Garage and Driveway Improvements

A late addition to our project, but one we had been
considering for some time, was the expansion of our
garage. We needed more space on the east side to make
up for the space lost when we added a mud room and
pantry on the west side. We also had an issue with an
old sewer line that serviced only the garage drain.

This section of our blog shows the steps taken to add 2'
to the garage (by moving the door to the east), cut and
cap the old sewer line, install a small drain field just
for the garage, and repair the driveway.

Next on the agenda... lots of interior work.

And... the end result.

He cut a stress relief joint down the center of
the driveway. However, he couldn't cut the
new slab behind him yet, so I took care of that
the next day.

Adam had to work fast and hard to get the job
done before the cement hardened.

We expanded our driveway to the north a bit,
where the old maple tree was.

The sidewalk was damaged by heavy equipment
during construction, so it had to be replaced.

Nice looking slab.

Adam had several years of experience as a
foreman at a large cement contracting company
prior to starting his own business, Turtle Wall.

It was a perfect day for this job.

Then, the slab above the buried drain field.

First, he fills the 2' garage extension area.

With wire mesh laid down for strength, Adam
is ready to begin installing the cement.

Adam is leveling out the sand while Rebeca
installs re-rod supports.

Here, Adam begins repairing our driveway. He and his
wife Rebeca came from Grand Rapids to do this job.

Before the driveway was replaced and expanded
to the north, an old stump had to go.

On the following day, they installed the soffit
and fascia, and most of the trim. Were it not
for a discussion I had with Steve that morning,
they might have finished the job that day. When
you have the chance, check out their trim work
up close. You'll see that they are meticulous.

Voila! It took only one day for Steve and Shawn
to create this structure.

A luffing sail of Tyvek.

Installing sheeting on the exterior walls.

Installing drip edge and shingles.

Installing OSB sheeting above the rafters.

Removing unneeded shingles from the adjacent
roof.

Next, the roof rafters.

The new garage door header is installed. The
old one will be cut out after the extension has
been completed.

Steve and Shawn got right to work. No plans, just
instructions to create a 2' extension with roof lines
and trim that mirror the bedroom bump-out on the
north side.

Here is the garage just prior to the arrival of Craig
Debbink's crew. The lumber for this project is under
the tarp.

And, not leaving anything to chance, he left the
levels in place so that I could inspect the results.
Nice work, Vince!

He checked every surface to ensure that each
foundation wall was straight, level, and plumb.

Vince laid the blocks on the footer and cemented
them.

Now, its time to expand the garage. Here is the
footer for a 2' foundation on the north side.

Then, we back-filled the trench.

...covered it with concrete.

...placed a brick in front of it and...

We filled the pipe with leftover fiberglass insulation
and rigid spray foam, then...

The cap we purchased in advance was the wrong
size, so we improvised.

The last step before covering the site with sand was
capping the old sewer line.

And here it is: a 10' perforated PVC pipe,
with pea stone above and below it, and rolled
roofing (thanks, Denny, for the idea and the
material!) on top of it.

Then, they installed a small drain field so that
snow-melt from our garage drain would have
a place to go.

After digging a hole about 10' down, they located
the troublesome sewer and cut it.

...and made short work of it. Ken Adam's crew
hauled the rubble away before digging into the
earth below it to help us with our sewer issue.

This beast, operated by helpful employees of
a utility company that was doing some work in
the area, is ready to rip up our driveway...