Welcome to our third DIY Link-It-Up party, where you can share your best DIY!
Submit your project using the link widget below! Next week, we’ll pick the top 4-8 submission on the list and feature them!
Stop back Every FRIDAY to MONDAY to Link It Up!
DIY Link it Up Features From Last Week
We had some fabulous entries to our second party last week. Here’s the best!
1) Learn to make these Valentine’s Day Felt Heart Decorations at To a Pretty Life.
2) Keeping with the Valentine’s Day theme, Sprik Space shares these great Valentine’s Day cards for free {as long as you’re using them non-commercially}
3) Simply Simplisticated shares this cute lamp makeover.
4) This cute milk jug vellum craft is a cinch at Remade Simple.
5) Pretty Handy Girl gives us this cute and simple sculptural branch jewelry design
6) Rustic Crafts explains how to make a variety of pencil holders and other can crafts.
How to Join in!
- SUBMIT! up to three projects (crafts, how-to’s, decor, reviews, or really anything home improvement related) from your site. Use the link to the article (rather than your site’s homepage).
- LINK BACK! from your original article to this post so other people can join the party! (The more the merrier!)
- SUBSCRIBE! (see sidebar) to receive updates from our site! Want to learn more about the four of us at OPC? Read here!
and one “don’t”…
- DON’T link up Giveaways, ETSY Stores, For-Sale stuff, etc.
Don’t forget to LINK BACK! to this post from your original post after you submit!
… and why not visit and comment on some of the other entries too!…
“5 Minutes or Less” will be on on-going series dedicated to quick and fun crafts and DIY projects that you can do in five minutes or less. This segment came to being because in our busy life it was difficult making the time for the involved and time-consuming projects that I love. We would love to feature your ideas too, so don’t forget to take lots of pictures of your next “5 Minutes or Less” DIY and send ‘em our way!
This week’s project is making no-slip socks. As you may have read in previous posts, Lucy just turned ONE and is starting to walk. I try to keep soft shoes on her most of the time, but when we’re just around the house, that is sometimes a bit of a chore. So to keep her from slipping on the wood floors and to keep her little toesies warm, I made No-Slip Socks!
Supplies:
- Socks
- Puffy Paint
First, I went to Target and bought a big bag of socks. My favs are the low-cut socks, but really you can pick any socks you want, but solids will work best if you want to draw your own designs or words. Here’s a coupon if you want to buy at Target also. :)
While you’re there, also buy some Puffy Paint. I love the glittery ones! Pick contrasting colors to your socks. If your socks are light in color, pick bright, darker colors. If your socks are dark, pick lighter, pastel, or white.
Once you get home, wash the socks and dry on high heat. You want to make sure the socks have shrunk as much as they will so that they don’t shrink at all after you put the puffy paint on, otherwise the puffy paint will crinkle.
Flatten out the socks, heel facing up.
Then draw designs or words on the socks. Get creative – names, sayings, stripes, starts, polka dots. You can do no wrong! My favorite pair of socks I made says “Lulu” because that is the affectionate nickname that Izzie gave her when she was a baby.
Let dry for 24 hours (ish) and enjoy.
Have you done this? Any tips? Send us your pix and we’ll include them in our post!
| | February 2, 2012 Filed in: 5 Min or Less, Decor and Crafts | Related Tags: how-to | 7 Comments »
As many of you know, we’re building a library of DIY and expert Project Guides that share step-by-step explanations for a wide range of home improvement projects. As part of building this library, I follow expert contractors to the job site, documenting their steps, tips, techniques, and tools. We’re striving to be the best on the web! If you like what you read, please subscribe to our feed and tell your friends about us!
Most of last week, I followed expert general contractor and carpenter Steve Wartman and his crew as they built this great looking backyard shed! This article covers all of the details for building the shed’s foundation and subfloor, framing its walls, constructing a hip roof, installing a double door and windows, adding siding, laying shingle, and much more!
This is the largest and most detailed Project Guide we’ve put together yet, with more than 100 pictures and videos of the process! I hope this serves as a great resource for you, especially if this or a similar project is in your near future!
Build a Backyard Shed From Scratch
Most homeowners that want a shed will have one built off-site and delivered to their home. (Here’s a video of a typical pre-built shed delivery we filmed in Fred and Kim’s backyard.) Unfortunately, shed delivery is not an option for all homeowners, and a common barrier is inadequate access. That’s why Steve and his crew were hired to build this shed. I’ll let him introduce the project.
The Plan for This Shed
If you missed it in the video, the plan is to build a 10 x 12′ shed. The homeowners are preparing to add an in-law suite to the back of their home, and this shed will provide a place for outdoor furniture and lawn equipment. In addition, 120 sq. ft. is the maximum sized shed you can build in this area (Baltimore, Maryland) without pulling building permits. This shed will feature a foundation of solid, concrete block, 2×4 framing, a hip roof to match the house and architectural shingles.
Step 1: Prepare the Site and Build the Foundation
After determining a location for the shed, it’s important to give it a solid, level foundation that will properly handle rain and moisture. Steve’s team accomplished this by digging out an area with about 8″ of clearance on all sides. They lined the perimeter with pressure-treated 4×6′s, sometimes going as many as 3 rows deep, since there was a slope in the ground. The crew used 20″ rebar to secure it to the ground, and 10″ Timberlok heavy-duty, wood screws to pull all the boards tight.
Tip: Timberlok 10″ wood screws should be installed through the face of one board into the end grain of the next (for all boards), and then down the top board through two or three boards.
They were able to use some of the dirt to fill in low areas, being careful to tamp everything to eliminate voids. Steve’s crew made 10 columns by stacking concrete blocks on undisturbed ground. Each column is composed of 3, 4″ blocks, glued to each other with construction adhesive. Using a line level, they ensured that all the foundations were the same height, level and equally spaced around the perimeter.
Tip: These columns must be built on undisturbed ground. This is vital because undisturbed ground will not shift (potentially creating structural instability) as even tamped dirt can.
Tip: Pouring a concrete slab foundation is a viable alternative, but it also introduces new considerations like frost heaves (in some areas). The shed design would also change to incorporate a 4 x 4″ pressure treated skid under the joists to allow rain and moisture to escape. The design we outline here addresses all necessary concerns, and is more cost effective than pouring concrete. (See an alternative method: How to Pour a Solid Concrete Shed Base)
The crew used 2″ – 4″ of crushed rock to fill around the concrete blocks, and this provides a path for water so that moisture doesn’t accumulate underneath the shed.
Step 2: Build the Outer Band Board
This shed features a double band-board construction, which means that the perimeter of the bottom frame comprises a double ring of pressure treated 2″ x 6″ boards. The additional ring is helpful because it adds to the structural integrity and provides a wider nailing surface for securing the walls to the floor.
For a 10′ x 12′ shed, the outer band board length and width should be 10′ x 12′, the full size of the shed. The inner band board (described below) will fit inside this frame, and must be 3″ shorter in both dimensions.
Tip: It’s important to check for square by measuring the diagonals (corner to opposite corner), and if they measure the same, the structure is square.
Step 3: Build The Inner Band Board and Floor Joists
The inner band board has joists spanning the width (front to back) and secured with joist hanger ties and nails through the face of the band board. The joists are 2 x 6′s placed 16″ on center (o.c.). Again, it’s important to check for square and shift the frame if necessary.
For a 10′ x 12′ shed, the inner band board length and width should be three inches shorter in each dimension (9’9″ x 11’9″). The outside band board will add an additional 1.5″ of width on all sides, making the total length and width 10′ x 12′.
Tip: We recommend a pneumatic framing nailer to install three nails through the band board into the grain of the joist. This can be accomplished by hand (with a hammer), but would be far more time consuming.
This inner structure fits snuggly inside the outer band board frame.
The double band boards are nailed together, but not before verifying that everything is still square.
Step 4: Install the Subfloor
Steve is a big fan of Advantech subfloor for its superior weather-ability. Advantech results in less warping, twisting and delaminating. If you check the Advantech Website, you’ll see that they claim the lowest water absorption rates in the industry. For these reasons, Steve installs tongue and groove Advantech rather than traditional plywood or OSB subfloor.
Tip: Fir plywood is a suitable alternative to Advantech, and is priced similarly.
Steve’s crew oriented the subfloor to keep the groove side exposed for the next row. This is important because it allows you to setup a “beater block” to drive each piece snug without damaging the tongue.
Next, the crew screwed the subfloor in place, taking care not to put screws too close to the groove and create an obstruction.
Tip: Typical 2″, #8 screws are appropriate for this job. Screws should be driven every 12″ along the joists and the perimeter.
Tip: We recommend keeping screws six inches back from the groove until the next sheet is installed. If you install the screws too close to the edge before installing the next sheet, the next sheet will be VERY hard to get into place. (See an article on Installing a Plywood Subfloor in a Habitat Home)
The crew staggered the joints for each row and marked the location of the joists to enable easy fastening.
Tip: Stagger plywood joints to prevent bowing in the resulting floor.
Step 5: Frame the Walls
Tip: Dimensional lumber is often curved or bowed. Before you begin framing, it’s important to check each piece, and if necessary, orient them all identically. In this video, Steve shares some pro tips for checking boards and marking them.
This shed features 2 x 4″ framing with studs placed 16″ on center. The crew began framing the front wall first. These are the most complicated because the front wall includes the door and two windows.
To frame the front wall, Steve’s crew began by measuring stud locations on the top and bottom plates. For this, it’s useful to understand a bit of stud vernacular:
- King Studs or Common Studs: Span from the top plate to the bottom plate (the full height of the wall).
- Jack Studs: Support headers, which span above doors and windows.
- Cripple Studs: Used above or below windows and doors.
Tip: Many lesser quality sheds are constructed with 2 × 3″ boards at 24″ on center to meet a lower price point.
In this picture, the king stud locations are marked with X’s, and the jack stud location is marked with a J. Placing three king studs on the end isn’t necessary (you could get away with two), however the third stud provides a nailing surface on the inside corner of the finished shed, which is especially helpful for building shelves at a later date.
Headers are required above doors and windows, since these elements of a structure cannot support load. Typically headers are made by sandwiching 1/2″ plywood between 2x material, resulting in a flush surface inside and out. In this case, Steve’s crew omitted the 1/2″ plywood because the inside will not be a finished space and does not need to be flush.
Tip: What’s 2x Material? 2x (spoken “two by”) refers to any dimension lumber that is nominally 2″ wide, such as 2x4s.
Tip: Understanding Header Math: 2x material is actually 1.5 inches wide. Placing two pieces of 2x side-by-side will give you 3″ of width. By sandwiching 1/2″ plywood between the boards, you achieve a 3.5″ width, which is the width of a 2×4. Depending on the distance being spanned and the load to be supported, 2×6, 2×8, or 2×10, or even 2×12 material may be appropriate. For the spanning distances in this shed, 2×6 header material is appropriate. For heavy loads (such as supporting a second floor), LVL or steel I-Beams are used for headers.
Just like installing the joists, keeping everything square was a big focus. After each wall was built, they measured the diagonals and made adjustments as necessary. The picture below shows the front wall after they finished framing. You can see the headers above the windows and door.
The other three walls were framed with studs placed 16″ o.c. without any other components.
Tip: A utility bar (like the Stanely FatMax Xtreme) is a useful tool for bending and torquing boards into place.
Step 6: Install SmartSide Panels
After each wall was framed, Steve’s crew installed SmartSide engineered panels. These panels are already primed, and they will be painted to match the house at a later date. These panels are a durable and relatively inexpensive alternative to other siding materials, such as Vinyl.
The crew stapled the panels rather than nailing it because it provides a better hold.
Each piece overlaps the adjacent piece, and the top and the bottom of the panel extends beyond the wall to cover the top plate (above) and the band board (below).
In this picture, you can see them checking the spacing with a spare piece of 2×4.
Step 7: Frame the Hip Roof
Steve’s crew is building a hip roof to match the roof on the existing home. Hip roofs are much more interesting than a typical gable roof, and they are also much more complicated. Here’s a quick video describing the challenges of building a hip roof.
Tip: Hip roofs also experience lower wind resistance than gable roofs because each side is sloped.
Hip Roof Nomenclature
Hip roof terminology can be a little confusing, so I’ve put together this rough diagram showing the different components of a hip roof from above.
- Ridge rafter
- Common rafters
- Hip rafters
- Creeper rafters (also called Jack rafters)
- Top plate
The difficulty in building a hip roof lies in making all the required, compound cuts. Steve explains a bit more about that in this video.
Build the Hip Roof
Rather than framing the walls and building the hip roof on top of the structure, Steve elected to frame the roof on the ground. It’s a trade-off, because while it’s easier to frame the roof on the ground, it can be challenging to get the roof in place afterward. This method is only possible if you’re careful to keep the subfloor, walls, and roof perfectly square. Otherwise, your structure will be skewed and the roof will be misaligned.
Like Steve mentioned in the video, he began cutting the rafters while the other guys worked on the walls. This roof features a 7:12 pitch, and he used a roofing square (speed square) to mark accurate angles.
The toughest rafters to cut are the hip rafters because they butt against two adjacent common rafters.
In this picture, the hip rafters have lines across the width, the other three are common rafters, and they all meet at the ridge rafter.
All the rafters have a notch called a birdsmouth seat that allows the rafter to sit flat against the top plate.
Steve’s crew began building the top plate around the perimeter of the shed, and they marked the locations of the rafters.
They setup a temporary support for the ridge rafter, and started by securing the six common rafters.
They spaced the rafters 24″o.c.
This is a closeup of the birdsmouth, and the small spacer is to account for the plywood siding. You can also see the 6″ overhang and that they cut the tail end of the rafter for the soffits.
Next, they moved on to the hip rafters, and you can see how the birdsmouth sits at the corner of the roof.
Lastly, they installed eight creeper rafters.
The final step for the hip roof is to attach the fascia board to the ends of the rafters, and they ripped the edge to match the slope of the roof.
Here’s what the framed hip roof looks like before they slide it on top of the walls. You can also see they added a couple collar ties that span between common rafters to prevent it from shifting.
Step 8: Raise the Walls
Now that the roof is ready to go, the crew needs to raise the walls. Since they had already framed the walls and the plywood siding (mostly), it was an easy task to set the wall in place, check for level and nail it secure.
After getting this first wall setup, they nailed a temporary support to the floor and wall, keeping it level while they continued with the other walls.
Here’s a great picture showing how the plywood siding overlaps the band board, and it will also overlap the top-plate when the roof is moved into place.
You can see how including the (optional) third king stud provides a nailing surface in the corner. This is usually done for the benefit of drywall; however, Steve included the extra stud to make it easier for the homeowner to build shelves.
The double band-board construction allows Steve’s crew to stagger their nails and better secure the walls to the subfloor.
Step 9: Move the Roof in Place
To slide the roof on top, the guys set up a slanted support and some temporary blocks to protect the plywood siding. With a person at each corner, they walked the roof over and set the first edge on top of the walls. Two guys moved onto ladders, and they continued to slide the roof along the wall framing. The final step was to remove the temporary blocks. It’s a testament to Steve Wartman and his crew’s precision because everything fit perfectly. Nicely done.
Step 10: Roof Sheathing and Tar Paper
The crew drove nails through the top plate, and drove 8″ Timberloks through the rafters into the wall framing to secure the roof. Next, they began laying the 5/8″ OSB. If you remember, Steve mentioned that some contractors will use 1/2″ OSB, but he has found that over time it’ll start to sag. He uses 5/8″ for better rigidity. The two sides of OSB sheathing are not the same, and if you look closely, you’ll see “This side down” printed on one side. The difference is that the topside is textured and easier to walk on.
The roof framing is 24″ oc, and that requires the use of sheathing clips between the rows of OSB.
In this picture, Steve is trimming excess OSB along one of the hip rafters.
The ridge vent will sit at the peak so they cut a small gap in the OSB.
After the OSB was in place, they covered it with tar paper, starting at the bottom and overlapping each row approximately 6″.
The crew used staples to secure the tar paper.
Step 11: Install the Soffit, Drip Edge and Fascia
The ridge vent and vented soffit will allow air to move through the shed. This is important so that moisture doesn’t become trapped. A properly installed fascia and drip edge will prevent rain and water from moving inside. Here’s Steve with more details about these components.
If you missed it in the video, Steve screwed the F-channel to the wall of the shed and then nailed the soffit to the underside of the fascia board.
Next, they mounted the drip edge (pictured below) and slid the fascia in place, securing both with small aluminum nails.
Step 12: Hang the Windows and Door
The front of this shed will have a double-door and windows on either side. The openings were framed out with the walls and then concealed by the plywood siding. Now it’s time to cut the plywood and install the windows and doors.
Using a Sawzall and Flush Cut Blade, they removed the excess siding and bottom plate.
They leveled out the window and nailed the windows around the frame.
Next, they framed out the windows and door frame with PVC board including an angled threshold to direct water outside. They also added PVC to the corners of the shed and sealed them. All the PVC was secured with finish nails and caulked.
They installed a solid wood, double door, which required trimming the bottom to fit the opening, cutting a chamfered edge where the doors meet, routing a space for the hinges and shimming the doors level.
The crew installed a Kwikset, locking door knob on the right door and a matching knob and two latches on the left door.
Step 13: Shingle the Roof
The last step before finishing the shed is to shingle the roof. Steve is installing architectural shingles for the longer lifespan and better durability, and eventually, the house will be re-shingled to match. This guide doesn’t fully cover how to shingle a roof. Until we cover that in greater detail, here’s another online resource that provides good instruction.
The cut row of shingles is actually three-tab, and all the caps are cut from three tab as well.
They snap chalk lines to ensure each row is straight.
And they use Protecto Wrap to ensure each corner is completely waterproof.
This picture shows Steve using a utility knife with a hook blade to cut shingles.
Taking care to keep each row even and straight, the crew progressed up to the ridge vent, and added caps along the hip rafters.
They cut the vent to size and nailed it in place, covering exposed nail holes with roof sealant.
The Finished Shed
The homeowner is really pleased with the results. We think they look pretty nice, too!
We Want Your Questions & Comments!
We hope you’ve found this article helpful! If you’ve any questions on the installation, feel free to ask in the comments section below. Remember: if you have a question, someone else probably does as well, so we’d like to hear it!
| | February 2, 2012 Filed in: Construction, Exterior, Featured Content, Pro Follow, Pro-Follows, Project Guides, Shed | Related Tags: how-to | 13 Comments »
If you follow us on Facebook, you might have seen a small preview of Lucy’s One Year “Happy Hour” Celebration. (My longer post on the whole party is coming soon!) In keeping with the theme, I made cupcakes with Blue Moon Beer and Red Diamond Merlot for the adults. About a year ago, I saw a recipe for Boxed Wine Cupcakes, and then more recently I saw a from-scratch Recipe for Blue Moon cupcakes on Pinterest. I had to modify these recipes a bit to make them work for me, but they still turned out great!
I’m going to give you my versions of those recipes next. But first, check out this beautiful picture taken by my friend, Ruth, of the alcohol-free cupcakes for the birthday girl and her friends, with a one year cupcake topper from our local Hobby Lobby! Aren’t they cute?
While I appreciate homemade baked goods, I always prefer to use a box mix when possible. Since the Blue Moon Cupcakes recipes I found online were from scratch, I adapted the box mix recipes to include beer. Both the Blue Moon and Chocolate Merlot cupcakes turned out AMAZING and were so simple to make!
Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes Recipe
Batter:
- 1 box Devil’s food cake mix
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup Merlot wine
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Frosting:
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup Merlot wine
- 1 tsp vanilla
Baking Instructions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box, using cake mix, water, ½ cup wine, oil and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about ½ full).
- Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, cocoa and salt with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat in ½ cup wine. If frosting is too thick, beat in more wine a few drops at a time.
- Frost cupcakes (see my tips below). Garnish with chocolate curls.
When you finish, they’ll look like this:
Blue Moon Cupcakes Recipe
Batter:
- 1 Yellow Box Mix
- 3/4 blue moon
- 1/2 c water
- 1/2 tsp. Orange zest
- 1/2 c. oil
- 3 eggs
Icing:
- 6 cups icing
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup Blue Moon beer
- 3 tsp Orange Juice
Baking Instructions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box, using cake mix, water, ½ cup Blue Moon, orange zest, oil and eggs. Add more or less orange zest, depending on how much orange flavor you desire. Beware, if you like the beer taste, the orange zest overpowers the beer. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about ½ full).
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely.
- In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, and orange juice with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Slowly beat in ½ cup beer. If frosting is too thick, beat in more beer a few drops at a time. If too runny, add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time. For more beer flavor, do not add orange juice.
- Frost cupcakes.
Frosting & Decorating the Cupcakes
I like to use a cake decorating bag and designer tips to frost cupcakes. The icing will need to be slightly thicker than if you were icing the cupcakes using a knife. When you insert a knife into the icing, it should form a stiff peak when you remove the knife. That’s how you know it’s the right consistency.
Use the largest tips available – my favorite is the star-like shaped tip, but the crescent or circle tip can also make a pretty design. If you don’t have a cake decorating set, you can also put icing in a ziploc bag and cut off one corner to use instead of the decorating bag.
Top with sprinkles, candies, or candles!
| | February 1, 2012 Filed in: Decor and Crafts, Yummy | Related Tags: how-to | 6 Comments »
Hello Men Folk. (Ladies, I wrote this for the guys, but would always love your thoughts too! 
)
I’m going to take a not-so-bold leap and assume that since you’re a guy, you aren’t that familiar with Pinterest. Basically, it’s this big social picture-sharing network that lets you “pin” things you like to a personal pin board. The service is dominated by women (we’re guessing 95%+ of users are female). Both Kim and Jocie use it (Jocie most extensively), and some of OPC’s stuff is pinned up there… Even some of our “manly” stuff has made it up, like our workbenches and sawhorses (although they seem out-of-place with all those pictures of hairdos and wedding dresses).
You can follow other people on Pinterest, and you can “re-pin” their stuff onto your own board. Getting re-pins is the currency of Pinterest. If your stuff gets pinned enough times (or by the most popular pinners), you’ll make the front page. It’s sort of like a high school popularity contest that way. She who dies with the most re-pins wins.
You’d think there’d be a just-for-men section on Pinterest with a big button on the front of the site that said Dudes – Start Here. Behind that button we’d see pictures of axes, beer, power tools, or maybe vintage baseball cards worth more than my house. But there is no such button. Pinterest is what it is. And what it is, is a predominantly women’s hangout.
So be it. I cede the Pinterests to the lady folk. I appreciate that we’ve got two of our own ladies here at OPC to handle that angle for us. On the few occasions I need to use P’s features (say, for getting some great ideas on wainscoting for the dining room), I’ll have Kim pull up the pictures for me. She’ll be more efficient anyway, and if she stumbles across eight different ways to cross stitch a [whatever someone cross stitches], she won’t mind.
Fortunately for us men, some manly web programmers out there got together and decided we needed a site like Pinterest, but with a little more testosterone. And Gentlemint was born. It’s a Mint of Manly Things.
Really, a Site for Men? Is it one of Those Sites?
I was excited when I heard this, but also cautious. When someone says, “A site for men”, my first thought is: Is this just going to be a site filled with pictures of scantily clad (or worse, unclad) women? I’m happy to say I’ve seen no such thing on Gentlemint, and I hope it stays that way. There’s enough of that smut on the planet already. We can do without another one of those sites.
So what is on Gentlemint? Stuff like this…
…and this…
…and this…
…and this…
And if they get around to approving Ethan and me for accounts, you’ll start seeing some of OPC’s manly stuff go up there too. (I applied just a few days ago… so if you work for Gentlemint, please approve fred@oneprojectcloser.com for an account. You won’t regret it.)
It looks like the interface isn’t quite as good as Pinterest yet (not surprising, it’s new), and some of the content really isn’t that great. But we hope it’ll grow and get better, and that the men who came up with this idea will get fabulously rich, and use their new-found wealth to contribute more manliness to the web.
Take a look at the site, and let us know what you’re first impressions are, and what you think they could be doing better. And if you’re a lady and made it all the way through this article to here… I’d love your thoughts on it too
| | January 31, 2012 Filed in: News / Editorial | Related Tags: info | 25 Comments »
Hi everyone! We have a much-anticipated Pro Follow update on the new backyard shed today.
But before I begin… I know a lot of you are new to OPC, so I wanted to bring you up to speed on this relatively new feature of our site.
What’s a Pro Follow?
We’re creating a library of DIY and Expert Project Guides that provide step-by-step explanations of how to tackle a wide range of challenging home improvement projects. One of my jobs at OPC is to follow contractors through the toughest jobs, sharing their tips, techniques, and real life experiences with you.
At the end of a Pro Follow, I document the entire job in a single How-To that you can print, reference, and share. Here’s an example. Our entire library of How-To’s is always accessible right from our home page, or on our Project Guides page. Our new Pro Follow series has its own subcategory you can reference anytime to see only How-To’s that resulted from a Pro Follow experience.
Last week I followed Steve Wartman (an expert general contractor) and his crew as they constructed a backyard shed. This is the fourth day recap of Steve’s progress. The completed How To will be served up later this week, so stay tuned.
As we closeout the write-ups on this project, I’ll be spending time with a new local Master Electrician on an indoor recessed lighting installation. You can read the Pro Follow on recessed lighting starting early next week.
Recapping Days 1-3 of the Build a Shed Project
For this project, the homeowners couldn’t have a pre-fabricated shed delivered because of limited access in their back yard. But they still needed a place for outdoor furniture and lawn equipment. This outside storage area is especially important as they prepare to add an in-law suite to the back of their home.
The homeowners have employed Steve and crew to build a 10 x 12′ shed from scratch. To catch up to today’s, take a look at these articles (which all open in a new window):
Today’s article covers a lot of information as the crew sets walls, moves the roof in place, lays shingle over top of the OSB, and installs soffit vents, fascia, doors and windows. Let’s get started!
The Walls
Last time, we ended by describing how they framed the hip roof on the ground to make the work easier. Now that the roof is ready to go, the crew needs to raise the walls. Since they had already framed the walls and the plywood siding (mostly), it was an easy task to set the wall in place, check for level and nail it secure.
After getting this first wall setup, they nailed a temporary support to the floor and wall, keeping it level while they continued with the other walls.
Here’s a great picture showing how the plywood siding overlaps the band board, and it will also overlap the top-plate when the roof is moved into place.
You can see how including the (optional) third king stud provides a nailing surface in the corner. This is usually done for the benefit of drywall; however, Steve included the extra stud to make it easier for the homeowner to build shelves.
Remember how they created a double band board subfloor? That allows Steve’s crew to stagger their nails and improves the structural integrity of the walls.
The Roof
With the walls tightly secured, it was time to move the framed hip roof in place on top of the walls. I hate to disappoint everyone, but I don’t have very many pictures because I offered to lend a hand.
To slide the roof on top, the guys set up a slanted support and some temporary blocks to protect the plywood siding. With a person at each corner, we walked the roof over and set the first edge on top of the walls. Two guys moved onto ladders, and we continued to slide the roof along the wall framing. The final step was to remove the temporary blocks. It’s a testament to Steve Wartman and his crew’s precision because everything fit perfectly. Nicely done.
Roof Sheathing
The crew drove nails through the top plate and 8″ Timberlok’s through the rafters into the wall framing to secure the roof. Next, they began laying the 5/8″ OSB. If you remember, Steve mentioned that some contractors will use 1/2″ OSB, but he has found that over time it’ll start to sag. He uses 5/8″ for better rigidity. The two sides of OSB sheathing are not the same, and if you look closely, you’ll see “This side down” printed on one side. The difference is that the topside is textured and easier to walk on.
The roof framing is 24″ oc, and that requires the use of sheathing clips between the rows of OSB.
In this picture, Steve is trimming excess OSB along one of the hip rafters.
The ridge vent will sit at the peak so they cut a small gap in the OSB.
Tar Paper
After the OSB was in place, they covered it with tar paper, starting at the bottom and overlapping each row approximately 6″.
They used staples to secure the tar paper.
Soffit, Drip Edge and Fascia
The ridge vent and vented soffit will allow air to move through the shed. This is important so that moisture doesn’t become trapped, and a properly installed fascia and drip edge will prevent rain and water from moving inside. Here’s Steve with more details about these components.
If you missed it in the video, Steve screwed the F-channel to the wall of the shed and then nailed the soffit to the underside of the fascia board.
Next, they mounted the drip edge (pictured below) and slid the fascia in place, securing both with small aluminum nails.
Windows and Doors
The front of this shed will have a double-door and windows on either side. The openings were framed out with the walls and then concealed by the plywood siding. Now it’s time to cut the plywood and install the windows and doors.
Using a Sawzall and Flush Cut Blade, they removed the excess siding and bottom plate.
They leveled out the window, and nailed the windows around the frame.
Next, they framed out the windows and door frame with PVC board including an angled threshold to direct water outside. They also added PVC to the corners of the shed and sealed them.
They installed two, solid wood doors, which required trimming the bottom to fit, cutting a chamfered edge where the doors meet, routing a space for the hinges and shimming the door level.
The crew installed a Kwikset, locking door knob on the right door and a matching door and two latches on the left door.
Shingle the Roof
The last step before finishing the shed is to shingle the roof. Steve is installing architectural shingles for the longer lifespan and better durability, and eventually, the house will be re-shingled to match.
The cut row of shingles is actually three-tab, and all the caps are cut from three tab as well.
They snap chalk lines to ensure each row is straight.
And they use Protecto Wrap to ensure each corner is completely waterproof.
This picture shows Steve using a utility knife with a hook blade to cut shingles.
Taking care to keep each row even and straight, the crew progressed up to the ridge vent, and added caps along the hip rafters.
They cut the vent to size and nailed it in place, covering exposed nail holes with roof sealant.
At this point the shed is complete except for some clean-up, caulk, and finishing touches. Look for finished pictures when I compile the final how-to guide for building a shed!
| | January 30, 2012 Filed in: Construction, Pro Follow | Related Tags: | 18 Comments »
Welcome to our second DIY Link-It-Up party, where you can share your best DIY projects with One Project Closer!
Submit your project using the link widget below! Next week, we’ll pick the top 4-8 submission on the list and feature them!
Stop back Every FRIDAY to MONDAY to Link It Up!
DIY Link it Up Features From Last Week
We had some fabulous entries to our {very first} party last week. Here’s the best!
1. Check out this beautiful sewing-machine base converted to a bathroom sink over at Old House New Folks.
2. Salvage Savvy gives us this great bedroom remake for her pretween boy. We might have to revisit our own boys’ bedroom, now!
3. Bad Rabbit Vintage custom paints an old dresser into this amazing Asian-themed piece!
4. The Space Between converts an old wood pallet into this inspiring wall piece!
5. House of Hepworth builds a fantastic tutorial on installing faux board and batten wainscoting!
6. ReMadeSimple builds this cute, DIY bottle art!
7. Recaptured Charm uses a wallpaper technique to give this salvaged armoire new life!
8. Larissa Hill Designs takes an old console table and distresses it, giving it a modern look!
How to Join in!
- SUBMIT! up to three projects (crafts, how-to’s, decor, reviews, or really anything home improvement related) from your site. Use the link to the article (rather than your site’s homepage).
- LINK BACK! from your original article to this post so other people can join the party! (The more the merrier!)
- SUBSCRIBE! (see sidebar) to receive updates from our site! Want to learn more about the four of us at OPC? Read here!
and one “don’t”…
- DON’T link up Giveaways, ETSY Stores, For-Sale stuff, etc.
We’re working on a “Featured on One Project Closer” button for you to grab for your own site! Look for that next week! {Yeah, I know we promised this week… It’s been one of those weeks!}
Don’t forget to LINK BACK! to this post from your original post after you submit!
… and why not visit and comment on some of the other entries too!…
This has been a busy week around the home improvement blogs! So many of you have beautiful projects, and we’ve got a great set of DIY features coming this afternoon with our {second} Link it Up DIY party. But one “reveal” this week really caught our eye here at OPC. Lindsay Ballard over at Living with Lindsay gives us the culmination of a year-long master bedroom renovation! Lindsay’s new master bedroom is trendy and stunning. She says:
“It may be too bold for some. It may be too busy for others. But for me? It’s just right.”
Well, we think it’s neither too bold nor too busy. Lindsay’s done an awesome job with the space! It’s inspiring us to think about our own master bedroom, which we’ve been putting off for years as we focused on our first floor reno, the OPC workshop, and my little ones!
Here’s what it looked like “Before” (…and yes, it’s a little embarrassing that this “before” picture looks more put together than our bedroom right now!)
And here’s what it looks like, now! Whoa!
Check out those bold chevrons, and the pictures of the kiddos over the bed… Adorable! And the contrasting frames and side chair really pop right out of the background.
Don’t you just love the contrast between her refinished yellow dresser, and the chevron stripes in the background?
And how about those antlers? They’re reminding us of John & Sherry’s Self Imposed Challenge over at YHL.
The only question we have left after looking at Lindsay’s redesign is: Did her blog header inspire the room, or vice versa?
Seriously sweet redesign, Lindsay!
Want more pics? Head on over to Lindsay’s original article for complete details on all the changes in the room, including a few tutorials!
And stay tuned for this afternoon’s {second} Link-it-Up party!
Over the last week, I’ve finally had time to implement some site design ideas that have been lurking in the back of my mind. As we continue our blog-wide relentless pursuit of a great user experience, I’d love your feedback on these changes. I also welcome your ideas for how to make our site even better (in whatever way that might be). We certainly appreciate all of you who stop by often, and especially those of you who frequently comment. You make our lives happier!
The Changes
Up first, a simple change: a new picture of the four of us in the corner of the home page (and every post, in fact.) Unlike many blogs, there are four of us writing here, and we’d love for all of you to connect with all of us! If you’re new and want to learn more about who we are, find out here!
Second, in an effort to tie our personal reputation to every post on our site, we’ve decided to finally put our last names in the post headers. For a long time we just didn’t feel that comfortable with the idea. But after some additional thought, we’ve decided to put it all out there. We also updated the location of our pictures to the left side of the header and cleaned up the layout to make it easier to read.
Third, we’ve simplified our site navigation and added section home pages for each major area of our site. These section pages will likely evolve as we get spare time to improve them even more. This simplification also includes an easier way to find our Community Blogs page and our latest DIY Link Party in the upper right.
Fourth, I’ve finally fixed the load times of our Community Blogs page to make it much snappier. The process that performs the aggregation now runs in the background on our server every 15 minutes. You should find that it loads much quicker, if you visit that page. On the way for our Community are improvements to the layout that will include featuring the names and faces of the authors of the blogs. We’re also planning to divide the blogs into logical categories, so that if you want to follow Crafts and Decor blogs, you don’t also have to see Tools and Contracting blogs.
Fifth, for some time we’ve known that our home page layout might not be what everyone likes to see when they visit a blog site. Well, through the magic of cookies and some PHP code, you can now pick either our default home page, or a “blog view” home page that shows all the latest posts in blog format. We prefer the regular “magazine view” page, but we know that’s not for everyone. As long as you have cookies enabled, our site will remember your preference each time you visit, and you can switch back anytime.
Sixth, we’ve added some new quick icons to our home page latest posts widget to make a few of the post categories stand out. So far we’ve added only two (one for our “Pro Follows” and one for our “Link It Up” series. More are coming, and you’ll probably see smaller versions of our pictures appear in this line up soon. I’m particularly interested in whether you like this change…
Future Ideas
- Reorganizing the layout of our community blogs to make it a bit more streamlined and fancy, as well as providing blog categorization.
- Adding a section within our “Projects, Step-By-Step” feature section on the home page that shows a chronology of the latest Pro Follow.
- Updating our individual Category pages (like this one) so they look a little nicer.
A Specific Question (or two) For You
Question 1: We’ve received one reader suggestion that they’d like to know more about the story of the homeowners in our Pro Follows. Our initial impression is that this could be a great idea. What do you think? Would you like to know a little more about why the homeowners are paying contractors for these spaces?
Question 2: If you could see one thing changed or improved @ OPC, what would it be?
If you’re just joining us, we’ve been following Steve Wartman and his crew as they build a backyard shed. To catch up, read through day 1 and day 2 where we describe how they built the shed foundation, laid the subfloor, and framed the walls.
Hip Roofs
Today’s article will focus on framing the roof, and if you remember, Steve’s crew is building a hip roof to match the existing home. Hip roofs are much more interesting than a typical gable roof, and they are also much more complicated. Here’s a quick video describing the challenges of building a hip roof.
Hip roof terminology can be a little confusing so I’ve put together this rough diagram showing the different components of a hip roof. This is a sketch of what the shed roof will look like from above.
- Ridge rafter
- Common rafters
- Hip rafters
- Creeper rafters (also called Jack rafters)
- Top plate
The difficulty lies in making all the compound cuts, and Steve explains a bit more about that in this video.
Building the Hip Roof
Rather than framing the walls and building the hip roof on top, Steve elected to frame the roof on the ground. It’s a trade-off because while it’s easier to frame the roof on the ground, it can be challenging to get the roof in place afterward. This method is only possible if you’re careful to keep the subfloor, walls, and roof perfectly square. Otherwise, your structure will be skewed and the roof will be misaligned.
Like Steve mentioned in the video, he began cutting the rafters while the other guys worked on the walls. This roof features a 7:12 pitch, and he used a roofing square (speed square) to mark accurate angles.
The toughest rafters to cut are the hip rafters because they butt against two adjacent common rafters.
In this picture, the hip rafters have lines across the width, the other three are common rafters, and they all meet at the ridge rafter.
All the rafters have a notch called a birdsmouth seat that allows the rafter to sit flat against the top plate.
Steve’s crew began building the top plate around the perimeter of the shed, and they marked the locations of the rafters.
They setup a temporary support for the ridge rafter, and started by securing the six common rafters.
They spaced the rafters 24″o.c.
This is a closeup of the birdsmouth, and the small spacer is to account for the plywood siding. You can also see the 6″ overhang for the soffits, and that they cut the tail end of the rafter.
Next, they moved on to the hip rafters, and you can see how the birdsmouth sits at the corner of the roof.
Lastly, they installed eight creeper rafters.
The final step is to attach the fascia board to the ends of the rafters, and they ripped the edge to match the slope of the roof.
Here’s what the framed hip roof looks like before they slide it on top of the walls. You can also see they added a couple collar ties that span between common rafters.
| | January 25, 2012 Filed in: Construction, Pro Follow | Related Tags: | 16 Comments »
