Shed upgrade started

[Old_Paint]

I'll see your bursitis and raise you two torn rotator cuffs. Had one done in June and the other at the end of October last year, so was basically armless until around march or so when I finally started getting some significant strength back in the first one. Actually, the first one was a repeat. Tore it before 2013, got it repaired, then slipped and fell in November 2018 on my brand new composite decking stairs on my front porch (that I built that summer). If I tear the right one again, I'm lookin' at a complete reconstruction. I don't use the front stairs in the winter any more.

Roofing has NEVER been fun. Anyone that says it is must be a sadist. I'm not very far behind you in age. I can remember carrying shingles up the ladder when I was a kid to keep my step-dad supplied while he nailed them down on the additions we made to our house (as well as replacement of the old stuff). I dared not let him run out. No way could I carry a full bundle. It weighed more than I did at 14. I probably weight 85 pounds, soaking wet. I made a lot of trips up and down that ladder. But, I'm not a teenager any more.

Doing this work has actually helped with some of the stiffness in my left shoulder. It simply didn't want to get better with the normal exercises that I have become an expert on through Physical Therapy. I was a man of constant pain. But, seems I've just traded the shoulder pain in for the pain associated with desiccated disks at L2/L3, L4/L5, and a bulging disk at L3/L4. Some say pain is Mother Nature's way of letting you know you're still alive. Point made, MN, now BUGGER OFF!! Might be time for another trip to the moon room (epidural). I've had about a half dozen or so. Doesn't fix anything, but lets me live with a buggered up back a little longer before I have to get some shims installed to separate the vertebrae enough to stop 'em from pinching the nerves. Keeping my back from hurting is worse than keeping the valves adjusted on an old air-cooled VW.

Gettin' old ain't for sissies. I remember folks telling me "One day you'll be old enough that no one will have to tell you not to do that." They were right, LOL.

 

[Old_Paint]

Got the lumber on Tuesday, and here's where me and the missus have taken it in less than 4 day's actual work. 3 wall framed with the exception of a few bits of blocking and the final top plate on the back wall. I'll get that tomorrow, as well as make the front corners and start working toward getting all the headers for the roll-up doors and the walk-in door. Most of the front wall is going to be headers. Geezopete!

Good progress, now that we can actually go outside without drowning.

We fabbed up the west (right) wall on Tuesday afternoon after we got home with the lumber. Finished it up including the opening for the window on Wednesday and built all of the back wall in 12 foot (two 11.5 and one 12 foot) sections. Stood all that up on Thursday and built the back half of the east wall on Thursday. Stood that up and built the front half, joined them and finished the framing for the east window today. Runnin out of sticks pretty quick, so maybe I'll get more of the lumber before the next increase. My luck, the bottom will fall out on the price after I drive the last nail in this thing.

The size of a 24x35 shed with 10' eaves starts to feel impressive when you get three of the walls stood up. 10 feet is a lot higher than I remember.

 

[Magicman]

Very impressive Sir. This is getting excitin' !!

 

[BXHoosier]

Looking good. If you have room, go with low headroom doors. I think you only need something like 6” clearance under your trusses. I was able to fit 9’ high doors on my 10’ high pole barn.

 

[Old_Paint]

Gotta do the front wall layout next, commit to roll-up door sizes, and get those ordered. The walk-in is gonna be a 40" wide x 78" high (nice wide door) , so I can do the first panel on the RH end of the front and get the header for the door in that. Get the door mounted, and Bob's yer uncle. The other two panels are un-equal length. The middle panel is 12' and the ends are 11'2-1/2" (11'6" minus the 2x4 width of the end walls), so a little concerned that it's gonna look odd if I center the doors on each section. I may keep the walk-in 3 feet from the RH end, and possibly add a small window to that panel as well. That's the symmetry I want. Most of the front of this thing is going to be headers with a few support points

I sorta see pallet forks in my future for installing those roll-ups, but I don't know I'd use pallet forks enough after this is done. Gonna try to get both the front corners done today, and finish off the blocking and the top plate across the back. That will finish the framing on three walls. I'll rack it up straight in the corners and put some diagonals on it to keep it straight on the inside to make way for putting on sheathing. But before I do the wall sheathing, I will build trusses and put them up to straighten the front and back walls at the top. The back one is straight at the bottom, and all three walls are fastened to the concrete with 1/4" x 4" TapCons with flat washers under the heads, and no more than 32 inches between any two of them. Doubled up in the corners and the splice points (12 foot panels). I shortened one stud at the panel joints in the back wall, and added splice blocking to the top and bottom plates so the joint won't make a weak point. I also shifted the top 2x4 on the double top plate (kinda like laying brick) so that the cuts didn't match up and make a weak point.

So far, the longest lumber I've needed has been 12' stuff. But the rafters are gonna change that soon enough. They have to be 14 footers to give me the 1' overhang that I want. The longest piece of waste (except for one 2x10 that I cut wrong for the first window header) has been less than 6" long. Most of it was cutting studs to 115" from 120". There were a few of those blocks.

I'm thinking about tripling the header run on the front for more support strength, and maybe doubling all the full length studs in the front wall too. There's just something that makes me a little iffy about two 9-10 foot openings in one supporting wall. I'm sure it's been done, just not by me. Last thing I want is to get a roof sitting on this thing and have the inspector tell me the wall ain't good enough.

Still waffling about metal versus shingled roof. Can match the house if I go shingled, but it'll be a LOT more work to put it up. Thinking the metal might be a bit more durable than the shingles, especially in storms, a lot quicker to put on, and a heck of a lot lighter meaning less load on the trusses. There's not much price differential in the metal versus shingle. The OSB price drives the shingle roof cost up VERY quickly. Gotta make up my mind, SOON.

When we started building the wall panels, I struggled with one slightly twisted 2x4 stud. I took one of the 2x4's we used for the form, and a couple short pieces of scrap, and made a 'board straightener'. I think that impressed her more than anything else about how much easier it was to straighten up crooked lumber. Her: "Where did you learn all this stuff?" Me: "A country boy can survive." I got a lot of practical knowledge living in the country as a kid. She had no clue I could frame a house, but already knows that I can hang drywall. We remodeled our living room about 2 years after we got married.

The Missus is already lobbying for us to buy some land away from town a ways, and build a house ourselves. She's also 10 years younger than I am, LOL.

 

[BXHoosier]

Guy at the contractor counter at Lowe’s told me he’s expecting another 20% increase in lumber costs by July. There’s no end in sight until people get off of unemployment and government handout money and go back to work at the mills.

 

[Old_Paint]

Looking good. If you have room, go with low headroom doors. I think you only need something like 6” clearance under your trusses. I was able to fit 9’ high doors on my 10’ high pole barn. View attachment 60277

Yeah, the 9's are what I want, but will probably go with roll-ups instead of panel style. Just don't like the tracks in the overhead, and any light above them will be blocked by the door when it's open. Another difference is your header doesn't have to be as thick as mine. The gable wall really isn't carrying much load. I have to have 2x12 headers for the big doors because of the length of the opening and that they're on a side wall (load bearing). Gonna be some pretty massive headers to put up. I think I can clear 8' with the ROPS, but I don't want it a micron shorter. Putting anything shorter in defeats the purpose of having a shed to get the tractor in if I have to constantly flip the ROPS up and down. It's there for a reason, and I prefer it serve that purpose without me having to remember to put it back up or destroying my building because I forgot to put it back down. Everything about this shed is to mitigate some of the security and safety issues of having a tractor.

 

[Old_Paint]

Looking good. If you have room, go with low headroom doors. I think you only need something like 6” clearance under your trusses. I was able to fit 9’ high doors on my 10’ high pole barn. View attachment 60277

BTW, is the bottom of your trusses at 10' or are they below the top of the posts? Can't really tell looking at this. I do like your barn, though. Very neat looking.

Did you build your trusses or have them built?

 

[BXHoosier]

BTW, is the bottom of your trusses at 10' or are they below the top of the posts? Can't really tell looking at this. I do like your barn, though. Very neat looking.

Did you build your trusses or have them built?

The bottom of the trusses are 9’ 10” from the floor. It’s a Morton building. All I did was install the doors and tracks.

 

[BXHoosier]

BTW, is the bottom of your trusses at 10' or are they below the top of the posts? Can't really tell looking at this. I do like your barn, though. Very neat looking.

Did you build your trusses or have them built?

The bottom of the trusses are 9’ 10” from the floor. It’s a Morton building. All I did was install the doors and tracks. They are 8’x9’ and 12’x9’.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Guy at the contractor counter at Lowe’s told me he’s expecting another 20% increase in lumber costs by July. There’s no end in sight until people get off of unemployment and government handout money and go back to work at the mills.

Lumber prices have declined 25% this week. The commodity markets follow lumber, corn, oil.......

 

[Old_Paint]

Ok, the more I thunk on it the more it looks like a metal roof is the way to go. Half as many (if not 1/3) trusses needed if I go to metal roofing on perlins. It'll still be durable (if not more so than shingles) and a LOT less labor to install. Figure I'll get the sheet cut to length so all I gotta do is screw it down.

Today's status: No photo (yet) but outta nails, outta 10' 2x4's for studs, and not quite enough 12' 2x4's left to do the top plate on the front of the building. I'm also thinking I need 2x12 headers, which means I have plenty 2x10's for the doors. Still not sure why I bought two 8' 2x8's, unless my intention was to use them for the window headers. They'll make a good bench-top in the shed, though.

I did manage to get the first of three panels built for the front side, which was the RH end, including the RO for the walk-in door. Son-in-law helped me stand that up and put the TapCons in it. Would have put the blocking in too, but was already short on nails. Needed what I had to put the jack-studs and header in. Built that panel by myself this afternoon. The Missus went to our granddaughter's dance recital (she's 5, so I'll give ya three guesses why a grouchy old fart like me didn't go).

Looks like tomorrow is a bit hotter, and maybe a drawing/materials day. Gotta scribble out what I'm gonna do for the last two-thirds of the front wall, get doors ordered, pick up more materials for trusses, and make contact with sheet metal distributors that can cut the sheet the length I need so I minimize waste, yet make sure I get what I need. So far, the longest block I've tossed in the burn pit is about 6 inches long. VERY little waste, for sure. That's the training I got from my grandfather. Every little piece that can be used gets used.

 

[Old_Paint]

Wall framing: DONE!!!

Put in the door headers for the roll-ups today. Finished off the front wall had some measuring tape adventures that reminded me why I normally buy quality tools. Fortunately for me, it wound up being that all the cuts were too long rather than too short. There was one board, though, I cut it off three times, and it was STILL too short! Pretty sure this tape measure would classify as a board stretcher.

Picked up the materials yesterday that I needed to finish off the front wall (shorted myself intentionally, I think) as well as what I think I need to build trusses. Got back and started cutting king studs and jack studs and doing the lay-out with all the puzzle pieces laying on the slab. If this thing doesn't pass inspection, it'll be because I used too much lumber. Again, I overbuild. No way could I be a home builder. I'd lose my shirt on every job. Ennyhoo, a picture (or a few) is worth a thousand words.

Since half the front wall was openings for two 9' wide doors, I decided to use a triple thick plate to add to the strength of the headers. I overlapped all the 2x4's in the beam so that it acts as a solid beam and none of the joints of the 2x4's are aligned. I also laced the two front corners at the top to prevent separation. Lil' O did a bit of a photo bomb in this photo. I lifted the headers as close as possible with the LX2610 and LA535. Figured out real quick that the lift height of the 535 will just barely clear the height of the ROPS. I originally set the jack studs ate 8'10", but since I'm not a fan of garage doors in a shop, I dropped down to 8' 6" which left me with 18" overhead clearance, which is enough for the particular doors I'm looking at. As it were, I'll wind up with a 108"W x 102"H rough opening. That gives me just over a foot of clearance for the ROPS if I use a roll up door. The next three photos show the real deal......

Used double kings on every door, and double jacks on both roll up doors. Can't see this not passing inspection other than for having too much lumber in it.

Getting a bit dry. No rain for the past two weeks, and none expected before 05/31. This is NOT a problem for construction, but definitely putting the hurt on the new grass I seeded out front, and you can see the damage around the pad for the shop.

 

[Lil Foot]

That looks really stout!

 

[Old_Paint]

That looks really stout!

That was a top priority. I like it when inspectors look at what I do, and say "just gimme the permit".

 

[Old_Paint]

Truss members cut (except for the 8 12' 2x4's I shorted myself). Gonna take a day tomorrow and bottle some home-brew beer, and maybe start assembling trusses tomorrow. Gonna need some screws, though. Still gotta cut all the gusset pieces. Used up some old scrap OSB I bought YEARS ago for the patterns, and have plenty 3/8" plywood to finish them off (after I go get more 2x4's) Gonna grab another forty 12 footers. Forgot that I needed 8 more for that triple thick plate on the front wall, so wound up 8 short for the trusses. DOH! Getting close to being done with the skeleton of this thing. Can't see it taking more than a day to stand up all the trusses once I get 'em up on the top sill plates, but that all depends on how straight the walls are and whatever else can go wrong. Found I had one of the short sections of wall that moved while I was drilling the anchor screws in. Just a PITA, but I can fix it pretty quick.

Gotta get it in gear and get doors and roofing ordered. Still holding out to see what happens with OSB prices. I'd much rather not have to skin this thing twice, but really want vinyl siding on it to match the house. I just can't force myself to bite the bullet on the sheathing. For crying out loud, OSB is nothing but the waste from making plywood. How can plywood be available and OSB NOT?

I sawed up a lotta lumber today. Made lots of man glitter. Only had about half a wheel-barrow of waste, though. I doubt I've hit more than 1% or 2% waste on the lumber, and did that with the first 2x10 that I cut wrong. None of the waste is over 3 inches long because a lot of the blocking I did was 4 inches, and I used most of the cut-offs to make that. The cripple studs above the rollup door headers are only 4 inches long, too, so they gobbled up a lot of the cut-off too. Rarely did I have anything more than an inch long or on a weird angle from cutting the W braces for the trusses today. My grandfather taught me well, I guess.

 

[Old_Paint]

Heavy rain today. Went out there to check on things after it was done. Was a little confused that I had an indoor swimming pool rather than a shed. Water was nearly an inch deep in some places. Took a while to push that out with a broom. I see a floor squeegee in my future.

 

[Magicman]

Wow Sir. I have been on the road portable sawmilling this week and I see that you have also been busy. Very nice indeed!!!

 

[Old_Paint]

I now own a squeegee, as promised.

Built the last three trusses by myself today. My best helper (my wife) and certainly the most reliable one, unfortunately had gramma duty today since it was a holiday and the grandson couldn't go to day care. We normally keep him when he can't go.

But, all trusses built, and up on the upper plates. Upside down, mind you, but a lot closer to their intended permanent places. Long busy day today.



Now, go see what I did with the tractor today .....

 

[Old_Paint]

Wow Sir. I have been on the road portable sawmilling this week and I see that you have also been busy. Very nice indeed!!!

Yep, the son-in-law helped one day, my son (who has cerebral palsy and is very limited physically) helped two days, and the missus has been there with me every day except today. Day before yesterday, me, the SIL, and my son built the first four trusses and put them up. The missus took care of babies and small children while the three of us built trusses. Me and the missus built three yesterday, two of which were the heaviest ones that go on the ends. More plywood in them, much heavier. I built the last three today all by my lonesome, but the missus did come out and help me push them up on the plates. I'm pretty impressed with how little flex there is in that front wall with no bracing on it, but then again, because of the way I laminated that front plate, it's essentially a 4x6 post (35 feet long). It ain't gonna flex much. ZERO sag over the doors, even with all 10 trusses sitting on top of them. My comfort level just went way up. I don't do this for a living but did a bit of it before I became a college boy and got an engineering degree so I wouldn't have to work so hard. It's a lot harder to do it now than it used to be. I hurt in places I didn't even know I had places.

I'm doing my best to get a roof on it before the 8th, but not looking so good if I can't get the sheet metal by then. I don't want to put any plywood sheathing on the sides until I get it covered. I've elected to put on a metal roof because that replaces nearly 20 sheets of VERY expensive plywood with a couple dozen 2x4's for purlins. The metal's pricy, but the plywood for the decking on an asphalt roof would cost nearly $1000, and that's before the first roofing nail hits it. It's getting harder and harder to stay under my budget on this thing. I tried to budget in some good tools and gadgets to get the work done a little easier, but now find myself getting cheap stuff or just doing without gadget tools that make the work easier because the materials prices are so prohibitive.