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.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00066-1.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00067.jpg)
I took some of the pictures with a cell camera, so the quality is not perfect. Sorry.
Squirl just curious are the beams that sandwich the post just nailed or are there some lag screws?
Where are you located? I have a shed on a mountain outside Cobleskill.
Currently nailed. Lag bolts before it is finished.
It is Otsego county.
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.
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.
More Pictures
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00072.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00073.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00074.jpg)
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.
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.
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.
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 w*
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!!! ;D
Thanks for the idea, I might do that before I load the place up. Here are some more pictures.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00075.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00076.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/PuttingOnRafters.jpg)
Looks like you could used a "Wee bit of tree trimming" . Looking good.
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
The tree trimming came when I had to put the sheathing on. Here are the pictures.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/PuttingOtherSide.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/LastWalllookingiIn.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Sheathed.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Inside.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/FinishedEdge.jpg)
Is it just me, or is there no door on that shed?
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.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00085.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00086.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/DSC00087.jpg)
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.
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
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/LadderLoft.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Loft.jpg)
I fitted in a window, but did not finish it.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Window.jpg)
Then papered the sides
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Paper2.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Paper5.jpg)
Some pictures of the rest of the weekend.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/OvertheRidge8.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/OvertheRidge9.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Bounty.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/FruitofourLabors.jpg)
Fresh berries. [hungry]. 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.
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. :)
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!
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.
Dang it Squrl, this somehow slipped by me sight unseen. d* 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.
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.
I am sorry I did not respond to this sooner. I have been away on business. I have not been back there in a few months. It is hard to believe. I have gotten caught up in way too much work.
This shed is the first stage towards a larger cabin in the future. I hadn't built anything like this in a few years and wanted to familiarize myself with it from start to finish and get a feel for costing. I have added insulation but I did not get to take pictures last time I was there. The function of this will primarily be a locked storage shed for tools and what ever necessities will be needed to build a larger place probably next year. I was afraid of the frost so I did not push getting a foundation in in October. Now I am stuck until the spring.
IIRC, the leather stocking region was named after the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. The shed is actually only about 5 mi from another member, speedfunk.
Well I finally have a few updates. I did not get to get back there until July. Almost a whole year. Work was crazy this year. I left off with the shed with a tarp and tar paper on the walls. So when I got back to the shed the tar paper was coming off in small spots. Hornets even made a small nest in one of the spots. It took me a day to fix up the paper, and clean up around. It was a wake up call on how long it has been since I did some real work. I am still humping it at work so I figured I wanted to get it covered up as soon as possible. I slapped up the cheapest fastest siding I could by at the local Lowes. I used smart side. ($23 a sheet) It was cheaper than t1-11 and just as fast. Also, (big selling point for me) it is thinner so it is easy to lift alone. What I did was nail framing nails at a diagonal. Then I bent them to level with the wall. The made a little shelf of nails to set the siding on while I lined it up and nailed it in place. I was able to paint the edges before I left so that they were protected. I used barn paint. Cheapest at the store $58 for 5 gallons. All I had was my phone so I only have one picture from that trip.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/photo2.jpg)
I had the nails already so that didn't cost anything.
$275.64 ($23 x 12) siding
$58 paint
$2 Paint Cup
$4 Paint Brush
A year! I bet you were very happy getting back to it. Even if you had to work. :D
I was. I went back up just a week ago. I was lucky the tarp held up. So I figured I wasn't going to leave it another year without a roof.
So I finally took the tarp off.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture006.jpg)
I papered the roof. I had to get a new roll of tar paper. $22
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture007.jpg)
I went with galvanized metal. I figured I wanted some experience working with it before the house.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture017.jpg)
So the sheets are 38.5" wide. I lined up the first to over hang the edge by 1.5". When I got to the other end the roofing ended at just the edge. So I figured when I would cut another rib in half for each end. I get it to over hang and fold the roof lip over the siding and trim and nail it in place. The pitch was so steep, I was able to lay the home built ladder right over the edge and screw it in place. I screwed them in a U shaped pattern. I screwed 3 down each side and all along the bottom edge. I screwed the ridge beam into the places where the sheets over lapped. I made sure it was screwed in far enough that the washer was compressed and not over tight so as to not strip the screw out. I had to buy two ridge pieces because they are about 10 ft 6 inches long for a 12 ft shed. I plan on putting up the last two siding pieces and trim the next time I am there. Well here are more pictures.
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture015.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture018.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture020.jpg)
(https://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv77/Squirl1000/Picture022-1.jpg)
Thanks for the new pix, Squirl. Looks great and the berries - what a nice find. :)
As promised here are the costs for this stage.
9 sheets of galvanized 3x8 metal roofing was $16.72 each for a total of $150.48.
I had to get 2 ridge pieces at $23 each for a total of $46.
I also got the special roofing screws with washers for $18.00 a bag. I still had a third to half of the bag left over at the end.
A few more notes on the roof. My feeling was less was more when it came to the screws. I tried to place them more strategically for the maximum amount of hold, and the less holes I poked in the roof, the better. I put plenty in the bottom edge over the eave. My thought pattern was that this was where there would be the most amount of lift from the wind and if any of the holes leaked it would not cause a lot of damage. The guides that I read said to place them every 2-5 ft, so I placed them every 3 ft. I did all of them by hand. I punched a pilot hole with a roofing nail. Then I screwed in the screw with a screw driver. The screws are 1/4 inch bolt patterns and I was able to use a simple bit screw driver minus the bit. I had a helper hold the roofing in place on a second ladder. If I was totally alone, I might have been better with shingles, but metal roofing was so much faster. I got it all done in about a day. I compared the cost with shingles at $25 a pack for 33 sq. ft. It actually came out cheaper too.
I guess I should include the cost of the ladder too. 2 2x4x16 pieces was $10.90 and 3 2x4x8 cost $6.33. So the ladder cost around $17. I will expand on my mistake so that others may not repeat it. I cut the 2x4's to 18" lengths and nailed them with three nails each side. I spaced the rungs 12" apart. I should have gone with 1x3 boards for rungs and notched the 2x4x16's to fit. Always rest wood on wood, not just by nails. The ladder did not fall apart, but it could be a lot sturdier. On the other hand, it was pretty fast to put together.