Frank's Workshop Construction Project

[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! 'Round these parts, white ones denote supervisors!

[Chris Padilla]

Hey Frank,

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

(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.

[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".
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[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! It's starting to look "homey"! I'll bet you can't wait to have it closed up!