Garage Specifications
Ray Cherry - 5 January 2007
This page will ultimately turn into specifications for bids to complete the garage. Although not stated explicitly below, all work must be to "code", which in WV is IOC.
1. Concrete Floor
(a) Problem: If floor is poured normally, the concrete will end at the skirt board (on the outside wall), and the top of the concrete will be even with the interior wall. This will look nice, but when the ground freezes, it will force the concrete up and will either damage the interior walls, and/or raise the whole building up, damaging the footers for the poles.
- One way to solve this is to put 7" of Styrofoam boards from the skirt to about 1/2" beyond the interior walls. That way, the concrete can be forced up without hitting the walls.
- I've asked Fetterville for their opinion.
(b) We will be putting a Mohawk lift in, which requires at least 4000 PSI concrete 4-1/2" thick, with no seams within 6' of the lift. For extra credit, it would be nice to have footers (36" deep) below the two places where the lift will be attached. I would prefer 5-6" thick floor. Concrete must slope towards the doors. (Slope should be ________.) Concrete must not cover the screws which hold the front walls, so that we can easily do repairs if we crash the car into the space between two doors. Concrete should extend at least 6' beyond the garage to provide a nice "apron".
(c) In order to reduce fine cracking of the floor, mix should have fiber.
(d) Around the perimeter, there should be re-bar, supported by "chairs" so that it will be in the middle of (not at the bottom of) the concrete. Center should be re-bars or #10 wire mesh. I'm leaning to wire mesh.
(e) Under the concrete, but not under the lift footers, there should be 1-1/2" of Styrofoam insulation.
(f) Under the concrete, there should be 2-3" of #57 stone.
(g) Under the Styrofoam, there should be a vapor barrier, minimum 6 mil, ______ is preferred.
(h) Under the vapor barrier, there should already be 3" of #57 stone.
(i) Somewhere underneath all of this, there should be conduit for electrical wiring.
(j) Potential Vendors:
Recommended by same GREAT neighbor who recommended Fetterville Sales (David): Carlin Construction - Mike Carlin, 304-496-9929.
See who did the concrete floor for the house - call Carl at Countryside - 304-263-8245
C&C Concrete Pumping, LLC, 304-897-5583 concrete@hardynet.com
Cumberland Concrete Corporation - Baker 897-6650
Jolin Concrete Ind, Romney - 496-8007
Cumberland Concrete Corp - 800-842-2807
2. Plumbing
(a) Under each of the three bays, there should be a 3-4" floor drain. Outlet is over the hill, and does not need to be buried, although the end should be pop-up and rodent proof. Does not need to connect to septic system.
(b) If we had our act together, we would specify a rough-in for a bath.
(c) A gas line should run under the floor from the trench (from the house - or from the LP tank?) to the place where the heater will go, which is probably between the center and right bays, on the back wall.
3. Heating
(a) Not yet sure what we want do, so need to keep options open. We're thinking about lots of stuff:
- Kerosene Heater, with electrical burner/fan
- LP Heater, with electrical burner/fan
- External, wood-fired boiler with under-floor heating tubes
- Wood pellet and/or corn stove - Current leading candidate for heating.
- Wood Stove
(b) Air Conditioning
- Window Unit - Certainly a possibility. Should be at least ____ BTU.
- Central Air - Might as well get a heat pump!
4. Electrical
(a) 100 amp, 220-volt, single phase service underground from house. To do this will probably require another box in the basement.
(b) As part of the garage wiring, we want to install a generator next to the heat pump, powered by LP. Would like a powerful generator, so we switch over the entire house, and will not need to set up specific circuits to be backed up.
(c) Main Panel should go by the (non-roll-up) door. Should have capability for at least 14 circuits.
(d) Lift. Need a special 220-volt, single-phase required for lift. Would like to run a conduit under the concrete to an outlet sticking up about 20" above the floor, next to the lift footer. Need another outlet at this location for tools that will be used under the lift, e.g., lights.
(e) Air Compressor. Need another 220-volt, single-phase circuit. Compressor will go in the far right back coner.
(f) Outlets - Several 20-amp circuits, 115-volt.
- End Walls - Two quad outlets, 20" above the floor, centered between the window and the corner.
- Back Wall - Two quad outlets centered for each of the three bays.
(g) Ceiling Lights - Still thinking this over. Here's current thoughts:
- Switch is by the side door.
- Standard screw-in fixtures. We will get fluorescent or LED bulbs. Should handle at least 100 watts.
- Over each bay, there should be three fixtures
- Some folks believe that lights should be installed on the walls.
(h) Conduit
- Under the Concrete: PVC is fine.
- Above the Concrete: Ray thinks that PVC is fine. Billy believes that we should use steel conduit, and should change from PVC to steel under the floor. In Ray's opinion, anything going on in the garage which could damage PVC conduit would also damage the walls, which would be a BIG no-no.
(i) Trench from House - Will include conduit for power, conduit for phone, 75-ohm video cable and internet (Cat 6E), and gas line. Would probably be good to have a board over everything. Should be at least 3' deep. Issue is whether to dig with tractor-mounted backhoe, or rent a trencher.
(j) Alarm System - One motion detector (in ceiling), with wire going back to house. One wireless Internet camera. Simple buzzer to let thieves know that they have tripped the system
(k) Potential Vendors -
- Hampshire Electric, Capon Bridge - 304-856-1331 (Capon Bridge), 304-496-7497 (Augusta)
Neighbor (Billey)
5. Scaffold. For installing the lights, we'll need to rent or buy scaffolding. Ladders will probably be to scary, as the ceiling is 14'. Suggestions would be appreciated.
6. Grounds and Grading.
(a) Slopes around the garage pad. These are are about 45 degrees. We need grass/crown vetch/ juniper/a retaining wall/whatever to ensure that this mix of shale and dirt does not move. Ever.
(b) Driveway. Need to ensure that water does not go into the garage or into the house. A drain may be required.
7. Lift
Leaning towards Mohawk A-7 Asymmetric lift (lift arm is 4" off floor), 7000 lbs. - OR - System 1, 10K lbs., most popular lift from Mohawk. Requires 4000 PSI floor, 4-1/2" thick. Weighs 2500 lbs.
8. Generator
Will not go in the garage. Probably next to house.
(a) Fuel - LP from BIG underground tank.
(b) Capacity - 20K watts, 220V, single phase. In other words, we do NOT plan just to back up a few, key circuits, but to allow the ENTIRE HOUSE to be switched over in the event of a power loss.
(c) Must auto-start when the power goes off. Weekly auto-test.
(d) Output quality: Must work with computers, hi-fi and other sophisticated equipment.
(e) Candidate Hardware
Guardian QuiestSource Liquid-cooled light commercial 18kW By Generac Power Systems, 18KW, $6400, 694 lbs. Liquid cooled. http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-QuiestSource-Liquid-cooled-commercial-5399/dp/B000RTWR50/ref=sr_1_86?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1202049712&sr=1-86
- 5324 - Guardian 25kW 1-ph 1.6L 3600RPM Generator, $7300, 30"x72"x35"tall, propane 0.65 - 4.81 gph
Briggs & Straton, 20 KW, $5K.
Coleman Powerstation 2200, $10K, 1K lbs., http://www.homestandbysystems.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=CLP1363&PiID=2043425&refid=FR247-CLP1363_2043425 , liquid cooled, 0.83 gph @ 25% load.
(f) Potential Vendors
- JS Electrical, Rio, 304-897-5094
(g) Requirements - Upstairs panel - 200 amp. Downstairs - ....
- A/C/HeatPump
Water heater 2*20
Furnace (resistance) 4*60
Well - 2*20
Garage Economics
Vendor Item Cost Springfield Paving Gravel, compacting 4,000 Fetterville Sales Materials 18,093
Fetterville Sales Materials 7,600 Fetterville Sales Labor (Hank & Co - 2 folks for one week) 5,800 D&D Plumbing: Drains, Heating tubes 2,000 D&D Super Efficient LP boiler 3,000 Shockey Concrete - Appears to be a little high (like double). Prep starts 4/8. Pour on 4/15/2008 9,500 Hampshire Electric Generator, Underground Electrical Hookup, Breaker Panel 8,000 Mohawk (Maybe) Lift 6,000 240 volt Air Compressor 800 TIG Welder 5000 Tool Box, Tools, Work Bench 3000 TOTAL $60K??
Relay work for Joe
(1) Brick Posts under Kitchen need foundation. Replace? Repair? Tear out and replace by "I" beam?
(2) Finish small bedroom. Sand and varnish all woodwork associated with the stairs. Get a rug. Move furniture in.
(3) Remove radiator from Janet's office, store in Basement
(4) Front Bedroom
(5) New windows for attic.
(6) Power ventilator for Attic. Uses same power as attic light.
(7) Make porch behind Kitchen into an open porch, with Florida windows. Stairs should go out from a door. Perhaps a deck. Perhaps sliding glass doors.
(8) Basement: Big round fluorescent light over washer to match exercise room.
(9) Basement: Small, round fluorescent light at bottom of stairs.
(10) Garage: Make new doors.
(11) Basement: Trim and molding around side door.
(12) Basement: Replace vent pipe - should stop kitchen sink from gurgelling.
WV Jobs for Joe
(1) Electrical outlet on back porch *2. Go through wall from inside outlets.
(2) Laundry Room: Install cover over hole in wall caused by gas fireplace installation.
(3) Basement: Shower - Must be at least 48" Wide. Even better, install Jacuzzi for two, with shower above. Tile floor, etc.
(4) Kitchen: Special electrical circuit for toaster.
(5) Basement Stairs: Sand and varnish handrail. Maybe install a second handrail. Coat hooks at top of steps.
(6) Master Bathroom: Electrical heater in wall. Would be nice to have 2000W, with "homerun" to basement. Mandatory: Thermostat, and timer.