The "Roadkill Chop-Shop" Project

[Roadkill]

I need another project like I need a another hole in my head but this one will be epic - my biggest build ever.

Why ?

Simple.  In order to build the Cadillac I simply need more space to do it. 

She's 18'9" long x 7' wide. 

Even if I could clear everything out of my current garage space I'd have 20'6" x 8' wide - fine for storage, but useless when the body comes off the chassis !!!

I've tried all manner of solutions - from looking into temporary gazebos for storage, to renting units, to renting space in my works' unit, to attempting to buy my neighbour's garage, to renting other neighbour's garages but, alas, all non-starters.

So I need to build.

I have a area available to me which is nominally 20' long x 17' wide (basically generous double-garage size).  This space is really tight for doing what I need to but my best (and only) option.

It needs to be built quickly and there's a lot of work involved so I've written-off progress on any other project I have once it starts (which'll be soon).

:chiny:

[ianjpage]

:up: sounds a good sized space for the caddy!!

[Roadkill]

Work has begun !

First job is to begin clearing / relocating stuff that's in the foot-print of the Chop Shop.  That included moving around a tonne of miscellaneous crap to the dump last night and manually demolishing and breaking up 2 sizable concrete slabs and a large patio.




I have a 8yd skip booked for Thursday and must have it filled by Sunday evening . . . I'm hoping most or all of the arisings will go in just the one skip . . . leaving - at worst - a few final trips to the dump in the Mondeo.

We'll see.

[Roadkill]

Work is progressing nicely.

I filled the first 8-yard skip up on Friday night and had to get another . . . That's currently just over half-full.



Since the picture above was taken a good chunk of the soil area has been taken away.

There's an existing slab covering most of the area - which is great - but it would've been better if it was an inch or so lower . . . I'm not about to break that out, though !!



I'll probably have a bit of a break tonight and do stuff at home as I've been slaving away for 5 out of the last 6 days and need to recover (!!)

[Roadkill]

Put in another couple of hours shifting soil last night . . the second 8-yarder is nearly full but I'll get more in yet !!

Also took some levels with the laser-level last night after it got dark . . . The depth from proposed floor level to the existing slabs is 85-135mm which is pretty good.  I was concerned that it would be too shallow but anything over 75mm is workable so all good.

There's a few more bits to move but the plan is to concentrate on clearing more soil until the skip is rammed so it can be off-hired.



I don't want to pay for a third skip so am hoping that the last of the soil can be taken to the dump in buckets using the Mondeo.  :chiny:

[ianjpage]

Coming along nicely looks a good solid base under there,  what was thefe before as looks like been other building or summat there?

[Roadkill]

The second skip has now gone.  I did 4 trips to the dump yesterday, clearing a bit more soil (clay, really).

I've started leveling the soil at the back (horrid job).  Also I started digging a trench to install drainage pipes to divert surface water to an existing soak-away . . . . Unfortunately, on inspection the soak-away is doing next-to-nothing so I now have to dig that up and re-form it before running the new pipes.

:rolleyes:

I also am weighing-up my options regarding the surface water coming off the roof of the structure . . . . the area was about 75% concrete before (ie. no natural drainage) and didn't flood or pool much so theoretically I shouldn't have to do much. 

The current plan is to have a single-pitch roof falling to the back of the structure . . . there I'll probably split the gutter into two, taking one to an existing down-pipe (and its soak-away) and divert the other gutter down, underground and back to another nearby down-pipe - but that's quite a bit of work in itself.
I'm not keen on diverting it all to the nearby down-pipe - that'll more than double the collection area it was designed for.

:chiny:

Anyway, as of yesterday --



Progress feels pretty slow at the moment as leveling takes time and without a skip nearby, disposing of the arisings takes time, too !

One the plus side, the build itself should be pretty quick, once the slab is done . . . . You can see some of the steel flashing sections in the picture above ready.

[Roadkill]

looks a good solid base under there,  what was thefe before as looks like been other building or summat there?

Well . . .

First, I think, was an aviary.  Then it moved.  Then there was decking.  Then that went.  Then there was a pond.  Then that moved.  Then there was a patio.  Then the aviary went on top of the patio.  Then the aviary went and a further patio put in its place on the current patio.  As well as the slab I removed earlier from the aviary in between (!!!!!!)

[ianjpage]

lol wow it's certainly had some different uses then no wonder it generated lots of waste!!

[Roadkill]

Work is progressing nicely . . a little slower than I'd hoped but at least 99% of the digging is over with !

Work continued on the existing drainage arrangement to cope with the surface water run-off from the adjacent area . . .

The existing soak-away was small, blocked and backed up so I dug it up (not originally in the plan). 

I doubled the capacity and increased the depth . . .



After that I finished leveling the main soil/clay area and extended the drainage trench a bit more . . .



At this stage (finally !!!) I can get a good idea to the eventual size . . . .



I exposed the connection to the first main soak-aways - more on that later . . .



Back to the smaller soak-away - I used 110mm drainage pipes (riddled with holes) to form the base of a drainage crate (to fit the hole I had) and wrapped it in membrane.



After that I added 10mm gravel to the bottom of the hole . . .



Added what will be the main pipe into the soak-away . . .



Sat the "crate" in place and back-filled the space around it with 20mm gravel.



I then added the next section of drainage pipe, adjusted for the fall, then back-filled around that with 10mm gravel, too.



The 5 bolts sticking out around the top of the soak-away should hopefully tie the surrounding slabs together when I do a mini-pour of concrete over the area to bring it back up to the surrounding level.

[Roadkill]

Concrete put in over soak-away :



Moved one of the down-pipes over about 6" . . a lot of work for a little amount of room but I need everything I can get :



New drainage gully installed (this will take the run-off from the area adjacent and lead to the small soak-away recently re-installed) :



Drainage to connect said gully with said soak-away complete.  Also note the black duct which will carry electrical cables (draw cord fitted inside) :





The connection to the soak-away I said I'd come back to . . . well I did come back to it, but forgot to take pictures . . . I basically moved the down-pipe connection outside of the footprint of the Chop-Shop and also added a Tee to accept a further connection :



. . . . That further connection being this down-pipe (the third) :



Set concrete :



Also note fine gravel to bed-in drainage pipes :



Existing fence treated.  Gravel installed around all new drainage - ready for final leveling :



Soft (builder's) sand added about 20mm thick over soil and gravel to the back of the area - also to the joins in the existing slab(s) where they may be a risk of piercing the DPM :





I've since laid the first section of DPM, ready for shuttering.

Next job, though, is to remove a wall which will allow vehicular access to the area . . .