A Workshop/Mancave (or She-shed If You Prefer!)

So I decided that I needed an area to carry out my projects, and after consulting with the Memsahib it was agreed that I could spend a bit of money and time on a new shed!
I loosely used plans from the family handyman but increased the size of the shed and sacrificed a bit of the patio area.
This is sited next to my seating/firepit area but was built before that (last xmas)
Update to PART 2 http://www.hometalk.com/11929527/update-inter...

Originally I was just going to buy a shed, however what I wanted was way above the budget that I could justify (or sneak past) the holder of the purse strings!
Also I needed it to be fairly close to the house for power (and the fact that I didn't want to walk too far!) Unfortunately I had restricted access to the one area I wanted so some serious manual labour was required.
This involve re-siting the 2 IBC containers and some digging (all by hand as no access for a digger)





The 2 IBC's were moved around the other side of the first shed (which contains the pool equipment, central heating gear and gardening tools), there was a fair bit of digging and I thought that while I was at it I would level them on a concrete base.
That was day 1 complete!





Dig,dig,dig and lay concrete base.
I dug out somewhere in the region of 10 cubic metres of soil and laid a concrete base approx 6m x 3.5m 100mm thick. all mixed by hand and barrowed in from 50m away (told you access was an issue!)
This took a weekend then I went back to work for a rest!
I also set in some post anchors





The instructions then said to build the roof trusses on the flat area, however I did them in the garage as it was 100 Degrees F and, hey they would be easy to move!!!
They were made fron 4x2 with a 6x2 bottom rail There were 15 of them,
Had a bit of a mishap with the chopsaw on No4 and chopped a chunk out of my index finger but carried on anyway





There they are stacked, another weekend gone!





Then constructed the sides around the windows that I bought on TradeMe (the larger one was $61 the smaller $6) The windows were taken out again as I couldn't lift the whole assembly by myself





The frames were all stood up and nailed together, yes they were very heavy, thank you for asking!! A door frame was also constructed. Lots of props and swearing accompanied this exercise! The dog was a huge help





I then stapled building paper to the whole shebang and panelled out with shadowclad (a waterproof wooden composite board that looks like planks), at this point I also stained it all as I didn't want to start anything major (Though it took 3 hours to stain it in the end)





Fitted the doors and built the porch assembly, the doors will later come out again to have the paint stripped and be varnished





Lifted up and spaced the roof trusses, remember I said that it was easier to build them in the garage and carry them across --- turns out I was absolutely WRONG, nearly killed me getting them across and into position past allthe planting and other obstacles





Put on a coloursteel roof, this involved a visit to the doctors when I fell off the roof and grabbed the steel instead of manning up and just hitting the ground, the very nice nurse allowed me to put in the stitches myself so I could have it signed off for my advanced first aid course.





Pillar bases built and covered with ply and chicken wire ready for stucco and pebbles, the concrete base was also extended to accomodate





Trim going up, shingles on the front an upstairs window both ends and tapered columns





And Viola! bits that need staining, stained, bits that need varnishing, varnished, pillars covered in pebbles and barn type trims all in place (of no functional use, but pretty!)
Just need to put up some spouting at some point (guttering) and tile the patio, and fit out the inside
I have some pics of the inside but 15 photos are all you are allowed per post, may do a Part 2 for the interior!
Total cost was about $3500 NZD, but that includes some stuff I wasn't originally going to do (like Tongue and Groove cedar ceilings and mosaic tiles!)
Time taken was about 3 weeks but that was on and off, and I did some short days because of the heat and the fact I was technically on holiday!
There is ladder access to the upstairs storage space (I keep my ladder, spare wood and junk for other projects there) and it is fully wired with fluorescent lighting and about 10 power outlets.
Think I might go and have a little lie down now!












Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11872975/i-built-my-own-shed-mancave site