Finally time to pull the trigger . . . starting on the New (much anticipated) SHOP - Build

[conv67bdere]

The silo . . . Many questions on the purpose of it . . . Answered . . .

Is the reason for the Silo because you're putting in a lift/elevator?

Uh - I wish . . . and NO, RC did not volunteer to donate one . . .

Spiral staircase?

That's the plan . . .

Agreed.....i was just going to posts that same idea.

Known fact - no matter HOW big the shop is made, I'll wish it was bigger.
Also . . . could not see using up VALUABLE shop space for a staircase . . .

So - I decided to make a spiral staircase, in a silo (to add to the "barn" style) . . .
Yes indeed . . . I think outside the box . . .

So that's the plan . . .

More later . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Got a break in the rain today . . . and was able to get some stuff done . . .

Forecast was for rain all day Saturday and Sunday . . . Thank goodness . . .
They were wrong again with the weather . . .

Really wonder how much more could have been done if there wasn't 2 days of rain.

After getting the 16' of silo done, also got it covered with some tin to "try" and keep
the rain out . . . got 3 days of rain in the forecast . . . UGH ! ! !

Then the task that was dreaded . . . getting back up on top to get the ridge vent and closures in place . . .
Was not looking forward to this . . . How to get a 10' piece of metal up there . . . but - figured something out . . .
And now - 4 of them are completely installed, 1 is in place to keep the rain out . . .

The good news . . . no more leaky tarps screwed down up there . . . and no leaks with all the rain ! ! !

Found this guy upside-down under a piece of plywood . . . and thought he had expired . . . but brought him in the
house - and placed him in a very little bit of water . . . the little guy perked up . . . and was still alive . . .
He's back outside in the area that I found him . . . to live another day . . . or hopefully longer . . .

After 2days of rain - no water in the silo - that' was a miracle ! ! !

Needed to get something done on the front of the building as not much has happened here recently . . .
So the next panel was put in place . . . and what happens next . . .

So right . . . can't stand the yellow color . . . so it got a coat of red to make it look better . . .

Then there was that back of this section of the shop . . . that needed some attention . . . 1st panel . . .

2nd panel got put in place . . . it would not lay flat . . . scratched my head . . . then remembered . . .
Had a piece of would that was added and it was protruding out . . . got it removed and it sits nice now . . .

Got the 3rd and last panel in place for this section of the shop . . .

Look out . . . Here comes the inspector . . . Try and look busy . . .

and what's next . . .

Of course . . . had to get rid of the yellow color . . . so it got a coat of red too . . .

Also, the blocks that were in one of the pictures above, have been set in place, need to fill them with cement.
That will allow the building of the back wall - decided to put another 10' wide 8' tall door on the back, and also
a people door . . . does NOT leave a whole lot of wall that needs to be built now . . .

Got a plan . . . got the lumber in the shop . . . now it just needs to get built . . . should be coming soon . . .

More Later . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Got a PLAN, a good weekend ahead of me, and a couple milestones "hoped" to be reached . . .

Wow . . . helps when you've got a plan and a direction on the project . . .

Got the last of the blockwork done - and needed to get them filled with concrete - DONE.

With that, a milestone has been reached . . . Do not believe any more concrete will need to be mixed for
THIS project ! ! !

Got a couple LED lights and have got them added to the shop - here's the downstairs . . .

And the light in the upstairs . . . now the shop can be used even when it's dark . . .

The back of the shop that has been a fight to keep the rain out - gets the tarps pulled down . . . weird feeling . . .

Get the next section of wall built . . . yup . . . that is the WHOLE section of wall . . .

With that . . . it was muscled into place . . . and the rear wall is getting started . . . Can't wait . . .

Wow . . . had to remove MORE of the tarp as it was in my way . . .

Get the next section of wall built . . . once again . . . yup, that's it ! ! !

And once again . . . with it built, the section gets muscled into place . . .

Next on the agenda . . . get the header installed over this door . . .

Things are moving along pretty quickly now and I'm really enjoying seeing the progress . . . .

Still got another day of work to get done and hopefully get it posted . . .

More Later . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Great weekend with a load of stuff done . . . Feels really good with all the stuff that got done ! ! !

Wow - Rock and Rolled this weekend on the projects and it shows . . .

To continue with the back wall, the header above the garage door was installed
Did this differently . . . just (1) - 2 x 12 at a time and (3) of them was VERY HEAVY . . . much easier !

Then filled in the studs above the header . . .

Got the next section of wall built ( love these "small" sections - so much easier to muscle into place )

So once it was in place, the header was installed above the people doorway . . .

And then the studs added to the wall above the header . . . and all that was left is the attachment . . . to the silo
Had some "fun" with this as the measurements and plumb were not quite working out . . . but found where the
problem was - got the walls moved as needed and everything is where it needs to be ! ! That felt good ! ! !

With the wall now done, the next phase of the construction was adding the siding to the wall . . . 1st piece . . .

Then went over to the silo . . . and removed the 10" "temp" stuff that was slapped on the end to cover things . . .
Cut the new panels so that the siding grooves matched the pattern . . .

And got that whole wall re-installed for the last time . . . this time it was permanent ! ! ! And then proceeded to
work my way around the silo, one face at a time . . .

Trying to figure out how to size them - took 1 panel ( get it wrong ) and the rest went in very nicely ! !

Got almost the entire silo ( only to the 8' mark sided . . . and it's starting to look like a shop in the back too !

Only one last thing to do for the day - get it painted ( but I've already posted my 10 pics ) next posting . . .
Got a whole lot of rain coming - will need to get the plastic back up to protect the shop . . .

And figure out how to get the silo from the 8' to the 16' height installed . . . that'll be "fun" . . .

And figure out what I'm going to do with the wall on the second floor so it can get framed in . . .

More Later . . . .

 

[Jesse6869]

Must say I love seeing a 1 man show to see what one can create when you put your mind an dedication to it. Vary impressive for sure. Did you draw up plans for this ? Wing it ? How much though did you put into it before you broke ground?

 

[conv67bdere]

Only got 2 panels to put up - knock it out today - EASY . . . Riiiighhhttt . . . .

Whew - forgot how much has to go into getting the end part of the roof done . . .

First of all, let's start off with the picture from last week - the new panel painted
( sorry - got done late and it was getting dark . . . )

Found this guy hanging around in the back yard . . . gotta be at least a 6' er . . .

Finally got the purlins that were needed . . . so this part of the roof can finally get finished off . . . Easy job ? ?
Thought that I only had 2 panels left to get put up . . .

Tired of the roof looking like this and having to fight with the rain and leaks . . .

So when I got all the temporary plastic roofing stuff down . . .

that's a very big hole in the roof . . .

it then became apparent that it was not 2 panels left . . . it was 3 panels that still needed to go up . . .
First - I had to get that LAST board in place for the end of the roof line . . .

Get all the purlins cut and installed - that went pretty well . . . then I realized that I had more transitions that
were needed on this side - that did not get installed because the purlins were missing . . .

Then the end of the roof overhang had to get built - they go sideways to help support the overhang . . .

After that - I had to fill in the blocking and fill in the purlins on top of the blocking . . . got it all done and then
decided to get out the stain and get some color and protection on these board . . .

That's when I realized ALL of the blocking that was installed was on the wrong side of the wall . . . ARGH ! ! !
So they all had to be un-done and moved from the inside of the wall - to the outside where they belonged.

After that - got all the boards stained . . . ready for roofing . . . Only 3 panels . . .

The first panel went up fairly easy, as I was able to get it installed while standing on the scaffolding . . .

However - I've now run out of flooring on the 2nd floor and the scaffolding was not going to be of any use now.
That meant a new plan needed to be concocted . . . and it was . . .

Undid some of the plastic on the other side of the shop and had to climb through that hole for access . . .
Lift the panel over to the other side . . . and hold it in place while I get it screwed into place . . . while hanging
onto a life-line to keep from sliding off the top roof . . . your typical work day "stuff" . . . .

Got the last 2 panels installed this way - and now there is no more light shining in this side of the shop and it
is now completely covered in tin . . . YAY ! ! !

Nice improvement on the looks from that ugly plastic stuff that was up there earlier in the day . . .

That "easy" little project turned into a whole day ordeal, with several things needing to get gone before the next
step of the project could be worked on . . . but I reached my goal and at the end of the day, 1/2 of my shop is
NOW completely covered in TIN . . . and I'm wore out . . .

But wanted to get this posted on the progress . . .

More Later . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Great progress this weekend, and this week - trying to get you caught up . . . Busy, busy, busy . . . .

What a great weekend . . . was forecast for rain every day but that didn't happen except for a 20 minute
rain on Sunday night . . . had a REALLY BAD storm blowing this way Monday morning . . . scrambled to get
the shop covered in plastic . . . but the storm dissipated before it got to us . . .

Here's the one side covered in tin . . . finally . . .

Working on getting the silo covered and get the shop enclosed . . .

of course - get up some panels and get them stained . . .

Rented a lift to help with some of this high stuff . . . climbing a ladder with these 75 pound panels would be
"no fun" at all . . .

Trying to get the silo all filled in up to the 16' level that has been framed . . .

Of course . . . getting them stained is on the list too . . .

Interesting view that you don't usually see and thought I'd throw this in for a perspective . . .

The silo needs to go higher as I can' get the roof done until the silo is above the roof line . . . so here we go . . .
The first 6' extension is being added . . . this will take me to 22' . . .

Got the 2nd panel in place . . . looking pretty cool ! ! ! !

Getting the 3rd panel installed now . . . these were just muscled up into place . . . and hoped that I didn't drop
them on my truck that was on the ground behind my work . . .

Well . . . that's my next 10 pictures to share . . . need to get you another post and MUCH more work has been
accomplished . . .

More Later . . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Must say I love seeing a 1 man show to see what one can create when you put your mind an dedication to it. Vary impressive for sure. Did you draw up plans for this ? Wing it ? How much though did you put into it before you broke ground?

Thanks so much for the very kind words . . . trying to find a few to respond to your questions . . . soon . . . ( I hope ) . . . Will say this, it's "kinda" a bucket list item . . .

 

[kiwigtx]

You're nearly there buddy.....I still think there is a little wiggle room for a telescope observatory there in the tower.

 

[PRND21]

You're nearly there buddy.....I still think there is a little wiggle room for a telescope observatory there in the tower.

I think at least a window would be pretty cool at the top. Great job, Larry.

 

[conv67bdere]

Great progress this weekend, and this week - trying to get you caught up . . . Busy, busy, busy (part 2) . . . .

Here's the next installment on all of the work that got done Memorial Day weekend . . .

Work on getting the 6' extension on the silo continues . . . quite well too . . .

Adding in a view from the front - as you can see it's above the roofline, so the final work on the 3 remaining metal
roofing panels will "hopefully" be in the schedule . . . got weather heading our way Monday morning . . .

This was the "interesting" and fun part of the build - all of the geometry to get a multi pitch roof matched up to
a octagon silo . . . just took a shot at it one step at a time . . .

Here's where one of my design flaws crept up on me ( didn't realize it until now ) - drew out the octagon, with
blocks in Sketchup - problem is it was added to the back of the building - this meant that I now have the blocks
of the building beside the blocks of the silo - you'll see later the work needed to make it all work . . .

For the first time in the silo build, the complete octagon on top of the silo is completed . . .

And another view from the bottom . . . really starting to look like a barn and silo now . . .

More framing on the top 6' of the silo . . . moving along . . . Notice here that the roof line on that side of the shop
has not yet been completed . . .

More of the geometry work and getting the two of them connected is getting done . . .

All of the roofline on this side of the shop has now been completed, and it's also stained now to boot ! ! !

With the roof rafters all in place, the fun work for getting the metal cut to fit all the angles can begin . . .
Think it took me about 7-10 tries on cutting the metal to finally get it to fit ( and not mess up the panel )

Got up Monday (Memorial Day) morning and a storm was West of us heading our way - warning of high winds,
possible hail - so I start scrambling to get things covered - the Silo needs a cover - was going to use the camo
tarp - then thought that the clear plastic would let in some daylight . . . so the building begins . . .
Obie is keeping watch that I'm doing my work properly . . .

That's my lot of 10 pictures for this go round . . . more coming for this weekend work . . .

On the storm, the storm hit Spartanburg SC and was heading our way - pretty big . . . as it got closer and closer
to the Charlotte area it started to fall apart and dissipate . . . we did NOT get a drop of rain from the storm . . .

It was the craziest thing that you ever did see . . . Part 3 of the weekend work coming soon . . .

More Later

 

[PRND21]

Not to be critical, but that hexagon looks an awful lot like an octagon to me.
Just curious, did you have any written plans for this or are you like me, I picture something in my mind and just start building and hopefully work out the problems as I go?

 

[conv67bdere]

Great progress this weekend, and this week - trying to get you caught up . . . Busy, busy, busy (part 3 - Last ) . . . .

As stated - got a whole ton of work done in this 4 day weekend, even with the threat of rain everyday . . .

Also - the push in the morning to get the place protected from the rain . . . well that pushed me to get the last
3 metal panels of roofing installed on the building - All the roofing panels are on . . . Now - it's NOT done yet.
- got the ridge vent to work on and get all the closures in place
- got all the trim work that still needs to go on
- got a bit of work to get the connection of the barn to the silo figures out and water proofed . . .

Got this interesting view of the building to share with everyone . . .

Got a bit more work on the silo done too while I had the lift . . . but just ran out of time . . .

Of course, as usual, the panels got stained with the red stain . . . got a bunch of the outside silo done . . .

So now the focus is on the inside of the silo and getting it all framed in properly . . .

Was able to pick up a couple of Lowes mid level paint that was returned . . . it covers MUCH better than the other
primer that was being used . . . and was happy to get a better quality paint for sealing this stuff . . .

Now for the bad news . . . look at the color of the studs in the silo . . . what color was the returned paint ? ? ?

You guessed it . . . almost the same color as the ugly yellow/tan that the exterior panels are colored . . . UGH ! ! !

Just my luck . . .

Now you're caught up on my 4 day Memorial day weekend work . . . more work has been done . . . posts later . . .

More Later

 

[conv67bdere]

Now to get caught up on the work since then . . . a week worth of work . . .

Still been working on things, just been busy and not able to get them posted.

A view that you haven't seen yet - but I really thought it was amazing . . .

Ordered the metal for the stairs, and got it delivered . . . ordered a 1/4" wall 4x4 tube - then remembered to ask
how much it weighed . . . 250 pounds . . . and it would have to be lifted into place ? ? ?
Changed my mind and went with the 3/16" wall tube ( plenty strong ) and ONLY 180 pounds instead . . .

Got it moved over in place to start the raising process . . . was not sure how to do this or how it was going to go . . .

First step - get it up to the first level where it can be supported . . . and that went pretty well . . .

From there it was a combination of ratchet straps and chain hoists - working to lift it "safely" . . . I hope . . .
Was wondering if the header was going to be in the way and prevent me from getting it stood up . . . NOPE.

First shot - temporarily held into place with 3 ratchet straps . . . that's already been updated to wooden bracing.

Remember the "error" that I noted in my design . . . here's where it cam back to bite me - this "should" have
been a single triple header . . . but with my design flaw, it has become 2 triple headers . . . oh well . . .

Working on getting some more of the framing done and in place . . . moving along slowly - lots of angles . . .
Also got some more stuff done upstairs but forgot to get pictures of that work . . . biggest concern now . . .
Getting the Octagon ( who said Hexagon ? ! ? ! ) attached, and the metal roofing flashed into it and leakproof . . .
That will be interesting . . .

Just took a little time to work on the painting with all the new lumber that has been installed . . . and trying to keep
up with all that painting . . . you can see inside the silo that the upper parts still need to get painted . . .

Getting all of the framing in the silo is the next goal, to allow me to get started on the metal spiral staircase . . .

Really looking forward to getting started on that and getting access to the upstairs without a ladder . . .
( you can see ladders all over the place )

What's furious - climb up the ladder get to the second floor, then climb up the temp scaffolding to get access to the
roofline, and drop the pencil - all the way to the ground . . . and have to all the way down to get it . . . ARGH ! ! !

More Later . . .

 

[PRND21]

What’s the radius of the “silo”? Talk to your metal supplier, I’d think he could supply a round cap for it. A top for a feed bin or wet grain holding bin would work, I would think. They’re just wedge shaped panels that form a peak.

 

[ct71rr]

That's no octagon!

Everything looks great!

 

[conv67bdere]

Must say I love seeing a 1 man show to see what one can create when you put your mind an dedication to it. Vary impressive for sure. Did you draw up plans for this ? Wing it ? How much though did you put into it before you broke ground?

Not to be critical, but that hexagon looks an awful lot like an octagon to me.
Just curious, did you have any written plans for this or are you like me, I picture something in my mind and just start building and hopefully work out the problems as I go?

Take a minute to reply to the questions about the build . . .

If I don't do it now, I may never get to it . . .

Once again - thanks so much for the kind words - it's a one man show because every time I try and hire others to do the work, I'm
usually not very satisfied with their results - so I know if I do it, I'm the only one to blame if it goes wrong . . .

Why am I building the shop . . . (2) reasons . . .
1 - My grandfather built his own house - that has always impressed me ( want to build my own house - but have one ) so the shop will do.
2 - Love building, and I need a place to be able to work on my many projects when I retire ( when ever that really happens )

Have always been interested in building, and at once considered being an architect . . . even took classes in school for it . . .
As a result - building has always been in my blood . . .

Been wanting to build this thing for years . . . probably 10+ years, just was not sure about my job . . . that has changed.

Were plans drawn up for the shop . . . kinda . . . but I would say that they were very rough . . . even the size was not decided until I
actually started to dig the footers . . . Designing things . . . use SketchUp to do my design work . . . no, they do not support me in any
way. It's a free application for Personal Use and after you learn it - it works out pretty well. For example, the silo was designed after
the fact and done as a stand alone part . . . that's the reason that it was added on the back incorrectly . . . Oh well ! ! !

For the most part, the design of this thing is in my head . . . except when it comes to meeting codes, then those get to get researched
to make sure that I'm doing it as best as possible.

Has it been scary . . . YES . . .
- when you have to place an order for metal roofing ( that you've never done before ) and pay for it - it's a bit daunting.
- when you need to order trusses for the first floor, ( and never have done it ) and pay for them - it's a bit daunting.
- when you're standing on the second floor, trying to get the first rafter up, attached to a 25' ridge beam, and wonder if you can
do it and NOT fall off the building - it's a bit daunting.
- moving the existing building was not originally in the plan - but I could not see throwing a 18' x 20' building away . . . so . . .
the idea to move it popped into my head, and it moved forward from there . . . Never done that before . . . have NOW ! !

Has it been rewarding . . . YES . . .
- seeing that building in the backyard, a bucket list item, and a shop that I've always wanted . . . makes me feel good.

Hope that helps you better understand this build . . .

More Later . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Working topside . . . no lift . . . and these stupid panels are very heavy . . .

Wow - these Hardie siding 4 x 8 panels are HEAVY ! ! !

Mentioned before - that the top section work was not photographed, so this will help to correct that.
Visible is one of the platforms built to assist with the work needed up here at the top of the silo . . .

Been dreading this . . . but KNOW that this is going to have to be addressed at some time . . .
This is where the roof if intersected by the silo . . . this would dump water INTO the silo as it sits - Not Good !

First - had to figure out where the roof was intersected by the silo "octagon" - and remove the metal roofing . . .

Then the framing for this part of the silo needed to get completed . . .

For the first time in the build, the top section of the silo is finally all framed . . . and it shows how the octagon
cuts through the roofline and protrudes above the roofline . . . pretty cool . . .

Then the waterproofing and the wall panel needed to get installed . . . hope that I got it right . . .

From the bottom - the silo shape is starting to take shape . . .

While trimming the metal roofing for some clearance . . . had a scrap piece of metal . . . tossed it on the platform . . .
NAILED the landing ! ! ! ha ha ha ha

Was not too sure about this one - it's not "quite a full panel - but it's quite a bit of one . . . In addition, it meant
trying to cut a $55 panel on the ground and "hope" that it's correct and that not botched up . . .

Turned out pretty good - but had to do a little trimming on the intersection of those 2 panels - they overlapped . . .

Of course - they had to get stained in red -

By the way, getting up on the top roof to get some of this work done was "quite" interesting and challenging . . .

As stated in the last description of why I'm doing this shop . . . the results, like this, are SO REWARDING . . .

An I love that I get to see this every morning when I get up and head off to work . . . and then get to work on it
when I return from the office . . .

More Later . . .

 

[HawkRod]

Great work with this, but please be careful when working up high!!!

 

[conv67bdere]

Have not had to worry about rain much lately . . . but the heat and humidity are killer . . . .

Wow . . . we really need some rain here . . . badly . . . it's so dry . . . ( but so humid too ) . . .

It's gotten to that time to figure out what I'm doing and how to get this thing done . . . need this plate
secured to the ground . . . here's the shot working on it . . .

Here's the scaffolding that I've got in place to assist with the work . . . looking up . . .

The view from the top, looking down, is equally quite impressive and interesting . . .

Had a little visitor on the property recently . . . think Obie scared mom off . . . ( argh ! )

Working on the first step . . . trying to figure out a plan or process to get this thing done . . .

The first 2 steps will need to be secured into the cinder blocks filled with concrete . . . .

First step is in place - not too bad - the bad welds are due to .024 wire ( which I did not think I had )
How did I finally figure it out . . . ran out . . . and went and bought some .036 - weld really improved - HEAT !

So don't beat me up TOO BADLY about these ugly welds . . .

Worked on these steps all weekend, and for the past 2 days after work . . .

Today - step number 7 got installed ( 7 of 19 ) past the 1/3 point on the building . . . pretty cool . . .

The view from the top of the steps is pretty cool too . . . gotta get a pic to share with you . . .

Every time another step was added, I "had" to walk up and down the step to give them a try out . . .
It was pretty fun, but the first couple didn't give a whole lot of satisfaction . . . but 7 was pretty cool ! ! !

Only got ( yeah - only ) 12 more to go and then there will be a landing on the top . . . that still needs to get
determined and figured out . . . just taking it one step at a time . . . ( pun intended . . . )

More Later . . .