After a lot of digging and then the pour for the studio floor (the storage shed didn’t have a floor – the workshop floor survived the fire) it was time to actually start building.
The first of many deliveries arrived which allowed the laying out and building of the workshop walls. It is slightly smaller than the original and doesn’t have a ‘front’ door. The size will be plenty big enough for a workshop/garden shed as the studio has plenty of other storage.
The first of many blue tarps utilized as a temporary roof once the workshop walls were wrapped up. The studio proper and storage areas were the next build out onto the new slab floor.
With the studio/storage walls up and a temporary tarp roof on we had a nice spot for an after work drink. The chairs/table are where the stairs up to the second floor eventually will be. The main studio ceiling is a full two stories high above the stairs, sloping down to the roof over the workshop forming a storage area for yarn and fiber (accessed by ladder from studio). To build the high parts of the roof I had all sorts of temporary floors over the studio so I could move the timber around without moving ladders constantly. Eventually I bought scaffolding (which was always planned) and that made things way easier.
To ensure good luck and perhaps scare away any casual intruders I began carving a Tiki (a Maori style of carving that represents a god or the power (mana) of that god). He has looked out over the studio and seems to be working so far. There’s still lots to go before he takes up pride of place on the support post of the Library mezzanine floor.
We have always had small shelters for our delicate plants but no real space to set out and grow our plants earlier than the ‘last frost’ dates. The workshop is half workshop half gardening shed. Anne will have a long bench and plenty of shelves for her seeds and supplies. A door opens into the conservatory which will have a raised bed for crops and shelves for small pots and seedling trays. I’ve added in (but not connected) plumbing for both town water and eventually collected rainwater. The garage space also includes a small corridor coming from the studio. Off it is a full bathroom (for studio use or guests who use the guest room above the garage.
After the studio roof was on I was able to remove the temporary floors and put in the stairs (well at least the skeleton of them). Up until this point I had to climb up and down a ladder which severely restricted what could be carried and became pretty tedious after a dozen times a day!! The stairs and frame will be completed and finished with some oak sheeting of some sort then banisters.
The final wall sections were for the guest room above the garage. In typical understatement mode this room is affectionately known as the ‘Fairly Large Room’ as it has turned out to be huge. Eventually it will be a guest room and office space and potential classroom – it could hold all. It will have a sliding glass patio door out to a deck – facing south for all day sun. As with most other areas it now sports a tarp roof and the sequence was to get this space open so that I could begin constructing the roof trusses.
The trusses are simple King post trusses made with plywood truss plates. The tricky part was that the studio layout is not ‘square’ as the two wings of the building do not join at 90 degrees. That meant each truss for this part of the building had to be custom measured/made. Only one mistake was discovered before it was too late, luckily. Once I arrived at the widest section (the eastern end) all the trusses are the same size and much easier to ‘mass produce’ – actually only another 10 needed. I did briefly look at commercially made trusses but the huge cost meant this approach was the only one. By the time the last photo above was taken, I had used the scaffolding inside to fix the high side to the main beam, then moved it outside the studio east wall to finish the sheathing and other outside work. It’s still there as we’ve had quite a few periods of rain since, but there’s plenty of other inside work to get on with.
The conservatory will really kick into life in a few weeks when we move indoor raised herbs here to harden off a little. In the meanwhile we did bring in some of our larger potted plants that don’t like hard frosts (other less frost hardy plants in the ground get bubble wrap and plastic covers which seem to be holding up OK). There will eventually be a raised bed along the south wall for growing chillies and tomatoes inside and shelves for the various pot plants that either transit through the conservatory or live there for a season.
With the full studio roof on I am now using that space to store lumber and OSB sheets making it easier to get to and freeing up space in the garage area. The fairly large room still has temporary supports down the center to hold up the tarp roof, but enough space to layout and build the remaining roof trusses. The scaffolding was in place inside so I could finish off the high side of the roof trusses. It is now outside and waiting for some better weather so I can finish the studio high window (the stained glass window) and the high siding, soffits, etc while there.
Eventually all the roof trusses were built and the job of lifting them into place began. With help from Anne, and two clamp on guides we perfected a method of lifting and sliding with two ladders that allowed us to get each truss in place and then I could put in all the cross braces. It was done over a month long period as we had to uncover the temporary tarp roofing then put up trusses and re-cover for rain events. From Spring through Fall ‘occasional storms’ is a pretty regular event here in South East Tennessee. The blue tarp covering was swapped out for heavy duty black plastic with battens on every other truss to keep it in place. Barring a few drips through nail holes it has held up well and has meant the ‘Fairly Large Room’ has been my main workshop area as there is plenty of space for trestles, tools, wood.
Two more areas finished. To the left the wall behind the mezzanine library area and to the right the wall behind the spinning loft. Both had been just framing for way too long, but the setting up of scaffolding outside (on the bank side of building) being such a difficult job had put me off. The the answer came to me – work with smaller pieces of OSB from the inside where I could either reach around or reach over to attach them. With that plan in hand the work went relatively quickly and I was even able to attach the Tyvek by reaching down from the top. Once lined the wall behind the spinning loft will be kept blank for display of wall hangings etc. The shelves for the library are still a ways off!!