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Barn Raising - ALL moved in

Joe,
Temporary is my term, to the town it is a 'secondary' structure so while it needs to be stout enough not to fall over under snow load, they're not Too concerned with habitablity. I've got to pass a third party Electrical inspection, but I'm going to hire an electrician for that. I'm on a pretty slender budget, so the 'best' I could do would be to jack it up and dig out for piers every so many feet. The plans are designed to be on grade, I put it on piers instead, over the gravel. In the spring our yard doesn't Quite fully flood, but there is a lake 1/8 of a mile north of us, and the water table is pretty high. Couple of years ago a guy built a new house right on the water, it was pretty comical watching them dig out for his full basement. Every day they'd pump out the water and work, and every night it would fill right back up again. I don't know that they ever got it fully dried in. Pretty spendy house all told, though (for our neighborhood anyway).

This is a rural 'camp' community about halfway between Syracuse and Utica. Most of the houses in this run of about 15 streets are former 'camps'. SHeds overgrown into houses, with the occasional modular (like ours) or stick built 'House' thrown in for good measure. If you look in the photo with the dump truck backing in, the red 'structure' to the left is a 'house' and they were tearing down a shack all weekend. Evidently the word from the township was 'tear it down or we'll tear it down for you'. tiny little two bedroom 'camp'.

I don't know the details on my neighbor's house, but many of the structures here are just set on piers. Poured piers at best. Every so often they sink a few inches, and there are companies who advertise 'camp jacking' service. They slide an I-beam under the building, prop it up, put new piers in and set it back down again as needed. Me, I'll just buy a few bottle jacks if I'm still around when it needs re-leveling. A little bit here, a little bit there, and then put some more stone under it as needed. Lori and I expect to move in a couple of years, so this is my 'get the house in shape to sell' shop. Not the be-all end all shop, more of a Man-cave to enjoy while we're working on the house, and of course, a place to have the tools to Fix up the house to begin with.
 
I've got a 'Floo '

Floo is not a typo. I Almost got the last of the plywood installed tonight, but the rains were on their way, heavy ones too. I had to pick up two more rolls of insulation, which I stapled down and then put the plywood down.
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looking like a Floor to me :D

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still pretty level too.

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there it is, in almost all of its glory. plus some no-see-ums which are a nightly occurance in summer around here.

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I've got a couple of cuts to make on my last full sheet, but I can get it all out of the one sheet with no problem. I've actually got to take up the last corner sheet and remove some of the insulation, That corner is a bit 'wavy' and when I tried to figure out why, it had to be because of three layers of the reflectix. Minor issue, but not one i was going to address with Thunder muttering in the area. That's one reason I'm screwing the deck down, so I can fix my errors, or try to anyway.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Way to go Ned. That's gonna start looking like a shop real soon. :thumb:
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Thankee! now that I have the floor almost down, (if the rain stops) tomorrow I'll be fixing that corner finish the floor installation and then starting in on building my trusses. That's something that I can do solo, i'll stack them up and have them ready for once I get the walls done.

Speaking of which I need to remind myself to go pick up the windows so i can get measurements and get my rough openings ready for them, plus figure out where I'm going to put the 'man door' on the long wall.
 
Hi Ned, I've been watching your progress with joy. You're doing great. I live in the same climate as you. For the first months I built my shop. a free standing kero heater kept me warm enough to work. It does introduce moisture into the room though, so it's not fabulous for sheet rock or paint drying. Anyway, I was able to buy a used Empire propane heater for less than $300. It is vented to the outside and works without electricity, with its own thermostat. Local propane suppliers may know of a used one for you. [That's how I found mine] Anyway, good luck, work safe and
GIT R DONE.
Ken
 
Ken,
Thanks for the tip, I wasn't really planning on kero'ing all winter, just until the budget allowed for better heat. I'm 'Well insulated', and don't have to have it balmy out there, just enough to keep the rust off the tools, and allow glue to set up.

I'll be insulating it as well as I can, which will help too. Both insulation and internal paint are going to be 'later' items. Even the siding will be an as budget allows item. Tyvek may not like sunshine, but as Marty pointed out, after 90 days it 'starts to decline'. I'll be putting up board and batten long before that, but wiring and so forth come first.



all-
The little voice is rearing its head tonight, so I'm Not going to lift a tool. Instead I'll work on my Blog and then hit the hay early tonight. Relatively early anyway. I still have to play chauffeur for my middle son, whose 'semi formal' is tonight. If he weren't out and needing a ride, I'd curl up and 'crash' now.
 
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There's the floor, 99% complete. Ran out of daylight again, so I've still got a lot of securing left to do. I also have a little body filler work to do. Couple of cuts were a little 'rough' so there are 1/8" gaps here and there. Nothing major, but I'm not as 'happy' as I could be with the results. Since the long term plan is to cover it with another layer of flooring as funds allow, I'm going to focus on making it flat.

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Tonight I'm either going to build some trusses, or get out the floor jack and level the piers/deck. Depends on the mood when I get home.
 
Ned,

What kind of flooring are you going to put down? Hardwood, like Marty, or something else?

Here's the kerosine heater I use in my garage/shop.
It works well, and has a timer so I know to open the vents for a complete "clearing the air" periodically. I would put some carbon monoxide sensors in your shop no matter what the heat you use...just for safety.
 
Greg,
I'm eventually going to go with hardwood like Marty did. That's a LONG way away budget wise. I might throw down some OSB or another layer of Ply, depending on how flexy the floor feels once I get tools in there. It will hold up tools and me in the short term however. Not 'done' but 'done enough' for awhile.

I have one of the freestanding pillar Kero heaters, and if I use it short term, both a CO sensor and open windows will be the rule. What I'd rather have is a Propane tank and an outside venting garage furnace.
 
Ned, there is a guy here in town that just built a new woodworking shop. This is his profession.

His new building couldn't be simpler. Plywood walls, with battens, both real and decorative running down the side of the building.

I assume he use exterior grade plywood. The look is great! and it was cheap.

If you want I will snap a pic of it for you.

Re: heat, don't forget to keep you eye out on a used woodburning stove. Often times, ppl get rid of these cast iron and steel jems for pennies.

Joe
 
Joe,
I'll gladly look at any siding options, thanks! I think I'll wind up with my shop looking similar to Marty's siding wise. His shop just rings as 'right' with my my vision somehow.

I'll look into a wood fired boiler setup this year, our house furnace is sketchy, and If I can swing it, an outside boiler would help, and running a separate zone off to the shop would be simple, considering that the yard just isn't that big!



Not a great night out in the yard, however. Check out the latest update on my Blog for a further update. I"m bushed, and going to head to bed.
 
Caught up on your blog, Ned. Sounds like you could stand to slow down just a little and make sure you're getting things laid out right the first time, huh? I think all of us have run into the "cut twice" scenario, but being in good company doesn't completely soften the blow. :bang:

I know you're chompin' at the bit to have the shop, but take your time a little and it'll get done more quickly in the long run. ;)

Thanks for the update...we'll be waiting for the next one. :lurk:
 
Ned, when I started to fill the Dungeon, I swore I'd put woodend floor down...............someday, but now, I know it will never happen, there is just way too much stuff in my Dungeon to put down wooden floors now.

I know you are not working down in a hole in the ground like I am, but still, if I were you, I'd figure out some way of working the flooring into the budget BEFORE you finish the shop, or you may never do it.

Just my 2 yen's worth! :wave:
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
Caught up on your blog, Ned. Sounds like you could stand to slow down just a little and make sure you're getting things laid out right the first time, huh? I think all of us have run into the "cut twice" scenario, but being in good company doesn't completely soften the blow. :bang:

I know you're chompin' at the bit to have the shop, but take your time a little and it'll get done more quickly in the long run. ;)

Thanks for the update...we'll be waiting for the next one. :lurk:
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Well Vaughn, wiser words were ne'er spoken. Yesterday I was busy being a camera man for my best friend. He's the head of the technical comittee of the Grand Lodge of New York, and this weekend is the installation of the state level officers. I'm normally a still photographer, but yesterday I got to play with a video camera for a few hours. The chapel at the Masonic Care Community barely fit the participants, so we televised it for overflow seating in a nearby audtitorium (as well as recorded it for the archives). Fun project, and no woodworking involved.
Today I'm kicking back awhile. In a bit, I am going to go level the piers up and secure the deck to them before I go to a graduation party. It will get done when it does is my new Mantra.
 
Stuart Ablett said:
Ned, when I started to fill the Dungeon, I swore I'd put woodend floor down...............someday, but now, I know it will never happen, there is just way too much stuff in my Dungeon to put down wooden floors now.

I know you are not working down in a hole in the ground like I am, but still, if I were you, I'd figure out some way of working the flooring into the budget BEFORE you finish the shop, or you may never do it.

Just my 2 yen's worth! :wave:
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Stu...

At this point the well is dry, so I'm thinking that stage one will be some OSB underlayment laid crosswise to the existing flooring. I'll put that down before I put the tools in, or most of them. Hardwood flooring is a goal as well, but that will be a 'move the tools' thing. It will have to wait awhile, though. Thanks for the heartfelt advice though!
 
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