El Cheapo Carport

glenn kangiser · September 05, 2006, 11:04:05 PM

Sassy wanted a carport for her car so the sun doesn't burn it up.

I got out the Bobcat and dug her a hole --not her -- I meant for her car and carport. :-/

Next I got some of the free 1931 3x6 bridge timbers. I needed the water to drain out in the winter and wasn't planning on putting more than a gravel floor in it so I picked a height of 8'6" on the left front corner then ran a string level and measured to the ground from there for other post heights. This is like a pole barn but ground is too hard to dig for poles. I drove 3/4 steel stakes in the ground with the jack hammer.

I put a piece of 30 lb felt and a treated 2x6 under it. Uplift resistance and bracing will be provided by rock walls tied into the posts- they are free. The bottom of the post is drilled to accept the stake.

Excavated dirt is used to make a flat turn around area on the lower side of the hill.

Posts are notched to accept the beams and provide a good spike nailing area.

desdawg · September 05, 2006, 11:41:28 PM

I like it, especially the post anchoring technique in hard ground. I had been contemplating how to anchor the bottom of some old power poles when I hit bedrock. I believe you have solved my problem. I do have a hammer drill. Thanks Glenn.

September 05, 2006, 11:43:32 PM

No problem - you will have to use bracing but that is easier than digging this stuff.

John Raabe · September 06, 2006, 12:37:31 AM

Nice detail Glenn. Will the rock work go right up against the post and the gravel floor cover the PT bearing plate?

glenn kangiser · September 06, 2006, 09:05:42 AM

That is my intent. I thought I would drive some 60d spikes into the post sides near the bottom - maybe add some barb wire reinforcement to tie the posts into the rock wall for anchors. Should make its own French Drain.

Any suggestions or pointers?

September 08, 2006, 02:35:03 AM

You gotta love it when your wife asks you to go dig her a hole..

Okay back from fantasy island...The anchoring technique is genius and it is always way cool to salvage free lumber for a project....Luckily you have a bobcat...I am still stuck with pick and shovel...My tractor is an idiot named peter :-?

What are youi going to roof it in with Glenn? Or did I miss that part of the lesson?

jonsey/downunder · September 08, 2006, 02:54:08 AM

Hey Mate, I just worked it out. All this is really just an extension to your house in downtown Mariposa; it's just that you started a bit further away than most of us would have, right.

glenn kangiser · September 08, 2006, 09:58:29 AM

There are tunnels all over town, Jonesy. I want to have a miniture Coober Pedy.

Peter - I think I will go with the old corrugated -- gotta keep the old look going. -Didn't get that far yet on the lesson.

Sassy · September 14, 2006, 02:24:26 AM

Glenn 1st started out last winter telling me that we really needed a garage - not only for the old Dodge but for my car... & the ground was soft from the rain, etc etc... well, it ended up that the RV garage will be used for our 2 antique cars - I mean RV's & antique tools, maybe a little workshop... sooooo, since I was "allowed" to park my car up in the shop for a little while, I got spoiled - that is why the new (made with old, recylced materials) garage is being built.

- so Glenn can have his shop back

.

September 14, 2006, 02:28:29 AM

Current progress through a few days ago. A bit more bracing today. Got rid of some of the Temporary bracing.

Current expenditures for this extravagant project.

About $3.00 worth of roofing nails. A little fuel $6.00? for the Bobcat. Other materials were free or left over from other projects.

Pala · September 14, 2006, 10:19:06 AM

Crafty!

Nice job, looks hot there.

chuck.

glenn kangiser · September 14, 2006, 10:32:05 AM

For about 2 months straight it does not get below 80F at night.

Pala · September 14, 2006, 10:46:26 AM

I am so so so so glad that I live up here in the fog.

glenn kangiser · September 14, 2006, 10:51:45 AM

I did that for the first 18 years - Lincoln City, OR.

In the valley about a mile below - 800 feet elevation drop -- they get into the 60's and 70's at night in the summer -- but up here we are in the Banana belt as the heated air is displaced to our location by the cooler air filling the valley below. Great in the winter though.

September 14, 2006, 11:27:15 AM

My wife and I lived in Albany, OR for 3 years. Spent lots of time in Lincoln City and other coastal locales. Great little sushi place down by Newport.

Now, I wait for the inspector and read the boards.

chuck.

Jens · September 14, 2006, 09:31:39 PM

Sounds too expensive for you!

glenn kangiser · September 14, 2006, 09:51:59 PM

I spend so much time trying to figure out cheap ways to do things I thought -- awe--- what he heck -- How about rewarding myself with a pound and a half of new nails and a little diesel. I mean --I don't smoke and have only an occasional beer -- I should be able to splurge once in a while.

glenn kangiser · December 18, 2006, 12:47:23 AM

Big wind coming down from the PNW in the next day or two. Since I haven't got to the rockwork to anchor this thing to the ground, I figured I better make a hurried modification in my plan or this little carport may end up being a big lawn ornament in someones yard.

Still using some rocks but for a hurry up job they are going to be encased in rammed earth. The recent rains have wet the clay just the right amount to be perfect for ramming if mixed a bit with the Bobcat. I decided to try it with no stabilizer other than a layer of rocks on the ground to act as a moisture barrier. If the wall stays fairly dry it won't go anywhere. Forms - boards - plywood- wire - all thread were all given to me free or salvaged - in keeping with my budget for this project - no cost ( to speak of). Maybe a few dollars total cost.

This was about a 4 hour project including building the forms. I drilled a hole through the post and inserted a 3/4 all thread for an anchor. I also put 2 pieces of barbed wire around the all thread to tie it into the wall. Note the layer of rocks on the bottom to slow down the moisture. Rocks were also rammed in over the bolt to help hold things together. The clay was pit run as I dug it out of the ground. It included a lot of small to medium rocks and one that was about 1 foot across.

Holes were drilled through for the pipe clamps to hold the center of the forms together. The forms were 8'x4' spaced 18" apart. Lag screws and drilling were done with the 18v Ryobi Impact. I am trying to give the tools a good workout to see if I can break one.

Poor picture - a bit dark, but I wanted to show you the Ridgid bits I got. These things are go getters. They are quick change and work with the impact or the drills. I took the lags out of the form - some of the lags had to be loosened by hand because the ramming made them too tight for the small impact. They were 3/8 x 4 lags and went in fine with the impact.

Earth is added about 8 inches at a time and rammed into place with Bouncing Betty. Here I'm doing the Tennessee Waltz with Betty.

I rammed a crown on the top to hopefully drain water off before it soaks into the top or washes away the clay. We may treat it or put some sort of top protection later. For now it will at least keep that one leg from blowing away in a high wind.

Forms can be removed immediately and reset higher or moved to the next location.

This works out to 48 cu. ft. or near 2 yards - about 5000 to 6000 lbs.

Amanda_931 · December 18, 2006, 08:57:45 PM

I ended up with a set of those Rigid bits too.

Amazing.

And I don't think they were the ones that gave me the knock on the head when the bit stopped and the drill didn't.

John Raabe · December 18, 2006, 09:05:17 PM

That's a pretty decent anchor there Gleen. Should hold down that post I would think!

Those winds we are sending your way have chewed things up pretty good around here.

December 24, 2006, 01:51:27 AM

Well, the wind never made it here so needless to say, that post did not blow away.

It did rain pretty good, and softened som of my wall- since this will only get worse if left as is I decided to find a cheap cure for it if possible. In India they make earth blocks with the outside plated with a waterproof material much as Ken Kern recommended - put stabilized soil on the outside then unstabilized inside. I decided on my own version of that , and in keeping with my budget, it had to be cheap --really cheap ---. :-/

Here's what I came up with. A well stabilized earth -lime - cement- AE plaster with a layer of 30 lb felt in the two critical places. I used some light plastic bird netting I picked up from a landscapers garbage pile at a school to drape over it and give the plaster something to hang on to.

My mix was 12 sand 2 lime putty 3 cement 1 AE (asphalt emulsion - Henry's 107) a bit of straw and a handful of fibermesh. I could have used hair but don't have that much. :-/

A piece of felt was placed on top and on the lower front where the splash will be. This and the top are critical areas for rammed earth. This one was especially susceptible to water damage as it didn't have sand added or straw. The AE will make the plaster water resistant. The cement will probably stop the lime from totally doing its job but the lime makes the mix much nicer to work and much more sticky as does the AE. The clay as rammed here simply will dry and become a large plastered adobe block.

I plastered this with 2 batches of mix. A shovel of red clay and about a half cup of color were added to the mix also-- I don't like things to look like concrete. Thickness over all was about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. No we will see what happens during the next storm. I have a day or two for it to cure then water should be good for it. I am hoping that the fibermesh is strong enough to make this thin application plenty strong.