12 x 8 Shed in Upstate NY Leatherstocking region

[Squirl]

I finally decided to take the plunge and put part of my life online.  This is usually something I refer to as evidence.  I was inspired by speedfunk and drainl.  There posts provided me with a lot of local building information and I hope to pass on what I learn the hard way.

The first part is the foundation.  I went with a design I found in a publication by the U.S.D.A. called Low cost homes for rural settings. IIRC.  On a side note, I love these publications and hope to collect more of them.  It sold for $1 back in the 1960's and I found it at a used book store.





I took some of the pictures with a cell camera, so the quality is not perfect.  Sorry.

[Redoverfarm]

Squirl just curious are the beams that sandwich the post just nailed or are there some lag screws? 

[Minicup28]

Where are you located? I have a shed on a mountain outside Cobleskill.

[Squirl]

Currently nailed.  Lag bolts before it is finished. 

It is Otsego county.

[glenn kangiser]

Likely not a problem with this small building but adding 2x's to each side under the beams or notching the post greatly increase load capacity.  I just mention this for others reference and Don_P mentioned it the other day also.

Good start, Squirl.  Thanks for posting your project.

[Squirl]

The book I have from the U.S.D.A. has about a dozen different ways to do it.  Most, but not all recommended lag bolts.  I don't have any cordless power tools or a generator.  It is being built with completely with hand tools.  I am buying a hand drill this weekend.  Hard to find.  I have still yet to find one at a home cheapo or sLowes.

I was wondering if I should post that in the what tools are needed to build a house section. 

So far I have used a:
Hammer ($9)
Hand Saw ($10)
Tool Belt ($12)
Tape Measure ($1)
Square ($3.50)
Pencil ($0.20)
Level ($2)
Thumb Saver ($10)  Great Product! I recommend this to anyone.  It also extends your reach for nailing by a foot.
Needle Nose Pliers ($1) to take staples out of the wood.
Shovel ($7.50)

Due to the remote location, the lack of power, and the limited space in my jeep. I have been very conscious as to how many tools I uses.  So far I have been able to build almost the entire building with a few tools in a milk crate.  I was also inspired by the Alone in the Wilderness documentary.

[Squirl]

More Pictures

[glenn kangiser]

Could do that.

For a cheap reasonably good drill I like the Ryobi's.  They are now owned by Home Depot I understand.  I bought some thinking I would tear them up but didn't.  Not the best but decent for home use.

You can get their 18v +1 cordless - interchangeable with their Lithium ones also for upgrade if you don't want to go Lithium at first and the charger will run off of a 300 watt inverter plugged into your cigarette lighter.  I highly recommend their Lithium set if you can afford it.  Way more power and fast recharge.

[Squirl]

I am going to get a generator when I build the house.  I am staying low tech (and low cost) for the shed.  Found a hand drill last weekend used for $4, I will go back and get it this weekend.  Since this land is going to be permanently off grid, I hope to convert as much as I can to using hand tools.  It's more of a learning experience (because I only seem to learn anything the hard way.)  Speaking of costs.  I know that seems to be a subject of great interest to many people also.  I noticed how much people appreciated it when Bishopknight posted his costs.  I will post mine too.

[Squirl]

To get to the floor point it cost.

$30.96 Concrete Blocks
$39.35 Beams
$13.94 PT posts
$45.56 Floor Joists
$32.91 Plywood
$2.43 nails
The framing nails I had left over from another job.  I don't have the cost of them.

Total to that point $165.15 without tax.

[secordpd]

Just a thought Squirl, (and just to let you know, I'm just learning myself), if you took 2x6 pt boards and nailed them all around the 4x4 posts (it would look like you have 6x6 posts) so they are vertically under the 'beam boards' it would give more support to the 'beams.
It would probley only take 1 2x6x8 per pier.....

One thing I've learned on this site is nails, screws and bolts don't have the best 'shear strength'.  Notched posts or mechanically attached on top of posts offer the best support.  By putting 2x6's vertical  under beam it would be like notching a 6x6 kinda

But maybe someone more knowledgeable then me could jump in on that idea.........

And welcome

ps I agree with Glen, I've worked in the rain, dropped off ladders and pushed my ryobi to the limits and they still work, good but cheap....If i was only going to buy one it would be the impact driver, it ROCKS!!!

[Squirl]

Thanks for the idea, I might do that before I load the place up.  Here are some more pictures.

[Redoverfarm]

Looks like you could used a "Wee bit of tree trimming" .  Looking good.

[markert2523]

The shed looks great.

FWIW, I used my son's hand drill to drill all the pilot holes for the lag screws on the simpson beam connectors on my modern manshed.  Took only a few minutes to drill them.  I did it that way because my wife was using the batteries on my cordless drill to run the string trimmer and blower that day.  I bought the hand drill for my son a couple of years ago for his 7th birthday--new in the box Craftsman and looks to be about 30 years old---a beautiful tool.

Eric

[Squirl]

The tree trimming came when I had to put the sheathing on.  Here are the pictures.

[pericles]

Is it just me, or is there no door on that shed?

[Squirl]

There is no door at this point in the pictures.  I wasn't sure which side to put it on, so I built the walls the same.  Right now it is just a piece of plywood on hinges.  Here are some more pictures.

[Squirl]

As promised here are the costs to this point.

For the Walls
$96.29 2x4's of varying lengths
$64.60 10 Pieces of Plywood
$8.46 5lbs nails

The Roof
$38.76 Plywood
$8.65 Ridgebeam
$52.50 Rafters and Collar ties
$1.11 Scrap 1x2
$7.28 Ties
$15.12 Home built Ladder

The Tarp is borrowed but they cost around $30 at Lowes.

So the total for this work is $292.77.

[Squirl]

I didn't get much done this weekend.  It is raspberry season.  I found out I have about an acre of raspberries and blackberries.  The problem is getting to them. 

Finished the Loft





I fitted in a window, but did not finish it.



Then papered the sides





Some pictures of the rest of the weekend.

[Redoverfarm]

Fresh berries.  .  They also make good homemade wine.  I have been watching some Huckleberries but the bears have too.  Everytime they look just about ready they are gone the next day. 

[poppy]

Nothing like having your own berry patches.

I picked my first early blackberry on Monday.  The wife is ready to make me a pie as soon as they really come in.

[speedfunk]

Very cool.  What a awesome place to hang out and camp when your done.  The woods look really nice and the berrys..mmmmmmmmmmmm...  It looks like a really nice peice of land!

[Squirl]

I was reading back through and realized that I did not post the costs for the next leg.  I installed the loft.  It cost:
$6.80 Joist Hangers
$13.38 Joists
$22.54 Plywood
$6.54 Support Boards
$3.40 Ladder
So around $52.66

I also papered the sides for $20.28.

For the window I spent $2 on a piece of wood and $3 on Glue to Repair it.  It was a scrap window from the junk pile.  I had left over scraps from other boards to frame it in.

The stairs were also left over from a previous job.

To install the window I used a hand drill that cost $4 used.  I drilled along the line I wanted to cut.  Then I pounded the area with a hammer and made the hole.  Then I used my hand saw the rest of the way around.

[MountainDon]

Dang it Squrl, this somehow slipped by me sight unseen.    Then I checked the dates and realized I was up at our cabin for weeks on end with one or two day excursions back to town for supplies. I must have been in too big a hurry when I did drop by.   


So how are things up there now? Snow on the ground? And pardon me for asking if you've told us and I've forgotten, is this the first stage of a cabin to come in the future?   

Upstate NY is so nice and green. My wife is from Binghamton, I've only been there once in the fall. Wonderul display of colors then.

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks for all of the detail on costs, etc. Squirl.  I kept seeing this post and wondering what the Leatherstocking region was.  Interesting.

I had a lost cousin who passed away at a nursing home in Cooperstown a few years back.  I thought she was gone years before but turns out she was still living there and I got to talk and write to her a bit before she left.  Her portion of the family had been lost to the rest around 1900.  I found her through an old letter from another elderly cousin.

My grandfather was born in Dolgeville, NY which looks very close to that area.