Building a Lumber Storage Shed at Pellow's Camp

Frank Pellow

Member
Messages
2,332
Location
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
(part 1 of 4)

In September, I made a good start on yet another building at Pellow`s camp. If you count the two backhouses/latrines/outhouses, there are five buildings currently on the island, so this will be the sixth.

Here are some small photos of the existing buildings:

Chez Billy: Chez Billy -really small.JPG

La Becosse: La Becosse -really small.jpg

The Shed: The Shed -really small.JPG

Saunamokki: Saunamokki - really small.JPG

The Cabin: Main cabin -really small.JPG

I built 'The Shed' in 1991 in order to reduce the clutter in the main cabin, but now there is a lot of clutter in The Shed. For the most part, the clutter in The Shed is lumber that I am saving to use someday. The Shed is supposed to serve as both a bunkie and a woodworking shed and all the lumber is getting in the way of both these functions.

I also have a lot of lumber stored outside under a tarp and cluttering up the place.

The obvious answer is a new shed whose main purpose will be to store lumber.
 
(part 2 of 4)

The first step was to clear a large enough space in the bush. Next, I had to cut down a big poplar that the beavers had started upon over the winter:
Beavers have started work on this tree -really small.JPG

because, if they came back to complete the job, it would have fallen exactly on the site of the new shed.

I tied a rope high up the tree: Poplar tree about to be cut down -really small.JPG

Then, while I sawed it down, my brother John persuaded the tree to fall where we wanted it: John pulling down poplar tree -really small.JPG

The tree ended up falling exactly where we intended it to. :)

Less than an hour from the time we started to take down the tree, the bulk of the wood from it was sawn and piled: Frank with the felled poplar tree -really small.JPG The wood from the newly felled poplar tree -small.JPG

Next, I staked out the woodshed site: Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-06 -1 -really small.JPG

And I dug the 6 post holes that are needed. The posthole digging tools are primitive, but effective: Digging a post hole -small.JPG

Due to the fact that there were fewer roots than expected and that the clay was fairly moist, I dug the holes in much less time than expected -
about 2 hours. All the holes are down to bedrock.
 
Last edited:
(part 3 of 4)

Here is a series of photos taken from the about same spot as the work progressed over the week:
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-06 -2 -one post is now in place -really small.JPG
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-08 -really small.JPG
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-10 -really small.JPG
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-11 -really small.JPG
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-14 -really small.JPG
Wood shed site -from the east -09-09-15 -really small.JPG

I plan the make the majority of the front wall out of removable panels. The panels will be made from some of the stage prop frames that I constructed earlier in the summer for a play that we put on during the Hearst Public Scholl Reunion.

Here is a picture simulating the view from the lumber shed once the panels have been removed: Simulating the view out the future wood shop opening -really small.JPG

The rest of the building will be standard stick frame walls, board and batten siding, and a shed roof slanted away from the front opening. There will be a small door at one end and a couple of windows placed somewhere where (I hope) lumber will not be stored.
 
Last edited:
(part 4 of 4)

I didn't spend the whole week working. For instance, John and I worked our way over several beaver dams into a nearby lake with no cabins and good fishing.

Beaver Pond -3 -small.JPG John with a big pike in Lac Margarite -really small.JPG

Thread to be continued next spring when I get back to the job. ...
 
Last edited:
Framing Completed

Framing Completed (1 of 4)

A couple of weeks ago, I got back to this project and after 2 full days and 4 half days of work, the framing has been completed.

Here is a series of photos, the first taken before starting work and then one taken at the end of each of the six days:

Before: New Shed 01 -Just before starting work this year -small.jpg


After Day 1: New Shed 08 -View from corner at the end of the first day in which any real work was done -small.jpg


After Day 2: New Shed 11 -View from corner at the end of the second day in which I did some work -small.jpg


After Day 3: New Shed 16 -View from corner at the end of the third day in which I did some work -small.jpg


After Day 4: New Shed 18 -View from corner at the end of the fourth (full and rainy) day of work -small.jpg


After Day 5: New Shed 22 -View from corner at the end of the fifth day in which I did some work -small.jpg


After Day 6: New Shed 24 -View from corner at the end of the sixth day in which I did some work -small.jpg
 
Framing Completed (2 of 4)

Getting the material from the Co-Op in Hearst to the island is always quite a task. It requires 3 steps; (1) loading my trailer (2) transfering the material from the trailer to my boat (3) transfering the material from my boat (then up a steep hill) to the job site.

The trip from Hearst to the lake is about 12 kilometres over a little traveled gravel road. Because the raod is so little traveled, it is safe to really load up the trailer and crawl along at about 40 kilometres an hour:

Hauling a LONG load of wood in my trailer -small.jpg

My boat is quite a workhorse and is able to safely carry more material than my trailer:

Hauling all the wood in my boat -at Pellow's Island -small.jpg
 
Last edited:
Framing Completed (3 of 4)

The first task was to make a beam between the two front posts. The beam is made by lamenating two 16 foot long 2x10 pressure treated spruce boards. Because I am working by my self, this requires several small careful steps.

Here I have hoisted on of the boards into place and am drilling a pilot hole before spiking it into the post:

New Shed 03 -Drilling pilot hole in 2x10 beam part -close-up -small.jpg

Here is the second 2x10 that is going to make up the beam being raised into place in one of several slow careful stages:

New Shed 04 -Placing a 2x10 beam part into position in one of several small careful steps -small.jpg

Once this was in place, I hammered it together with the first 2x10:

New Shed 06 -Frank nailing together the beam -small.jpg

I work differently up here than when doing construction with readily available electricity. For instance, it was faster to cut this 4x4 by hand than to go and get a power saw, connect it to my generator, start the generator, then turn it off when the sawing task was completed:

New Shed 07 -Sometimes it is faster to cut wood by hand instead of taking the time to start the .jpg

The photo below shows the frame for the north wall being assembled.

New Shed 10 -Assembling frame for north wall (and allowing for a small window near the top of th.jpg

I anticipate that the front panels of the shed (more on this below) will usually be off, so there will not be much need for windows. But, sometimes the panels will be in place, so I am going to install small windows near the top of the north and south walls. There are two very old windows that Chum Trowsse gave me about 15 years ago that will do the job nicely. The windows are at least 50 years old and have not been treated well but, after sanding off the surface dirt, cracked paint and a bit of rot,

New Shed 13 -Sanding one of the old picture frames -small.jpg

I found the underlying wood to be sound. I will need to re-putty the glass.

It was a beautiful day and, after sanding, I decided that I wanted to enjoy the sound of nature rather than the sound of a generator and power tools, so I cut all the remaining 2x4s for the wall frames using a miter box and a hand saw:

New Shed 14 -I cut all the 2x4 with a miter box and hand saw -small.jpg
 
Last edited:
Framing Completed (4 of 4)

The work on the rafters is more complex than the simple framing of the walls, so I resorted to the use of power tools and the noisy generator. To make things worse the weather turned cold (high of 15 Celcius) and wet. With the cold and wet, I wasn`t spoiling the tranquility.

Here, I am cutting bird`s mouths in the rafters with my jig saw:

New Shed 20 -I cut the bird's mouths in the rafters with my jig saw -small.jpg

I found it easier to cut a bevel on the edge of a couple of 16 foot long 2x6s by simply following a line with my Festool track saw, rather than setting up and supporting the saw on a rail:

New Shed 17 -Bevelling a 2x6 with Festool plunge track saw without using a guide rail -small.jpg

On the front of the shed, I am placing three 4 foot by 8 foot removeable panels. The frames for these panels are left over from the stage props that I made for a play they a number of friends and I put on in Hearst last summer. I made all the props for a stage setting that was supposed to be our old grade 5-6 classroom:

Frank with stage settings moved to the arena -small.JPG Margaret hanging up Ethan and Isla's art on the classroom walls -2 -small.JPG

Here one of the frames is being augmented with a 2x4 before nailing a number of 1x6 vertical siding boards to it:

New Shed 21 -I augmenteed the frame to be used for one of the panels with a 2x4 -small.jpg
 
Last edited:
Great set of pictures, Frank. :thumb: It had been a while since I'd seen out here, so I suspected you were at Pellow's Camp. Will you be able to get the shed skinned before the end of the summer, or will it wait until next year?
 
Great set of pictures, Frank. :thumb: It had been a while since I'd seen out here, so I suspected you were at Pellow's Camp. Will you be able to get the shed skinned before the end of the summer, or will it wait until next year?

"skinned", now with my heritage (I'm part Cree), "skinned" means the opposite of the meaning you imply. :huh:

I do plan to spend about another three weeks up there this year, and I think that I have a good shot at finishing the shed. It depends mostly on what other tasks I undertake.
 
I even worked construction for a while and never saw a saw like that. Closest was some of the old bow saws and 2 man saws. Looks as if it would make quick work or a 4x4 or a thumb!..

Garry
 
I see that I did not document the completion of this project last summer.

Well, better late than never.

I last reported in mid August 2010 after 6 days of work that summer. At that point the building had been framed but there was not siding and no roof. I made two more trips to camp in 2010 (one in early September and one in late September) and got in 7 days of work. With the exception of about 40 battens, the exterior of the shed is now finished.

Here is a picture from in front of the building with the 3 panels removed, some lumber on the racks at the back, and four boats piled for the winter:

New Shed 63 -View  from the east side of The Stage with boat in place but panels still not insta.JPG

This year I just piled in the boats. Next year, I plan to build a rack something like the rack shown here:

A boat rack at Gilles place that I might use as a model in my new building -small.JPG

belonging to a neighbour, but I will make it in tiers so I can put in a boat, install a tier, put in another boat, etc.

Here is picture from in front of the building with the 3 removable panels installed:

New Shed 65 -Finished and with panels in place -small.JPG

With an assistant, I can remove or install the set of panels in about 10 minutes. Working by myself, the job takes about half an hour.

I like adding a bit of a distinct "Pellow" touch to the large shed roofs that I build, that is a very small roof slanting the other way at the top of the rise.

New Shed 59 -View  from the south side of The Stage finished for the year -small.JPG

I did the same thing on the Saunamokki building and if you look really closely at the photo of that building near the start of this thread you can see what I am talking about.

As with all other buildings at camp, this one will have a name. That name will be 'The Stage' in honour of origins of the panels and because, with the panels removed, it does, indeed, resemble a stage.

New Shed 58 -Frank hamming it up on The Stage -small.JPG

plan to carve a suitable sign this winter.

Who knows, maybe we will even put on some event on the stage at some future date.
 
Top