Shed - Part 5: Roof

I installed the last of the roof panels today on the first section of the shed. I used Suntuf corrugated polycarbonate panels. The kind I chose were opal white with a light transmission of 45%. They also block 99.9% of UV light.

I added some additional lumber to that rafter assembly so that I could install the panels according to the manufacturer's recommendations. You can see in the photos below that I added some 2x2's along the front and the back as well as some 2x4's along the middle.

The 2x2's along the front and back are the most critical. They'll keep the panels flat and help resist the attempts that the wind will make to remove the panels. I'll be installing some fascia along the front and back so the 2x2's won't really be all that visible when the shed is done.

Now I get to start on the wall sheathing.

Shed - Part 4: Roof Framing

Well, I finally got the rafters installed. I notched the rafters along the top, but I left the lower end unnotched. Here's a photo of the first rafter in place while I traced the notch.

Here are a couple of process photos.

The rafters overhang the front by one foot. They overhang the back by two feet. I'll be storing ladders and various yard tools on the back so the extra overhang will provide additional protection. I used brackets called hurricane ties on each of the rafters to connect it to the walls. At least the rafters will stay connected to the walls in a wind storm even if the roof panels get pulled off.

The rafter blocking has screened holes for cross-breeze ventilation. This completes the framing. The next step is to install the roof panels. Then I'll tackle the sheathing, the window, and the door.

Flowers in the Yard - 2011

The violets that my spouse brought from her childhood home bloomed wonderfully this year. She says their fragrance isn't as strong though. I wonder if it's because of the lack of sunlight.

The tulip in the fifty-five gallon plastic drum container came up this year. I think this is only the second time it's bloomed since we've been in the rat-hole.

Here's a photo of one of the daffodils that comes up every year.

And here are a couple of photos of the most common flower in the yard.

Shed - Part 3: Wall Framing

I've been framing the walls for the shed over the last two weekends (maybe four and a half hours total). The west most piece of the shed will have a ceiling height of seven and a half feet. The next to parts of the shed will have three and a half inches more head space and seven inches more respectively. It was surprisingly easy to assemble the walls and tilt them up.

The shed will have a shed roof that will pitch form the front to the back. The rise is eighteen inches over five feet. I'll probably need to clean debris off once a year.

All the walls are pretty square. The diagonals at the top were about an inch different so I used a cable and turn buckle to square the top up. I may be able to remove the cable after the rafters and sheathing are on. That way I can use it on the other parts of the shed if I need to. Or maybe I'll install a 2x4 on the diagonal to lock in the squareness.

Here are a couple more photos of the shed from different angles.

I can't wait to do the rafters and the roof panels next weekend!

Shed - Part 2: The Floor

The actual construction of the shed floor went pretty quickly, but it took me a couple of weekends to get all the supplies. In fact, I bought all the 2x6's and cut them on one weekend. I didn't get to do the plywood subflooring until the following weekend, though.

Here's a photo of the finished floor joist assemblies. Since the 2x6's were already cut, it only took me a day to nail all of them together. Each floor pad is attached to its rails with a series of brackets. They are lined up on the string line and are just about as in line with one another as they can be. The extra 2x6 blocking that you see you the lowest pad is there because I want to get the best yield from the subflooring plywood. The shed is only five feet deep so that leaves three foot pieces left over. The extra blocking lets me use those drop-offs.

Here's a photo of one of the pads with a cross piece still attached. I did this to keep the pad square while I moved it into place and attached it to the rails.

I also laid down some vapor barrier to minimize moisture under the shed. This is the Pacific Northwest after all.

And here are some photos of the plywood attached. I nailed all the joists together, but I used screws to attach the plywood.

Here's a photo of the middle pad so you can see the elevation change from pad to pad.

I waffled a bit about the best way to attach the joists to the rails. I chose to use brackets that restrict side to side movement as well and up and down movement. I think the connections should withstand a modest earthquake.

Blueberry Buds

There's snow on the ground today, but a week ago things were warmer. In fact, we noticed the new leaf buds on the blueberry plants. Five of the plants have no leaves and the buds look full of spring promise. The semi-evergreen plant looks good, too. Can't want for the crop to come in this summer!

New Outdoor Circuits

While this post is related to the shed, it's not of the shed directly so I'm not giving it a shed heading.

Since the table saw and future hot tub will need electricity, I installed a new dedicated 20 amp 110 volt duplex on the south side of the house. This also means that I can plug my miter saw in and cut the wood that I'll be building the shed with. While I could use an extension cord and plug into one of the other 20 amp circuits, this would mean that I would have to disconnect my mother-in-law while I was using the saw. Now I don't have to do that.

To install the new circuit and duplex I had to go under the house and run some 12-2 wire (mandatory for 20 amp circuits). Drilling the hole to the outside was a pain! The spot where I wanted to located the hole was in an area that I couldn't really reach. I could either stick my head in and see the location or I could stick my left arm in to drill the hole. But not both! I ended up drilling most of the hole from the outside and then drilling a pilot hole the rest of the way. Then I was able to locate the pilot hole from under the house by feel and only have to drill for a half inch.

The duplex is a 20 amp GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter). GFCI's are required for areas that have moisture. I'll eventually run some electrical to the actual shed area from this GFCI so they'll be protected, too. I also installed an outdoor cover on the duplex to protect it from the rain.

Installing the new breaker in the service panel was pretty easy. I actually installed a tandem 20 amp breaker. I did this because I also installed another 2o amp duplex on the north side of the house. The additional duplex/circuit is for my mother-in-law's trailer. There's been an extention cord running through the kitchen for the last three months and it's gotten annoying. Now it's gone. Yay!

Shed - Part 1: The Foundation

We've finally started building the shed. This is a project that will have a huge impact on our quality of life because once it's done we can move most of our tools as well as a lot of our boxes out of the house. This means more living space and more room to do more work on the house. It's going to take a little while to complete, but it will be worth it.

The shed will be located on the south side of the house where the drain field is, but since the septic system has been decommissioned there won't be any problems with smothering the drain field. The shed will be five feet deep and twenty-four feet long. We'll be adding a pad on either end of the shed as well. The one on the east side will be covered and will be the new home for the table saw. The pad on the west side will be the future location of the hot tub.

The first thing that we needed to do was clean up the area and string the shed location. The setback from the property lines is five feet. Getting the measurements and the strings set up took a lot of time.

Once the strings were in place it was time to mark and dig the holes. The foundation system is a pair of 4x4 rails anchored into the ground with three posts in concrete footings. This means that three holes get dug for each rail (eighteen holes in all). Each set of holes was dug first. Then the rail (with posts pre-attached) was placed and leveled. Then the rail was removed and the concrete poured in the holes. The rail was then put back in place with the posts inserted into the fresh concrete.

Digging post holes in the Pacific Northwest requires hacking through roots and dealing with ground water. The first holes ended up being close to thirty inches deep. Water seeped into the holes when they got to be around twenty-four inches deep. The soil was relatively easy to dig with just the post hole digger, but the digging bar was very handy to have. The goal for each hole was to get down to harder earth so as to best support the concrete footing.

Here are some photos showing the rail installation progression.

There is a rise of about seven inches from the lowest to the highest area. The shed will be built in three sections, though the roof will be seamless from one end to the other. The rails are probably the most level thing on the entire property so the floor joists should be very easy to line up and install.