Above 1200 Sq/FT Barn Workshop build

[ururk]

Saturday, Jan 16: A balmy 28 degrees today . Wind was low, so by the end of the day I was fairly "warm". Got about eight sheets up, nailed in some blocking.

This doesn't look too safe - it isn't. I didn't have help today to move the pump jacks to the front, so I worked on the back. I was not planning on using the pump jacks on the back. In retrospect I should have used some clamps to hold the aluminum walk board to the sawhorses, but they worked out OK and I didn't fall, nor did the plank fall off.

An interior shot this time - please pardon the mess. I have precious little time, and am using that time to enclose the barn. Tomorrow will be cold - perhaps too cold to work outside so I may spend some time and organize the inside. I need to sort the good pieces of wood from the bad ones - a pile of good and scrap has accumulated on top of the siding.

 

[Grizz1963]

All progress is progress.

Looking good.

I was moaning, and slept badly because I was crawling around on the driveway with my wife's modern car yesterday in 1'C which is around 34F but you guys are much more *********.

Would still love your shop here.

 

[ururk]

I was moaning, and slept badly because I was crawling around on the driveway with my wife's modern car yesterday in 1'C which is around 34F but you guys are much more *********.

A few years ago I had to replace the rubber engine seal in my VW bug, in an unheated garage, and I just couldn't take the cold and gave up and waited for a warmer day.

So... I think it depends on what you are doing. If you are moving around and doing physical labor, the cold doesn't seem to feel as bad. Which temperature scale you use helps too because 33.8F must be a lot warmer than 1C since it is a larger number

 

[rodbuilderjim]

Hey love the build! I am not a woodworker but am learning. I am a metal worker and if I can't beat it into submission and weld it together I just don't understand it. Watching your build reinforced my resolve to do more woodwork. The work you are doing is really nice keep up the good work!

 

[ururk]

Hey love the build! I am not a woodworker but am learning. I am a metal worker and if I can't beat it into submission and weld it together I just don't understand it. Watching your build reinforced my resolve to do more woodwork. The work you are doing is really nice keep up the good work!

I'm kind of the opposite - I don't do any welding, took a welding course once at the local community college, but haven't done anything since.

 

[ururk]

Sunday, Jan 17: I wimped out - 16F is just too cold, especially with the wind chill factor.

However, I spent a bit of time indoors today and posted a video to YouTube:

(is there a way to embed YT video in GJ?)

 

[BuickFarmer]

Bet you can't wait to finish that osb. You may have said, what is going on top of it. Lookin good, hope it is an early spring for ya

 

[ururk]

Bet you can't wait to finish that osb. You may have said, what is going on top of it. Lookin good, hope it is an early spring for ya

Heck yeah, just have to figure out how to do the part over the lean-to. I have an idea, but it will require drilling some holes through the temporary roofing membrane.

The plan, as of now anyways, is to cover the OSB (seams only, possibly the entire sheets depending on what I can get ($)) with an ice+water product, then insulation, then strapping, then siding, see: http://buildingscience.com/documents/published-articles/pa-foam-shrinks/view

I'm trying to get a hold of used XPS - problem is it is 1/2 the cost of new, so the savings isn't the greatest for a slightly damaged product, but should be OK for my needs.

I'm not going as deep of an energy retrofit as that example - code requires R-20 walls, and I'll either meet or exceed code for the wall assemblies by R-10, but will stick with R-40 for the roof (code).

The basis for all of this is cost savings - I got two estimates for getting precut SIPs, and they both started at $20K. One didn't include installation, and both were code-minimum R valued.

 

[SierraDenizen]

Just found this thread. Enjoying it immensely. The barn/workshop looks amazing! Thanks for posting all the pictures and details.

 

[TerryH]

Love the build! Very nice. What's your plan for the osb on the inside?

 

[ururk]

Love the build! Very nice. What's your plan for the osb on the inside?

Pallet wood. I have a few pallets on hand - may end up using the wood for good projects as they are 'hardwood' pallets. You have to be kind of careful with the wood you choose - only HT (heat treated) pallets and make sure they don't have bugs. It helps if they were only used to transport clean goods like sheet metal and not chemicals.

My plan is to make a dedicated pallet disassembly "machine" out of a hydraulic jack. My neighbor has offered in the past to weld for me if I needed something made up, so I think I'll design something and have him weld it up for me (or I'll give it a shot - I think he has a mig welder).

 

[TerryH]

Pallet wood. I have a few pallets on hand - may end up using the wood for good projects as they are 'hardwood' pallets. You have to be kind of careful with the wood you choose - only HT (heat treated) pallets and make sure they don't have bugs. It helps if they were only used to transport clean goods like sheet metal and not chemicals.

My plan is to make a dedicated pallet disassembly "machine" out of a hydraulic jack. My neighbor has offered in the past to weld for me if I needed something made up, so I think I'll design something and have him weld it up for me (or I'll give it a shot - I think he has a mig welder).

Oh cool. That should look really good.

 

[ururk]

Saturday, Jan 23: Moved the pump jacks to the house side (with plenty of help this time), finished putting the OSB on that side.

Placing a bracket for the pump jacks:

My pace feels glacially slow. I only got 7 sheets up, but feel like I should have accomplished a bit more. True, the pump jacks were moved and that took a few hours.

Anyhow, my plans for Sunday (another warm day - a high of 35 predicted) will be to finish the rear wall and place all of the housewrap.

 

[ururk]

Sunday, Jan 25: Three sides of OSB are done! Though it is now dark inside, it feels really good to have gotten this far without injury. I had held off on putting up two girts on the peak because, well, I just did.

One of two 2x6's left to go:

The top two were done today:

Normally with OSB you start from the bottom and go up - I felt it was better to start with the top and move down - it gave me some boards to grip, and I was able to "safely" attach the top board by climbing the girts.

It got too dark out to take another photo by the time I put the last little piece on and trimmed the edge.

 

[ururk]

Monday, Jan 25: Housewrap is now on! It got into the 40's today, so I took the afternoon off - it's going to rain tomorrow.

I completed both sides - the wrap isn't perfectly tight - the goal is to keep the OSB dry and away from the elements. I need steady warm (45 degrees +) days to finish the OSB like I need to, so have to wait till spring. I bought the cheapest housewrap I could find - ended up buying three 10' x 100' rolls. From what I can tell, it should last for three months.

Just the front left to do. Ack, I think I should rename this from 'build' to 'saga'.

The whole family of ladders is attending the build:

I bought just enough OSB to cover the barn - I went through 34 sheets of 4x10 and 3 sheets of 4x8. I only have one 4x8 left, so have to buy a few more sheets. I don't have a lot of scrap left over - I tried to use as many full sheets as possible, there were a few places where I used narrower pieces than I would have liked, but the alternative was to cut full sheets so there were fewer small pieces - didn't seem worth the effort.

 

[ururk]

Saturday, Jan 30: OSB is done!!!!! Wow, today was a crazy day. Picked up some sheets of OSB, installed additional girts and blocking, and got the OSB all hung. Plus, it was in the mid 40's - in January - in Michigan.

Sorry for all of the photos - felt appropriate. It is going to rain all day tomorrow, so might not get the housewrap on till Monday.


Start of the day, my friend who helped pick up the OSB (he has a hitch, I have a trailer) was able to spend a few hours - we got one sheet up before photos were taken:

I'm ordering (eventually, if I can find a distributor for The Overhead Door company who will sell to me - sigh) a rolling service door - and at the moment am covering up the opening and will frame it out properly... for now this will do. I got a reasonable price quote for a Corrigan door, but the specs on Overhead's doors look better on paper.

The place I got my original 4x10 OSB from didn't have enough in stock, so I went to another lumberyard - the OSB is significantly different in color.

Again, as usual I'm climbing over the structure - this time because I couldn't safely raise the pump jacks any higher. A slight mistake on my part. The pump jacks work great on the sides, but the front not as much because the eaves are so low, and that is where I attached them.

You aren't supposed to put a ladder on a pump jack (or scaffold) pick - for safety reasons. In order to get the top piece on I had to climb - just like I did the back. This time, however instead of placing the board at a specific height, I used two spacer boards (later removed) to set it in the right location.

Finally, I worked till 7:00pm:

It still felt warm out and there was no wind.


Hopefully the rain will be minimal tomorrow, and I can put the housewrap on. I have to tie up the rear tarp grommets - I bought a trailer tie-down ring/plate, used it on the front with great success, and right now the back is all loose.

 

[ururk]

Monday, Feb 1: Success! I am so relieved - the OSB and housewrap are done. Took a 1/2 day of vacation as it got up into the mid 40's. Last year the winter was brutal at this time - snow, cold, and more snow. It feels like spring out there.

Anyhow, this is what I had to cover:

I hung the first layer of wrap from the top, then the next, and then the third:

DO NOT DO THIS. There are OSHA videos explaining why not to:

An hour later:

At this point I'm going to close in both openings, while I try to get a garage door. I'm not too certain why the local distributor doesn't service residential - I am a paying customer - but I guess we aren't as profitable or there are challenges making sure the product is ok code-wise for the use. Or just too much trouble.

I'll likely spend next weekend cleaning up the inside, and around the barn in the muck. I have a bunch of scrap OSB to either store, give away, or throw away.

 

[matt_i]

Looking great! The one downside to the nice weather we are having is that the formerly lightly frozen ground has turned muddy...really muddy. I was nailing up some uplift connectors and got the ladders all muddy from my feet which got on my jeans.

What kind of siding are you planning?

 

[ururk]

Looking great! The one downside to the nice weather we are having is that the formerly lightly frozen ground has turned muddy...really muddy. I was nailing up some uplift connectors and got the ladders all muddy from my feet which got on my jeans.

Oh the muck is terrible. I almost wish it was just at freezing so that the ground was frozen.

What kind of siding are you planning?

Board and batten. I have a lot of work, though, before I can get going with that.

I probably won't be as prolific with pictures or updates, though if this warm weather keeps up I just may get done earlier.

 

[Deezler]

Great work man, beautiful barn. Just enjoyed doing the full read here. Really like your style but this must be costing you a good bit more than a basic pole barn, eh?

Yeah hasn't this weather been crazy? Weak winter thus far. Wish I had my own barn build going already to take advantage of it.

 

[ururk]

Great work man, beautiful barn. Just enjoyed doing the full read here. Really like your style but this must be costing you a good bit more than a basic pole barn, eh?

Yeah hasn't this weather been crazy? Weak winter thus far. Wish I had my own barn build going already to take advantage of it.

Yes - it is costing more than a pole barn:

Frame, roof decking, and foundation

If I had gone with stick walls, standard trusses and a block foundation, the price would have been cheaper. But - this is a space I intend to use for years - maybe 30-40 years if I can. I wanted something that I would appreciate, and frankly, regular construction doesn't inspire me. I know it may sound silly - but the environment I work in directly effects how I think about things.

A nice chunk of the cost of this project has gone into tools I've purchased for the job. I intended to buy most of the tools I've purchased for the project - in fact I justified saving money by paying myself to do the work via tool purchases. The pump jacks - ugh - were not part of the tool budget. But everything else was.

 

[Deezler]

Well congrats on your decision and hard work thus far.

I noticed all the tool purchases. Building something massive is certainly a GREAT excuse to acquire tools, haha. My buddy is building his own house next door to mine, and has done the same thing - built the expense of several major tool purchases into his construction loan budgeting. I have envy.

 

[ururk]

Well congrats on your decision and hard work thus far.

I noticed all the tool purchases. Building something massive is certainly a GREAT excuse to acquire tools, haha. My buddy is building his own house next door to mine, and has done the same thing - built the expense of several major tool purchases into his construction loan budgeting. I have envy.

And the best part - except the pump jacks - these are all tools I had intended to buy, so it isn't like I'm trying to acquire tools for tools sake, except my slowly growing vise collection, which started out innocently enough with a joke to a salesperson at an antique shop.

 

[ururk]

And one more simple YouTube video up. I have videos of the construction throughout, but it will take me a while to put those together. In the interim another video on cutting something, this time an oak peg that had to be flush cut:

 

[ururk]

Saturday, Feb 6: Cleaned up the barn finally, organized the pieces of wood into piles (pitch, burn, keep), and tested out two of the Feit electric shop lights. I'll know tonight how well these work, and how many I'll need to buy. They are on sale till the 21st ($5 / off), so generally speaking is a good deal. Not too sure I like their color - 4000K is a bit more yellow that I'd like in a cool white bulb, but 6000 can look a little clinical so maybe it is a good temperature.

Pitch or burn:

Temporary patch until I get a door framed in:

Much cleaner now, just need a TV set and I'll be finished - just kidding, if I put a TV in here I'll never leave:

Two LED light test, tonight will give me a better sense on how many I need:

Also... finally got a quote for the door. I might not be able to afford it - it was pricey. Might have to go with the Cornell Thermiser door. First I need to figure out what the energy savings will be between the two.

 

[ururk]

Sunday, Feb 28: Not much has happened - we got dumped on (snow) last week, and I'm having trouble deciding on which garage door to order. I have a fiberglass entry door on order (should arrive next week the earliest), so really can't do a whole lot at the moment. Once the fiberglass door arrives I can frame it in and install it.

I'm torn between the following manufacturers: The Overhead Door, CHI, Cornell. All three offer a weatherstripped/insulated rolling steel door. OHD is the most expensive, but also has the best R-value (and the coolest looking logo). CHI/Cornell aren't far behind, and cost significantly less ($1K less to be exact!). I finally located an OHD dealer that sells to residential and is located nearby, but communication with them is taking forever, probably because I'm not a big customer. OHD seems to have a good reputation... but I don't know if the extra cost is really worth it.

So:

Overhead Door (models 625/627)
* good reputation
* R-7.7 / R-10.9 (1.5" DEEP slat)
* $3,600 / $4,100
* motor adds ?
* Between-jamb mount requires 12" total space on the sides.
* air infiltration of < 1.0 cfm/ft^2

CHI (model 6242)
* R-7.2 / 7.9 (distributor said the door was really 7.9)
* $2,500
* motor adds $1.4K
* Between-jamb mount requires 13.5" total space on the sides
* air infiltration ?????

Cornell (Thermiser)
* R-8
* $2,250
* motor adds $1K
* Between-jamb mount requires 15.5"
* air infiltration of .3 cfm/ft^2

Pricing Liftmaster motors online, it seems I could get a motor for around $700. Sigh.


In the interim, I took two 360 panoramas with a Panono camera:

https://www.panono.com/p/wQs4FJbj9Bhm

https://www.panono.com/p/0sme1dFcE1wu

 

[rpenterics]

What size door?

 

[ururk]

What size door?

8'x8'

 

[ururk]

Also - I don't have all the literature on CHI. OHD has an inner baffle that keeps air from moving inside the hood. I can't tell what seals the Cornell door has in the hood, if any.

Frankly, what I would like but can't seem to get, are CAD drawings showing all seals, etc... for each of these mfg's - or detailed pictures of their doors. Emailing them directly is like trying to talk with a robot - the response they give you is to talk with a distributor, but then the distributors don't know enough about the product to give you the specific details ("we sell a lot of these... but don't have an answer to that question"). I don't think I'm asking for a lot - but at this point I just want drawings so I can evaluate the doors. No distributor has an example door I can look at, but they act like they sell them all the time. I suspect that architects/business owners aren't as, uh, particular as I am, and just want the distributor to 'get a door'.

I've read too many horror stories about people ordering things - sales reps coming out and speccing something, when the door arrives it doesn't fit -> I would like to be well educated on what I'm buying for this amount of money, and hopefully know if the thing that they want to sell me is appropriate.

Finally, only OHD seems to publish U values, and they are pretty high (which means the R-value really doesn't mean much). I'm guessing, since all the mfg's have similiar slat profiles, that their U-values are all about the same. Air sealing is probably the most important thing I have to worry about.

 

[matt_i]

Do you have to have a coiling/rolled-up door? It seems like you could have a really high end traditional tracked door (thinking of a Garaga) with a lot higher R-value (R16) and their double lip seal to reduce air leakage, and not even touch the bottom end quote above.

 

[ururk]

Do you have to have a coiling/rolled-up door? It seems like you could have a really high end traditional tracked door (thinking of a Garaga) with a lot higher R-value (R16) and their double lip seal to reduce air leakage, and not even touch the bottom end quote above.

I really don't want the door going overhead. I want to be able to work with it up or down, lights on above, without a door interfering. Plus, tracks are a dust magnet, and if I can get something that works well I'm OK spending a bit more money. At this point I've chosen not to go with OHD, now I just have to decide between CHI and Cornell.

 

[ururk]

Saturday, Mar 12: Good weather is back, I took delivery of my side door, and got some work done!

Where to start... early in the morning I was able to salvage some wood/material from a fallen outbuilding (from 1901). (The tools and new boards weren't part of it). My friend got all of the "nice" shiplap boards, I only got two small pieces. I would have liked more, but he arranged it and had been eying them for a while. I'm happy - might go back for more brick.

Anyhow, for the rest of the day I worked on framing the door opening. Here I am test-fitting the pieces together - not in the picture are two side board that sit on top of the concrete wall. The 2x6 wall girts will be cut on the outside of the frame, and the frame will be screwed into the 2x6 girts. I'll also screw through the OSB into the edge of the 2x10's.

The opening is 42", my door needs a 38" rough opening, the wall is 12" thick, and the door jamb is 6 9/16 deep. So, nothing really matches up. It took me a week of CAD drawing to figure this one out. Basically, the 2x10's make up the door frame - they will be doubled up once installed against the wall. However, I also need to extend the door frame through the wall so I can run foam right up to the door (exterior insulation). I want to use a stiff plywood - 3/4" in this case. The description is not my finest work of english, but it will do - I think once you see it in progress it will be much clearer.

Ultimately I had to remove 1/4" from the 2x10's in order to get the right gaps around the door. I used a router to remove the material:

(sorry for the blurry pic)

Pic of the fiberglass door I'm installing - it was on sale, and I also got a 5% discount on top of the sale:

A wee bit overkill, to be honest - I was going to go with a basic steel door. I tried to find a vintage wood door, and briefly toyed with the idea of making my own door. Anyhow, somehow I talked myself into this door.

 

[ururk]

Also - I ordered the rolling steel door from Cornell. I think either Cornell or CHI would have been fine - but the Cornell dealer in my area was responsive to my questions, and was able to provide me with the drawings I needed as well. In addition to the door Cornell makes a brush seal that reduces air infiltration into the hood from the outside - one problem with rolling doors is the gap at the top (unlike garage doors that seal all around the perimeter). This effectively closes the gap at the top, though at the sides at the top there will still be some areas that need sealing, but I'm pretty sure I can figure out a way to seal them off.

Finally, I decided to have them install it. I don't have the right lifting equipment to get the steel coil up, and frankly, I have enough to do already. I'm not so concerned about charging the coil, but now I don't have to worry about safely winding it. Total weight is estimated to be 800lbs, spread among 5 parts.

 

[ururk]

Sunday, Mar 13: Added wood preserver to the door frame. Not too sure this is needed, but it will be up against concrete (with sill foam separating it) and moisture could build up. Two coats... then let dry overnight -> it is a bit cold today, and rainy. I'll screw the frame together tomorrow and work on trimming the 2x6 girts.

 

[hpw]

from the picture it looks like there is no preservative on the end grain....that would be the part you definitely want to have sealed. That will wick moisture like a straw

 

[ururk]

from the picture it looks like there is no preservative on the end grain....that would be the part you definitely want to have sealed. That will wick moisture like a straw

I coated (basically, let the end grain draw the preservative in from the brush) it twice on the end grain and let it soak in each time - my photo was of the first coat, on the second coat it ended up darker.

 

[ururk]

Wednesday, Mar 6: Glued sill foam to the boards, built the frame, marked and cut through the girts. I still have a bit more to cut along the top.

Tomorrow or Friday I'll remove the boards from the OSB - I have to remove some of the housewrap from the outside as I used screws (and nails) on these boards. Once the boards are removed, I'll screw it up against the OSB and I'll screw the frame into the girts, finally some tapcons will be used to screw the wood into the concrete.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Just dropping in to check your progress, looking fantastic.

Regards

 

[ururk]

Thursday, Mar 17: More progress, albeit slowly. I removed the boards and screwed it in.

Test fitting, laser check:

I used the laser to mark where I needed to screw in:

Almost done! All screwed in but the tapcons:

After this is done I have two 2x side boards to add on the outside to stiffen the outer 2x's, and .75" plywood to extend from the inside to the outside.

 

[jb3]

Looks great!
You cant go wrong with a fiberglass door. I went the same route recently, totally maintenance free and they simulate wood so well now that its almost impossible to tell