About one month ago now, the family and I broke ground on our new barn. The space, which will be a combination workshop and artist’s studio measures 24 ft. x 30 ft. With help from good friend and former Fine Homebuilding Editor Andy Engel, and his compact loader/backhoe, we dug the 17 piers that make up the building’s foundation and placed and compacted the 18 in. of base material and 4 in. of gravel that elevates the slab above the surrounding grade.
This past weekend, we all worked together digging the trench and running conduit and wire for the electric. I passed the town’s utility inspection this morning. I hope to start backfiling tonight. The next step is forming the slab.
You can read more about my barn here.
Further Resources:
From Cardboard and Cutter Design to Click and Drag: Studio/Workshop Design in the Digital Age
A Firm Foundation for a Backyard Shed
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Here's the site before the base material and capillary break are finished. In all, it took three tri-axle loads of "process" which is a mix of crushed stone ranging from dust to 3/4-in. The process was placed in 3-in. lifts and compacted with a vibrating plate. Then a 4-in. gravel layer is placed on top.
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There are always surprises in construction. The biggest snafu here was a long-buried oak stump straddling the building's perimeter. It would have been a much bigger problem had it not been for my backhoe operator's good-natured tenacity. After a little over an hour of digging, it popped free, much to my relief.
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The barn is supported by seventeen 12-in. piers with spread bases. I had never used a front-discharge mixer before and I'll never go back to one with a rear chute. The driver was a real pro too. He was done and gone within 30 minutes.
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This weekend's project was digging the utility trench and running the conduit for the 100-amp sub-panel. You might ask why I didn't have my buddy dig the trench while he was on site with the machine. I wish I would have thought of that. It took me and my wife 6 non-stop hours of digging to make it the whole way. Fortunately, my sandy soil is easy to dig by Connecticut standards.
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My wife and I met on a Habitat for Humanity Construction site in the mid 90's. She's still just as tough and hard-working as she was then. Here she's breaking up roots with our steel post bar, my absolute favorite digging tool.
View Comments
Yeah, I do ask why you didn't use the machine to dig the trench while it was on site? It sure would have been better for your backs...
It's looking good... When's the barn raising happening?
KD
I'm pretty sure Mike Mulligan could have had that trench in and backfilled before coffee break...
Looking good, Patrick.
Look, if your yard was sand for 20 ft. down, and you could dig anywhere without hitting a rock, you'd probably save that money too. (Remember, this is New England, the birthplace of rocks.)
Nice to see your wife getting in on the fun. That's what this whole project has been so far, right?
It would be great if you could give us a brief overview of your building and the reasons for choosing the options that you chose such as the style of building, stick built or pre-fab trusses for roof structure, slab or gravel floor, open or enclosed sides, over-all budget, etc. Looking forward to watching your project unfold.
Thanks for your interest Pete577. I'll give a rundown of the specs and budget as part of the next post. I should have it up in a day or two.
I've been traveling for the magazine, so I have a little catching up to do first.