10x12... Ok it is 14x18 but who is counting any way

[Sledheed]

My shack site (my backyard) on Oct 18, 2015

[Sledheed]

This is kinda what i was thinking. I wanted to wait to start this thread so i could do it while i was up late boiling in it. Now is the time.

[woodey24]

Id, kick those horses out of that shelter......

[bigschuss]

This is kinda what i was thinking. I wanted to wait to start this thread so i could do it while i was up late boiling in it. Now is the time.

Funny, your sketch looks a lot like what I built. Good luck on your project.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/bigschuss/Sugar%20Shack/PB170022_zpsq3rnoj2t.jpg

[Cedar Eater]

My shack site (my backyard) on Oct 18, 2016

You must be a time traveler. Looks like a very nice site.

[51 cub]

Funny, your sketch looks a lot like what I built. Good luck on your project.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/bigschuss/Sugar%20Shack/PB170022_zpsq3rnoj2t.jpg

I can't quite make this picture out on my computer. Do you think you could move the Cub out in the sun a little more, and take it again?;)

[Sledheed]

Bigschuss, the drawing does look alot like yours. I have looked at alot of others shacks but i think that is the first i have seen yours. Nicely done.

Cedar eater, there uas to be one in every bunch. I will leave that it is kind of a sign of the times. I have almost forgot what a nights sleep feels like and i look forward to lots of them...

And btw i fully intend on taking my time on this thread, u cannot rush a good thing

[Sledheed]

I started writting this last night but i think i fell asleep or boiled a pot over or something. The shack site is not too far from my driveway... But to get there i have to go over the pipe that goes from my lift station up to the mound on my septic system. I would rather not crush this and add another project to this one. I needed to shuttle 32 yards of crushed limestone from driveway to site. With this beast, courtesy of my neighbor.

[Sledheed]

No worries right. I just need a bridge that will support this skid steer for a few trips. I have a chain saw and always wanted to learn how to rip boards... Big boards... Freehand. So watched a few vids on youtube and hell i can do that... I think, with a crosscut chain, yep sure no problem.

[Sledheed]

After getting my technique down on a decent sized tree and ripping some 1ft boards 3" thick i was feeling pretty good. And then spent over two hours on a smaller tree only to end up with one board 6" wide 3" thick that was crooked at each end and ended up with what amounted to a 3x4. Never again. I needed a bigger tree, much bigger. After getting the four wheeler stuck in what seemed like "quick mud"and come to find out is a spring, i found the perfect candidate. A big 36+ inches across at the base poplar. A storm had blew the top off and was what amounted to a 20+ foot stump. A much bigger tree. I remember thinking, as i drove up to it, i should be able to have this baby on the ground in 20min and i will be sawing boards, big boards. I went to work on my big tree with my 18" saw, wedge cut, plunge cut, back cut just like the pro's (which i am not by any means) and did a back cut/felling cut. First one side then the other. It should be falling now and was not. Oh here i will just make that plunge cut a little wider, and then it happened. My big tree shifted, just a bit and yep. Pinched my saw and pinched it good. close to two hours later, tree felled and saw recovered. I only cost me time and a chain. Lots of lessons learned. I need two saws and a bigger saw.

[Cedar Eater]

I have a spare bar for when the bar gets pinched. The power head is only held on by two nuts. I also hammer plastic felling wedges into the kerf when I need that level of control over the drop. It can be hard to fell a topless log. They want to fall straight down. Two wedges can make a big difference.

[Sledheed]

Boiling during the day which is rare for me. Finiahing up the last of my syrup for the year. Here is a pic of the bridge and pad.

[woodey24]

Looks like its gonna be sweet.... Keep the updates coming.

[Sledheed]

Well now that my season is over i might actually have time to finish this. I meant for it to keep ya hanging but this is even killing me :). It was the tuesday before thanksgiving when the first load of lumber arrived. Finally some wood on site. Heading into the dead of winter and i am starting the biggest construction project i have ever took on. No pressure right. I finished the pad on veterans day. As i was tamping the last bucket of gravel it was raining. It continued to rain 3" in the next 10 or so hours. Next day it was solid and no water standing in it.

So bc it was cold out and i had alot of measuring, cutting, drilling, and head scratching to do and the garage is heated; i did all of the jointing and layout in the garage. I actually built all four "post and beam" walls on the floor of my garage. It worked great and was warm. The end walls and side walls where symetrical so once everything was cut build one, and then the other right on too of it. I assembled, numbered and disassembled each wall in the garage.

[Sledheed]

I think i mentioned i did not want or have the time to learn traditional post and beam construction practices... But I wanted that look and style building. I know from a previous project there is no easy way to join three 6x6's at 90 degree angles. But there are several good ways to do it. My way so far has worked good. I saw a pic of this online but did not want to pay for the fasteners. So i had the steel for 30 of these t's cut and holes punched. The fab shop actually tacked these up for me as well. I got to do the fun part, the finish welding. This was one of those things, i could have did, but timing was of the essence and in the end well worth what i paid to have it done.

I wish i had more pics of the joints these created. I was so busy and under the gun, i failed to take many pics of this stage. It took many hours laying all of the cuts and holes out on expensive pieces of treated timbers. If you look closely at pics to come u will see how they are utilized. 7 lag bolts at each joint.

[Sledheed]

A teaser pic of the smoke stack!!!

[Sledheed]

Dec 5, 2015 weather is holding out, had two friends over to help put the base together and put up the 4x6 studs. The original plans where to have the studs a full 10'. It quickly became apparent once all of the stids where standing up they were going to be too tall. 10' plus 5.5 on bottom and 5.5 on top put the sde walls at 10' 11". The building is only 14" wide with at a min 10/12,roof. In my opinion to have the side walls that tall would have caused it to look out of proportion. All the studs unbolted and back in the garage. It about killed me to cut a foot off from these, which was only half of it bc i also had to cut a foot off from all of the 6x6 beam for the side and end walls. I had already did all of the cutting, drilling and countersinking on the ends. By cutting off a foot was cuting off all of this work, but it had to be done. In this pic the studs are 10'. Not all was lost bc the base is done and level.

[Cedar Eater]

You're taking photos in the future again.

[Sledheed]

With the help of a few good friends, we raised the walls in a short day

[Sledheed]

Pic from the end of the day december 12, 2015

[Sledheed]

Sertting ridge beam andrather board

[claystroup]

Couple of questions. Are you using treated 6 x 6's for your beams and studs and does your base 6 x 6 sit directly of the crushed limestone foundation? Do you plan on pouring a concrete floor on the inside?
Thanks,
Clay Stroup

[heus]

This thread has me confused :confused: I assume this project is already done but you are releasing the details on a delayed basis? Anyway it looks great so far.

[Sledheed]

I am using treated 6x6 and 4x6's. Yes the bottom 6x6's set directly on the ground. I may do a concrete floor at some point.

[maple flats]

If setting directly on the ground, you need to anchor it down some way.

[Sledheed]

Mapleflats, i hear that often. It was froze to the ground most of the winter. It is on my list of things to do. I plan on putting 5/8 inch metal rods with a piece of steel or a big washer welded to the top; through the 6x6's 4 feet or so in the ground. Thinking about ten of these should keep it in place. life has been getting in the way of this happening.

[Sledheed]

December 27, 2015. It is cold out and again, a few good friends still showed up to help. Put two courses of sheeting on and secured the cupola frames.

[Sledheed]

When i took the pics in the previous post i was pretty satisfied. Had made some good progress and things had been gong by way, which is usually not the case. As the sun was going down, everyone was getting ready to leave for the day and i was standing in the doorway of the heated garage, it hit me.

(I had went back and forth during the design stage to have the cupola centered or off centered. In the end i decided on centered. 10 rafter spaces total, cupola will cover 4 spaces in the middle, two on each end. So need 4 cupola rafter frames right?) Wrong, u need five. I had made 4 and they are up in previous pic. Remember i had made a jig to make them in as well. And since i was done, had taken said jig all apart. Well i did it once, second time should go better. And it did. Went back to work that night and made the fifth rafter frame.

I had other people coming fo help me out on another frigid day the next day, Dec 28, 2015. My hope for the 28th was to get scaffolding build around the cupola and to begin finishing the cupola. I had still not figured out how i was going to build scaffolding i was willing to go out on. But figured i had plenty of time... Or at least 12 hours. Or a good solid 10 hours for sure. Minute the time to build the 5th rafter frame and a couple hours of sleep. Ok so i had like a few hours to figure it out... I think.

[Sledheed]

And this is how it was done. I was going to use roof jacks, or build scaffolding on the roof sheeting. But as i was drinking a cup of coffee wondering how i was going to make progress on the cupola. I decided on this for scaffolding. And it worked great.

[Sledheed]

January 3, 2016

[Sledheed]

January 14, 2016. Framing windows and first of the sheating going on. You will notice this is being built on weekends and in the dark after work during the week. I give thanks for my petzel headlamp it is the best. And some great friends!!

[Chickenman]

NICE:-) Hope to have one next year when we build the new house.Not quite that fancy but big enough for my Mason 2x3 and possible replacement down the long and distant road.

[UPMaple]

Nice work. Looks great.

[Sledheed]

I had no idea when i put up the "temp" scaffolding up how long it would be there. My next big goal was to take it down. In the inside of the shack was 2.5 sections of scaffolding which u had to crawl up and the out on to the temp scaffolding. As the cuppola becsme more and more done it was harder to get out on it. Building the cuppola was as much work as building the whole rest of the building. It would for sure do it again, if for no other reason bc i know i can, and it looks sweet. I do not know of another building remotely close to my place that looks at all like it. Today is the day, the temp scaffolding comes down, january 24, 2016

[Sledheed]

February 9, 2016. Now that the cuppola is done. Closer to the ground things began moving along faster. Everything is easier and faster close to the ground. I got "used" tin for free from two local building that had been tore down or reroofed.

[Windy Acres]

Looking great, keep up the good work!