An Update From The APO

Posted by Ryan Posted onJun 10, 2021 at 7:13 PM and filed under Projects
Updated onUpdated on Jun 10, 2021 at 7:13 PM

Just a quick and dirty update of where I am and what I’m starting with. The Atomic Pacific Outpost is actually just a 10×8 shed sourced from an incredibly exotic manufacturer of outbuildings – CostCo. Right now, I’m facing a few different challenges:

  1. The cost of even construction grade materials is crazy high right now, obviously…
  2. I have no tools to speak of… I did buy a Milwaukee M18 drill/driver set, but haven’t picked up anything else to speak of yet.
  3. Working on the house itself is taking up much of my day and keeping me from doing much to the APO.

All that being said, I do have some projects planned and hope to get to them soon. If things go as planned, I will document it all and keep you guys updated both informally like this as well as with more highly produced and planned videos.

So… Stay tuned!

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Stuart in MN

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Cozy, but you can make it work. I like the little windows above the door.
That blue-green-turquoise color looks right out of the late 1950s / early 1960s, my dad painted everything with it back then. :)
 
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Ryan

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Stuart in MN said:
Cozy, but you can make it work. I like the little windows above the door.
That blue-green-turquoise color looks right out of the late 1950s / early 1960s, my dad painted everything with it back then. :)
Click to expand...

I’m not huge on the color, but the paint is fresh-ish… and it’s growing on me.

The house is in remarkable shape. We are redoing the floors and the kitchen… and I’ve done some electrical… but otherwise, it’s just a bunch of cleaning and detail work.
 
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PelicanPines

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Now I'm getting Travel Ads for Hawaii... *shakes fist at Google.

Hope you're having a blast... $200 for a sheet of plywood... did I hear that right?... Dang.

Very interested in that Flooring you got there... images etc... glue, floating, cutting etc.

HAVE A GREAT TIME there...
 
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nadogail

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Aloha from Coronado.

Having lived on Oahu some 40+ years ago I can begin to appreciate the difficulties you are living in. At current prices, I can imagine that used pallets are in short supply.

Single Wall Tropical Architecture, like your shed is almost unknown in the Mainland.
 
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Ryan

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I find single wall construction to be fascinating... I think 1 x 7 material is most common? Mine is 1.75" thick redwood. From what I've discovered, the house was built in 1958 or 9 using a customized Sears kit. Whoever put the thing together did a fantastic job.
 
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Git

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I had to google it:

Up until the mid-1970’s, single wall homes were most common in Hawaii construction. You may not be aware that there are significant differences between single wall home and double wall homes.

Single wall homes are constructed of exterior walls that are built of redwood 1”x8” tongue and groove planks. These planks are joined up edge to edge vertically in order to construct the wall. Once constructed, these exterior walls become both exterior and interior surfaces of the home.

The electrical wiring of a single wall home is run on the interior surface of the walls and covered with a wood molding trim.

Single wall construction was popular in Hawaii due to the climate. Since heating a home is not necessary here and wall insulation is not needed, it became the home of choice.

Many of the newer homes in Hawaii are built like you would find on the mainland. These double wall homes include drywall interior wall with insulation. Also, the electrical wiring is run between the exterior and interior walls.

Single wall home in Hawaii have ceilings made from sugar cane to insulate the heat trapped in the roof. The joints of the canec panels were cover with batten strips.

Also, many single wall homes were not built on concrete slabs but rather elevated above the ground. They were supported by foundation blocks with a termite block and pan to support the 4x4 leg post. The windows were usually the jalousie louver type which provided 100% ventilation when fully opened.
 
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Stuart in MN

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Ryan said:
I find single wall construction to be fascinating... I think 1 x 7 material is most common? Mine is 1.75" thick redwood. From what I've discovered, the house was built in 1958 or 9 using a customized Sears kit. Whoever put the thing together did a fantastic job.
Click to expand...
Neat stuff. My understanding is redwood is naturally resistant to termites, which are a big problem there.
I didn't know Sears was in the building kit business that late, I thought that was mostly pre-war. Maybe there was something different done for Hawaii, due to it being isolated from the material supply in the rest of the US.
 
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Ryan

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Stuart in MN said:
Neat stuff. My understanding is redwood is naturally resistant to termites, which are a big problem there.
I didn't know Sears was in the building kit business that late, I thought that was mostly pre-war. Maybe there was something different done for Hawaii, due to it being isolated from the material supply in the rest of the US.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, there was a surplus of kit buildings left after the war in Hawaii… and these kits were bought into the 1960’s.
 
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Daedalus

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Stuart in MN said:
Neat stuff. My understanding is redwood is naturally resistant to termites, which are a big problem there.
Click to expand...
Yes, true. The Formosan termites are a huge problem in Hawaii, but they don't eat the walls. Unfortunately, the posts and beams that often support the rest of the house are normally Fir or other more common woods, and the termites end up having their way with them.

Tearing down the old homes to rebuild with modern double wall often involves carefully removing the redwood T&G to resell. A buddy did a small repair maybe 15 years ago and a single 1x8 slat back then was $50. And we thought plywood was expensive.

Something to watch out for is the roofs are often not adequately tied to the rest of the house. Every single hurricane that comes through there is shown on the news with a video of yet another roof that is lofted away by the winds. A small investment in Simpson Strong-Ties will go a long way on the older homes. The original nails are probably about rusted through by now.
 
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Krang

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Ryan said:
I’m not huge on the color, but the paint is fresh-ish… and it’s growing on me.

The house is in remarkable shape. We are redoing the floors and the kitchen… and I’ve done some electrical… but otherwise, it’s just a bunch of cleaning and detail work.
Click to expand...

Are the floors original or is there some kind of laminate over them? If its the original hardwood... that stuff is thick! Easily refinished and looks amazing.
 
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Krang

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Ryan said:
I find single wall construction to be fascinating... I think 1 x 7 material is most common? Mine is 1.75" thick redwood. From what I've discovered, the house was built in 1958 or 9 using a customized Sears kit. Whoever put the thing together did a fantastic job.
Click to expand...

Its so simple, but it works. I wish we could still build homes like this. The redwood would cost texa$ but, as you can see, it lasts a long time.

If you ever need to mess with the ceiling just be prepared for some nasty stuff, caenic has all kinds of toxic stuff in it and its basically sugar cane pressboard meaning it will fall apart in your hands.
 
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Tman

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Lookin good. That construction is interesting. When I started my T I had a shed that was not much bigger, 12x18 I think? Model T sized at our 1926 house. You can get a lot done in that size shop.
 
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SweetD

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That LifeProof flooring from HD is a great value. Just used it for our main floor bathroom remodel and it looks fantastic. I'm all in for under $200 for our small square footage.

Looking forward to your updates!
 
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Shiftless

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Looking really good Ryan. :thumbup:

Some good friends of ours just bought a house in Princeville. (Moving from northern CA) They haven’t moved yet and plan to renovate first. They will be in for a BIG expensive surprise.
 
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Ryan

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Shiftless said:
Looking really good Ryan. :thumbup:

Some good friends of ours just bought a house in Princeville. (Moving from northern CA) They haven’t moved yet and plan to renovate first. They will be in for a BIG expensive surprise.
Click to expand...

We got really lucky. We bought 99% of the materials we needed for the house back in November. So, that hasn’t been too bad…

What I didn’t do, however, is order materials to build out my little shop… and that *****… I‘d really prefer to use Baltic birch ply for most things in there and I think 4x8 sheets are going for over $250 right now.
 
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Shiftless

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If you don’t need 4x8 sheets and you can figure out roughly what your cuts will be, this store in AZ will custom cut for you and mail them to you via usps. USPS has maximum size of 130 inches combined and 70 pounds weight limit. This may or may not be something you would consider.
www.woodworkerssource.com

Baltic Birch Plywood

Woodworkers are loving Baltic Birch Plywood
www.woodworkerssource.com www.woodworkerssource.com
 
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JerrySarcastic

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How’s the lizard situation? We had a shed at our Kailua home (we just moved back to the mainland recently) and it was so lousy with lizard poop that I really didn’t use it for tool storage too much. Instead I had a metal cabinet in the carport, and kept a bunch of mothballs in there to keep the beggars out of my stuff.
 
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ddawg16

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My wife and I went to a wedding in Hawaii just before the 'rona' hit. I can see why people live there. We are lucky in that a good friend of ours lives on O'ahu....NE shore....a 2 block walk to the beach. Insulation? Don't need it. Just a ceiling fan.

Termites like wood. Termites like the weather of Hawaii. I live in CA....not a whole lot different.....but if I had to choose.....Hawaii would win.

Downside.....everything has to be shipped in....except for fish....oh dear, how good the Poke is.
 
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