06-22-2018, 08:24 PM
Here's a Link to the first installment: Link
My framing lumber and sheathing OSB was delivered on Tuesday AM. The driver agreed to back up my next door neighbor's driveway and drop it at the far end; that will save me a lot of work. On Tuesday afternoon Ken and Metod and I went out to visit a guy I found on Craigslist selling hemlock and larch lumber. I bought 26, 10" wide x 12' long boards of nominal 1" larch, actual 7/8". We loaded it onto the trailer, brought it home, and stacked it near the build site. We then retired to the deck and did nothing for an hour. Perfect.
The next day I started on the floor framing. I couldn't source 18' long 4 x 4's so I bought a 12' and 10' ones and just overlapped them for the center three. The outer two had to be "straight" so I cut the 10' long ones off at 6' 2" and put it against the end of a 12 footer, and held them together with a piece of 1 x 4 screwed to the inside faces. I nudged the outer 18' 2" long ones so they were just about 14' across and the diagonals were equal. With that done I I checked to see if all the 4 x 4's were in the same plane by putting a 2 x 8 across them at both ends and sighting from one to the other, like a giant pair of winding sticks. I had to scratch away a little gravel in a few spots, but overall the base was pretty level and true. When I thought I had the 4 x 4's true I added another 2 x 8 between the first two, and then 2 more perpendicular to those three, like this:
That showed me I had to make a couple more adjustments with a one or two of the 4 x 4's. A little more scratching and, ultimately, a few shims, and I had it all level and in plane.
From there the framing was straightforward. I made a 14 x 18' box, checked the diagonals, and then added some temporary screws around the perimeter to lock the box square on the 4 x 4's. Next I added he interior 2 x 8's. I used 3-1/2" DeckMate screws, 3 per joint. I had to adjust the spacing of the joists a little to accommodate the 12' long flooring I bought, so the spacing worked out to about 14.5" OC. I only added blocking between the end joists and a couple more on each side of the joists where the 12' flooring ends. The span is only 3'1" between the 4 x 4's, so blocking isn't needed. But I did nudge every joist straight and screw them to the center 4 x 4 so they would remain so. I nailed hurricane clips between the joists and 4 x 4's as I went, on every third joist. Here's what it looked like when the framing was done.
I cut the framing and flooring with my Milwaukee 18V circular saw. I love this thing. I bought it last year with this project in mind, but have used it for breaking down plywood and other tasks, too. Love it. The little framing square (or whatever the correct word is) I found in my dad's tool collection. I bet it belonged to his father. In any case, it has an adjustable angle leg on it, which I think is going to come in handy doing the trusses. It's handy for cutting off things square, too.
I screwed the flooring down with 2-1/2" deck screws, 3 per joist, staggering the joints as I went. I had to "nudge" a few into place. A bar clamp pushing against a temporary piece of blocking worked great for that purpose.
816 screws later, using every board I bought, it was done.
It is super stiff with no bounce or sponginess. Perfect for a barn (OK, shed) raising dance. If only I could dance and had fiddle playing friends.
John
My framing lumber and sheathing OSB was delivered on Tuesday AM. The driver agreed to back up my next door neighbor's driveway and drop it at the far end; that will save me a lot of work. On Tuesday afternoon Ken and Metod and I went out to visit a guy I found on Craigslist selling hemlock and larch lumber. I bought 26, 10" wide x 12' long boards of nominal 1" larch, actual 7/8". We loaded it onto the trailer, brought it home, and stacked it near the build site. We then retired to the deck and did nothing for an hour. Perfect.
The next day I started on the floor framing. I couldn't source 18' long 4 x 4's so I bought a 12' and 10' ones and just overlapped them for the center three. The outer two had to be "straight" so I cut the 10' long ones off at 6' 2" and put it against the end of a 12 footer, and held them together with a piece of 1 x 4 screwed to the inside faces. I nudged the outer 18' 2" long ones so they were just about 14' across and the diagonals were equal. With that done I I checked to see if all the 4 x 4's were in the same plane by putting a 2 x 8 across them at both ends and sighting from one to the other, like a giant pair of winding sticks. I had to scratch away a little gravel in a few spots, but overall the base was pretty level and true. When I thought I had the 4 x 4's true I added another 2 x 8 between the first two, and then 2 more perpendicular to those three, like this:
That showed me I had to make a couple more adjustments with a one or two of the 4 x 4's. A little more scratching and, ultimately, a few shims, and I had it all level and in plane.
From there the framing was straightforward. I made a 14 x 18' box, checked the diagonals, and then added some temporary screws around the perimeter to lock the box square on the 4 x 4's. Next I added he interior 2 x 8's. I used 3-1/2" DeckMate screws, 3 per joint. I had to adjust the spacing of the joists a little to accommodate the 12' long flooring I bought, so the spacing worked out to about 14.5" OC. I only added blocking between the end joists and a couple more on each side of the joists where the 12' flooring ends. The span is only 3'1" between the 4 x 4's, so blocking isn't needed. But I did nudge every joist straight and screw them to the center 4 x 4 so they would remain so. I nailed hurricane clips between the joists and 4 x 4's as I went, on every third joist. Here's what it looked like when the framing was done.
I cut the framing and flooring with my Milwaukee 18V circular saw. I love this thing. I bought it last year with this project in mind, but have used it for breaking down plywood and other tasks, too. Love it. The little framing square (or whatever the correct word is) I found in my dad's tool collection. I bet it belonged to his father. In any case, it has an adjustable angle leg on it, which I think is going to come in handy doing the trusses. It's handy for cutting off things square, too.
I screwed the flooring down with 2-1/2" deck screws, 3 per joist, staggering the joints as I went. I had to "nudge" a few into place. A bar clamp pushing against a temporary piece of blocking worked great for that purpose.
816 screws later, using every board I bought, it was done.
It is super stiff with no bounce or sponginess. Perfect for a barn (OK, shed) raising dance. If only I could dance and had fiddle playing friends.
John