operation toy shed/man cave project input

[rundrave]

pics of the progress last weekend.

I spent evenings this week tying up some lose ends and a few mistakes that needed to be corrected before I got any further and forgot about them. I got it all sheeted but the gable ends. I plan to do that this weekend and hopefully get it shingled.

pics:

[BoxMN]

Lookin' good!!!

[rundrave]

been a while since I provided an update. Progress has been slow as I have been very busy with kids and work and have also been doing most of the work by myself.

If all else fails when I do get limited free time to work the weather doesn't cooperate. Anyone ever seen the myth-busters episode with the construction worker and the ply wood on a windy day? I came very close to finding it is plausible in not so pleasant wind conditions.

So entire building is sheeted. I have yet to cut the windows out because we had a little mishap with the ordering process. I paid for them weeks ago but I guess the 4x3 sliders had to be ordered separate and would take a couple weeks which was what I was told at the time (not a big deal). I was short a couple materials so when I went to get what I needed last week I inquired about the status of the windows only to find out there were never ordered even though I paid for them. They made it right and I now have my six windows so I plan to cut the windows out this evening,tyvec everything, and then get them installed.

The entire roof is shingled, another thing that got delayed with rain and wind. I also made the mistake of not getting the shingles delivered and set on the roof. So I had to carry 38 bundles of shingles by myself. Granted I had some scaffolding to assist but that was not fun. I thought shingle ladders were something you could rent from just about any rental company but I guess not.

So far so good for the most part, most difficult thing is trying to find time to work on it. Its just amazing how fast you can throw up, walls, roof etc but the little odds and ends just take forever. I will try to get some more pics share.

[rundrave]

I got a few PM's asking how this project was going so here is a brief update. Hard to believe its been almost 3 months since I last updated.

I hit a major roadblock with this project and sure enough it was the only thing I hired out that I got burned on.

So to recap, everything was going smooth, I got it shingled, house wrap on, did soffit and fascia, installed windows etc. It was not fun working in the heat we had and I have a whole new appreciation for sweat equity lol. Life was grand, and then it turned into hurry up and wait.

The siding guy that was highly referred to me, kept putting me off, and putting me off. Kept saying he would be out next week, and then that turned into 2 weeks and so on. I began to get concerned and started to become a little more assertive on my end only to get the same old excuse after excuse. In the mean time I got an unfinished building just sitting there. Thankfully it was dry and not that it would have hurt anything to sit, but it was an eyesore and should have been done sooner.

I proceeded to escalate with no results. I wont bore you with the rest of the details but I should have known better. I started calling around but all the other places that gave me bids couldn't get me into their schedule. Had I chose to go with them earlier this year when they initially bid they could have got me on their list but no luck so I continued to wait for this guy thinking he could get it done and it never happened. Thankfully I never gave the guy a dollar of my money and the only thing I was out was time but even that is hard to come buy.

I was luckily able to get another company to come out and get the thing sided but not sure when they can get to my house and get that re-sided.

Things to do yet:

exterior paint

inside floor and adjoining kennel pad need to be poured

install dog door

install and prep for in floor heat.

get a trench dug for conduit and electrical panel installed (hiring this out)

wire interior and exterior lights

insulation

finish interior walls

trim for interior

and the list goes on.

I wont lie, I could never be a general contractor. I seriously struggled with the motivation to get this done. It was hard work working in the heat and the drought we had, but this whole siding debacle really put a damper on my motivation. I am a little fired up now that the siding is finally done and we finally have some cooler temps to work in. I just wish I could find more time to get it done.

Stay tuned for pics and hopefully more progress.

[SalmonSlayer]

Any pics of the finished product?

[rundrave]

I'll have to try and find some. I lost a lot of motivation, and excitement wore off after the whole siding incident. Plus I forgot about this thread

I did get it sided but I didn't get my house (vinyl to LP Smartside) done until last spring. Its all painted now and looks great.

I trenched and got some wire ran from my house to the new garage and had a panel installed in the new garage. I have most of the garage wired with lights and outlets etc. Got the floor poured and we installed the pipe for in floor heat. I do not have that hooked up yet and haven't determined what route I want to go for a heat source yet.

My first phase of my kennel pad has also been completed. Currently have a large pad poured outside with just a 5x10 welded wire kennel. I installed a dog door that connects to an indoor run that goes under the entire length of a workbench to a insulated dog house on the interior.

I'm still waiting to make the pad outside bigger but I had to work out some kinks with my electrical line from my house to the new garage first.I had an issue with my electrical company that I felt they were responsible for correcting but I got that resolved it just took forever.

My plan is to extend the kennel pad and make the outdoor kennel run larger. I also need to get the apron poured in front of the garage doors etc. and eventually the rest of my gravel driveway but that's big $$$$ and not really needed at the moment.

I got landscape rock and edging around the perimeter. Still waiting for grass to come back where we tore it up with equipment. I tilled a bunch of dirt up of last fall, got it all graded and put some grass seed down just before it snowed. Hopefully we actually get some rain this year and I can get it to grow back as my sprinkler system doesnt get to those areas now.

Everything here on out is a want and not a need. I have other projects in the works like finishing my basement etc, so most of the finishing touches will have to wait and most of my funds are going towards the basement now.

I still need to get it insulated and get the walls/ceiling covered and some other finishes. Its at that point where its far enough along to be used as a garage and kennel. It works great for the dogs and I can store and keep all my toys and have plenty of space to wrench and work on stuff. I love going out there to work and not be bothered by wife or kids. I can keep the music as loud as I like and use an impact wrench and air compressor with out disturbing anyone. I can plow my driveway or mow the yard and not have to move any vehicles out of the way to get the atv or riding lawn mower out. Small things like that are why I built it and I love it even more especially since I did about 90% of it with my own hands.