Finally concrete! In this post we cover the concrete pour and final results of the new driveway. Also, I drag home some more projects and a new (to me) tow rig!
Here is the last picture before the concrete crew showed up to do their stuff. Boy am I ready to get rid of the pond that shows up in the driveway every time it rains.Here is my drawing I made of the driveway so I could get quotes. My really rough geometry came up with around 1,330 sq feet. It was close enough to get the job done :shrug:
Laying out / prepping for the concrete
Paint markings from the final walk through where I determined the perimeters with the crew. Notice we cut off the tip of the triangle, This should help the narrow edge not crack.This crew is the same that did the floor in the shop (of which they did a phenomenal job). They worked quick to get the remaining dirt leveled out and formed up.Rebar throughout the entire pour at 2′ spacing. All of the rebar was tied into the foundation/driveway on the house and shop.Here is a look at the tie in to the driveway. They installed an expansion joint along the entire area where the two driveways meet. The top of the basin drain was taped off to keep any dirt or concrete from going down inside.all set up, this is the calm while waiting for the concrete trucks to show up. They couldn’t finish forming the left side until the truck poured the far right half since the truck would have to back over it to get up to it.
Pouring the driveway!
Concrete! The truck was able to back up to the breezeway to pour the back patio area. Once we got to about this point, the thickness to the left of the basin drain went up to 6″ in front of the shop in case we end up with any heavy trucks/RV’s in the future. Always good to plan with a margin of safety.Not done, but looking good so far!
Planning drainage
Quick thought on drainage. It is roughly between the two man doors where there is a high spot. Everything to the top of the picture goes to the backyard and the other side goes to the main driveway drain. Be sure to think ahead and plan out your drainage for where you want the water going prior to having the crew show up.
We had 3 concrete trucks in total. These two jockeyed in and out of the cul-de-sac at the same time. Getting close to the end!Brushed the texture and started putting in the relief lines. These lines are supposed to help the concrete crack in even squares. Doesn’t always work, but looks nice when it is done.Almost done. They used just about every extension they brought for this super long line. The one he is on now went all the way over to where the man doors are.Turned out awesome! (he wasn’t quite done with the line on the left side yet)Done and curing. This after they sprayed the cure and seal on it.Here is a look at the whole thing.Ever since we moved into this house ~5 years ago there has been a step down from this door to a pad then for the last year or so it has been an 8″ step down to dirt/gravel. It is almost weird to have it all finished now.Took the leftover concrete washout pieces and broke them down with a sledge to about 6″ or less pieces. Used them as fill for my drainage ditch to slow down the water and stop eroding the dirt.Gertrude and I were pretty proud of ourselves. Turned out pretty good for having used some concrete leftovers that would have gotten tossed out/trashed.
Back to projects!
I try to keep a balance between working ON the shop and working IN the shop. I recently gave up on the arcade project and sold it after my neighbor Dan and I tried to fix it (twice). Since I can’t keep myself off FB Marketplace though, it wasn’t long before I drug home this broken thing that was a killer deal:
1984 Yamaha G1 2 stroke with a blown up clutch and electrical problems. Has a lift kit, some Chinese knockoff bypass shocks on the front and sweet wheels and tires though!This thing is a basketcase on the inside. Lots of hack wiring and a partially bent/cracked frame (bottom right of the picture). I will be welding the frame back up and fixing some of the wiring. Along with a new clutch. Our city just determined it is legal to drive these on public roads where the speed is <25mph so I might keep it for a bit.
New Tow Rig
Now that I am mostly done with the shop and all of the hauling that came along with it… I finally bought a new to me tow rig. DANG trucks are expensive, I think I found the sweet spot though. Around 6 years old and 100k miles seems to be the best value right now where there is still plenty of life left but the vehicle is less than half MSRP new. I got this one for about 1/3 of new MSRP, it is a 2015 with ~135k mi (but was in better condition than some I looked at with less miles). Has factory trailer brakes and is rated to tow 9,100lbs 😮
New tow pig39 miles after buying it and signing all the as is no warranty paperwork, the engine light came on…Luckily after researching the P0299 and finding out that it is a super common issue with these trucks I was able to diagnose it as a failed blowoff valve ‘BOV’.
If you look real close, you can see the tear in the orange diaphragm.
Turns out that was a cheap fix other than my research and labor at ~$50. Truck runs beautiful now and is averaging about 19mpg which is super impressive.
Wrapping up
Hopefully that is the last big part of the shop build. The rest will be relatively smaller with finishing dirt work and the inside of the shop. Hope you enjoyed the update.
Brilliant !!!Dd