So it's been some time since I've updated the blog and in the last couple of months of weekend work, I've had time to sort out and erect my new garage. It's a "DIY Install" Homeshed kit from Stratco, 7.7m long x 6.2m wide, 2.7m wall height, gable roof and 2 sliding doors. I like the Stratco kit because it's just like a big Meccano set with everything provided and all holes in the columns/trusses/girts/purlins prepunched and most sheet panels precut. I also like the open design with 150mm-wide C-Section steel used for the columns and roof trusses. With this design, there is no triangular truss pieces encroaching into the gable space. It has a nice big airy feel to it.
The first job was to clear the huge number of bushes and trees in the way, then dig out the ~10m3 of sand for the slab with a Kanga digger I hired. This was 8 hours of fun and made very light work of shifting the sand.
The slab was poured soon after. The orange and white conduits at the front are for power supply and future comms (CAT6/Phone/TV). The white ones at the back are for water inlet and waste drain. The gutters (not yet fitted) will feed two 300L tanks which in turn will supply a sink in the garage. Right at the back of the photo, there is a 2nd orange conduit for potential future power use (pump/compressor/other).
From here I had to wait 3-4 weeks for the concrete to cure before I painted it with a industrial grade 2 part epoxy paint to provide a hard wearing, water/oil/chemical resistance barrier. Unfortunately I was pushing it for time by doing this in June heading into winter, wanting it to cure before it rained. There was dew on the slab from a cold night after the 2nd coat of paint was applied and about 1/4 of the slab was shaded for most of the the next day so it affected that part of the paint - it has lost it's gloss which the paint rep has advised won't affect the performance, but unfortunately looks quite blotchy. The rest is a nice gloss grey colour. The garage kit was delivered in the same week.
So over the next few weekends where time permitted, a few mates & I erected the garage. In this photo you can see on the right part of the slab how the water has affected the appearance of the epoxy paint before it completely cured. I may decide to repaint this side of the slab before the garage gets fitted out.
As of last weekend, it's complete and now the Mini has a proper weatherproof home instead of being stuck under a tarp in a patio for the last 3 months. All the Mini & Starlet parts and my tools have been moved into the garage but soon, so will about 1/3 of everything in the house. The extension on our house begins next week which involves demolishing the entire back wall of the house and the garage is temporary storage space until it's complete. Until then, I'm happy that the garage is complete but the Mini project (still) lays dormant.
The first job was to clear the huge number of bushes and trees in the way, then dig out the ~10m3 of sand for the slab with a Kanga digger I hired. This was 8 hours of fun and made very light work of shifting the sand.
The slab was poured soon after. The orange and white conduits at the front are for power supply and future comms (CAT6/Phone/TV). The white ones at the back are for water inlet and waste drain. The gutters (not yet fitted) will feed two 300L tanks which in turn will supply a sink in the garage. Right at the back of the photo, there is a 2nd orange conduit for potential future power use (pump/compressor/other).
From here I had to wait 3-4 weeks for the concrete to cure before I painted it with a industrial grade 2 part epoxy paint to provide a hard wearing, water/oil/chemical resistance barrier. Unfortunately I was pushing it for time by doing this in June heading into winter, wanting it to cure before it rained. There was dew on the slab from a cold night after the 2nd coat of paint was applied and about 1/4 of the slab was shaded for most of the the next day so it affected that part of the paint - it has lost it's gloss which the paint rep has advised won't affect the performance, but unfortunately looks quite blotchy. The rest is a nice gloss grey colour. The garage kit was delivered in the same week.
So over the next few weekends where time permitted, a few mates & I erected the garage. In this photo you can see on the right part of the slab how the water has affected the appearance of the epoxy paint before it completely cured. I may decide to repaint this side of the slab before the garage gets fitted out.
As of last weekend, it's complete and now the Mini has a proper weatherproof home instead of being stuck under a tarp in a patio for the last 3 months. All the Mini & Starlet parts and my tools have been moved into the garage but soon, so will about 1/3 of everything in the house. The extension on our house begins next week which involves demolishing the entire back wall of the house and the garage is temporary storage space until it's complete. Until then, I'm happy that the garage is complete but the Mini project (still) lays dormant.
did you insulated
ReplyDeleteNot yet, but I am considering insulating the side of the garage that receives direct sunlight (Northerly direction) in summer. I also have a large window which will be installed at the rear of the garage to promote air cross flow through the garage.
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