Britbike forum Forums Thread Like Summary - Shifting gears - my new shed project

I've been working on this project for some time since two things occurred to me:

1) My ultralight airplane runways are only nominal length, and should ANYTHING go wrong on take-off / climb-out, or on final approach / landing, I'd be in a right mess; and

2) The price of acreage near town has skyrocketed with californicators coming in and buying up whatever they can find.

So, I sold my 4 acre place with my somewhat shabby "stick-built" hangar/shop/garage/storage, and bought 10 acres further out where land prices are still within reason. The equity that I gained having bought just before the land prices went nuts, and having built the building on the cheap, meant that I can now build an entirely brand new BIGGER building (well, the shell at least) and runways more than twice as long.

The new place is 10 miles north of a little town called Bertram, Texas. It is officially a Texas town, as it has a BBQ joint, jail, Mexican food restaurant, and a big bar & grille with plenty of pickup and trailer parking space.

What I got is 10 acres (514' x 931') with one of the short sides fronting on County Road 210B, out in the sticks, former cattle pasture. My biggest obstacle will be the Electrical Power lines that are alongside the county road; but, I put a nice buffer between the lines and the building, and there will be a bit more buffer to the edge of the airfield. Oh, yes, I had the seller SPECIFICALLY include in the text of the deed, that the property can be used for an Ultralight Air Park. There are no restrictions whatsoever on what I can build, unlimited dirt bike riding, hunting/shooting, etc.

CR 210B, my pickup in the distance at my front property line



Reasonably flat, although it has a creek at the bottom (dry at the moment)



Here is my overall plan...

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Open cockpit.

Take-off roll is powered by thrust from the prop, of course.

1984 Quicksilver MX Sprint II (2-seater) with Rotax 50 HP pushing a 60" prop. NO FRILLS (apart from basic instrumentation and steerable nosewheel)

I have it set up as a single seater to comply with Part 103, no license required. These rules also did away with the requirement that the aircraft had to be able to foot-launch.



Ailerons were installed just after this "light of day" photo was taken. It is a true 3-axis control setup, just like any other airplane.

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I forgot the part about renting a trenching machine to lay in the building electrical feeders...



Working up on the slab was a mess, but the slab guys cleaned it up like ants.

I had leftover cable from the old place, just enough, with a bit of extra length to spare!

The stick in the foreground is where the power company will set the main pole with transformer, I already bought the meter pole that will go in between there and the building.



Also laid in a septic pipe that has to pass under the front porch slab-



That brings the current project up to date, the last of the plumbing was yesterday and I'M DONE.

I saved enough just by doing the master bathroom in-slab plumbing myself (based on the one quote that I got), to pay for the ENTITRE PROJECT plumbing (2-1/2 baths) including all the fixtures.

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Impressive work.

I spent 2 weeks just preparing and placing a 22' x 30' slab. Trades are scarce these days so I did all the work except finishing myself. The finisher had no help either, so a former employee of mine and I wheeled all the concrete in from one end. Poured it 3 days before Christmas, covered it with straw and a tarp for 6 weeks before I dared drive on it (very few days above freezing.)

How long did the project take, so far?

Tom

I was on a lot of jobs with massive concrete pours..Just one time saw a huge retaining wall form collapse .What a mess of a clean up…
On high rise projects the pours were continuous if necessary for several days.We electricians and plumbers had run conduit/pipe on the steel floor pans , then stubbed up in various location.As the concrete pour went on we left a few men to tend the pipe stubs. The concrete masons were always rushing around on the three wheel Georgia Buggy haulers and would knock the pipes up of alignment…We would wait until the finishing started and slop through the fresh surface in our yellow boots and relocate the pipes. This always started huge arguments and threats of disembowelment, but in the end the finishers were more careful…

Stub ups and Georgia buggies...................BTDT

I tie bright flagging around stub ups so they have an easier target to hit!!!! You can't cure stupid. Haven't seen a good on job fist fight in years.

Thanks for the memories HBB....

Gordon

I don't design em...........just build em. I let the boys with the degrees do the designing. I simply try to make sure their instructions are followed.

There's always a time during construction when things are exposed to failure.......at least until all the components are in place.

I've never seen a building quite like the one GP has going up.........BUT even after 47+ years in the business, I still see/learn new stuff on every job.......EVERY job.

I can say with 100% certainly that I've never seen a building this size without some type of bracing......rod and turnbuckle at least......but I don't crunch numbers and after visiting their website and looking over the photos.......these don't seem like shade tree contractors to me.

Gordon

Paul........you know it's just the nature of the set up if you're going to document this stuff........we're gona pick it apart........can't be helped my friend.

This type of "Barndo" is prevalent all over Texas. Yes, the wind seems to blow ALL THE TIME, typical wind speeds for the last month have been 15-20 with gusts to 40.

I've seen my share of welds in the Navy, and in commercial construction (I was a QC inspector on a University campus); I've seen many more welds in the dozens of buildings that my father's construction company built on the 80s, and in a bunch of barndos I've visited recently. I have every confidence in the guys I hired, who were one of Mueller's top recommended crews.

There have also been several tornados move thru the area in the last month, lots of damage to residential areas, no damage to barndos that I've heard of.

I'm happy to provide fodder for the peanut gallery.

-Spoiler Alert - my last photos were from around 4/13, the roof is done now.

sounds good too me , this non braced style is just not what I'm used to seeing ...
Very smart to use a local company , that has stock on hand .
I apologize for the "shifting liability" comment , that was a little uncalled for .

in my head ,
I was just trying to do the engineering for what looks like , seemingly under-braced columns ?
And I think your company solved the problem
by adding the perpendicular slab and footings ... and welded column connection
as a shear Brace ( in at least 2 directions ) .
... meaning none of the vertical building columns can fall over (fail )
without taking a substantial chunk
of reinforced concrete with it )
kind of like ...how
a Christmas tree will easily fall over , but once the Christmas tree is in a stand ,
it's more resistant to falling over ...

thanks for sharing your build ( and putting up with the peanut gallery )
I'm more than a little bit jealous of anyone who gets to move dirt around on a big CAT.

...and the first take-off, a few seconds later!

[video:youtube][/video]

All this hits me with a wistful twinge. Many years ago I rebuilt a 1958 Piper PA22-160 and converted it to conventional gear. And then learned to fly in it, (the wife too) and we then put over 500 hours on it together. It was a great little plane and I shed a tear the day it flew off with a new owner. Those were good times. Your private sky ranch sure looks good to me. Wonder if I could still pass a medical.

Yep. Good times.
Michigan's Thumb was my stompin' grounds
Me, my daughter and mom, and the Blue Water Bridge at the base of Lake Huron

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You guys would have plenty of room to drop in and hop out.

...and you'd be more than welcome!

Looks good Paul I've been involved with cast in place concrete for decades. First thing I noticed was their form work. Depending on what type of soil you're dealing with........you place wooden stakes differently. Lots of people don't know that. Put a smile on my face.

Good luck with the build!!!! Gordon

GrandPaul: Anyone who moves to get a longer runway for his airplane gets my vote. Aviation has normal risk and unnecessary risk, the first one is just part of the game and the latter is just not required for a sane person.

Nice work

Gordo

GP wrote......" I won't even ask if you think they did it right or wrong"

Sorry I got distracted and completely lost this thread.....trying to catch up now. Those workers did a fine job of it IMO. They put stakes in the way I was taught to do it in sandy soils. I just don't run into sandy soils very often here in the foothills of NC and it was a pleasant flashback.

Looks good Paul Trying to handle metal panels (any panels) in the wind is asking for trouble.......good call on whoever made that decision. Getting in a hurry causes a lot construction accidents.

Gordon

I had a career in big construction.. As Paul said, “it got done anyways” is sometimes all that matters….Have fun…

When I worked for bosses in construction, it got done RIGHT. Period. In this case, the form bracing appeared more than adequate compared to most stuff I've ever seen, I never knew a specific bracing method for a specific soil type (but never claimed to know much about it anyway, and was never tasked with overseeing concrete pours).

Boy, do I have a LOT of catching up to do on this thread.

The building should be "dried in" Monday afternoon...

Yes, weld plates with Nelson studs also designed with the main structure and provided basically as a "complete building kit" by the metal building supplier.

It's a 100% weld-up structure, till you get to the walls and roof panels.

4/2

Another early morning start on Saturday, my first time arriving before anyone else. Nice sunrise...



First wall done, just need to do the window cutouts once they arrive. That's the erector honcho, Adolfo, on the right...



Fully insulated wall

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Just for comparison is an old photo of my shop. We had 2 - 6 ton overhead cranes, which would have required more bracing to deal with the start-and-stop movement of lifting precast concrete panels weighing as much as 10 tons:



You can see the continuous diagonal bracing (steel rods with turnbuckles) in the roof, cross bracing of the last bay on the right at the far end, as well as diagonal bracing of the far end wall on either side of the 12 x 14' OH door.

I believe that Mueller must design the post and roof beams as one continuous rigid frame which would depend on the welds to develop full moment connections at all welded joints. Because your erection crew is performing that task, it relieves Mueller of the responsibility of a weld failure. The fastening of the exterior sheeting is also the responsibility of the erectors, which performs the function of providing diaphragm action at the end walls. So screwed and welded connections all combine to combat wind forces. Or maybe the wind doesn't blow in your area??

And as Gordon said, we nit-pickers are just doing our due diligence to provide food for fodder.

Tom

The two steppes after blading down the tops into the uphill side swales. They'll need a bit more work (and grass will need to grow back) to totally disappear.



Couldn't help myself, I started in on the pond.



South property line now passable by truck. It's too bumpy, I'll need to do a couple of passes with the tractor and box blade.

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Looks good! Congratulations

I figured out how to "calm the seas" after 3 or 4 of the 5 days I had the 'dozer.

"next time"

1830s - 1900 is when a flood of German immigrants settled in the central Texas hills.

Yes, the area is perfect for ultralights, if only the weather would cooperate more! There are at least a half-dozen ultralight / trike / paramotor airfields in the area.

with no above-ground Shear bracing ( other than field fillet welds ) ( and screw pattern of the diaphragm sidewall and roofing )

the concrete Foundation beams , embedded steel plate base connectors ... and weld line at these column bases
are taking more and more of the shear load ( kind of like turning a well built table upside down )
and seeing ... how big of a flag can be waved from each table-leg ( flag-Pole )

I'm sure the company has run its numbers , just interesting to see .
( and liability is moved off to , site conditions not controllable by the engineer )

From their website-

"From humble beginnings more than 90 years ago, Mueller Inc. has grown to become the leading manufacturer of steel buildings and residential metal roofing in Texas and the Southwest. The company is still headquartered in Ballinger, the small West Texas town where it was founded.

What accounts for Mueller’s longevity? One vital factor is its manufacturing capabilities. While other businesses have outsourced their manufacturing processes, Mueller continues to make its own products – the old-school, American way. With in-house engineering and strict quality control, Mueller is able to deliver unbeatable quality and value."

From me: If you keep shifting your liability for any length of time, your business shifts to your competitors. Over 90 years on, that hasn't happened...

Gordon, this is the revised layout since reality struck after figuring out the steppes and the final exact location of the building on the most level patch we could find to minimize slab thickness on the low end...

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Quicksilver recommends 300'minimum.

100' roll-out, and 200' to clear a 50' obstacle.

Ok, lol.......I am the same....and I cant stand being a passanger on a bike...

Scariest ride ever, 105 on the back of Sally's 200 Triumph legend 900 triple.

Never again.

4/18
North property line is now fairly passable top to bottom. Needs a couple of passes with the box blade on the tractor, as do all of the steppes, and the work by the creek & pond.



4/20
Last day with the dozer, I dozed the 4th runway, now I have all 8 major compass points covered. Still need to smooth them all out with the box blade which will take twice as long! (I worked a total of 5 days on the dozer)



The area is looking nice, we just need some RAIN!!!

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4/24

I can finally get an idea of how big the shed roof space will be; of course those purlins are only half the space. The last one closest to where I'm standing hasn't gone up yet. It's going to be "ample"



Up on the scissor lift, hanging and wiring up the high-bay LED light fixtures. These things put out the equivalent of 1,000 watt incandescent, but use only 88 watts (.8 amps @ 120V)



Let there be LIGHT! That's a milestone right there 4/24 lights on just over 2 months after closing on the purchase of the property!



Nice sunset after a hard day's work...

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4/29 (today)

Clear shot of a hangar door fully open, and you can see the angled door operator motor mount bracket.



Planted the 3rd (center) column for the shed roof. Should be starting on the receivers and purlins on Monday or Tuesday. the time crunch is over with.



Working on the East/West property line at the North end of the lot, didn't have much time but ONE PASS with the box blade made a HUGE difference. Also started grading out the area where the septic holding tank will go. That REALLY needs a front loader, or a helper with a shovel and all day to get it done.



Whew! Caught up, at last...

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4/27

Wednesday was electrical day. This 00 cable is really tough to bend, so I put some leverage on it! Connected the stub up to the main entrance panel with 2" weathertight flex.



Drove the ground rod in just after this photo. Job done.



Got the building panel done as well (flex conduit). Wired in the carport lights to a breaker rather than have to have a switch with a box, etc.

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Tip of the hat for that door opener rigging

The tip of the hat for the entire hangar door setup goes to my friend Jeff, whom I copied to a "T".

I am very familar with systemsaround here, large four foot deep
septic tank and leach lines ....Solids decompose by bacterical action and the water flows out the leach field and evaporates.....So what do you have there with shallow tank?

OK, here's the Youtube link -

[video:youtube][/video]

Haven't flown in a few years and that did me some good, again congratulations

What a rush. Look's to be alot of fun.

Work has slowed due to Mother's Day, Sally's birthday, kids last day of school, our anniversary (38) etc...

Yesterday I got a reprieve and tackled a job I'd been wanting to check off the list - the first wall of my workshop, with ceiling/second floor joists to hang the garage door tracks from. Not easy getting a full 8' wall up off the ground and set in place solo, not a lot easier getting (8) 12' long 2x10 joists hung atop that wall either!

Done!



Let there be light!



This will make it so much easier to pull the truck in for unloading, as well as loading out the shop equipment and my big tool chest from the storage trailers.

Sharp eyes may note that I did NOT simply rest the right ends of the joists on a horizontal purlin, but I fabricated a "saddle" on the top joist, then carried the load down to the slab via timber columns. As near zero deflection as the 2nd floor will ever need.

Just a few minutes after this, Jeff dropped by again. Glad I was able to capture it on video (will post later)



He "dropped in" and chatted a while, then took off to head home. I paced off his tracks - 100' landing roll, 100' takeoff roll!

640' will be ever so ample!

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What's approach speed and touchdown speed on one of those things? The runway surface sure looked rough to me.

OK, I did a little research (40 horse Rotax version.).

Stall speed: 24 mph
Approach speed: 31 mph

Rough or soft field landings will be less risky at those speeds.

Jeff's has a Hirth 50HP engine. Yes, those are the factory speeds, but Jeff likes to go FAST everywhere he goes.

He doesn't care about the bumps. Mine has fat tires to cope better.

Haven't flown in a long time. Sold the airplane maybe 10 years ago.
I always thought it was the next best thing to sex. Nothing relaxing about it. Exhilarating!

My last logged flight was a 1/2 hr hop from IZA (Santa Ynez) to SBA (Santa Barbara) on 9/24/03. I had had to divert to IZA 3 days prior because SBA was fogged in.
Like Mark, I don't see much private piloting in my future either. And actually imho, motorcycles deliver a lot more thrills per minute (and dollar) than flying, but flying is still worth every minute..

I've always "done it right" when it comes to Ultralights, apart from maybe being ok with 7-10 MPH wind. I think I'll bump that down to 5-7 max.

I NEVER do low and slow / steep, I have a lot to stick around for, and I have just as much fun flying conservatively.

Amen Brother!
The concept of personal limits is one that we will still be able to talk about when we're really old.
Yes, flying at all, even in an ultra-conservative commercial transport does it for me
But put a yoke or stick in my hand and time stops and I'm elevated to another plane of existence (holy [***] I just made that up and it's not bad)

FINALLY finished framing out the shop, including (2) door openings and of course the ceiling/2nd floor decking joists...

32' x 12' x 8' ceiling.



Probably lost at least a pound or two today, it was 101F. I wasn't too uncomfortable with my big shop fans blowing; soon I'll dig out and unload my big Porta-Cool and it'll be quite bearable in there 'till I get the A/C going in a month or so.

I got a real nice garage door opener, cheap, from a friend. I'm putting it in soon, so I won't have to hassle with locking and unlocking it every time i drive up.

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That trailer with twin axles so far back pushes most of the weight on the tow bar.

They are right in the right spot for 90% of the hauling that I do.

I've had long loads that make it wag, but that's only because I load "incorrectly" out of necessity, at times...

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Use what you got, that's the way to do it