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6K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  FrogHouse 
#1 ·
Introduction to my new work-in-progress

This is my first blog post, and have no real expectations other than just journalizing my experience. For this series I will be discussing my build of a small shed that will eventually house my dust collection and my air compressor. After discussing the project with my wife, it expanded to a 4' by 8' catch all shed. Aside from the dust collection and air compressor I haven't really thought about the interior. I just want to build the thing. As this point I have it mostly built. Four walls, a roof, and a skid-style floor. At this point the frame is built, the roof shingled, and the exterior walls are sheeted with OSB and wrapped in Tyvek.

The first objective of this project was to utilize as much reclaimed lumber as possible. I came across some 2X4s that housed signage from a local construction project. After denailing, the pieces became the frame for the walls. An old fence will become siding shingles (at least in theory). The floor, OSB, and roof are all purchased.

Since I am working in a confined space I actually framed the walls first. Typical 16" on center with code-correct door framing. Once the walls were constructed and put aside, I built the base for the shed. I used pressure treated 4X4 for skids. with pressure treated 2X4 for the floor joists. This was topped of with 3/4" exterior plywood with the bottom side painted with exterior latex paint (one gallon for $7 in the scrap bin).

With the base completed I used 1/4" X 3" inch lags to attach the frame to the floor. Rafters were cut at a common angle of 4 (thanks YouTube for teaching me how to cut rafters) and spaced at an over-kill of 16" on center. The door skeleton was built with 2X4s and mortise & tenon joints (more over-kill) and attached to the OSB from the inside. I clad the walls and roof with 7/16 OSB. With more help from YouTube, I managed to shingle the roof with left-over shingles from an earlier house repair.

Wrapping the shed in Tyvek (probably more over-kill) proved to be a challenge. I bought a 36" roll (cheaper) and made several passes. However, at the time I was doing this, a cold front moved in. One very important lesson was learned. Tyvek tape is VERY sticky and will adhere to anything. One should NOT use one's teeth to cut Tyvek tape during a wind storm. Just saying.

With a clear day (and another storm coming in tonight), I am going to try to hang hinges and cut the door today. Lets see how it goes.
 
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#3 ·
... I came across some 2X4s that housed signage from a local construction project. After denailing, the pieces became the frame for the walls….
- FrogHouse
I just have visions of a midnight materials acquisition strategy. Wood ninja style. I can see the constructions guys showing up the next day, "hey does something look different to you…"

j/k, good use of reclaimed materials.
Mike
 
#5 ·
... I came across some 2X4s that housed signage from a local construction project. After denailing, the pieces became the frame for the walls….
- FrogHouse

I just have visions of a midnight materials acquisition strategy. Wood ninja style. I can see the constructions guys showing up the next day, "hey does something look different to you…"

j/k, good use of reclaimed materials.
Mike

- MikeDS
LOL - actually, I was working as a sub on the site. I saw the sign guys ready to trash the wood and I was like: "hold on there a minute". They loved that I cleaned up the wood for them, one less thing they had to do.
 
#8 ·
Thanks House the picture tells us a lot, like is it on a slab which helps a lot in your build.
Not sure how you managed to turn the picture correctly. A PM or link to a description on how, would be much appreciated. I am building on a slab, though it is on a all-so-slight gradient. The air-vent protruding from the bring wall was removed and opened enough to accept a 4" pipe (for the dust-collection), a air compressor pipe, and power.
 
#9 ·
Hi Kirk,

I would love to get my dust collector outside of my shop to free up some space and make things a little more quiet. It's on the (long) list of things to do.

A couple of things you might want to consider, especially if the shed is attached to a living area, or if the shop is in a heated garage. If you don't plan on returning the exhausted air from the dust collector back into your shop, you will be removing a ton of heat from the room in a hurry. Even worse, it will create a negative pressure in the space and can pull exhaust gasses from the furnace/water heater back into the living areas increasing the risk of carbon monoxide exposure.

Maybe you've planned for this, or it doesn't apply to you. But just in case…..

Chuck
 
#10 ·
A couple of things you might want to consider, especially if the shed is attached to a living area, or if the shop is in a heated garage. If you don t plan on returning the exhausted air from the dust collector back into your shop, you will be removing a ton of heat from the room in a hurry. Even worse, it will create a negative pressure in the space and can pull exhaust gasses from the furnace/water heater back into the living areas increasing the risk of carbon monoxide exposure.
Hey Chuck,
Thanks for the comment.
Honestly, I have not thought about it. I have a detached garage that I use as my shop. It does central heat and air. I planned using blast doors and pipe the exhaust outside. I will be using a remote to kick the system on and off when in use.

As my wife has commandeered the shed for now, it is a non-issue.

Kirk
 
#11 ·
We have a door!

Wow. People actually read my first blog post. Not sure I was expecting that. Thanks to all that read it and a special thanks for those that commented. Before we continue, here are a few photos of it in progress.

Sky Building Wood Ladder Window

Sky Wood Shade Road surface Tree


When we last left the shed (and when I say 'we' I mean 'me'), the shingles were up the OSB in place and three walls were wrapped in Tyvek. The next thing needed was a door! I purposely covered the entrance when I put up the OSB. I built the door structure and installed it on the inside of the front OSB before I installed the last side. When I installed the door, I drilled a 1/2" hole in each corner of the door jamb as guides for future cutting.

Sky Building Gas Motor vehicle Font


So the plan was to locate the four holes, connect the dots, measure out 1.5" from each side and cut along the lines. Of course, nothing goes quite as planned. My first mistake was that I went 1.5" from the verticals, but not from the top and bottom. But in hindsight, I am okay with cutting the top and bottom where I did. I still have the overlap on the sides, which will seal the door nicely.

Once the lines were drawn I put up a 1X4 trim. I used this to guide my circular saw. With the verticals cut, I installed the hinges. Three hinges with three lags in each. Worked like a champ. I then cut the top and bottom. Then viola! The door wouldn't open. I recut, made deeper cuts, and even went to the arbor on each corner to make sure the cut went all the way. The door still would not open. One corner flapped a little, so I know my theory worked, but the door stood fast. Frustrated, I lifted the Tyvek and cut an access hole to crawl through. I then kicked the beast until it opened. Seems that I nailed the OSB in the 1.5" area. Just enough to keep the door from opening. A multi-tool made quick work of the offending nails.

With the door finally mobile, I added more lags to the hinges and what do you know - the door wouldn't open again. Back through the hole I went and more force, and the entire jamb came off. The added lags went into the jamb. I cut the nails, and will fix it later.

A storm was coming in and I wanted to make sure to get some siding on the door to keep the Tyvek in place. I played around with the old fencing wood and decided on a diagonal pattern for the door. I got most of the top and some of the bottom in place-not shown in photo- (and even re-attached the access hole piece) before it got too blustery and cold to continue. Here is how it mostly remains now.
Wood Fixture Font Gas Paint


School is in session again (I am a student again after +30 years) so I have to wait until the weekend to continue my project. Until next time…
 

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#12 ·
We have a door!

Wow. People actually read my first blog post. Not sure I was expecting that. Thanks to all that read it and a special thanks for those that commented. Before we continue, here are a few photos of it in progress.

Sky Building Wood Ladder Window

Sky Wood Shade Road surface Tree


When we last left the shed (and when I say 'we' I mean 'me'), the shingles were up the OSB in place and three walls were wrapped in Tyvek. The next thing needed was a door! I purposely covered the entrance when I put up the OSB. I built the door structure and installed it on the inside of the front OSB before I installed the last side. When I installed the door, I drilled a 1/2" hole in each corner of the door jamb as guides for future cutting.

Sky Building Gas Motor vehicle Font


So the plan was to locate the four holes, connect the dots, measure out 1.5" from each side and cut along the lines. Of course, nothing goes quite as planned. My first mistake was that I went 1.5" from the verticals, but not from the top and bottom. But in hindsight, I am okay with cutting the top and bottom where I did. I still have the overlap on the sides, which will seal the door nicely.

Once the lines were drawn I put up a 1X4 trim. I used this to guide my circular saw. With the verticals cut, I installed the hinges. Three hinges with three lags in each. Worked like a champ. I then cut the top and bottom. Then viola! The door wouldn't open. I recut, made deeper cuts, and even went to the arbor on each corner to make sure the cut went all the way. The door still would not open. One corner flapped a little, so I know my theory worked, but the door stood fast. Frustrated, I lifted the Tyvek and cut an access hole to crawl through. I then kicked the beast until it opened. Seems that I nailed the OSB in the 1.5" area. Just enough to keep the door from opening. A multi-tool made quick work of the offending nails.

With the door finally mobile, I added more lags to the hinges and what do you know - the door wouldn't open again. Back through the hole I went and more force, and the entire jamb came off. The added lags went into the jamb. I cut the nails, and will fix it later.

A storm was coming in and I wanted to make sure to get some siding on the door to keep the Tyvek in place. I played around with the old fencing wood and decided on a diagonal pattern for the door. I got most of the top and some of the bottom in place-not shown in photo- (and even re-attached the access hole piece) before it got too blustery and cold to continue. Here is how it mostly remains now.
Wood Fixture Font Gas Paint


School is in session again (I am a student again after +30 years) so I have to wait until the weekend to continue my project. Until next time…
Coming along nicely!!!
 

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#15 ·
Siding done

Hey Lumberjocks. The new semester is in session and I am knee deep in assignments. (Just an FYI I am a 50 year-old student, working on getting that degree I should have gotten 30 years ago.) The good news is that I was able to finish the siding on the shed before the stuff got too deep in school. I have a couple of minutes and thought I'd share the progress.

When last I posted, I completed the siding for the door. I used some cedar trim I had hanging around from an earlier project. The trim was used as a guide to cut the door shape. It mostly worked. For the actual siding I angled reclaimed fence pickets, but when it came time for the rest of the shed I took a few days to decide how I wanted to cover it.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plank Door


There were several choices available to me for the siding using the old fence pickets. I scoured over YouTube and Pinterest for different ideas. My original thought was to cut them down to shingle-sized pieces which would give an old northeast feel. Alas, I live in Texas and not sure I wanted that look. Another good choice would be to use put them angled like the front door, or even vertical. I could have also went with the overlapping horizontal. I laid a few pieces out on the bench and asked the wife her opinion. None seemed to really grab her attention.

So with school starting, I needed to get the siding on before too long. I needed something quick, easy but still had a rustic look. I decided to use the cut pieces in a horizontal pattern. I did like the weave corners I saw from the shingle videos (isn't YouTube great). Describing a weave corner is a bit difficult, so I opted just to show it.

Wood Rectangle Plank Hardwood Tints and shades


I didn't use any complicated joinery for the layers. A tongue and groove, or lapped-rabbit along the edges would have provided a tight seal, but isn't that why I put the Tyvek underneath? The most complicated thing was to ensure that each row was all the same height. Running the piece through the jointer helped ensure close to a tight fight. After I ran out of off-cuts I purposely cut long pieces and flipped it over end to continue the aesthetic. When I reached the bottom of the gable, I switched to vertical-just because. The completed look is exactly what I wanted. An old, rustic-chic cabin in the middle of the woods.

Window Building Black Wood Shade


A friend commented that all it needed now was a stove pipe coming out the gable. What a great idea!!! A blackened stove-pipe would work well for the exhaust from the dust collector.

Wood Building Siding Shade Window


Thrilled with the completed projected I had to show-off too the wife, who promptly pointed out that it needed a door handle! So I set to work to make a temporary handle/lock for it. Wouldn't you know, while I was making it, the wife began moving her lawn tools into it.

"It's finished right?" she asked.
"But I made it for the dust collector!"
"Well then, you are just going to have to make me one!"

She spoke my language. For now, her gardening stuff will sit in it until I rebuild her she-shed (or so we are calling it). That will have to wait a while. I have a ton of homework to do.

Oh, here is the finished handle/lock combo I came up with. The actual handle is an old washer welded on to a lag bolt originally used in the fence.

Wood Natural material Table Wood stain Plank
 

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