no chinese contractors and udecott involved here..

[raider]

i have been toying with the idea of building a shed for a while now but never actually got started.
we'll just say the delay was due to the environmental assessment and the site survey.

well. i finally started my shed project. as you will see, i work at a snail's pace.

the first step was to go to the city and find out the restrictions for any out buildings.
in my city, the shed can be no larger than 108 square feet, no higher than 4.5 metres off the ground
and at least 2 feet from the body of the structure to the property line.

this is a very important step because i have neighbours that like to complain about every little
thing. lucky me.

i decided to build a 10ft x 10ft shed, barn style (gambrel roof) with a height of a little over 13ft.

i decided to take my time and build this thing in steps.

1- the foundation.

the most important step.

[raider]

if any wood is going to be in contact with the ground or concrete, use pressure treated wood.

it is also very important to provide proper drainage for anyblocks used to support the structure.

[taiyed]

the work lookin' solid so far, but kindah fasteners (screws) u using?

[raider]

taiyed,

yeah screws. easier to correct the mistakes.

[raider]

i decided to make the roof trusses before putting up the walls.
reason being, that the roof will be a gambrel style roof. a barn
style. by doing this, i have the full floor as a work area.

so the 3/4 tongue and groove osb floor is installed. one good thing
a lot of building materials, is that they are marked for either 16" or 24" on centre
like this flooring. i used a 16oc pattern for the foundation. when done properly, the
edge of the sheet should fall on the center of a joist. this makes it easier to screw or
nail down.

[Falcon]

real nice work raider, I hope this encourages more of the men on ttol to post their projects.

[raider]

thanks falcon.

in the first image, you can see the jig i built so that hopefully, the trusses for the
roof will have some kind of consistency. i built the trusses to attach to a ridge
board at the the top of the roof.

in the second image, i attached the two pieces of wood at the hip joint with
a gusset, as opposed to putting screws through the 2x4, which may cause
the wood to split.

the third image shows the 1/2 trusses that will somehow miraculously meet in the
middle, in some sort of symmetry.

[raider]

so here we go, the first wall. once again, use the floor for a nice work area.

i measured the wall, diagonally, both ways. when the the measurements are
the same, the wall is square. i used a diagonal brace to keep the wall square
as we put it up.

i used a level to check that the wall is plumb, and hold it in place with
braces.

the back wall went up too. using the same procedure.

[raider]

all four walls.

[lexbarker]

How deep is your footing? You may find the brick settling down over the years. Try and block up the bottom to prevent skunk, groundhog or other animals for living there.

[raider]

lexbarker,

the front of the shed rests on the concrete blocks.
those blocks are in turn, resting on 4" of gravel
to ensure that water does not pool under the concrete
block.

due to the contour of the backyard, the shed is actually
built over a swale (a drain). at six other points, the
foundation rest on height adjustable brackets.

here is a pic of one of the brackets.

the silver coloured part is a nut that can be turned to
adjust the height.

i intend to fit a wire screen around the foundation
to fit the countour of the ground.
a thick wire screen.

[raider]

so i put the roof trusses up. miraculously, they met at the ridge board
and all had the same contour. i didn't forget one of the trusses, it was
near the end of the day. it went up the next day. i had to build a
temporary platform so i could work on the roof.

by the way, the red flag is of no significance. i had to attach it to the wood
by law because it was sticking out the rear of the van. i forgot to remove it.

[raider]

up goes the sheathing. these 4x8 panels are prefinished with a
wood grain texture on the exterior. the beauty about these
is that they are really sheathing that adds rigidty and integrity
to the structure. two steps in one. the third picture shows the loft.

[lexbarker]

You are not running electricity to the shed?

[raider]

You are not running electricity to the shed?

officially, no.

what i intend to do is to wire the shed for lights and a couple outlets, but it will
not have a permanent power supply. i would need a permit then.
i plan to run an extension cord that i will be able to plug into some sort of
box to supply power when needed.

i am also installing a polycarbonate roofing that will allow 30% light to pass through.
i also plan to install windows, but right now the goal is to just get the structure
closed up and covered, so i can start putting stuff in there and reclaim the garage.

[raider]

time for an update.

as you can see, i put the siding all around
and sheathing on the lower part of the roof.

[raider]

so, i priced out the polycarbonate roofing, thanks to the internet.

at home depot in canada, the 8 ft panels are $39 dollars.
home depot in lockport, ny.....$21 dollars.

special screws with rubber washers: in canada, $18.98 for 50.
in the u.s. the very same screws....$5.98.

needless to say, went and spent the night in niagara falls, ny.

did some shopping. got a nice authentic adidas liverpool jersey,
the 'standard and chartered' one, for $20.

went to buzzy's for some real buffalo chicken wings, bought what i had
to and paid no duty to bring into canada.

it takes me about 1 1/2 hours to drive to the states.

so this is where i am at today.

you can see how much light is transmitted through the panels.

[raider]

okay, so in true trini tradition, ah fine wuk was going slow.
so i passed a lil change to someone (me) and tell me to
get this project back on track and buttoned up before snow falls.


so this is where the the project stands at the moment. next spring,
i will finish all the trim and paint the shed. so for all intents and purposes,
the shed is now complete and fit for occupation. i might finally be able to
put a another car in the garage.