Ian MacDonald
03-01-2005, 8:43 PM
Hi folks,
Here's what I've been working on for the last few months of weekends:
http://www.bismac.com/albums/dog_house/P2280288.sized.jpg
You can see the rest of the pictures here: http://www.bismac.com/gallery/dog_house
I don't know about you but I have trouble getting photos during the construction process (of just about any project I'm working on). I've seen you guys documenting your workshop renovation projects and wondered how you managed to remember to stop and document the interesting steps.
Anyway, I built the house for an auction at my son's elementary school. It's the most complicated project I've built to date. I guess this is mostly because I was following my own design and the fact that things got a lot more complicated than I first envisioned. Funny how that happens when you volunteer to do something you've never done before.
The basic construction consists of plywood panels layed over an internal frame. In between the panels I put 2" thick foil-faced foam insulation. The panels all lock together with metal keyhole plates. If I was doing it again I would not use knock-down contruction since everything needs to fit with much more precision than I think would normally be expected with rough carpentry. The main reason I included the knock-down ability was to be able to transport the house around easily. All together the house and patio must weigh close to 300 lbs.
I spent around 60 hours doing the main construction which occured in 4 or 5 hour sessions during the weekends. I have no background in construction or the trades and I must say that at then end of this project I have a whole lot of respect for folks that do this stuff for a living everyday. At the end of each weekend of working on the house I looked forward to getting some rest back at the office. :)
Cheers,
-- Ian
Here's what I've been working on for the last few months of weekends:
http://www.bismac.com/albums/dog_house/P2280288.sized.jpg
You can see the rest of the pictures here: http://www.bismac.com/gallery/dog_house
I don't know about you but I have trouble getting photos during the construction process (of just about any project I'm working on). I've seen you guys documenting your workshop renovation projects and wondered how you managed to remember to stop and document the interesting steps.
Anyway, I built the house for an auction at my son's elementary school. It's the most complicated project I've built to date. I guess this is mostly because I was following my own design and the fact that things got a lot more complicated than I first envisioned. Funny how that happens when you volunteer to do something you've never done before.
The basic construction consists of plywood panels layed over an internal frame. In between the panels I put 2" thick foil-faced foam insulation. The panels all lock together with metal keyhole plates. If I was doing it again I would not use knock-down contruction since everything needs to fit with much more precision than I think would normally be expected with rough carpentry. The main reason I included the knock-down ability was to be able to transport the house around easily. All together the house and patio must weigh close to 300 lbs.
I spent around 60 hours doing the main construction which occured in 4 or 5 hour sessions during the weekends. I have no background in construction or the trades and I must say that at then end of this project I have a whole lot of respect for folks that do this stuff for a living everyday. At the end of each weekend of working on the house I looked forward to getting some rest back at the office. :)
Cheers,
-- Ian