His thread
Some details on interior finish, starting on p 20. Looks to me like regular 2x timber frame, pink insulation in walls and spray foam for the ceiling.
Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT My Wyoming Dream Garage and Shop
- Thread starter R_C
- Start date
Workspaces between 705 and 1200 squarefeet.
Some details on interior finish, starting on p 20. Looks to me like regular 2x timber frame, pink insulation in walls and spray foam for the ceiling.
GlennSullivan
Well-known member
I was wondering about the look of the double roof, but now that you posted a pic with the pole barn in the foreground, I see how it fits in perfectly.
ErickForest
Well-known member
I love the look of the garage. Very nice work. My house if very similar looking to the garage. I like the roof lines.
Is that a 4Runner in the other shed?
Is that a 4Runner in the other shed?
gren_t
Active member
Thanks for the writeup, you've built a very nice shop in great surroundings.
When I was a young kid back in the 60's my family lived in Laramie Wyoming. I have lived in more than a dozen states after that, and I will say I miss Wyoming the most. I would move back there in a heartbeat, but I have kids and grandkids on the East coast and my wife won't leave them. I do remember one-time when it went to 50 below in the winter and the thermometer broke!
Thanks. For a long time I admired the roof lines of a house we traveled by occasionally. It also had a clerestory. I'm glad my wife worked it into my early sketches. The clerestory windows add nice natural light to the center of the garage.
That's my project vehicle, an 89 Toyota 4WD truck, in the shed.
My wife's family is from Laramie and Cheyenne but we live on the west side of the state. Fortunately, we do not get the kind of wind Laramie does. But it was still difficult for me to install the metal roof solo. I had to quit each day around noon when the wind picked up. Twenty to 30 years ago, 40 below temperatures were common but not as much any more.
pima67
Well-known member
Lived in Kemmerer (where I married my late wife) for a while where they used coal dust instead of sand on the snow-covered roads in town. Also found out that the snow didn't melt, just wears out from blowing back and forth. Nothing like driving at 30 below with frozen shocks or during a ground blizzard..
MacTexas
Well-known member
Following
Most people don't know that shocks freeze at that temperature. It feels like you have square tires. We experienced our first ground blizzard a few years ago just outside of Kemmerer. Nasty.
@R_C thabks for continuing to share. I look forward to your she-shed build this summer. There is a lot to appreciate about building a small structure, because it afford the option of going very quickly, or taking time and getting the details right. I have a long list of small cabins I’d love to install around my place.
Brent T
Well-known member
Great build and I'll be following as well. My wife and I both grew up in Laramie, but live in Phoenix now. Miss the seasons, but not the wind.
csp
Well-known member
I have seen chases for electrical wiring made by dropping a large ball bearing heated with a torch through the foam in the SIP. The SIP would be oriented so that the bearing drops vertically.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Great job documenting a really nice build. Seeing your pictures I have a pretty good idea where you're located.
I'm a former WY resident. Owned a ranch just north of Fort Laramie in the Rawhide Hills for a few years until a local Doctor decided he wanted it a lot more than I did.... wasn't that good for grazing but the elk and antelope seemed to like it...
I have always had a special connection with Wyoming after a family vacation there when I was in grade school. (Hence my avatar) Later, in my early 20's I spent a summer building a real log cabin in Jackson Hole with an old family friend. His place was actually inside Teton National Park, an old in-holding he bought many years earlier. When the billionaires forced the millionaires out of Jackson, he bought 20 acres on the Upper Hoback and built another cabin there. I got in on that build as well.
Funny you mention how difficult it is to hire contractors on that side of the state. I have two immediate neighbors here in AZ that are both retired contractors (one is probably one of the most successful electrical contractors in the state and one is a well-known GC) who did a lot of work on the west side.
If you need any references I would be happy to talk with them.
Best,
Scott
I'm a former WY resident. Owned a ranch just north of Fort Laramie in the Rawhide Hills for a few years until a local Doctor decided he wanted it a lot more than I did.... wasn't that good for grazing but the elk and antelope seemed to like it...
I have always had a special connection with Wyoming after a family vacation there when I was in grade school. (Hence my avatar) Later, in my early 20's I spent a summer building a real log cabin in Jackson Hole with an old family friend. His place was actually inside Teton National Park, an old in-holding he bought many years earlier. When the billionaires forced the millionaires out of Jackson, he bought 20 acres on the Upper Hoback and built another cabin there. I got in on that build as well.
Funny you mention how difficult it is to hire contractors on that side of the state. I have two immediate neighbors here in AZ that are both retired contractors (one is probably one of the most successful electrical contractors in the state and one is a well-known GC) who did a lot of work on the west side.
If you need any references I would be happy to talk with them.
Best,
Scott
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Wyoming windsock is a large boulder on a logging chain.
I spend a lot of time in the mountains. So, one of the things I really like about Wyoming and the inter-mountain West is if you can see the mountains, you know where you are. I figured someone would recognize the range that dominates our view.Great job documenting a really nice build. Seeing your pictures I have a pretty good idea where you're located.
I'm a former WY resident. Owned a ranch just north of Fort Laramie in the Rawhide Hills for a few years until a local Doctor decided he wanted it a lot more than I did.... wasn't that good for grazing but the elk and antelope seemed to like it...
I have always had a special connection with Wyoming after a family vacation there when I was in grade school. (Hence my avatar) Later, in my early 20's I spent a summer building a real log cabin in Jackson Hole with an old family friend. His place was actually inside Teton National Park, an old in-holding he bought many years earlier. When the billionaires forced the millionaires out of Jackson, he bought 20 acres on the Upper Hoback and built another cabin there. I got in on that build as well.
Funny you mention how difficult it is to hire contractors on that side of the state. I have two immediate neighbors here in AZ that are both retired contractors (one is probably one of the most successful electrical contractors in the state and one is a well-known GC) who did a lot of work on the west side.
If you need any references I would be happy to talk with them.
Best,
Scott
Jackson has changed so much in the 35+ years we've lived in the area. One of those billionaires has bought up a large part of the Upper Hoback and the locals have been fighting his proposed changes.
Thanks for the offer for contractor references. I will keep that in mind.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I know folks in that area. May have known your friend or some of his neighbors. The billionaire now owns the Deadshot.My friend's place on the Upper Hoback had frontage on both sides of the river, and was in between the billionaire you mentioned and the Deadshot Ranch at the end of the road. I believe the family sold out when he died.
Agree, its the one thing I do not miss about Wyoming. The wind is brutal. 50+mph sustained winds are not uncommon there.
I'm a former WY resident. Owned a ranch just north of Fort Laramie in the Rawhide Hills for a few years until a local Doctor decided he wanted it a lot more than I did.... wasn't that good for grazing but the elk and antelope seemed to like it...
I grew up in Goshen County. Went to the middle school there in Fort Laramie long before it was converted into a community center.
I had planned to build my wife a garden studio shed last summer so she would have her own space and I could reclaim the nine square feet her gardening bench occupied in my shop. Life and too many other projects got in the way last year. But I still had some fun in the shop. Among other projects, I restored a vintage Peerless tool chest, and I built this little free library for our community:
The garden studio project is now under way so I’ll document the build here.
I built our house with logs and the garage with SIPs so I have only done a little interior wall framing. This is my first exterior wall framing project. There is much to learn and so many decisions to make even for this small 10’ x 16’ structure.
The garden studio project is now under way so I’ll document the build here.
I built our house with logs and the garage with SIPs so I have only done a little interior wall framing. This is my first exterior wall framing project. There is much to learn and so many decisions to make even for this small 10’ x 16’ structure.
My wife chose the location so the garden studio creates the fourth “wall” in our cherished outdoor room, giving us privacy in the garden terrace from all directions. Unfortunately, this location puts the studio directly over the buried 200A electrical feeder for our house.
Our property consists of six feet of clay over gravel. We went round and round on suitable foundations with these constraints. I read lots of GJ shed build posts and looked at many pictures. We do not like the look of a gravel pad. And like our gravel drive that requires replenishment every 6 to 8 years, the gravel will just settle into the clay. Leveling timbers would be a significant DIY project and likely have similar settling issues. Excavating for sonatube piers wasn’t an option (our electrical feeder actually makes a 90 degree turn under the studio). We also ruled out something like a handi pier system for the same reason. While we don’t get frost because of our early and long snow cover, a slab on grade option appeared expensive with no guarantee.
This may be my first mistake, but I decided on setting pier blocks for the foundation, which gives me some access to raise the studio if there is significant settling. My pole barn is larger and sits on just nine poles set in the same clay. It has settled some over 30 years but it is still standing and has a larger roof area for greater snow load.
Last fall, I hand-leveled and set ten piers on undisturbed clay using 6” x 12” x 16” retaining wall blocks. After only an unusually low winter snow load, the piers were still level this spring so I proceeded. Here is the 2x10 pressure-treated floor deck on the piers.
I used double rim joists and double outside joists for extra strength if I ever need to jack up the structure. Not sure how I’d do that but I think it is an option. We are in an arid location (15”-20” precip./year) but I still like the air flow this pier foundation provides. But my wife doesn’t like the thought of moles, voles, and ground squirrels under foot. To reassure her that the floor deck would be vermin-proof I added scrap metal roofing to the bottom of each joist bay.
I then filled the bays with 7” of rigid insulation before I glued and screwed the ¾” tongue-and-groove subfloor.
Once the entire project is completed, I plan to add stakes in the ground at all four corners marked to a reference point, like the bottom of the siding trim, so I can monitor settling after the spring snow melt. Maybe I should add additional piers between the existing to increase the block footprint?
Our property consists of six feet of clay over gravel. We went round and round on suitable foundations with these constraints. I read lots of GJ shed build posts and looked at many pictures. We do not like the look of a gravel pad. And like our gravel drive that requires replenishment every 6 to 8 years, the gravel will just settle into the clay. Leveling timbers would be a significant DIY project and likely have similar settling issues. Excavating for sonatube piers wasn’t an option (our electrical feeder actually makes a 90 degree turn under the studio). We also ruled out something like a handi pier system for the same reason. While we don’t get frost because of our early and long snow cover, a slab on grade option appeared expensive with no guarantee.
This may be my first mistake, but I decided on setting pier blocks for the foundation, which gives me some access to raise the studio if there is significant settling. My pole barn is larger and sits on just nine poles set in the same clay. It has settled some over 30 years but it is still standing and has a larger roof area for greater snow load.
Last fall, I hand-leveled and set ten piers on undisturbed clay using 6” x 12” x 16” retaining wall blocks. After only an unusually low winter snow load, the piers were still level this spring so I proceeded. Here is the 2x10 pressure-treated floor deck on the piers.
I used double rim joists and double outside joists for extra strength if I ever need to jack up the structure. Not sure how I’d do that but I think it is an option. We are in an arid location (15”-20” precip./year) but I still like the air flow this pier foundation provides. But my wife doesn’t like the thought of moles, voles, and ground squirrels under foot. To reassure her that the floor deck would be vermin-proof I added scrap metal roofing to the bottom of each joist bay.
I then filled the bays with 7” of rigid insulation before I glued and screwed the ¾” tongue-and-groove subfloor.
Once the entire project is completed, I plan to add stakes in the ground at all four corners marked to a reference point, like the bottom of the siding trim, so I can monitor settling after the spring snow melt. Maybe I should add additional piers between the existing to increase the block footprint?
As I mentioned, I have never done any external wall framing before but I know the basics. I sketched king, jack, and cripple studs and headers for my wife. Had she not recently retired, she would have quickly created the wall drawings in AutoCAD but for this project she did manual drawings. Her drawings looked great and after they were done I found a free web site (Blocklayer) that creates wall drawings given height, width, and opening locations and sizes:
I used the site to verify and it did highlight a few minor errors in our drawings. With accurate drawings I was ready to frame. I knew that my wife and I couldn’t raise a 16-foot 2x6 wall so I built these in 8-foot sections. Also because of weight, I decided to put the sheathing on after the walls were in place. Here are a few pictures of the wall framing.
We want the studio to match the appearance of the garage, so I will use the same LP Smartside exterior siding and trim in the same colors. The studio also incorporates a clerestory like the garage. I framed the clerestory as a single 16-foot section and the two of us put it in place.
So the clerestory exterior wall could be sided with 10-foot Smartside panels without the need for horizontal trim between panels, we went with a shallower roof pitch than the garage. Here are the rafters and bird blocking in place.
Next, I framed the overhangs and installed the subfascia.
I used the site to verify and it did highlight a few minor errors in our drawings. With accurate drawings I was ready to frame. I knew that my wife and I couldn’t raise a 16-foot 2x6 wall so I built these in 8-foot sections. Also because of weight, I decided to put the sheathing on after the walls were in place. Here are a few pictures of the wall framing.
We want the studio to match the appearance of the garage, so I will use the same LP Smartside exterior siding and trim in the same colors. The studio also incorporates a clerestory like the garage. I framed the clerestory as a single 16-foot section and the two of us put it in place.
So the clerestory exterior wall could be sided with 10-foot Smartside panels without the need for horizontal trim between panels, we went with a shallower roof pitch than the garage. Here are the rafters and bird blocking in place.
Next, I framed the overhangs and installed the subfascia.
slim_grim
Well-known member
The shop is magnificent and the shed is looking nice. My wife and I visited your area for the first time a couple months ago and we were both blown away. Without a doubt, it's my favorite place that I've visited in the country. Already planning our next trip.
Thanks. We love Wyoming and our side of the state is pretty special. Glad you had a nice visit to our neck of the woods.
Originally, we thought the studio would be a three-season space. But my wife now wants to use it year round, which will make winter access a challenge. The snow sliding off our house’s multiple metal roofs creates a barrier between house and studio that can’t be overcome by shovel or walk-behind snowblower. I’ll have to reconsider where I place snow with the 5-foot blower on my tractor to create an alternate path to the studio. But the wind may challenge that plan.
For comfortable year round use, we decided to do a good job insulating the studio. While learning about external wall framing for this project, I also learned about thermal bridging. We decided to use Zip-R wall sheathing for the thermal barrier its continuous insulation provides. Here are pictures of the sheathing installation.
I wanted to put the roof on as soon as possible. But I read it makes more sense structurally to sheath the walls first so the roof came next. I added the fascia then I spaced the 5/8” CDX plywood sheets 1/8” for expansion using the 16D nail trick. It’s not necessary, but I added the zip flashing tape to the roof sheathing joints to keep out rain until the underlayment went on.
On our house and garage we used 30 lb. felt for underlayment without any problems. But for this shallower 2.5/12 roof pitch, ice and water shield is recommended for the entire roof. The peel-and-stick underlayment is challenging to apply solo in hot weather, so my wife climbed on the roof and helped me get it done. I found it best to keep each precut sheet in the cool garage right until it was installed.
I have used the same metal roofing on our house, garage and pole barn. I even had enough metal panels left over from those projects to do the studio. I only needed to order the eave, gable, and peak trims and more screws.
For comfortable year round use, we decided to do a good job insulating the studio. While learning about external wall framing for this project, I also learned about thermal bridging. We decided to use Zip-R wall sheathing for the thermal barrier its continuous insulation provides. Here are pictures of the sheathing installation.
I wanted to put the roof on as soon as possible. But I read it makes more sense structurally to sheath the walls first so the roof came next. I added the fascia then I spaced the 5/8” CDX plywood sheets 1/8” for expansion using the 16D nail trick. It’s not necessary, but I added the zip flashing tape to the roof sheathing joints to keep out rain until the underlayment went on.
On our house and garage we used 30 lb. felt for underlayment without any problems. But for this shallower 2.5/12 roof pitch, ice and water shield is recommended for the entire roof. The peel-and-stick underlayment is challenging to apply solo in hot weather, so my wife climbed on the roof and helped me get it done. I found it best to keep each precut sheet in the cool garage right until it was installed.
I have used the same metal roofing on our house, garage and pole barn. I even had enough metal panels left over from those projects to do the studio. I only needed to order the eave, gable, and peak trims and more screws.