Birth of a shop

[Andy Hoyt]

Quality of a different sort, but quality nonetheless. Here's an even better one, though.

Dust? I turn - I eat dust for breakfast

[randy street]

The problem is that the sheathing needs to get attached to the header over the big window, but that's where I'd need a ladder to be able to get the sheathing into position. I tried a few more acrobatic ideas, but none of them did more than get me covered in sweat and queasy from dancing around high up on the ladder.

Could you do something like this so you dont have to use your ladder? Plus it would give you a little wider area to move around.

Just trying to brainstorm.

Randy

[tod evans]

marty, i know it`s a pain but drag the scaffolding outside and use it for the sheeting. you`ll feel much safer on a walkboard swinging around sheetgoods....02 tod

[Frank Pellow]

marty, i know it`s a pain but drag the scaffolding outside and use it for the sheeting. you`ll feel much safer on a walkboard swinging around sheetgoods....02 tod

I agree with Tod. This is especially true because of your lack of success yesterday, your reluctance to work of heights, and the fact that you dreaded doing this job. Subcontracting the roofing moved you ahead more quickly than you expected. Use some of the time you gained there by taking the time now to move the scaffolding.

Marty, I am off to Pellow's Camp now for about 10 days and I look forward to seeing the progress that you will no doubt make while I am away from contact to the internet.

[Marty Walsh]

Vacation time...

After three months of busting my tail seven days a week in this sweltering heat, I've decided it's time for a vacation. And since the roof was on, I don't need to sweat the weather so much.

Time to go fishing, do some swimming, maybe put some ribs or a ham on the smoker...who knows...I just want time off maybe to do NOTHING at all!!!!

Catch you all after the holiday weekend...
- (exhausted) Marty -

[Marty Walsh]

Vacation? What's that????

I wouldn't know how to handle time off at this point! And as close as the project is to actually becoming a shop, there's NO WAY I could slow at this stage!

When last we tuned in, I was having issues trying to get the gable end walls sheathed. There were issues with ladder placement, and trying to do it myself. Well, instead of driving myself crazy, possibly hurting myself, or having to resort to using scaffolding, I decided it was time for a change. I thought the east gable wall would be easier to sheath, since there wasn't a window in the way of the first sheet. I was right.

Denise was able to quit her work early thanks to the holiday weekend. I had already measured, cut and installed the first sheet towards the front of the shop by the time she joined me. From there, she would go in the trusses and shout down measurements for subsequent sheets. I'd then go cut them and tote them up the ladder while Denise was up in the trusses pulling on a rope that was attached via a c-clamp to the sheet. Once in place, Denise would hold the sheet in place while I fired my ring shanks. The last two sheets, to either side of the hay-mow door we did via the opening:

Attachment 46089

It was a good feeling to have that wall completely sheathed before we called it quits.

That's Friday ... More to follow...
- Marty -

[Marty Walsh]

Creeker visit!!!

With the east gable wall done, we were feeling cocky about being able to get the more complicated west wall sheated. Well, just our luck that JOE BLANKSHAIN, a fellow creeker from South Carolina, volunteered to come down to Georgia to lend a hand. Even luckier, Joe isn't anywhere near as afraid of heights as I am!

With Joe and Denise working the ladders and up in the trusses, and me cutting and delivering sheets on demand, we made relatively quick work of sheathing the west wall. Most of the larger sheets went up without issue. When we got towards the peek, my two aerial workers decided it would be easier if we did it in smaller, more managable pieces. (I didn't care HOW it got done, as long as "I" wasn't 25 feet up in the air clinging to a ladder!)

Here's Joe nailing in one of the last small pieces up at the peak:

Attachment 46091

Here's a shot that puts in perspective just how high up Joe was working:

Attachment 46092

(Joe had a heck of a time squeezing through that tiny hole after he climbed the ladder. Joe's no small guy! )


By around 3pm, the wall was completely sheathed. What a relief...and all I had to do was cut the sheathing, occasionally hold a ladder or run stuff up scaffolding inside, and take pictures:

Attachment 46093

Well, with such an accomplishment, you'd think we'd have thanked Joe and called it a day. Heck, I'm not about to let help go that's not afraid of heights, especially when there's still loads of daylight left!

We decided to tackle the Tyvek on the west wall. We discussed a few different ways to get it done, since it wasn't going to be as simple as the sheathing. Since the wall was now closed off, there was no cheating from inside. I also wanted to make sure we maximized the Tyvek since we're getting a little low and I was trying to get the remainder of the walls done without having a get another roll.

What we came up with was for Denise to go up in the trusses at the peak, holding the end of the tape measure. I then climbed the ladder that was at the front end of the gable wall. We now had the length of half the gable wall. We cut two pieces of Tyvek to this measurement, one for the front, one for the back. It was time for Denise and Joe to get'er done.

None of us were comfortable with Denise climbing my 26' extension ladder (fully extended) all the way to the peak. What we devised was to send me up into the trusses with a section of rope that I pased over the top chord of the gable end truss. Denise very careful climbed the ladder which was two rungs from being fully extended. She then tied the rope to the top rung and descended. Once she was clear of the ladder, Joe pushed on the ladder, as I pulled on the rope to fully extend it. I then took the rope and tied it to the trusses. With this arrangement, and Joe steadying the bottom of the ladder we were all comfortable with Denise attaching the Tyvek at the peak. (At least Denise didn't complain... :

Attachment 46094

Once we had the had that gable end Tyvek'ed it was safe to start putting in windows. Since Joe was here to help, he and I got the big office window installed. We used our rope trick, with Denise hanging on to a rope that was thrown over the top of the gable end truss and attached to the center post of the window after we removed the bottom sashes. Joe and I then lifted the window and pushed it out the hole in the wall, pulling it back into position so Denise didn't have to handle all the weight of it.

Once back in the hole, I ran outside and shot a few nails into it. We then reinstalled the bottom sashes, and checked alignment and postioning. After making a minor tweak to get it perfectly plumb, I went back out and shot the remaining 58 nails into.

Joe had planned to leave around 5. Well, thanks to his unselfish willingness to help, here's where we stood at around 7:

Attachment 46095

If a storm hadn't moved in, dumping over two inches of rain on us in less than an hour, Joe might have stayed to help even more. But since he was driving a two wheel drive vehicle, we were worried that he wouldn't be able to get out of our dirt road if he stayed much longer. Luckily, he got out just in time. The dirt road turned to slippery red Georgia clay that challenged even my 4WD truck on the way back from taking Joe back out to the highway.

Joe, we can't thank you enough for helping us. We would have gotten it done without you, but you took most of the pain out of it...at least for me. We owe you...

Ok, Saturday done...more to follow...
- Marty -

[Marty Walsh]

Sunday, ...A day of Rest...

N O T ! ! !

With the very successful day that Joe helped us to have yesterday, we weren't about to lose momentum. Denise and I started the day off by getting the remaining windows installed, since that work could be done on the shady side of the shop. We got the bathroom window, and both spray room windows installed. We would have gotten the last one done as well, but the upper (fixed) sash is cracked and I don't know how to remove it.

I'm pretty sure my supplier will tell me how to remove the sash so he can replace it, but without knowing for sure, I thought it better safe than sorry, in case he wants to replace the whole window. (I haven't even taken the shrink wrap off, so it's his choice.)

Attachment 46096 Attachment 46097

Oh, and while we were closing in the holes where the windows go, I took a few minutes to make up a cover for the spray room fan opening. Since I don't have a louvre yet, I need to close that off to keep out the weather once I start on the wiring:

Attachment 46098

Those lag bolts are just 'handles' that I used to pull the cover into the shop to make sure I had a good weather tight seal. There's a screw next to each of the lags that actually holds the cover in place. Once I get the louvre, I'll remove the screws and chuck the cover.

Once we had all the wall openings filled that we could, the sun had moved over the top of the shop and the east wall was in shade, so we moved on to the Tyvek on that end. Well, actually I had to measure and cut two pieces to cover the double top chord of the gable end truss first. And before I nailed those in, I laid a piece of Tyvek over them so once I nailed them in, all I had to do was pull down the Tyvek and attach. One less reason to be hanging precariously out the hay-mow door!!!

With the peak taken care of, Denise and I repeated what we did yesterday with Joe. I went up into the hay-mow door with a tape measurement while Denise climbed a ladder on the corner of the gable end wall. We then cut the Tyvek to length. I took it up into the trusses, dropped one end down to Denise so she could climb back up the ladder. I attached my end, she did the same, then we moved her ladder so she could attach the rest of the sheet. Here's where we called it quits since the daylight was leaving us:

Attachment 46099

We'll get the remainder of that Tyvek on tomorrow morning, and all that'll be left to do is for me to get another roll of Tyvek so we can finish the bottom section all around. Then we Tyvek tape all the seams and we're done. Since it's the holiday weekend, my supplier won't be open until Tuesday. I guess I'll start working on the hay-mow doors tomorrow, since that has to be closed in before I start running power.

Thanks for following...time for dinner...
- Marty -

[Jim O'Dell]

Marty, looks like you've put the weekend to good use!! (Like your week days and weekend days are any different, huh?) Sure nice of Joe to pitch in and help. I can see he lifted a big burdon off your shoulders. Sorry to hear of the damage to the one window. Hope it's an easy fix.
Oh, and vacation??? Didn't you get a week off at Cub Med(ical)??? Jim.

[Joe Blankshain]

Marty and Denise,

It was my pleasure to come and hang out (literally) with you two for the day. The LOML appreciated me keeping busy rather than pestering her for something to do (hint, hint) so we all got something out of the adventure. Sure is going to be a great shop and I will advise when I have time to come back down and do some more work around the homestead. Thanks for a fun Saturday.

Joe

[Bart Leetch]

One of the things I've learned between watching Franks & Marty's shop builds is I don't want a shop as small as Franks & I don't want a shop as big as Marty's. But But something between 720 Sq Ft & 1200 SQ Ft would do just fine.

WELL MARTY YOU COMING ALONG JUST FINE JUST BE CAREFUL & BE SAFE. We want to see you in your older age enjoying the fruits of you labors.

[Don Baer]

Arn't creekers the best, Way to go Joe. Marty, I am sure you would have gotten er done but it is nice to have some help once in a while. The progress is great and now if the weather doesn't co-operate you can at least do some inside work. Your gonna need some temp. lights though.

[Marty Walsh]

Arn't creekers the best, Way to go Joe. Marty, I am sure you would have gotten er done but it is nice to have some help once in a while. The progress is great and now if the weather doesn't co-operate you can at least do some inside work. Your gonna need some temp. lights though.

Don,

I can't agree with you more. First we were honored with tod's presence and back breaking assistance. Then we get Joe to come down and save me a few dozen ladder trips.

What can I say...except THANKS CREEKERS!

- Marty -

[Marty Walsh]

Rain Delay...

Well, not a delay like I used to have when it rained. Now that the roof is on, all the rain does is force me to work inside. (It's SOOO nice to "have" an inside now!! )

Denise and I spent a few hours cleaning and straightening up. While I was gathering up tools from various corners, from both sets of scaffolds, and from boxes strewn about, I decided I needed a way to be better organized out there. I needed....A BENCH!

After about 30 minutes of Sketchup time, I came up with this:

Attachment 46158

Since I had plenty of culled MCQ 2x6's left from the porch project, and I salvaged the cut offs of 5/8" ply from the roofers, that's what I decided to use. It didn't cost me a thing, and everything I needed was already under cover. This is certainly not going to be a proper woodworking bench, but it'll be fuctional.

With my Sketchup cutlist in hand, construction took me all of about 45 minutes:

Attachment 46159

It's certainly not the prettiest bench, but it sure is sturdy!!! And since the top is a full sheet of ply, and the lower is all MCQ 2x6's, it's HEAVY!!!

I was originally going to put it under one of the windows on the front wall, but Denise suggested putting it right out in the middle of the shop floor. Since it is so big, I agreed that having access all around it made sense.

Here it is in its new home:

Attachment 46160 Attachment 46161

Now all I have to do is keep it cleared of the inevitable clutter...

Another thing we did today was to bring a small booksehlf stereo system out to the shop. I also brought the XM reciever from my truck and put it on a home docking station. With the little cheap speakers hung on opposite corners of the back wall, I can now almost annoy the neghbors...

I can't wait to get a real sound system out there. The acoustics aren't bad...and those big speakers are gonna rock the joint!


Well, tomorrow I plan to shop electrical parts to get the wiring done. But before I do the wiring, I need to get the Tyvek finished on the east wall. And then I need to get the hay-mow door built (Or at least build a temporary 'wall' to close off the hole).

I was going to build a temporary 'wall' over the garage door, but since my door should be delivered in about a week, I may just continue with other tasks and wait for the door before I do any wiring. I can't see spending the time and material to build something that I'll have to rip out in a weeks time.

Thanks for following...
- Marty -

[Don Baer]

Marty,
Your first woodworking projetc in the new shop and what could be better then a work bench. Looks good sitting there.