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Thread: Another shop build thread

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
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    Piercefield, NY
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    Another shop build thread

    I've been asking a lot of questions over the last several months and figured I would start a new thread to show whatever progress I make on the shop. I finally got my building permit on Monday for the workshop next to my "new" house in the Adirondacks. The shop is to be 16x32, built on skids without a foundation since there is a town water line buried near one wall. There is no other space in the yard to put it in without being on a pretty substantial slope, so this is how it ended up being designed. I would have preferred a square footprint on a slab with a small loft above, but that's life. First world problems, as Jim Becker wisely said in another thread while I was planning.

    I went up on Monday and got the permit, unloaded everything out of the bus(tub/shower unit, 2 toilets, a sink, metal roofing, 2 metal chimneys, lot of electrical stuff, a pile of treated lumber for the skids, some joists for the kitchen floor, a wheelbarrow, etc), and drove about 5 miles over to a place that sells screened tailings from an old iron mine. I asked for a ton and a half but got a little over two. I shoveled it onto a tarp inside the bus, drove it back to the site, rolled out some plastic and shoveled it out and spread it. The inspector required the plastic and gravel.

    Tuesday I got another ton plus on my first trip, and then half a ton on the last trip. After loading the half ton I went to the nearby lumberyard only to find out that they didn't have 4x8x16 solid blocks, so after unloading the second lot of gravel I drove 45 miles to Potsdam and bought 60 blocks, and a bit more wood. Once I got back I spent some time placing and leveling blocks for the 36 support points. I put the treated wood for the skids on top of the blocks and basted them together with a screw at each end of each board.

    Wednesday I spent most of the day working on the outside part of the electrical installation. The crew came that morning and took down the drop that was still live to the old meter. About 4:30 I got done with that, started the generator and drilled 100 1/2" holes, 25 in each skid. I had bought some 5" bolts on eBay but they turned out not to be actually quite 5" and the ends were a bit tapered, so I was not able to actually put in the bolts. I ordered some 6" bolts that night that should be here soon. The inspector said not to use carriage bolts. The last picture shows the state of the job Wednesday evening. Thursday it rained so I mostly worked inside. I am supposed to be able to get my first installment of lumber from the Amish by Tuesday and am going to go back up Wednesday. My plan for next week if everything gets here in time and it doesn't rain too much is to put in the bolts and install the floor joists and the floor deck, which will both be rough cut pine. If that doesn't work out I'll spend my time putting the sills, joists and plywood into the kitchen floor instead. It will be nice when I have a floor in there, not just an aluminum plank across the void.
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  2. #2
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    Apr 2013
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    Black Oak Ark.
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    Excited to follow along w/ you . Good luck .

  3. #3
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    May 2018
    Location
    Lancaster, Ohio
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    1,346
    Looks like that bus is working out for you

  4. #4
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    A great start to what will be an interesting and rewarding project for you!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
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    1,659
    Thank you all very much. Yes, the bus is working well so far. I had an intermittent check engine light for bank 1 running lean, but it only came on at times when I pushed the bus harder climbing hills, and it seemed to still be running fine. I'll put in some injector cleaner and see if that might help. With gas prices like they are the operating cost seems to be about 50 cents a mile, but that's life.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
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    1,225
    Looks like an interesting project. I'll be following along. Glad to see the bus is working out for you.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    MT
    Posts
    698
    Looks like you are getting your money's worth out of the bus. That shovel looks like a coal scoop - looks like a workout. Good luck with your build.
    Regards,

    Kris

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
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    Thank you both very much. I finally have a little bit of progress to report.

    Maybe that is a coal scoop, I don't know. I got it at an auction and have bought a couple of virtually identical ones at the flea market in past years. I have seen something like this sold in a catalog as a "street scoop", too. I suppose that would be for cleaning up after horses, at a guess. I use it for sawdust, or anything in a pile, and as a long handled dustpan in concert with a push broom

    The bus is working very well so far, and I hope it will continue. I brought up a biggish load of wood this morning, and in town on the way this evening from the house to the motel it stalled and when I restarted it I got smoke and a burning rubber smell, so I shut it off. As I had suspected, the AC belt was the source of the smell and noise. The AC clutch or the compressor began making noise on my last trip but it got better before I got home. A friendly local policeman stopped to see if I needed help, and I told him what was going on, and crawled under the bus with a flashlight and a utility knife to cut the belt, but I found it had already broken so I just pulled it out. The serpentine belt runs everything else on this engine, and the AC has its own belt right behind the serpentine. I'll have to decide whether to get a new/rebuilt compressor unit or just do without AC.

    Today I counterbored the bolt holes in the skids using a 1-1/2" spade bit which made a nice though ragged hole, since my 6" bolts have been stranded in a sort facility in some place called Ybor City, Florida since Friday. I only had to go in about 1/2" to use the bolts I had, so it took a bit of time but it was well worth it not to have to wait. It took some time driving the bolts in and putting on the nuts and washers, but the tightening was quick with my ancient Makita 1/2" plug in impact wrench. Then I put the floor joists on. I still need to put on most of the little pieces of 2x2 that connect the joists to the skids, but with my plug in screw driver that will be pretty quick, and then I can put the floor boards down. I have enough 2x6 to frame one end wall, and then I'll have to wait till I bring the next load of lumber next week. In the meantime there is lots to do in the house, right now putting the joists and plywood in the kitchen floor. I think based on the forecast I'll be doing that tomorrow and completing this week's work on the workshop on Friday. I'm very thankful for the bus. It has really made things much more feasible, as I would otherwise have had to wait till the weight limit was taken off the roads so I could bring in a heavier rental truck.

    The electrical inspector called today to say he won't be able to come in the morning but will come in the afternoon tomorrow, or Friday morning. I hope he will be able to come this week sometime, and I hope even more that it all passes inspection when he does come.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Great progress there, Zachary! That framework came together nicely and once you get it decked it's going to be darn solid. Be sure you consider insulation now because "up slope" the space is clearly not going to be conducive to access from below. Tacking in support strips along the bottom of the joists would allow use of insulation board to slip down in before you put on the deck.

    The shovel type is pretty common. Metal ones indeed do likely date back to the days of coal, etc. Today's plastic versions are very popular for moving things like sawdust/shavings for horse stalls and things like mulch. The big pan of the shovel can hold a lot of material.

    Ybor City brings good memories of great Cuban food at a restaurant called Columbia...ate there several times over the years when i traveled for business.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Collegeville PA (30 min west of Philly)
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    You are one very resourceful person, and I admire that! Definitely following along
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Trenton SC, in the CSRA
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    510
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post

    Ybor City brings good memories of great Cuban food at a restaurant called Columbia...ate there several times over the years when i traveled for business.
    And the Flamenco dancers at the Columbia. Planning another visit in October.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa Bay, FL
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    3,895
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Ybor City brings good memories of great Cuban food at a restaurant called Columbia...ate there several times over the years when i traveled for business.
    It's still there, Jim. As well as a few other locations, one near me on the beach. Bummer your bolts got stalled there, Zachary. Not a clue why.

    You're off to an impressive start. And I think that bus idea is brilliant.

    Are you doing this by yourself? If so, even more impressive.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
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    Thank you all very much for your encouragement. It's nice to know that Ybor City is an actual place and not just a polite fiction for where packages go when they are no more.

    I just got back tonight, and I got some work done, though the jacking up, sill replacement and joist installation in the house kept me busy till about noon today so I had only 5 hours to work on the workshop, and then I wasted some of that time on the phone trying to get an answer from National Grid about when they will come and put in the wire and turn on the power. The good news is that the electric service passed inspection with only two minor changes required, both involving my having connected the ground wire to the wrong terminal. I was connecting them next to where the neutral terminals are, and instead I was supposed to put them in the big holes on the ground bars. The inspector was very nice, and I just sent him a picture to show that I had made the alterations before he sent the approval in. It's a relief to be past that, and it will be really nice when I can get power.

    I screwed the rest of the 100 little 2x2 pieces to the skids and the joists, and got half of the floor put on. I ordered all the floor boards as 2x8x12, and I have to cut both ends off all of them since they're rough cut. I did the first 8 which cover 2 feet by measuring and marking, and then I put the miter saw on the deck and screwed scraps on both sides to hold it, and screwed stops to the deck so I don't have to measure. I take a board off the pile and set it on top of the 2x4 to the right of the saw and cut off the left end. Then I slide it to the left all the way to the stop and cut off the other end, and have a 12 foot board. Once I have six 12 foot boards I make a third cut on two more boards. Once they are cut to 12 feet I slide them back to the right till they hit the 2x4 on the right, and that cut makes an 8 foot and a 4 foot board. This way I can start the generator, cut 8 boards in less than 5 minutes, and shut it off again. 8 boards does 2 feet of width on the 32 foot building with the board joints staggered 4 feet. It took 10 minutes or so to set up the stops, but not having to measure 56 boards will be much more efficient. I got half the floor boards cut and nailed down, and based on how long that took it should only be another 2 hours to get the rest of the deck done. It took about 9 pounds of 3-1/4" box nails for the half I did, so I'm glad I bought 18 of the 5 pound boxes they had at the ReStore for $3 a piece.

    I've abandoned hope of putting in insulation from below, it is indeed too tight of a space to be at all suitable. I'm planning to put some EPS or XPS (I forget which) foam on top of the floor boards and then put Advantech over that, as was recommended by a poster in an earlier thread where I asked for help.

    My work crew consists of me, my evil twin, our imaginary friend, and the man in the moon. We all keep looking for Jimmy Hoffa in all the holes we have to dig, but we haven't found him yet.
    Last edited by Zachary Hoyt; 04-15-2022 at 9:50 PM.

  14. #14
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    Mar 2003
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zachary Hoyt View Post

    I've abandoned hope of putting in insulation from below, it is indeed too tight of a space to be at all suitable. I'm planning to put some EPS or XPS (I forget which) foam on top of the floor boards and then put Advantech over that, as was recommended by a poster in an earlier thread where I asked for help.
    That's a good plan...you'll get about an R-10 from 2" of foam and will also have a pretty comfortable floor. If you skirt the structure after it's up, that should also help. Most heat loss is through the roof followed by walls and penetrations, so focusing most of your insulation efforts there will have bigger payback than getting too crazy on the floor. IMHO, of course...and you know how much you paid for it. LOL
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
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    Piercefield, NY
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    Thank you very much. It's all new to me to insulate in this way, but it sounds good in theory. I have always thought that floor insulation was less important, but something I read recently about insulation guidance from the government said that there should be more in the floor than the walls, which seemed odd to me. I would like to skirt the building but I have also heard from people about the importance of ventilation under there, so I am not sure. I'm thinking I'll maybe do the side walls solidly and put a removable panel in each end wall with a hardware cloth screen behind it so that I can open up the ends in the summer weather and close them for winter. I don't know if that's sensible or not. I think that keeping the sides solid will prevent water from splashing in under the building and getting the skids wet, or getting on top of the plastic. I can't do gutters very well in that climate without the ice tearing them off, and I don't think I'll need French drains because the ground is very sandy/gravelly and well drained.

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