Shop Storage Shed

[Immortan D]

Is the top floor going to be accessible from the outside of the shed? If you're going to use that space for lumber storage, looks like it's gonna be easier to push it from the outside, through a loft door of sorts. Just an idea.

[Chestnut]

2 minutes ago, Immortan D said:

Is the top floor going to be accessible from the outside of the shed? If you're going to use that space for lumber storage, looks like it's gonna be easier to push it from the outside, through a loft door of sorts. Just an idea.

Yes I'll have a window on the front. I think I've changed from wanting to store lumber up there to just storing Christmas lights, Christmas tree, decorations, ect. I'll have a nice 10' rack for lumber just inside the door along the right wall. I'm torn between keeping the garage completely empty and storing lumber where it's easier to load unload or using the shed ... I'll figure that out when i get things finished.

36 minutes ago, Minnesota Steve said:

You looking for saplings?   4' trees or bigger trees?   Fleet Farm has good prices on potted 4' trees.

4' or shorter is the best tree... those big ones they like to transplant they take out so much of the root system it takes years for them to recover.

We have a tree line along the back of our lot, and a number of trees died.   I think a few were elm, which doesn't surprise me.   The others were boxelder, which again is no surprise.

There's a couple black walnut tress in there, and a nice basswood.   The neighbors have some big white oaks in there yard.   So I've been looking to plant a few trees to add some more diversity.   Thinking maybe some sugar maple trees.   Maybe another hackberry, we've got a couple on the other side of the lot.   they ain't pretty, but they're very resilient.

I'll keep that in mind for next year. I already bought some one was B&B the other was potted. I have some bare root walnuts that i'm hoping to get in the ground tonight.

39 minutes ago, Tom King said:

When I was a teenager, back in the '60's, one of my jobs was driving a half ton pickup the 25 miles to town, and come back with a load of 9 300 pound blocks of ice.  The front wheels touched the ground most of the time, but it's a good thing there was little traffic on the roads back then.   The back springs on that truck had to be replaced several times though.   Is the empty ride height still the same on that Ranger?

Before anyone is tempted to surpass the load rating of a trailer, please reconsider.  I've done it, to a very troublesome result, and see them sitting on the side of the road fairly often.  Trailer axles are rated to a max load for a reason.  If the axle sags past horizontal, not only do the hubs deflect upward, but the pull on the inside of the tires now, also deflects them to the back.  It doesn't work good like that for long, and often permanently ruins the axle for keeping tires, and bearing working for long, even with no load on  the trailer.   I see trailers on the road, all the time, that it's obvious they have been overloaded sometime during their life, because the axle now has a permanent bend in it, judging by how the tires are rolling from behind.  

I'm pretty stingy with the load on the trailer i never like to get it over 1,500 lbs. it's rated for 1,800. When it's loaded up i'm always going slow and do my best to avoid large bumps. I'm more comfortable overloading the pickup, which is backwards beings that the trailer was $200 and far easier to replace. A new rear axle is probably closer to $400 though it's the last original drive line/suspension part on the vehicle so it's about time.

1 hour ago, Chet said:

Amen!!!  The one owner that I know of that put a major portion of the money up for stadiums is Paul Allen the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers and if I remember correctly he paid for all of the Trailblazers arena. 

Man i really could rant about this more but i won't. We need to just stop doing this. Mean while our water pipes are bursting bridges are falling down and our public transportation is laughable beyond belief. But these are the biased views of a civil engineer, it's not like i have a stake in the infrastructure game . Sadly the few hundred million doesn't go far for big infrastructure projects .

[Immortan D]

One can never have enough storage space for Christmas stuff. Can't wait for someone to invent an holographic Christmas tree that fits in a drawer when not in use

[Chestnut]

1 hour ago, Immortan D said:

One can never have enough storage space for Christmas stuff. Can't wait for someone to invent an holographic Christmas tree that fits in a drawer when not in use

That is a fantastic idea. I also like the new idea that some people have had with inverted Christmas trees. They save so much floor space especially for rooms with tall ceilings. Tall trees are like 6' in diameter at the bottom which is huge!

Also one can't have too much storage for wood. As soon as i get this done I'm going to hit up Cremona for some lumber for a future Roubo.

[legenddc]

I hate holiday decorations. They take up way too much room and time bringing it all out and setting it up.

Nice work with the shed. Seems like its coming along well.

[Tom King]

The rear axle on a truck is not as much of a worry, as it is on a trailer.  The weak point on a truck, for carrying a load, is the springs.  If they ever go down too far, they never come all the way back up.   The ice delivery truck I mentioned was a mid sixties Ford with a 460.  The store owner, that used to pay me ten bucks to go get a load of ice, ordered the big block thinking it would help offset the overload.   The truck would fly when empty, but it didn't seem to do much to help balance the load.

After ruining a couple of sets of springs, he put some "helper" springs on it.

[Chestnut]

37 minutes ago, Tom King said:

The rear axle on a truck is not as much of a worry, as it is on a trailer.  The weak point on a truck, for carrying a load, is the springs.  If they ever go down too far, they never come all the way back up.   The ice delivery truck I mentioned was a mid sixties Ford with a 460.  The store owner, that used to pay me ten bucks to go get a load of ice, ordered the big block thinking it would help offset the overload.   The truck would fly when empty, but it didn't seem to do much to help balance the load.

After ruining a couple of sets of springs, he put some "helper" springs on it.

Ahh yeah i noticed your question about the ride height now. To the best of my knowledge it still rides the same height. I very rarely load it up like i did for this project. Maybe 5 times in 14 years. The driver side does sit a bit lower than the passenger side, kinda like i have a 500 lb block in the box behind the drivers seat. It's been like that since i owned it so my guess was it was from the previous owner.

[Chestnut]

Are there better nails than others? I have some galvanized nails that I bought to secure down the ply for flooring. Last night as i was trying to attach the flooring the cupping of the ply was enough to pull the nails out. Are there better nails to buy that grab better? I was using 2 1/4" long nails i think they are an 8D? I don't know a ton about nials. Should i be using screws to attach this down? Nails are nice because they are fast and my right arm doens't need to be recharged as often as a drill battery.

[wdwerker]

Ring shank nails can be almost impossible to pull out. Cement coated nails have a resin that gets heated up by the friction of driving the nail. But I haven't driven that many nails in a very long time. Spare batteries make cordless drills work nonstop.

[Chestnut]

16 minutes ago, wdwerker said:

Ring shank nails can be almost impossible to pull out. Cement coated nails have a resin that gets heated up by the friction of driving the nail. But I haven't driven that many nails in a very long time. Spare batteries make cordless drills work nonstop.

I think the nails that i use in the air gun are the cement coated kind. They hold really well. So well most of the time the heads pull through the pine studs i used for bracing. Last night i was a bit too lazy to string out the air compressor though. I just thought a plain galvanized nail would hold better. I'll just have to pick up some ring shank nails on my way home. Swinging a hammer is a nice break from the loud annoying impact driver.

I've been using an air nailer for most of the shed and those things are nice. Have to be careful with them though the one i use kicks like a mule when there is a hidden knot i try nailing through.

[Tom King]

8cc should be fine for floor sheathing, or use 10's if you can find them. 

 Ring shank nails don't hold so well in Spruce framing.  That was why there was so much trouble with the old style sheetrock nails popping loose.  Ring shanks hold great in treated lumber, that's soaking wet to start with, and shrinks around the nails as it drys.   In dry wood, the rings tear up the hole just enough so there is little contact between the nail shank, and wood.

There are various kinds of galvanizing.   It used to be that the only kind you could get was hot-dipped galvanized.  Then they came out with electrocoated galvanizing, that I can't figure out is good for anything, other than fooling the purchaser.

[Chestnut]

50 minutes ago, Tom King said:

8cc should be fine for floor sheathing, or use 10's if you can find them. 

 Ring shank nails don't hold so well in Spruce framing.  That was why there was so much trouble with the old style sheetrock nails popping loose.  Ring shanks hold great in treated lumber, that's soaking wet to start with, and shrinks around the nails as it drys.   In dry wood, the rings tear up the hole just enough so there is little contact between the nail shank, and wood.

There are various kinds of galvanizing.   It used to be that the only kind you could get was hot-dipped galvanized.  Then they came out with electrocoated galvanizing, that I can't figure out is good for anything, other than fooling the purchaser.

hum ... it's going in regular lumber so rings might not hold that well either? Guess i should just break out the screws and impact driver, which is easier than the air nailer any way. The hot dipped galvanized were the nails that aren't holding the other option i have is ring shank.

[Tom King]

Screw it.  I'd use Deckmate 2-1/2" star drive screws from Home Depot, but not the strange thread ones for synthetic decking.   If you have an Ace Hardware, their store brand star drive decking screws grab, and go in easier than the Deckmates.  Buy a bit that snaps in the impact driver, instead of the short ones that come in the box with the screws.

I'd loan you my stand up self feeding driver if you were closer.

[Minnesota Steve]

3 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Are there better nails than others? I have some galvanized nails that I bought to secure down the ply for flooring. Last night as i was trying to attach the flooring the cupping of the ply was enough to pull the nails out. Are there better nails to buy that grab better? I was using 2 1/4" long nails i think they are an 8D? I don't know a ton about nials. Should i be using screws to attach this down? Nails are nice because they are fast and my right arm doens't need to be recharged as often as a drill battery.

I think I used galvanized ring shank nails to attach the plywood to my shed.   Something like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grip-Rite-2-3-8-in-x-0-113-Plastic-Exterior-Galvanized-Ring-Shank-Nails-1-000-per-Box-GR08RHG1M/202275374

If your putting down pressure treated flooring into PT trusses, might be worth using the GRK construction screws.   They're awesome and they work with pressure treated wood.

 

[Chestnut]

This is going to have to take a couple week break. Pickup started acting up, the temp was getting hot. Checked the coolant and it was full of black. So I'll be replacing the head gasket in it hopefully i can get the HG done in a week or 2.

On good news i got my walnut trees planted, hopefully the didn't die before i got them planted.

[Coop]

On 5/23/2018 at 1:42 PM, Tom King said:

Screw it.  I'd use Deckmate 2-1/2" star drive screws from Home Depot, but not the strange thread ones for synthetic decking.   If you have an Ace Hardware, their store brand star drive decking screws grab, and go in easier than the Deckmates.  Buy a bit that snaps in the impact driver, instead of the short ones that come in the box with the screws.

I'd loan you my stand up self feeding driver if you were closer.

I totally agree. I’ll never use ring shank nails again. I just tore down an old cedar fence that I used them on. Cussed myself the entire project. Tom’s recommendation of the Deckmate is spot on. The neighbor behind me replaced our common fence after a hurricane and even put the boards on my side, bless his heart. I paid for it and he did the labor. I noticed, close to the end, that he was using drywall screws to attach the pickets. As the screws were accessible, I replaced them on the weekend when he was working.

[mat60]

Got to love them ring shank nails. LOL

[Chestnut]

Finally got back to work on this. Last night i cut all of the wood for the rafters. Use the track saw to cut all of the top angles. It was as simple as using a speed square to make the angle on a few boards. I lined them up dropped the track in place and cut all of what i needed for a side in one go. I cut each side in a group and keep them separate so the completed trusses should be the same even if my cuts weren't perfect, which i doubt they were.

Did some measuring and lay out to figure out where the birds mouth needed to go. I also laid out the overhang and put a line for cutting that. Then it was a few hours of making cuts with the circular saw and keeping boards organized. Once i got the details figured out it went smoothly and quickly. I stacked the boards into a pile clamped them together and cut the top one into the one below it. I'd unclamp the boards remove the top board align things up again and then use the kerf marks to cut the following. It made quick work of cutting this out. They came out pretty dang accurate as well.

After I finished all the batching out i was able to grab some ply scrap and nailed 5 together. I only took a picture after the first. So far standing together leaning against the wall they  maybe have 1/8" varation between heights. Not perfect but good enough for a shed.

I'm hoping to get the rest of the trusses finished tonight and get them up so i can tarp the roof before the rain that we're supposed to get tomorrow.

[Chestnut]

Tuesday night i finished making all the rafters. After getting them together i had to lift them 11 feet up. I accomplished this with a strap and being more stubborn than gravity.  Wed night i was able to get them mostly stood up and nailed down.

It's starting to look like a building finally. I can almost stand up in the attic. I'm glad i put the floor 18" down from the to plate. I was worried with 2x6s the attic floor would feel flimsy. It is not the case I've been jumping around up there No problem. Thursday i cut a good 12" off my grass. Tonight i did fiddly stuff to get ready to sheet the roof tomorrow.

[Coop]

Great progress Drew. Looking good. What is the ceiling height in the shed?

[Chet]

In Tuesday's photos I see you are using a couple of gray sawhorses, are they stackable?  It looks like if you turned them over you could use them for trash cans.

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Great progress Drew. Looking good. What is the ceiling height in the shed?

Inside bottom 8' inside top 5.5'.

9 hours ago, Chet said:

In Tuesday's photos I see you are using a couple of gray sawhorses, are they stackable?  It looks like if you turned them over you could use them for trash cans.

Best multi use saw horses I've ever bought. Helps you make a mess and then clean it up.

I bought them when i didn't have a city can. Now they don't get used much so i had to invent uses to justify keeping them around.

[Coop]

You mentioned earlier that your attic access will be from the outside. Is that shown in the pics or yet to be determined? 

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, K Cooper said:

You mentioned earlier that your attic access will be from the outside. Is that shown in the pics or yet to be determined? 

It will kind of be from the outside. I'll have a window on the front of the gable end for sure deciding yet if i want to do one on the back. There also is a framed hole in the attic floor just above and off to the side of the main door. That will most likely be the main access the gable end window will be 12 feet off the ground.

[Tom King]

I built access into the attic over an addition on our house with a hinged gable end vent.  I didn't want to leave any ceiling opening inside, but maybe you could hinge the window to be used as a door. 

Around here, a "shed" is built on the side of another building, with one or more open sides, or freestanding with open sides.   Anything else is called a "building".  For instance, my Tractor Shed is open on two ends, with a dirt floor.  It's built on the side of a shop building, and has a trailer shed on the opposite side of the shop.  Both of those sheds have Shed Roofs.