Small Shop Improvement Project

[Jim Becker]

Progress is being made on a little shop-improvement project. For many years now, I made do with a cloth curtain to "seal" the shop from the unconditioned upstairs storage area. That's changing as I'm finally closing in a proper insulated stairwell with an actual door at the top. This should make things a lot more pleasant during both the colder and hotter times of the year, especially given I plan on spending a lot more time in the shop going forward. I will mention that dealing with full sheets of OSB is not a fun thing for "one person's back", but it's a necessary evil. Fortunately, I can cut it upstairs with my track saw so there's no lugging it down and back up the stairs. :)

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[Matt Putnam]

Looks like a good project, Jim. I’m always pleasantly surprised how good a space feels (and sounds) with some insulation.
I recently used OSB for the walls and ceiling of my shop. While I stuck to full sheets for the walls I ended up cutting them to 4’x 4’ pieces for the ceiling. Even with scaffolding and my son’s help it was difficult to handle the 4’ x 8’ sheets over our heads. While I have double the seams now I’m still real glad I decided to do it. It made it a much more tolerable task. I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if I had to haul them up stairs in a tight area.

[Doug Garson]

Just curious, what's the vertical cable in the photo?

[Jim Becker]

Looks like a good project, Jim. I’m always pleasantly surprised how good a space feels (and sounds) with some insulation.
I recently used OSB for the walls and ceiling of my shop. While I stuck to full sheets for the walls I ended up cutting them to 4’x 4’ pieces for the ceiling. Even with scaffolding and my son’s help it was difficult to handle the 4’ x 8’ sheets over our heads. While I have double the seams now I’m still real glad I decided to do it. It made it a much more tolerable task. I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if I had to haul them up stairs in a tight area.

Next time, rent a drywall lift for the ceiling work...Worth. Every. Penny.


Just curious, what's the vertical cable in the photo?

Supports the south upper corner of the stairwell by flying it from an oversize rafter tie as one short wall was removed years ago when the shop was configured out of what was there when we bought the property. There's not a lot of weight involved and this was what was suggested by the engineer I consulted with. Interestingly, there's a similar support structure in our house from when the previous owners installed the "big-butt" jacuzzi in the original master bath and that caused an issue with the span of the kitchen ceiling below when the tub would be filled with water.

[Peter Christensen]

When our house was being built I asked the guys hanging the drywall what they would charge to put the 1/2" OSB on the 12/4 pitched ceiling of the 24' x 28' shop. The price was $250, so I said "Done!". They came in on a Saturday morning and the three of them had it up in less than three hours. :)

Jim you mentioned OSB as not being back friendly. OSB is a breeze compared to MDF.

[Jim Becker]

Jim you mentioned OSB as not being back friendly. OSB is a breeze compared to MDF.

Tru dat....

[Lane Hardy]

Why would anyone use MDF? On a ceiling? What am I missing?
yes it is very dense, I have no clue about the R value it would offer or perhaps it may have sound attenuating qualities that I am not aware of. MDF on a ceiling that would add a lot of weight to the joist.
maybe I am missing something.

[Jim Becker]

I don't believe he was suggesting to use MDF...he was just pointing out that MDF is far heavier than OSB and consequently, "more fun" to maneuver. :)

[Jim Becker]

The "north" wall is insulated and fully skinned and I'll be moving on to the "south" wall as soon as I get some more OSB. I need to order the door and it takes a few days to get it in, so I'll get the material at the same time I pick the door up. I have other things to work on in and around the house in the meantime, so "relaxing" from this project for a few days is no big deal.

[Peter Christensen]

Jim believes correctly. :) I assumed because he mentioned it was an upstairs storage area that he kept sheet goods up there too, since the picture shows a few sheets of OSB. I realize they were likely there for the construction. Until they start making sheet goods from Balsa there are always going to be heavy.

[Jim Becker]

I have a sheet goods rack down in the shop and only moved the lumber upstairs as you surmise...I don't honestly believe that it would be possible to get a full 48"x96" sheet up or down the stairs because of the turn at the bottom. Thankfully. :) And I don't plan on testing that theory, either! LOL

[Jim Dwight]

The ceiling of my shop is 5/8 drywall because there is a bedroom above it. I had the contractor do that. I put the 7/16 OSB on the walls, skim coated them with drywall compound and painted them white. It's nice to be able to hang things anywhere. It's been a couple years but I don't remember it being too bad. But I could back the trailer to the garage door and come straight in - no stairs.
In the last house, I finished the basement and used lots of 12' 1/2 drywall on the ceiling and the walls. I thought my teen aged son would help but he had better things to do. I built a lift based upon a picture in an old FWW. It was made of 2x4s, conduit, and a little sheet steel (for the winch). I could pick a sheet up off the floor and take it all the way to the ceiling. It took a few weekends to make the lift but it was worth it. I still had to haul the 12 foot sheets - on the top of my SUV. But I was younger then....

[Jim Becker]

Jim, when I finished the basement at my previous home years ago, I had a 16yo kid (son of a friend) and a rented drywall lift to help. Both were very effective. :)

[John K Jordan]

Next time, rent a drywall lift for the ceiling work...Worth. Every. Penny.


So true! I used over 45 sheets of 1/2" plywood on my 9' shop ceilings. Silly me thought I could use ladders and put the sheets up myself, they didn't seem that heavy. The first one went up easy. The second one did not. I quit for the evening then went to Northern Tool the next morning and bought a drywall/panel hoist for $150, not too bad for such a useful thing. It probably kept me out of the hospital!

The nice thing about buying one instead of renting was no pressure to hurry to get the job done - I put up the ceiling over a month or so. It was also good for holding an air cleaner up to the ceiling for mounting. I've loaned it to friends and several wanted to buy it when I was done. (I think I'll keep it!)

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JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I have all the "upstairs" work completed and just have to do a scribed piece or two in the actual stairwell butting to the actual stairs and close in the rest of the risers. I can already notice the difference, particularly with a very cold wind blowing outside today and tonight...and it's no longer coming down those stairs. :) This ain't "fine woodworking", but it sure will make doing fine woodworking more pleasurable. And it was a chance to use my track saw. A lot. :)

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[Don Bullock]

especially given I plan on spending a lot more time in the shop going forward.




So Jim why are you going to be spending more time in the shop? Are you retiring?

[Robert Cherry]

looks good Jim, and just in time too. Chilly out today!

[Jim Becker]

looks good Jim, and just in time too. Chilly out today!

Yes, for sure, it's chilly. I left the heater on "low" last night just for grins and it was still about 55ºF this morning when we were leaving for Wegmans.


So Jim why are you going to be spending more time in the shop? Are you retiring?

Don, I retired from full time work effective 1 October. :) I will likely be doing something part time after a few months of "chilling out", but haven't decided what yet outside of avoiding work in the telecom and iT industry since I already did my 38 years across multiple employers; the last for 21 years. Hopefully, it will be something fun.

[John K Jordan]

... haven't decided what yet outside of avoiding work in the telecom and iT industry since I already did my 38 years across multiple employers; the last for 21 years. Hopefully, it will be something fun.

I know just the thing - a llama ranch! No technology needed beyond an electric fence charger. Fun guaranteed. Plenty of wood-related activity.

Lots of social interaction, llamas bring people from all over. I took a friend to the ER last night for x-rays after a fall. (nothing broken) The discharge nurse now plans to come take a llama for a walk, a lifelong dream. I've had three requests to bring llamas to parades and things so far.

And a farm is guaranteed to provide an outlet for all that extra money you don't know what to do with.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

There are others in the area that have the Llama thing covered quite nicely. And Emus. And....and... :D

[Jim Becker]

Ok, I'm done. The last part was lining the left side of the stairway...I have a ton of respect for carpenters who have to do this kind of thing a lot more than me! Of course, the interesting part about me doing it was the combined use of a sliding table saw, a track saw and a jig saw to take what a piece of paper, a tape measure, a drywall square and a pencil dictated and make it all actually fit a stairway that wasn't perfectly square.. Yup...not "fine woodworking" but done!! It's now time to start a commissioned project as well as do a few others on my "list". :)

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Oh, and despite the cold night temps over the past few days from this cold snap, my heater set to the lowest setting kept the shop at no less than 50ºF overnight. I don't normally leave it on, but it was worth the experiment to see how it worked.