the pavers to the steps. The sidewalk is now wider and cleaner.

Paver sidewalk
Paver sidewalk

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We can drive on the pavers now.

 

Fourth Wall and Driveway Start

It felt great to have the 4th wall (mostly) in place.  Because the right side of the 7′ x 10′ doorway is only 2′ wide, we had to very specific detail work.  The header has to be 2″ x 12″ and extend to the wall on the right.

Two metal supports to attach to the wall
Two metal supports to attach to the wall

It also had to have two special metal supports as seen extending from the cement floor.  The sheathing (to come) has to have a special close nailing pattern.

 

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We still need to glue 1/2″ spacing to the second 2″ x 12″ header.  This will then be glued and nailed to the header that is already in place.  It would have been too heavy for us to raise if it had been all put into place right away.

Header extended to the right wall
Header extended to the right wall
Beginning of driveway
Beginning of driveway

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have chosen to have a driveway made of pavers. We chose Autumn Red to coordinate with the rose palate of the house. We can’t continue the driveway to the street because the street is a Minnesota State highway and we need a permit from MNDOT. We’ve been waiting several weeks. Two pallets of pavers have been installed.

Paver color variation & design
Paver color variation & design
Pallets of pavers
Pallets of pavers
Viewed from the garage
Viewed from the garage

We’ve received 4 pallets and will have more delivered with the trusses (1180 pavers)

Last form board removed with a jack

Steven was concerned that it might rain and get the last 2 x 12 wet, making it very difficult to remove.  It was difficult anyway.  He had to use a jack on one side and then the other.  That board did not want to come out!

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Jack under 1st corner
Jack under 1st corner
Corner wedged
Corner wedged
Right side being jacked up
Right side being jacked up
On its way up
On its way up

 

Space left between floor and platform
Space left between floor and platform
Form board removed
Form board removed

Form boards removed and soil added

 

Steven said it was going to be a light work day – he was just going to remove the screws in the posts. While he was doing that I primed the back of the house. Then he decided to use the sledge hammer and remove the posts. Then he removed all the form boards but one that was between the garage floor and the service door platform.  It was not a light work day!

Forms removed.  Corner metal pieces are for the 2' corner wall support
Forms removed. Corner metal pieces are for the 2′ corner wall support
Form board between garage floor & platform
2″ X 12″ X 12′ board between garage f

Need New Plan for Siding

We learned that we couldn’t use the siding on the garage that we had planned. It has to match the first floor of the house in design and color, so our vertical siding can’t be used. Back to the drawing board. We either take off all the siding on the first floor and replace it or find 3″ horizontal siding for the garage.

On a trip to our local Menards, we found good quality siding 8″ wide 16′ long. Steven will rip it to 4″. If we overlap it 1″, we will have 3″ horizontal siding we can paint to match the house. A lot of work to rip it but we won’t have to remove the siding on the house and can keep the vintage 1900 look.

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Inspected & Ready to Pour

We had our inspection for the garage cement forms.  Only thing we needed to do was add blocking to raise the wire mesh so cement could flow underneath.

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Now to find a cement contractor who can pour in the next week or two. Our first bid was $5500 and could be done in two weeks. I was told the cement alone would be $3000. The second bid was $2140 – $1000 for the cement and $1240 for labor! It could be done this week! We are waiting on a possible third bid. It pays to get more than one bid!  Our third bid was $4000.  The $2240 bid sounds really good.  They used 6000 psi and air entrainment cement.