First of 40 loads of shale fill.	The trick to fill is either time (a year or two) or a vibrating roller.	Comet, making friends with everyone.	One person unloads all of the material.
So that's how one person can unload an entire garage!		How Hank levels a post.
All truses were lifted up by hand!	Fog can not stop this crew.	This is Janet's favorite picture, as there are two hammars flying.		Look on the left side of the picture to see how the ceiling was reached.
Ready for the concrete pour.

Some information for folks planning their own garage:

• Grading.  Springfield Paving - Very good work.  40 truckloads of shale, with a top layer of #57 stone.  Gary and Bryan Cosner, 304-822-7377.  Good people, and they have access to shale, dirt, a bulldozer and a vibrating compacting roller. ($4000)
• Driveway.  Final stone and grading by Springfield.  As of this writing, we're about 2 weeks away.  ($3500, includes fill dirt over the shale.)
• Building Materials.  Fetterville Sales - Mark Rose, 800-275-8245.  Erection by Hank and his colleague in one week.  Good people, and excellent craftsmen all around. 
  • You can get the basic garage (30'x40'x12') for under $20K installed on your level lot.  We went a bit beyond this, with 14' height, additional windows, insulation, interior walls and a cupola, complete with weather vane and a pig on top.
  • Garage starts off with 6"x6" posts set 40" deep, stabilized by 1 bag of concrete each.
  • Insulation is 6" thick, R19, walls and roof.
  • Material for the walls is 19 gauge steel, with baked-on color (like a car).
  • Doors are 10'x10' and are insulated.
  • Total Cost for materials and erection - $25,693 + $5,800. Expensive, but everything was totally premium.
• Concrete.  Done by Mike Shockey.  Nice work, but expensive ($9371). 5-1/2" over 4000 PSI, fiber and reinforced concrete over 2" of foam insulation over 3" gravel, with 18" 4'x4' footers below where the lift will go. 
• Electrical.  In-process
  • Generator, underground line from house to Garage, underground gas line to garage, main breaker panel in garage nicely done by Hampshire Electric.  (Generator was $7K, the rest $2,050).  Hampshire Electric has not yet sent me estimate for the other work, although they verbally quoted $3500.
  • Want 100 amp, 220 volt service, underground from house with at least 12 circuits. Should use separate conduits for electrical and phone/Internet.  (Done.)
  • From garage, need line to small panel in Janet's gardening shed. (Future.)
  • We are looking for someone to provide axial garage door openers.  (Normal openers will not work with the height.)
  • Wiring for the lift under the concrete floor (30 amp, 220 volt, two outlets) by Ray.  (Complete.)
• Gas.  Need to run LP line from house in trench. (Done by Hampshire Electric.)
• Phone, Internet.  Need to run cables in same trench from house.
• Drain.  Pipe and drain installed by D&D.  Digging was a bit too wide, so it was a lot of work to back-fill and compact. (about $1000)
• Sub-Floor Heating.  1500 of feet of PEX tubing put in by D&D  still holding pressure after months, under concrete. (about $1200)
• Heating.  Super-efficient LP gas (only needs a PVC exhaust pipe for the water from combustion) will be installed by D&D this fall.
• Lift.  Mohawk System A-1.  Expensive ($6650), but the best (and safest)  available.  (Looks like Spring 2009.)
• Janet's Garden Shed. From Art Slocom (Route 28, brother on Route 50) $3910 delivered.