Frank's Workshop Construction Project

[Frank Pellow]

This thread also has related sub-threads. The titles of the sub-treads are:

- Frank's Wrkshop: Dust Collection Plans (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7853)

- Franks Workshop: Electrical Plans (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8251)

- xx

- Question re insulating the floor in my workshop (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8790)

- Double doors for Frank Pellow's workshop ( http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10575 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10575))

- Door to be built around an octagon window ( http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12565 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12565))

- Question about my convolulted dust control ductwork (
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14961 (http://%3Cbr%20/%3E%0Ahttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14961))

- Frank's Workshop Construction Project is Complete (
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=15071 (http://%3Cbr%20/%3E%0Ahttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=15071))

- A new building added onto my shop http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=22018

- Free CD re the Planning, Building, and Equipping of my workshop
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=23882

- Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=43279


Within the "How Big is your Shop" thread that was so popular earlier this week, I mentioned my dilemma in the trade off between workshop space and vegetable garden space. Here (in italics) is an excerpt from that thread:

The plans, for which I have a building permit, are for a 24' by 18' building with a bite out of one corner. Once I subtract the bite as well as the width of the walls, I will be left with 345 square feet. The building will have a cathedral ceiling with lots of skylights. I will have the use of the old basement shop for storage and for finishing.

I could have designed a bigger building and still have been within the zoning rules but, as it is, the workshop will be crowding in on our vegetable garden (about 1000 square feet) and gardening is another major hobby of mine.

Once the snow melts and I can start staking things out, I will see if I can modify my plans (once again) to get the useable space up to 400 square feet. I hate to have to do all the redrawing and the recalculations, but it seems from what I read above that, some day, I will probably thank myself that I did.I am happy to report that I did come up with a plan revision that adds 80 square feet of floor space and that only costs me about 20 square feet of garden space. My lot shape is strange, so the outline and sitting of the building is not easy. The solution was a T shaped workshop. I am attaching a sketch of the florr plan (finished about an hour ago). I appoogize for the quality of the photo -my scanner seems to have made the grid lines almost as dark as the lines that I have drawn.

I plan to report progress on this building over time. I am doing most of the work myself, so I expect it to take the rest of 2004 (at least).

To put things in perspective and to show how almost any building has to be an improvement, I am also attaching a picture taken about 3 months ago of me in my current basement shop.

[Tyler Howell]

Frank,
Let's put this into perspective.
You'll be too busy having fun in the new shop to be interested in gardening.
With your current shop you had to get out to stand up straight and breath fresh air....Thus gardening. That won't necessary any more.
At your Latitude the garadening season is at the most two weeks. Shop time is year round.:p Go bigger!

[Frank Pellow]

Tyler, of course your GO BIGGER advise is correct, but I am not going to follow it. I have to stop planning and start working. Every change to the plans (and this is the fourth major revision) costs me several hours spent re-drawing and re-estimating.

By the way, Toronto is further south than Minneapolis and we get a very hot summer here -great for growing all knids of vegatables.

[Frank Pellow]

The snow is now mostly gone from our backyard, so I was able to get out and roughly stake out the site and put up some skeleton frames to show elevations. To my dismay, when I showed all this to my wife (Margaret), she was not a happy camper. The building, in her opinion would be too intrusive.

So, early this morning, I went back to the drawing board, moved some walls, and lowered the roof pitch (reducing the height at the peak by 2 feet). Abut two hours ago, Margaret (grudgingly) approved of the revised building. I next have to pass things past the building inspector but he will be a much easier sell than was Margaret.

I am attaching a revised layout. The details in this one are much easier to see then the one that I posted yesterday.

A few other plans about the building:

- It will be on thirteen 12" concrete piers sunk 4 feet into the ground and each on an 18" base.

- The level of the smaller door is the same as the level of my deck and the door is about 12' from the back door of the house (with a wash room just inside that door).

-The floor, walls and ceiling will all be well insulated.

-I will finish the floors, walls and ceiling of the interior with good-one-side plywood and both the walls and ceiling will be painted white.

-The siding will be rough sawn pine board and batten. I have a supply of undressed pine boards that are really 12" by 1" and I will rip four battens from each board. The boards will have a solid grey blue stain
(and both sides will be stained).

-The roof pitch will (now) be 4 in 12 and the shingles will be decorative asphalt blue-grey.

My cost estimate is $24,000 (Canadian) which, at the current rexhange rate, is about $18,000 (US). This includes the little bit of subcontacting that I am doing as well as the cost of the Onieda dust collector, the wood stove, and gas space heater. I have also figured in sales taxes (which adds 15% on most things here).

[Mac McAtee]

Frank,
Now that the wife has approved it sounds like it is time to go back to the original drawings and swear up and down that was what she approved. (;-}

Just curious, why are you putting it on 4 ft. long concrete piers? That some requirement in Canada?

[Frank Pellow]

Sorry, I guess that my wording about the piers was confusing. The piers must be buried 4 feet into the ground to get below the frost line. They will only extend out of the ground about 3 inches.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very nice plans Frank....keep us posted on the construction process!

[Frank Pellow]

I have sketched out the dust collection plans and will post them on an auxilary thread.

[Frank Pellow]

I am attaching two recent photos.

One of the photos was taken yesterday morning from the roof of my house. (It’s a good thing I took it yesterday because the site is covered with snow this morning). On that photo, I have marked out the perimeter of the shop with duckboards. Also, in the back of the photo where the rear wall will be, is a small experimental section of the board and batten siding to be used on the building.

As you can see, I need to remove part of the deck before construction can commence.

Aside to Bart: We use the duckboards in our Square Foot Garden.

[Frank Pellow]

Here my major objectives for my new shop (the order in which objectives appears in the list is insignificant):

-Lots of natural light

-Good artificial light

-Good ventilation and dust control

-Ready access to the outdoors

-Free movement of goods both into and out of the shop

-A comfortable floor (i.e. wood rather than concrete)

-Sufficient room within the shop to handle sheet good and long boards

-Provide a location for a good stationary cabinet table saw, an adjacent (but moveable) jointer, and an adjacent (but moveable) planner

-Provide a location for a high quality stationary woodworking bench

-Good cabinets to organize all my tools and paraphernalia

-A place that is warm in the winter (but not as warm as my wife likes to keep our house)

-A great sound system to listen to music (all kinds of music -well not rap, but all other kinds)

-A place where the noise of my power tools will not disturb other family members

-A place that I can escape to when I wish to do so (in particular, a place with no television)

-A place where my friends and family will feel welcome and comfortable

-The building should be attractive and should enhance the neighborhood

I would be happy to hear of any other objectives that people think I should consider.

[Mark Rios]

Congartulations Frank. I'm excited for you and your project. What are the dimensions and spacing of your floor framing menbers? Are you going to double up on the joists where the heavy machines are going to sit? I sure envy you getting to design a shop just the way you want it. That sure sounds like a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing the progress pics.

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for your interest Mark.

My floor joists will be 2x8 spruce on 24" centres. The joists will be placed on top of the beams rather than hung from them. The span of these joists (centre to centre on the beams) in the front part of the shop where I plan to place my table saw is 6'. In the back part of the shop, the span is 10' 6".

Mark, I had not thought of doubling up in the heavy machinery spot, but you have given me something to consider. As a minimum, perhaps I should go to 16 centres. My brother-in-law is a structural engineer and he has advised me about some other aspects of the building. I will seek his advice re heavy machinery considerations for the floor.

[Frank Pellow]

My brother-in-law has advised me to switch to 16" centres. He says that, with that, there should be no problem at all in supporting heavy equipment.

Thanks for raising this issue Mark.

[Frank Pellow]

I have been moving little paper cutouts around on my shop floor layout and I really do think that I have hit upon a layout that will be more than adquate for my needs. So, I think that I will be quite happy with a shop that gives me 420 square feet of useable floor space.

I will attempt to include a scanned image of the shop layout (in two parts) but I am having problems getting sufficient resoluton in the size of file that we are restricted to. Also, be warned that it will be necessary to look sideways at the images.

Here goes ...

[Frank Pellow]

I see that the left and right hand sides don't quite line up and that it is not very easy to read the captions but I guess that it is not totally useless so I will leave the diagrams. I will try to get some layout software for a future attempt.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I used to have a free shop design program that I downloaded off the web, but I can't seem to find the link now. I thought it was called Easy Shop or something like that. Maybe someone else knows where to find it.

[Frank Pellow]

Here is a diagram of my proposed shop layout that I put together using some free software suggested by Bart Leetch.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nice layout.....I like that version of the software...beats the one I used to have.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, nice job on the layout. I'm not sure I like the idea of a wood stove next to the DC, however...I'd use that area for hand woodworking and the bench and move the DC elsewhere. IMHO, of course!

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, nice job on the layout. I'm not sure I like the idea of a wood stove next to the DC, however...I'd use that area for hand woodworking and the bench and move the DC elsewhere. IMHO, of course!

Jim, there are not very many places that I can place the dust control. At the spot that I currently plan to place it, the ceiling will be about 10 feet tall whereas, along the back wall, it is only about 6.5 feet tall. I also want the chimney for the wood stove to be near the peek, so my options for the stove are similarly limited.

I will have both a wood stove and a natural gas space heater for keeping the place warm and I doubt that there will be many times when I have the wood stove and the dust control in operation at the same time. What sort of problems might arise if I do rum the dust control while there is a fire in the stove?

[Jim Becker]

What sort of problems might arise if I do rum the dust control while there is a fire in the stove?

Frank, like many folks, I'm just very cautious about "potential" safety things. Wood stoves get really, really hot and any combustibles need to be some reasonable distance away from them. (I'm always stressing that with LOML with our own wood stove in the great room) Given that filtration is not perfect on any DC, even the most super-duper, expensive, "it slices, it dices" system will still emitt fine particles, especially in close proximity...I would just be sure to keep the two things as far apart as practical. I do understand your height issues...they are quite valid reasons for placing things where you intend them to be. If you use a cyclone, perhaps you can locate your cartridge filter(s) on the other side of the wall?

Again...it's just a natural caution on my part. If you are comfortable, go for it.

[Frank Pellow]

Jim, you have given me something more to think about. I will mull it over for a while and see if I can come up with some way of increasing the separation. As you probably recall (in a discussion we had in a seperate thread) I believe that I will eventually enclose the entire dust collection unit in a closet (and, yes, it will be a cyclone).

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I have to agree with Jim. Woodstoves are wonderful, but they get hotter than any other heat source. Heat attracts dust as well so it could become a hazard. You could leave the DC where it is, but get a wall in between them.

[Bart Leetch]

Wow Frank that looks great. I don't think you'll have any problems with the DC & stove. I don't know about Jim or Kelly but I grew up with a wood stove in the shop with no DC. If you keep the area free of dust (with the DC it will be much more free of dust) & don't let stuff clutter up around it & have non combustible material on the floor & walls. I think your idea of an enclosed cyclone is great.

Dad & I used to vacuum around & or blow the dust away from the stove area daily. it takes about 2 minutes. But check out what you insurance company says about it.

I do have one question though. How did you post your floor plan from out of the program & onto SMC?

[Dean Baumgartner]

Frank,
I would check with your insurance agent before getting to set on the idea of a wood stove. I was thinking of one in my shop and when I talked to my agent about it, having a wood stove more than doubled the premium. I have an average insulated shop, 3.5" fiberglass batts in the walls and 6" ceiling. For the little bit that it takes to heat a 30x30 building even in Wisconsin, I couldn't save enough on Lp to cover the added cost of the insurance. Not to mention the lost floor space due to having to keep a clear area around the wood stove.

Just something else to think about.

Dean

[Frank Pellow]

Wow Frank that looks great. ...
I do have one question though. How did you post your floor plan from out of the program & onto SMC?

Bart, here are the steps that I took in order to get the floor plan from the Shop Design program format to something I could post to the forum:

(1) Display the floor plan in the Shop Design program

(2) Press the Print Screen button on the keyboard

(3) Open the Microsoft Paint program (usually found under Accessories)

(4) In the Edit menu, select Paste

(5) Select only the part of the screen image that shows the layout, then create a new pallette for Paint and copy that selection to it

(6) In the File menu, select Save As

(7) Select JPG as the Save As Type

Now I had a JPG file which could be posted to the forum. Before I posted it, I actually used the paint program to draw some stuff that the Shop Design program does not handle. For instance, I put in skylights, I did a much better job in showing the windows, I changed the font of some text, and I placed my stove at a 45% angle.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,
I would check with your insurance agent before getting to set on the idea of a wood stove. I was thinking of one in my shop and when I talked to my agent about it, having a wood stove more than doubled the premium. I have an average insulated shop, 3.5" fiberglass batts in the walls and 6" ceiling. For the little bit that it takes to heat a 30x30 building even in Wisconsin, I couldn't save enough on Lp to cover the added cost of the insurance. Not to mention the lost floor space due to having to keep a clear area around the wood stove.

Just something else to think about.

Dean

Dean, the stove is OK with both the building department and with my insurance company and it is not going to cost me any more in insurance. You are correct that the stove takes up more floor space and it costs more than a rational person could justify. But, when it comes to wood stoves, I am not rational. Both my Dad and Granddad had wood stoves in their workshops so, to me, it makes a shop feel more like a shop.

[Bart Leetch]

Thanks Frank

[Dean Baumgartner]

Dean, the stove is OK with both the building department and with my insurance company and it is not going to cost me any more in insurance. You are correct that the stove takes up more floor space and it costs more than a rational person could justify. But, when it comes to wood stoves, I am not rational. Both my Dad and Granddad had wood stoves in their workshops so, to me, it makes a shop feel more like a shop.

Frank, I totally agree about the feel of a wood stove in the shop. I'd love to have one but between the loss of space and added costs I just couldn't justify it. I know this is one of those things that isn't about justification.


Dean

[Frank Pellow]

Yesterday people got me thinking about the proximity of my wood stove and dust collector.

I have changed the layout yet again to make this separation a little better. I will attach a picture of the modified layout. There are two changes:

(1) I managed to sneek in an extra foot of length into the wing that has the dust collector and stove (bringing the interior space of the shop up to 431 square feet).

(2) I moved the interior wall so that is now between the stove and dust collector a angled the end a bit.

I am happy with this solution and, as far as I am concerned, this puts the issue to rest.

[Rob Bourgeois]

Frank quick question...

You only seems to have roughly 5 feet from the wall to the blade on the table saw. I dont know if that suitable for you or not but just something I noticed. It doesnt look like the doors would line up with he saw to give you the extra room of outside to push the stock on to the saw.

Looks good and cant wait to see the finished pictures.

[Fred Voorhees]

Frank, good luck on your new shop and I have a quick question for you not relating to your shop but to your garden. I notice you stated you have a square foot garden. Are you a fan of Mel Bartholemew (sp?)? He used to have a weekly television show on the PBS stations and that was his method of gardening and when I had my garden, Oh years ago now, that is the method I used. My garden was 900 square feet and very bountiful.

[Jim Becker]

...you have a square foot garden. Are you a fan of Mel Bartholemew (sp?)? He used to have a weekly television show on the PBS stations and that was his method of gardening and when I had my garden, Oh years ago now, that is the method I used. My garden was 900 square feet and very bountiful.

LOML has been using the "square foot gardening" method for years, especially at this property. Our two raised beds are about 12' long and "produce a whole lot of produce" and herbs each year. We compost and that makes for a very rich soil in each bed that is added to each year. Sawdust from the shop not only contributes to the compost, but is also used to keep weeds off the walkways along the beds...which are free-standing, rather than fully contained in lumber. Only the down-hill side has a wooden wall since the garden is on a slope.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank quick question...

You only seems to have roughly 5 feet from the wall to the blade on the table saw. I dont know if that suitable for you or not but just something I noticed. It doesnt look like the doors would line up with he saw to give you the extra room of outside to push the stock on to the saw.

Looks good and cant wait to see the finished pictures.

Rob, thanks for pointing out these two problems. The table saw location is only approximate awaiting both the completion of the building and my purchase of a new saw. I hope to replace my ancient Sears Craftsman with a new cabinet saw (leading candidate is a General 350) in about a year.

I could position the saw back a couple of feet and I think that I will do so on the diagram. I do have 16.5 feet of floor space in that direction with nothing permanent behind the saw so this would work.

I thought that the saw blade was lined up with the door and I certainly intend it to be. Maybe I will move the door about a foot to the left.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, good luck on your new shop and I have a quick question for you not relating to your shop but to your garden. I notice you stated you have a square foot garden. Are you a fan of Mel Bartholemew (sp?)? He used to have a weekly television show on the PBS stations and that was his method of gardening and when I had my garden, Oh years ago now, that is the method I used. My garden was 900 square feet and very bountiful.


Fred, yes I have been using Mel Bartholomew's (the correct spelling) methods for many years. Our garden is also very bountful. Our garden was about 1000 feet before I decided to take over some of the space for the workshop. It is not certain, but I think that the vegetable garden space will be reduced to about 800 square feet. This year, while the shop construction is underway, the vegaetable garden will only be about 400 square feet.

[Frank Pellow]

I made the following changes to the diagram
-the elevations of the ceiling are now shown
-the location of the dust ports are now shown
-some tools have been moved a bit

Rather than take up additional space on the forum, I simply replaced the diagram that I had earlier posted at 03-24-2004 11:10 pm.

[Frank Pellow]

I think that I will report progress each week at the end of the week (and, in my opinion weeks end on Sunday). So, here is my first report.

This week:

• The task of staining the rough-sawn pine for the board and batten siding reached a little over the 400 board feet mark (not all done this week). This is a little more than 1/3 of the boards that will be needed. I am pre-staining these boards with one coat on the back and sides and two coats on the front. Picture (1) shows the pile of completed boards. It is too cold here, to stain outside yet so I am staining about 20 board feet a day in my way too overcrowded basement workshop.

• I built double doors out of rough-sawn pine and plywood. Picture (2) shows the front of one door. Picture (3) shows the back of the same door and you can see the overlap that is being built in the eliminate wind between the doors. Note also that the doors are being insulated. The insulation and the rest of the inside of the doors were covered with thin plywood after this picture was taken.

• Lots of small changes were made to the shop layout and to the materials list. The internal size of the shop crept up to 431 square feet.

• About 20 feet of 10 foot high fence and trellis was removed from the end of the existing deck and I started to remove deck boards. About 40% of the existing deck needs to be removed to make room for the workshop. I am happy to say that the 23 year old 2x6 cedar decking and the 2x8 cedar joists and beams are in good shape. I plan to rebuild the deck elsewhere next year and I will definitely be able to reuse the wood. But, this time I will screw it down; not nail it.

• My estimated cost has increased to $25,400 (cdn) or $19,250 (us). Real expenses are now over $2,000 (cdn).

[Frank Pellow]

I recieved some good advise on the auxilary thread that I spun off for Dust Control (and I even plan to follow some of that advise).

So, I am going to take the same approach with my electrical wiring plans. The name of the thread will be "Frank's Workshop: Electrical Plans".

[Frank Pellow]

This week:

• I removed the portion of my deck that it was necessary to remove in order to make room for the workshop. I am attaching a picture of the site that was taken late Saturday afternoon. The boards mark the perimeter of the new shop building. Contrast this photo with the one that I posted on the 17th of March.

• Stained about another 100 board feet of siding.

• With the assistance of several Saw Mill Creek forum members and, in particular, Rob Russell, I solidified the electrical plans for the shop. There is a spin-off thread entitled "Franks Workshop: Electrical Plans" on this subject.

• Neither the estimated not actual costs were altered this week. But, I expect then when I finish calculating my electrical cost, there will be yet a further escalation in the overall estimate.

There will be no report next week becuase I will be away all week helping my daughter Kristel and her family move from Prince Albert Saskatchewan to Carlton Place Ontario (much much closer to where I live).

[Tim Morton]

Looks like things are progressing nicely, I have a question about the floor. Did you give any thought to pouring a slab rather than footings? Not sure about the cost of concrete in canada verses the labor to dig and pour footings. But I was just wondering if you thought about doing that and adding in floor radiant heating. Toast warm during those cold winters.

[Frank Pellow]

Tim, I did consider building upon a concrete slab but decided against it for two reasons:

(1) I have had a lot of experience with constructing buildings on beams layed upon concrete piers and I have had no experience with building on concrete slabs.

(2) I want the main shop door to be at deck level for easy access to and from the house (and to the washroom just inside the back door of the house).

I am going to insulate the floor and I trust that the building will be warm enough (actually I am not a big fan of "tosaty warm").

[Bob_Hammond]

I noticed that you didn't allow space for a permanent outfeed table for the tablesaw, but you have an assembly table. I made a cabinet that is a combination assembly tabel/outfeed table. It's pretty big (68x44) to give me plenty of room, and allows for lots of storage underneath.

Bob

[Frank Pellow]

I noticed that you didn't allow space for a permanent outfeed table for the tablesaw, but you have an assembly table. I made a cabinet that is a combination assembly tabel/outfeed table. It's pretty big (68x44) to give me plenty of room, and allows for lots of storage underneath.

Bob
Is it mobile? I may eventually build a mobile outfeed table but don't seems to need one right now. I do have a General International Roller stand (picture attached) which handles my current requirements quite well. But, then again, my (current) table saw is a very old Simpson/Sears Craftsman and I don't ask it to do much.

Note that I don't use a table saw for sheet goods because my Festool circular saw with guide rail is much better for that.

[Frank Pellow]

I am back home for three of days having just finished helping pack my daughter's family's stuff in Saskatchewan and hurrying to finish marking the spots where the piers are to go before leaving for the Ottawa area and preparing their new house for occupancy. I will be home again next Monday and the guys come to put in my piers on Tuesday.

I was out today installing batter boards and marking pier locations and elevations and I decided to experiment with a new bargain priced laser level that I picked up recently. The new level worked great and I was very impressed with it but, in the end, I found it easier to level the cross pieces on the battens with an old line level that I have had for about 30 years and which cost me a couple of dollars. Pictures showing the old and new level technologies are attached,

[Frank Pellow]

This week:

• xx

• I dug about 2/3 of the trench that will eventually be used to run electricity and natural gas to the workshop. This was hard work and the work was not made any easier by the fact that I encountered big chucks of concrete in the ground. It looks the builders of my house must have had concrete left over one day and simply dumped it on the site. A picture is attached showing a cross section of a piece that was about 1.5 metres long. I had to break the concrete up with a sledge hammer before I could extract it. Not fun! But, I slept well last night -a little over 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The remaining 1/3 of the trench can not be dug until the machinery needed for the piers has come and gone. I did mange to alter the path of the trench and reduce the length by about a third (14 metres instead of 20) which will save me money when running the gas and electric lines.

• As I feared when I accepted a lot of the electrical advice that I was given on the sub-thread entitled Franks Workshop: Electrical Plans, the estimate of my electrical costs has gone up (by 30%). But, I am sure that the shop will be better served by electricity and that the increase is warranted.

• The weather is now good enough that the task of pre-staining the pine board and batten siding has shifted from by basement to my garage. Slightly more than 700 board feet (60 percent of the boards) are now stained.

[Tim Morton]

Geez Frank....make sure you save some energy to do some woodworking after this is all done!!! You are putting us all to shame with all that manual labor. :p

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Looks like you have a good pier plan there Frank. What size beams & joists are you going to use?

[Frank Pellow]

Looks like you have a good pier plan there Frank. What size beams & joists are you going to use?

The beams will be 3 laminated 2x8 pressure treated spruce. The joists will be set on top of the beams and will also be 2x8 pressure treated spruce. The joists will be on 16 inch centres.

[Frank Pellow]

I am posting the update early this week because I am leaving to drive to the Ottawa area in about and hour and will have computer contact again until late Tuesday.

This week:

• The holes were dug for the piers (by a sub-contractor), the concrete poured (by the same sub-contractor), and the saddles were installed into the piers (by me). After the sub-contractor left, I spent about 12 hours moving the very very sticky clay that he extracted to a pile that I will eventually have to remove. I should negotiated removal of this material with the sub-contractor when we made the deal.

• I finished digging the trench that will be used next October to install electricity and natural gas.

• With the assistance of several Saw Mill Creek forum members, I came up with a new improved plan for insulating the shop floor. There is a spin-off thread entitled "Question re insulating the floor in my workshop " on this subject.

• I took delivery of a lot of material and stacked it in various corners of my side and back yards. Because of the both the pier sub-contractor and the material, the real costs more than doubled this week. They now stand total a little over $6,000 (Cdn) or about $4,500 (US).

In the 5 days that I will get to work next week, I hope to:

• Remove the grass where the building is going to go, lay down plastic, then cover the whole thing with 5 cubic yards of crushed stone.

• Build an animal and child retardant cover over the trench .

• Laminate then install the beams.

• Install a few joists and a small experimental section of insulated floor.

There are two attachments. One shows me on top of the pile of clay and the other shows the building site (this time, not from above).

[Jim Becker]

My one question, Frank, is why will the electric and gas lines not be installed until October? You could lay the flexible gas lines in and put in conduit for the electric and get the hole covered up and re-landscaped "now" which would give you flexibilty for when the hookups are actually made.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I thought we were the only ones cursed with black clay....I hate the stuff. Makes digging footings very tedious (and to think I used to do them by hand....:eek:

That's a big pile of clay!!

[Rob Russell]

My one question, Frank, is why will the electric and gas lines not be installed until October? You could lay the flexible gas lines in and put in conduit for the electric and get the hole covered up and re-landscaped "now" which would give you flexibilty for when the hookups are actually made.

Jim,

At least in the USA, Frank would need to lay his conduit and have that inspected before he could fill the trench. I question whether an inspector would approve that sans building. Maybe they would, but I'd check first.

Frank,

Was there some reason you dug the trench now and didn't wait until later? If nothing else, with that clay, I'd guess that you'll have a nice little lap pool for the birds in the near future.

Rob

[Frank Pellow]

Jim, Rob is correct about my reason for not laying the electric and gas lines now. For the electric, I need to wait until it can be inspected in conjunction with the hook up. For the gas, the gas/heater company wants to run their own line and they want to do it when they install the heater.

Rob, I dug the trench now because the clay bakes rock-hard in the summer. I am going to cover the trench with boards, so there will be no problems with birds.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, the concern that I and others eluded to with the open trenches is that no matter how you cover them, rain is going to collect and make them pretty "soupy" from time to time. Be prepared to re-dig some percentage of the material that will settle in the bottom. But your reason for digging them now makes sense...if you don't have a 'hoe, you want to dig when it's soft.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

OK, I gotta ask...what do birds have to do with an open trench?

[Jim Becker]

OK, I gotta ask...what do birds have to do with an open trench?
Rob was eluding to the situation that the trenches might fill up with water being open for so long, providing our feathered friends with an "olympic-sized" birdie bath... :o

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Thanks, I never woulda thought of that one! :D :eek:

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, the concern that I and others eluded to with the open trenches is that no matter how you cover them, rain is going to collect and make them pretty "soupy" from time to time. Be prepared to re-dig some percentage of the material that will settle in the bottom. But your reason for digging them now makes sense...if you don't have a 'hoe, you want to dig when it's soft.

Jim, I am lucky in that there is good drainage at one end of the trench. Therefore, I do not expect there to be any accumulation of water over the summer. So, I really do not expect there to be very much clean-up to do when I uncover the trench next October.

[Frank Pellow]

This week, I:

• Removed the grass where the building is going to go, laid down plastic, then covered the whole thing with 37 wheelbarrow loads (very full wheelbarrow loads) of crushed stone. I am attaching a picture of me getting started on the stone pile in our driveway.

• Built an animal and child retardant cover over the trench that will be used next October to install electricity and natural gas.

• Laminated, leveled and installed the floor beams. This turned out to be a lot of work (14 hours) because the contractors who installed my piers did a poor job of leveling them (in spite of the fact that I had pre-installed absolutely level batter boards for their use). Of the 13 piers, 4 were OK, 3 needed shims below the beams and 6 required a notch in the beam. See attached photo. A 33 foot triple-laminated 2x8 beam is heavy and I am working alone; so I built 2/3 of each beam on the sawhorse, put the beam in place, then nailed the third width of 2x8s into place on the piers.

• Determined exactly how I am going to instal the insulation and animal prevention under the floor. A major part of this is a galvanized steel mesh with 1/4 openings screwed and stapled under the joists. There is not much room to operate under the joists, so installing this mesh is proving to be very tedious and slow. This task has not been helped by the cold wet weather we had this weekend. I am attaching a photo that shows the site as it is right now. Note that only the first 3 joists with the mesh are in place.


Next week, I hope to have the sub-floor finished.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Lookin' good Frank! You are definitely doing a good job with the foundation. Wonder why the contractor couldn't level all the post bases when you did all the work to show him where you wanted them? :eek: :eek: :eek:

[John Miliunas]

Frank, you are one lean, mean, working machine! I'd still be staring at those round painted spots you had several weeks ago! Bummer that the contractor did such a poor job on leveling the piers. :mad: On the bright side, you were able to take corrective measures early on and avoid "surprises" later on. Thanks for the update. :cool:

[Lars Thomas]

Frank, I am enjoying following this thread. Thanks for posting the peridoc updates. Take it easy. Lars

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Kelly, John, and Lars. Knowing that people like you are interested and knowing that I am going to have to report weekly progress actually helps me to continue sometimes when I am engaged in a tedious, cold, or wet activity.

[Frank Pellow]

This week I almost finished the sub-floor. See the spin-off thread entitled "Question re insulating the floor in my workshop". I reported details and challenges re the floor structure and construction techniques there earlier in the week (with pictures).

I did not quite get the floor done because of a light rain all day Saturday and a 7 hour break in the middle of the day Sunday for Mother's Day festivities.

I took the attached pictures early this morning and it shows just how far I did get. One is the "normal" picture taken from the roof of the house and the other is a new perspective -taken from the back door of the house.

I should easily finish the job this morning -it's overcast but no rain is predicted.

That's just as well, because tomorrow morning I am leaving for almost two weeks. A boyhood friend (Terry West) and I are meeting in Ottawa (where I will drop off another load of stuff that we have been storing in our basement at our daughter's new house) and then driving to Lake Pivabiska north of Hearst Ontario. Altogether this is a 1400 kilometre one way trip. We both have cabins on the lake and are going to help each other with several maintenance and upgrading tasks. I am attaching photo of my cabin (on the island which has been in our family for over 80 years).

Also Terry, a recently retired teacher, has written a novel and is launching it in Hearst. I wish the book success but am a little leary because the surname of the "bad guy" in the novel is Pellow.

There will be no progress on the workshop for the next two weeks so there will be no updates either. Also, I am very unlikely to email access while away so you won't be hearing from me about anything for a while.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Wow, great looking cabin and setting it's in! I want one of those!

I grew up in the mountains of NM and miss the trees and weather badly, but I'll never get the wife out of Dallas (full time anyway).

[Frank Pellow]

Those of you who have read the thread entitled "Book Launch, Cabin Maintenance, and Burned-Out Bearing (or why my workshop is on hold" on the Off Topic forum, will know why there has been no update here for some time and why the next update is at least two weeks away.

I did take some time yesterday to deal with a major delivery of material.

A couple of pictures are attached:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Looks like you got you a good helper there Frank! You'll have it finished in no time!

[Jerry Olexa]

I strongly agree w 16" centers for strength considering weight of tools etc. Small extra investment

[Frank Pellow]

Jerry, I am not sure what part of this thread this comment is in response to, but I will guess that it is about my floor. I did use 16" centres ratrher than my original plan for 24".

[Frank Pellow]

I finally got back to the construction of my workshop (for four and a half days). I had hoped get all the walls framed during that time, but am only about 80% complete. I am quite sure that I could have finished the task with a long day tomorrow, but that is not to be.

xx

I am attaching two photos that that show most of the wall framing and another one where my freind Emerus and I are putting the 18' ridge beam in place.

[Jim Becker]

Lookin' great, Frank. And CONGRATULATIONS on your new grand-daughter!! :D

[Kelly C. Hanna]

You sure do have a lot to do Frank....too bad it's cutting into the workshop building process, but then again, I'll bet you're ok with that considering the circumstances!

Looks like you made good progress in the time you had.

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Jim and Kelly. I do consider having another grandchild to be a great privilege and, indeed, a privilege that is worth giving up great construction weather for.

[John Haylow]

Frank.

Congratulations on the new grand daughter. Its also nice that both of you can be there with your daughter.

The shop is looking great also, you must be getting anxious to see it finished.

How did you make out up north? It would be great to see some closer pictures of the cabin some time.

Take care and enjoy your visit.

John

[Chris Padilla]

Ah, good to see the 2x6 construction! I guess you'll get some good R rating out of the insulation you can stuff in that wall plus it'll hold the snow load easily! :)

The progress may not be what you want Frank but it's looking good!

I'm in the process of gutting my garage...I have a lot of work ahead of me! There will be lots of electrical and some plumbing ahead of me! I'm looking forward to it! :)

[Frank Pellow]

I got back home briefly this weekend and managed to get in about 10 hours work on the shop. The wall framing is now almost complete and I have started on the roof rafters.

One thing that I would like to comment on is how much easier it is to cut the bird mouths in the rafters with my Festool jig saw than it was in my bad-old pre-Festool days when I used the combination of a circular saw and a hand saw to do the job.

I am attaching a couple of photos taken about half an hour ago.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

It's starting to look like a shop isn't it? I am excited for ya Frank, you're doing a great job. At one time I was going to build my own shop, then we found this house with the garage already set up for woodworking. I hope to someday do what you are cause I know how much fun it will be.

[Frank Pellow]

This week, I got in 5 full days work on my workshop. During that time I:

• Finished the framing of both the walls and the roof. Two pictures are attached.

• Started to install the fascia. I am using the same rough sawn 1" by 12" (real) pine on most of the trim that I will be using on the walls. I really like working with the pine. I am attaching a photo of me trimming an angle cut on the top of one of the fascia boards.

• Took the final delivery of material from Home Depot. I was promised a delivery early in the morning and they showed up at about 19:00 in a rain storm. My garage is now full and there are several piles around the job site. Oh well, from here on things can only get better.

Next week:

• The building inspector is coming to see if my framing is good enough. I certainly expect that it is.

• I will finish installing the fascia.

• I plan to start and to finish putting the plywood on the roof.

• I plan to install all three skylights.

Costs: My actual costs now stand at about $17,000 Canadian (or about $12,800 US). The projected final cost is now about $27,000 Canadian (or about $20,300 US).

[John Miliunas]

Lookin' good, Frank! Great progress. :) Oh, and that hard hat is very becoming on you! :D 'Round these parts, white ones denote supervisors! :) :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

Hey Frank,

Your saw is crooked...maybe that's a problem??? Just helpin' you out from over here on the West Coast!! :D

(Lookin' good on the construction!)

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Lookin' good Frank! I don't think you'll have any problem with your inspection.

[Tyler Howell]

Been a real historical and learning process for us all, Looking Good! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.:cool:

[Tim Leo]

Have you considered building a sound-proof closet to put the dust collector into?

[Frank Pellow]

Have you considered building a sound-proof closet to put the dust collector into?

Yes Tim, there is a possibility that a will be able to fully enclose the unit; but I am going to wait until after it is installed and operational before I do so. There is information on this topic on the spin-off thread entitled "Frank's Workshop: Dust Collection Plans".
.

[Frank Pellow]

I am adding a picture of my very very stuffed garage.

[Frank Pellow]

Lookin' good Frank! I don't think you'll have any problem with your inspection.

You are correct Kelly. The inspection was on the 5th and the framing passed with flying colours. :)

Also, Kelly, Chris, John, and Tyler, thanks for your ongoing encouragement (and occasional heckling).

[Frank Pellow]

This week, I only managed to work for 4 days work on my workshop, rather than the 6 that I had planned on. That, plus some problems with the roof (see below) meant that I did not reach my objectives for the week.

This is what I did:

• Installed the facia.


Without an assistant to hold one end of the heavy boards, this took longer than I expected.

• Passed the framing inspection.


I did have to insert an extra board over the doors and windows on the load bearing walls. When framing the walls, I placed two 2x6 or 2x8s on their sides over all the doors and windows but one of them was flush with each side, leaving a gap in the middle. The inspector told me that, for strength, the boards should have been laminated. The board had to catch the lip on both sides yet fit between the two existing boards -not an easy thing to do. I managed by cutting an angle at the top of one end, inserting the other end, sledge hammering the board into place, then prying it at one end so some of the board caught the jack stud at both sides.

• Installed about 2/3 of the plywood on the roof.


I encountered 3 problems that slowed me down:

1. The recommended rough opening for the Velux skylights was one inch too narrow (21.5 inches) for the 2 foot centred rafters.

2. When calculating the placement of my rafters, I forgot that I had a 1 inch facia board on the rake ends.

3. I have never used 1/2 inch thick plywood on a roof before (always having used either boards or 3/4 inch plywood) and I just was not happy with the lack of rigidity where the plywood butted over spots where there was no support. The building inspector advised me to use clips but I tried those and I still was not happy. So, I ended up notching the rafters and using (real) 1" x 2" strapping under all places where the plywood was to but. This sounds very time consuming but it was not as bad as I feared it would be -my Festool jigsaw handled the notching quite quickly and accurately.

Next week:

• I will finish placing the plywood on the roof.

• I will install the 3 skylights.

• I will get started on the shingling (asphalt). I don't know how far I will get because there are a lot of other things on my plate next week.


The pictures I have included are:

(1) and (2) The "regular" two views of the shop

(3) an interior view of the shop (notice the setup for ripping narrower boards -the blade on my old craftsman table saw is unguarded and I stay well away from it)

(4) me cutting notches in the rafters

(5) an 18 foot eavestrough that I (foolishly) brought home (about 20 kilometres) on top of my car.

[Jim Ketron]

Looking good Frank!

Jim

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Progress is good Frank! I like seeing real plywood going up everywhere...you won't be sorry you chose it. You are doing a fine job.

[John Miliunas]

You GO Frank! :D It's starting to look "homey"! I'll bet you can't wait to have it closed up! :cool:

[Ken Salisbury]

SAFETY NOTE: Never stand on the very top of a step ladder

[Frank Pellow]

SAFETY NOTE: Never stand on the very top of a step ladder

That rule does apply to ordinary flimsy step ladders but the one that I was using in the picture is a very strong step ladder with a non-skid top.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

This week, I only managed to work for 4 days work on my workshop, rather than the 6 that I had planned on. That, plus some problems with the roof (see below) meant that I did not reach my objectives for the week.

This is what I did:

• Installed the facia.


Without an assistant to hold one end of the heavy boards, this took longer than I expected.

• Passed the framing inspection.


I did have to insert an extra board over the doors and windows on the load bearing walls. When framing the walls, I placed two 2x6 or 2x8s on their sides over all the doors and windows but one of them was flush with each side, leaving a gap in the middle. The inspector told me that, for strength, the boards should have been laminated. The board had to catch the lip on both sides yet fit between the two existing boards -not an easy thing to do. I managed by cutting an angle at the top of one end, inserting the other end, sledge hammering the board into place, then prying it at one end so some of the board caught the jack stud at both sides.

• Installed about 2/3 of the plywood on the roof.


I encountered 3 problems that slowed me down:

1. The recommended rough opening for the Velux skylights was one inch too narrow (21.5 inches) for the 2 foot centred rafters.

2. When calculating the placement of my rafters, I forgot that I had a 1 inch facia board on the rake ends.

3. I have never used 1/2 inch thick plywood on a roof before (always having used either boards or 3/4 inch plywood) and I just was not happy with the lack of rigidity where the plywood butted over spots where there was no support. The building inspector advised me to use clips but I tried those and I still was not happy. So, I ended up notching the rafters and using (real) 1" x 2" strapping under all places where the plywood was to but. This sounds very time consuming but it was not as bad as I feared it would be -my Festool jigsaw handled the notching quite quickly and accurately.

Next week:

• I will finish placing the plywood on the roof.

• I will install the 3 skylights.

• I will get started on the shingling (asphalt). I don't know how far I will get because there are a lot of other things on my plate next week.


The pictures I have included are:

(1) and (2) The "regular" two views of the shop

(3) an interior view of the shop (notice the setup for ripping narrower boards -the blade on my old craftsman table saw is unguarded and I stay well away from it)

(4) me cutting notches in the rafters

(5) an 18 foot eavestrough that I (foolishly) brought home (about 20 kilometres) on top of my car.


Looks like things are really coming along nicely. But I'm going to have to report you to Audi for the abuse to that pretty A4. Now that's just not right. :) I can't wait to see it finished. Alan in Md.

[Rob Russell]

That rule does apply to ordinary flimsy step ladders but the one that I was using in the picture is a very strong step ladder with a non-skid top.

Actually, non-skid top or not, it's not a good idea to stand on the top of a stepladder Now, have I done it before? Being American, I'll plead the 5th ... :rolleyes:

[Frank Pellow]

Actually, non-skid top or not, it's not a good idea to stand on the top of a stepladder Now, have I done it before? Being American, I'll plead the 5th ... :rolleyes:

Sorry, but I fail to understand why standing on non-skid surface on a sturdy step ladder is any more dangerous than standing on scafolding. :confused:

[Tim Leo]

Safety Engineers recommend that a person always have three points of contact...two legs and a hand...when not standing on level ground.

Standing on the top of the non-skid ladder violates the 3-point of contact rule.

My questions is this...Is a Safety Engineer a real engineer?

[Frank Pellow]

Safety Engineers recommend that a person always have three points of contact...two legs and a hand...when not standing on level ground.

Standing on the top of the non-skid ladder violates the 3-point of contact rule.

My questions is this...Is a Safety Engineer a real engineer?

Is a scafold considered to be level ground? A "regular" ladder definately is not level ground. Certainly, people who need to do real jobs work with two hands when standing on scafolds and ladders. It is fine for a safety engineer to recommend otherwise but, if they were actually to do any work, they would find themselves very frustrated only using one hand. :p

[Mark Singer]

Frank,
It is very exciting to watch the progress. Looks great...clean framing!

[Frank Pellow]

:) I know that I usually post progress reports only once a week, but today I did some shingling and I am so happy with the way the shigles impact the look of the building that I could not resist posting a picture. :)

[Ted Daigle]

Frank,
It's really coming out well! This shingles really do give the place a nice look. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[JayStPeter]

Frank,

Great progress.

I, for one, think your ladder safety is exemplary. This shot is after the top of my cheapo ladder collapsed and left me hanging in my ductwork buildout. Fortunately, I had a framing hammer and could beat the ladder into it's current condition. :cool: :D

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I like the look Frank. Looks like you'll be shingled in no time!

[Jerry Olexa]

When the shingles are up, you start to feel secure that all is safe, waterproof etc underneath. Congrats! and they look good too!!

[Frank Pellow]

When the shingles are up, you start to feel secure that all is safe, waterproof etc underneath. Congrats! and they look good too!!

Right you are Jerry! Also, in the remote town that I grew up in, many folks built their own homes and, once the roof was completed, they could get a mortgage. So, I learned at a very early age that completing the roof is the most significant part of constructing a building.

[John Miliunas]

Looks as though you're cruising along quite nicely, Frank! :) Man, I'll bet you're just chompin' on the bit to get that beauty buttoned up! :D Great progress and keep keepin' us posted! :) :cool:

[Frank Pellow]

This week, I got in 3 solid days work on Monday through Wednesday but, then, very little work for the rest of the week. We have had company from Switzerland since early Friday and I have only managed to steal a little time away from entertaining them.

(Actually, I don’t really want to steal away time. The company is a couple and two young children (4 and 6) who were our next door neighbours in Kirkland Washington for five years. The children were born while we were there. Margaret and I were stand-in parents and grandparents and they will always remain a part of our extended family. They returned to Switzerland the day before we returned to Canada so no one felt that they were deserting anyone. )

This is what was accomplished:

• Finished nailing the plywood to the roof.

• Installed the 3 skylights (but, so far, only one with flashing).

• Got started on the shingling. I would estimate that the job is about one third done.


Next week:

(Our friends don't leave until Wednesday and the next day Margaret and I head up to our camp about 1000 kilometers north west of Toronto. We will be gone for about three weeks.)

• I would really like to finish the roof before we leave but I very much doubt the that this is possible. Among, other things, I would need to install a chimney. I will be happy if I can get about 90% of the shingles on, flashing around all the skylights and the remainder of the roof covered with (battened down) waterproof building paper.

The pictures I have included are:

(1) my friend Terry West helping me in the process of hoisting one of the heavy skylights up onto the roof

XX

(4) the roof as it looks right now

[Joe Mioux]

Hi Frank,

Those last two pics are great! Looks like your shop is taking shape.

Joe

[Joe Mioux]

I actually meant the last two prior to the last one. lol However, the last one looks great as well

Joe

[Rob Russell]

Frank,

Are you planning on a ridge and soffet vents for your roof?

Rob

[Frank Pellow]

Frank,

Are you planning on a ridge and soffet vents for your roof?

Rob

Yes I am Rob.

[Frank Pellow]

I managed to get about 10 hours work in between our guests and frequent rain storms (including a couple of real downpours).

The roof is mostly shingled. The major things places where I have not shingled are over the (to be installed) ridge vent and around the (to be installed) chimney.

Two pictures that I took about an hour ago are attached.

Tomorrow morning my wife and I are off to Pellow's Camp for between 3 and 4 weeks and I will be out of both phone and email contact while we are away. So there will be no more progress on the workshop for some time :( . However, a new set of projects awaits me at Pellow's Camp :) .

If anyone notices that the caps on the top edge of the two larger skylights are not properly installed, don't worry -I am aware of that and will quickly fix the problem upon my return.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Have fun at the camp Frank...sounds like you have your work cut out for you there....

[Frank Pellow]

Have fun at the camp Frank...sounds like you have your work cut out for you there....

Thanks Kelly. I think that I will put together a 'Tour of Pellow's Camp" thread and post it on the Off Topic forum upon my return.

Leaving 10 minutes ...

[Frank Pellow]

After a long absence, I got back to the construction of my shop in the later half of the week.

I had three items that I wanted to have done by the end of the day today. They were:

1. install the chimney for the wood burning stove,

2. finish shingling the roof, and

3. temporarily install the propane space heater in order to make sure it works. I bought the space heater at a store about 1000 kilometres from here (near my summer camp) and hauled it home in my trailer. I am going back there in about a week and want to make that I came hook everything together and get it working before then.

I did most of task 1, on Saturday, then noticed that the chimney flashing was the wrong size (the supplier's mistake, not mine). The place I obtained the chimney is closed Saturday afternoons and Sunday, so I have to wait until tomorrow to order correct flashing. Then I expect it might take up to a week to arrive.

I could not do task 2 until I have the flashing.

I did most of task 3 and got the pilot light working. However, both the instructions and the wire for the thermostat are missing so I could not fully test things.

The fact that I could not finish the roof, freed up some time for me to start on the siding and the sofits. As can be seen from the first attached picture, the siding steps are:

1) nail sheeting to the studs

2) staple building paper to the sheeting

3) nail 1" x 1.5" (real dimensions) horizontal strapping on 12" centres over the building paper

4) screw on pre-stained 1" by 12" (real dimensions) rough sawn pine boards leaving 1" between the boards.

5) screw on pre-stained 1" by 2.75" (real dimensions) battens

I am leaving again for Pellow's Camp on Friday and hope to get in about three days work before I leave. If I am really lucky, I will obtain the correct flashing then finish the roof, otherwise I just carry on with the sofits and siding.

[Jim Ketron]

Looking good Frank!
I haven't posted any on my shop in a week or two!
Ive had a weekend like yours purchaced some trim boards and painted them to finish the door's and Guess what (ran out of siding nails:mad: ) I was going to post the finishing of the outside.(except closing in the bottom I'll wait later for that)
But I did get most of the electrical done in the shop this weekend.
Jim

[Boyd Gathwright]

...You’re coming along nicely Frank, looking real good.


Boyd ;)


.

After a long absence, I got back to the construction of my shop in the later half of the week.


I had three items that I wanted to have done by the end of the day today. They were:

1. install the chimney for the wood burning stove,

2. finish shingling the roof, and

3. temporarily install the propane space heater in order to make sure it works. I bought the space heater at a store about 1000 kilometres from here (near my summer camp) and hauled it home in my trailer. I am going back there in about a week and want to make that I came hook everything together and get it working before then.

I did most of task 1, on Saturday, then noticed that the chimney flashing was the wrong size (the supplier's mistake, not mine). The place I obtained the chimney is closed Saturday afternoons and Sunday, so I have to wait until tomorrow to order correct flashing. Then I expect it might take up to a week to arrive.

I could not do task 2 until I have the flashing.

I did most of task 3 and got the pilot light working. However, both the instructions and the wire for the thermostat are missing so I could not fully test things.

The fact that I could not finish the roof, freed up some time for me to start on the siding and the sofits. As can be seen from the first attached picture, the siding steps are:

1) nail sheeting to the studs

2) staple building paper to the sheeting

3) nail 1" x 1.5" (real dimensions) horizontal strapping on 12" centres over the building paper

4) screw on pre-stained 1" by 12" (real dimensions) rough sawn pine boards leaving 1" between the boards.

5) screw on pre-stained 1" by 2.75" (real dimensions) battens

I am leaving again for Pellow's Camp on Friday and hope to get in about three days work before I leave. If I am really lucky, I will obtain the correct flashing then finish the roof, otherwise I just carry on with the sofits and siding.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I like the board and battens...where did you get prestained rough pine?

[Frank Pellow]

I like the board and battens...where did you get prestained rough pine?

The rough pine was not prestained when I purchased it. I stained the boards myself. I meant "prestained" before use, not "prestained" before purchase. By the way, I am ripping the battens and the strapping from the 1x12 boards.

[Tyler Howell]

Looking Great Frank but like others I'm taking points off for Ladder and Audi Abuse. :mad: You know better, and we can't be coming up there finishing that project if you get hurt. Enough Said!

Very stylish set up, superb craftsmanship. Keep the pix coming.;)

[Frank Pellow]

Hey Tyler, as long as you are taking off points, you should be able to ding me a bunch for the worst woodworkers offence. That is, using an unguarded blade on a table saw. :(

I am attaching a picture taken this moring of me ripping strapping on a saw without a guard. Hey, I don't even own a guard for this ancient saw. I am also including a shot of the dust control system.

[Chris Padilla]

Comng along nicely, Frank! You'll probably be done before me and mine came pre-framed! :p I wish, wish, wish one major supporting wall in my garage had been framed with 2x6. It sure would have made life easier on me and I didn't feel like adding furring strips.

You won't find me dinging you for no blade guard...I run without my garbagy one pretty much since day one. :eek:

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hi Frank,

when you started to plan your workshop project I had only occasional computer and Internet access because I was at the military service. Due to this I didn't find the time to check your updates regularly and read the posts attentively. But today I sat down and read this thread from the very beginning.
I'm absolutely impressed of the quality of your workmanship.
I'd like to thank you for this excellent read and for sharing your construction with us. Like others, I can't wait to see the finished shop and I bet you'll spend many creative hours in this warm and cosy shop!

Regards,

Christian

[Frank Pellow]

WOW Christian, you read the whole thread! That must have taken some time. Did you read the spin-off threads referenced in the first posting as well?

I am gratified that you enjoyed it and I thank you for the comment on the quality of my work.

[Tyler Howell]

Hey Tyler, as long as you are taking off points, you should be able to ding me a bunch for the worst woodworkers offence. That is, using an unguarded blade on a table saw. :(

I am attaching a picture taken this moring of me ripping strapping on a saw without a guard. Hey, I don't even own a guard for this ancient saw. I am also including a shot of the dust control system.Ten Yards!!!!:mad: I know you heard it all before and once more just may be the one!
It's just that stuff happens so fast and the embarrassment is more painful than the permanent disability. I'm on your side.:o ;)
PS nice Saw your using on the illegal ladder stance.<!-- / message --><!-- sig --> :cool:
__________________
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[Frank Pellow]

In post #93 in this thread, Alan accused me of miss-using my Audi and Tyler recently added his admonishment.

You will both be glad to know, that whoever is looking after the proper treatment of Audis, got back at me yesterday, and they got back at me at the very place (Danforth Roofing) where I purchased the eavestrough that Alan complained me transporting on my Audi.

Yesterday, when I was parked in the Danforth Roofing lot in order to return wrong size chimney flashing, my car key broke off in the door lock as I was unlocking it. I managed to get the broken piece out but, of course, the key no longer works. To make matters worse, the place was closing in half an hour and they lock their lot at night. It was too late to get someone to pick up a key drive over. So, I took the subway and bus home (about a 70 minute trip) and then reversed the journey early this morning (they open at 7 and I was there) to retrieve my (unlocked) car.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

In post #93 in this thread, Alan accused me of miss-using my Audi and Tyler recently added his admonishment.

You will both be glad to know, that whoever is looking after the proper treatment of Audis, got back at me yesterday, and they got back at me at the very place (Danforth Roofing) where I purchased the eavestrough that Alan complained me transporting on my Audi.

Yesterday, when I was parked in the Danforth Roofing lot in order to return wrong size chimney flashing, my car key broke off in the door lock as I was unlocking it. I managed to get the broken piece out but, of course, the key no longer works. To make matters worse, the place was closing in half an hour and they lock their lot at night. It was too late to get someone to pick up a key drive over. So, I took the subway and bus home (about a 70 minute trip) and then reversed the journey early this morning (they open at 7 and I was there) to retrieve my (unlocked) car.


See Frank, I knew the Audi Gods would catch up to you but I had nothing to do with it. But be warned that any future mistreatment may cause similar results. :)

But seriously Frank, I'm sorry for that broken key and all the trouble it caused. I've never seen a key break like that before. Is your door lock hard to turn or do you use your keys for other things? Alan in Md.

[Frank Pellow]

Is your door lock hard to turn or do you use your keys for other things? Alan in Md.

The lock is easy to turn and, as far as I know, I did not miss-use the key.

I am planning to contact Audi and see if they can explain what happened.

[Tyler Howell]

Nice Avatar Frank,

I'm sure your grand daughter likes that one better.;)

[Frank Pellow]

I am off to Pellow's Camp about noon today so the workshop construction is once more on hold (this time for about 10 days).

I only managed to get in two and a half days work this week and there is not much to show for it. I did pick up the right size chimney flashing early yesterday morning but it was raining on and off all day (the first rain for over a week), so I did not attempt to finish the roof. Most of my time was spent on "infrastructure" work such as ripping strapping, ripping and staining battens, and making vented soffits (I don't like the plastic or metal soffit "strips" that are available).

I am attaching one picture and it shows that I have made a little progress on the siding, The building now has that "tar paper shack look". I grew up in Northern Ontario which has a boom and bust resource-based economy and, at that time (the 1940s and 1950s), at least a third of the houses were considered to be finished once the black building (or tar) paper was on and strapped down. Many of these houses were no bigger than my shop.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Must be a little agonizing to have so few days to work on your shop. :D

The good news is that you are doing things the right way.

[Frank Pellow]

With only two remaining major items that I have not yet paid for (the wood stove and the electrical supplies/hook-up/fees) remaining, it is a good time to record what this project is likely going to end up costing me.

My estimate includes everything, that is material, sub-contracting, fees, the dust control system, the gas space heater, and the wood stove. It does not include any tools

The estimate as of last night stands at $25,983 (cdn) or $19,825 (us). The last time that I recorded an estimate in this thread was last March. At that time the total was $25,400 (cdn) or $19,250 (us), so it appears that I have been able to stick to my budget quite well.

If anyone would like a detailed breakdown of costs, please contact me and I can send you a file.

[Frank Pellow]

Attached is a picture.

Now to the walls ...

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Hey, you got it roofed! Looks great!! I like the skylights.

[John Miliunas]

Way to go, Frank! Lookin' good. Real good! :) Won't be long now....! :D :cool:

[Frank Pellow]

...

I like the skylights.

I like them too :) -but I already wish that I had installed one (or even two) more. :(

[Frank Pellow]

Well, it turns out that I was not quite finished the roof when I posted the picture yesterday afternoon. I did some further work this morning encouraged by a private set of notes that I exchanged with Jim Becker.

Here is the relevant content from those notes:

------------------------------------------

Jim:
Question...don't you need one more "partial row" of shingles on the two end-peaks? The area right at the edge is not the "weather" exposure part. One more row would also strengthen that particular point.

Frank:
I was not quite sure what to do there. and I could not find any specific instructions about what to do with asphalt shingles at the top of shed roofs. I already cut 3.5 inches off the shingles at the two peeks and I thought of that as a partial row. When you say "partial row" can you be more specific about exactly what I should do?

Jim:
What I see in the picture is that on the top row, there is a major portion of the shingle exposed that is normally "under" another shingle row. What I'm suggesting is to run one more row, which would end up being cut off in such a way that only the "normal exposure" would be on the roof. Obviously, you'd have to face nail those but a little extra roof cement under the shingle and over the nails will deal with that nicely. It's not just a finishing touch, but also makes for a nice double layer right on the edge for more strength. This whole thing would only take a short period of time to do and I believe will serve you well, both in appearance and in roof integrity. But then again...I'm not a roof expert!

Frank:
Jim, I don't think that I can do exactly what you have suggested because of the 2 gaps that separate each shingle into 3 parts. However I can cut out 15 centimetre by 1 metre strips from the top of each shingle and use those as an overlay. I am going to try that right now.

Jim:
Don't you mean strips from the "bottom" of the shingle??

Frank:
No, I mean strips from the top of the shingles. If I were to cut a strip from the bottom, I would get three pieces.

Jim:
Hmmm...I think you need to use the individual shingles, then, as you really want that surface, rather than the portion that is designed to be "under" additional rows. But you're the man on-site!

Frank:
You win! I did a mock-up of both and let my wife pick. She chose the individual shingles.

Jim:
Don't you hate when that happens!! Those individual shingles are also a different color than the other portion...I think you'll be happier (and by definition you'll be happier because LOYL is happier) with the entire roof being the same color!

----------------------------------------------

And, I have attached a new picture.

[Bart Leetch]

Nice looking roof Frank.

[Jim Becker]

Now that looks great, Frank. LOYL knows best!! :D

[Frank Pellow]

Now that looks great, Frank. LOYL knows best!! :D

You can take most of the credit Jim. Thanks again for your timely help.

[Frank Pellow]

I managed to get 3 full days and 2 half days work done on the shop this week.

This is what was accomplished:


• The chimney is now installed. I don't yet have a wood stove and the nearby tree has to be trimmed away back, so it has not yet been tested.

• The roof is now shingled.

• The OSB sheeting (or, in a few places plywood sheeting) is now complete.


Aside: Now that the shop is enclosed it is obvious to me that I should have included one more skylight. But, even though I know that now would be easier to add it than later, I am going to resist the temptation.
•The shop interior (now that I really have one) is quite a bit tidier


Next week I will probably get about 3 or 4 days to work on the shop. I doubt that I will finish anything but my time will be spent on the following tasks:


• Making and installing vented soffits

• Installing building paper and strapping over the sheeting (only about a third of the sheeting is covered now)

• Installing more board and batten siding

• Having the building inspected again

• Installing at least one window

• Making the final decision re the placement of my lights and receptacles

• Tidying up some more

I am attaching 5 pictures. They are:


(1) View of the shop from the back yard of my neighbor to the west.

(2) Interior view looking through the south window

(3) Interior view looking through the east window

(4) Interior view looking through the north-east window

(5) Interior view looking through the north-west window

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Great pics Frank...you are making good progress!!

[Christian Aufreiter]

Thanks for the update, Frank. Nice looking pics.

Regards,

Christian

[Frank Pellow]

This morning in the thread entitled "Frank's Wrkshop: Dust Collection Plans " (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7853), I showed how I am simulating the dust control ducting for my workshop.

That is proving to be helpful, but what is even more helpful is the simulation of my electrical layout. I have cut out coloured simulations of all the components other than the wire and panel box and am screwing them in place. Then I imagine that I am doing certain jobs and determining if things are in the correct places for those jobs. I have already moved several components, added some, and eliminated others as a result of this activity. It is also helpful that I am doing this simulation in conjunction with the simulation of the ducting because it has shown me that some lights need to move.

I am attaching three pictures that illustrate how I am doing this:

(1) An overview picture. In this picture you can see:
-2 overhead yellow fluorescent light fixtures
-1 silver junction box where I am going to leave a loop of at least a metre of #10 wire for possible future 240 volt use
-3 orange 120 volt 20 amp receptacles
-1 red 240 volt 20 amp receptacle
-2 green switches
-a piece of green strapping that represents duct work with a piece of black paper representing a drop hanging off the end of it.

(2) Close-up of a silver 240 volt junction box and an orange 120 volt 20 amp receptacle. Note that I have marked the circuit (lettered a through k on my electric diagram) on each component.

(3) Close-up of 2 green switches (one two way one 3 way), another orange 120 volt 20 amp receptacle, a red 240 volt 20 amp receptacle, and a white thermostat.

It really did not take as much time as you might think to put all this together and I am very glad that I took the time to do it. :) One advantage is that I am going to have an electrician acquaintance help me do so of the electrical work (for remuneration, but I get a good price on the components) and there will be no question as exactly where I want things to go.

[Jim Becker]

Very clever...3D CAD...lifesize!!!

[Rob Russell]

Before I think get to the other comments I'll make - are any of those boxes for your DC system switches or do you still have to add those?

[Frank Pellow]

Before I think get to the other comments I'll make - are any of those boxes for your DC system switches or do you still have to add those?

Right now, I am allowing for installing two 3 way switches and at least one 4 way switch for the dust control. I might not do this if I install the stuff that you are planning. Or I might still install it as backup, should I take a while to get around to the scheme that you are planning.

[Rob Russell]

Right now, I am allowing for installing two 3 way switches and at least one 4 way switch for the dust control. I might not do this if I install the stuff that you are planning. Or I might still install it as backup, should I take a while to get around to the scheme that you are planning.

The simplest wiring for the DC is to use those 3 and 4-way switches that I'd mentioned as an "interim" possibility. You can get the exact same functionality from those 3/4-ways as from a set of stop/start pushbuttons. Walk to any of the switches and turn the DC on. Walk to any of the DC switches and turn the DC off. The only thing is, if you turn the DC one at one switch and off at another, you'll have a mix of switches pointing up and down. Are you one of those guys who's so anal about things being perfect that the switches not being all "down for off" would drive you nuts? If you are, then the pushbuttons are the way to go. If you can live with the switches being askew, you can get the same function and spend less money (cheaper switches and no transformer) on the system.

What's your opinion?

[Jim Becker]

Rob, wouldn't a low voltage switch system using a contactor be easier and safer to deal with the DC? The motor on the Oneida 2hp Commercial Cyclone has a pretty good draw and I know I'd be pretty uncomfortable dragging all that voltage and current all over the shop. (I went wireless with multiple "switches" strategically placed around the shop)

[Rob Russell]

Rob, wouldn't a low voltage switch system using a contactor be easier and safer to deal with the DC? The motor on the Oneida 2hp Commercial Cyclone has a pretty good draw and I know I'd be pretty uncomfortable dragging all that voltage and current all over the shop. (I went wireless with multiple "switches" strategically placed around the shop)

Jim,

All variations of the schematics I'm finishing up use motor starters (contactor + overload relay). What differs is the control coil voltage and switching system. My original design used a pair of standard industrial pushbuttons in the century-old start/parallel-stop/series configuration with a 24 VAC low voltage control system. By using a 120vac coil on the motor starter, you could use normal 3 and 4-way switches, regular NM wire and save the cost of the transformer and dealing with the oddities of the pushbuttons (like finding cover plates for them).

Rob

[Jim Becker]

All variations of the schematics I'm finishing up use motor starters (contactor + overload relay). What differs is the control coil voltage and switching system. My original design used a pair of standard industrial pushbuttons in the century-old start/parallel-stop/series configuration with a 24 VAC low voltage control system. By using a 120vac coil on the motor starter, you could use normal 3 and 4-way switches, regular NM wire and save the cost of the transformer and dealing with the oddities of the pushbuttons (like finding cover plates for them).
OK, that clarifies things. Of course...you still need the motor starter which does not come with the cyclone, although they supposedly have one available.

[Dan Mages]

Tyler, of course your GO BIGGER advise is correct, but I am not going to follow it. I have to stop planning and start working. Every change to the plans (and this is the fourth major revision) costs me several hours spent re-drawing and re-estimating.

By the way, Toronto is further south than Minneapolis and we get a very hot summer here -great for growing all knids of vegatables.

This is very true! 10 years ago my parents confused everyone when they said they were moving south to toronto (from Minneapolis).

So far, so good frank!

Dan

[Bart Leetch]

I don't understand why control for the cyclone have to be so complicated? I just installed a 220v circuit & plugged in a Long Ranger & plugged the dust system into it & put the control in the top pocket of my apron & I alway know where the switch is & it works everytime. You can put the Long Ranger system in the closet with the cyclone because it will start the motor through the wall. Real simple. :)

[Frank Pellow]

The simplest wiring for the DC is to use those 3 and 4-way switches that I'd mentioned as an "interim" possibility. You can get the exact same functionality from those 3/4-ways as from a set of stop/start pushbuttons. Walk to any of the switches and turn the DC on. Walk to any of the DC switches and turn the DC off. The only thing is, if you turn the DC one at one switch and off at another, you'll have a mix of switches pointing up and down. Are you one of those guys who's so anal about things being perfect that the switches not being all "down for off" would drive you nuts? If you are, then the pushbuttons are the way to go. If you can live with the switches being askew, you can get the same function and spend less money (cheaper switches and no transformer) on the system.

What's your opinion?

I can live with switches being askew, so I guess that is what I will do.

[Jim Becker]

I don't understand why control for the cyclone have to be so complicated? I just installed a 220v circuit & plugged in a Long Ranger & plugged the dust system into it & put the control in the top pocket of my apron & I alway know where the switch is & it works everytime. You can put the Long Ranger system in the closet with the cyclone because it will start the motor through the wall. Real simple.
True, very simple and effective...provided you're not like me and find that a remote disappears into the house way too easily. That's why I have seven of them throughout the shop in fixed positions, even though they are wireless. Like many folks, I don't wear a shop apron, so there is no place the "stays" in the shop. I started out using a Long Ranger with my original DC and only had one remote when I first moved to the cyclone. That got old fast...and when I stumbled upon a deal I couldn't refuse on some additional remotes (closouts at smarthome.com), I grabbed them. Otherwise, I would have been putting in a low-voltage system to replace the RF remote.

Trust me, I have the same issue with my hearing protection and safety glasses sometimes!!:rolleyes:

[Frank Pellow]

I don't understand why control for the cyclone have to be so complicated? I just installed a 220v circuit & plugged in a Long Ranger & plugged the dust system into it & put the control in the top pocket of my apron & I alway know where the switch is & it works everytime. You can put the Long Ranger system in the closet with the cyclone because it will start the motor through the wall. Real simple. :)

Bart, as I understand it, the Long Ranger system is based on a portable controller. Portable controllers and I just don't get along. I don't need something else that I ned to track the whereabouts of.

[Jim Becker]

Bart, as I understand it, the Long Ranger system is based on a portable controller. Portable controllers and I just don't get along. I don't need something else that I ned to track the whereabouts of.
I guess I'm not the only one that has problems with "portable controllers"!!! :p

[Bart Leetch]

I had the same problem losing the controller. But when I safety pinned the controller to the apron top pocket through the hole in the clip on the back of the controller that ceased to be a problem. The first thing I do is put the apron on & the last thing I do is take the apron off. I also have a pencil & tape measure & small machinist square in the apron. :)

[Rob Russell]

Bart,

This isn't so much about making it complicated as it is making it safe, meeting code and conforming to Frank's wishes on how he runs his shop.

A set of 3/4-way switches that control a motor starter is a very simple thing. Push buttons and low voltage controls are cool. That's what you want to use if you're doing a system where the blast gate depresses a Normally Closed/Held Open pushbutton (close all the blast gates and the DC stops). The reason I am specifying a motor starter is that it provides both the start-stop control and overload protection for the motor. It also meets the NEC, and while Frank lives in Canada, I am assuming that the Canadian electrical code is similar to the NEC. The code applies because he has something which is hard-wired into the building. A "plug-in" device can follow other rules.

Rob

[Frank Pellow]

I had the same problem losing the controller. But when I safety pinned the controller to the apron top pocket through the hole in the clip on the back of the controller that ceased to be a problem. The first thing I do is put the apron on & the last thing I do is take the apron off. I also have a pencil & tape measure & small machinist square in the apron. :)

I would probably lose the apron. :(

[Frank Pellow]

This is very true! 10 years ago my parents confused everyone when they said they were moving south to toronto (from Minneapolis).

So far, so good frank!

Dan

Yes, I confused people a couple of years ago when moving south from Seattle to Toronto.

[Bart Leetch]

Frank

Can you spell compass??? :D

[Frank Pellow]

I am leaving again this morning, so am reporting on progress a day early.

I managed to get 2 full days, 2 half days, and 4 evenings work done on the shop this week.

My objectives for the week were:


1. Making and installing vented soffits

2. Installing building paper and strapping over the sheeting (only about a third of the sheeting is covered now)
3. Installing more board and batten siding

4. Having the building inspected again

5. Installing at least one window

6. Making the final decision re the placement of my lights and receptacles

7. Tidying up some more
Here is how I did:


1. I did no work on the soffits.

2. Building paper and strapping now covers about 80% of the place.

3. I did some more of this and am happy with the way it is working out.

4. The inspector decided to skip this inspection and come by when the insulation is in (but not covered).

5. I installing one window but it still needs to be screwed into place, calked, and insulated. I decided to do this final part of the installation for all four windows at the same time.

6. As shown in earlier posts this week, I decided on the final placement of all my electrical components as well as the placement of the ducts for my dust controller by mocking everything up. I am happy with the way this all worked out.

7. I did tidy and organize things better.
In addition to the above, I started putting the first coat of paint on all the plywood (34 sheets) that is to be used for the walls and ceilings. I painted then lightly sanded 10 sheets.

I won't be getting much done for the next 10 days. During that period, we will only be home for one full day and two half days. What's that I hear people saying?

Frank, don't you know that where you live you get cold winters with snow and stuff? Why are you always goofing off? You should be staying home finishing enclosing and insulating the place. I know, I know -once I get back in 10 days I promise to stay here for a month and finish that part of the job.

There are two pictures this week:

(1) The building showing progress on the siding.

(2) Me driving screws into the siding boards. The Ryobi drill that I was using to drive screws knocks out from time to time (I expect that it has a loose wire). That forced me to use my somewhat new DeWalt hammer drill (model DW505) in "screw" mode and I am so glad that I did. Although the drill is heavy, it is great for driving screws. It can be slowed right down to an appropriate drilling speed but still has loads of torque at that speed. I never knew that driving screws could be so easy.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, I'm surprised they would allow the insulation to be in before the electrical inspection was done. That said, you're making great progress and I continue to look forward to your reports. This has got to be one of the best documented workshop projects ever!

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, I'm surprised they would allow the insulation to be in before the electrical inspection was done. That said, you're making great progress and I continue to look forward to your reports. This has got to be one of the best documented workshop projects ever!

Jim, I was talking about a building inspection, not an electrical inspection.

Thanks for the encouragement re my reports. Filing the reports actually provides me with some incentive to meet the goals that I established in the previous report.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, I was talking about a building inspection, not an electrical inspection.
Yes, I understand, but in new construction, they are usually "intertwined" relative to scheduling. Insulation would theoretically cover up your rough wiring. Around here, the electrical inspection would have to come first! But no matter...I was just curious. Have a geat day!

[Frank Pellow]

Yes, I understand, but in new construction, they are usually "intertwined" relative to scheduling. Insulation would theoretically cover up your rough wiring. Around here, the electrical inspection would have to come first! But no matter...I was just curious. Have a geat day!

Around here they are intertwined too. There will be an electrical inspection once the wiring and boxes are in and before the insulation is in.

Completely different groups do the building and electrical inspections and they don't seem to talk to each other. Of course both groups charge their own fees.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Progress is coming along nicely Frank! The DW drill will be an asset for sure.

[Frank Pellow]

I managed to get 4 full days and 2 half days, work done on the shop this week.

What was accomplished:

1. All the building paper and strapping is now installed on the walls.

2. About 40% of the board and batten siding is installed.

3. Two of the four windows are "semi-installed".

4. The double doors are installed (although I still need to install closing/locking hardware and interior trim.

What do I hope to do next week:

1. Fully install all four windows.

2. Design, build and install a single door (see the tread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=12565)

3. Install more board and batten siding.

4. Install more vented soffits.

5. (perhaps, but I doubt it) Get started on the electrical work.

6. (perhaps) Build the interior wall that is to separate the dust control unit from the wood stove.

There are two pictures this week. They show two different views of the exterior, one from ground level and one from an upper window of the house.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Wow, you've made great progress Frank! Looks like a ship shape shop now. I like the siding and the skylight!

[Jim Becker]

Lookin' great, Frank! (very...blue... :D) Can we assume you'll formalize the "bridge" to the deck and fully close in that space?

[Frank Pellow]

Lookin' great, Frank! (very...blue... :D) Can we assume you'll formalize the "bridge" to the deck and fully close in that space?

I plan to do a major overhaul of the deck and the gardens next year. Part of that overhaul will be to replace the "bridge" with "deck".

[John Miliunas]

Really starting to come together there, Frank! Is the weather still holding in your favor? They're talkin' about it getting significantly cooler out this way, probably by Tues. Looks like you've got it buttoned up enough to contain heat! :D Keep up the great job! :cool:

[Jim Ketron]

Looking Good Frank!!
you should be finished with the outside before the Big snow hits! thats good!
I see you already have your heat finished so you can work on the inside on those cold days ahead.
Its coming along nicely Frank!
Jim

[Frank Pellow]

Jim and John, the place can not really be heated yet. There are still some holes and anyway I have not yet hooked up the propane heater. And, although there is a chimney, I haven't even purchased my wood stove.

It' is getting colder (we had to cover the tender plants like basil in our garden for the last couple of nights) but it is not cold enough to require heat yet.

[Rob Russell]

Frank,

You just keep it moving. Great job!

Rob

[Frank Pellow]

I worked a really full week on the shop this week. My estimate is that I put in between 75 and 85 hours, and almost all of it was productive.

My objectives for the week were:


1. Fully install all four windows.

2. Design, build and install a single door.

3. Install more board and batten siding.

4. Install more vented soffits.

5. (perhaps, but I doubt it) Get started on the electrical work.

6. (perhaps) Build the interior wall that is to separate the dust control unit from the wood stove.
Here is how I did:

1. The windows are all installed but not permanently.

2. The single door is built but not yet installed.

3. More board and batten siding is now in place. I would estimate that this is now about 50% complete.

4. More vented soffits are now in place. This is also about 50% complete.

5. Not only did the electrical work get started, but all the wires and all the boxes are now in and I am ready for the first inspection. :) Once that is passed, I can start to insulate the walls.

I must thank my electrician friend Mario, for spending about 12 hours with me and stealing time from much bigger jobs to do so. Boy, is Mario ever efficient!

6. The interior wall was built (and there is a receptacle in it).

Here is what I hope to do next week:


0. Spend some time with my family (to start with, Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada).

1. Pass the rough-in electrical inspection.

2. Install more board and batten siding.

3. Start to install insulation in the walls and ceiling and cover it with plywood.

4. (perhaps) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.

There are three pictures this week, all having to do with the electrical work.

(1) The reels of wire set up outside the double-doors.

(2) Mario drilling holes

(3) The corner of the shop where the sub-panel is to go [I](beside the window).[/INDENT]

[Jim Becker]

Great progress, Frank. A very productive week!

[Don Abele]

Frank, great progress. What are the different colored wires for?

Be well,

Doc

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, great progress. What are the different colored wires for?

Be well,

Doc

Blue is 14 gauge, yellow and white are 12 gauge, and orange is 10 gauge. I don't think that these colours are a requirement, but rather I think that they are a convention.

[John Miliunas]

Looks like LOTS of forward progress, Frank! :) It's super having some knowledgeable and efficient help, ain't it? All looks neat and tidy; Shouldn't have issues with the inspector, I would guess. Keep up the great work! :cool:

[Frank Pellow]

Looks like LOTS of forward progress, Frank! :) It's super having some knowledgeable and efficient help, ain't it? All looks neat and tidy; Shouldn't have issues with the inspector, I would guess. Keep up the great work! :cool:

With Mario around, I am the help.

[Bruce Page]

Frank, everyone should have a good friend like Mario! Mine is my good friend Shawn who helps me with the serious stuff and best of all, he works for (imported) beer :cool: . Your shop is looking great! I’m sure you will have a great feeling of accomplishment when it’s finished.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, everyone should have a good friend like Mario! Mine is my good friend Shawn who helps me with the serious stuff and best of all, he works for (imported) beer :cool: . Your shop is looking great! I’m sure you will have a great feeling of accomplishment when it’s finished.

Mario is working for money. But the money is well worth it. Not only does he do good work but, through him, I am getting a really really good price on all the electrical supplies.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I like the color coded wiring. The progress on the electrical is great Frank! What are the green 'foam looking' lines for?

[Frank Pellow]

... What are the green 'foam looking' lines for?

The green "lines" are made from 1 x 1.5 wood strapping that I painted green. They show the approximate location of the dust control duct-work. This allows us to place the electrical stuff in locations that will not get in the way of the ducting.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Thanks for explaining...that one had me puzzled!

[Frank Pellow]

I regressed to only working about 40 hours on the shop on the shop this week.

My objectives for the week were:

0. Spend some time with my family (to start with, Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada).

1. Pass the rough-in electrical inspection.

2. Install more board and batten siding.

3. Start to install insulation in the walls and ceiling and cover it with plywood.

4.(perhaps) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.

Here is how I did:


0. We hosted my daughter Kathleen, her husband Jonathan, and their children Isla and Ethan for thanksgiving dinner (roast beef and all the trimmings). Isla (4 and a half) made a pumpkin pie with a little assistance from her mum. A great time was had by all.

1. The electrical inspection passed with flying colours. The inspector mentioned that I had gone above code with some things and I responded that this was my intention. He also really liked the design of the workshop.

2. All the board and batten except for the long (33 ft) but not high (7.5 ft) west wall is complete. I do still need to put edge trim on all the corners though.

3. I started, but just only started, on the insulation. The batts are not sticking by themselves between the ceiling joists. This means I need to first staple up plastic vapour barrier, then slide the batts underneath that. I haven't quite got the knack of that procedure yet and things are going slowly.

4. I didn't do any more electrical work this week

Next week, I expect to only be able to spend about 30 hours on the project. Here is what I hope to accomplish:


1. Install a lot more insulation and vapour barrier, and maybe even finish that task.

2. Start to nail the interior plywood to the walls and ceiling.

3. Install some board and batten siding and vented soffits on the west wall.

4. (perhaps) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.

There are two pictures this week:


(1) This is an exterior view showing the two north walls of the shop (a perspective that I have not shown before).

(2) View from my neighbour's back yard showing the incomplete west wall.

[nic obie]

As usual, very nice.

Are those propane bottles? They would keep my BBQ going for 10 years!

:)

[Frank Pellow]

...

Are those propane bottles? They would keep my BBQ going for 10 years!

:)

Yes, they each hold 60 pounds of propane (the normal BBQ size holds 25). They are going to be used with a propane space heater in the shop and the position in which they appear in the photo is just about where tey will be when I hook them up.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Frank.....3M makes a spray adhesive that works well.....you spray a little one the studs or rafters......insert the bats.....they stay while you put up the vapor barrier.......works well with walls and it should work well with ceilings and make your installation a little easier. You're cruising right along on you shop!

[Frank Pellow]

Frank.....3M makes a spray adhesive that works well.....you spray a little one the studs or rafters......insert the bats.....they stay while you put up the vapor barrier.......works well with walls and it should work well with ceilings and make your installation a little easier. You're cruising right along on you shop!

Thanks Ken, I will check into it. By the way, I am using the same insulation (rock wool R21.5) on my walls with no problem and I also used it in my floor with no problem. Somehow, the increase in size to 24 inch centres (as are in my ceiling) makes the stuff too heavy to support its own weight with friction.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks Ken, I will check into it. By the way, I am using the same insulation (rock wool R21.5) on my walls with no problem and I also used it in my floor with no problem. Somehow, the increase in size to 24 inch centres (as are in my ceiling) makes the stuff too heavy to support its own weight with friction.
Having worked in the insulation contracting business for a couple of years, I can confirm that the behavior you're describing with 24" OC material is not unusual, especially with the thinner R19/R21.5 stuff. Brand also makes a difference. R30 from OC is pretty stiff and usually stays put pretty well. The same spec material from Certainteed is less inclined to cooperate in that respect.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nice progress Frank! Be sure and keep your hours totalled so we can find out how many you invested in your new shop. It sure looks nice!

[Frank Pellow]

Nice progress Frank! Be sure and keep your hours totalled so we can find out how many you invested in your new shop. It sure looks nice!

Thanks Kelly. I think that I will review my notes and estimate how many hours that I have spent on the project. I am sure that the number will be BIG.

[JayStPeter]

Looks real good Frank.

Are you using the thin metal stays for the insulation. I used it to hold the insulation into the ceiling of my basement shop before I got everything in. They are just thin rods that are slightly longer than 24" and have pointy ends to poke into the rafters. Usually used for crawl spaces. I actually used 16" OC, but I KNOW they make 24" because I bought them by mistake the first time. The display rack at HD was setup so they all looked the same size.

Jay

[Frank Pellow]

Looks real good Frank.

Are you using the thin metal stays for the insulation. I used it to hold the insulation into the ceiling of my basement shop before I got everything in. They are just thin rods that are slightly longer than 24" and have pointy ends to poke into the rafters. Usually used for crawl spaces. I actually used 16" OC, but I KNOW they make 24" because I bought them by mistake the first time. The display rack at HD was setup so they all looked the same size.

Jay

Thanks Jay, I am going to HD later this morning and will check to see if they have them here.

[Tyler Howell]

Looking good Frank!

I wonder what it's like to work with new construction and materials:confused: ;)

[John Miliunas]

Looking good Frank!

I wonder what it's like to work with new construction and materials:confused: ;)

Yeah, me too! :( OK, so I've had some new materials, but still constantly need to mate it to the old garbage! :mad: Frank, it's really coming along nicely and I've also used those rods Jay talks about. They work nice! :cool:

[Frank Pellow]

…Are you using the thin metal stays for the insulation. I used it to hold the insulation into the ceiling of my basement shop before I got everything in. They are just thin rods that are slightly longer than 24" and have pointy ends to poke into the rafters. Usually used for crawl spaces. I actually used 16" OC, but I KNOW they make 24" because I bought them by mistake the first time. The display rack at HD was setup so they all looked the same size.


… I've also used those rods Jay talks about. They work nice! :cool:

I tried several places to get the stays/rods that you guys refered to with no success. So, what I ended up doing, was to use steel strapping and it seems to work OK. A photo is attached.

[Jim Becker]

Now that's some insulation I haven't seen in a very long time! Around here, it only gets used in commercial buildings in specific areas; particularly as part of fire blocking. Rockwool is nasty stuff... :D (Shower with cold/tepid water after working with it to avoid getting it in your pores...)

[Don Abele]

Frank, I may have missed it, but with all the hassles associated with rock wool, why are you using it as opposed to standard fiberglass batts?

Be well,

Doc

[Bart Leetch]

I used to install both fiberglass & Rock-wool commercially I always wore a mask & never noticed any difference. The only thing I wouldn't do is wear a long sleeve shirt because the insulation always seemed to get inside the shirt & the sleeves rubbed on it & made it worse. The advise to take a cool shower & soap down & rinse twice is right on. :D

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, I may have missed it, but with all the hassles associated with rock wool, why are you using it as opposed to standard fiberglass batts?

Be well,

Doc

There are several reasons:

- The rock wool batts provide a larger R value in the same space than does fiberglass.

- I am told that critters do not like rock wool (whereas, mice seem to like the fiberglass in our house).

- Rock wool is more moisture resistant.

- I find that the rock wool batts are much easier to cut. This is important when installing them around electric wires and fixtures.

-The environmentalist in me likes the fact that a considerable portion of the batts that I am using is recycled material.

[Frank Pellow]

Jim and Bart, thanks for the advice. Like you Bart, I don't find rock wool any more offensive to work with than fiberglass. I am wearing a mask, a hat, a long sleeve shirt with a quilted lining (also good for the cold weather we have right now), and coveralls. The shirt and the coveralls stay in the shop, and I have a shower before dinner each night. By the way, I am not wearing gloves, but I do wash my hand a lot.

So far, the time that I have had to work installing insulation has been very hit and miss, but I hope to get in a full day tomorrow and finish the job.

[Frank Pellow]

This week, I only managed to work on the shop for between 25 and 30 hours.

My objectives for the week were:


1. Install a lot more insulation and vapour barrier, and maybe even finish that task.

2. Start to nail the interior plywood to the walls and ceiling.

3. Install some board and batten siding and vented soffits on the west wall.

4. (perhaps) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.

Here is how I did:

1. The insulation is all installed and about 2/3 of that is covered with the vapour barrier. :)

2. I did get started on the plywood panels, but only just. Two out of thirty four panels are now nailed up.

3. No more of the board and batten siding or vented soffits were installed. :(

4. I didn't do any more electrical work this week. :(

Next week, I hope to:

1. Finish installing the vapour barrier.

2. Continue nailing interior plywood to the walls and ceiling.

3. Install some board and batten siding and vented soffits on the west wall.

4. (probably) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.

5. Take delivery of my wood stove and (perhaps) install it.

Both pictures this week show the installation on the walls and ceiling of the shop.

[nic obie]

The roof is on. Insulation is in.

Looks like you are good to go for the winter.

Don't work too hard now, you'll be needing energy to enjoy it once built.

Rome wasnt' built in a day either................. ;)

[Kelly C. Hanna]

looks good frank. I know there's never enough time to do what you want to in the shop. Actually right now I am praying for rain so I can do a few things in mine!

[Frank Pellow]

The roof is on. Insulation is in.

Looks like you are good to go for the winter.

Don't work too hard now, you'll be needing energy to enjoy it once built.

Rome wasnt' built in a day either................. ;)

No Nic, I am afraid that there is still a lot to do before it is ready for the winter (e.g. instal door trim, install propane space heater) and even more before the shop becomes operational (e.g. nail up interior plywood, instal dust control system, finish electrical installation). Rather than slow down, I hope to speed up over the next month.

[Frank Pellow]

I put in about 50 hours on the shop this week (more than the 30 hours that I had anticipated) and accomplished a lot. :)

My objectives for the week were:

1. Finish installing the vapour barrier.
2. Continue nailing interior plywood to the walls and ceiling.
3. Install some board and batten siding and vented soffits on the west wall.
4. (probably) Get started on installing the sub-panel and the electrical service to the house.
5. Take delivery of my wood stove and (perhaps) install it.


Here is how I did:

1. The vapour barrier is all installed.
2. About a third of the interior plywood for the walls and ceiling is now installed.
3. No more board and batten siding was installed but the vented soffits have now been completed.
4. The sub-panel and the electrical service to the house are both installed and they have passed inspection already :) :) . I have one temporary receptacle now operational in the shop. I have also started to fill in the trench and to eliminate the big pile of clay that was shown in post #49 in this thread.
5. The wood stove is in the shop but not yet installed. I first need to finish the floor in the area where the stove is to go and I have not yet decided if I just want to buy a pad or to install ceramic tile.
• I also installed a peg board which is a small start at reducing the clutter in the shop.

Next week, I again expect to be able to spend about 50 hours on the shop. Here is what I hope to accomplish:

1. Get to the point where at least 3/4 of the plywood is installed on the walls and the ceiling.
2. Install some board and batten siding on the west wall. I have run out of the boards that I stained last winter, so have to stain some more.
3. Finish filling in the trench.
4. (perhaps) Install some of the permanent receptacles and lights.
5. (perhaps) Install the wood stove.

There are several pictures this week.

(1) Me pushing the stove up the ramp into the shop. I now know that I can handle 230 pound this way. I wonder what my limit is?
(2) Conduit for the electricity in part of the trench.
(3) The sub-panel. It is a Square D Load Centre 100 amps with 32 slots.
(4) View of the interior of the shop from the south window.
(5)View of the interior of the shop from the north-east window.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Now that's starting to look like a shop Frank! You made great progress this week. At this rate you'll be finished before too long!

[Jim Becker]

Lookin' great, Frank!! It really starts to look like a room once the insulation and vapor barrier go up, further bolstered by the plywood. Won't be long and you'll be making sawdust for projects instead of the shop!!

Question...is it my imagination or did you invert the load center? I've never seen them with the large breaker spot on the bottom.

[Frank Pellow]

...
Question...is it my imagination or did you invert the load center? I've never seen them with the large breaker spot on the bottom.

Yes, the load centre is inverted. I like it better that way (as does my electrician friend Mario)

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I guest that makes sense in a way as the run from the main panel will not have to completely wrap around the breaker space since your feed is coming up from the floor.

[Boyd Gathwright]

Looking good Frank, it’s coming right along, just in time for winter. Like the way you’re putting the barrier material up.

Looking good.

<O:p</O:p

Boyd ;)

.


I put in about 50 hours on the shop this week (more than the 30 hours that I had anticipated) and accomplished a lot. :)

[Frank Pellow]

Yes, I guest that makes sense in a way as the run from the main panel will not have to completely wrap around the breaker space since your feed is coming up from the floor.

That would be the main reason, But I also prefer the height of the breakers in the inverted panel.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hi Frank,

looking really good. No that you added the pegboard everyone can see that this building will be used as a shop. :)
BTW, how cold is it in your area at the moment?

Regards,

Christian

[Frank Pellow]

Hi Frank,

looking really good. No that you added the pegboard everyone can see that this building will be used as a shop. :)
BTW, how cold is it in your area at the moment?

Regards,

Christian
Thanks Christian.

Don't be so sure that pegfboard makes it a shop -my wife has a big pegboard in her sewing room.

I just looked at the thermometer, and it is 7 degrees (Celsius) at 10:45 Eaastern Standard time. For me, that is OK working weather as long as it is not also rainy or windy (and it isn't).

[Christian Aufreiter]

Thanks Christian.

Don't be so sure that pegfboard makes it a shop -my wife has a big pegboard in her sewing room.



Sewing room is also some kind of shop IMO. Just different tools and materials. ;)

Christian

[Frank Pellow]

Sewing room is also some kind of shop IMO. Just different tools and materials. ;)

Christian

Right you are Christian. I stand corrected. :o

[Chris Padilla]

Hey, looks cozy in there.... :)

[John Miliunas]

Making great progress there, Frank. I will admit that the inverted load center is something I've never seen before, but hey, if it works.... :D I note you're still running around with short sleeves on. Must be working hard! :) :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

That would be the main reason, But I also prefer the height of the breakers in the inverted panel.
But now your electrons will be fighting gravity, Frank! :) You'll have to take an 80% derating now!;)

Your panel will now also open like a Japanese book. :D

[Frank Pellow]

That should have been obvious to me but it wasn't. :confused: Yesterday, I installed 25mm conduit for my gas line then I tried to either push or pull 10mm "flexible" copper pipe through it. NO WAY -all I ended up doing was putting kinks in the copper tubing and frustrating myself. :mad: In the end, I cut away the conduit, straightened the tubing and (after 6 hours of useless work) :( called it a day.

Today, I started afresh and installed the conduit around the tubing rather than the other way around. It was a little slow going but worked well. :) See the first attached photo (1).

I am attaching three photos of the line.


(2) starting out side at the twin propane tanks (yet to be hooked up)

(3) the line entering the shop and snaking over the double doors

(4) the kerosene heater is in the location where the propane space heater (Empire direct vent 35,000 BTU) will go.

By the way the kerosene heater is keeping the workshop workable while waiting for the propane space heater. It 5 degrees (Celsius) outside right now and 13 degrees inside.

[Chris Padilla]

You can run gas through copper lines? I've never heard of that (which doesn't mean anything, really). Why didn't you put the gas line in the wall? Are you allowed? It seems a shame to have conduit mounted on the outside of the wall of a brand new building but that is me. I hate pipes/conduit on the outside of walls.

Steady progress, Frank. I'm sure we've all wasted LOADS of time doing task like you tried (I sure have). Live and Learn.

[Steve Stube]

A couple of comments FWIW.

"Yes, the load centre is inverted. I like it better that way (as does my electrician friend Mario)"

Electrical Codes are based on standardization and convention for reasons of safety. Split second decisions by rescue workers doesn't leave a lot of time to search out "one mans opinion" versus convention. A Service Entrance inverted electrical panel would not be allowed without a stern reminder that convention is for your safety and the safety of anyone in your shop whither it be a friend or fire rescue. When you deviate from convention you may also run the risk of voiding insurance policies.

Why didn't you go under your shop with the gas line and enter up thru the floor as opposed to the way you have it? Even digging it in around the perrimeter and up to your heating unit seems a better alternative to the decorative wall art.

I don't mean to rain on your parade and I do hope I can mention my observations without offence to you. I think you have a fine shop that will be a joy to work in. I look forward with great enthusiasm to seeing your progress each time you update this thread.

[Frank Pellow]

A couple of comments FWIW.

"Yes, the load centre is inverted. I like it better that way (as does my electrician friend Mario)"

Electrical Codes are based on standardization and convention for reasons of safety. Split second decisions by rescue workers doesn't leave a lot of time to search out "one mans opinion" versus convention. A Service Entrance inverted electrical panel would not be allowed without a stern reminder that convention is for your safety and the safety of anyone in your shop whither it be a friend or fire rescue. When you deviate from convention you may also run the risk of voiding insurance policies.

Why didn't you go under your shop with the gas line and enter up thru the floor as opposed to the way you have it? Even digging it in around the perrimeter and up to your heating unit seems a better alternative to the decorative wall art.

I don't mean to rain on your parade and I do hope I can mention my observations without offence to you. I think you have a fine shop that will be a joy to work in. I look forward with great enthusiasm to seeing your progress each time you update this thread.

There no offense taken at all Steve. In fact, I thank you for raising the issues. :) And, I am glad that you enjoy reading about my progress (or, sometimes, lack of progress).

The Electrical code in Ontario is quite happy with an inverted panel or sub-panel. Sideways is even allowed. In fact, when the inspector has saw the sub-panel, he commneted that inverted installation is quite normal for a auxilary buildings linked to the main building with underground cable.

By the time I decided on propane rather than natural gas, it was to late to put the gas line under the shop. I thought about putting the gas line around the perimeter but, in the end, I felt that it was safer to have the line inside where I could see it. Chris my "out of site, out of mind" concern is also the reason that I did not bury the gas line in the wall.

About the decorative "wall art", I expect that this is only the first that sort of thing that will eventually "enhance" the shop.

[Frank Pellow]

I worked for about 50 hours on the shop again this week. But, I did not accomplish as much as last week.

My objectives for the week were:

1. Get to the point where at least 3/4 of the plywood is installed on the walls and the ceiling.

2. Install some board and batten siding on the west wall. I have run out of the boards that I stained last winter, so have to stain some more.

3. Finish filling in the trench.

4. (perhaps) Install some of the permanent receptacles and lights in the shop.

5. (perhaps) Install the wood stove.

Here is how I did:

1. I would estimate that about 80% of the plywood is now installed (slightly more than my objective).

2. I cut and stained about half the required boards and installed a few of them.

One thing that I did this time that I neglected to do with the boards that I stained last winter and spring was that I painted the knots with shellac before applying the stain. The knots have bled through the stain of the other boards which means that next spring I will have to go back over them applying shellac then re-staining them all. :( Live and learn. :)

3. The trench is filled in. But, there is a lot of clay left over. I expect the trench to compress over the winter then I will be able to get rid of some of the clay that way next spring. But, I will be left with some that will need disposal somewhere.

4. No more electrical work was done this week.

5. I did not install the wood stove. Instead, I decided to concentrate on the propane space heater (see next item).

• I installed the gas line for the space heater (as reported in post #223 earlier this week), but did not yet install the heater.

Next week, I again expect to be able to spend about 50 hours on the shop. Here is what I hope to accomplish:

1. Finish installing the plywood on the walls and the ceiling.

2. Finish cutting and staining the boards for the west wall and install some more of them.

3. Install the propane space heater. Snow is forecast for tonight so I am a little late with this.

4. Install some more door hardware and some interior trim in order to cut out drafts around the doors.

5. (probably) Install some of the permanent receptacles and lights in the shop. In particular, I want to test two different brands of fluorescent light fixtures.

6. Start laying the second layer of plywood on the floor. This is 1/2" G1S fir that I am going to paint grey. The areas that I will start with are the woodstove corner and the dust controller alcove .

There are two pictures this week both taken from the south end of the shop. The occupied by all the Festool stuff is where I am going to place the Oneida (2hp commercial) dust control unit.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Two layers of ply is a great idea Frank, I did that in my first workshop. Makes for a more stable floor.

[Steve Stube]

Frank, do you plan to stagger joints, glue and nail that second layer?

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

Frank
The shop's coming along and looking great. Ya better get that heater going though, it's getting cold out there. I should start showing all of you my shop progress too. If I show a work schedule, maybe I'd stick to it and get more done.:rolleyes:
Let me know how you make out with those flourescent lights. I have a couple I've been looking at as well. I want to get away from the cheaper shop lights and get a commercial grade fixture. It'll probably last longer.
Thanks for running progress...looking good.

[Frank Pellow]

Two layers of ply is a great idea Frank, I did that in my first workshop. Makes for a more stable floor.
That's my experience too. I built the "shed" building at Pellow's Camp with two layers of plywood on the floor.



Frank, do you plan to stagger joints, glue and nail that second layer?
Yes. But, I might use screws rather than nails. I had better decide soon, eh!



Frank
The shop's coming along and looking great. Ya better get that heater going though, it's getting cold out there. .
Yes, I checked the shop about 10 minutes ago and it is 1 degree Celcius inside. I turned on my portable kerosene heater and expect that the temperature will be up to about 4 or 5 when I start work in about helf an hour.



I should start showing all of you my shop progress too. If I show a work schedule, maybe I'd stick to it and get more done.:rolleyes: .
It works for me.



Let me know how you make out with those fluorescent lights. I have a couple I've been looking at as well. I want to get away from the cheaper shop lights and get a commercial grade fixture. It'll probably last longer.
I am deciding between a relatively cheap light and one that is a lot more expensive. I will let you know.

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

I am deciding between a relatively cheap light and one that is a lot more expensive. I will let you know.
I use Lowes Home Improvement Store here in North Carolina. They have a cheap shop light for $8. Then they have 2 commercial type lights (both are 4' long)...One goes for $17 and the other goes for $24. I'm not sure what the difference in the 2 lights are. I've used the $8 one before and found the ballast doesn't hold up.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, you need low temp capable lights for sure...and the T8s are great, especially with "daylight" bulbs. Pay the piper now so you don't have to replace them after dissatisfaction. Been there...done that...

[Frank Pellow]

I put in about 55 hours on the shop this week. A lot was accomplished.

My objectives for the week were:


1. Finish installing the plywood on the walls and the ceiling.

2. Finish cutting and staining the boards for the west wall and install some more of them.

3. Install the propane space heater. Snow is forecast for tonight so I am a little late with this.

4. Install some more door hardware and some interior trim in order to cut out drafts around the doors.

5. (probably) Install some of the permanent receptacles and lights in the shop. In particular, I want to test two different brands of fluorescent light fixtures.

6. Start laying the second layer of plywood on the floor. This is 1/2" G1S fir that I am going to paint grey. The areas that I will start with are the woodstove corner and the dust controller alcove .

Here is how I did:


1. Did not quite finish the ceiling and walls because I ran out of plywood. One more sheet was needed -I now have the sheet and it has been painted but I am waiting for the paint to dry. I have also started to sand the installed plywood then to apply a second coat of paint.

2. All the boards and battens are cut and most of those are stained. But, only about 10% of them have been installed.

3. The propane space heater (Empire 35,000 BTU direct vent) is installed and appears to be working well.

4. Most of the hardware and all of the trim is installed around both the double doors and the single door. What remains is door knob and lock set for the single door and I need to figure out how to handle the fact that the door is too wide for the lock set.

5. Most of the 20 amp 120 volt receptacles are installed and some of the lights are installed.

6. I got a good start on installing the top layer of plywood. I am both gluing and screwing down the panels.

Next week, I again expect to be able to spend about 50 hours on the shop. Here is what I hope to accomplish:


1. Finish installing the plywood on the walls and the ceiling. Sand then paint about half of the installed plywood.

2. Install all of the boards and battens on the west wall.

3. Finish installing the top layer of plywood on the floor. Also, get a good start at applying a second coat of paint on the floor.

4. Install the wood stove and have a ceremonial fire.

5. (perhaps) Install some more receptacles and lights.

6. (perhaps) Get started at putting together my dust control system (Oneida 2hp Commercial).

There are two pictures this week both of the shop interior -one from the north end and one from the south end.

[Frank Pellow]

Frank, you need low temp capable lights for sure...and the T8s are great, especially with "daylight" bulbs. Pay the piper now so you don't have to replace them after dissatisfaction. Been there...done that...
T8 C-50 (as close as I could find to real daylight) it is what it is going to be.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Lookin' good Frank. I can't wait to see the woodstove!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Great progress, Frank! I wished I was a close to being done as you are!

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

Frank
Just curious. I was wondering why you used plywood on the walls and ceiling instead of sheet rock? I had planned on using sheetrock in my shop. Still a little ways away though. I just installed the electrical service to the shop over the weekend.
Thanks,
Bob

[Frank Pellow]

Bob, three reasons come immediately to mind:

1. I hate working with sheet rock

2. The plywood I am using is lighter than sheet rock and therefore easier to install on the ceiling.

3. I am less likely to damage the plywood when I hit it with a plank (as I am sure to do in the future).

Getting your electrical service hooked up is a big step. Do you have any outlets/lights working in the shop yet?

[Bob Worrel Jr.]

Frank
Yes we managed to get one circuit in before dark last night. The 3 garage doors now open on a push of a button....Yeahhhh. Each one does have a light. So, technically I have lights in the shop and garage, if only for 10 minutes at a time. :)
How thick is the plywood you're putting up. It's looking great BTW.

[Frank Pellow]

The plywood is very thin (5mm) but appears to be quite strong.

[Boyd Gathwright]

…. Frank, Your work appears to be progressing nicely. I agree with you on your reasoning for using plywood on the walls and ceiling and I would like to help add to your list of reasons. It also is convenient when you need to hang or install something, especially something that you hadn’t planned now for in the future. This way you won’t have to go looking for a stud in order to have a good secure mount for whatever. By the way, what size plywood, thickness, did you use? You’re doing what I did with my first shop and I always felt and still do it’s an excellent idea.
<O:p</O:p

I continue to wish you my best on your progress.

<O:p</O:p

Boyd ;)
.

[Frank Pellow]

The plywood is made in Brazil. I am not sure of the type of wood used. It is inexpensive -13.47 (Cdn $) a sheet and, in Canada, it is available at Home Depot. I am attaching a photo of the label.

Boyd, because the plywood is so thin, I usually have to find a stud.

[Steve Stube]

Frank, you are moving steadly forward and I'm happy for you that that you now have heat to keep you comfy. The task at hand goes so much better when you don't have to fight the elements/cold. Your shop is really taking shape.Careful with painting inside now with the possible ignition source in your heater.

[Frank Pellow]

I put in about 40 hours on the shop this week. This was not as much as expected, so I did not get as much done as I wanted to.

My objectives for the week were:

1. Finish installing the plywood on the walls and the ceiling. Sand then paint about half of the installed plywood.

2. Install all of the boards and battens on the west wall.

3. Finish installing the top layer of plywood on the floor. Also, get a good start at applying a second coat of paint on the floor.

4. Install the wood stove and have a ceremonial fire.

5. (perhaps) Install some more receptacles and lights.

6. (perhaps) Get started at putting together my dust control system.

Here is how I did:

1. All the -plywood is now installed on the walls and ceiling. All the ceiling has a second coat of paint and about 2/3 of the walls have a second coat of paint. This is a bit better than expected.

2. All the boards and battens are stained. But, only about 25% of them have been installed. This is not as good as expected.

3. The top layer of plywood is installed and there is second coat of paint on about 25% of the floor. This is just about what expected to get done.

4. I did not quite get the wood stove installed because I am missing the part to connect the chimney to the stove pipe. A picture is attached.

5. No more electrical work was done.

6. The dust control stuff is in the shop. (See my posting # 74 on Saturday to the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7853&page=5&pp=15) I have investigated the installation but have not yet started.

Next week, I will probably only spend about 25 hours working on the shop. Here is what I hope to accomplish:

1. Finish painting the walls.

2. Finish installing the boards and battens on the west wall.

3. Finish painting the floor.

4. Install the wood stove and have a ceremonial fire.

5. (perhaps) Install some more receptacles and lights.

6. (perhaps) Get started at putting together my dust control system.

The only picture this week is of the wood stove sitting in position and waiting to be connected to the chimney. The stove is in a little alcove in one corner of the shop and divided from the dust control unit by a partial interior wall. I will also place a chair or two, a drawing table, and a bookcase, in the alcove.

[Rob Russell]

I'm sure that wood stove will feel nice during those balmy Canadian winters :-).

Question on the walls near the stove - does local code require you to install some sort of nonflammable wall covering over the sheetrock? Yes, I know that the rock itself is fire rated, but some areas are really picky about stove installations and I'm curious as to what your local rules are. You also might want to use a metal cover plate on the receptacle on the left - I'd guess a plastic one might deform from the radiated heat off the stove.

Overall your shop is looking great - nice to see the project moving along so quickly.

[Frank Pellow]

I'm sure that wood stove will feel nice during those balmy Canadian winters :-).

Question on the walls near the stove - does local code require you to install some sort of nonflammable wall covering over the sheetrock? Yes, I know that the rock itself is fire rated, but some areas are really picky about stove installations and I'm curious as to what your local rules are. You also might want to use a metal cover plate on the receptacle on the left - I'd guess a plastic one might deform from the radiated heat off the stove.

Overall your shop is looking great - nice to see the project moving along so quickly.

Rob, I am looking forward to the winter day when I take a break from a "real" woodworking project, pull up my chair in from of the fire, sip on some coffee and a couple of home made oatmeal cookies (I make the best), and gaze alternately at the fire inside and the snow outside.

That is not sheetrock -it is painted plywood and, yes, I do have to install a nonflammable wall covering. I am still toying with the idea of installing white ceramic tile but I expect that, instead I will use the same type of pad as you can see under the stove.

About the cover, I will probably use a ceramic.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I love the woodstove!! Hope you get more time this week to work in the shop.

[JayStPeter]

Way to go Frank. You've got to be able to taste it now ;) . The transition from construction to woodworking is definitely sweet.

That DC looks familiar. Good choice. Get help. I actually managed to get the main unit up on the brackets. But, I couldn't hold, align, and clamp the cone on. Sheesh, pulled my back out getting that main unit up and still couldn't finish it myself. :rolleyes:

Jay

[Christian Aufreiter]

Come on, Frank :) . You write an enormously long post and explain what you got done during the last week and then there's only ONE pic :confused: :D
Congrats on the stove, I could need some kind of heating for my shop too.

Regards,

Christian