A NEW STRUCTURE

Adding a sort of carport to the south side of the garage, has always been on the project schedule, and yesterday, it got moved to the top of the long list.  Extending the roof line of the garage 14 feet will give me a covered, semi protected place to park the trailers, and the tractor.  I think I'll call it a tractor port.

 Because I'm still several weeks away from getting a building permit for the RV shade cover, getting started on this next project seemed like the right thing to do.  Sitting around, not doing much of anything just isn't in my wheelhouse.  Besides, staying physically active serves another purpose.  After 5 months of travel to Alaska and back, the body weight had reached an unacceptable level.  As of yesterday, 14 of those pounds have disappeared.  Yes, I miss my buddies, Ben & Jerry, but I've deemed them a bad influence, and they are now officially "outcasts". 

To get this newest shade cover project off the ground, I first had to level an area 12 feet away from the garage.  This is where the concrete footing for a retaining wall will be built.  Instead of the great wall, I think I'll call this the "Small Wall".   The supports for the extended roof will rise from the top of the wall, and be firmly attached to the concrete.   When finished, this area will be 12 feet wide, and 48 feet long, plenty of space to park the trailers, and the tractor.

I finished leveling, and framing for the footing late yesterday afternoon.  Next up is some rebar, then pouring the concrete.  This footing will take a little over a yard, or approx. 62 bags of 60 lb. premix.  The cost for the bags is about twice the price of a yard of concrete off a truck, but most of the concrete companies have a minimum delivery of 4-5 yards.  Since I don't need that much, I'll use my electric mixer, and do it myself.  When the concrete is still a little bit wet, I'll lay the first row of block, and insert vertical rebar in the block.  I think about 3, maybe 4 rows of block should do the trick.  When the wall is finished, then I can start thinking about building the wood structure.  First things first!
 

The backhoe minimizes the amount of hand digging, but I still had to move a bunch of dirt with the shovel.  By the time I had the last nail in the frame, it was time to call it a day. 

Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking Patty to the Tucson Airport, where she'll fly to Phoenix, then on to Fresno, CA.  Nancy will be picking her up in Fresno, and then they both leave for Costa Rica on the 4th. I think I have plenty to keep me busy while she's gone.