| Blog series by Bob #2 | updated 344 days ago | 22 parts | 10930 reads | 322 comments total |
Part 1: The planning stages
I finally got up the strength to give sketchup a try this week. It has to be one of the most miserable programs I have ever tried to learn. There is too much information, there is too little information and almost every step involves going out somewhere over the internet to gather up the basics. Suffice it to say that the learning curve, at least for me, is daunting. Here’s what I have learned so far: I wanted a sketch to show me the approximate positioning of this shed relatve...
Part 2: Ever closer to a plan we can use
I had to teach myself a bit of sketch-up to get his plan off the ground thanks to the felllas that chipped in to make the learning curve a bit shorter.I’m no good at sketchup but I have managed to get a drawing (stick frame) that represents what I want to do with the shop. This version of the shop comes about after trying to get the city here to approve my use of about 4 feet of their property. -No luck. So we will build the shed at 18 feet wide and add a lean to to the side on the ...
Part 3: moving the gardens
Every Little job is becoming a little pain in my back.This morning I new I had to remove 5 five by five square foot garden retaining walls and move them “temporarly” in front of the construction site.No big deal right.?It was an exercise in humility as the old timber had begun to rot after 20 years and had also taken on much water. ( I’m figuring about 300 lbs a piece. ( My wife helped by holding the frames upright while I “skooged” the hulks across the lawn on...
Part 4: Marking out the site
The trials of marking out a site have nearly all landed on my little job here.First, I could not locate the surveyors pins and managed to dig out half of my lot as well as part of the neighbours .I finally used a site measurement taken off the original site plan for each end of the house and ran a line with a laser to get the back property line .I had to move 5 square foot gardens forward as per the picture aand reload them before planting this weekend ( may 20/08)Next was a buried gas lin...
Part 5: The search for a framer - the struggle begins
For the past week I’ve been attempting to engage a contractor/framer to build out the structure of my small woodshop.The labor market is tight here so the chioces are slim to none with the odd goof and or crook tossed in to keep me on my toes. <g>One fellow showed up (having no credentials) and suggested that he could not obtain a bond or insurance for the job. He contacted me by e-mail and offered to come by on Sunday to finalize his estimate and provide me with a time frame. I ask...
Part 6: The building progresses and sketch up is harnessed
I have now a deep loathing for Sketchup.I managed to get a representation of my requirements by starting at 4:30 Am today and working the sketch up product to get a couple of renderings That my new framer can follow.This guy seems reasonable and we should be on the site by Monday and done his part by Friday.You can’t imagine the number of tiny stickies that crop up doing a job like this. It might as well be an apartment block.At any rate to keep you posted, this is the reference that ...
Part 7: The Eagle has landed! -We are beginning to frame
Apparently all the thrashing about with Sketchup and the help and encouragement of my LJ friends has born fruit. I was able to get a lumber package together and get it out to the house yesterday. My itinerant framer showed up today and when I got home had a great surprise for me. Apart from several small glitches it appears we are level and square and ready tomorrow to insulate and run the flooring.The crew managed to disconnect my cable line again which has been spliced twice sin...
Part 8: Walls are nearly done and we begin laying out for electrical
It rained plenty last night plus we had some springing in the floor that require retrofitting to more posts. fun fun!Today I started a new sketch for the electrician to put in the sub panel and let me run EMT around to service the machines.I borrowed several sketchup 3D renderings to figure the best location for the outlets. I plan on running EMT at 48” above the floor and dropping my outlet boxes from that. The lights of course will be on a separate circuit as will be the infrared h...
Part 9: The walls are up and it's raining
We got off to a poor start today with the framer not showing till noon but managed to get the walls up and the electrical line run and dropped in the trench before the rain started.One of my support posts has sunk so I will be investigating that tomorrow and figuring out a fix.I have a feeling the sonotube was not filled properly. Bob
Part 10: I am living in interesting times! -the roof appears but...
I was told that building something from plans or sketches was a lot different once the job hit the ground and they were 120% right.I have had the usual setbacks with material gone south and at this point the structural beam I had engineered by the truss manufacturer came in too light . My framer intervened for me as I have no clue what the spec should have been and the result is that they are replacing the beam for me but it is a real pain now as the sheeting is on and the best we can do now ...
Part 11: Sheeted in and ready for the roof
The framer and his kin folk are finally out of the backyard and all that is left now is the cleanup of hundreds of staples and nails and bits and pieces of plywood hammered up 2×6’s and various food and drink wrappings dropped helter skelter by up to seven kin at a time with never more than two working and the rest either in slumber, play,eat or stun mode.If I ever take another contract on I will stipulate no one on the worksite except those named in the agreement.I have extra...
Part 12: Here comes the amateur roofer! life time guarantee on this one!
Today marks the first time I tacked shingles since I was 16 years old. ( apparently, there is a lot I forgot)Thanks to you generous folks who pointed me in the right directions and several tours of Internet I am well on the way to getting the roof done tomorrow. The big draw back today was the sun. I was so hot on the tar paper that you could not touch it or even sit on it. The heat was definitely in the 140 -160°F range.I got the flashing figured out and the starter course on by around 10:AM...
Part 13: The electrical is done - the roof is done!
I must congratulate my electrical guys today . They worked like troopers and even figured out my sketches and made suggestions to make it into a really nice shop.I have T-8 lighting and more outlets than you can shake a stick at. As I mentioned before I ran my electrics outside the walls so that changes could be made without disturbing the sheeting or insulation.I have about 8, 220 volt outlets and the rest are 110 volts. All were carried in one 3/4” EMT tube.The one lower light here...
Part 14: Roof is on and now we are painters- not!
As I mentioned on my last entry we got the roof on Thursday.The guy helping me got two calls from his girlfriend when up on the roof and within 6 tiles of finishing he had vanished from the property.Friday night he called , obviously concerned now about his paycheck. As it a long weekend here still have to clean up from the roofing and haul out the extra bundles of shingles in the truck for a refund I told him to come and see me Tuesday at work and I would issue him a company check. I was g...
Part 15: The floor is down and I still wait for the gas fitter
The gas fitter that postponed me until after the long weekend did not show up on Wednesday as he agreed.He didn’t phone me either so not until Thursday did I give him a call and now he says this Monday.I had arranged to set this laminate flooring this week but with the heat and setbacks I am setting the last of it today. A bit of quarter round and I’m done. This job is sure hard on my old knees and the crap I bought fits together when it wants and separates with too much pressure ...
Part 16: A little siding makes a big difference
While struggling to get the heater purchased and installed I tackled the vinyl siding . It seems to be pretty straight forward . I set up a cutting station and put a plywood blade in my circular saw backward and it cuts pretty easy. You have to be careful to leave a bit of room between each peice for expansion. Sorry for the addition now but my buddy and his wife just came in from Mexico for a visit. It’s too hot down there right now. On with the blog: What I’m using is a...
Part 17: Inching closer to moving day
During the last few days I was able to complete the installation of the vinyl siding and wait patiently for my infrared heater. To make a long story short I contacted a local infrared heater supplier here in Edmonton that turned out to be my worst nightmare.When I contacted the owner Re: installation e-mailed me back and said they do not allow their customers to see installations and that I would have to appear at his store for further details.I left it at that for or two to three weeks a...
Part 18: Cedar scalloped siding on and light hooked up
At the risk of being seen as slacking off I humbly submit my most recent efforts.“The Boss’ as she has become known let me know that the shop would be best served with a faux frontage to drop the visual height of the building . To do this I hand cut and milled some 45 lengths of 3/4”cedar fencing into cedar siding, cut and fitted same, marked the lengths with a snap line and painstakingly cut each in the form of semicircle. Next painted and reinstalled each and every boar...
Part 19: Gas is hooked up??? and cabinets are ready for the install
Progress on the shop over the last couple of weeks has been relatively slow so I did not bother you with an update.My gas fitter finally appeared this Thursday and completed the installation of my infrared heater.My wife conveniently dropped the barbecue lidon our gas quick disconnect and I was in the process of replacing the broken nipple when the gas fitter took over…..To my surprise he tested the seal of the new parts by running the barbecue lighter along the joints to see if he c...
Part 20: Moving the machines and sorting the hand tools
There is nothing quite like a move to point out what a board hoarder and tool junkie you really are! I had no idea that I had accumulated so much “stuff” until now. I had a pretty good idea from using Sketchup and surveying my major tools how I was going to lay them out in the shop. What I didn’t realize was how much space is taken up by hand tools, screws and nuts bolts jigs,rulers clamps. etc. etc.I had started moving arm loads and box loads of a small stuff in my ...
Part 21: Putting in a dust collection system
As my odyssey continues, I have reached the point with the shop where I can install the dust collection conduit and hook it up to my new home built 2 hp cyclone.The cyclone is styled after information obtained from the Bill Pentz website and although not an exact duplicate seems to work quite well.From new shop As you can see from the picture I split the system into two zones. One zone runs for approximately 22 feet using this six-inch spiral lock tubings for the mains four-inch drops to m...
Part 22: A real test of the infrared gas heater
Yesterday the outside temperature peaked at -40°C/F and today it’s still down in the 25’s.I have been keeping my overhead Calcana heater set at 50° F when not in the shop.It has been right on the mark for the last 3 months.Yesterday I went in and set the thermostat to 65° F and at – 40 outside it took about 10 minutes to reach a comfortable 65°. ( also a testament to the R22 Roxul wool insulation I used to encase the joint)It also warms the metal on the table saw and the fl...
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