My Dream Almost Complete At Last!!

[Steve]

After what seems like years (it has been nearly 3 now I think about it) from the early planning stages, fighting through building and listed consent applications etc, my new home for the Dodge is nearly finished.

The basic structure and roof etc are in place and I am just waiting for roofing sheets to be delivered to make it watertight. I cant use it until its signed off but I did give it a test run before Christmas. I have limited space at the back of the house but it is perfect for my needs.

Ive done everything myself (thank you Youtube) so its been a steep learning curve. I had some neighbourly help with the lintel above the main door and dropped lucky when another neighbour hired a mini digger for a project and helped me with a tough section of the footings. Ive enjoyed almost all of it but my wallet hasnt!! I dread to think how much it would have cost if I had paid someone to do it!!!!

Will add a few pics of the build at some point if anyone is interested and a few more as I go along towards completion over the next few months,

Cheers Steve

[Steve]

First job was to remove a stone wall at the rear of the house and build some gates to allow access. Also needed to check that the car would fit in the space I have available. I then made a start on digging the footings.

Tough going as the ground is very rocky. There was also a stone outbuilding that encroached into the floor space of the proposed garage so that had to be reduced in size .....

[Derek]

Well done Steve it looks great, always cheaper the more you can do yourself, give yourself a pat on the back and a wee dram.

[Pete]

Massive congratulations to you.

You have pursued your vision with incredible determination and have been relentless making it come true.

All the very best to you, now enjoy it!!!

[Steve]

Thank you very much for the kind words Derek and Pete, really appreciate them.

I must admit that the fun Police visited a few times and attempted to douse the life out of the project but I just took it one step at a time. I lost count at 4 planning applications to cover what I consider very pedantic points that really have no bearing on the overall outcome, but on the positive side, when the kids eventually sell my place, Im happy all of the paperwork is correct.

A few of the issues arose from the fire regs as the long wall forms a boundary with a section of my neighbours garden. All done now though and I just need to have one big push over the next few months to get it all done and hopefully signed off.

[Steve]

First big job was the footings. After I had reduced the stone shed by 50% to make room for the long wall, I dug them down and decided to shutter them so I can get perfect dimensions and depth. I know a builder (who isnt paying for the now extortionately piced ready mix concrete) would just pour them straight into the holes but this method worked better for me.

As the ground was so rocky, it was impossible to cut neat trenches and I think I would have doubled the concrete pour if I had just left rough trenches. Anyway, it allowed me to be meticulous with squaring stuff up and levels etc. Was quite complicated as all of my waste water and septic tank pipes run through this area and I dont have room to re route them. I had to bridge the pipes with lintels that I will show later. I definately over engineered that part and went bigger on the footings just to be safe.

At this stage, I also moved the roof gutter downpipe across and installed a new gully trap etc tied into the existing drains that go to a soakaway

[Steve]

Next came the pouring of the footings.

My house is an old School Hall and there is a shared driveway between it and my neighbours (the School House). I took a scale site plan to the guys up at the concrete suppliers and together with the boss and the driver we scratched our heads for about 15mins and decided we would just be able to get the mixer truck to the rear. It was very tight but I managed to get it all barrowed in in about an hour. It was then I realised that Im not a young man anymore

[Steve]

This was (on hindsight) my first minor mistake that I would do differently in future. I left a gap in the footings where the main door was to go and by the time I had extended them and made pads for the lintels over the septic tank pipe etc, I would have been as well just extending them across fully and getting both sides the same heigh would have been much easier. Its not an issue, just a learning point really as its all good in the end.

[Steve]

All in and levelled off......I slept well that night!!!!

[rocket70]

Brilliant job Steve and you can now enjoy the fruits of your labour while tinkering on your car.

Was the car in a garage before?

Bryan

[cadboy]

that looks very good Steve, I did wonder where you were all this time, now I know, busy with building work, well done mate

[Steve]

Morning Bryan, thank you very much. Im very lucky that I am under no time pressure so I can afford to research stuff, learn and spend time on details to offset the fact its been a very long time since Ive done anything like this (and never on this scale).

Since moving back to Scotland, my car has been on my drive under a good cover with storm straps etc to stop it blowing in the seemingly constant winds we get here. She hasnt suffered at all to be honest but it will be great to have her properly under cover.she was kept in a rented garage that was great in the Midlands.

Cheers Ali, I do check in on the forum regularly and its the only forum I now 'subscribe' to. Always been a great club since joining when I got my car nearly 15 years ago. I dont do any social media so guess Im missing a lot on that side of the club but Im very happy without any of that stuff in my life. Have you sold your car now? I saw it at Stars and Stripes last year and it looked fantastic as always. Couldnt find you though. How is retirement?

Cheers Steve

[Dom66]

Nice job

I've enjoyed doing a few DIY building projects over the years, very satisfying.

[Steve]

Thanks Dom, Im pretty sure you would rattle through this but it been a true labour of love for me. Ive approached it like a 'normal' job so unless its weather critical etc, Ive been ridgidly doing as much as I can Monday to Friday then weekends doing other stuff in an attempt to not get saturated with it. Ive realised that my days of dawn to dusk working are over, those 6" dense contrete blocks are heavy!!!

[Steve]

Next step was to get blocks laid square up to DPC. This proved difficult until I worked out that the newer extension on the back of my house that the garage is connected to, isnt square. The corner Im using is slightly over 90 degrees so a quick call to my pal in Canada who is a Civil Engineer confirmed that I need to square everything to the longest wall of the extension. It was easy doing the layout for the footings as there is some room for greater tolerances but when it came to laying the first row, I had to be very accurate. I used a laser level throughout the project which was a great piece of kit. It wasnt too expensive but the downside was it wasnt great in strong sunlight. You can just see the green line on the wooden block for getting the corners all level with eachother.

Now is the time I wish I had listened more at school. My cynical comment when I was in maths along the lines of 'pythagorus.....when will I ever use that!!!' Came back to haunt me. I eventually found a calculator online and used it to square everything up. It can become a bit obsessive and I settled eventually for a tolerance of about 5mm over all dimensions. Considering one of the long triangle sides was nearly 9m corner to corner, Im quite happy with that. It certainly paid off as I progressed as the blocks went down quite neatly etc.