Backyard Shed
(Page 5 of 12)
August/September 1993
By John Vivian
Combine dry mortar mix and water. Use a trowel to put mix 1/2" around edges and on the webs between open cells. Set in more blocks till all piers are above ground. Again, use the carpenter's level to make sure all sides of each block are lined up with string above and blocks below and that they are all plumb and level. Lay the top course with a thick bead of mortar, move level-string down to the lowest block, and do a final check to make sure blocks are level. Then remove the string and stakes. Let mortar set overnight and fill area around outside of blocks with tamped gravel or subsoil.
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To keep moisture from moving from blocks to wood, center a 12" x 20" rectangle of roll-roofing atop blocks. Slit corners and bend 2" of roofing down over outer edges. To admit anchors, cut "X"s over cell holes of blocks. Note: Roll-roofing is 36' long, and you'll need two 16' lengths—totaling 32' out of each 36' roll—to cover the roof without seams. So, cut no more than a yard of roofing off the end of any one roll.
The Floor
Now position the sill (a rectangle of doubled PT 2 x 6s placed on edge atop the foundation). Nail it to prepunched anglesteel anchors held inside cells of concrete blocks with cement mix. Then, using metal hangers, fasten the floor joists between front and back sills and attach the flooring atop the joists. (Do not substitute 2 x 4s for the 2 x 6s.)
Select two pairs of PT 2 x 6s, and lay pairs flat and butted end-to-end atop front and back foundation blocks. Join pairs where ends meet over the middle foundation-piers; use hole-punched, metal trussplates and 8d galvanized, common nails. Trim ends so they extend beyond blocks by 1/4" (skirt board will overlap sill, leaving room for roofing bent down over blocks). Set sill boards on edge, so that ends and outer edges extend 1/4" beyond the side margins of front and rear foundation. Trim two 2 x 6s so that they fit between ends of the back/front sills. Place them so they will jut 1/4" over edge of foundation.
Center-join two more pairs of 2 x 6s and trim them to fit snugly between end boards, inside and flat against the outer front and back sills. Don't nail yet, but trim two 2 x 6s to fit between the inner end boards. Trim seven more 2 x 6s to the same length to serve as floor joists. Turn the inner back and front sill boards to lay flat and place them side by side atop piers so you can mark joist and stud locations on both at once. Find and mark the precise center. From center and out to each side, mark a line every 12" with pencil and try square. The final marks will be less than a foot from the ends.
Make a nailing template by tamping one joist hanger snugly to a length of scrap 2 x 6, out-flaring flanges of hanger even with the board's end. With hanger "U" at bottom of the 2 x 6, align midpoint of the narrow top edge of the board with the center and every other 12"-spaced mark to each side. Mark nail locations through holes in hanger flanges. Over nail-hole marks, tack hangers in place (so you can pull nails and adjust joist locations later if need be) by setting 8d galvanized common nails halfway into sill.
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