Garden and shed project
Discussion
Well, it's laid! Not very smooth, betraying my lack of ability, and lack of prep. As it turns out the area wasn't cleared far enough around it making it difficult to run the smoothing beam across. I'm so glad I paid a little extra to get the concrete delivered pre-mixed, it was enough of a struggle without mixing it myself!
I'm not too fussed about the roughness of the surface to be honest so I didn't waste too much time trying to make it better, as for the most part it wasn't making a lot of difference. I am planning to cover it with underlay and a floor covering (as mentioned, for comfort), so that should negate the imperfections, I hope.
The local cats must have known how I felt and helped the consistency of the rough finish:
Next weekend will be a big one, I am getting all the wood delivered and will also attempt to lay the patio. As ever, I've never done any of this before so it should be interesting!
I'm not too fussed about the roughness of the surface to be honest so I didn't waste too much time trying to make it better, as for the most part it wasn't making a lot of difference. I am planning to cover it with underlay and a floor covering (as mentioned, for comfort), so that should negate the imperfections, I hope.
The local cats must have known how I felt and helped the consistency of the rough finish:
Next weekend will be a big one, I am getting all the wood delivered and will also attempt to lay the patio. As ever, I've never done any of this before so it should be interesting!
Progress report for the last couple of days:
I had the wood delivered, this took me about 5 hours to move to the back garden. I also had the bricks, sand and cement for the patio wall, which took some more time to move, so Thursday was mostly spent shifting stuff! I also made good progress on the rabbit hutch (I will post pictures of that later). In the meantime, the shed is coming along.
I have assembled the back wall and laid the front wall pieces out, it's about 75% screwed together at the moment:
Tomorrow (if the weather plays ball), I'm hoping to build both side walls and assemble all 4 walls together, get them squared and anchored to the concrete base. With a bit of luck I'll have time to start on the roof trusses.
I had the wood delivered, this took me about 5 hours to move to the back garden. I also had the bricks, sand and cement for the patio wall, which took some more time to move, so Thursday was mostly spent shifting stuff! I also made good progress on the rabbit hutch (I will post pictures of that later). In the meantime, the shed is coming along.
I have assembled the back wall and laid the front wall pieces out, it's about 75% screwed together at the moment:
Tomorrow (if the weather plays ball), I'm hoping to build both side walls and assemble all 4 walls together, get them squared and anchored to the concrete base. With a bit of luck I'll have time to start on the roof trusses.
I've been able to do a bit more, although it's not going as fast as I was hoping as I'm doing a lot of it by myself:
Next job is to square everything off, add some bracing, finish the roof frame, anchor it down, then I should be able to lay the roof and get it clad. Once I'm at that stage I can stand back a minute and do the other pressing jobs around the garden!
Next job is to square everything off, add some bracing, finish the roof frame, anchor it down, then I should be able to lay the roof and get it clad. Once I'm at that stage I can stand back a minute and do the other pressing jobs around the garden!
bigdom said:
I'd use 6" for roof, shuttering/structural ply instead of OSB. Have a look at Cedar shingles, not much more than decent T&G, circa 50 year life and no ongoing maintenance.
I just realised I never replied to this, I looked at cedar shingles, they would look really good but I don't have the budget for that unfortunately...craigthecoupe said:
good shout pal! looks bloody ace. all power to you for diy'ing it. how much wood have you got there? and cost if you dont mind.
Thanks! I always prefer getting involved and doing things myself, it's much more rewarding at the end...The wood I've ordered comes in 12ft lengths, I have 105 lengths of 2.25" square, and about 120 lengths of 6x3/4 for the cladding, plus 6 14' lengths of 2x1 for the door frames and 8 sheets (8x4) of 12mm birch plywood for the roof. All of that was just over £850 delivered. All apart from the plywood is tanalised as well (don't know if it's obvious from the pictures).
I've made a little progress this weekend, it's been slower than I expected again, but I'm getting there slowly:
The roof is on:
One wall is clad:
And one of the roof windows is in:
With a bit of luck I'll be able to do more of the cladding over the next few evenings, at this rate it might be another couple of weeks before it's done though!
The roof is on:
One wall is clad:
And one of the roof windows is in:
With a bit of luck I'll be able to do more of the cladding over the next few evenings, at this rate it might be another couple of weeks before it's done though!
5potTurbo said:
Looks very good so far!
Are you nailing those up by hand, each cladding board? If so, why not hire a nail gun?
- *ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping* - 1 board done!
Thanks! I am screwing them in actually (as I didn't want to nail them by hand), but I might take your advice and nail them in with a nail gun, it probably would be a lot quicker! Although, to be fair, what takes the longest is the cutting and measuring, and holding the 3.6m boards level as I try to screw them in!Are you nailing those up by hand, each cladding board? If so, why not hire a nail gun?
- *ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping* - 1 board done!
Alex@POD said:
Thanks! I am screwing them in actually (as I didn't want to nail them by hand), but I might take your advice and nail them in with a nail gun, it probably would be a lot quicker! Although, to be fair, what takes the longest is the cutting and measuring, and holding the 3.6m boards level as I try to screw them in!
The same's available for screws too, auto-fed screws, frees a hand up. Hmmm.... good work OP but if I'm being honest I'm surprised you're just fixing feather edge straight onto the framework. Also surprsied that you've just built the framework straight off the concrete without a course of bricks.
I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
Rosscow said:
Hmmm.... good work OP but if I'm being honest I'm surprised you're just fixing feather edge straight onto the framework. Also surprsied that you've just built the framework straight off the concrete without a course of bricks.
I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
Can you tell me what problems you are thinking of? I've never done any of this before so it's entirely possible I made a few mistakes here and there! I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
For the house wrap stuff, as far as I know once the boards are on and treated it should be waterproof. It will then be insulated (an air gap will exist between the outer boards and the insulation) and boarded inside.
For the frame, I was informed there should be no issues using treated timber directly on concrete, so I didn't really look any further. As this isn't a living space I didn't think I need to worry too much about it...
Alex@POD said:
Rosscow said:
Hmmm.... good work OP but if I'm being honest I'm surprised you're just fixing feather edge straight onto the framework. Also surprsied that you've just built the framework straight off the concrete without a course of bricks.
I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
Can you tell me what problems you are thinking of? I've never done any of this before so it's entirely possible I made a few mistakes here and there! I would have at the very least used something like Tyvek Housewrap, then battened off the boards.
For the house wrap stuff, as far as I know once the boards are on and treated it should be waterproof. It will then be insulated (an air gap will exist between the outer boards and the insulation) and boarded inside.
For the frame, I was informed there should be no issues using treated timber directly on concrete, so I didn't really look any further. As this isn't a living space I didn't think I need to worry too much about it...
You're investing a not insignificant sum of money on timber, and you're spending a lot of time on this project.
I would have built the framework off a course of bricks, then the timber rails will last indefinitely. As it is I reckon you'll get 10 to 15 years before they're shot.
Same with the framework - housewrap and a 20mm batten and your interior timber will be much better protected, the feather edge won't last forever and when it starts to leak your framework is going to get wet.
I don't want to alarm you (probably too late!) but with a few little tweaks your outbuilding will last a lot, lot longer.
Thanks for the advice. I'll just have to hope for the best I guess! I will make efforts to keep the wood protected though.
Current progress;
I still have to build the remaining door frame and door, 8 window frames, fit the windows, then just the "trim" pieces (corners, eaves, and corners of the roof).
After that, get some self-leveling compound on the floor, get it insulated and boarded, get the light and electrics in, build some furniture, shelves, worktops, and a half party wall... Only a couple of things then!
Current progress;
I still have to build the remaining door frame and door, 8 window frames, fit the windows, then just the "trim" pieces (corners, eaves, and corners of the roof).
After that, get some self-leveling compound on the floor, get it insulated and boarded, get the light and electrics in, build some furniture, shelves, worktops, and a half party wall... Only a couple of things then!
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