12 x 16 backyard workshop

Started by Mike 870, November 18, 2011, 07:10:08 PM

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Mike 870

I've been a CountryPlans member for some time now hopeing to be able to buy land and build that dream cabin somewhere.  Well my saving is going a lot slower than my learning so I have decided to build myself a shed/workshop in the meantime.  In my town you're allowed a 200 square foot structure without needing a plan review or being considered a dwelling.  The other nice thing is that the measurement is taken at the base of the building, not the overhang.  Another restriction that will drive the way I build is a 15 foot height limit.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the site is on a slope so If they take the measurement from the downhill side I might be cutting it close 

Last weekend I posted an ad on craigslist for a free shed and got about 20 emails and calls.  The next day two guys came out with a towtruck.  They got a decent 8 x 12 shed and I got a cleared building site for my new workshop.  I went down to the town offices, paid $ 35 for a permit, and called to have the utility companies come out and make sure there was nothing buried where I want to dig. 

I just got done digging for 2 hours and I have two holes done.  My soil is pretty rocky and it's slow going.  As long as you pace yourself and don't think about being done it's not so bad.  For me the journey is the reward.  I'm probably going to enjoy building this as much as I will enjoy using it.  My goal is to get my piers and beams in before it snows and then finish up in the spring.   My permit is valid for 6 months.

Here are some pictures of the site with my old shed. 





duncanshannon

great interim project!  i'm going to do the same next summer (i hope).

what are you going to build?

I'm planning on building the 10x14 little house and cut it down to 12' (120 sq ft limit in my town)

do you have much experience with building? (i dont)
Home: Minneapolis, MN area.  Land: (no cabin yet) Spooner, WI area.  Plan: 20x34 1 1/2 Story. Experience Level: n00b. 
Build Thread: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10784.0


Mike 870

It's funny I feel like I have experience building because I've been reading these forums for 4 years or so, reading Fine Homebuilding, the Nash book etc.  But all I've really done is build some furniture.  I'm going to give it a craftsman look.  It wont really match my house (brick ranch)  but I don't care too much.  I don't have plans per say but I have a good idea what I want to do.  I got 2 more holes dug in my spare time today.  Man, I can run a marathon, win bike races, but digging holes is totally humbling me.  My back kills.  Four more to go tomorrow.

Barry Broome

I know how you feel about the digging. Sometimes I have to dig holes for my work and it can be tough. I don't think there's anyway to prepare your body for it... just plain hard work. It works on my back and over time has built up my shoulders and arms.
"The press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master."

Mike 870

I dug 2 more holes, set 2 posts, got the other 2 corners placed and got the 4 corners squared up.  Getting it square was kinda tricky without a helper.  Also, my string was probably not the right kind.  Too much stretching.  I got set back pretty bad by some heavy rain.  My holes filled up with water and I had to bail them out.  I used the experience gained to grade the site better and build a drainage swale.  I'll post some progress pictures Sunday.

My shortest post is 9 inches above the ground.  Should I still use pressure treated wood to build my beams?  I'm also trying to figure out how to spec my beams.  I have 4  6*6 posts on each side that are 5'4" on center so a little under 5 ft spans. 


MountainDon

Beam wood that is closer than 12 inches to the ground should be PT. Joists if closer than 18" to the ground on their bottom edge should be PT as well.

What's the snow load?  If 30 psf or less then with that pier spacing ypu could get away with 2-2x8 on something that narrow. Two-2x10 so much the better.   Are those 6x6 S4s making them 5.5x5.5 in reality. Then add some 1/2 spacer material. If the posts are rough go with three layers of 2x8.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Mike 870

I got a little more work done yesterday.  I was hopeing to put in a solid day of work today.  First the stone place was closed (ran out of crushed stone) yesterday and now it's raining today. 

The snow load is 20 psf and the posts are 5.5 x 5.5




Mike 870

#7
Got this window for $60 off craigslist.


Also got almost nothing done since last time I posted.  I really don't ever have a big chunk of time to dedicate. An hour here, hour there.  Then once you take out your tools and put them away, you really haven't accomplished much.  Slow and steady though.


Barry Broome

"The press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master."


Mike 870

I made a little bit more progress.    I chose to go with hangers instead of sitting on top of the beams to save some height.  I'm allowed 15 feet, but in the back I'm already 3 feet off the ground once you get to the top of the beams. The joists that don't have hangers are sitting on the post.  All this wood is pressure treated even though it's different colors.   I decided to put felt in between the hangers and the wood.  After trying to figure out what chemicals the wood was treated with and what type were allowed with the hardware I gave up and decided it was easier to just use the felt.  The hangers add about $30 to the project and take significantly longer than just resting on top of the beams.  It's also difficult to position the hangers when working alone.  I had to build up supports to hold the joists where I wanted them.   



This next picture shows what I did to prevent horizontal movement.  The joints are pretty bad because I had to move the structure to square it up and since this is the back I didn't care if it was not even.  The front all lines up well.  As you can see my posts were about a half inch off.  This is the one place I didn't put felt under the hardware.  Even if the hardware corrodes the bracing will still perform it's duty because it's secured on the other side and also wedged in there pretty good.  I'm not really woried about movement in the other direction since there are 4 posts in that direction to provide support and only the back posts stick out of the ground very far. 



Had to use the come along to take some of the bend out of the wood.




Mike 870

I have a couple questions for the panel.  I picked up some 1 x 12 pine boards.  I want to use these as the roof sheathing above the rafters.  Should I lay them diagonal or perpindicular to the joists?  I want to add some rigid insulation on top of them so the shed holds heat better during occasional winter space heating.  I doubt the shed will ever be air conditioned.  My second question is this.  Do you think I can get by with 1.5 or 3 inches of insulation?  I think anything more than that would look out of scale and kind of dumb.   According to the Nash book I am in a zone requireing R20 for an unvented cathedral ceiling to be insulated above the rafters to aviod issues with dew point.  I'm thinking with only occasional space heating this isn't much of a concern for me, but I want to make sure.

For my roof section I am thinking the following layers:

3/4 pine
roofing felt (basically so you don't see the blue through the cracks)
1.5 or 3 inches of XPS
3/8 sheating
felt/ peel & stick membrane where appropriate
shingles

Also, I was going to treat the pine with watco danish oil for looks on the inside, do you think I should treat the top of the pine?  How about under the overhang?

pile of pine:

Squirl

"Should I lay them diagonal or perpendicular to the joists?"

It depends.

Perpendicular is acceptable for code minimum.    It is even acceptable for sheathing in moderately severe conditions depending on zone in the American Wood Council's guide for wind and seismic framing.

Diagonal is stronger (by a lot).  It requires more work, cutting, and waste.

Plywood is the strongest.

Your call.
Personally I would base that decision on what conditions I expect it to survive and how much time and money I had to throw at it.

Mike 870

Thanks squirl.  I reasoned that since I will have another layer of sheating on top of the insulation, it's ok to lay it perpindicular.  Any thoughts on the insulation thickness I should go with?   

I'm really wishing I had gone with Advantec or plywood, we're getting a ton of rain and my tarps are only partially effective.  Hopefully I will have rafters up by the weekend which will  make my tarp perform a lot better.

In other news.  I have 3 walls up and the 4th almost framed.  Everything is coming out and going up square and plumb so far which is making me really happy.

Here are some pictures, I'm a bit further along than this.


Mike 870



Mike 870

My circular saw broke today, got a new dewalt (the one they reccomend in fine homebuilding online).  It is night and day better than my old saw.  The guard doesn't lock up during cuts, good visibility from all angles and it is about half the weight. 

Really was not expecting my rafters to fit first try so it was a pleasant surprise when everything was good to.



I've got some cool stuff in mind for the gable ends.  Hopefully it all scales well.

rick91351

Thanks for the tip on the DeWalt Saw.  I bought one a couple years ago.  A left handed version.  I love it!  Never even knew they made such a critter.  Thanks DeWalt.   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Mike 870

Rick that Dewalt continues to impress me.  Before, I thought I just wasn't a very good carpenter.  With the quality saw I can make cuts freehand that I wouldn't have dreamed of without a guide. 

I've been working away when I get spare time.  Here is where I'm at now.  You can see it starting to take shape.  Sorry if you're on dial up!

That header up top won't really span that far.  I also decided I didn't need to stagger my sheathing in front since there is a big window over the joint anyway.



side view



Inside view.  My rafters are on 24 inch centers.   The floor joist on the end will be used to make a shelf.  My rafter tie is right about in the middle of the rafter.  I wanted it that way to have 10 ft of clearance to swing boards around inside while I'm working.  Hopefully it doesn't give me any problems.  If it does, I'll just have to fix it. 



I have to figure out how much space to allow for outside trim before I finish putting the sill, header and cripples in the dormer



Mike 870

Here is my half hip proof of concept...

First time I did this, I layed out the length of the jack rafters using the 8/17 rise and run, but erroniously used the 8/12 to draw the angles on the end of the jacks.  Also, I borrowed my friends beveling sliding mitre saw, with a laser, which makes it so much easier to get the angle you want.   


Mike 870





Gee dang it, I'm good at making things more complicated than they have to be!  I just haaaad to have a half hip roof.

duncanshannon

Home: Minneapolis, MN area.  Land: (no cabin yet) Spooner, WI area.  Plan: 20x34 1 1/2 Story. Experience Level: n00b. 
Build Thread: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10784.0


Kris


Mike 870

#21
Made a little more progress.



NM_Shooter

"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

UK4X4

I reply 16 you show a pic of your shed roof extension from the inside

You have doubled up rafters and uprights, but below you have a single stud- not sure if its correct or not but I think I'd add a second stud and carry the weight down

Note I'm not a carpenter and this stick building is still new to me

MountainDon

I think the doubled top plate makes it okay.    ???
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.