Hi folks :) My workshop project

[krashbandikoot]

Hi all, I found this place when I was looking for insurance for my workshop since most of the insurance companies I'd spoken to wouldn't cover it under my house insurance or it was very very limited cover.

Anyway, after many years of filling out the house with my tools as well as packing out the brick shed with them I finally got around to building my own workshop which is a bit unique as it's split into 3 area's. The first being a work area for work to be carried out on my bike and when it was needed, the second area for metal work and welding and the 3rd area for woodwork.

Now the plan was to get a lovely table saw in there with panel cutting guides and what have you but sadly things didn't work out that way and it turns out 1) I put the doors in the wrong place & 2) Because of 1 I don't have the room to run full 8ft x 4ft sheets Still, no matter. I've got a lot more room than I had and can set out my tools so they're more easily found.

So the first job was to get section 1 in place and start with the decking:-

The decking is a simple construction, framing made up of 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 CLS which was glued and screwed together. For support I used lots of simple stakes sat on concrete off cuts which were just hammered into the ground. I found the more stakes I put in the more stable the floor was and given it had to take the weight of a motorcycle strength was very important.

Now with the decking for phase 1 installed I set about installing the initial framing as shown here:

So now the first phase of my workshop was complete. The roof was on, the walls in and some tools were set out.

So here's some phase 1 pics for your enjoyment:

As you can see I'd made up the door and installed it as well as putting in a work bench temporarily siting my two miter saws on the bench

With the above done I covered the inside of the door and tested it by riding the bike up and into the workshop to make sure the floor and door would take the weight without issue. The only real issue I had was that when the bike was put on its side stand the weight caused the floor to buckle a little. Being unhappy with this I added another couple of sheets of OSB making that part of the floor a triple layer.

This worked out well and the floor no longer buckled under the weight of the bike.

The above is an outside shot of the door. As you can see because I've had to level off the floor above the ground, (seriously! Digging out 10 ton to level the floor itself wasn't what I wanted to do), I've braced it with 3 heavy duty hinges and used a concrete post to brace the leading edge. Yes there's a gap above the door but that really isn't an issue.

So here's the door open and the bike up and in the work shop. I'm rather pleased with the way this has gone and the overall strength of not only the door but also the floor itself.

Although the lights I'd installed offered plenty of light, I decided I wanted some natural light so installed a window. This was a huge mistake as sadly the wind got to it and cracked one of the panes meaning water could get into the double glazed unit. Oh well, we live and learn don't we? :lol:

So with phase 1 complete I set out a few tools as you can see above. I'm going to have to continue this post in another post as I've reached my attachment limit

 

[krashbandikoot]

Part 2:

So here's another pic of phase 1 complete:

With that now done it was time to get the floor framing down for phase 2 of this project. Now you can see why the height of the floor is high to the front of the workshop, at ground level at the back there's a slight gap, just big enough to put in more stakes and more concrete off cuts for support.

With that complete I started to install the framing for the back end of the workshop. Given I was fast running out of space I decided that it was better to cover the area with plastic sheeting for the time being to ensure water didn't get onto my tools. This worked out surprisingly well and even on the colder days the inside temp was around 16c due to the greenhouse effect.

So two thirds of the workshop was up and in by now and this is as far as I got pic wise. I will take some more pics of the workshop as it is now, (it's around 90% done), but I'm having to deal with roof issues

Now, there were many mistakes made along the way:

OBS Is not a good roof covering despite painting it with a marine varnish. It still leaks and doesn't repel water so a covering is needed.

Putting in a window when it's floating at one side is not a good idea, glass cracks.

Building a jig to make up the roof A frames isn't a bad idea. However, when you're working with walls that pitch in due to room constraints, (i.e. my neighbors garage isn't set square with the land boundary and so is on a slight angle), then making repetitive cuts and A frames isn't the best idea in the world. Each A frame should have been made specifically to its position so everything would run in line making it easier for the roof to go on.

I'll post some more pics on this later, (possibly tonight), and run through the issues of completing this project as I go.

 

[krashbandikoot]

And so the story continues

So here we have the double doors which I made of simple CLS lengths and MDF cut to size, a rabbit run along the inside and then the MDF inserted into the rabbit. A single span went across the top and bottom with rails in the middle. Once the door was made up, to ensure a perfect fit I simple sliced the top and bottom rails with a jigsaw and then fitted them using 3 x 4in butt hinges on each door for good support.

Because the front ramp door needed a large gap to ensure it would raise and lower without issue I added weather strips onto the side of the door along with a parapet above the door to make sure the rain didn't run down the wall to the top of the door then into the workshop itself.

Some interior shots of the workshop:

The roof was A-framed then OSB was added to ensure the A-frames were true and the gaps remained consistent from bottom to top. Then the OSB was latted and Yorkshire boarding fitted to the lats. I'm going to change this however since I've had a load of roof tiles donated to me and I'm going to tile the roof.

And the final pic is on the next post

 

[krashbandikoot]

And so here we have the last pic which is my metalwork bench:

And that's about it folks however there are one or two issues:

1) The roof is leaking on the center gully and it's a bad leak! So this is going to have to be sorted out meaning the whole roof will be stripped back and then plastic lined over the top of the OBS before the lats are put on and finally tiles are added.

Getting the gully sealed has been an issue since it went in. Although it'll handle light rain and drizzle no problems, heavy downpours are being an issue. The way forward here is lots of plastic sheeting and plenty of over lapping along with lots of glue to glue the sheeting to the OBS as well as glue the seams of the sheeting together to make it all water tight.

Yes it's going to be a pain to do and time consuming, however it'll be worth the effort.

2) The roof needs Yorkshire boarding where it's raw OSB and plastic covered. That isn't really a biggie.

The outside is going to be latted and clad with Yorkshire boarding to create a 50mm air gap between the OSB and the back of the Yorkshire boarding. This will dismiss the need for insulation as the air gap will be the insulator. With the Yorkshire boards painted black with a weatherproof paint it'll absorb any heat from the sun and transmit that heat into the workshop. Also it'll help keep the workshop cool on the hotter days.

I'm reasonably pleased with the way things are going so far though I do need to fit a lot more sockets, guttering and a couple of water butts to collect the rain water for the garden. The small flat roof will also have to be sealed as that's leaking like a colander. Still, the wood burning stove works exceptionally well and according to the temp and humidity sensors I have in the workshop it does raise the temp inside by around 12c when it's been running for 30 minutes.

3) I'm also going to need to figure out how to seal the wood burning stoves chimney as that's letting in water in as well that that isn't a surprise as it's been only half installed.

And that's my workshop folks

 

[morfa]

Nice job. I like the wood burner.

 

[krashbandikoot]

Thanks morfa

Today I'm going to deal with the gully and tile up the roof having spent most of yesterday plastic sheeting the OSB to seal it against the weather and sealing the seams with a contact adhesive which vulcanises the plastic together forming a good bond and seal.

I'm going to raise the back end of the gully by about 3 inches which over a 14 foot span should offer a decent enough run off and stop the water collecting which I think was my problem. Because I had a flat gully the water could get through the seams so penetrate into the workshop as it collected.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes........I had trouble with an enormous Yamaha in the middle of my old one.

 

[krashbandikoot]

And so the saga continues!

I hate roofs!

I really need to sort out mine before summer starts and it starts raining on a daily basis.

I have no idea at all why but no matter how many layers I put across my gully it leaks to the point were it may as well not be there.

I just don't get it, why is it continuing to leak? I know with three roofs diverting water into the gully but still, patching, layering, adding more and more plastic just doesn't seem to be working. tomorrow I'm going to triple layer the gully, (again), to try and plug the leaks. Of course the issue is once this work has been done pouring several buckets of water down it indicate I've cracked it until the rain starts then the leaks appear by which point it's too late to do anything. There's no value in trying to stop the leaks when its raining as the glue will just wash away and won't set.

I get the feeling this is going to be a long and drawn out process until it's finally cured.

My advice to anyone building a workshop, just use a single roof span rather than doubling up.

 

[kostello]

I know it may be too late but you probably need to line the gutter with EPDM or fibreglass do you can do it with no joins

 

[kostello]

Or use evercyl roofing stuff in a can..... You can paint it on and it will stick to damp things....