Current shed project

[Hypnotic Chimera]

It's a number of years ago, now, that we bought a car that we didn't want to park outside on our drive, under the trees which overhang from the woods behind. So I built a car port to protect the car from the elements...

This is where the shed project really began, although the shed was just a twinkle in the car port's young eye at the time.

Layout of the driveway isn't square and car port was required to but up to an angled boundary at the rear - leaving an awkward triangular area in the back end.

A couple of photos of the car port should do as an opener...

Beams, joists, rafters, OSB roof boards on delivery.

Ground area layout.

Sketches//calculations of possible plan.

Post hole spade is essential tool

Post, with rebate shoulder for side beam, going up square.

Embarrassing state of my choice of blunt chisel - I was a proper beginner doing this building stuff from scratch...

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

New posts went up with reference to the existing posts - measured accurately at both ground level and at top - and sunk to the correct depth to provide a horizontal beam...

It was late in the year, so evening progress after work went into darkness.

Making sure that the post holes were laid out square, and that the base spacing was accurate and spacing being properly horizontally measured.

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Joists going up

Centre joist mated nicely with the open mortice (whatever named joint this might be?)

Template for screw holes

Using a scrap to keep the joists in place until screwed in properly

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

It all seemed to be going up square and even, quite pleasing for an amateur's first project

Bracing was planned and was very much required to stabilise the structure

What a huge difference this made to structural rigidity - but as a bachelor of engineering this was unsurprising

Are these called "Queen's posts"??

Birds mouth cuts

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Pleasing symmetry unveiling itself - all performed solo

Roof boards finally going on - as a solo worker this was tricky - big boards not easy to manoeuvre at ground level - never mind raising above head height. I used a couple of screws as pegs on the roof to retain them on the sloping roof line once lifted and slid above those pegs...

"Stage 1" was nearly complete - just the felting to do, but at least the car now has a covering to snuggle under.

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Satisfying webbing shot under the finished felted roof

You'll also spot where I'd placed the old bike-store/tool store/shed - in an awkward triangular area at he back of the structure, and not covered from above.

This gave me the idea of putting a car port rear extension on and making a real shed out of the area.

So, at a little time later, another materials delivery was required

Basic plan was to enclose the area from between the two back posts, and extending the roof to the rear fence, making a triangular roof extension and a fairly decent floor area, albeit shallow in depth at the left hand side, with ship lap boards for the four walls.

The shed roof - this was going to be the complex part and I was initially not at all sure how to go about designing it or putting it together.

After a lot of mental anguish, I chose to try to continue with the rafters going parallel to the existing ones in the car port, and at similar spacing to those of the car port - which from memory were spaced 60cm apart. The right hand side of the shed as you look at it from the car port - this side of the rafter build would be easy. it's just an extension of the side beam and the rafters would be a similar bird mouth as the others. Trouble with this is how to construct the left hand side and how to terminate the rafters when they reach the narrowing angle of the rear fence?

Giving that thought time to distil in my grey matter, it was first chore to deal with the footings and floor area.

Deep cement pad for the new back-right post

New brick base enhancements for the existing car port posts

And ensuring that there is a level reference from which to begin the floor and base the shiplap boards on.

 

[Fitzroy]

Brilliant, no dilly dallying about with endless posts about how to do this and that, just straight on with the build, bloody marvellous! Looks great.

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Then up goes the post, side beam, and first joist

And the choice for other end of that first new joist was to use the top of the retaining wall as the supporting structure for a mini upright... with a 90deg turn to another mini joist as a spacer to the back joist of the car port.

The new joist would then be used as the support for a new queens post on the centre-line of the car port and also to support a 90deg mini joist to the next smaller joist

With all of the dimensions having been calculated prior to the first cut. Trigonometry and maths...

The upright mini posts were calculated and cut at the right angles to support the new half-rafters...

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Another view of the new half joist and half rafter structure, prior to roof boards being cut - being the next job and possibly the most complex and difficult to calculate the angles for...

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Fast forward now to after the roof is in, and the floor has been laid. Floor supports laid directly on top of the gravel, with damp membrane between the supports and the OSB flooring. Front wall now under construction after vertical studs in place and the intent for a window cavity laid out with string

Door already assembled from T&G to a custom size from scratch.

This is all now taking place several months after the roof had gone in. Observant eyes might have noticed the new drills?

Moving on to the right hand wall, note that there is a decent gap between floor and driveway retaining wall - intending to insert a back wall into the shed...

A window also in the garden side of the shed

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

One of the right side wall from the outside - not that you can see much, but now the wall is up, the partition fence can be removed

And from the other side, clear to see how much the shed needs to taper down from around 8 feet wide on one side to around 3 feet wide on the thin end

Narrow wall underway with ship lap boards custom fit to the contour of the back wall and upper fence

Door in

Detail of handle, lock, escutcheon and the box (I think the metal part in the door frame is called that? Please correct me if I'm wrong...)

 

[Jake]

Very nice VI

(IX wagon here)

So, at a little time later, another materials delivery was required
View attachment 190229

 

[DrDarren]

Very enjoyable narrative. Told well. Thank you

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Very nice VI

(IX wagon here)

You understand why a car port was important

It's actually in the paint shop right now... and I may well relocate it in the garage when it comes back and put the other car under the car port.
Also used to have a blue IX FQ-320 from new but stupidly sold it in 2017 after 12 years ownership. You on MLR by any chance? Haven't been on there for years, myself but used to be an active and prolific contributor - some might even say rampant?...

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

The progress up to this point on the shed build documented so far - I'd describe that as at "stage 2". And stage 2 was were it stopped for a couple of years while a few really busy other things in life got in the way - all of it from work, of course...

The only other bit of progress was putting in the back at some point, and I couldn't actually say when that was. Didn't take any photos. But I know that the wall and fence area that was enclosed under the shed roof, with the wall supporting the joists and rafters - that remained dry enough fore me over the long period for me to not have to worry about water ingress or the supports rotting out quickly behind the new wooden shed wall.

It's only very recently that I've moved on to "stage 3" - sorting out the internals and putting in windows so I can actually "safely" store stuff that I value instead of it being able to be swiped out of a large square opening in the wall.

Stage 3 begins with a prototype window. Try as I might I just couldn't find a suitable template or plan for a window that wasn't either overkill, or flimsy and basic, so I had to come up with something on my own...

Early reveal - top-hinged, four panes, to be fitted with a monkey tail window stay:

More on the windows later...

Onto the internals - and desperately needed a lot of shelf area, but in an awkward space:

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

You can tell I'm a fan of CLS 2x4 timber

This is how I cut the acute angles for the shelf support on the mitre saw:

3/4" ply for the shelves - awkward cuts for the corners and slots for the shed wall studs

In she goes

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Important to check everything horizontal

I've now got the floor space and 3 x large shelf areas to store a whole load of gear with the added bonus that the front edge of the shelving is now parallel to the front wall of the shed. Much more will happen in here in the next couple of weeks in the interior, with more shelving and storage going in and a worktop area where I can do some small project work with hand tools.


Moving on to the side window - I was quite happy with the front window prototype design, so here's a few steps in the making:

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

Window frame is "two layers" of 18 x 34 mm PAR.

The "back" or inside face layer:

Then with the "front" or outside face layer placed on top:

Once happy that the parts are all the correct length, time to glue up the individual verticals and horizontals, first with spacers to ensure all is symmetrical and tight:

After glue applied, remove spacers and clamp down the bracing on top of the strips where they lay.


I left them to set for an hour or so under clamped and weighted load and then put them together in a stack and kept them clamped overnight in the warmth of the house instead of outside in the "damp"...

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

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Please, if anyone has any advice on anything that could/should be done better or a different way, I'd be grateful for any input...

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[Blackswanwood]

You are making the most of that space - cracking work!