# Another workshop build project



## Maia28 (10 Sep 2007)

Hi all, having commented on others shed builds I have finally having started my own.

Some background: When we moved to this house five years ago, one of the selling points for me was the good size garden (150' X 50') and the 20'X10 shed at the end of it - somewhere to keep all my Ford Capri spares. A couple of years ago my neighbour gave me an old Coronet Elf lathe, a horizontal whetstone grinder and some nasty chinese turning tools. Having got completely sucked into turning and then generally into woodworking, I filled the old shed to bending point and started to think about making a new one that I could fit out as I wanted and was also more attractive than the old one. The builds on here have been really useful with no two designs being, seemingly, the same. This is the original shed made of 8X2 3/4" Canadian ply:







My plan is a pitched roof workshop on a paving base made from 4X2 with ply floor and internal wall and featheredge outside. I'm still not decided on the roof material: shingles; felt; or sheeting. Reading all the excellent builds on here (and elsewhere) tells me there is no "right way" just different costs. Having just extended our house, the builders left around 2.5 tons of sand, 1 ton of gravel, 10 bags cement etc.  I also had around 100 paving slabs from the old patio the extension now sits on and literally tons of hardcore, some guttering and DG windows etc.






The first task was to remove a greenhouse and move the woodpile, which had grown by then, while still allowing access for the mini-digger for the builders. It then took a couple of weeks to empty the shed into the other shed, garage and under a tarp on the lawn. Pulling the shed down took a couple of days and revealed that the old shed sat on 3X2 with the 3" side face down on the odd brick. There is about a foot difference in height between the two ends and the old shed had started to bend on the downhill side - perhaps that wasn't the best place to store the axles and gearboxes :shock: .






The weekend before last I dug a trench, cast foundations (by hand) and built a section of retaining wall before excavating some of the soil to level the vegetable plot on the other side of the garden. On reflection that was the wrong way round  . This was then filled with hardcore, pea-shingle and sand tramped down by my little helper. 











All the sand, shingle, cement and some of the hardcore had to come through the back gate which is 4' above the level of the ground at the back and at a slope of around 40 degrees. I used some of the old sheets and timbers to lessen this but it got quite slippery and eventually the wheel on by barrow broke sending sand everywhere.

This was then covered in the old paving slabs and an exhausting weekend completed. It wasn't as level as i wanted, but I simply ran out of energy to go back and sort the small variations (max 1" end to end). I convinced myself it would be good for surface runoff. Apart from wanting to get rid of a load of the building waste, I was convinced that the slab bed was good for two other reasons. Firstly, when the extension foundations where layed the concrete was piped over the back fence up to the house. Despite the operator having performed at Roman Abramovich's house early in the day it did not go so well for me and the pipe literally exploded 20' above the garden :twisted: . I also didn't fancy mixing the amount required or barrowing it up the back gate.

The new workshop will be 6.3X3.3M and the base is made from 4X2s sitting on additional (levelled) slabs with a DPC and various left-over insulation products filling the voids.The outside edges have 3 4X2s, two to support the walls and one for the floor. It's all screwed together with Spax except the noggins which where nailed in before laying it on the slabs/DPC. Additional noggins while installing the flooring where screwed in with 4" deck screws. The floor is currently ply salvaged from the old shed and part of my reasoning for the extra 4X2 that it sits on was that I may want to replace it. Alternatively I may add another layer. 






All the floor sheets had to be cut along all four edges so this took a little longer than expected, but by last night the first floor was completed. At the request of SWMBO, I also moved all the timber off the path and lawn onto the base. Because I decided to use stock sizes I ordered an additional 102M of 3M lengths. For some reason the suppliers delivered this twice (I came home on Friday to find a new pile by the base which the driver had carefully unloaded and carried up - shame I hadn't actually ordered it) and the second lot where almost identical lengths. So, as of Sunday I have a solid and level platform to build upon:






I'll make the roof trusses next using the floor/edges as a jig then frame the sides which I will cover in 200mm featheredge from the sawmill at Cocking. SWMBO thinks Oak would be nice but I don't think she knows the cost. I will then fill with more insulation and cover the walls with 12mm ply along with the roof deck. Fortunately an armoured cable supplied mains from the house even if it is connected to the cooker switch - some more rewiring to be done. 

I've found peoples costings very helpful and will try to post some figures for that. If it's anything like the extension it'll be twice my estimate. I'll post more as work progresses.

Andy


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## PowerTool (11 Sep 2007)

Very interesting,Andy - thanks for taking the time to post it all.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build  

Andrew (ex-Capri owner...)


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## ByronBlack (11 Sep 2007)

I'm sure we all love a good workshop WIP and this has started really well. I'm envious of your space though  Should be a grand workshop indeed, good work so far! Good to see your getting your child into work early!!


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## Anonymous (11 Sep 2007)

Nice start Andy. In my view you've got the most difficult bit out of the way. I hate getting the base done.

You've given me a good idea of how to get the floor done. I had the tape measure out last night so I could visualise what I was thinking. I may have a go at using sketchup to plan things a little more.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you do your roof trusses. 

Dave


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## DomValente (11 Sep 2007)

Interesting thread Andy, well written and photographed, keep it coming.

Dom


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## Shultzy (15 Sep 2007)

Andy, glad to know my thread was useful. Looks as if its coming along nicely, I found the base the most back-breaking and boring.


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## Maia28 (15 Sep 2007)

Thanks ByronBlack, Andrew and Dom. 

Dave: I've found this forum helpful and reassuring, especially when you see other peoples ideas put into action, glad this has helped you. I hope it doesn't all fall down now.

Andrew: I've had the 2.8 injection special Capri since 1990(?) and done over 100000 miles in it. It was the first car I spent any money on. I only use it ocasionaly now, but it always brings a smile. Its' usual trip is up to Wl West my closest timber/turning tools supplier.

Shultzy: Your thread has been a great help, thanks again - watch this space for more shameless imitation of your approach.

Back to the building. This weekend I have been mostly working on roof trusses and started some of the framing. I'm going to use six main trusses to support the plywood sheeting with King posts on the outer ones. In between these I will use further trusses with a slightly higher cross brace so that I can put fluorescent tubes across them with less likelihood of breaking them. I started out by making a set of planks for one truss and used the floor as a jig for putting it together. 






Happy with the result I then set up a guide on my improvised saw table to left in the picture above so that I could cut the remaining boards without having to measure them. I have an aversion to nails so again used deck screws to secure the gussets along with an excess of glue. I only used four nails today but still managed to bash my fingernail. I may acquire a nail gun for the outer feather edge cladding though. Happy with the result of the first one i then set up a production line a la Shultzy.






I agree with everyone else that building the base is the least satisfying part but console myself with the thought that there is no way I could have got that intensity or duration of exercise by going to a gym. However, despite the garden being a good size the workshop site has fairly little space around it, partly due to wood piles, the remains of the old shed, the sycamore and hedge and various other rubbish. I seem to spend a lot of time moving things around at the moment. The completed trusses now live on the lawn. 






Because the DPC comes up between the planks in the base I have folded this over and put 4X1s down for the frames to sit on. The DPC will eventually be fixed over the internal vapour barrier about 12" above the floor. This arrangement also stops me putting the footplates over the floor so I can remove it later if needs be. I also managed to cut the 42 2.2M lengths for framing the walls and have put up two-thirds of the frame adjacent to the fence. I have discovered the delights of Reiser screws and am using 130x6s to hold the frames together. This proved to be quite heavy, especially when it came crashing down on me as I stupidly went to collect the spirit level which was on top of the planks to the left in the picture below. I must have been distracted by Gillingham scoring against Brighton, but was relieved that I hadn't broken my wrist. I shall not make that mistake again.






hopefully I will get some time to do a bit more of the framing tomorrow. Rain is forecast for Monday so I would like to get it up to a height where I can cover it with plastic sheeting. One thing that dawned on me today was that I haven't really thought out the roof properly having designed the workshop for the joist spacing for internal sheeting. One option is to extend the roof towards the right and have a covered area. However, as I'm now thinking of putting the door on a long side that may not be so good unless I use it to cover a wood pile. I'll think about that some more. I'm leaning more towards the idea of roof shingles, but they look like they take an age to put up. Does anyone have any opinions/experience of these or could estimate how long it would take to cover 24m^2?

Andy


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## DaveL (15 Sep 2007)

Andy,

Good progress, I hope you get the cover over it before it rains.



Maia28":q15rlmgj said:


> I have an aversion to nails ................
> I only used four nails today but still managed to bash my fingernail.



You sound like one of my neighbours at my last house, he built an extension and I helped. We made the roof trusses with nail plates and twist nails, all put in with a trusty claw hammers. Doug would always hit his hand at least once on each truss, he could not get over the fact I never did. I put it down to earning my pocket money as a teenager making fence panels and sheds at a small building supplies yard just down the road to where I lived.


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## PowerTool (16 Sep 2007)

Thanks for the update.
I've had a 2.0 laser,a 2.8injection,and a 3.0S (but of course,always wanted a Brooklands 280 :wink: )
Don't know how much timber you get at a time,but I can get more in my Fiesta than I ever could in a Capri :lol: 
As for the shingles,never used them but they must be more time-consuming to do than a two or three-layer felt roof.Only normally see shingles in red,and mineral-felt in green - so do you want to blend in,or make a statement :lol: 

Andrew


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## Maia28 (25 Sep 2007)

DaveL: That must have been my brother next door to you. I can remember my father saying to me something along the lines of "thats your favorite tool, at least learn to use it properly". Actually, this weekend I put in a load of noggins with no attempts to secure my fingers to the timber.

Andrew: Re the shingles, I have decided to go with two-layer felt as it will be quickest, cheapest etc., it also helps hold down the tarps.

I built the frames in sections and worked my way round the weekend before last






and this weekend started putting the roof on. I had intended to fit spacers between each truss, but ended up fitting a purlin instead. I carefully marked this to space the sheeting correctly, but later found out I didn't actually fit it where I had marked it. Anyway, I was quite pleased to have the structure up, and used reiser/spax screwss through the top plate to hold it all together. I had bought some truss clips, but they wouldn't fit around the ply gussets on the trusses. The intermediate trusses, at the planned sheet centres, are raised on small blocks from the waste when cutting the cross braces. The door is now on the front as I have decided I have had enough of 8x4 sheets and will be unlikely to use them in the workshop.






I added some noggins over the weekend. I used some 10x2.5 below the windows at the front as I intend to put work surfaces all along this this wall and mount my lathe in front of one of the windows. Is this sensible, it's the same way the toilet cistern is mounted on a stud wall I did in the bathroom?

I had to put the sheeting up by myself, so the bench and chair in the picture where used as staging. The extensions on the trusses stop the sheets sliding off, but didn't prove to accurate in aligning the edges. I got the big pieces fixed before the heavens opened and then spent £540 on 200mm Douglas Fir featheredge boards which should arrive within the next ten days. Well, it is my birthday.






I need to complete the roof now and cover it with Marley garage underlay and topsheet by which time I hope the cladding arrives. I also have the windows to fit but am now wondering about the wisdom of white uPVC frames. Can they be painted effectively?

Andy


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## PowerTool (26 Sep 2007)

Looking good,Andy - you now get a good idea of the space you are going to have (which gets used up all to quickly..  )
As for the lathe,although mounting it on the 10x2.5 might hold the weight,I would be more concerned about the vibration,and would be happier with it mounted on a bench (then fill under the bench with as much stuff as you can,to add more vibration-dampening mass to it)

You've done a fantastic job so far,particularly as it seems to be "all your own work"  

Good luck with the rest of it.

Andrew


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## Inspector (26 Sep 2007)

I notice that there are no headers over the door and windows, just the top plate of the wall. Are they going in later or are the roof loads not expected to be large enough to deflect the top plate?


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## Maia28 (20 Oct 2007)

Been too busy recently so haven't done as much as I wanted. I installed the headers for the door and windows and the rest of the roof sheets a couple of weeks ago, but as it has been raining quite a bit I didn't get a chance to cover the roof until last weekend.






I also took the opportunity to completely line the workshop with a damp-proof membrane and the structure now seems water tight. That's been useful as it saves me carrying tools and materials up to the garage every time I do something. Putting the roofing felt on was quite a job as I again had no help. After putting down the underlay I ended up looking like one of the cast from the back and white minstrel show, horrible stuff that mastic adhesive. I also had troubles keeping the felt on the roof. The first sheet of underlay decided to slide off when I climbed onto the roof and the same thing happened when I put the first piece of top-sheet down. Thats why the ridge is covered with the roll ends. Perhaps shingles would have been easier - they would certainly have looked better! The silver birch on the left became my ladder to get onto the roof and had some handy branches for hanging hammers and adhesive from. I made a small shelf from the ends of the roof trusses to sit the adhesive on as I worked along the roof.






There is not much space along the other side, but I did find that I could sit on a noggin and lean back into the hedge to fit the fascia boards and nail on the felt. It's going to be tricky to put the weatherboards along that side and may just cover it with spare WBP for the winter (and to save time).






Today I started putting the cladding on. It's 8" Douglas fir feather edge and gets quite heavy the higher you get but is quite quick to put up. I hope to get to do the other sides in tomorrow which should be easier as there is only one other window on the far side. I bought an Evolution Rage sliding saw from Screwfix for cutting the cladding and have been very impressed with it so far. Even the laser seems accurate. It'll be nice to start working from the inside soon. As you can see, alternate trusses are about a foot higher and I intend to hang strip lights from them. When I get the cladding finished, I'll fill the cavity with insulation, fit another moisture resistant membrane and line it with ply sheets. The extra-wide noggigns are there so to fit work surfaces to BTW.






This evening, it's starting to look like a workshop. these jobs all seem to take much longer than I expect.


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## DaveL (20 Oct 2007)

Andy,

Good to see progress, getting felt on the roof, even on a small shed by yourself can be tricky, been there got the tee shirt. :evil: 

The cladding looks very nice.  As to everything taking longer, I put in down to my age, what's your excuse? :roll:


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## Fecn (20 Oct 2007)

Looking good now you've got some cladding in place - It's always the liggle jobs that take forever to do.


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## druster (25 Oct 2007)

where did you get the cladding from, am currently planning my new workshop and like the look of that.


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## Maia28 (25 Oct 2007)

druster":1gjcruaz said:


> where did you get the cladding from, am currently planning my new workshop and like the look of that.



Hi druster, I got the cladding from English Woodland Timber. The quality is excellent with only minimal wastage and they charge by coverage rather than length. It cost £510 for 42m^2 of Douglas fir delivered and looks really nice up. They taper from 1" to about 1cm so should last and you can choose different wood. SWMBO thought oak would be nice until she saw the price! They are just up the road from me in Cocking (between Chichester and Midhurst) in West Sussex. 

http://www.ewtimber.co.uk/

I shall go up there tomorrow to get some un-cut boards for the corners and the gable ends. I'm going to dark creosote the boards unless there are better recomendations for a preservative?

DaveL: good to know I'm not the only one who can't touch a brush without painting myself. I'm dredding the creosote and another fake suntan.

I have not done the hedge side yet and will probably cover that with 3/4" WBP ply for the winter - I want to get in and that will take me another day to put up. I have also started cutting insulation - 100mm knauff loft type - for the walls ahead of internal cladding. Here are a couple more pictures of the ends clad. It now seems terribly tall inside and I am thinking of doing a ceiling to follow the higher cross-braces in an earlier picture. Any ideas/comments?











Andy


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## Maia28 (25 Oct 2007)

Hi again druster,
Just seen your comment on the thread about workshop lighting. What power is your metal halide lamp? I have a 400W sodium SON T (?) flood light that I was thinking of putting up inside, would that be too bright?
Thanks,
Andy


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## Mcluma (25 Oct 2007)

hi 

i see you put the cladding straigh on the studs

What i did is first put the plastic skin on it, then 7mm ply and then the cladding, and in between the studs insulation and then the inside wall

it will stop all kind of insects winds and water, and makes it nice and cosy


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## druster (26 Oct 2007)

the metal halide is 70w but is the equivalent i think of a 500w so relatively low energy consumption, they are very bright, but do provide an almost daylight like light, my workshop is currently a cattle shed 30'*30' with a 30' roof height, it has one halogen spot 250w and two flourescent lamps at ceiling height, and it was a bit dark. I put in the halide lamps at each end about 10' high and it feels like a bright summers day, I put one up at first but had bad shadows so went for the wembley effect in the end.
on another point, with the douglas fir, is that not durable enough to leave natural and go for the silvered wood effect?


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## Maia28 (15 Nov 2007)

It feels like its nearly there now and I have started thinking about benches, electrics and such like. Since my last post, progress seems to have been relatively quick. Because the jobs are now mostly inside, I can do a few bits in the evenings. So, I have filled the walls with 100mm insulation which was mostly left behind by my builders in the summer. I ended up a few m^2 short, but B&Q have a 2 for 1 offer at the moment so the roof space now has at least 270mm of insulation.







I have also fitted the windows and frames. Again, these where removed from the house when the extension was built and I have chopped the plastic frames in half and mounted them horizontally. The window frame to the right is made from two old uPVC frames joined in the middle. I got the openings slightly wrong and had to use a router to remove the groves from around the edges - the plastic snow goes everywhere.






Using some old 3/4" ply and left-over cladding, I knocked up a barn door. I'll have to remount this at some point as I didn't get the hinges quite right. I also used left-over cladding to fill the soffits, and have some other pieces to make sills for the windows from.






Putting up the membrane inside seems to take longer than it should and I had to buy a new stapler as the old one literally exploded. The new one also fires pins which has come in handy for holding up cladding on the ceiling which I started doing today. 






I have lined the inside with 1/2" ply and also installed the fuse box and an earth rod. I have also given the outside a coat of creosote.











Now I'm thinking of where to fit benches, lighting, power sockets etc. hopefully, I'll get some time tomorrow to put some more of the ceiling cladding up and cut the timber for the main bench in front of the windows. I've enjoyed the building so far (apart from the roof felt) but really want to get the lathe out again, sharpen the tools and start turning again. however, before I can do that I have to make a barn door for my daughters bedroom and I have started to notice all the jobs that need to be done to complete the house extension. It's going to be a busy few weeks until Christmas


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## Shultzy (15 Nov 2007)

Andy, looks like your build is coming along nicely. Nice to see you have a bit more space to work in than me :lol: I see you are you not putting your electrics behind the panelling - Any reason?


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## Maia28 (15 Nov 2007)

Hi Shultzy, I haven't put the wiring behind the panelling because I know that if I did this I'd only want to run it somewhere else when I fit the inside or not have enough sockets where I want them. Also, I thought this would complicate things (which I can easily do!) and make evolution of the circuits harder. When we did the extension to our house over the summer, I put 4 double sockets in each room and yes, didn't put any in useful places when the children decided where they wanted their furniture. I also managed to make the foil-backed platerboard live at one point and could imagine me putting screws through wires behind the panels. This is especially embarassing as I am a chartered electrical engineer


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## mrbingley (16 Nov 2007)

Very nice.  

But can you please put two cladding filler strips underneath the windows just to finish it off and restore symmetry. :wink: 

Chris.


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## Maia28 (16 Nov 2007)

mrbingley":1qwxjdvn said:


> Very nice.
> 
> But can you please put two cladding filler strips underneath the windows just to finish it off and restore symmetry. :wink:
> 
> Chris.



I certainly will Chris. I will add it to my list.
Andy


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## OPJ (17 Nov 2007)

Looking very nice indeed, although you do still need to correct your spelling on the word *NOGGING* - unless you're American! :wink:  

I like the way you increased the size of some of your noggings; I guess tha means you won't have to double up with timber to the inside face of the wall.

When you next attempt to rehang those stable doors, you could try temporarily bracing them together, as if they were a solid door, and refitting as if it is one.

Looking forward to seeing the completion of this project pretty soon then - and then we'll see just how quickly that wonderful space just dissapears!! :wink:


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## Maia28 (18 Nov 2007)

OPJ":1t5cxor7 said:


> When you next attempt to rehang those stable doors, you could try temporarily bracing them together, as if they were a solid door, and refitting as if it is one.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the completion of this project pretty soon then - and then we'll see just how quickly that wonderful space just dissapears!! :wink:



Thanks for that OPJ. Now I think about it, its seems obvious, but I've already owned up to complicating things :lol: As for the space, I'll have to work out what to do with all the old car parts that used live in the previous workshop as I don't want them down there anymore. As for the *noggings* it seems that I have a predisposition to stick a g on the end of anyting ending in ???in.

I've now clad the ceiling with B&Q el-cheapo cladding. That was harder work than the outside. The off-cuts make excellent kindling - you can light a fire with just a lighter with that stuff. I have also started to make some work surfaces to go along the walls in front of the windows. I've really been enjoying making this, but found recently that I forget that it is a place that I am making to make things in. Some strange psychology in this shed building lark!


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## OPJ (18 Nov 2007)

Maia28":3l253i6p said:


> The off-cuts make excellent kindling - you can light a fire with just a lighter with that stuff



Well, just as long as you don't smoke inside your workshop, you'll be fine!

:wink:


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## Digit (19 Nov 2007)

> as long as you don't smoke inside your workshop, you'll be fine!


When the smoke alarm goes off here it means dinner is served!


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## Maia28 (8 Dec 2007)

I got to do some turning tonight for the first time in six months, so the workshop must be nearly there. After finishing the cladding on the ceiling I put up five HF flourescents with daylight bulbs. These give a good, shadow free, light inside and don't seem to strobe rotating machines at all. Outside I have fitted some PIR flood lamps which make finding the door/getting wood for the stove much simpler. As soon as I got the bench up under the windows, the lathe was installed as this is my main interest and I want everything to fit around that. 






Of course, I have ended up doing half these jobs in the wrong order. After building a bench under the other window, the walls got a coat of emulsion and the ceiling a coat of varnish. The benches are made from 4x2, mate with the wide noggins in the studwork and are topped with 3/4" ply for the time being. Eventually, I will also fit shelves in some of the bays and make some doors.






I went a bit mad with the sockets and so far have fitted 25 onto the ring main including on the cross-braces. Its been good to get some of the larger stuff out of the garage and I may even get my other car back in there before Christmas. Not sure that I'll keep the blue metal benches.






I had to modify the kitchen to install a tumble dryer, so gained the cupboards at the back. The smaller one has a full height larder shelf that pulls out. I'm sure that this will be useful, but for what? I used screwfix slot shelving and yet more 3/4" ply to put shelves over the windows and elsewhere screwed into the studs. 












I've also done a few jobs outside and will put up some guttering to fill a water butt when it stops raining. And, yes OPJ, the space seems to be vanishing very quickly indeed :shock:


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## Blister (8 Dec 2007)

" I got to do some turning tonight for the first time in six months "


Well ,what did you make :?: 

Photos please of your first turning in you NICE new workshop :wink:


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## PowerTool (8 Dec 2007)

Maia28":19u0vrll said:


> the space seems to be vanishing very quickly indeed



You're not kidding - it seems to have gone from "large space" to "full" over the course of your last post :lol: 

Looks good,nice and cosy;hope you enjoy it  

Andrew


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## Shultzy (8 Dec 2007)

Hi Andy, its looking very good, but I'm beginning to be worried. My 'shop is 4ft shorter and 2ft narrower and yours already looks full, and I have as much equipment as you have.


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## Tom K (8 Dec 2007)

Looking forward to Schultzy's workshop extension then! :twisted: :roll: :twisted: 


Regards Tom


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## Shultzy (8 Dec 2007)

If only Tom, I've reached my limits, Swimbo said I have and I believe her :twisted:


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## Maia28 (8 Dec 2007)

Blister":2zztpzgr said:


> " I got to do some turning tonight for the first time in six months "
> 
> 
> Well ,what did you make :?:
> ...



Mostly sawdust , Blister. As its advent, a bell shaped thing is in progress. Can't find any sanding or finishing products at present so I'll have to keep tidying the garage before that gets shown.

Andrew & Shultzy, there's still plenty more "stuff" to go back in. It certainly got cosy cutting an 8x4 which is one of the reasons I'm thinking the metal benches will have to go. I just love moving that drill :shock:


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