Speaking of shed upgrades...

[PHPaul]

I built this tool shed about 10 years ago. The enclosed area is 20x24. In the back left corner there's a 8x10 room that's being used as a chicken coop.

I have decided that it's time my tired old bod had a heated shop. I've been working out of an unheated 12x24 stall in my garage for 30 years and I'm tired of freezing my appendages off all Winter. I had hoped to build a new building from the ground up but can't get what I want for under $50,000 and that's just stupid at my age.

So, after flailing around for a month trying to decide what to do, I decided to insulate and finish the inside of this building. That will include moving the birds into other facilities and using that space for the air compressor, oil tank and furnace. I'll also need to hang a ceiling and insulate that and replace those sliding barn doors with a double entry door.

I'll also have to set a pole and have the local utility pull a line down from the road. I have an electrician lined up to put up the weather head, meter box and main panel and I'll wire the inside myself. Plan is to insulate and install drywall and run the outlets and lights via EMT and surface-mount boxes. Makes it easier to insulate and add drops as the need arises. There'll be two 220 runs, one for the welder outlet and one for the air compressor. Lights will be all LED.

Of course a project like this is full of "but first I gotta" jobs. Today I cleaned out the shed on the end of the barn ell that will become the new chicken coop. Gotta form up around the bottom to pour a new floor, close off the back side Dutch door and replace the front Dutch door with an entry door. I'll get the new coop all set up and then pull up all the fence from the old chicken yard and move it to the new chicken yard and then move the birds.

Lumber, insulation and drywall are going to run about $5000. I need 9 20 foot long 2x6's to make ceiling joists and right now they're $50 apiece and that's not going to go anywhere but up.

I'll make a list tomorrow and Monday I'll order everything but the drywall (no place to store it) and get it here before the June 1st price increase the contractor sales guy warned me about. My last job before retiring was working at the outfit I'll be buying my materials from so they'll treat me as well as they can.

If anyone is interested, I'll post pictures as I go along.

 

[Lil Foot]

Definitely post your progress, some of us live vicariously through your exploits.

 

[PHPaul]

One good thing about this project is that it's forcing me to weed out my junk. The shed that will become the new chicken coop was full of fencing stuff, all of which I need to keep, so I had to find a new home for it.

Only available place was a corner of the barn which was already full of random crapola. Wound up throwing about half of that away and organizing the rest.

Then the original tool shed needs to be cleaned out so I can get to the walls and do the insulation, dry wall and wiring. Most of that is stuff I want to keep so IT needs to find a new home(s). Fortunately, my 20x36 barn has a mostly empty hayloft since I gave up keeping sheep, so some of it will wind up up there. The lawn and garden stuff will wind up in the garage bay currently being used as a shop. The rest will require some thought.

My "inactive inventory" pile will be gone through ruthlessly as scrap prices are on the rebound. I also plan to build some racks that will hang off the side of the building for storing pipe and other long stock. The metal recycling place and the local transfer station are going to get seriously tired of me over the next couple of weeks...

 

[B737]

I installed a mini split into my shop about 8 years ago. While NJ doesn't get as cold as Maine, I can keep it 70° while outside temps are in the low teens, and 65° when it's in the 90s, they are awesome. One could prob go a long way in your barn after you insulate and add power.

 

[PHPaul]

I installed a mini split into my shop about 8 years ago. While NJ doesn't get as cold as Maine, I can keep it 70° while outside temps are in the low teens, and 65° when it's in the 90s, they are awesome. One could prob go a long way in your barn after you insulate and add power.

Well, the furnace and oil tank are free (builder buddy has several from remodeling jobs) so there's that.

I'm fortunate that the Chief Financial Officer authorized me to build a Me Shed at all. If I air conditioned it, there'd be h*** to pay at headquarters!

 

[orange crusher]

Well, the furnace and oil tank are free (builder buddy has several from remodeling jobs) so there's that.

I'm fortunate that the Chief Financial Officer authorized me to build a Me Shed at all. If I air conditioned it, there'd be h*** to pay at headquarters!

Better to ask for forgiveness vs. permission............LOL

 

[GeoHorn]

Well, the furnace and oil tank are free (builder buddy has several from remodeling jobs) so there's that.

I'm fortunate that the Chief Financial Officer authorized me to build a Me Shed at all. If I air conditioned it, there'd be h*** to pay at headquarters!

Add the mini-split during completion....Tell her it’s part of new Tier5 regs on shops.

 

[B737]

free furnace does not cool down the shop
I agree with geo!

 

[DustyRusty]

I would did a trench and install the electric service underground. The utility pays for the wire to the meter, so put the meter on the building. The second thing that I would suggest is that you spray foam the walls, because the tighter the insulation job, the warmer the building will be with less costs to bring it to temperature and keep it there. Oil prices are going to keep going up, and the cost difference in the insulation method will be off set by energy savings. Heat rises, so also insulate the roof deck from underneath with spray foam. If you are never going to be using the attic, then spray foam the floor in the attic, and skip the roof deck.

 

[sheepfarmer]

The Chief Financial Officer might get suspicious of the mini split if she sees the electric bill...just saying. Unless you have AC in the house so that it is high in the summer anyway. I added them to my house and they do suck down the electrons, but I only added them because the solar panels make them “free” electrons.

 

[PHPaul]

Just last year we finally relented and put window units in the bedrooms for the three weeks a year it gets too warm to sleep comfortably.

Not even remotely a consideration for the shop.

Right now I'm looking at insulation options. It has a metal roof and I'm concerned about condensation. Thinking I'll put "Silverboard" in the rafter bays to direct condensation to the outside and keep it from soaking the ceiling batts.

I'd like to spray foam the whole works but I'm fairly certain that won't be in the budget. I did request a quote just to see what it would cost.

 

[PHPaul]

Well, the easy part is done... Lumber Yard delivered most of the supplies today. I had them hold the drywall until I call as I have no place to store it out of the weather.

After talking to the folks at the yard, I opted to go with blue board for the rafter bays. I was told that any pinhole in the silverboard that allows ANY water in will ruin it as the filling is easily water damaged.

Once the rafter bays are insulated, I'll hang the 20' 2x6's for ceiling joists and put R19 bats in the ceiling joist bays. That should take care of insulating the roof. Also have beaucoup rockwool for the walls.

Electrician was by today and installed the 100 amp service entrance. Now all I have to do is get the line construction guy to answer my calls OR pay extra to have the utility set a pole. Once the pole is set, they'll run the primary wires and hook up the service. Much as I'd like to have that done in a week or so, it's not really critical that it be done until it gets cold enough to need the furnace.

Plenty of materials on hand to keep me busy for most of a week. One grandson will be down Sunday to help, the other will drop by Saturday if he's not working. He works on a lobster boat and his schedule is pretty variable, depending on weather, tides and how ambitious the Captain is feeling on any given day.

 

[PHPaul]

Don't know if I mentioned, but those sliding barn doors will be replaced by a double entry door. (Ouch...change from $1000 wouldn't buy you a decent dinner).

Also, a b!tch - I never heard back from the spray foam place. That tells me one of two things (or possibly both...) 1) they aren't interested in a piddly little job and/or B) they never check their email.

Here's a hint Business People: CHECK YER DAMN MAIL! Not everyone has, uses or wants Fake Book!

 

[dlsmith]

Also, a b!tch - I never heard back from the spray foam place. That tells me one of two things (or possibly both...) 1) they aren't interested in a piddly little job and/or B) they never check their email.

Or their voice mail box is full and they never bother to delete the messages.
That's the one that ticks me off.

 

[B737]

Or their voice mail box is full and they never bother to delete the messages.
That's the one that ticks me off.

thats usually not an accident. I do that to cut down on VMs all the time.

 

[PHPaul]

Spent the morning removing a window (to be reused elsewhere in the building) filling the hole and cedar shingling the outside of it. Then spent a cheery afternoon stuffing batts of rock wool in the stud bays. About 90% done with that, the 5 bays that are left are all cut-and-fit around stuff so that seemed like a good place to knock off for the day.

 

[dlsmith]

thats usually not an accident. I do that to cut down on VMs all the time.

Then their voice mail message should say "I don't really want to be bothered to listen to your message, so f^&k off."

 

[PHPaul]

Then their voice mail message should say "I don't really want to be bothered to listen to your message, so f^&k off."

Exactly. I tell people to speak to me in plain English. I'd rather run the risk of being offended than have to interpret a bunch of weasel-wording.

 

[PHPaul]

Grandson #2 was able to put in a few hours this morning, we got a bit over half the rafter bays insulated. I did the rock wool in the walls myself over a couple of days. That stuff is MUCH easier to work with than the faced fiberglass stuff. I went that way mostly because the didn't have any 2x4 on 24 batts in the system.

Grandson was accompanied by his daughter Izzy, his Mom and their Partner in Crime, Crichton.

 

[PHPaul]

Ceiling joists hung, braced and mostly strapped.

The vertical members tie the center of the 20 foot ceiling joists to the peak of the roof rafters. They alternate sides of the ridge board to even out stresses on the roof.

I installed them for two reasons:

1) To prevent the weight of the insulation and drywall on the ceiling from causing the joists to sag, and;

2) I'm going to put a trolley-mounted hoist down the center of the building. I have it in my garage at the moment and it's handier than a pocket on a shirt. It's a Horror Fright 110v winch rated at 400 pounds. Of course I won't be lifting anywhere near that amount of weight, but for lifting small engines up onto the bench and such it's very handy. I've been using it in my garage for years suspended from the trusses. Not an engineer, but I think this arrangement will be sturdier.

Strapping is on 24" centers to screw the drywall ceiling to. I'll finish strapping it after I frame a hatch for access to the deck in the rear 8 feet of the building and get the framing finished up for bolting the trolley track to.