Back to the New Shop, part 2

[John Bailey]

So I get up this morning and there's 2 inches of snow on the ground, it's 27 degrees and the wind's blowing 35 mph. Just another nice April day in Northern Michigan. Since we lost our snow the last part of March. I've been building trusses for the the new shop. I wanted to get those done before the walls went up. When the walls go up, it's much harder to tarp the site when the weather turns bad. With the trusses built first, once the walls are up I can get the roof on pretty quickly.

Since I'm going to have a hard time putting the trusses up on this blustery day, it's time to post some pictures of my progress. The first picture is of son number 2 nailing the first truss together. After we got that truss together, we nailed blocks to the floor so we could use the blocks and floor as a jig to build the other trusses. The 2nd picture is what the jig looks like with no truss. I cut the parts out and Jake nailed them in. It made the process go pretty quickly. Building my own trusses saved me about $700. The 3rd and 4th pictures are the finished trusses as we stored them while waiting for the walls to go up. (And of course, there's Bhakti the wonder dog checking everything out - making sure it meets her approval.) We'll be putting the walls up soon, and we'll add some pictures just before we're ready to raise the trusses.

John

[John Hart]

What a great idea John! Using the floor as a jig is pretty cool. Something seemed odd to me though...how come your jig shows angled vertical pieces but the finished truss shows all the verticals straight up and down?

[lou sansone]

I agree that it is a real good idea. I have also used similar methods for my shop. good going and best wishes


lou

[John Bailey]

What a great idea John! Using the floor as a jig is pretty cool. Something seemed odd to me though...how come your jig shows angled vertical pieces but the finished truss shows all the verticals straight up and down?

Good point John. The trusses on the gable ends are built like angled stud walls. Technically they are probaby called something other than "truss." They will be supported by the wall beneath and were built with those loads in mind. When I took the picture, the only "truss" outside of the tarps were one of the gable ends. To build those, we took out the inside blocks of the jig and only used the outside lines of the jig. We did a little more work on those, but it was still easier with the jig.

Keep in mind, I don't really know what I'm talking about, I'm just copying my garage which was built by a builder friend. Most of the thought process that went into the design came from two guys with advanced degrees from major universities. Mine is from University of Michigan and my friend's from Ohio State. We may not know what were doing but I figured if a Wolverine and a Buckeye can work together, it will work. At any rate, I'm having a great time building and dreaming.

John

John

[John Hart]

I'm taking for granted that you DO know what you're talking about....I'm probably going to copy you!!

I think you're doing great!

[John Bailey]

Lou,

Thanks for the encouragement, however, I think the only similar anything involved in our shops is the size of my shop when its done and the size of your wood storage building. I love looking at your series. I second the suggestion of a book of how you went about researching and building.

John

[Greg Mann]

John,

Looks like a good weekend to be paddling in Grand Traverse Bay before the powerboats come out. Perfect for some rough water practice, eh?

Greg

[John Bailey]

Greg,

We had 45 mph winds today. The outside truss in the picture that wasn't under the wrap (my goof) blew down. They probably have 6 foot waves on the bay, so I'll stay inside and do some plumbing work that needs to be done. Besides, I sold all 9 of my kayaks, and the trailer, to build my shop. Won't be a lot of kayaking right now. But before anyone feels sorry for me, know that I'll be spending most of the summer guiding sea kayak trips in Greece. I gotta tell ya', retirement is great!!

John

[John Bailey]

A few more pictures. The first is the first wall going up. Next is Dr. Glen and myself working on the structure. Being born and raised in Arkansas, Glen always works with a long sleeve shirt and a cowboy hat to keep the sun out. Typical Arkansawer. I, on the other hand, being raised in Michigan want to catch as many rays as possible. You notice the 20 something yr. old craftman RAS in the foreground. That saw has remodled two houses and built many dulcimers and kayak paddles. You'll also notice some cedar logs that we're stripping. We have a cedar swamp full of these. They come in handy for lots of projects. These logs are going to become a clothesline and railing for a stone walkway. Next picture is Glen and myself taking a break. Last picture is that of the next wall. Notice the weather, we had record sun and warmth for a week. This morning, Sunday, we have 28 degrees and another 3 in. of snow along with 30 mph winds. Real nice for the end of April.

John

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John, it's looking good. Great idea on the "jig" for the trusses! They sure look good from here.

[Greg Mann]

This morning, Sunday, we have 28 degrees and another 3 in. of snow along with 30 mph winds. Real nice for the end of April.

John

These are Sunday morning pictures?? I would show you what it looks like down here in SE Michigan but I don't have time. I need to get the snowblower cranked up!!!

Greg

[John Bailey]

Sorry Greg,

The pictures were taken about a week ago. We look similar to you today, but you guys got hit harder. It's 7:00 now on Sunday and they're predicting 9-11 inches. Looks like I'll not get to work on the shop till later in the week.

John