Hi folks

Not a question, just a link to my 'Diary of a Shed' which may interest and entertain you.  It may even inspire someone to 'go large' with an outbuilding!  I had barely picked up a saw before I started, and the biggest things I'd done were flat-pack, so I'm pleased with what I've done so far.  Here's the link: http://www.gisburne.com/shed

Cheers

Nick

Thanks HM - I should have mentioned that the shed isn't actually finished!  If you click on all the small photos you'll find that there are dozens more pictures and every stage is very well documented.

The shed is covered with OSB (oriented strand board) and you're right, it isn't designed to withstand the weather permanently.  However, inside the shed is a vast pile of shiplap cladding waiting to be attached.  It's the weather which has stopped me adding the shiplap - I took a LONG time building the roof and expected to have the whole shed done by now.  I now don't want to add the shiplap when it could be sunny, rainy, snowy, at any point - mixing strips of timber in different conditions will probably end in tears with expansion/contraction etc.

As the OSB has withstood the weather for this long, it should be okay over the winter, and the roof overhangs quite a way (12 inches all round, 2 feet at the front) so most of the rain doesn't touch it unless it gets windy, and then it soon drys out.  It will all be covered with shiplap, and inside will be insulation/plasterboard, so I'm not too worried about any minor staining or damage, so long as it's dry when I cover it up.

The roof is also OSB (underneath the shingles) and I DID have problems with that, given that it was completely exposed to rain.  One of the boards went 'flaky' with the chips/strands of wood rising up after a spell of rain.  I scraped a length of wood across the surface to remove these small chips, just before the underfelt and shingles went on, so lost a single layer, probably not enough to make much difference to the strength of the board.  The size of the shed/workshop meant I didn't have a tarpaulin big enough, and as it's 'only' a shed it would have been too time consuming to cover the whole thing every night and uncover it in the morning.  It will all be covered by shiplap, which I'll fully treat first, so the finished result will be completely protected.

By the way, I was reading your web site about Part P regs and your opinions on them and it's very informative.  I posted yesterday in the electrical section of this forum because I'm wanting to add the wiring myself (before 2005) and get it connected to the house (in the New Year, when the regs are in force).  Doing the 'donkey work' of running all the cables would save me a lot of money in labour time, but do you think I'm wasting my time when I have to get it certified anyway?  Probably best if you answer in that thread (if you want to!).

I've learned from building the shed (the neighbours call it a bungalow!) that even if you have no experience you can still do something big like this.  But it needs planning, and plenty of it, with the benefit of knowledge from books and forums like this one.  It's also worth taking your time, not rushing anything, and eventually it all fits together.  I like to think I can put my hand to most jobs now, but unlike you I'd never make any money out if it - I take too long doing things and a long day for me is 4 hours of DIY work, after that I've had enough!!

Cheers

Nick

Very nice job Gisburne. In Texas you could have a job as a carpenter no trouble, almost all houses are built using the method of your shed! They dont bother with expansion gaps between the OSB though! lol  Also use a reciprocating or "saws all" saw instead of a jigsaw for speed, and a framing gun( I cant believe you hand sunk all those nails, dont ask for an armwrestle anytime soon huh). Very nice project though, well done. I cant beleive you have very little DIY experience and even considered working on that, well done I am impressed.

It's a shed ,
        When can I move in

[quote author=rabbit_rabbit  link=1102154394/0#7 date=1102192116]What you and 10,000 relatives?

[/quote]

To late ,
            And before you ask the exstenstion is going well

Thanks for all your kind comments! Billythekid, I used American books to guide me which is probably why all the building methods are common with American homes.  The walls were easy, but the roof... another story altogether.  Essential equipment: a good quality sliding compound mitre saw, without which I would have given up and be making a nice bonfire by now!

As a consequence of using American house building methods mixed in with shed construction, I have 6x2 ceiling joists in the shed and only 4x2 in the house roof!

I always thought next door's shed was big until I started photographing mine next to it!  Mine didn't look quite so big while I was planning it on paper - it's amazing what happens when you get over-ambitious!

The nailing: I've used 8 trade boxes, 5kg per box, of various size nails, mainly 100mm and 65mm, so that's 40kg hammered in by hand (88 pounds, just over 6 stone), so I've about had enough of hammer nails in for one lifetime!

Just found this forum and flicked through your photo's with interest, what a great shed! I admire your confidence to take on such a job.  You must laugh when you see those bolt together sheds at Homebase & Wickes  

Look forward to seeing it finished.
Nice dogs by the way.

Flip.