It doesn't surprise me to hear they will pour the slab after most of the structure is up, but it does surprise me that they aren't knocking out footings now so they can get an early start on the structure next year. But then maybe your ground is porous enough that an auger attached to a front loader can pop some holes even when the ground is frozen.
Around here the ground is still thawed even though we just hit a cold snap. There is always a big rush in September and October to get any pending projects excavated and poured so the crews can work through the winter. Anything not started at least in the planning stages by about March or April is probably not going to get done until the next year. A lot of our ground around here is clay, and the frost line is 6 feet. While frost seldom reaches more than a foot or two, when it is frozen, it is as hard as granite. And it stays that way until April or May.
I live in a city where even if you have the room, it is unlikely you can build much of a shop on your property. Areas with larger lots usually have covenants in place that only allow 15 or 20% of the property to be covered with a roof. My lot allows for 33% to be covered, but my house, garage, shed, and playhouse out back already cover about 28%, so I would have to lose the shed and playhouse to add on, and the only direction I can build is toward the alley, and I would be limited to maybe 20x15 in that direction because of easements and other city ordinances. I had planned to do so for a while, but it would have been a big commitment as my house would grow in value to exceed the neighborhood and I couldn't sell and recover the costs, and I was married back then, so in retrospect I am very glad I didn't make that investment. As it was I had to borrow to pay her half the equity, and I was lucky that the bank assessed it a little above market value so I could borrow enough against it to pay her off and keep the house. That was the exact scenario that prevented me from making the investment in the house a few years before.
I have long contemplated the pros and cons of living outside of town where you can build freely on your land (and have larger lots) because I would ultimately love to have a decent sized shop. But here that means well water, septic systems, satellite TV, crappy internet (if any at all), and poorly maintained roads leading into town. While I can easily find good sized lots only a few miles from my current home (an not far from anything in the city), the idea of a 15-20 minute commute to work each day, or even to just buy groceries or grab a Redbox, ultimately turns me off of it. Dodging deer and dealing with narrow roads where the locals drive like crazy people to shave a couple minutes off their commute to town (and consequently cause many road fatalities each year) is just not what I feel like dealing with every morning. Also, I have little desire to haul my own water or deal with expensive and high maintenance water filtration systems (even though my family business is selling all that stuff). Really, the only thing that appeals to me about living outside of town is that I would have carte blanche to build the ultimate shop. I would do at least 30x30 for woodworking, and most likely do larger to accommodate a metal shop that doubles as a workshop for vehicles and has a lift. Heated and cooled with full dust collection and explosion proof heating and ventilation would be a must, 10-12 foot ceilings to accommodate the big stuff, and a well thought out design are all the stuff of dreams that might one day be a reality, but only if I decide to build my dream house a few miles past the city line.
So I will have to put up with my 2 car garage as a shop, and starting this week I am parking in there again and therefore can't really start any projects, at least until this weather breaks. It went from 70 degrees to -5 over the weekend, and I have little desire to be getting up early to scrape windows and warm up the car, so the shop has to pull double duty during the part of the year best suited for woodshop projects. I am envious of anyone who can build a dedicated workshop, I look forward to more pictures.
Home
Help
Search
Login
Register
Send this topic
Print
Topic: A different project thread: Woodshop excitement (Read 12285 times)
