theheadlemur.typepad.com > storage room

The beginning

This is the first in a series of construction projects that the head lemur has taken on at casa lemurzone. This was a multi-part project. We were re-roofing the addition at the same time. But we will split them up, as you are probably not going to want to do as much remodeling as I have.

This part of our house was constructed by the previous owners when they remodeled. The angle here was to give the chinaberry tree room. As part of the roof repair, we decided that we needed more storage.

This is the new storage area after removing the patio we had laid down about 3 years ago

Concrete

The concrete is being placed two bags at a time , which is all that you can comfortably fit in a 1 yard wheelbarrow at a time, being mindful of how much time you have from mixing to when the concrete begins to set and become unworkable.

This photo also shows one of the two pieces of rebar(reinforcing rods) placed in the concrete to act as a tie for the footing. I could have eliminated them completely as this is a small project, but I overbuild given any opportunity. I really don't like my stuff to fall apart.

Footing

This is the footing to support the walls and the roof extention we are creating for the lawn, garden and construction tools. This is a small footing that we will be using redi-mix bags of concrete to build.

My son Patrick is brushing oil on the inside of the form boards so the concrete does not stick to the formboards when they are removed.

Footing Finished

This is the footing the next day. Tomorrow we will strip the formboards, backfill the dirt, and begin wall construction.
A couple of things that are not apparent is the placement of the footing so that during the sheathing phase the walls will meet the existing construction and not require unsightly transitions. We are looking to make this look like it has always been here.

Rough Framing

This is the rough framing. The walls are constructed and anchored to the footing. In the right side of this photo is the rough frame for the door which is being recycled from the other side of the house. This is not a standard height doorway, and using this door saved money in not having to have a custom door built.

Framing Detail

This is a closeup of the major framing details. The vertical wood members are called 'studs' and are usually spaced 16'' or 24'' on center. This is because sheet goods like plywood and particleboard are 48'' in width, allowing them to bridge 4 studs at a time.

The lower left portion of the photo shows the footing we built the other day. Between the footing and the bottom wall member is a foam product known as a sill sealer.

Sill sealers perform two important functions. One they are a moisture barrier between the footing and the wood above. Secondly they act as a thermal break between the ground and the living space enclosed by the walls.

On the lower right is a Sleeve Anchor. This is one of a number of fastening devices that can be used to fasten the walls to the footing. This prevents the walls from moving and also establishes a vertical line to handle the weight of the roof above.

I could have used a smaller anchor or even concrete nails to do this, as sleeve anchors are expensive and you need a drill with a wood bit and a concrete bit to drill these holes. I use a hammer drill which is a dual function tool which drills and hammers at the same time. This gives you a straight hole which is required for a sleeve anchor to work.

Roof Framing

This is the roof framing. The rafters which is what the roof boards are called are tied into the existing structure in the back of the photo.

They extend over the top and beyond the vertical plane of the walls to form the soffit which is what the underside of a roof that extends beyond a wall is called.

The end joist is called the band joist as it bands together the rafters and is the nailing surface for the Fascia, which is the finish trim board which will cover this and give us our finish detail, when the roofing is finished.

The extention in this case is dictated by the existing construction. Remember we are trying to make it look like it was always there.

Roof Framing Detail

This is a closeup of how the walls are tied together. The important details are the double plate which ties the walls together and adds stability to the construction. The overlap is what also holds together the walls in your house prior to the addition of the roof or the next floor.

Also is a nailer detail when the rafters run parallel to the wall. Nailers are important so you have something to nail your finish materials to in these situations.

Exterior Sheathing

This is the storage area with the walls, soffit, roof decking and reused door in place.

On the left is 1/2'' T-1-11 plywood siding with grooves 4'' on center to match the existing on the north side. On the right is a particleboard 1/2'' T-1-11 siding with grooves 8'' o/c.

T1-11 is a generic term for siding materials that have grooves in it to mimic lap siding, which is weird as lap siding is installed horizontally and most plywood siding products are installed vertically.

The soffit is 5/8'' plywood that is remaindered from the roof decking. This project grew out of the re-roofing project which was ongoing as this was happening.

Remodeling is never one of those deals that has a clear cut beginning, middle and end. It is almost Biblical in it's ability to begat other stuff that needs to be done in tandem or next before you can complete a project.

However before we toss you into the swamp of construction alligators we will complete this project.

Outside's Done!

Here is the completed exterior. Next up is the Inside.

Inside the storage room 1

This is the interior of our completed storage area. Pegboard is not my favorite material. However this is a situation along the oblique walls that screams PegBoard! So we did. The pegboard is mounted level. Because of the angle of the roof, you see a weird angle above the top.

Inside the storage room 2

Remember the patio stones? Yep! I reused them to put a floor in the storage room. The floor is higher than the patio mainly out of concern for drainage and water damage. Water and building materials don't mix, and my antipathy toward plumbing and other types of uncontrolled water will be
chronicled in other albums in this series.

Inside the storage room Finis

Here is the reason why I did this in the first place. On the right is the pegboard with hooks and tools hanging. (NOTE: Do not try to save money by buying cheap pegboard hooks, they will fall out every time you move anything and will drive you crazy)

On the left is shelving made from the 2x8'' boards that were used to build the forms for the footings. A little planning goes a long way to build things at the lowest cost with the best values.