Widow Frame

Saturday 9th of September 2017

Confession !!
There was nothing wrong with the Tackwise staples - the genuine Stanley ones didn't work either - I found a way to open up the stapler and found an errant staple - jamming up the mechanism - DUH !!

So - early on Saturday I fitted all the paper to the last of the sheathing - Great.

To sort out the correct width for the window boards and centre door jams I tacked on a sample of the shiplap cladding under the window - then cut 12mm MDF for the internal cladding in the office
( the MDF was reclaimed from a former workshop in Sheffield )

Then I realised that I needed to insulate the window wall before I could fit the MDF - so I cut and fitted polystyrene - 2 inches thick ( also reclaimed ) to fit in between the studding - messy !

Then I realised that I need to wire a double socket on the window wall before I can fit the MDF -
I will get to that on Sunday.

I popped in some temporary screws to see what the cladding fitted like - Not Bad !!

The office will be about 6 feet square and will have a worktop desk - 2 drawer filing cabinet - computer and book shelves.
It will mean that Jackie will get the office upstairs in the house back as a single bedroom.
It will still have a small desk in it and a computer but all my stuff will be in the workshop office.
I am eager to get that bit done ASAP.

So - socket next - then fix the MDF - then cut the widow boards flush with the shiplap and the MDF - then fit the window.

Mike

More Work On The Front Wall

Tuesday 5th of September 2017

I'm back at Barry's weekdays now - still lots to do - but in the evenings I can do a bit to the workshop.

The last two evenings - I completed the window stud work - sheathed it with OSB board and fitted the lining boards to the window and door frame.

When I thought about it - the lining boards were not wide enough to be flush with the ship lap boards.

Also - I need to wrap the front with Tyvek - before I fit the lining boards.

So I bought wider - 5 inch - lining boards - removed the ones I fitted - wrapped the sheathing with Tyvek - then ran out of staples !!!

Staplers drive me nuts !!

It is very difficult to find staples for the cheap hand tackers - I have two that I can't find staples for.

So - I bought a Stanley T45 tacker.

When the first 500 staples started to run out - I bought 5000 on EBay - Tackwise - clearly marked as suitable for the T45 - do they fit ?  - NO !!!

That's why the Tyvek is still covering the window - Argh !!!

I have ordered some genuine Stanley staples - we will see if they fit !!

Mike

Weekend Trip To Blazer

Thursday 31st of August 2017 - Sunday 3rd of September.

Thursday 31st of August.

We set off from home at 4pm and arrived at North Fambridge at around 8pm - a slow journey due to heavy traffic most of the way - not too bad.

I had asked the marina to bring Blazer to the visitors pontoon and there she was - waiting for us.
One trolley full of our gear was all we needed and we quickly got set up - everything OK.

We had drinks in the cockpit with James - oil lamp on -  he works for the marina and has a big steel barge moored on the pontoon - Penny met his dog Stanley - now friends !!

Friday 1st of September

 A lovely sunny day - we took Penny to Promenade Park in Maldon for a good walk - very busy with lots of attractions for children - we explored the promenade and found a massive council facility for kids - all well used - wonderful.

I always enjoy seeing the Thames barges that moor on the Quay at Maldon - all looking great in the sunshine.

We had a short walk into town where Penny had people stopping to stroke and hug her - amazing !

We shared fish and chips for lunch - not great ! - then back on board to clean Blazer up a bit for visitors.

Patrick and his wife Lynette - joined us for a quick drink before we all went up to the Yacht Club for a Social evening.

It was our first visit to the club to meet the members - we were made very welcome and really enjoyed the evening - including the quiz !

Saturday 2nd of September - Shopping at Asda - Jackie took Penny for a long river bank walk in company with another lady and her Lurcher.

I entertained a cockpit full of people with coffee and a nice chat - catching up with all the Fambridge gossip in hot sunshine - wonderful.

Patrick was running the trot boat this weekend for the marina - taking people to their boats in the river and he took Jackie out to try and give her the confidence to use it to go out to Blazer in the river - it worked !! - no problem now - well done Patrick - many thanks.

Jackie cooked a fresh chicken for dinner - we listened to music on board - a great day all round.  

Sunday 3rd of September

A cooler cloudy day - we decided to slowly pack up / clean up and head home in the afternoon.
Lots to do at home.

A great weekend.

Mike - Jackie + Penny.

Front Wall Started.

Wednesday 30th of August 2017

A full day working on the front of the workshop today - almost all the framing complete.

Door casings set and window casing in place.

The window will have two double glazed units spaced 30mm apart for sound proofing.

The window looks into the office.

The left hand double doors are for access to the floor to ceiling wood rack and the cross cut table.

I'm thinking to hide these doors by running the ship lap cladding right across them - you would only see the saw cut around the doors - no handles - bolted from inside.

The centre doors line up with the central walkway and I'm thinking to make a feature of them by adding moulding rectangles on them and painting the doors grey - possibly ?

The central door frame and window will have 3 inch architrave around them in dark green to match the summer house.

The ship lap will be light green also matching the summer house.

A 10 inch deep facia board in dark green will finish it off.

OSB sheathing and Tyvek paper next - then acoustic insulation behind the facia board and then OSB sheathing over it.

The doors are fire doors for sound proofing - heavy - I am trying to find cheap parliament hinges - 6 pairs - to allow for the ship lap on the front of the doors - struggling a bit.

For now - the doors are just propped up in place to see how they look.

So - still a lot to do.

Off to Blazer tomorrow for the weekend - back on Monday night.

Mike

Back From Holiday.

Sunday 27th of August 2017.

We had a nice break at Ingoldmells with our granddaughter Maddie (3) - great to be on the East coast again - great weather - we even topped up our tan !

We came home on Friday night to beat the Saturday traffic jams and it worked - home by 6 pm.

Saturday - sorting - car cleaning - a trip to Sheffield to visit my son Jonathan's flat - all done.

Today - Sunday - I plan to fix the fence panel and bench seat at Scott's this morning - fit more laths to the workshop walls - then a barbecue at Scott's till late.

Photos of the bench to follow.

Monday - I hope to return to Sheffield to try and tame the wild garden a bit - then we hope to have a week on Blazer - weather permitting.

Mike.

First Woodwork Project Delivered.

Wednesday 16th of August 2017.

No progress on the workshop build today but Scott arrived after he finished work and we loaded the Garden bench - flat packed - onto my poor little car.

At Scott's house we did a dry run and it fitted well - but first scott has to paint it under the car port to keep it dry.

Thursday. I got some help  - John - Jackies sisters partner.

We made a tiny fence panel for Scott - half lap joints no less !!

We then started to fit the 2 x 1 bearers for the external cladding - 16 inch centres - all round three sides of the workshop.

We managed to work out a good system - no waste  - we fixed a few pieces to check out the method - good.

We are away on holiday next week so no blog for a while.

Mike.

The Roof Is Finished !

Tuesday 15th of August 2017

A hot sunny day - ideal for finishing the roof edges.

In the morning I helped to tidy up the garden and decided to do battle with the monster logs that need cutting into firewood blocks on the bandsaw.

I changed blades to a 4 teeth per inch blade - a new one - and with Jackies help we moved firewood from the drying rack to the "ready to use " rack - now full - this freed up space on the drying rack.

Ready to use rack outside the back door.

We cut three big chunks of the poplar logs - right at my lifting limit and the bandsaw at maximum cutting depth - 500 mm !!!

The last log needed cutting in half with the chainsaw which - for once - cooperated !!

So by lunch time - all cut - cleaned up - all stacked drying for winter after next !!

Lots more space on the drying rack for more of the firewood and literally tons of it still to cut !!

It was a small lorry load of one poplar tree we bought 6 months ago - it will keep us warm for a year or two !!

Drying rack at the side of the house.

Next - I got set up - cut more strips of cap sheet felt at 5 inches and started torching it on to the edges all round three sides of the roof.

I started with a small propane torch, very controllable - but it kept blowing out and it was too slow really.

I swapped onto the big hand torch and turned it down as far as I could but it was still hard to control - the felt easily got too hot and as soon as you touch it the tar comes through and makes a mess !!

I persevered and completed all three edges by 7 pm.

 From a distance it looks good but close up there are a few marks where I patted it down when it was too hot !! - it is perfectly water tight and should give years of good service - that's what matters. 

The very top edge of the filet around the roof turns horizontal and the felt will not turn that little corner and stick down properly which would be a poor joint to the facia board.

I worked out a solution - I will fix a half inch quadrant bead to the top edge of the facia board and hook that over the troublesome felt - that will pull it down into place and create a good edge seal.

I plan to paint the facia boards on the back before fitting which should preserve the little quadrant.

So - the roof is finished - wonderful!!

Now I can think about the front of the workshop and how to make it look attractive with a WOW factor.

Mike.