DEPOT

[working on it]

... Thank God for 4 day weekends to get things done , and yes I am looking forward to 3 days of rest at work !

• It's a good life, Bob, when you can work/play hard for yourself, then use the less frenetic job to allow you to refresh.
• When I was younger, without a lot of responsibility at work, I played too hard on weekends, and slowly recovered over the 5 day workweek. Then came increased workloads, and a variable schedule of 3, 2, or only one day off, so if I played too hard, I might not be ready for the next days off activities. Different recreational activities followed, not as hard on the body, but requiring more prep time (drag racing, motorsports), meant that I'd often not get much rest in between work and play, but I was still young-ish, at heart at least, so it was OK.
• Penultimately, my job was such a stressful, time-consuming bear, that my recreation had to change, from active participation in a high-stress sport, to the less stressful camping scene (when, if, I could find the time). Finally, retirement, and no recreation at all...life always has surprises for me; maybe soon, I can find some time to enjoy it, in my "golden years". Hang in there, Bob.

[bobhenry]

" Finally, retirement, and no recreation at all "

I think I understand ! I now have 4 days to do my own projects and I still run out of time before returning to work.

[bobhenry]

I posted this in the bargain area but just had to brag here as well............

Well I have been combing all the sale sites and even Craig's list let me down! I finally made a call Wednesday morning and found a metal roof installer who also has a sales operation. I inquired about 14 foot and 4 foot scrap and he felt he could get me what I needed "very inexpensively" I was to drive over ( about 30 miles) and meet with him Friday.

Here is the good part.....

About 4 hours later our delivery semi returned and the driver mentioned to me the words "steel roofing". My antenna went up and I immediately started firing questions about "What steel roofing". It seems our sister operation who had just moved to a new building had to install a huge door in the new metal building. This was the removed steel. Heavy gage high ridge industrial stuff. I grabbed a tape and the six 30 foot scraps of 3 foot wide steel will make the roof of the Depot with a tiny bit of scrap to spare. It just can't get any better !

Thank you Lord

I cleared it with the boss with a $10.00 donation as compensation for about what we would have gotten from the scrap steel dealer as junk metal.

So one of the 4 days off I will be at work cutting the long lengths into more user friendly (and easier to transport) lengths that will be ready to install on the depot trusses....

[bobhenry]

Last Monday I filled in all the voids between the 4x4's with the 4" polyisocyanurate. When I purchased the 20+ sheets of 4x8 4" thick insulation I noticed that tiny red ants seem to love nesting between the damp sheets. I have been looking for a good and green friendly answer to the possibility of re-invitating them back when my floor is placed over the insulation blocks. I will be foaming the smaller gaps between the 4x4's and the insulation and then sprinkling some borax over the face just before placing the 2 layers of plywood sub flooring down. This is the reasoning for my choice.......


Borax Basics

Borax is another name for sodium tetraborate decahydrate, a naturally occurring compound that is mined in the California desert as well as other places around the world. It has many uses, and is commonly sold as a cleaning and laundry aid for household as well as industrial use. Borax is also highly recommended as a relatively safe method of insect control. It can be used indoors or outside, but must be reapplied if it gets wet.

Uses

Borax is very effective in killing and controlling various types of insects, including fleas, silverfish and beetles. It is one of the most effective methods of controlling cockroaches in and around the home as long as it is applied properly, according to the University of Kentucky. Borax will also control ants and grain weevils. It has the added benefit that its residual action is more effective against newly hatched insects than most chemical sprays.

Application

Apply a thin dusting of powder in areas where insects such as roaches are a problem. When they walk through the dust, it clings to their legs and is eventually ingested, poisoning the insect. It also has a dessicating effect and can cause pests to die of dehydration. If ants encounter borax, they will typically be repelled rather than crawl over it. Some commercial insect poisons use borax as their main ingredient. You can make your own bait by mixing borax with honey or corn syrup to form a paste and leaving it where insects can find it.

[bobhenry]

Did a little light math and approximated the framing weights to the depot. It looks to be coming in about the same as the caboose , 5k

4x4 per ft 2.7 100 270
2x4 per ft 1.3 144 187.2
2x6 per ft 2.1 438 919.8
2x10 per ft 3.5 60 210
1/2 ply sq ft 320 1.5 480
1x6 per ft 160 1.1 176
steel sq ft 2.5 400 1000
zip sq ft 3 500 1500
windows & doors each 40 5 200

very approx weight 4943

[bobhenry]

FRIDAY :

THE DEPOT HAS A FLOOR

Foamed in the 4" insulation so it would remain in place sprinkled liberally with borax for my insect friends and installed both layers of alternating 1/2 plywood. Was a great day cool but sunny and things went very well. I should have taken more pictures but I was focused on getting things done. Hope to have a helper tomorrow and intend to set stud columns and the trusses. Sunday is a driving day 60 miles to gather up and cut the free steel for the roof. More later with some pics hopefully.

So here I am at 2 AM Sat morning thinking way to hard how to make the truss and both double stud legs a unit and stand them as I did the "bents" for the caboose. Would sure beat trying to stuff the trusses up on the continuous header and stand them separately. I will again build a dummy spacer board to separate the double studs the exact 33" I want and the trusses the 34 1'2 inches needed to make both fall 36" o/c as desired. looks like I will be ripping some of the free plywood to make the spacers. I used this same process in the caboose build and it worked great, less measuring and fewer mistakes in placement. It also makes it easier to keep things square. Oh that's another thing I have to remake "Stanley" My 4' by 6' wooden framing square to check that the studs are 90 degrees to the floor. With a tiny on wheels a level can be your worst enemy unless you check the floor deck for level almost daily. Gotta make a Menards run early am for some type of 90 degree anchor to reinforce the stud column to plate connection don't want to rely on just nails or screws.

The pooch out bays have to be raised 5+ inches to allow for tire suspension movement and that bit of engineering is proving to be a bit of a nightmare

When done it will be a 6" step down into the depot from the entry and there will be an identical feature on the other side where the little wood stove will set, raising the stove a bit to help with the bending to load and service the fire box. The compound angle cuts and dadoes to allow for the floor thickness ( pictures will help I promise) are proving to be a pain. I am starting to wish I had not incorporated them as a feature in this build !

Oh well I love a challenge and I keep reminding myself that it will look cool when finished. Well tomorrow is about 6 hours away so I had better get back to bed

[bobhenry]

Powertools in the rain ! It sounds like a song title doesn't it ? Well the pooch outs are raised and covered ( I will have pics Tuesday) What a nightmare

30 degree corner connections and dados cut in members to allow for the deck height change and ripped lumber to get 4 3/4 thick stock out of 2x6's but one pooch out is complete and the other just needing the plywood deck. I stopped in the misty rain and decided to dribble some fence post coating on the sheet seams to help weatherproof a bit. The asphaultic coating was as thick as molasses on a January morning but I dribbled what I could where I could. I really wanted to coat the entire floor but that just wasn't gonna happen on a 45 degree rainy overcast day. It will rain all day today so no progress Sunday. Running out of fall weather

[bobhenry]

Totaled the costs to date.....

Updated info has me now at $345.00 11/11/2017


3 gal of fence post sealer $30.00
5# box of 2” construction screws $24.00
Hangers and plates $20.00
Insulation $25.00
4x4’s and more hangers $30.00
Trailer load of free plywood $ 0
Two 4x10 sheets of cement board $ 0
Discounted lumber guess $50.00
to be determined
Carriage bolts $ 7.00
found steel roofing (update) $30.00 Gave our driver $20.00 and the company $10.00 for the "scrap" steel.
UPDATED 11/6
Borax for insect barrier $7.00
aerosol foam and a large paint brush $14.00
more fasteners and simpson hangers
and a gallon of Polar seal roof coat $63.00
UPDATED 11/11
outside help $45.00
ST $345.00

[bobhenry]

Well with a lot of head scratching and redneck engineering two of the truss /wall stud combo assembles are standing and braced. A hinged push pole was used to catch the assembly as it was lifted to about 60 degrees on one side then a rope to pull it upright was utilized on the other side. They were stood to a temporary stop and tied off until a few adjustments were made and then screwed off to stabilize the assembly. The other wheel well was decked with 2 layers of 1/2 plywood to cap it off so the 3rd truss legs could be designed. As only a portion of one of the two uprights set on the plate and the other leg rests on the wheel well cover there is a bit of fitting to be done. The decision to make bent assemblies has been a good one. The legs actually screw to the top and bottom chord of the truss so hurricane strips pale in comparison to the uplift protection of this design. It also makes setting the trusses a whole lot easier doing it as one piece. I will be cutting some dummy boards to correctly space the legs to obtain the 33" cavity I have designed for. A similar setup will be made to correctly space the trusses to their 34 1/2 inch cavity space. The difference is the studs are doubled up while the trusses are only one member. I had pictures to post last Tuesday and could not fid the camera. Well the good news is it was in the parking spot I use and the miracle was it had not been ran over so I will have a bunch to post soon. P.S. Budget is now at $345.00 with some outside help yesterday.

[bobhenry]

Saturday was sunny and cool but nice working weather. I finished screwing down the decking over wheel well number two as we apparently didn't get it done Friday. I took about 4 hours and built the 6 remaining sets of leg assemblies. Thats 12 legs consisting of 24 2x6's . Into each a 1 1/2 by 7 1/8 dado was cut in all 24 pieces 1 1/2" deep to accept the 2x8 continuous header that will run the entire length of both sides making a modified top plate and keep the truss leg assemblies correctly spaced. The pictures tuesday should help a bit to fully understand my madness. I would rather be working up the hill on the build but Monday is an up periscope day and so I am in mid prep for my colonoscapy exam Monday morning so close proximity to a potty is very important. Perhaps I can get a couple hours in Monday afternoon after the test but who knows. I have learned my lesson about power tools and fuzzy thinking so all depends on my condition. I am running out of fall and winter is about to catch me. Again.

[bobhenry]

Well it's picture day ! ( And I still didn't get them all)



The pooch outs




the zebra deck almost done




Made 10 sets of legs ALL WRONG !



Here are 2 trusses standing you can see where the continuious header will ride in the notch. Yes some dumb ass forgot to notch the gable end truss but a saws all will take care of that. It's just harder in the air.



aligning spacer to stabilize and correctly space the trusses.



this is a test for the bias cut I had to make on one of the set of trusses the companion leg will be cut short and ride on the raised wheel well cover!




Here is the hinged push stick and if you look hard you can see a white tail this was used for my helper to pull and stabilize until I could get things temporarily braced.

[bobhenry]

Four of the seven truss bents are now up and squared and braced with temporary supports. After running over my camera with the truck. ( Earlier reports said I missed it but that was in error) So I will have to get caught up on the pictures by borrowing a camera (until Goodwill finds me another )

[bobhenry]

As I stood looking at this raised area to accommodate the wheel wells I have all but decided to level out this possible trip hazard. The space underneath would form a shallow storage area with a couple lift up lids and the front facing into the step down living room could have a couple nice storage drawers . As they are only about 4" deep what would they really be good storage for? Linen and clothing maybe but what else.

[bobhenry]

Stayed after work and cut the free steel roofing to length. We are doing a late fall cleanup of the plant grounds and I was donated about 20 16 foot 2x4's and 2x6's . They look kinda like a porcupine with all the nails sticking out. However, in the wall blocking doesn't have to look pretty. All I have to do is get all the nails pulled. It won't be the first time.......





That's plain crazy these boards were found in a side ditch in NOVEMBER of last year!

[bobhenry]

Well Saturday was underwater all day . Almost 5" of rain ! Sunday was a bit better but cold and cloudy. I was determined to get a little something done so I took 3 hours and pulled nails ( and pulled nails and pulled nails) The free lumber is now metal free and ready for recycling. I wound up with a 1 pound coffee can of used nails and it was running over. Tomorrow will be sunny and very nice (For Nov.) and my help will be available so we will have all the trusses set, the purlins in, and hopefully a good portion of the roofing steel installed. Hope to snap a few more pics late Monday night and show off the progress.