I had actually set out almost two years ago to build a new shop, but something had gotten in my way: the earth. We live on a granite outcropping, and there are stones and boulders everywhere. My plan to sink piers was not going to work without dynamite or heavy machinery. So I gave up for then and tried to make do. With the shop threatening to fall down however, I was forced to think about things again. This time, it would be sleepers instead of piers. Why not concrete? My property is not level at any point, and using a prepared site would again force me to spend that $1000 before I got started. It was going to be sleepers, or nothing at all.
For full disclosure, I am required no permits or any supervision to take on a building under 200 square feet. I cannot build a bigger shop in suitable locations on my property due to setback rules. So it is a 144 square foot shop located about seven feet off two property lines. I am building this to the standard I think it should be, where no real building code exists for what I am doing. The shop will be sold as is or can be torn down when we move.
I bought shovels and a mattock, and went to work. This is what I found:
IMG_0682 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Thankfully, the mattock was just the right tool for the job and it went fairly well. This is the sleeper pit that is lowest on the hill. I probably should have gone for the highest, but I know better now. The tamper came out and compacted both the dirt and the 3/4 stone down to make a solid bed for the sleeper to sit in.
IMG_0685 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
The middle sleeper pit actually had the most rocks in it, and the high pit was actually softer surface dirt. I'd say the middle pit was the most time consuming.
IMG_0693 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Then it came time to level everything, and I went with the string method and a piece of survey equipment I was gifted. If you guessed my error in an earlier picture, you know that I was never going to be level without either raising up the sleepers on the lower side or digging out a bunch of ground. With the granite just below, I went with going up.
IMG_0706 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
I went with solid concrete blocks to raise the low side up and get everything level. It required a single layer in the middle, and two and three on the low side. I secured those together with construction adhesive. The pic above shows me having to slightly adjust the middle sleeper pit to get the floor joist to sit flush.
Now, it's entirely possible I've set myself up for catastrophic failure using these concrete blocks. After all, they are what were used to put me in the situation I am in now. However I think I've done the ground work properly this time, used the right materials, done the right prep, used better materials and techniques than they did before. What's done is done at this point, criticism is fine just be nice about it. It's not changing at this point and hopefully you'll never have the opportunity to say I told you so.
The sleepers are 6x6 PT beams, and the floor joists are 2x6 PT. Here, the floor joists are done. When I installed the plywood (again, PT) subfloor I realized the noggins/stretchers were in the wrong places. That was fixed to provide better contact and support points for how the panels were installed.
IMG_0711 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Due to expense, I wasn't planning on insulating the floor, but found a fantastic deal on some R-19 perforated batts and ended up insulating the floor for about $50. Then the 3/4" PT plywood went on top and I found myself at a stopping point.
IMG_0715 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
IMG_0716 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
IMG_0718 by
Cochese H, on Flickr
It was then time to go on a family vacation, so the project sat for awhile until this past weekend when I started on the roof. When I realized I would have to keep the same footprint, I decided pretty quickly that I would at least gain some more storage space above my head. So, I settled on a gambrel or barn-style roof. If I went to the allowed height, I could gain almost enough room in the attic to stand up - a great place to put a dust extractor, a compressor, store materials...I wouldn't grow any on the main floor, but I could put a few more things upstairs and gain some practical room. It was an easy decision, but harder to pull off. Gambrel calculations are a bit tricky, but there is some online calculators that help.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
First thing to do was to cut the gussets. I built an outdoor assembly/track saw table a few weeks prior, and used it here along with my homemade parallel guides to cross cut the gussets. Unable to go narrow enough to cut them to final size, I cut in doubles and did a final rip at the table saw.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Then a stop block on the miter saw to cut them in half.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
I made all the angles and lengths on the gambrel roof equal to save errors, so I needed to cut a 135° peak on the gussets. Thankfully my miter saw could do the 22.5° cut I needed and that saved a lot of time. Cut, flip, cut, done.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Was able to go from bringing it home to done with the gussets in just a couple hours.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
Then it was time to cut the 2x4s for the rafters. This was a little bit of trial and error at first, but thankfully only one board was spoiled and I got all ten rafter assemblies complete and ready for the next phase (pictured is five, at the end of the day). The outside overhang will be done later.
Untitled by
Cochese H, on Flickr
This week I am brushing up on wall framing, as much as I can brush up never having done it before. I'm pretty confident, just need to select my doors and windows and account for the rough framing for those until I can buy them. Hoping to have at least a wall assembled by the end of this coming weekend.
