Get it finished and we'll have to petition the mods to change your name to "ClintTwoShedsO"
I'm building a shed.
- Thread starter ClintO
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FWIW, I'm not a big fan of shed kits in general. I had a 8'x12' kit from Lowe's sometime ago; when I got the walls up, I took a level to them and found 0 out of 4 straight. I pulled the walls back down and checked the lumber, only to find it poor quality and warped. The floor wasn't much better (2x4s with some kind of extension piece nailed to a side), so I ended up DXing the whole thing. I used the materials list with the kit to buy materials on my own, then I returned the kit.
I spent about $20 more on my own than with the kit, but the shed came out 1000% better.
If you're raising walls on your own, my recommendation is to get some extra 2x4s and make some cleats and props out of them. Take a short piece (maybe about a foot or so long) and nail it to the center of the floor. Raise a wall, then take a long 2x4 and prop it between your cleat and the wall. Get the wall plumb, then nail the prop to the wall. If the wall extends to the end of the floor, take another prop and nail it up to the wall and the baseboard of the floor. That'll keep the walls braced up until you get them all in place...it's no fun having a wall fall on you. Ask me how I know
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Sadly, on a personal note, a house fire took my shed from me. I'm known in certain shed circles as "jrpnoshed316". No shed.
I spent about $20 more on my own than with the kit, but the shed came out 1000% better.
If you're raising walls on your own, my recommendation is to get some extra 2x4s and make some cleats and props out of them. Take a short piece (maybe about a foot or so long) and nail it to the center of the floor. Raise a wall, then take a long 2x4 and prop it between your cleat and the wall. Get the wall plumb, then nail the prop to the wall. If the wall extends to the end of the floor, take another prop and nail it up to the wall and the baseboard of the floor. That'll keep the walls braced up until you get them all in place...it's no fun having a wall fall on you. Ask me how I know
.Sadly, on a personal note, a house fire took my shed from me. I'm known in certain shed circles as "jrpnoshed316". No shed.
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- #25
Ah yes well one of the biggest reasons I decided to do the kit was that I'm less confident on my cutting abilities than anything else. That actually brings another issue to mind: The floor boards did not come with the kit. The kit recommended OSB and the only ones Home Depot had that matched the dimensions were tongue-in-groove. I assumed that'd be a good thing but the damn boards end up coming out about 1 1/2" short on the frame. I assume the tongues were added into the width of the board and I lost that space when they went into the grooves. So the floor where the back of the shed is located has the back floor frame board exposed. Now, I thought about cutting a piece of plywood about an inch wide and putting that down as a kind of filler but my stupid circular saw won't cut through it. I don't know if it's the blade, the saw, or the board. I bought a Ryobi 18v 5 1/2" circular saw and the blade just kind of smokes(burning wood smell) and then stops after cutting about an inch so I gave up on that pretty quickly. The board of the back wall sticks out enough that there will be room to nail it to the floorboards still and then of course the sheathing will be exposed enough to nail into the floor frame but I'm still nervous this will be an issue.
On a lighter note I have finished constructing all four sides of the shed and with the squarer tool(I got one of the triangle shaped ones) and my new level everything looks pretty good except for this issue with the floorboards. The walls are heavy so I'm not even going to attempt to attach the temporary supports by myself and I'm hoping to have someone come over and help me tomorrow weather permitting.
Someone should really consider writing a "Building Sheds for Dummies"
On a lighter note I have finished constructing all four sides of the shed and with the squarer tool(I got one of the triangle shaped ones) and my new level everything looks pretty good except for this issue with the floorboards. The walls are heavy so I'm not even going to attempt to attach the temporary supports by myself and I'm hoping to have someone come over and help me tomorrow weather permitting.
Someone should really consider writing a "Building Sheds for Dummies"
How thick is that OSB that you picked up? Flooring is usually 5/8" to 3/4" thick. I've cut a lot of plywood in my time, never once had any trouble with the saw getting through it. If you're burning the wood, you might be bearing down too hard or trying to cut too fast. Also, what are the dimensions of your shed? Ideally, sheds/houses use dimensions that are multiples of 4. Using a multiple of 4 (based on 16" or 24" stud centers and 4'x8' standard plywood sheets) cuts down on materials waste and cuts.
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- #27
The shed is 12x8. I don't recall the exact thickness of the OSB but I believe it was 5/8. It threw me off quite a bit and I went back and triple checked the floor frame and measured it multiple times and it seems to be correct. I'll take a picture of the issue when I get home from work.
I second this..something not right if you can't cut it. Is your saw blade installed the right way? In most cases the blades are directional. There should be an arrow on the blade that points in the direction of the blade rotation.
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- #29
That is QUITE possible. I'll double check that when I get home. I know a lot of this stuff is something most of ya'll don't have to think twice about but this is all pretty new to me. I appreciate all the input.
Also just make sure you have the saw cutting in a perfectly straight line, if you go off line slightly at an angle the blade will bind, especially noticeable on diy cordless saws as they don't have the oomph to overcome it
How do you know its no fun having a wall fall on you ? especially since you don't have a shed.
ClintO are you planing to shave in your shed ?
will it be a shaving shed or will you build another shed especially for shaving ?
If you are getting a tool try to get a good one. I'm a craftsman person, but snap-on DeWalt,Makita, Stanley and other tool manufacturers are good.
Avoid the cheep "made in china" tool they brake wear out burn out and are not worth the money in the long run, not to mention some are just not safe.
will it be a shaving shed or will you build another shed especially for shaving ?
If you are getting a tool try to get a good one. I'm a craftsman person, but snap-on DeWalt,Makita, Stanley and other tool manufacturers are good.
Avoid the cheep "made in china" tool they brake wear out burn out and are not worth the money in the long run, not to mention some are just not safe.
No shed, there I was...in my shed, having fun playing a game of Monopoly when suddenly the wall fell on me. I had just taken Boardwalk, then the board apparently decided to walk on me. I distinctly remember having fun, then suddenly not having fun. I thought for sure that my ex girlfriend was haunting me...we'd just heard on the news that a house fell on her somewhere in the East. A wicked witch was she.
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- #34
The blade was in fact going the wrong way so I fixed that and sliced through the plywood like butter.
As for the tools, I purchased a 20v Skil power drill, an 18v Ryobi 5 1/2" circular saw, a Husky 8 gallon 1.5hp air compressor, and then some nail guns. The roofing nail gun I got at Harbor Freight for 65$. I know it's cheap and of poor quality but I don't plan on roofing ever again after this job and renting one at Home Depot was 50$/day and the cheapest one they had was 200$. I figured for 65 I could just exchange it if it breaks at all while using it and if it makes it through the shed then I'm golden. I then purchase a kit by Freeman that had 4 nail guns in it. I had never heard of the brand but it got fantastic reviews on Home Depot as well as Amazon. It was 228$ for the framing nail gun and three other smaller ones that might come in handy down the road.
As for the tools, I purchased a 20v Skil power drill, an 18v Ryobi 5 1/2" circular saw, a Husky 8 gallon 1.5hp air compressor, and then some nail guns. The roofing nail gun I got at Harbor Freight for 65$. I know it's cheap and of poor quality but I don't plan on roofing ever again after this job and renting one at Home Depot was 50$/day and the cheapest one they had was 200$. I figured for 65 I could just exchange it if it breaks at all while using it and if it makes it through the shed then I'm golden. I then purchase a kit by Freeman that had 4 nail guns in it. I had never heard of the brand but it got fantastic reviews on Home Depot as well as Amazon. It was 228$ for the framing nail gun and three other smaller ones that might come in handy down the road.
That is funny I knew of a girl who accidentally dropped a house on a lady, but that was quite far away. probably just a coincidence.
hope you were all right after the wall fell on you ? No side effects ? any unusual symptoms ?
DE shaving ? RAD ? using the Veg ?
ClintO you will have to wait till tomorrow for me to make fun of you for putting a saw blade in backwards.
say with all those power tools you are wearing safety glasses ?
a link to safety glasses
http://www.arco.co.uk/static/safety_glasses.html
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- #36
I actually got some prescription safety goggles from Zenni for about 15$ a while back for something else and I've been wearing those as well as ear protectors that I use for the shooting range while I'm using the nail gun. I may not be good at this stuff but I try to stay safe.
I made some progress today and managed to get all four sides up on my own. It's shaping up but I suppose the roof will be the tell for it all. My uncle is coming over tomorrow for a bit so I'll have some help for that. I think it's more the heat than the physical exertion but I have been drenched in sweat the past couple days and gone through at least a dozen powerades.
I made some progress today and managed to get all four sides up on my own. It's shaping up but I suppose the roof will be the tell for it all. My uncle is coming over tomorrow for a bit so I'll have some help for that. I think it's more the heat than the physical exertion but I have been drenched in sweat the past couple days and gone through at least a dozen powerades.
Lookin' good for a first time. Keep it up.
Looking good Clint... I have to say that you have really pulled that one out from under the bus! You should be super proud of your efforts and forbearance. Bravo!
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- #39
I appreciate it gentlemen. I'm going to build the rafters or roof supports or whatever they're called today and I have a couple people coming over tomorrow to help put them up along with the roof panels.
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- #40
It's been a week and all I have left to do is finishing the roof(ridge cap and cut the edges off) and caulk it all up. My wife even got what she wanted in terms of the paint matching the house.
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