My little woodworking project.

Been making some progress on the man cave.

Siding is done, windows are in, and the roof is on!


Started on sidewall shingles for the peak sections. Tedious, but fun. Got accustomed to the scafolding after 30 minutes.


On our way with the house.


This is what has been taking up so much of my time. I feel guilty when I'm not out there. The 100 hour weeks between the day job and the project are a bit of a grind, but it should be worth it.

I'm jealous of your time-management skills Andy......when do you sleep? Are you Edward Cullen's long-lost Twilight brother?

Sweet man cave

Wow.

Mammoth Man Cave.

Sweet..............you can disappear real good in there.

I think that the best part is that the HUGE garage/shop is the first thing built. Only manlogic makes that sensible and a beautiful thing. I know one other guy who did it that way. He also had a crapper with a hard back Cabela's master catalog next to the toilet. Tells you everything you need to know. Looking good.

Yes, there is a crapper and an office in there as well. Since we're doing a lot of it ourselves, we needed an area to pre-finish items going into the house. (That is what I told the wife.)

nice work

Very Nice Andy, I'd like an invite to the Shop-warmer!

Sweet! In the end all the extra work will all payoff. I did the same thing 30 years ago. Good Luck!

Captain

Andy,

That's looking really cool! Looks like you went with a pretty tall ceiling in the man cave. If I could remember how to post pictures, I'd share some from my project. I just used 9' studs for my garage wall, as I'm not planning to park an RV or work on exceptionally large projects.

I must be too old for 100 hour weeks. Your project is passing me up. I just finished my garage framing; the roof is on, but no siding yet. The framing contractor just got the house roof sheeted last Friday, and they're finishing some inside stuff and framing the deck this week. The shingles were loaded on the house roof yesterday, and roofers are supposed to be shingling today.

I'm amazed at how fast the house framing has gone, but a professional crew goes a lot faster than me putting in evenings and weekends on the garage. Nonetheless, I'm employing the same philosophy as you that I need that garage and shop space for all the finish and trim work I plan on doing myself. I'm going to buy a small bench planer so I can mill the cedar I've had air drying since July. I'm going to panel my living room ceiling with that. I'm gonna' have to buy a bunch of T&G for soffeting the porch and deck areas tho.

Did you rent scaffolding? I've been using scaffolding for so long, I just built some with framing lumber along the sides of my garage. Then I built a 4x4x8 mobile scaffold that I first used to raise the attic trusses over the garage, and then moved it outside to work on the gable end framing, which I just finished Sunday.

Construction projects are fun and exciting stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Sg

The scaffolding belongs to the framer, a friend, so I can use it when they aren't.

He'll just build us the shell with a dry roof on it, and we'll take over after that. Same as with the shop. I don't do drywall or insulation. We do all the electrical, and I hire out the rough plumbing/gas. Floors, finish work, paint and everything else is mine, although I have some friends in the trades to help out.

The scaffolding belongs to the framer, a friend, so I can use it when they aren't.

He'll just build us the shell with a dry roof on it, and we'll take over after that. Same as with the shop. I don't do drywall or insulation. We do all the electrical, and I hire out the rough plumbing/gas. Floors, finish work, paint and everything else is mine, although I have some friends in the trades to help out.

Looks great. Very good set up, your new house is going to be the new McCleary Mansion!

I was going to stop by and look on Sunday, but my kitchen pass had ran out.

I should put up some pictures of my project. I have the framing done now, and the roof went on last week. I wish I could put together 100 hour weeks, but these little kids make it hard (plus the hunting/fishing stuff). If I could get the heat turned back on in the house, we could bring them along, I hope I am to that point by X-mas.

Andy, I drove by the other day and looks like a great setting you have there. I like the location and the way you placed the shop and home on your property. You da man.

I thought that and the latest issue of playboy were standard issue

Okay, okay, so I don't have the playboy anymore since the marriage

Andy,

Nice to have friends who can loan ya' stuff like scaffolding. Handy sort of like the loaner backhoe you have.

I hear it doesn't make $ sense to do insulation. The insulation companies will install it for what we can buy it retail. I'm not sure about drywall, but the young gorillas can install more in a day than I can in a month. I did it in my last house, but I've got a time limit of sorts on my construction loan, so I'm foregoing the pleasure of hanging drywall this time. I'm sorta' cherry picking the parts I want to do - enough to have my fingerprints on the project and fell like it's my own. I'll run wire in the garage, but have the electrician do the house. I'm going to install the deck, deck and porch and eave soffiting, hardwood floors, tile, and finish trim, and we'll paint everything ourselves. Then we'll probably spend the next couple years landscaping.

Keep up the fun!

Sg

pleasure

That looks like fun. Construction is rewarding. I work as Superintendent for a general contractor down here so I get my rewards daily. Nothing like tangible results. You are in the midst of the 80/ 20 theory of construction. Foundations and framing go up in no time ie: 80 % 0f the obvious results show up in the first 20% of the time.... Once you are dried in is when the time drain seems to begin. Good luck and have fun!

Once I don't have to spend time outside, under the eaves without gutters, in a drinving rain storm, hanging tar paper or putting up siding, I'll be just fine.

SG, Much cheaper, time and $ wise, to have them do it. $1,500 and a day for the 1800 SF shop. Same with the drywall.

You guys are an inspiration!

Did you score any doors from the Simpson closeout rack? You'll have plenty of room in the man cave to store them!

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but I'd recommend hiring a pro to put your comp roofing on - I did it for two years and never did get as good as the, shall we say, "enhanced metabolism" guys! I didn't mind tear-off, sheeting/felt, but shooting down comp always killed my back. Regardless, keep having fun!

We are installing ONLY Simpson Mastermark doors in the house. McCleary tradition, afterall. Ordering all new doors, stain grade, not the seconds.

A pro is doing the roof because water always wins. Same with plumbing.

Dogfish-

I'm not saying anything about your construction capabilities, but some people shouldn't do their own work...
incredibly, all of these people lived

How did the last one live, and how do you even do that?

Oh yeah Andy, who are you ordering your doors through?

I have to stop by some time and compare notes regarding your suppliers.

The caption for the last one said the guy fell off a ladder while using his drill - it went through his eye socket and along the side of his brain making minimal contact. Talk about getting skull phukked!

you'd think the top guy would have stopped driving nails into his head after the third or fourth one...

Hankster-

I can't begin to imagine (sort of) what you've seen in your line of work. This would be a good time to remind people that the "leather donut hole" works like a vacuum when things get to far Thankfully, I wouldn't know first hand, or fist. What was this thread about again?

Dan, that was t.i.c. about the pleasure of hanging drywall.

OneWay, the tangible results really are satisfying, especially in an occupation where my productivity is often measured by the amout of paper produced instead of increased fish production. Yeah, I've been thinking about that 80/20 relationship. Not so bad that the framing crew framed my house in 16.5 days, including a few really horrible soakers. However, I started framing my garage in late July after the slab was poured, and I just got the final gable end sheathing on it last Sunday. Yikes! In theory my garage won't be finished for two years yet! Not really.

I had roofers shingle the garage two or three weeks ago, and they should finish the house today or tomorrow. I'm gonna' have the pros do the insulation and drywall, for economy and speed, and I'm too damn old to hang drywall and think I'm having fun.

Andy,

Did you install your garage/shop doors before the drywall went on? I ask because I was told the drywall folks would rather hang the sheetrock before the roller track and electric door opener are mounted to the garage ceiling.

Slab - we aim to inspire! OK, really, I'm just trying to have a good time with my project, and if it inspires, that's frosting on the cake.

Double damn dang! I totally spaced it on the Simpson doors! I've got a bid on all my main floor doors from Olympic Mountain Millwork in Shelton. But I'll pretty soon have to get a man door and 3 8' doors for my garage. Then I need at some point to get doors for the basement rooms and exit. When's that Simpson sale?

Mike,

That's frickin' scary, no matter how those guys got nails and drill bits in their heads. I did all my framing the old fashioned way by hand nailing, but I've been thinking about getting a brad or finish nail gun to install my soffiting and wood finish trim. I guess the operative word is "gun." Treat the damn thing like a gun.

Sg

Salmo g.-

I always advise avoiding wood doors for 8' exteriors, if that's what you had in mind. The analogy is imagine putting your dining room chairs on the porch because that's the level of care your wood doors will require. Also, 8' tall doors in wood tend to tweak more and have closing/sealing issues. This is not a knock on Simpson, I sell them all the time and prefer them to other manufacturers, it's just a wood thing.

Happy trails, Mike

Not only did I not see that one coming, I can't figure out why they would do that. Unless of course, the recipient was trying to be a "hard ass".

Garage doors went up before the drywall. Deal with it.

FJ gave me hte name of a good door supplier. Seems very good from our first meeting.

Mike,

I was combining doors in the topic. The garage roll-up doors are going to be steel. With regard to Simpson I was thinking of all my interior doors (80").

Sg

Got a backhoe, so landscaping will be a breeze.

Need to plant 40+ cherry trees to line the driveway? Build a berm or two? Maybe make that killer BMX track I'm too old for? Bring it on.

KK as you know landscaping is always the last thing... If there is any money left.

The berm is for the 200 yard shooting range right Andy?
I think you should arrange it so we can shoot off the couch in the shop.
I also think you need one of those fancy magic corn trees right about where the targets are.

Dave! You just reminded me of a cherished memory from my wild and crazy youth. My room mate and I had a long living room and "jokingly" talked about setting up targets at the far end that we could shoot at while watching the game and drinking beers. Needless to say, it provided hours of entertainment for us! Oh yeah, .22 caliber only or low base 12ga. game loads only ' cause that's what made it safe and acceptable. When do we get to go to dogfish's house to try this? Housewarming party?

I cranked up Purple Haze after my junior year mid terms and shot my muzzle loader in my frat room through 3 pillows (roommates) and the couch and the wall (knowing that behind the wall was 12 inches of brick.
All fun and games until the smell permiated the house.
Others did not think it was cool but my diabolical laugh kept me out of trouble again.

Drywall almost completely hung.




Pretty cold until the heaters kicked in tonight.

You're moving right along there Andy. I'm kinda' hung up now. The plumber was going to start this week, but now it's next week. I've got a load of soffit lumber coming out today, but I can't seal and stain it until it gets warmer. I want to finish it before I install it. My garage isn't closed up yet, so I can't heat it. My sequences seem to be out of sequence for now.

Sg

Also, not too sure how he was able to drive those nails in to his head, as his hands were also tied behind his back.

Nice digs Andy!

Installed temporary lighting in the house, and a temp door (yes, it is square and level). Windows and doors are covered by visqueen. That will allow my framer/roofer to heat up the house to melt the snow so the roof can go on tomorrow. It was a bit chilly in the house though, without heat tonight. I'm getting better at this stuff every day.

Unfortunately I win the dumbass of the day award, by far. Headed out to the shop this morning to unlock everything. Opened up the garage door, got what I needed, locked it back up. Totally screwed over the drywall guys. What a dumbass. Felt pretty bad wasting their day.

Andy,

Did you wire your garage yourself? I want to do mine, but havn't had the shear and framing inspection yet. Also need to do some trenching, but the ground is a bit hard . . . and white. I'm such a fair weather builder.

Sg