35 Years in the Making! (3 Viewers)

[knuckle47]

I'm going to be doing that next week.

@1911 I’ll send over some extra energy… it’s only a small amount as I had very little left. On the other hand I’ve got 40’ of 3” $chedule 80 pvc conduit About $10.00 a foot

good luck… did you get a few friends finally? How far do you need to trench or are you doing something different.

 

[1911]

I am running 130' of 4/0 URD cable, but nearly half of that will be in conduit that is already cast in the foundation footers and buried under the concrete floor of the house, so I only have to trench about 75' - but I will have to make at least two (and maybe three) different trenches, as I am laying conduit for propane and water lines as well as the electric main service.

I'm only laying 2" conduit; I paid $5.99/ft. for Schedule 80 and $3.77/ft. for Schedule 40. Only using Schedule 80 on the riser to the disconnect, and the 40 underground.

I'm doing it all myself - going to rent a Ditch Witch 4" trencher. I'm glad the weather has cooled off while I've been waiting for the garage doors before I do this.

BTW, I made a living as a motorcycle mechanic in the early-mid 70's, and worked on a lot of knuckles, pans, and flatheads. Shovelheads were the newest tech back then! I have always had a bike or two since then, though I am partial to Indians. I have never done a 100% restoration; mine have all been riders and least slightly modified.

 

[knuckle47]

The conduit I had specifically place prior to the concrete pour will become a dry well for small amounts of water out the side of the building. When the electric company engineer came by, he said…” you have a pole right there, just go underground instead of a house subpanel and we’ll put a meter on the side Of the building”. I’m not running water but certainly tv/wi-fi and a spare conduit for any future need. this little mini-excavator was spectacula.

has a 22HP Honda replacement engine and has been digging for 30 years…still going strong

 

[1911]

The conduit I had specifically place prior to the concrete pour will become a dry well for small amounts of water out the side of the building. When the electric company engineer came by, he said…” you have a pole right there, just go underground instead of a house subpanel and we’ll put a meter on the side Of the building”. I’m not running water but certainly tv/wi-fi and a spare conduit for any future need. this little mini-excavator was spectacula.

has a 22HP Honda replacement engine and has been digging for 30 years…still going strong

I have rented a mini excavator in the past to dig drainage ditches; I would love to have one, but just can't justify the cost versus renting for now. The Ditch Witch rental is half or less of an excavator rental here, so that's what I'm going to use for this job. What I hope to do in the future is buy a second-hand track steer, and buy a back hoe attachment for that.

 

[knuckle47]

Electrical is finished…. Only waiting on the power company to install the meter and connect those 4/0 cables to the top of the pole. Graded the driveway and adding R-blend next week to final grade. Note: town required and expansion joint on the conduit …located at the base just above grade at the meter

 

[knuckle47]

Passed the service inspection today. Just waiting for the electric company to schedule the hook up. finished adding all of the “devices” to the boxes, outlets, switches and gfci stuff. Labor Day weekend and nothing to do?

 

[Michael B]

The shop is looking good. The floor finish is outstanding!! Those corner outlets will make interior wall finishing difficult. You may want to space them over a few inches.

 

[knuckle47]

@Michael B thanks for the compliment and comment. I wasn’t planning to finish the walls completely where the outlet boxes are in the way. After spray foam, I am considering pegboard, slat-wall and Sheetrock to about the 9-10 foot level up the wall, ceiling will be 5” of screed foam And is just staying as is. These vertical posts are 8’ apart and the 2x4 flats will be the mounting points so they will fit just under the outlet box and in between each 8’ span.

despite the months of planning, now that I am at this level…I may be flying by the seat of my pants on a few things…if an idea comes along…I can surely adjust
GOT ANY IDEAS?

 

[knuckle47]

Decided to test my wiring circuits. Took the generator and wired it to the meter pan and ran the outlets and overhead lights…. Thrilling, it worked!

 

[Michael B]

No bright ideas at the moment, but if I have one I will be sure to share it with the class

 

[knuckle47]

How many amps do you have available if you install a sub panel? Here in Oregon your charged a basic charge for the meter. That’s $30 here in Oregon so that’d be $60 every month if I had 2 meters not including energy consumption…

I have 200 amp service at the house. My plans were to have 100amp sub. It was the power company engineer who suggested 2 meters. I used a 100 amp panel in the pole barn. We only pay for the power we use but it adds up to about .153 cents /kWh currently. That is a use charge and a generation charge Combined. I think in the case of 2 meters, it will provide the actual cost of having the garage operational…it’s not a commercial use…just tinkering, land cruiser stuff, welding, and I build smokers and musical instruments so there are a few woodworking power tools and metal tools.

 

[knuckle47]

All of the trees from clearing the site are finally gone. It looks like I can park 20 cars and 2 boats in the free area. My acreage is completely wooded so this open space is very different for us. This clearing is on 3 sides so it is great. Amazon and UPS seem to love it already, they can make a quick turn instead of backing down the road

 

[knuckle47]

Today…the power company showed up at 9am…raised the bucket to the top of the pole and placed the meter in the socket…..by 9:25 the job was done. We spent about an hour BS’ing and showing them the FJ40. Was a fun start to the day. Then I had to run around for a couple work related things and just got in for the night. Took a few pictures of 150 cu.yds of crushed concrete being spread around and found a UPS delivery by the garage door. All final inspections next week and we are done !

 

[Michael B]

Awesome! Congratulations

 

[knuckle47]

Thank you @Michael B had some time before dinner so hung the door opener… this thing is a bit heavy for me at 12’ up the ladder but it’s on. I’ll get the rest wired over the next day or two

 

[greenbeast]

Show off some of those smokers! I did place extra plumbing and electricity in corner for some meat prep and sausage making.

That’s first thing on my list when complete is sit in chair and man the stick burner for some Q.

That’s a beautiful setting in the woods. Another thing on my list is s***ty comfy couch inside where I can take a nap on a slow day!

 

[knuckle47]

@greenbeast so, you wanna see smokers…stand back…

 

[knuckle47]

Here’s some others

 

[knuckle47]

 

[knuckle47]

I think you have the greatest plan ! I have a neighbor who hunts 360 days a year… he ultimately built a section of his garage, although smaller that 5600 sq ft….maybe 500 total and made some stainless steel tables, dressing tables and a few processing table top machines…. He made the greatest deer jerky I have ever tasted. In Vermont, stuff like this is a lifestyle. Here in NJ, it’s more of a rarity unless you live in one of the few rural areas left. I’m guessing out west in your neck of the woods… it is much more of a regular thing.

‘’I love your idea of an indoor camping arena … you’ll never have to worry about rainy weather, free run for the dogs and a secure place to hang out