Birth of a shop

[Jim O'Dell]

Marty - You did redeem yourself. Until you posted that close-up of your hands, that is. Nice job on the nails!

snip
BTW how do you keep your nails so nice with all your hard work?

Leave him alone, guys...it's just the reflection of the colored water in that levelling device!!!

Marty, I'm glad it was just fatigue. Been there, done that too many times. In fact, I just came in from being out in my unventelated shop for the past 3 hours. Refused to look at the thermometer I've got out there. I've been up on a ladder with my head against the roof working on my cyclone piping. I can stand there and not make any sense out of what I'm doing, so that's it, I'm done. Maybe my mind will clear and I can develop a strategy for how to tackle it, from inside the house. Work safely and take plenty of breaks. Jim.

[Art Mulder]

It's DEAD ON, (well within maybe a 1/16" )

I thought 1/8" was considered close enough in rough carpentry...

Glad the solution was simple, I was hoping for your sake that it was something like that.

enjoying the saga...

...art

[Marty Walsh]

Leave him alone, guys...it's just the reflection of the colored water in that levelling device!!!

.
.
.
Jim.

Actually gentlemen, I always wear gloves when I'm out there, but this was a PRECISION operation and I needed full dexterity to be able to maintain 1/32" tolerances...

Good thing I didn't show you a shot of my feet

- Marty -



(taking a break from the heat for a while. The thermometer in the shade says 103. The evening news said the 'heat index' yesterday was 113 degrees, (44.99 Celcius Frank) and it's just as hot today, if not hotter! )

[Frank Chaffee]

Marty,
I too, cleave to a mature woman, and I find your wife’s hands to be absolutely luscious.
Frank

[tod evans]

so marty, where are you progress wise on monday morning? have you ordered out decking yet? with the hours you`re putting in you should be ready by the end of the week....02 tod

[Marty Walsh]

so marty, where are you progress wise on monday morning? have you ordered out decking yet? with the hours you`re putting in you should be ready by the end of the week....02 tod

'Morning Tod,

Well, the structure is square and mostly lagged down:
Attachment 40662

I have to admit, squaring this beast sure isn't as easy as squaring case work, drawers or frames! The principals were the same, but I had to resort to an 8lb sledge to make my adjustments!

The lag bolts were a good idea Tod...talk about solid feeling!!! Thanks! I just might be going overboard with them:
Attachment 40663

(And I have to remember to remove my wide-angle lens when I'm not shooting pics of the whole structure. Those beams really aren't curved!!!)

The way the floor system was spec'ed, I was supposed to just butt and toe-nail the three single layer end beams on the short sides. As you can see, I used one of the cutoffs as a blocker, then I used a pair of 5" lags down into the triple beam. Oh, and there are 8-3" screws holding it together too!

I left off the far side short beams since that's how I plan to manhandle those 40' I-joists up onto the beams. I'll close that end off when I'm done with the joists.

That's where I am...but here's what's happening now:
Attachment 40664

It seems that the first tropical storm of the season is heading towards us. The local news said it was supposed to hit by some time late last night or early this morning, so Denise and I were out there until after 10pm TARPING the structure! I now have a new found respect for those guys that tarp sports fields. I never realised just how heavy and awkward large tarps are!

And to answer your question, the decking is already sitting at the suppliers yard. It was supposed to be delivered this morning, but given the delays and snags I've hit, I asked him to hold it there. (I figured it's HIS responsibility to keep it safe and dry until delivery. Once less thing I'd have to tarp...)

The plan was for me to start knocking out the I-Joists starting this morning, but I'm going to wait and see what Mother Nature has in mind for me. If we dont' get hit too hard, I just might be ready for decking next Monday.

After the I-joists, I have to staple the hardware cloth on the under side of the joists, and then add the insulation. THEN I'll be ready for the decking.

I'm really looking forward to the decking, since I'm using Advantech and it's not nearly as succeptible to rain damage.

Taking a much needed break today...
- Marty -

[tod evans]

marty, i`m glad you went with the lags. framers don`t like them `cause ya` can`t shoot `em but they`ll make the whole assembly sturdy. while you`re taking the day off check on the electric caulk guns for your subfloor adhesive, you`re forearm will really be gratefull. also if you don`t allready own one now is a really good time to buy a pneumatic upholstery stapler, they work great for hardware cloth, housewrap ect. and they`re usually not real expensive, i paid well under 100bucks for mine and it`s a passlode....02 tod

[Marty Walsh]

marty, i`m glad you went with the lags. framers don`t like them `cause ya` can`t shoot `em but they`ll make the whole assembly sturdy. while you`re taking the day off check on the electric caulk guns for your subfloor adhesive, you`re forearm will really be gratefull. also if you don`t allready own one now is a really good time to buy a pneumatic upholstery stapler, they work great for hardware cloth, housewrap ect. and they`re usually not real expensive, i paid well under 100bucks for mine and it`s a passlode....02 tod

Tod,

Yeah, I can understand not being able to shoot them. Heck, I had to resort to a rachet since my cordless drill driver could only get them in about half way! But you're right, sturdy is an understatement!!

I thought about one of those cordless caulkers, and will probably go that route. I have the adhesive here already, since I'm going to be using a dab on the bottom of the joist hangers before the I-Joists are set into them. (Four cases...my forearm's sore already just carrying them into the garage!!)

Got any brand preferences? Unfortunately, Dewalt doesn't make one, since that's the brand of my other cordless stuff and I'd always have a battery charged and ready (have four XRP batteries that rotate on the chargers).

And as for the stapler...I was thinking of going the Senco route, but not an upholstery stapler. I was looking at the Senco SLS18 for shooting 1/2" staples. Is that too much tool/staple?

- Marty -

[tod evans]

marty, the sls series staplers will countersink the staples, not what you want for screen wire or house wrap. if there`s a senco dealer close ask about a "c"series gun. as far as a shop stapler goes i use the sks series. for caulking go with the milwaukee. on lags i drive `em with a pneumatic impact makes short work of the job. tod

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Marty........It does my heart good to see someone worrying about doing quality work at this stage in your project! It'll be there a long time and it will remain stable! Great work! Keep posting!

[Marty Walsh]

Marty........It does my heart good to see someone worrying about doing quality work at this stage in your project! It'll be there a long time and it will remain stable! Great work! Keep posting!

Ken,

Thanks for the kind words. I only have the chance to do this once, so I'm doing everything within my power to do it right. Plus, I plan to spend just about every day in there. It would drive me crazy if I wound up with a non-level, non-square or spongy feeling shop by my own hands, knowing that "if I had only...".

Plus, before we moved south, we lived near the "urban sprawl and crawl" of the Northern VA/DC area. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly, and how SHODDY they could slap up a home. I got a good lesson in what NOT to do by watching those crews.

- Marty -

[Michael Gabbay]

Marty -

You mean everyone does not use an 8lb sledge to square up their case work???? Geez, maybe I need to rethink my tool selection.

I hear you about the local builders up here. It makes remodeling a very interesting challenge.

Good luck with the storm. Keep the photos coming.

Mike

[Marty Walsh]

Alberto's come and gone...

Initial reports show somewhere between 5-7 inches of rain here yesterday. Mercifully, no sustained winds over 35-40mph. Boy am I glad we tarped everything!

Attachment 40820 Attachment 40824

There's got to be an easier way to get things covered when a storm is heading our way, but I think we did a passable job for our initial attempt.

We used sisel rope to tie the main parts of the tarps down, rounds of Oak where we needed weight, and Quick clamps (heavily coated w/WD-40) where we needed to control mid-span wafting from the winds. Oh, and when we saw how bad the wind 'ballooned' the tarps, we tied rope mid span to cut the balloons in half:

Attachment 40821 Attachment 40823 Attachment 40822

I'm thinking about getting some of those hard rubber bungee cords, like you see holding down tarps on tractor-trailer loads. That should be easier than having to hand tie everything. I know there's no way regular bungee cords would have held. There was some SERIOUS tension in those tarps when the storm actually passed through here!! I was worried I was going to see my framework airborn a few times, but those lag bolts seemed to be holding just fine!

I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any tricks for covering something this large. (Aside from getting the crew from a local sports stadium!!)

As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to getting the Advantech down so I don't have to worry quite so much about the rain. By then, the insulation will be covered by the decking, as will all the joists and all but the outside perimeters of the LVLs.

Which brings up my next question...

What do you folks think about having to keep things covered once I have the decking down, while I'm framing, etc.? I see construction sites all the time that are left uncovered for very long periods of time. It's rare, in fact, to see a site where things get covered. The rain HAS to have an effect on the lumber...is it just not enough of an effect to worry about?

I have no problem with being out there brooming the water off the deck, if that's what it takes. Anything to not have to drag these huge tarps around.

...

Well, Alberto is just about done here. It's still misting a little, so I'm waiting before I pull the tarps and get back to work. I hope to be out there this afternoon...

- Marty -

[tod evans]

marty, my biggest concern would be the insulation not the wood. the advanteck is good stuff but it may still leak some at the seams. i`d spend my time trying to get a roof over it instead of tarping and untarping, even the tgi`s can stand a few soakings. have you made plans for setting the trusses yet? once your deck is down the walls will go fast, even with one guy, but setting trusses singlehandedly is something you need to start thinking about....02 tod

[Marty Walsh]

marty, my biggest concern would be the insulation not the wood. the advanteck is good stuff but it may still leak some at the seams. i`d spend my time trying to get a roof over it instead of tarping and untarping, even the tgi`s can stand a few soakings. have you made plans for setting the trusses yet? once your deck is down the walls will go fast, even with one guy, but setting trusses singlehandedly is something you need to start thinking about....02 tod

Tod,

The insulation is my concern as well. I'm even toying with the idea of postponing the installation of it until I have a roof up. It would be a royal PITA to do it from underneath, but at least then I know I can keep it dry until it gets installed. Is there an obvious flaw in that plan?

And the trusses...ah, the trusses. I've begun looking into getting a crane (and operator) out here to assist me with that. I thought I might be able to cheat and use a block and tackle with the aid of the tractor, but I've nixed that idea in the name of safety and my health. I'm even going to try to enlist the help of a neighbors or two the day the crane is here.

I'll probably have more questions before I tackle the trusses, but for now I'm concentrating on the tasks at hand.

I untarped everything today, and finished getting all the lag bolts in, and the beams straightened. I'll be starting on the I-Joists first thing in the morning.

- Marty -