I got serious about building my shed on the 18th of August. I got the logs together, got the chainsaw going, and made some cuts. The weather had other plans for me though, and the rain drove me inside for the rest of the evening. On the 20th I got back outside and made a few more cuts. Finally I have an actual joint to show for it (click the image for a larger view)! Three more of those, and eight other shallow cuts and the basic joinery is all done. You can see most of the tools I've used laying about in the photo. The hard part will be raising the beast when the time comes. A lot of rope and pulleys will be needed.I started making newer, more accurate diagrams of the joinery than those I posted earlier, but decided it would be easier to just build it and take photos of the actual joints instead. Better than any illustration I could make. But I did create a list of eight steps for how to build a simple trestle building:
- Select logs (simplest: 4 posts, 2 beams, 2 rafter-holders; also 8 diagonal braces and 10+ rafters).
- Make 5 primary types of cuts for the joinery w/ chainsaw, axe, chisels.
- Assemble on ground before fully erecting to adjust and ensure fit.
- Select and cut to fit rafters.
- Screw diagonal braces to post and beams and erect the two pairs on cinder blocks.
- Place rafter-holders on beams and screw diagonal braces between them and posts.
- Screw on rafters and roofing.
- Dirt or wood floors, and (traditionally) walls are several feet outside of posts, (though may be attached directly to posts).
3 comments:
Oooh! Aaah! Lovely photo of your work. How difficult will it be to erect? Will you need help or do you have a system set up so you can do it yourself?
Ideally if I had a few more people to help with the "barn raising" it would go pretty fast and smooth. But as I may be doing most of it myself, I have a dynamic rope pulley system that I just bought (but I haven't tried it out yet). Once I erect both post and beam pairs, I will need to temporarily brace them by nailing on some boards near their feet while the rafter-holder is laid across. Once on, the rafter-holder will tie them together. Getting the rafter-holder at or above my head height will be a real chore. I'll have to wrap a rope securely to one end and push/pull it up somehow without letting it slip off before it is secured into position. It's time to call in a few favors or write out some IOUs!
I just came across this great picture illustrating how to raise the frame.
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