So far my work area has been a granite slab 60 cm x 40 cm on some storage boxes and my old oak desk which also acts as a tool box. This is located in our dining room.
My leather store is in the roof of the garage attached to the side of our house as this is about to become a utility room. I need to find somewhere else to work and store my tools and materials.
My grand plan is to have a purpose built workshop in our back garden I have tried to call it an atelier which sounds quite posh but really it is not me.
Just to prove I am not someone who works in an atelier ere is my first plan.
In true style I drew it on the back of an envelope because it was handy white and free. Yes the angles are a little off but you get the idea.
I did consider buying a shed and adapting it for my use however the good ones were many thousands of pounds and the ones I could afford were bad.
I found a great little woodworking site called woodhaven2 and have been given lots of advice so I have decided to make my own. Before my accident I would have a go at building anything. Unfortunately I am neither young nor physically as able as I was but I am resourceful and have some good neighbours who also happen to be family so they have to help 🙂
The workshop will be 3.6 m x 2.4 m and will be less than 2.5 m high this will keep me within permitted planning.
In order to work out how much timber I need I needed a slightly more formal plan, I use lining paper when making cases for planning and working on. So lining paper is what I used for the plans.
To keep things simple the scale is 1 m to 1 cm there will be some digging involved as a footing is required 300mm x 300mm on which concrete lintels will be placed. A wooden frame will be built from these lintels. the inside will be OSB a man made strand board then insulation followed by a membrane before an air gap then the outer wooden panels.
In order to clear the space required to build this workshop I need to remove an old shed which has been on this property for at least the last 35 years. I forgot to take a picture before I started so here is one when I remembered.
Sorry for the lack of posts on the workshop progress I have been dodging the rain for the last week or so.
I have made some progress clearing the old shed I would have expected a shed that had been in place for so long to be easy to remove. how wrong I was this shed was very well built it took two full days over the last week to get it down.
It took some time and some digging to get this.
I quickly filled it with crushed stone before the rain filled it.
The day after I finished this I met with my surgeon. My next surgery was booked for January but when he said would you like it done tomorrow result.
5 days later. Tendons released much relief.
After 10 days the stitches were removed
I think today is day 19 despite my best efforts some scar tissue has formed so I have been using hand cream to massage the scar tissue. The upper layer is peeling away nicely and I still have a good range of movement.
Ok here is the final hand picture all is good pain is manageable back to previous levels.
Before surgery I showed a picture of the first foundation trench which I filled with stone Yesterday I dug and filled the other trenches I am going to push the edges out with shallower foundations for paths that will go around the outer edge of the workshop.
Last week I had some help from my wife and my son and we removed a lot of turf and replaced it with hardcore for the base of the new paths.
I have stopped levelling the hardcore as I have decided to hire a whacker plate to tamp down the trenches as well as the path foundations.
I finally plucked up the courage to order the timber yesterday 47mm x 150mm x 78m 47mm x 100mm 87m and 50m of other assorted sizes. Along with 8 concrete lintels for the base.
Lots of timber ready for cutting to size I now have the timber for the frame and most of the insulation the concrete lintels that the wooden frame will sit on (these are so heavy) I cannot lift even the small ones.
The whacker is due to arrive tomorrow to help level and compact the hardcore. I was advised to choose a hardcore with a mixture of sizes of stones and sand that would compact to a solid base.
Everyone who takes on a project like this has wobbles it is quite daunting to look at this pile of expensive timber and wonder if I can create what I have in my mind.
I need to get on with pen cases as I need to buy a roof covering before I start construction.
Once I had the whacker and an extra 850 kg bag of hard core I went round and round compacting the hard core for a few hours.
My first plan was to lay the lintels on top of the weed barrier so it was secure.
Unfortunately I had done most of the lintels before I realised that I would not be able to level them as the barrier was well a barrier 🙂 sorry about that. The barrier stopped me from seeing the high and low points. So I then had to undo what I had done.
The lintels are in place level but not fully square that will happen over the next few days providing the cold snap we are expecting does not appear. I have managed to acquire some insulation from a local company free of charge as well as a window that had been mis sized by a local window company for less than a third of the cost of a new one.
All of the lintels are now level both horizontally and vertically it is also square it is a strange 3 dimensional puzzle. It took some time over a few days to reach this point.
The next step is to learn how to mix and lay mortar for the damp proof course which sits on a bed of mortar.
The worst thing that could happen would be heavy rain or frost well a few hours after I finished we had heavy rain and overnight we had a heavy frost.
I had covered the lintels so I am hoping that all will be well once the covers come off.
Everything was fine when I took the covers off and was still level and square. The next step was to cut the timber to allow the black plastic vents to be slotted in place. I also wanted overlapping joints at each corner so they had to be cut as well.
The damp proof course sits on a bed of mortar as does the wooden soleplate which will also have steel straps securing it in place. The floor joists will also hang from this soleplate. The walls will sit on this soleplate as well so it is quite important.
The next step is to fit the joists on their hangers my original plan was to fit them at 400mm unfortunately I had place the vents in the wrong place so I went with 450mm instead. This will cause some issues with the flooring but I will deal with that when the time comes.
The hangers require special twisted nails to fix them in place now holding the joist while holding the nail and hitting it with a hammer is hard enough with two hands. So it was more tricky for me. I used a brick and some wood to raise the joist pushed the nail in and wacked it with my best hammer.
So I now have a foundation and a floor all level and square I am quite pleased.
I need to clear space on my deck next when it stops raining / snowing long enough to build the wall panels. Oh and temperatures above zero degrees would be nice too. 🙂
No joy on the temperatures today although the frozen ground meant no mud. 🙂 I started early to get as much done as possible before the snow comes. For some reason in my plan I had omitted the two joists at either end which are required to support the ends of the floor. So my first job was to add those joists. The I started adding the blocking joists.
The next step is to start framing the walls I marked out one of the full length pieces and used that to transfer the marks to the other pieces.
After marking I drilled pilot holes and laid all of the pieces out on the floor and screwed it together.
That is my first wall framed 🙂 happy day.
Because I had cut all of the timber in advance the first wall was just a case of assembly the second wall has a small window and is a little more complex. As with the first wall I have cut all of the timber except the lintels.
As I have the window I measured it and added 5 mm clearance all around and made a wooden outer frame from 150mm x 50mm this will bring the window out level with the outer cladding.
From paper to wood.
This is looking from the top down with offcuts taking the part of the lintel which I am yet to cut.
This picture is a little confusing as there is another wall and the floor below. If you look to the top where the red clamp is there is a double lintel running left to right which are fixed to the top plate above. Below them is the top of the window frame then the sides of the window frame outside of the window frame is a supporting stud for the lintels which is called a cripple stud and it runs down to the bottom plate then there is a gap (which I intend to fill) to the normal stud. Underneath the window frame is another supporting cripple stud which is attached to the window sill and also to the long cripple. Everything is attached to the bottom plate. If anyone is interested I used 80mm no 5 coated wood screws to fix everything together. Due to the issues with my hands nails either hammered or from a gun are not a possibility. Lots of clamps and plenty of screws is the best option for me.
If you are wondering why I have built one wall on top of the first firstly it helps with accuracy but most importantly I cant move the wall on my own so they will have to stay there until I have help to move them 🙂
The white coating on the wood is ice we are having a cold spell This morning 31st January it is minus 6 degrees which is too cold for me so I will update when it is above zero degrees.
The weather has improved slightly we had a heavy frost overnight but it was a balmy 8 degrees by lunch time. As the timber was already cut the back frame went together quickly the front frame was more tricky as it involves the door frame. I had ordered two 3.6m lengths but it took me some time to work out the combination of 1.9m and 1.7m to get the correct sizes of timber to make the lintels and the door frame.
My pile of timber has now become a pile of frames.
After framing the door it was time to stand it up.
The next picture looks similar to the previous picture however there are some differences. I have added the top plates which tie the frames together I have also added noggins they are horizontal pieces of timber that tie the vertical studs together. Everything is screwed down tight and is quite stable we have had some strong winds over the last 24 hours and it has stood up well.
I have ordered some coated chipboard for the flooring it is 22mm thick and is tongue and groove so it is also structural. I will be fitting my free insulation between the joists and sealing it with special expanding foam that is insulation grade. I have also ordered 13 sheets of 11mm x 2440mm x 1220mm OSB3 particle board it is lots of small pieces of wood glued together under pressure as they use waterproof glue it also acts as a vapour barrier for moisture. This will be the inner skin then I will have 100mm of insulation before the outer membrane which will be attached to the outside of the studs batons will be fixed on top to create an air gap before the outer timber skin.
This will happen over the next few weeks maybe months but you know what to expect.
We have had some very strong winds over the last few days which have played havoc with my weed barrier so I have spent most of this afternoon clearing up and relaying the weed barrier. I have also laid the weed barrier under the floor in preparation for installing the insulation and laying the floor. To prevent the weed barrier from being blown around I have covered it with the final layer of black basalt.
I started fitting the insulation between the joists forgetting about the curiosity of spaniels
Two panels cracked but I managed to put them back together before putting the other insulation in and starting to lay the floor.
It was almost dark when I took this picture so the final row of floor panels can wait until tomorrow.
Now it is Spaniel proof the floor is finished and is solid.
Time to start the roof frame I wanted a low profile roof so I made a very shallow angle or pitch.
I did not like this so I took it all down the following day and started again.
This is my second and final attempt at the roof frame I am very happy with it and will move on to the interior panels.
It sounds quite simple and straight forward when I said I would move on to the interior panels HA HA. The studs are at 600mm centres the panels are 2440 x 1220mm so they don’t actually match up. Oh and did I mention they are quite heavy. I do have some large clamps but they are in a tool box buried in the back of the garage that has all of the other materials inside.
My plan is to do the sides first then the inner roof and finally the end walls I am trying to get the best finish for the inside.
There is a small gap in the top right hand corner which I hope to resolve today.
Inside almost finished
Inside sheathing finished the OSB3 boards are not water proof but water resistant as the forecast was for three or four dry days I decided to go for it.
Roof insulation fitted and foamed into place. As you can see there is still a gap which I later filled with more insulation before adding the insulation to the walls and starting the outer wrap.
It might not look any different but I have fixed the correct size battens to the roof boxed off the ends of the rafters, Fixed half of the side battens in place.
We were forecast for some strong winds over the last few days so I fastened everything down and picked up any loose materials.
I am pleased to say the building survived the weather so I will be back to it later in the week.
The next step is to start the doors in my school woodwork class we made mortice and tenon joints and to be honest I don’t think I have made one since.
My original plan was to use the timber which is 95mm x 45mm cutting the mortices across the 95mm width of the timber. Now anyone who knows anything about this will know this was wrong.
This is why the end of the timber just fell apart.
This meant a total rethink of the doors and my tenons would need re cutting to fit through the longer section of the timber.
As I was cutting the tenons and putting the doors together the apprentices realised that there was a new warm spot in the garden. This is Diesel.
This is Zoe two of our three rescue Springer spaniels the third Millie came along later and was disgusted to find little pieces of wood all over the floor where the sun was shining
Doors need hinges my first choice were strap hinges but that did not work out. These are my second attempt butt hinges a set of three stainless steel hinges for each door. Let me see if I can explain this correctly. The doors are set back from the edge of the frame to accommodate the cladding which is 20 mm thick the same as the walls.
It turns out there was a simple solution, If I had gone to the supplier and asked for the most expensive hinges they had it would have saved me some time.
These are stainless steel parliament hinges fortunately they are very strong but unfortunately they are three times the price !
Test fitting door one.
Both doors test fitting with the hinges surface mounted as you can see there is a gap but I have a plan.
If you look closely you can see the shiny white wood in the middle of the doors this is the end cover on the edge of each door.
Here are the finished doors with the inner lining of OSB3 and water proof membrane to help keep the water out.
Now the building is watertight there will be a short delay while we paint the cladding and I make some more money to pay for the roof.
Short delay very funny, I don’t like painting I may have mentioned this before but I really don’t like painting.
You may be surprised to hear that I am still not finished painting there are 34 pieces at 3m and 34 at 3.6m both sides that is 448m of timber to paint. then it needs a second coat and the outside gets a third. I ordered a spray gun yesterday 🙂
The idea here is to fit one section all around the bottom giving a level edge to start from.
The boards have to be secured in a particular way to prevent splitting and warping a single nail or in my case screw is placed just above the top of the lower board holding it in place.
I used two pieces of scrap timber to make crucifixes to assist in placing the boards and keeping them level.
Everything went well except for the rear wall I had to fight the bamboo at the bottom and must have made an error as it is not level. If I can live with it, It will stay as it is if not then it has to be removed and refitted.
The window wall is also finished as is the other side wall.
I realised half way through I would not have enough cladding and actively considered other options such as glass or acrylic to fill the panels. I did consider other options however I decided to stick with the cladding so I went to the timber merchant and ordered another 18 m to finish the doors.
As I was considering other options for the doors like glass or acrylic so I worked around the doors. And once I had decided to use the cladding I started cladding the doors.
Trying to keep everything level believe me it is a lot harder than it looks.
So the cladding is finally finished I have to say I am quite pleased.
The outer roof consists of two layers the first you can see above is 22mm OSB3 which you can see above half fitted. This is really heavy.
OSB3 from above.
There was a lot of preparation work between fitting the wooden outer cover and the final roof surface. The glue for the outer covering needs to have a temperature above 4 degrees for 48 hours after application.
While waiting for suitable weather I focused on the inside I needed some trunking for the sockets and lights.
I also wanted shelving the shelving is going to be made from plywood cut into strips one edge cut to 45 degrees this is called a French cleat. the shelves are attached the another piece of plywood with a corresponding 45 degree cut. The two pieces slot together making a very strong shelf it is also very easy to move things around.
In order to cut these pieces I bought a plunge or track saw this is a circular saw on a track basically but it makes cutting sheet materials very easy. I started off with the cheapest I could find but returned this before I opened it as its track was not compatible with other saws which makes upgrading impossible. Next I went to an own brand of a major retailer the first one I collected came with two small 700mm tracks which did not join together correctly. The second one worked great for a couple of hours them I noticed it was getting difficult to move along the track.
This little grub screw was the cause of the issue so I tightened it up and off I went, two cuts later it came out again I did consider taking it out all together. However this is a powerful saw with a 1200 watt motor so I tightened it again. I called the retailer and they suggested I return it.
Forget budget tools or own brand I upgraded to a top quality tool. Diesel the springer spaniel has given it his approval.
Finally the weather changed frosty mornings have gone for now and it is hot.
Getting the membrane up there was not easy but I did it in the end.
After unfolding the membrane I allowed the rubber to settle for a while to allow the folds to pull out.
The glue is special glue for this application smells like a latex type of glue. Applied quite thickly and the rubber is pushed down into it. Anyway this is what it looks like when it is done.
The edges need to be folded over and fixed in place with some wood edge panels.
The weather has been hot again today 24 degrees plus so I did not do much other than paint wood for the edge trim. which I have started fitting.
Not too bad I think.
The outside is now finished and I can focus my attention on the inside 🙂
The inside is made up of OSB panels with trunking for the electrics also made from OSB and softwood for the edges. slots for socket boxes were cut with a router I also used the router to trim the edges and round over the corners.
Clearing everything out ready to start painting.
Having watched numerous videos on painting small rooms I decided to use a small airless paint sprayer as an alternative to a roller and brush.
My choice of paint was simple I went to the paint cupboard in the garage and picked up the heaviest tin. I have to be honest the heaviest tin was a pinkish purple colour which I ruled out because well it was awful. I started with blue emulsion.
I read the instructions and thinned the paint by around 5% I found it difficult to get a good flow the paint was spitting out of the nozzle.
I decided to continue with the roller after this which caused me a lot of pain and it took days to recover after this.
I mentioned this on the woodhaven2 forum and the consensus was that my paint was too thick for the spray gun to handle.
The next heaviest tin was white not wishing to wear sun lasses while I worked I added some black to make it grey which was my intended colour.
Taking the advice I had been given I thinned the paint by 30% the results were fantastic.
I was excited as this was much easier than using a roller and brush.
The following morning I set everything up ready to spray when I noticed a spring clip had come loose from the back of the air intake. I tried to put it back but it was part of the mechanism that restricted the flow of paint from the nozzle. The flow was more like a hose than spray I ended up with paint everywhere. I contacted the supplier Amazon as the product was no longer available they could not help. Rather than start over with another sprayer I returned to the roller option as I had already thinned the paint ready for the gun I moved on to the next tin magnolia again adding black to darken the colour.
Despite my best efforts at mixing paint everything was a different colour or maybe a different shade of magnolia 🙂 I wanted to stay with the grey so my wife and I went to a local diy store where they had all 17 Dulux greys we bought 5 litres and I spent the next few days painting everything again.
I had hoped that the painting was finished until I realised that the doors had been in the fully open position folded against the front wall. Which of course meant I did not paint them 😦 so before I can move on I have to paint the inside of the front doors.
Work benches are next I have already purchased an MFT style top this is a system made by Festool where the top has a series of 20mm holes at 96mm centres across the top. These holes accommodate aluminium rods called dogs. The dogs can be used in many ways to secure work pieces or straight edges and indeed track for a plunge saw.
I intend to use my top as a base for my Makita track saw which I will be using for all of my cutting work going forward. The MFT style top is 1120mm x 712mm made from 20mm mrmdf as the edges of this material are rather soft I plan to edge it either with hardwood or aluminium extrusion or a combination of both.
To facilitate the use of the track saw I needed some extra track to suit my purposes I have had a long piece of track cut on a milling machine to give me more options I now have 1 x 1.5m 1 x 1.4m 1 x 1.0m and 1 x 500mm. Millie the springer spaniel is supervising the work this morning. The longest sheets I am likely to cut is 2.4m so I can easily accommodate this by using joining strips I could actually cut 4.4m if I joined all of the pieces together.
I could have used a 1.4 m track to crosscut with my 712mm work top but I would have had to crawl under it to get around to the other side of the workshop.
In an ideal world I would have built all of my work benches from aluminium extrusion and plywood but it is very expensive compared to the timber option.
This simple drawing shows how the base of the benches will be constructed using mortise and tenon joints. the MFT style top will have a base like this but lower to allow a torsion box construction below the top but I will explain this in detail when I have worked out how I am going to make it.
I don’t have much progress to report this week as I have been busy with other things.
I have started putting the wires into the trunking there are two circuits for the sockets and they are placed alternatively they are marked with masking tape so I can tell them apart.
I am going to make the first workbench today 🙂
I managed to get the top half finished this is called a torsion box which is supporting an MFT (multi function top) work bench. A grid of plywood designed to provide support to the top section. I need to make the stand next.
I have also fitted the metal back boxes to the trunking and fitted and then decided to move and re fit the consumer unit from the left side to the right side of the trunking I just need to re position the wiring to follow it.
I am sorry to say there has been little progress on my workshop for sometime there are lots of reasons time and money being a major factor.
The distribution panel has been wired and the sockets have been fitted.
I have also fitted the light panels although I used metal strips to hold them in place which I am unhappy with so I plan to take them down and make a wooden strip to hold the panels in.
Once the electrics have passed the checks by a certified electrician then the final connection can be made and I will have power 🙂
Now all of the cables are in place I can start to think about the outside surrounding the workshop.
This is the main grass area which I have recently turned over and re seeded it is growing well despite being planted at the wrong time of year. You can just see the black basalt stone path surrounding the grass. The paths are made up of compacted hardcore then a weed barrier before the stone is added. This section of path took two 900kg bags of black basalt another two bags are on the way.
As the stone was on its way I needed to extend the step of the existing deck and then put the side piece of the workshop deck in place to allow the stone to be put in place when it arrived. This was necessary as all of the storage space in the garden is about to have decking placed over it.
As you can see the step has been extended and the beam from the step to the workshop complete with joist hangers has been fixed to its posts ready for its deck facing piece to be fitted. Zoe one of our rescue spaniels is over seeing the work.
Now the stone has been carried through and placed and raked flat that are four 900 kg bags here. As you can see I have started the process of laying out the decking. There is a double beam in front of the doors with posts positioned in the middle of each door.
As you can see a planter has been added in the right of the picture and the joists have been put in place to allow the posts to be placed. I will be removing them to dig holes for posts and to bolt the corner where the fence meets the workshop.
The weed barrier is important so everything has to be removed to allow it to be fitted.
There is an existing deck which you can just see in the bottom left of this picture, I have extended the step forward to the workshop side where the first joist has been secured to a line of posts.
Each joist for the workshop deck has been marked ready for re fitting as the area below this deck was mainly concrete I wont be digging holes for every post.
As you can see there is a 90 degree corner and in an ideal world I would like to have a mitred joint across it. A staggered joint is also a possibility although a mitre is my first choice. Getting a mitre over 4.8 metres long is not easy well not for me anyway. 🙂 To get what I wanted I first made sure the two joists were at 90 degrees then using the compound mitre saw and a frame square I marked the position of a corner joist with mitred ends going across the corner this would mean I could attach the mitre joists to the corner joist. Like this.
So as you can see the double joist which I am calling a beam now goes across the corner providing support for the joint.
The next part is to fill the remaining area with joists and noggins with posts to support the deck. Eventually you get this.
As you can see the flower box has its flowers planted already all of the joists noggins and posts are in place and it is ready to have the deck fitted.
As we had an existing deck I needed to combine the new deck with it. The older deck needed a good clean before I could start. Fortunately my son loves to jet wash stuff so he took care of that.
Once clean I removed every other piece and used one of my favourite toys the Makita track saw with its track to trim all of the original pieces that remained so the new deck could join and look right.
The longest part of the deck is 8.8 metres the shorter side is about 5.8 metres with a 90 degree turn leading to the workshop which has a long side of 7.8 metres broken by the flower box and a short side of 4.1 metres. I have agonised over how to handle the join at the 90 degree corner and have decided to take the harder option of mitering the corner. As i have mentioned I do have a fantastic track saw with 4.5 metres of track so I should be able to cut it in one go.
I the mean time I have to screw down the deck boards unfortunately I decided I did not like the previous gap between the boards so as I have screwed down the new boards I have taken up and refitted the old boards. As I can no longer put any weight on my hands due to newly discovered impingement syndrome and arthritis in my left shoulder. My surgeon said “you dont need that piece of bone I will just nip it off for you” and as I now have ring fingers triggering on both hands there will be more surgery but hopefully after this job is finished. Anyway I need to sit to screw the boards down and was shuffling along the deck on my backside when my son came out and said “what you need is a hover board” not having access to a hover board a little light went on and i got a set of wheels and a scrap of mdf and screwed them together like when I was young before skate boards when we got a roller skate and a piece of wood which we sat on and rode down a hill. picture to follow.
Sorry for the low light picture but the decking is now complete except for the areas close to the house I need to wait for warmer weather to finish it.
Shortly after starting this project we lost one of our rescue spaniels she was called Keela sadly we lost her brother Diesel a few weeks ago. The flower bed is their final resting place.
That mitre was as difficult as everyone said it would be.
I must admit I have lost my way with the workshop for a few weeks making the benches had me stumped for some time. Mortice and tenon joints kept breaking and I could not make them work. I was advised to try using my router to make the mortices and this is working for me.
These frames make up the bench supports they have rails at the bottom and further supports at the top.
Right and left hand views of the rear bench which will be used for marking and cutting as well as assembly of larger projects. It is 2.3 m wide and 800 mm deep.