# getting closer...



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

The excavating is almost done. 
The last of the pile is all broken up and ready to shovel out... 










...and it's a good thing, because I'm running out of places to put the 27 cubic yards of rocks and dirt. 

Next will be fine tuning the floor to get it reasonably level, and piling all of the stuff on one side, so I'll have a little room on the other for a *TRAIN LAYOUT!* 

Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You gonna' pour a floor before you put the train platform?


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

A lot of dirt to move huh? I gotta ask are you doing the concrete yourself and are you going to mix it or pump it in from a ready mix truck? Just curious I live in Riverside and saw you are in LA. I am a Owner / Operator concrete pumper. Also I get discounts on Concrete. PM me if I can be of any assistance. Good luck with your project Bud! 
Rick :thumbsup:


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

That's going to be a great room when you get it done. There's nothing like building from scratch from the beginning!


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

Greg, could you post the before-in progress - done pictures here?
want to show this to my dad. we were in his crawl space digging drainage trenches and discussed your project.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey Greg,

Is there a light at the end of your tunnel? Literally? I know you're anxious to start running some trains, but be careful you didn't tap into an real underground spur! 

Months (years?) from now, when the layout is all set up, and all tricked out, I think it's really important that you can point out to invited guests a little blot of red stain dabbed on the wall somewhere ... I'm sure you scraped many a knuckle along the way, and I think a little blood marker would be a fitting tribute / reminder to the efforts involved!

Welcome to the land of high ceilings! (Or low floors ?!?!?)

TJ


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Everyone sing it " I be working on the rail road " While swinging you pick axe! Maybe you'll get lucky and strike GOLD! :laugh:


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> You gonna' pour a floor before you put the train platform?


For now it's just going to be a dirt floor. The floor is adobe soil with rocks, so I'm just going to level it and use it as is. Slightly dampen it and walk on it and the clay compacts like crazy while it dries up and hardens.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

concretepumper said:


> A lot of dirt to move huh? I gotta ask are you doing the concrete yourself and are you going to mix it or pump it in from a ready mix truck? Just curious I live in Riverside and saw you are in LA. I am a Owner / Operator concrete pumper. Also I get discounts on Concrete. PM me if I can be of any assistance. Good luck with your project Bud!
> Rick :thumbsup:


Thanks for your offer, Rick. 
I'm not planning to concrete the floor for now, but I'll definitely keep you in mind in case the need arises. We had our foundation pumped and it turned out great. Our house sits on top of a concrete monolith. 

Greg


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

tankist said:


> Greg, could you post the before-in progress - done pictures here?
> want to show this to my dad. we were in his crawl space digging drainage trenches and discussed your project.


Sorry, man... I didn't take any before pictures. Here's another one of the mining in progress.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Love the idea of lowering the floor to make more room. But I will caution you, when you have broke threw a monolithic slab you make it very possible to have water leach into the space you have opened up. Mono slabs do not have the standard foundation walls to help support the house, and to keep the foundation walls from moving reporing the floor is a safer bet. Just my 2 Cent's.
I have see projects like this go completely upside down when it starts to rain.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Water in LA????

More likely to pour cement, to keep it whole before the next quake.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

NIMT.COM said:


> Love the idea of lowering the floor to make more room. But I will caution you, when you have broke threw a monolithic slab you make it very possible to have water leach into the space you have opened up. Mono slabs do not have the standard foundation walls to help support the house, and to keep the foundation walls from moving reporing the floor is a safer bet. Just my 2 Cent's.
> I have see projects like this go completely upside down when it starts to rain.


Hi nim, 

Thanks for the warning, but no one builds houses on slabs in our area. It has a wooden floor and sits way up high on 27 cubic yards of continuously poured concrete footings... which is coincidentally the same amount of rocks and dirt that got dug out to make the "man cave". 

We had some really heavy rainfall and there was one small spot where a little water seeped in but that's been patched. There's no structural issues with removing the interior rocks and dirt because the concrete footings go down 8 feet below grade into bedrock to meet earthquake standards. I know because I spent 4 days finishing off the trenches by hand. My wife and I built our house like a fortress.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I got it, I miss read your " house sits ontop a monolith" Comment! The second picture also opened my eyes  Yea don't think you should have a house movement problem, Oh wait you've got quakers there!!!:laugh::laugh::laugh:
Dampening the soil then packing it should work great, I've done the same thing when I was In phoenix. If it's not wanting to set you can mix a little portland with the soil to make it set.
Now get back to work!


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

I would still think about a slab (4" Min.) and maybe some rebar doweled in to your stem wall / footings. Not to mention a true level clean surface to build on. Just my 2 cents since I am in the Concrete Industry. :thumbsup:


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Greg,
Just for the record! I'm completely envious of you right now! I need to dig the foundation for my new home and the ground is completely frozen and it will be like that till late spring I suspect. I'm getting really bored looking at the boxes of trains sitting behind me right now.
The double wide mobile home that were in right now will be the train room once the house is up, hopefully by fall I will be able to get going on it.
So keep up the good work we all will be watching!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Hey NIM, 

Congratulations on your coming home build! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: 
You'll be digging real soon because of global warming. 
Are you planning on a single story or a 2? How restrictive are your building codes? Remember to put in *lots* of bathrooms. 

edit: Just looked at your website... wow, what beautiful countryside! That's some precise woodworking on your layout. If you can do that, you can certainly build a home. 

Greg


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Greg,
Actually the house will be 4 story's, 6 bath, built on a hill side.
I live out in the country and our building codes are really unrestrictive almost non existent. I think I have enough trees on part of the property to build the house with minimal buying of off site wood. 
Yea I was a General Contractor and owned a cabinet shop in AZ, I love to design and build everything. That layout on my site is 20 x 25 the frame is all 3/4 7 ply plywood. My next layout is 25 x 55 and yep it's got it's own bathroom too!
The crazy part about this property is that Union Pacific has a line that borders the property about 5 trains per day 2 night and BNSF is about 300 feet past that with about 25 trains day and 10 plus Amtrak at night. There are enough trees between the house and them that you barely notice or hear them but if you go to the top of the property you have at least a 5 mile view of the trains. Small cabin is going to be built up there.
Keep us posted on your progress, look forward to seeing it all come together!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Wow... you're going to build a *real* house. And with rails nearby, it's a trainlover's paradise!

Ours is a little economical 1,100 sq. ft. cottage built mostly out of stuff from Home Depot... 










It's also on a hillside like yours will be. At the left hand corner, the house is 5 feet off the ground, and around the side is the entrance to the "mine". On the uphill side, it's a foot off the ground. That big black tub on the left collects rainwater from the downspout.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Greg,
Love the house! Not a thing wrong with economical! :thumbsup: Did you build it yourself or at least have friends in the trades? Cali is a Little more expensive to live than up here. I got lucky and picked up our land, 12.58 acres, for 65,000, with Electric, Well, Septic, and they threw in the Double wide mobile for free. It's going to be the train room. It will probably take a few years to get the house done, but I'm looking forward to doing it! I have the advantage of having ALL the tools and most of the knowledge to do everything myself that saves a bunch. You've never said or I didn't catch how big is your new room going to be? Going threw all that work you better be doing more than the micro layout! The smallest thing on my layout is my Gandy Dancer thats been redone for DCC, then I have a collection of small ore cars and tiny log cars that the shay pulls around the mountain. I've been trying to find a N switcher to kit bash into a mine car runner for my new layout then it will be the smallest.


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## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

NIMT.COM said:


> Greg,
> Love the house! Not a thing wrong with economical! :thumbsup: Did you build it yourself or at least have friends in the trades? Cali is a Little more expensive to live than up here. I got lucky and picked up our land, 12.58 acres, for 65,000, with Electric, Well, Septic, and they threw in the Double wide mobile for free. It's going to be the train room. It will probably take a few years to get the house done, but I'm looking forward to doing it! I have the advantage of having ALL the tools and most of the knowledge to do everything myself that saves a bunch. You've never said or I didn't catch how big is your new room going to be? Going threw all that work you better be doing more than the micro layout! The smallest thing on my layout is my Gandy Dancer thats been redone for DCC, then I have a collection of small ore cars and tiny log cars that the shay pulls around the mountain. I've been trying to find a N switcher to kit bash into a mine car runner for my new layout then it will be the smallest.


Nice! I am Jealous guys! Cool house Greg! I can't wait to get out of California! Too many people here anymore. Its crazy here. 
Just like you NIMT.COM I love to build and have all the tools. Even the biggest one in my box my Concrete Pump! Lol. A few more years of school for the kids and we are outta' here! Sounds like a good deal there. How is the concrete trade? Do they use pumps? Hmmmmmmmm.............. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

NIMT.COM said:


> Greg,
> Love the house! Not a thing wrong with economical! :thumbsup: Did you build it yourself or at least have friends in the trades?


We did as much of it as we were able so as to keep costs down, and we became helpers for the small local companies in doing the big stuff.



> Cali is a Little more expensive to live than up here.


Yeah, we know... 
That's why we built. There was no way we could have ever afforded to buy. You can't buy anything in our area for under $650,000 even in today's depressed real estate market. In 2007 there was nothing under a million.



> I got lucky and picked up our land, 12.58 acres, for 65,000, with Electric, Well, Septic, and they threw in the Double wide mobile for free. It's going to be the train room.


Wow... that's a *steal* compared to here!



> It will probably take a few years to get the house done, but I'm looking forward to doing it! I have the advantage of having ALL the tools and most of the knowledge to do everything myself that saves a bunch.


When you "hire" yourself, you have a distinct advantage of *both* quality control *and* price. 



> You've never said or I didn't catch how big is your new room going to be?


It's 12'X24', and most of it will be storage because we have a carport instead of a garage. But there'll be room for a little workshop and layout.



> Going threw all that work you better be doing more than the micro layout! The smallest thing on my layout is my Gandy Dancer thats been redone for DCC, then I have a collection of small ore cars and tiny log cars that the shay pulls around the mountain. I've been trying to find a N switcher to kit bash into a mine car runner for my new layout then it will be the smallest.


Do you have any pics of your logging and mining stuff? I love to see what modelling ideas that others come up with. 

Greg


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Greg,
I'll be unboxing allot of my stuff here shortly. I'm building a temporary work / play station. I'll post some picks of some of my things then.:thumbsup:

concretepumper,
I'll set up on a nice chuck of land you just pack it on up and head north! I can always find work for a willing party!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

concretepumper said:


> A lot of dirt to move huh? I gotta ask are you doing the concrete yourself and are you going to mix it or pump it in from a ready mix truck? Just curious I live in Riverside and saw you are in LA. I am a Owner / Operator concrete pumper. Also I get discounts on Concrete. PM me if I can be of any assistance. Good luck with your project Bud!
> Rick :thumbsup:



Hmmm, concrete pumper.......do you deliver to New Jersey?

Nice Greg.....soon we will see trains running around down there?:thumbsup:


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

It's finally *all* dug out... 










Next up is fine tuning the floor. I totally flooded outside the front of the house to see if there would be any other leaks, and found that the outside cover on that round opening on the right was cracked and water came pouring in, so I'm just going to fill it up with expanding foam in case I need to run anything through there in the future.

All of that earth and concrete has a *lot* of thermal mass so the mancave is going to be a neat place to hang out in the Summer time when it's really hot. Even at over 100 degrees outside, it's 72 down there. In the winter, it stays around 60 degrees so I'll need to use a space heater.

Greg


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Maybe you could use a paving stone floor set in sand so you're not walking around on the dirt. Another option would be an old rug rolled out to cover the dirt.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

If you've never lived in the Southwest Cali or AZ you wouldn't understand how you could have a usable dirt floor, Ewww "I'm going to have mud and dust". It's just not the case there, The soils composition is of a type that if you add a little water and a little compaction that it ends up getting almost as hard as concrete. With no freezing the soil also never Fluffs back up! So having a dirt floor there is about the same as having wood floors back east. So don't think choo choo has "lost his marbles" he's just Putting his $$ to better use, More tiny trains!! 
Oh and if you look in his previous pics you will see he had a rotor hammer/ demo hammer to break up the ground, It is that hard! Living there and now living north I can see the confusion  that most people would have.


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## cabledawg (Nov 30, 2010)

Choo choo, that is alot of work for one man! Moving all that earth by hand has got to be tiresome! It looks good though and it'll be nice to have space for your toys.

NIMT, I think I'll wave to you from the Amtrak when we go to Washington in March. We'll be on the Empire Builder from Minot to Spokane. I have no idea when we'll pass by though, I just know we get to Spokane at about 9 pm and the ride is roughly 22 hours.


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

NIM's correct...
While the gound here has lots of rocks in it, the soil between them is adobe. Even when I was jackhammering, I had to take care not to step on areas that were just loosened up, because the minute I'd step on them, they would recompact.

I'm going to use screened dirt and rock from the dig in my layout. This is a little test diorama just to see the atmosphere they would create...










...and I'm totally pleased to go with that look. 

Greg


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I'll send up flares! I can see the Amtrak from my living room. The weather should be great by then!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Sounds like a plan.  I like the usage of natural materials, and they look good too.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

choo choo said:


> I totally flooded outside the front of the house to see if there would be any other leaks, and found that the outside cover on that round opening on the right was cracked and water came pouring in, so I'm just going to fill it up with expanding foam in case I need to run anything through there in the future.


Greg,

Congratulations on reaching the end of the "tunnel" dig! Hard work pays off! You have good reason to be proud.

In regards to that little hole, you might want to consider filling it with hydraulic cement. You probably know what it is, but if not, it's a special cement that's great for plugging wet area / holes. It actually expands as it cures, creating a very tight seal.

Just a thought ...

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Expanding foam seals too, and it's a lot easier to get out. Note that he mentioned the possibility of wanting to use the hole?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Ohh ... I missed that part. Good call with the foam, then ... possible chase, if needed.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Greg, I'm really impressed with how far you've come since you started posting. All I can say is that, by now, you should be able to outdo Gov. Arnie in bodybuilding! Really nice job---I'm proud of you!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Reckers said:


> Greg, I'm really impressed with how far you've come since you started posting. All I can say is that, by now, you should be able to outdo Gov. Arnie in bodybuilding! Really nice job---I'm proud of you!


Thanks, Reck... 
My daily work involves manual labor so I'm used to it. It feels really good to do physical work, and it keeps me happy and healthy. (I'm in my 60's... )

Greg


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