# My 18 x 27 Shop



## John1961 (Nov 25, 2014)

I broke ground (hope that's all I break) this morning on my shop. Digging the trench for the electric line. I think I have the trench straight enough for the plastic conduit. The feed will be #4 aluminum wire in 2" conduit from the house. The electrician will wire the 100 amp box and the connection to the main box in the basement. I plan to post my progress on a daily basis if you all are interested. Here are the pics.







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## Holescreek (Nov 25, 2014)

I always love to see pics of shops being built!  I can tell you now though, it's too small.


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## zekeymonkey (Nov 26, 2014)

Best of luck on the building. I love seeing progress on this type of thing.

I use to drive to drive to Gallipolis years ago to get donuts when I went to the University of Rio Grande.


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## Billh51 (Nov 26, 2014)

Good luck on the new shop, always nice to build it the way you want. You may want to confirm the wire size you are pulling to the new shop. If you are installing a 100 amp service the #4 aluminum wire is a little light. I am quite sure it should be #2 aluminum to carry a 100 amp service. Your electrician should know what to put in. Hope all works out well.
Bill


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## John1961 (Nov 27, 2014)

Thanks for the input guys.

Tomorrow I get to play with a ditch witch for the first time. Looking forward to it. Still have plenty of hand digging up by the house near all the other utilities. Would like to get the water line dug too, however, it is a lower priority. Hope to post pics tomorrow night.


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## John1961 (Nov 30, 2014)

Here are some pics of my progress. I got the ditches for the electric and water mostly complete on Friday. I still have some hand digging to finish them.

Here is the electric line ditch 24" deep.



I had to find the electric line from the pole to the house to ensure I didn't cut into it. Thanks OUPS for marking the location.



Here is the water line ditch 30" deep.



Funny how machines "talk" to you as you operate them. Just by the vibrations and sounds they make you can tell what adjustments are needed to keep them running efficiently. Took me just a few minutes to figure out the limitations of the ditch witch and her temperament. 

This was an enjoyable experience. I'll keep posting if you all show an interest.


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## xalky (Nov 30, 2014)

That's a nice ditch witch. Looks like it has some mass to it, which is what you need. I rented one that was half the machine you got. Thank God I only had about 75 ft of ditch to do because that thing nearly pulled my shoulders out of the sockets. It was still easier and quicker than doing it with a pick and shovel, but if I ever to do it again, I'll be renting something like yours. 

I'm watching your project, so if I don't always comment, take heed, I'll at least give you a "like" to acknowledge your efforts.

I suggest others do the same. I realize that it takes a lot of effort to post projects online with photos etc... I for one read most of the projects posted here. A simple "like" or "thanks" goes a long way towards encouraging others to keep going and posting. It costs nothing to do so and it really helps the guys posting to keep it up. What would this place be like without project posters?, not much I'm afraid.

Marcel


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## John1961 (Nov 30, 2014)

Thanks Marcel! 

I rented the machine from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm for under $225. I could have had it the entire 24 hrs at the same price but it gets dark here around 5:00 so no extra advantage. They let me use a trailer since I didn't have my own.

I'm enjoying posting my progress. Actually, I've posted more here than on my Facebook account and I've had it for a few years now. I do realize there are others like me that will read a post and not post a comment or a "like" and that's ok.


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## John1961 (Dec 8, 2014)

Morning all, now that the rain has let up I can finish digging my ditches and start laying conduit. Spoke with my electrician Friday and he suggested I run #1 aluminum wire from the house to the shop. Looking forward to getting it in the ground & covered. Meeting with my excavator this week to discuss the slab work & a few other concrete projects around here.

i'll keep you posted on the progress.


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## John1961 (Dec 10, 2014)

I ran the wire through the conduit piece by piece. Once I was satisfied that I had the proper length of wire on each end I glued the conduit together. I can bury most of it. Will need to finish the dog leg trench to the house today. Then it's wait for the electrician.




It's 37*F here today so it will be a challenge to stay warm when not digging. Spitting snow/sleet with a slight (cold) breeze.

When I'm done with this trench the water line is next. Thinking about using 3/4" PEX. Not sure if I'm gonna run it through conduit or not. Need to talk to a plumber.


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## xalky (Dec 10, 2014)

You might be ok running the 3/4"pex direct burial without a conduit. The 3/4" pex has a heavy wall thickness compared to the 1/2"pex. Just make sure it's deep enough to avoid freezing.


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## Cheeseking (Dec 10, 2014)

I dont have a like button in taptalk on my phone so consider this a LIKE!
I will follow your progress for sure.
Curious why you chose aluminum conductors vs copper??


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## xalky (Dec 10, 2014)

Aluminum is less than half price. It gets expensive really fast when you're running a hundred feet of heavy gauge cable.


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## Cheeseking (Dec 10, 2014)

Got it...   Always easier to spend OPM


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## John Hasler (Dec 10, 2014)

xalky said:


> Aluminum is less than half price. It gets expensive really fast when you're running a hundred feet of heavy gauge cable.



And, contrary to popular opinion, it is completely safe.


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## John1961 (Dec 12, 2014)

Boy am I tired of digging through this clay. All I need to do now is add a few more sections of conduit and wait for the electrician.

I basically had to dig this trench twice. First time I didn't like the stress on the conduit at the corner of the deck when I dropped the conduit in the trench. So I opened the corner a bit then widened the trench to the house. After two afternoons of digging I'm finally satisfied. Thought about heating the 90 degree conduit before I started the extra digging, but gave that up. I didn't want to ruin anything.

With Christmas sneaking up I may not get much work done due to all the family get togethers. Love watching others open presents, especially the gag gifts. Speaking of gifts, thank you all for the suggestions and encouragements they are greatly appreciated.


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## Holescreek (Dec 12, 2014)

I heat PVC conduit with a heat gun to change shape quite a lot.  Just keep the heat moving all around the pipe.


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## John1961 (Jan 5, 2015)

Hello again, I have been filling in the ditches between football games and rainy weather. There is almost nothing worse than wet red clay sticking to a rake or hoe.  I'm glad I have a good putty knife.  This week the excavation is scheduled for today or tomorrow, and the building materials are scheduled to arrive Thursday around noon. 

I'm hoping to find out today when construction starts, guessing Friday or Monday.  I was told construction should take three to four days.  I can schedule the electrician once the building is dried in.  The concrete slab may take a while to pour, I don't want the concrete truck driving over my septic line so the guys will need to shuttle the concrete.  I'm expecting a lot of spillage during this process.  It looks like the temperatures will be in the 40's during the day for the concrete curing.  Vendor says he has blankets to cover the slab so I'm not real concerned.

I'll post the progress as things get done.  Starting to get excited.


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

Used a pick axe to loosen the frozen pile of dirt before I finished filling in the electrical ditch to the house.  Waiting for the excavation work to be done.  Temperatures are in the twenties, brrrrrr.



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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

Gravel arrived before the excavators, truck driver waits with me.  Excavators had a flat tire on the way to my house, only a slight delay.


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

I forgot to take pictures of the John Deere skid steer.  It was fun watching the operator running about scooping up the sod then placing the gravel exactly where he wanted it. Wish I could have helped, but it would have taken too long for me to learn the ropes.
He had three helpers (his sons) raking the gravel and keeping the water line & electrical line out of his way. Took less than three hours. This work was done on Tuesday. More to come...


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

The port-o-pot guy drove by twice without stopping (silly GPS).  He sat at the corner about 500 feet from the house making calls for directions. Why he didn't call me, who knows, probably didn't have my number.  Wasn't long before the delivery truck showed up to lead him to the house.


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

Truck is here with the goods.  Took two hours to unload it. The salesman even showed up to help unload. Froze our butts off.  Temperatures in the low teens with 10 mph winds.


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

All done! Load up & head out.


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## John1961 (Jan 8, 2015)

Exciting time, the assembly crew is scheduled to be here on Monday. 


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## Scruffy (Jan 22, 2015)

Nice building!!!
I live about 15 miles from Morton buildings in Kenton.  At least the trucks look like Mortons?
Crossed the old silver bridge,  rode the ferry quite a few times after the bridge collapse, and crossed the new bridge hundreds of times.delivered a lot of new vechles to w.va. And va.

Keep posting pics
Scruffy


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## jeep534 (Jan 26, 2015)

it is looking good. I do not live very far away (near Huntington WV)  I will be jeeping an eye on your progress. 

Happy Hunting
archie


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