SeeBeeZee

Keith has brought the trusses on his truck. Big trusses; over 8m, so it is a big truck. I was worried about it cracking the concrete floor. The concrete is over 20 years old, and the thickness was quite minimal when it was poured. Just 100mm, and never intended for vehicles.

It was well after lunch on the Friday afternoon when Keith arrived. We hooked in.

First Truss Up

My brother, Nic, and father, Don, worked hard. Birgit fetched tools and fasteners as required. Mum supervised.
And by the end of the day, it looked like a shed!

All up

All that’s needed now is the roof, and the boat can begin!

All the beams are up. The rafters and battens have been put up on the western skillion to provide some bracing prior to the trusses going up.

Ready for Rafters

I thought we were all set for the trusses. I had expected the trusses to be put up from the outside, half at each end. I had left the remaining structure from the old shed there, expecting that I could use it to help support the first truss in the middle.

Keith the joiner is bringing the trusses on his truck. He now tells me that he will need to drive through the middle of the shed, putting trusses up as he goes. That means that the remaining structure needs to come down before delivery.

I took a day off work on rec leave to get into the construction. I had hoped that I would get 2 of the 6 beams up in the day, but in the end, only 1 was bolted in place.

I built a scaffold in order to access the 4.5m posts. I will later need 2 scaffolds for the trusses, and intend to use this one and hire another one for a week to complete the roof. This home made scaffold fits into the trailer, and can be pushed around the site. I then block under the trailer to secure it before climbing.

Don't tell Workcover

For now, the demolishing has finished, and construction commenced. The remaining structure has helped with supporting the steel columns, or which 6 of the 8 main columns are now stood. Around the outside, another 8 smaller columns will support a skillion on each side.

Panorama, Sunday Evening

First of the longer steel columns erected

Well… flattened as much as possible for now.

I have left up a bit of frame over the old bath/laundry/toilet area. I think this will make it easier to get the new frame up. We’ve been cleaning the floor and getting the footings in for the new shed.

Another weekend of demolition. Starting to see the slab now. Maybe one more weekend cleaning up, and we might be able to start building the new shed.

The old shack is coming down. We have spent the weekend pulling off the old cement roof and removing burning infested timber. The more we do, the more we find needs to be done!

Materials are now ordered for the new shed. It will be 13.5x8m under a truss roof on 4.5m steel posts, with provision to build skillions along each side. The steel posts have arrived in town, timber lintels are being cut, and the trusses are being built.

After the weather last weekend, we have decided to put boat work on hold, and first build a shed. I’ve been away to Sydney this week, and the weather has been wet all weeks. Floods to the north and floods to the south. We have been lucky to have been spared.

I am hoping the new shed will not be too hard. There is already a 7x7m concrete floor in the old shed where I used to live, and a lot of brick paving around the outside of that. That will be the site for the shed. Access to the road is pretty easy, with just a couple of trees to take out.

I am hoping to re-use some of the iron and rafters from a couple of the old sheds in the new one.

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I first built this shed back in the early ’90s, when I was planning to build on a new site. The posts now have termites, so I had better salvage what I can before it all falls down!