Storage shed project / build log

[ESmith]

Another day off, another progress report.

Yes, working outdoors in July is slightly daft, but in addition to working at a pastoral pace, I do stay hydrated. Roughly 3/4 of a gallon worth of fluids between those two and I drained the big one twice.

So today’s tasks…

• Finish the primary roof structure - only 4 more rafters to go. Not going to futz around with the remaining purlins today - that’s more fitting than I think I can stand
• Start deploying the sheathing that’s supposed to give the frame strength against parallelograming as @PearceDunlap would phrase it, however I believe the proper term is shear strength. First task is to prep the “trim” boards at the base of the platform whose real function is to give the sheathing (and later the siding proper) something to stand on during the treacherous “workholding” phase.

Measure, index, score. Done this numerous times on the project. That triangle and awl have been my most-used marking tools.

Also, FFS why is there metric on my ~20 year old measuring tape? Were 90s construction tools like 90s cars with a boggling mixture of SAE and metric?

Ah, the displeasures of painting. I think I managed to get as much as 90% of the primer onto the trim pieces.

This part really sucked and took an agonizingly long time. But at least all the rafters are in. Idea was to prime the parts of the roof that will be outright exposed or semi-exposed. I need to devise a filler piece for that outer rafter on the right…

From the other end. I’m really glad the framing is all but done.

Now that the gentle Texas sun has rendered the trim pieces dry, time to install them. Can never have too many clamps in woodworking nor carpentry.

I keep threatening to just build around clamps…

CAD dimensions said I’d need to trip about 5/8" off. I wished otherwise. However reality lined up with the CAD drawing…

Trimmed and secured.

The traditional milestone photo.

At the very least I hope to have the rectangular sections done tomorrow and hopefully the complex interfacing with the roofline. Maybe even the rest of the purlins.

[jast]

working at a pastoral pace

I wanted to ask if you learned the word pastoral in the same place I did: Calvin and Hobbes.

When I found the strip in mind, I realized this was where I learned the word contemplative… So close…

Congrats on the progress, lack of heat stroke, and not dying yet.

[ESmith]

I wanted to ask if you learned the word pastoral in the same place I did: Calvin and Hobbes.

When I found the strip in mind, I realized this was where I learned the word contemplative… So close…

I first came across pastoral somewhat recently. A few years ago, NPR had a sports commentator discussing professional baseball’s woes. I recall the piece started off something to the effect of baseball may be America’s pastime, but football is America’s game. They then proceeded to contrast the two, with emphasis for the pastoral nature of baseball vs football. I had a sense of the word beforehand, but that piece inadvertently put it into perfect context.

Congrats on the progress, lack of heat stroke, and not dying yet.

Thanks. Perhaps I will rise to meet yesterday’s ambitions today.

[ESmith]

It’s almost like the end is nearly in sight.

Hung the 6 major minimal cutting panels solo.

Then I got some help from a friend that lives nearby who must have flipped a coin between “mountain biking” and “construction” … and lost.

It’s suddenly very building like. Walls. It fills volume. It encloses a space. I have to enter and exit via the doorway as opposed to cutting through gaps in the studs.

I’m really hoping that I have this thing fully enclosed and painted by the end of the month.

Remaining tasks from the punch list (on the back of a napkin, in my head)…

• Detail-cut sheathing install (triangular sections)
• Remaining purlins cut and installed
• Building wrap
• Seal any obvious gaps with caulk/foam
• Paint exposed roofing elements
• Install siding, figure out how to handle the detail-cut sections (futz with with the vagaries of the saber saw or Do Something Else™)
• Paint siding
• Roofing installation
• Install window
• Door - build or buy - then get it installed
• Paint/install trim

… in rough order.

Interior finish-out is going to be another thing entirely. Although as much as I want to embrace the my father’s old saying all’s well that ends, I might want to line up the flooring, wall insulation, and interior wall treatment before I burden the structure with racks, totes, and yard tools. Because sequencing or somesuch.

[carpa]

Unless it’s a known quantity. Like, you know who owns it and you’ve seen its flaws. Or you’ve seen it win races…but you’re still buying a money pit.

[TLAR]

I might want to line up the flooring, wall insulation, and interior wall treatment before I burden the structure with racks, totes, and yard tools

Is that when you will be planning the extension to the shed project ?

[ESmith]

Is that when you will be planning the extension to the shed project ?

The city might frown upon extending the footprint to >120ft² or >1440ft³ .

[TLAR]

he city might frown upon extending the footprint to >120ft² or >1440ft³ .

you’d just have to let them know that it is “mission creep” and is part of being a member of the Makerspace…there is no cure.

[Lampy]

The city might frown upon extending the footprint to >120ft² or >1440ft³ .

Would a porch be included in the calculation?

[ESmith]

Extremely modest progress today. I blame a late start, lawn mowing beforehand, and that hateful big ball of fire in the sky reminding me that I’m definitely no longer in my 20s and have thus timed this whole project doubly badly.

Spent way too much time engineering the diagonal cuts - measuring actual dimensions, trying to avoid cutting the last sheet of 3/8" sheathing, sweating 1/4" or 1/2" offsets along the diagonal. In the end I should have just cut based off my original plans - plenty of margins no matter how I opted to do it.

Structural sheathing complete. Yay. Now the let-in bracing is merely for show.

The Home Despot’s e-commerce operation finally shipped that ridge cap they can’t be bothered to stock. It’s roughly twice as wide as their spec sheet implied, so all that saber saw action to accommodate the rafter bracketry was kind of futile.

[sigh]

Got all of two sections done. Working on a ladder sucks.

Tomorrow I hope to get the roof done - a quick run to the 'Despot for one more tithe to Simpson Strong-Tie™, roofing panels, adhesive, and hopefully I can knock this part out.

Would a porch be included in the calculation?

Probably not, but scope creep is not something I need in my life right now.

And if the city takes an ungenerous view of the whole thing, they might decide it’s a shade structure, pergola, awning, or some other permitted construct.

[ESmith]

Went to the Home Despot, procured what should be the next to the next-to-the-last big purchasing run for roofing panels now that I have the proprietary ridge caps (next run building wrap/siding/trim, run after that the door) and got started on the purlins…

… and then not too long after noon Stuff Happened™ and that’s all that got done. Given that it was already north of 100F at the time perhaps that wasn’t a terrible thing.

[ESmith]

So … how about that weather?

Yeah, working outside in this weather is daft. But progress demands sacrifice. So modest personal sacrifice was made.

Purlins are complete. Half of the horizontal closures strips installed.

Slathered primer all over the surfaces most likely to get some incidental water exposure.

Went through some 3L of fluids in <4 hours.

If I’m ambitious tomorrow I’ll have the roof up…

[ESmith]

So, much like yesterday it’s SWELTERING° F out there and I’m suffering for my self-inflicted punishment.

The panels are reasonably easy to cut following the manufacturer’s suggestion of a fine-toothed blade running in reverse. Unfortunately their lengths are a bit inconsistent and the factory edge isn’t as square as one might like.

Everything is looking good so far…

So a few problems are becoming apparent:

1. The panel profile and the closure strip profile aren’t as close as I’d like them to be. Solution might be spooging the thing up with sealant or perhaps some sort of tape
2. It’s apparent that mantaining a nice co-linear edge is going to be a problem.

Hey look - I met yesterday’s objective and got the roof on! Just gotta hope the wind never ever picks up…

Panels seem to do their job cutting out the IR and UV - seems slightly cooler inside already…

Between lawnmowing and today’s slow progress I went through some 4L of fluids.

The actual state of the structure. Irony of the Lowe’s building wrap is that the overwhelming majority of the materials came from the Home Despot.

---

I need to figure out …

• Sealing the closure strips
• Determine if it’s even plausible to attempt to adjust the panels so the edges are co-linear
• Ceiling vent implementation
• How I’m going to work the topmost strata of building wrap
• Whether there’s going to be a pseudo-skylight in the center of the shed (sandwich ceiling joists with plexiglass but otherwise masonite the ceiling with insulation above)
• Trim…
  • How am I going to trim out the angled portions of the wall
  • How do I trim out the roofline - looks like I’m going to mask off the exposed elements
  • How do I seal off the ridge cap at the ends

[ESmith]

Last weekend: record temperatures, high motivation

This weekend: barely cracked 90F by noon, low motivation, didn’t get moving until almost 11

Improvising vertical closure strips to keep moisture / vermin out.

Ran some thin weatherstripping along the horizontal strips - again to keep moisture, rain, and vermin out (will probably run a thick bead of caulk along the exterior as well once the panels are in) - and, uhm, marked the tyvek so I know where the studs are once I do the siding.

Just another couple of weekends … just another couple of weekends …

[ESmith]

For my day job I work in production IT supporting voice/data/video provisioning automation system. In fewer words, this system does a lot of the grunt work making your phone service, internet, or cable TV service work. Last night we performed a scheduled deployment to perform a minor version upgrade and update the logic for new offerings / business rules. Everything tested good in our test environments, so this was expected to complete handily within the release window. I got online at 02:00 expecting to be turning in within 1-2 hours after doing routine testing.

Boy howdy did the universe have other plans. Between some of the inherent complexities of actually transplanting the core logic and the vendor fumbling for some of the patch files, we found some … curious defects … in one of the chassis we have deployed. I not only had the pleasure of watching the sun rise while I was working (or rather I looked out the window some time after 06:00 and realized that it was no longer dark outside) but eventually turned in around 10:00 and slept fitfully until ~13:00.

Thus, this is all I have to show for myself today.

Behold, mere table stakes for the day: mowing the lawn.

[Lampy]

Thanks for keeping us on the internets.

[uglyknees]

How is your lawn not crispy at this point? I have delicious grass at my house but it’s screaming and dying in this heat.

[Photomancer]

Water bill = house payment

I believe in divine intervention. If the powers of heaven and earth wanted me to have vibrant lawn - rain will be provided. To water it may be interpreted as hubris and mocking them.

A side benefit is - has to be mowed less often. Can’t bring myself to allege I’m doing it for water conservation.

[ESmith]

My neighbor to the south practically floods his lawn and I get some of the runoff. I also have a couple of impact sprinklers I set up for the twice-weekly watering interval and have occasionally forgotten that they’re running, thoroughly saturating my lawn in the process of also helping the street stay such a vibrant shade of gray.

[ESmith]

Now you’ve done it. I’ll forever blame you when my FiOS decides not to cooperate.

Easier to blame a specific software vendor in Atlanta. At least for me it is.

Oh yeah, is there some secret word, like “Hippopotamus” that I can say to the first line tech when they suggest rebooting my PC? Something that indicates that I’ve typed ‘config t’ more times than I can count?

Haven’t done tech support since 2005 officially and think the last time they dropped customer calls on me when I was doing field support was circa 2008. Or in other words I’ve distanced myself from that side of the house without looking back; I don’t even know the managers in the group anymore.