Let the shed extensions commmence!

[rwbuild]

I DO NOT recommend making your own laminated beams. There is a design criteria for them which specifies ratio of lengths and overlapping, butt joints are NOT allowed, also specific glues are required.

You would be better of getting a couple sheets 16mm construction ply 2400x1200 and making your own box beam 300 deep with min 2400 lengths top and bottom chords with joints of ply at centre of timber chords and vertical webs at 600 centres, all glued and nailed at 100mm centres with min 50mm heavy gauge nails (gal), or screws.

Other alternatives are:
make your own open web joist beam
LVL from the hardware (my personal recommendation) 200x42
cable truss
Bessummer rod truss
engineered joist beam ( I joist)
MGP pine 290x45

[Chris Parks]

You would be better of getting a couple sheets 16mm construction ply 2400x1200 and making your own box beam 300 deep with min 2400 lengths top and bottom chords with joints of ply at centre of timber chords and vertical webs at 600 centres, all glued and nailed at 100mm centres with min 50mm heavy gauge nails (gal), or screws.

I suggested similar a while ago but I think Brett is concerned with head room???

[DaveTTC]

I suggested similar a while ago but I think Brett is concerned with head room???

You're not saying he has a big head are you [emoji15] lol

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

[rwbuild]

For the ridge beam only

[FenceFurniture]

I have to go back and redigest all the beam info - maybe we (read me) are at cross-purposes.

Poured the four pads for the middle of the deck, starting at the reference point of the doorway to the shed. Pad is below the step level by Bearer+joist+deck board + 5mm for Protectadeck and Kerry Packer. At the moment I just have the bearers loosely in place so that I could make a temporary walkway (used the joists all squeezed together). I badly needed to stop tracking the abrasive grit from the excavation into the shed (makes my shiver when it screeches underfoot , apart from wearing out the floor finish).

Using the water level was easy peasy - mark the front step height on the stick, then mark the furthest away 15mm lower on the stick (so it's actually 15mm higher), and set the middle two in between. I must say that I was very pleased to put the level on a stick sitting across the four of them and the fall was exactly as I had planned (the spirit level bubble slightly over the edge of the line). The fall across the bearers is 15mm in 3.6 metres which means the deck boards will have a slight width-ways tilt. The main fall will be along the length of the deck boards.



The fall is designed to be from the high of the right hand corner in the pic falling down to the diagonally opposite left corner out of pic.

Over at the fence I have packed bricks up under it to retain it. The idea is that I'll mount a concrete sheet running parallel to the bricks about 120mm away, drop in some trenching reo and some 40mm tube lengths to put weep holes through the wall, and fill with concrete to retain it properly. That will leave a gap of maybe 120-150mm from the concrete to the deck edge and that can be a service trench (put a suitable lid over it).

I'll probably rotate a few of the bricks so that half a brick sticks out into the concrete like a small deadman, and the void that it leaves in the wall will be filled with concrete to make another small deadman.

You can see I have the ends of the bearers temporarily on bricks.



The pads from the pine forms (bearers yet to be trimmed):



These are the double joists I was talking about earlier, for where the deck boards meet. They are two 90x35mm screwed together with a 5mm packer in between, and there are three of these out of the eight joists.





As luck would have it we had the first rain in many weeks this morning, and I happened to be on the spot so see how the pit drains. Not too bad but there were a couple of decent pools that I was able to level off. The hail and rain was very heavy. In fact I was in the metal roof shed when the hail came and it was so loud that I had to put my ear muffs on! As a stab, I'd say it was around 90-95 decibels in there.

Still more levelling work to do but that will be after I dig the post holes.

[FenceFurniture]

A few months ago that fence was replaced. The big autumn fall of horrendously large Plane Tree leaves brought home that a cap was needed between the bottom fence rail and the small retaining wall a couple of inches away, attached to the fence posts. The result was 2" wide L shaped gap the gets RAMMED with leaves. They will retain moisture and shorten the life of the bottom of the fence palings.

So, after putting the bricks under the back panel (previous post) I decided it was time to put the cap over the leaf trap. I was mostly able to use 2400mm palings except for four panels where I need 140mm wide (and had to be 25mm thick as a result). A mitre cut on each side of the board gave me the right shape for a snug fit, locked in place with stainless screws.



Apparently the caps repel hail quite well



It certainly looks a lot neater than it was, but this was not my real concern as it's on the neighbours side.





I'm thinking I might paint the fence with the Diggers Eco Protecta that I used on the joists and bearers. I actually like the look of it - metallic charcoal grey. Smells like bitumen (a component) for a few days though.

[crowie]

On the hail issue...I heard that Katoomba was blanketed with hail this afternoon....hard snow so to speak .....

[FenceFurniture]

Yes it was complete ground coverage, hail up to 10mm.

[Sawdust Maker]

...
It certainly looks a lot neater than it was, but this was not my real concern as it's on the neighbours side.





I'm thinking I might paint the fence with the Diggers Eco Protecta that I used on the joists and bearers. I actually like the look of it - metallic charcoal grey. Smells like bitumen (a component) for a few days though.

Lot of timber storage area going to waste there!

[FenceFurniture]

95 45mm boards have a 5mm roundover on the top edge, and a flute along the bottom to prevent water from running underneath. The fluting stops 30-40mm from the end to restrict water running into the deck board joist join. The ends have been smeared with Sikaflex.



Cracks and holes have been filled with Sika as well.



Sanding the tops of the boards with 120 grit today, then Diggers eco on the back and sides, two coats of Minwax Decking oil Natural on the top. Third added after laying.

[rwbuild]

By not continuing the flute to the ends you are still creating an area of capillary attraction to suck the water to that very end of each board, also you will need to sika the butt joints of the boards as you fix them down for the same reason.

[FenceFurniture]

.... you will need to sika the butt joints of the boards as you fix them down for the same reason.

Yes, that's the intention.

[FenceFurniture]

Updated foundations plan.

[DaveTTC]

Updated foundations plan.

I may have missed something earlier but just wondering why you did not go even centres with bearer spacings?

Had a few days reading to catch up on but it is all looking good

DaveTTC

Turning Wood Into Art

[FenceFurniture]

I may have missed something earlier but just wondering why you did not go even centres with bearer spacings?

The four middle pads (that are poured already) are evenly spaced to within 10mm. The diagram just represents where I have the bearers temporarily placed while I wrap my head around it. I just took the dimensions of where the temporary brick supports are, and they are in those positions (particularly near Post #1) because the Dusty is still there, and I had to work around that.

I'll be pouring the other pads (the ones without posts) over the weekend, and they will all be inline with the existing four.

I got a bit overexcited with pouring the pads last weekend - forgot the the pad at Post #3 is actually a foundation with a stirrup, so that one will have to be redone. No big deal.


Yesterday I screwed a couple of joists down in the process of squaring everything up. Just took the two diagonal measurements and there's only 12-15mm difference, so I was a bit chuffed with that. The point being that if the opposing sides are the same measurement, and if the diagonals are then the same measurement, the construction is square. 15mm difference over a diagonal measurement of 4555mm is a 0.3% error. I guess that would translate to the 3.0m sides being 9mm out of square.

There's a couple of things I need to check before I adjust anything.

Question though: what would be regarded as an acceptable percentage error of square? Zero sounds good of course, but is perhaps asking a little too much?