Storage shed project / build log

[ESmith]

Faced with the prospect of actually getting started on this thing this weekend, simplification of the design has set in.

Found a true 36 x 80 door, which happens to have a skosh more clearance than necessary to get my widest piece of equipment in and out. Out with the 3-part door and out with the accessory access door. A ramp can still be arranged if I feel the need, but the chipper-shredder is not an every weekend tool, so perhaps it need not be integrated. Pre-fabbing the framing - the bulk in pairs of identical side-sections - should make for a brief assembly sequence.

I’m fretting the piers yet. I helped my father build an 8x16 shed ~25 years ago that used landscape timbers as piers with up to ~18" of clear under the back end; don’t recall the count - might have been a mere dozen on 4’ spacing. I dug those boreholes with a typical 6" posthole digger then we simply filled as if they were fenceposts. Dad loaded that shed up with some untold mass of his lumber stash and it looks to still be standing:

Sure, it could be any shed with the artifact-y mess thart is 3D satellite view at that level of granularity, but the 9/2014 street view reveals distinct features and design embellishments :

Given that I’m not going to load tons of lumber into it, perhaps I’m overthinking it - gravel at the bottom, flare the top ~6" if I’m feeling really paranoid and call it done?

[ESmith]

So after endless refinement of the plan I broke ground today.

Torque tube posthole digger is highly recommend.

Some improvisation may be required if the auger gets stuck; there’s no reverse gear.

Psuedo action shot. The operator merely guides the digger; with the engine some ~5ft away, there’s no torque to resist.

A dozen holes dug and spoil mostly dealt with in six hours by one guy in average condition taking frequent breaks to pound down bug juice.

I’ll surely find some execution Problems™, but using my manual digger to correct is small potatoes relative to the exhausting effort it would have been without the benefit of the internal combustion engine. Took an amazingly small amount of gas to boot.

[jast]

Torque tube posthole digger is highly recommend.

Been wanting one of those ever since I first met one.
Not that I have any use for it (or want much use for it), but…still want.
Good writeup!
And good luck!

[kbraby]

No reverse if stuck: I know someone who did that with a 6 inch auger driven by a 30 hp diesel tractor. Think it took him a couple months to get it back off. I think the PTO shaft still has a place where it sticks because of the twist it picked up from that incident. I’ve come close a couple times, but so far the worst I have done is shear the bolt between the auger body and its bit.

[ESmith]

Per the sales guy at Home Despot they’re great tools to use but terrible to own because of the endless maintenance on the flex shaft.

All I know is that it would have taken me two days to dig a dozen postholes manually. and I would have been suffering for it on the second day. After the still considerable amount of labor I’m glad I opted to spend a few more greenbacks renting the torque tube variety rather than the cheaper “classic” style.

[TBJK]

Dingos are pretty neat to use.

[Photomancer]

If you are in a yard with tree roots a couple of holes a day would be good progress with a really nasty hole.

[ESmith]

There were some roots. Some gentle plying with the San Angelo bar convinced them to get out of the way.

[ESmith]

Another weekend, another progress report…

Hm. Don’t think the quill is supposed to do that when the crank handle is fully withdrawn. And I’m pretty sure that segment of gear wasn’t there previously.

Don’t think I can JB-WELD that back together…

No matter - to the Home Despot, where I can procure another tool I need anyway! And more materials!

(Several days later) Replacement part is in. But I need snap ring pliers I don’t have. Off to DMS on Friday; I may or may not have attempted to reciprocate when @engpin may or may not have been communicating with me.

Evidence of success! I also spent more money on that one Forstner bit than I usually would, but at that size might as well get decent quality, no?

Finally making visible progress on the platform.

Work holding - sometimes you need to improvise. Also a demonstration of why I’m building a storage shed in the first place.

Templates like this direct from my design file are incredibly helpful.

Don’t think I’m going to be levelling anything today…

Pilings finished. Just need to drill the joists and the major platform structure elements will be finished.

---

With the drill press failing promptly on me last Sunday, Saturday’s workholding challengers (which may or may not have bent a drill bit when a piece fell off a previous, far more precarious work holding arrangement) and the rain delay today meant I got less done than I’d have liked (garage on the other hand got a decent working-over and I found/stored many missing items).

But the aggravating high-precision work with large work pieces is nearly over. Hopefully the holes dry up during the week so I can begin the task of leveling.

I do need to decide how I’m going to insulate the platform underside sooner rather than later. 2" rigid styrofoam hot-glued to the underside of the plywood decking sounds appealing, but I don’t know how well that will hold up.

[tymt]

Definitely insulate it. My last house in Arlington had two sheds with just studs and outer walls. One was insulated with bubble foil on the walls and ceiling and a ridge vent, the other one without. I could work in the insulated one with just a fan when the other one was unbearably hot.

[ESmith]

Yeah, it’s just a matter of how. Once the framing goes up, access to the underside of the platform becomes … troublesome. The interior will be insulated at some later stage once the shell is complete.

[tymt]

You can use some chickenwire and appropriate length screws/washers to keep the insulation in place on the underside.Or squish it and shoot a staple, or…

[tymt]

Ah, I just caught the “you can’t get to it” aspect… Sorry.

[jast]

I’ve never heard of insulating the floor in this climate…

[ESmith]

True, we tend not to go through all that much fuel oil in the region. But since it’s quasi pier-and-beam, might as well since the aim is ultimately to finish out the interior to a degree and possibly use it as a small work space.

[Photomancer]

We usually just drill in sutu.

That sounds inconvenient. Why not do it there?

Doh, it’s a typo …in situ!

[ESmith]

I admire your precision at this, but I’ve never seen a shed build that needed any operations on a drill press. We usually just drill in sutu.

This started with the decision not to use lag bolts (using machine bolts instead), which snowballed into pre-cutting everything which then lead to pre-drilling everything (since I’m not so confident in freehand drilling deep holes). As a further wrinkle, it was awfully convenient to run the sidind all the way down the the bottom of the platform so those bolt heads need to rest within a counterbore.

It’s surely not the fastest way to do things. Time will tell whether or not it’s the most durable way to do things. Oh, and the entire weight of the structure rests on those 1/2" bolts … of which there are 62.

Once the platform is complete the need for precision drops markedly. Framing and roof trusses can be done mostly with jigs. Siding will have relatively little fitting.

[ESmith]

Another weekend day with decent weather, more progress.

I may have enough brackets…

Some tools are improvised. In this case I needed to bail the last ~6" of standing water out of the boreholes.

After a mere 2 cubic feet of gravel, I got side to side levelling satisfactory on the primary joists.

And another half cubic foot or so additional gravel to get the end-to-end levelling satisfactory.

Perimeter platform frame nearly done. Need some more hardware (sigh) to complete it. Also need to determine whether I knackered the borehole alignment or the frame holes for the secondary joist posts.

Platform otherwise went together with minimal drama - looks like my ill-advised drill press drilling on large workpieces theory paid some dividends.

[ESmith]

Also need to determine whether I knackered the borehole alignment or the frame holes for the secondary joist posts.

I think I know the answer now…

Just one of them was knackered. Relatively easy to field-drill too…

It’s pretty miserable outside today. But I’ve completed the major platform framing:

Next up, fine-tuning the alignment then the joys of concrete mixing and pouring. Might have to wait until tomorrow. Or next weekend.

[Lampy]

Who would think you picked the wrong time to build something outdoors in May? 95+ degrees?