Steve's workshop - Painting the outside walls
- Thread starter Steve Maskery
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Steve Maskery
Established Member
Thank you, thank you.
Pete, thank you, but I probably need to do this tomorrow, before the whole lot falls down. I guess you are at work tomorrow?
S
Pete, thank you, but I probably need to do this tomorrow, before the whole lot falls down. I guess you are at work tomorrow?
S
Benchwayze
Established Member
Hi Steve,
Glad to hear you have your Mo-Jo back again. I''d love to help, but like Baldhead, I ain't much use with that sort of heavy work, and I'm also a bit remote. But I wish you all the best, and listen... Whatever you run up against, I'm sure you'll triumph in the end. You still have twice the space I have; and it looks like you have the basics of a grand workshop,. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
Regards.
Glad to hear you have your Mo-Jo back again. I''d love to help, but like Baldhead, I ain't much use with that sort of heavy work, and I'm also a bit remote. But I wish you all the best, and listen... Whatever you run up against, I'm sure you'll triumph in the end. You still have twice the space I have; and it looks like you have the basics of a grand workshop,. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.
Regards.
MMUK
Established Member
If I was a bit closer, you'd be welcome to borrow my Acro props to shore up the I beam. Don't want it falling of it's own accord.....
Steve Maskery
Established Member
What an excellent day!
Phone went at 10. My friends Chris and Ray wanted to know if they could come round and have a look. Sure, says I. Ray is an engineer and has a lot of building experience, so they turned up with some tables of data concerning loads and what have you.
However, they also came armed with safety boots, overalls and enthusiasm, and all I had to do was provide lunch. Fortunately I had some home-made soup in the freezer and it doesn't take long to knock up a swiss roll, especially when you have a jar of excellent Racers Mad Jam in the cupboard. But it doesn't last long.
So Chris chopped up some ivy and other triffids whilst Ray and I got cracking. Actually it's already very cracked and we had to try to avoid unplanned collapses. These blocks were just taken off by hand, we only had to tickle them to get them off. But we got more done in an afternoon than I would have managed in the whole week. So much more enjoyable.
The littlest sweeper-upper with the biggest brush you ever did see!
Furthermore, Ray made a slip-up, by saying "Next time I'll bring my recip saw..." Gotcha! There was a witness. So the Ibeam should be coming down on Thursday, though I'm not sure what is going to happen to it after that, yet. All I have to do is provide dinner. So tomorrow I'm going to make Chorizo and Chickpea soup (sounds odd but has 80-odd 5-star ratings) for lunch, Shepherd's Pie and a creamy amaretto fool thingy (creme fraiche and fromage frais, amaretti biscuits soaked in amaretto and some blueberries or raspberries, whatever is on the shelves tomorrow) for dinner and I shall enjoy the lot.
So the rest of the roof beams are down, the door lintel and the catnic over the window and a couple of dozen loose blocks. You can't see from this pic, but there is a pier of blocks under the RH end of the beam. We can use that to lower the beam, we just have to build one at the LH end first.
Ooh, I feel good.
Phone went at 10. My friends Chris and Ray wanted to know if they could come round and have a look. Sure, says I. Ray is an engineer and has a lot of building experience, so they turned up with some tables of data concerning loads and what have you.
However, they also came armed with safety boots, overalls and enthusiasm, and all I had to do was provide lunch. Fortunately I had some home-made soup in the freezer and it doesn't take long to knock up a swiss roll, especially when you have a jar of excellent Racers Mad Jam in the cupboard. But it doesn't last long.
So Chris chopped up some ivy and other triffids whilst Ray and I got cracking. Actually it's already very cracked and we had to try to avoid unplanned collapses. These blocks were just taken off by hand, we only had to tickle them to get them off. But we got more done in an afternoon than I would have managed in the whole week. So much more enjoyable.
The littlest sweeper-upper with the biggest brush you ever did see!
Furthermore, Ray made a slip-up, by saying "Next time I'll bring my recip saw..." Gotcha! There was a witness. So the Ibeam should be coming down on Thursday, though I'm not sure what is going to happen to it after that, yet. All I have to do is provide dinner. So tomorrow I'm going to make Chorizo and Chickpea soup (sounds odd but has 80-odd 5-star ratings) for lunch, Shepherd's Pie and a creamy amaretto fool thingy (creme fraiche and fromage frais, amaretti biscuits soaked in amaretto and some blueberries or raspberries, whatever is on the shelves tomorrow) for dinner and I shall enjoy the lot.
So the rest of the roof beams are down, the door lintel and the catnic over the window and a couple of dozen loose blocks. You can't see from this pic, but there is a pier of blocks under the RH end of the beam. We can use that to lower the beam, we just have to build one at the LH end first.
Ooh, I feel good.
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No skills
Established Member
Good for you Steve. Keep pictures coming.
billybuntus
Established Member
Nice work. I love that job satisfaction feeling. Especially when it's something worth doing for yourself.
heimlaga
Established Member
If you lived in my area I would surely take that I beam off for free. It would be very useful and not too difficult to retrieve it seems.
If there is a reasonably straight access path that in more than 2 foot wide it could be hauled to the roadside using a tractor with a logging winch standing on the road. By using blocks achored at suitable points one could easily haul the beam around some curves as well. Just like I do every time I haul out a log from a bouldery hillside. Then the beam could be loaded onto a log trailer and transported away behind the same tractor.
Unfortunately you live in that almost treeless island where you might have a hard time finding a scrounger who owns a tractor with logging winch and log trailer...... around here you would end up in mindst of a battle over who was the first taker of the beam........
Good Luck!
If there is a reasonably straight access path that in more than 2 foot wide it could be hauled to the roadside using a tractor with a logging winch standing on the road. By using blocks achored at suitable points one could easily haul the beam around some curves as well. Just like I do every time I haul out a log from a bouldery hillside. Then the beam could be loaded onto a log trailer and transported away behind the same tractor.
Unfortunately you live in that almost treeless island where you might have a hard time finding a scrounger who owns a tractor with logging winch and log trailer...... around here you would end up in mindst of a battle over who was the first taker of the beam........
Good Luck!
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I am so pleased to be a furniture maker over the winter months but on days like today the urge to get outside knocking things down is very strong. Looks like you are making great progress, it's so much more fun when two or three people get together.
Even better when you have cake to work for, good to see it all moving on.
Cheers Peter
Even better when you have cake to work for, good to see it all moving on.
Cheers Peter
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Phew! I have aches on my aches.
Ray and Chris came again today, and more progress has been made.
We built another pier of blocks so we had one at each end, then tipped the beam over n to its side so that it was more stable. Then, with a 10-tonne hydraulic jack, we walked it down a couple of inches at a time. Not intrinsically difficult, but obviously we had to be careful that things didn't misbehave. There was one heart-stopping moment when it wobbled when we didn't want it to, but it is now only 4 feet off the ground.
When we had finished, Ray said, "Well that's a new one for me, I've never taken a girder down before!". Now he tells me! He has, however, put plenty up, he worked in the mining industry.
If it all sounds straightforward, it was, but we started at about 11am and finished at 6.30, stopping only for a bowl of soup. We are all knackered.
I'm still not sure what is happening with the girder, but if no-one takes it we'll saw it up and the scrap man can have it. It's a shame, if someone can use it, but one way or another it has to go.
I'm not sure that the HSE would approve, but here are some pics. (I do wear safety boots, glasses and hard hat, BTW).
You'll notice that along the way some more vegetation has gone. I'm not looking forward to digging out the roots, mind.
We've also discovered that the floor slopes from far right to front left, which is about an inch lower. Just one more thing to take into account when I build.
I'm really glad that Ray and Cris have mucked in, and I know that now they have started, they will see it through with me. Ray has a lifetime's experience of things of which I have but a vague theoretical awareness. Top pair.
Ray and Chris came again today, and more progress has been made.
We built another pier of blocks so we had one at each end, then tipped the beam over n to its side so that it was more stable. Then, with a 10-tonne hydraulic jack, we walked it down a couple of inches at a time. Not intrinsically difficult, but obviously we had to be careful that things didn't misbehave. There was one heart-stopping moment when it wobbled when we didn't want it to, but it is now only 4 feet off the ground.
When we had finished, Ray said, "Well that's a new one for me, I've never taken a girder down before!". Now he tells me! He has, however, put plenty up, he worked in the mining industry.
If it all sounds straightforward, it was, but we started at about 11am and finished at 6.30, stopping only for a bowl of soup. We are all knackered.
I'm still not sure what is happening with the girder, but if no-one takes it we'll saw it up and the scrap man can have it. It's a shame, if someone can use it, but one way or another it has to go.
I'm not sure that the HSE would approve, but here are some pics. (I do wear safety boots, glasses and hard hat, BTW).
You'll notice that along the way some more vegetation has gone. I'm not looking forward to digging out the roots, mind.
We've also discovered that the floor slopes from far right to front left, which is about an inch lower. Just one more thing to take into account when I build.
I'm really glad that Ray and Cris have mucked in, and I know that now they have started, they will see it through with me. Ray has a lifetime's experience of things of which I have but a vague theoretical awareness. Top pair.
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Benchwayze
Established Member
If you have to scrap the RSJ, I would tell the scrappies that they can have it if THEY saw it up! They'll probably have cutting gear!
I remember hack-sawing a 4.5 inch RSJ, in order to make it fit across my lounge. I did it, but it took and age, three hacksaw blades and a quarter tin of cutting paste!
The job looks to be progressing nicely Steve. It's going to be fine.
John
I remember hack-sawing a 4.5 inch RSJ, in order to make it fit across my lounge. I did it, but it took and age, three hacksaw blades and a quarter tin of cutting paste!
The job looks to be progressing nicely Steve. It's going to be fine.
John
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Well it doesn't look much different today, I'll grant you, but we have achieved quite a lot. Done a lot of talking and planning. Surveyed the existing floor...
The highest point of the existing concrete is the point nearest the house in front of the garage double door. That is a couple of metres this side of the existing building. If we take that as Zero then the far LH is the lowest at -150mm, the LH corner of the double doorway is -112mm the front RH corner is -105 and the far RH corner is -85mm. So it is far from level! But we don't need to fill the whole lot in with concrete, we can build a rim foundation, then fill the interior with the blocks, then screed over. There is about 10" concrete visible at the LH end already, so I don't think I shall be short of support...
We've also taken down some more blocks along the front and sides.
There is some broken glass dumped down the RH side of the building. I went to pick it up yesterday and discovered there is loads of it. I think someone has dumped a greenhouse there. It's not going to be much fun clearing that lot up Fortunately the tip is only a couple of streets away. I do live in a very posh area you know.
The girder will be gone by noon tomorrow, I hope.
The highest point of the existing concrete is the point nearest the house in front of the garage double door. That is a couple of metres this side of the existing building. If we take that as Zero then the far LH is the lowest at -150mm, the LH corner of the double doorway is -112mm the front RH corner is -105 and the far RH corner is -85mm. So it is far from level! But we don't need to fill the whole lot in with concrete, we can build a rim foundation, then fill the interior with the blocks, then screed over. There is about 10" concrete visible at the LH end already, so I don't think I shall be short of support...
We've also taken down some more blocks along the front and sides.
There is some broken glass dumped down the RH side of the building. I went to pick it up yesterday and discovered there is loads of it. I think someone has dumped a greenhouse there. It's not going to be much fun clearing that lot up
Fortunately the tip is only a couple of streets away. I do live in a very posh area you know.The girder will be gone by noon tomorrow, I hope.
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Tony Spear
Established Member
Nothing from Steve since Sunday - do you think he's trapped under that RSJ?
Cowboy _Builder
Established Member
I saw him yesterday when I took my big Hilti breaker round for him to play with , he was ok then , he might be outside giving it some of this (hammer) playing at demolition man .
The RSJ has gone .
The RSJ has gone .
Steve Maskery
Established Member
I'm still here guys, and in one piece.
As CB says, the RSJ went on Monday. I have some pics but they are still in the camera.
The weather forecast for today was not good (as it happens it has been perfect weather for working outside), so I arranged to do other stuff, helping a friend to "just" (see another thread) make some crates. Two are glued up and there is another to go. The MDF was cut up by B&Q and none of it fitted together, so we've had to re-dimension everything. It's taken all day.
Ray's coming over again tomorrow, so I'm hoping we will have the thing razed by close of play.
My book on American construction techniques has come today, so I have some reading to do.
S
As CB says, the RSJ went on Monday. I have some pics but they are still in the camera.
The weather forecast for today was not good (as it happens it has been perfect weather for working outside), so I arranged to do other stuff, helping a friend to "just" (see another thread) make some crates. Two are glued up and there is another to go. The MDF was cut up by B&Q and none of it fitted together, so we've had to re-dimension everything. It's taken all day.
Ray's coming over again tomorrow, so I'm hoping we will have the thing razed by close of play.
My book on American construction techniques has come today, so I have some reading to do.
S
Steve Maskery
Established Member
Good day, although there is not a lot to show for it, photographically.
First some pics of the disappearing RSJ:
That was Monday. Rather them than me. I was pleased that they restacked all the blocks they had taken down to use as supports. They were considerate guys. One of them even had steel toes on.
I then spent a couple of days doing stuff for other people. That's not a whinge, you understand, lots of people have been very kind to me and Ray is working like a trojan, it's just that it has held me up a bit. But what goes around comes around, eh?
So today I thought we would finish the demolition, but the problem is that we are running out of space to stack the blocks, so we have decided to hold fire on any more knocking down for the present.
Instead we have concentrated on working out exactly what we are going to do about foundations. The existing slab is substantial, 10" at the LH end that we can see and 6" at the front, we have revealed today. There was more concrete under the grass at the front and we have cleaned out the edge so we can see what we have. It just so happens that the front wall line of my new place is going to fall exactly on the front edge of the existing slab, and that is also the highest point of the existing concrete. Very convenient. So we set a block at the highest point and went round with a 6ft spirit level:
Those two are the same height as the datum block, so you can see how much we have to make up. Over 6"
It might help to have a site plan. This is a sketch, it's not to scale, but it shows what's happening.
The red rectangle is the existing shack, hard on the boundary at the left and only about 250mm from the rear boundary, which is not fenced at the mo.
The green square is my new sanctum sanctorum.
The dark blue is existing concrete, the X-area is to be removed because it is too high.
The light blue is new concrete to be laid, at the levels of the existing slab.
The orange is a new path which will actually go the full width (not only as shown), but I'll use slabs and do it after everything else. We can have a French gravel drain all along the front of the building and then the slab path, canted away from the building.
The grey is the existing path back to the house. I think this all means that there will be a small step down from that path to the path along the front of the workshop.
So this is the cunning plan. Dig out for the new concrete. This means removing a rubbish dump to the right of the building. I've made 3 trips to the tip today to get rid of broken glass and I haven't finished yet.
We can lay the RH area so that it falls an inch away from the building. That means all the concrete around the edge will shed properly. The X-area slopes towards the building, which is why we are removing it.
Then we will build a perimeter wall, which will vary in height from just a bed of mortar along the front edge up to a good 6" along the back. This will be our level. We can then fill this area with crushed blocks (which is why we don't need to knock any more down for the time being) and pour a 2" screed. We will then have a level slab 2" or so above the front edge of the existing slab.
Then we lay a sole plate all the way round and build up from that.
Easy-peasy.....
The existing slab will provide the access path to the left and rear of the building and it will all shed away from the new one.
People round here are keen recyclers. I've had two neighbours ask me what I'm doing with the steel roofing sheets (answer - NDN is having a few and I'm keeping a few to make a firewood store) and another two have asked if they can have any of the blocks. So I'm not going to have any trouble getting rid of stuff. And in the same vein I spotted some new 1.5" waste pipe in a neighbour's front garden today amongst an old bathroom suite they had pulled out. A knock on the front door and 2 minutes later they were mine. We can lay them in the slab as conduits for water and power.
Off for a bath.
S
First some pics of the disappearing RSJ:
That was Monday. Rather them than me. I was pleased that they restacked all the blocks they had taken down to use as supports. They were considerate guys. One of them even had steel toes on.
I then spent a couple of days doing stuff for other people. That's not a whinge, you understand, lots of people have been very kind to me and Ray is working like a trojan, it's just that it has held me up a bit. But what goes around comes around, eh?
So today I thought we would finish the demolition, but the problem is that we are running out of space to stack the blocks, so we have decided to hold fire on any more knocking down for the present.
Instead we have concentrated on working out exactly what we are going to do about foundations. The existing slab is substantial, 10" at the LH end that we can see and 6" at the front, we have revealed today. There was more concrete under the grass at the front and we have cleaned out the edge so we can see what we have. It just so happens that the front wall line of my new place is going to fall exactly on the front edge of the existing slab, and that is also the highest point of the existing concrete. Very convenient. So we set a block at the highest point and went round with a 6ft spirit level:
Those two are the same height as the datum block, so you can see how much we have to make up. Over 6"
It might help to have a site plan. This is a sketch, it's not to scale, but it shows what's happening.
The red rectangle is the existing shack, hard on the boundary at the left and only about 250mm from the rear boundary, which is not fenced at the mo.
The green square is my new sanctum sanctorum.
The dark blue is existing concrete, the X-area is to be removed because it is too high.
The light blue is new concrete to be laid, at the levels of the existing slab.
The orange is a new path which will actually go the full width (not only as shown), but I'll use slabs and do it after everything else. We can have a French gravel drain all along the front of the building and then the slab path, canted away from the building.
The grey is the existing path back to the house. I think this all means that there will be a small step down from that path to the path along the front of the workshop.
So this is the cunning plan. Dig out for the new concrete. This means removing a rubbish dump to the right of the building. I've made 3 trips to the tip today to get rid of broken glass and I haven't finished yet.
We can lay the RH area so that it falls an inch away from the building. That means all the concrete around the edge will shed properly. The X-area slopes towards the building, which is why we are removing it.
Then we will build a perimeter wall, which will vary in height from just a bed of mortar along the front edge up to a good 6" along the back. This will be our level. We can then fill this area with crushed blocks (which is why we don't need to knock any more down for the time being) and pour a 2" screed. We will then have a level slab 2" or so above the front edge of the existing slab.
Then we lay a sole plate all the way round and build up from that.
Easy-peasy.....
The existing slab will provide the access path to the left and rear of the building and it will all shed away from the new one.
People round here are keen recyclers. I've had two neighbours ask me what I'm doing with the steel roofing sheets (answer - NDN is having a few and I'm keeping a few to make a firewood store) and another two have asked if they can have any of the blocks. So I'm not going to have any trouble getting rid of stuff. And in the same vein I spotted some new 1.5" waste pipe in a neighbour's front garden today amongst an old bathroom suite they had pulled out. A knock on the front door and 2 minutes later they were mine. We can lay them in the slab as conduits for water and power.
Off for a bath.
S
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paulm
IG paulm_outdoors
That's a monster RSJ Steve !!! Hadn't appreciated the size before, though of course they could just be very small people
The plans all look and sound very good. You'll have a lovely set up when it's all done, great to see it develop.
Cheers, Paul
The plans all look and sound very good. You'll have a lovely set up when it's all done, great to see it develop.
Cheers, Paul
Halo Jones
Established Member
Hi Steve,
Please be careful what you do here. I may be wrong but from my adventures at "planning ahead" I laid some conduit to pull my swa and water through. They need to separated by I think 750 mm and having a conduit may change the rating of your swa (apparently there is a difference in voltage drop and resistance in cable laid in a conduit and cable laid direct into the ground). Also cat5 and telephone wire cannot go in the same conduit as your high voltage cable.
This info is, of course, from an interested amateur (ie, not really qualified to give any concrete advice!). But hopefully food for thought.
H.
Please be careful what you do here. I may be wrong but from my adventures at "planning ahead" I laid some conduit to pull my swa and water through. They need to separated by I think 750 mm and having a conduit may change the rating of your swa (apparently there is a difference in voltage drop and resistance in cable laid in a conduit and cable laid direct into the ground). Also cat5 and telephone wire cannot go in the same conduit as your high voltage cable.
This info is, of course, from an interested amateur (ie, not really qualified to give any concrete advice!). But hopefully food for thought.
H.
