Beginning of the garage

It's hard to believe he can actually drill that with a post hole digger. Well, when the post and concrete are there it's there for a long time without shifting for sure.

When I had my sign company in Phoenix I had a guy who drilled my post holes for me on my sign installations.  He had an auger mounted on a jeep that he could get into even the more difficult places and he never failed me, even in the miserable caliche they have in that area.  I tried to dig just one hole myself and after three hours in the Phoenix summer sun with a digging bar I had gotten down maybe ten inches – made paying Jeff $20/hole seem like a screamin' good deal!  The caliche there was about like trying to dig through rawhide.  I figured the only reason it didn't have any rocks was because it was just one big one that filled the whole damn valley.

If a post hole digger can go through such a hard caliche, can a 2 inch auger drill through a stump?  Last year, after a bad storm, I had whole lot trees cut down (with a really cool feller buncher).  In fact I’m still moving the mulch around with my tractor.  I have a small stump grinder, but it takes forever to grind the larger stumps.  I was thinking about making a drill using an old wash machine gearbox and an engine from a weed wacker. If I use a 1 inch auger I could drill holes in the stumps to make the grinding easier or use the holes to pour in a “stump killer.”  However, if I could use a post hole digger, it would be a lot easier, plus it would be a good excuse to buy a post hole digger (the wife already ruled out a feller buncher!).

Just because a PHD comes standard with 6″ and up bits doesn't rule out using smaller ones, Len.   I see  no reason at all why you couldn't whip up an adapter that would couple a standard 2″ wood auger to the output of a PHD.  I guarantee that even a 20hp tractor will have enough horsepower to bore holes in stumps that way.

I would certainly suggest that you couple the auger to the PHD using some sort of slip clutch or other torque limiting arrangement or you will wring the shaft of the auger like a washrag if you hit a hard spot.  Well, if you can find an auger with a 1″ shaft and core you might not damage it, but a standard one is more like 3/8-1/2″ which is a bit puny for a PTO drive.

Personally, I prefer ANFO for stump removal.  Much quicker!

The 9″ auger that came with my Lienbach 7300 looks a lot like a spade bit on the end. I was boring holes to extend the garden fence the first time I used it. About the third hole a bunch of fresh looking lumber comes flying out of the ground. WTF, did they bury the waste when the house was built?   Nope, it just cut through a 6-8″ juniper tree root like butter, at 800 rpm.

That's big progress Bob   Looking pretty sturdy.

ANFO – Ammonium Nitrate & Fuel Oil   Much less brissance than cordite , PETN,TNT dynamite or even black powder.  Just a big, slow push that heaves them up out of the ground, ripping the roots loose in the process.  Also the material of choice for most quarry operations as it will bring down a hanging wall without advertising to everyone in the three nearest counties that there's somebody to blame for their leaking cistern or cracked foundation. 

When you put in your order for the fertilizer, tell 'em Timothy McVeigh sent you and ask for the special bonus – (three hots and a cot courtesy of Uncle Sugar.)

So, is the garage done yet????

Thanks for the advise guys. I'll pass on the ANFO, my neighbors already think I make too much noise,  of course that is until they want to borrow the tractor.

The ANFO is the blasting medium of choice around here. Want to build a house or garage? Build a street or road? Drill and blast  When we were kids in Oakland we would fill balloons with 3 Acetylene balloons to ten oxygen and tie them to a tree or phone pole, with masking tape as a fuse. Talk about a wide flash parallel to the ground with a concussive blast .  Back then we were trouble making kids, today we would be locked up with the key thrown away, for having fun.

Looking Good

Geez Bob.  Slow down!  Now I can't let the wife look over my shoulder on THIS website either!  She sees this kind of progress I will never get any rest! 

That looks exactly how my friend built his garage. He has two garage doors and this year he added a carport on the left side end of the garage where he parks his Jinma 354. Bob, will you have a one or two doors on your garage?

You're hired.  When can you start mine?

Seriously that really looks like a quality job done in the shortest amount of time I've ever seen by someone with a day job!

Most guys are younger than us, Bob.

Kind of curious Bob if the “old age and cunning” got you a discount on the pour after you helped them fix the truck 

Jack

“Old age and something will alaways triumph over youth and skill” 

Recon you can get some young babes to hang out in the new shop

I see you've got a couple of nice halogen light stands but you chose to use a step ladder with clamp-on incandescents… weather hasn't turned cool enough yet for those halogens?

Looks like it's really coming along nicely.  Well lit!  How thick are those R-Tech foam panels?

bob im am curious as to what made u pick that style garage.  i am trying to pick between  a steal building30x40x15(think it was 15 high might be off on that)

and ur style.

Looking good Bob. I was going to put up a 60×40 about seven years ago but didn't pull the trigger. Wished I had, it'll be a lot more expensive now.

Lookin' pretty slick!   Almost a shame to park a dirty dozer on it!

Bob, what did you use for insulation on the ceiling?  My shop is like trying to heat a cave 

Too bad you can't haul that garage down here to test it, it was 14 degrees last night!

I have a pellet stove in my shop.  It's not too bad until it gets down around zero.  It's 14 feet from the floor to the bottom of the rafter.  That makes it about 20 feet up to the peak.  It's just a large area to heat.  I wanted it high enough to pull my RV in but I pay for it in other ways such as hard to heat. 

At least I'm not in Denver. The record was 13, missed it by 1. At least it's supposed to warm back up. About seven years ago it was 5 on Halloween, that was rough.

That's why I live down here.  I think our record low was 64° a few years back – i remember it was really cold.

We should hit 64 any day….. next June

My wife's brother and his family live in Denver.  Funny thing is it was 80 degrees there just a few days ago.  I can put up with old far better than humid weather.  I have been places where 80 feels like 110.  You feel like you are going to drop in your tracks.  And cold damp weather is not high on my rating scale.  I guess I am just a pain in the ass when it comes to weather  

Larry is wise in the ways of weather.

Nice shop Bob. Makes me envious.. My shop is 45 x 36 feet with 13 foot ceilings. Door is 12 x 12. I have many repairs to make on mine next summer. My primary heat is wood/coal with secondary 125,000 btu gas. Try not to run the gas as it burns a hole in my pocket. I have to wonder about the people that built mine? They put blown insulation in the walls and only insulation panels on the ceiling. That is one of my projects, putting 6 inch fiberglass bats in the ceiling. I like the scaffolding you got from Harbor Freight. Will have to look at procuring some. 

You probably know this, but I'll comment anyhow.

Regarding the sub-panel, are you leaving the nuetral and ground unbonded, tying them together only back at the main panel?

Is that legal up there in WA?  Around here it's a big no-no.  Maybe the grounding rod gives you some protection but I still think you could end up with size-able currents running in the ground lead.

I'm pretty sure it's an NEC code, but I'm not an electrician (nor do I play one on TV). I just know I had to do that when I built my garage a few years back. I ran tri-plex and a separate ground back to the main panel.

I just wanted to bring the subject up, hence my only asking about it. I hesitate to dis-agree with Bob, I have too much respect for him.

Hmmm…our code here requires that a sub panel any distance form the main panel, like in a separate building, have it's own ground rod and that the neutral be bonded at the sub panel.  The inspector told me this was to prevent having a floating neutral if the main panel bond failed.  Makes sense to me, but I'm not an electrician. 

I do know that in my shop the sub panel is bonded and I have three ground rods, like Bob, one at the main service entrance, one at the sub-panel and one for the genset.  I purely hate getting zapped by transients.

I'd be interested to know the actual NEC code language.  I may try to look it up if it is available online (for free).

Here's a good link –

http://www.allsafehomeinspecti…..bpanel.pdf

Thanks for the link Tom

Wow, I hope we never sound like that here . It only took two or three pages for that poor guy to get a strait answer. I'm going to pick a friends brain as to what is code, here and now, and if the county follows national codes or are there variances from state to state, county to county, etc. He has been in the business for over 30 years, his dad's contractor licensee has only Three digits!

I'll then ask a customers kid who just made journeyman a year ago, and has his own business now, and should be up to speed with what's new. It should be interesting to see if they're on the same page.

I'll be posting some pics on another thread soon. My wife's car was rear ended, and totaled, and we bought it back. I repaired the deck lid. Now does everyone here know that means 'trunk”? I think if you asked any non-electrician what a sub panel was, most would know what you're talking about. An Equipment service disconnect? Not so much.

I have discussed with my electrician friend putting in a service for the greenhouse and a hot tub, but the main panel is full. He suggested installing a “break-out box' on the outside wall opposite the main. Why do I get the feeling the fella on the electricians blog would have a problem with that description?   

Wow!(I wish they had one of those green with envy smiley faces to paste) I'll be over in a little while to start my subframe . How will we start without an Equipment Service Disconnect?