Thread: My Man Cave

Well its been awhile since my last update. To be honest not a lot has happened, other than more stuff has been put in there. Of course this was not my idea as it turns out my other works had to commence which was a major disruption and a big delay on progressing the shed.

House retiled, demo and install new kitchen, dismantle an build my BBQ patio area.

Naturally, it has not been plain sailing the electrician I had that was overseeing my works did his back, so I had to get another one. Took a bit to find one and he has at least said I can sheet the shed, he would prefer me to move the sprinkler wire away from the electrical wire. Easy enough to do, just drill a couple more holes.
The plumber has installed all the water pipes so I now have water to the shed. My antenna and wires to the sat dish have also been set in place.

Of course now I have to go to Brisbane for a week so more hold ups. Once I return I will get into it as I have to head back to Brisbane on the 22/10 and will be gone for a couple of weeks. Will be driving down as I want to pick up some gear and timbers (hopefully).

Currently trying to sort the insulation out and I would like this organised tomorrow, that way I can have it delivered for when I get back.Kitchen Demo 1.jpgThe cupboards where a nightmare to remove in the end had to just cut it all up. Was hoping to save the skins for the shed.Kitchen Demo 3.jpgTwo days on the jack hammer removing tiles, not my idea of fun. BBQ Roof 1.jpgBBQ Roof.jpg At least my patio roof is looking good.
Shed Mess.jpgManaged to save the overhead cupboards as the daughter wants them. Water Shed.jpg I still need to run the termite barrier around the shed and concrete the patio. I did received one price, thought he was putting in an offer to buy the house lol. Will box it myself and try another concreter.

I'm getting there, think I'm about 20 cartons away from finishing .

Brian 45
After 20 cartons , there should be at least a happy ending to the build.
chris

Hi,

Work on other parts of my house needed to be commenced and of course has taken time away from my shed, hence why I have not provided updates. Hoping this will change now as the wife is happy the house is tiled and she has her new kitchen. I can focus back on my shed and very keen to get the place insulated and sheeted.

I have installed the boxing for perimeter termite barrier and is now very close to being ready for the pest man and concreter. The pest man is set done for next Tuesday, concreter Wednesday, pool guy Monday and Thursday. I do have a couple of little tasks to complete before next week and I will get them sorted before Monday. I need to install some bars into the slab and extend into the patio to link with the mesh, and run the expansion foam around the shed.

Both little jobs but needing to be done and usually take more time that I think.

Shed Boxing Patio.jpg Patio boxed, not sure why they wanted thickening beams, but they have them now. Shed Boxing house side.jpg Once the termite barrier and patio is concreted I can gravel between the shed and house. Shed Boxing side.jpg This is the back side, the two wider sections, one is for air conditioner and the other dust extraction unit. From the boxing to the fence will be gravel as well.

The certified plans specified 50mm for termite barrier, mine will be 70mm and the patio and the wider sections will be 100 mm.

18 carton to go

A quick update.

Things almost went to plan for installing my concrete. Just to add a bit more stress the pool man never turned up to reroute the pipes for the pool pump. He was on site the Friday prior, and he said he would be here on the Monday and I reinforced it had to be Monday as the concrete was being poured Tuesday. He said I'll be there.

After a couple of phone calls around 3pm on Monday and no response I went to his shop and spoke with the receptionist, who kindly advised I never responded to the quote . Was not aware a quote was sent as I had not looked at my emails as I was not expecting one. Suffice to say I was not impressed and even less when she said they can come out Wednesday.

The good news is I picked up some glue, elbows, pipe and two hours messing around, all pipes in place and ready . I checked the quote and they wanted $967.00 to disconnect, move pipes 200 mm and reconnect. Cost me $106.00.

Chem set Bars.jpg Chem Set Bars Patio.jpgPlastic Patio.jpgPouring Concrete.jpgConcrete Patio.jpgConcrete rear.jpg

I have also cleaned the shed out and running a couple more wires, the place will be insulated this coming Tuesday. I will place an order for the internal sheets ASAP. I'm just going to be delayed again as I have to drive to Brisbane - Shepperton and back to Darwin and I leave next week. Hopefully I can pick up a few bits of timber up on my travels. Anyway thing are started to really take shape and I'm getting excited again. 16 cartons to go

A nice step forward last week, the insulation has been installed. Insulation.jpg The ceiling is 2.5 and the walls 1.5 R rating. I would have preferred to use polyester instead of fibre glass, however I could not justify the extra $1000.00. Rather spend that on my boat or tools . The plasterer will be here Saturday and should be completed Sunday.

I was going to finish around the door and window with timber mouldings, however having second thoughts and may just buy aluminium recess channel the plasterboard will slip into. Of course I have the timber moulding so no extra cost so to speak.

Have sparkie coming this week to check the wiring, just to be sure he is fully happy with what I have installed and I have not missed a wire, as that would be tragic lol. I will book the sparkie up to fit it all off and install new switch board in the house.

I can now pick paint colours. Will post some more photos.

Once the electricals are finished I will get the plans adjusted to reflect a couple of changes made and ensure the engineer is happy. I can then get the certifier to do a final on the building.

Things are starting to look up.

What a diiference a week makes.

Electrician checked the wiring and was happy, I had to install an earth wire, even though every power point has a seperate earth wire attached to the frame. That is now installed.

After checking all the wires and identified one (smoke detector) had not been pulled through the insulation, a bit of a search and now in its place. I also had to fix some wiring as it was under the insulation, now fixed.

Might have a bit of fun identifying where 3 wires go, I had tagged all the wires (both ends) with tape however with the humidity 3 fell off , at the switchboard.

Had a bit of a chuckle, the plasterers installed the first sheet and about to place the second when I asked about the wires, they said we don't pull them through, that's the electricians problem they get paid enough, not making their job easier . Suffice to say wires are all pulled through except the lower ones, they are marked. I must admit I do not understand that mentality.

I'm excited now, the plaster is installed,just needs a sand and that will be finished this afternoon. I will pick up the paint today, tomorrow I will be in action with a brush and roller.

Just so happens the container I have in the front yard that has held my tools and other gear is going Friday. My shed is about to be full of my stuff, OH THE MESS it will be. Not a cupboard, shelf or rack to speck of.

Anyway here are some more photo's, can you find what I forgot .
Earth Fixing.jpg Earth wire fixing Plastering first coat.jpg First coat Plastering Final Coat 1.jpg Final coat Plastering Electrical door.jpg First coat Wirinng light Switch.jpgLight and fans.

I don't know what you forgot but here the electricians have to run the wires to boxes and the drawlers cut the holes around them. No loose wires through the plaster.

Pete

You forgot the metal mounting brackets to fix the switch plates to and/or sub board panel with main supply feed

LOL,

At least it was not my phone this time.

Check the last photo out, I did not notice till I looked at the photo this morning, I left the roll of masking tape in the wall behind the wall plate. .

Pleased to say, I'm just about there . The electrician is fitting off and will complete the switchboard, we will then run the main to the house.

I can now organise for the air conditioners to be fitted up once I have power and I need to get into gear and paint the outside as I dont want to mess about painting around stuff attached to the exterior walls.

I had the certifier around yesterday to do the final on stage one (shed and BBQ roof) this will allow me to get my occupancy certificate. I have a couple of amendment to be added to the plans and it will be all good. Certifier was happy . The drafts lady and I spoke the other day and agreed to wait till certifier came and we would note anything she wanted on the plans so we only need to do amendment once.

I have been trying so hard to keep my shed clear till it was finished, as you can see in the photos this kinda worked out for painting. Of course my best laid plans came a little unstuck, I had only the final wall coat (2 hours) to do and I ended up spending 8 days in hospital. To compound things I had sold my container so my son had to move all my stuff from the container into my shed .

At least now the inside of the shed has been painted. Anyway Its going to be a mess for a bit, but I'm excited, as I'm already planning building a set of cupboards along one of the 4.5 m wall. It will have all draws and this should allow me to stow a lot of my smaller items and some hand tools.

I can also look at building the rear skillion roof and walls, not part of any plan. This will allow me to stow cement mixer, and items I don't want in the shed. Pre Paint.jpgPaint.jpg

Just watched the weather forecast on telly and noted Darwin had a range of 28 to 34 degrees C. Working in 34C heat is one thing, but trying to sleep with night time temps of 28C doesn't seem like good fun to me, especially with the high humidity. You will really appreciate the air conditioners, and I can see them getting a real workout.

Hope all is well after your hospital stay and that everything is completed ready for the grand opening of your shed.

Alan...

Hi,

The funny part is. As anyone that's followed this post will be aware this will be converted to a self contained unit at some stage own the track. Hence why a lot of stuff has been put in for the future.

Insulation being one, as it is a requirement if going to be a residence. The only issue I have found is the insulation has made it a HELL of a lot worse, not better in the shed. If I had my way I would not have put the insulation in as I don't feel it is suited for here.

So I'm guessing the air conditioners will get a nice workout, thank heaven I'm putting solar in.

Originally Posted by Brian45

Hi,

The funny part is. As anyone that's followed this post will be aware this will be converted to a self contained unit at some stage own the track. Hence why a lot of stuff has been put in for the future.

Insulation being one, as it is a requirement if going to be a residence. The only issue I have found is the insulation has made it a HELL of a lot worse, not better in the shed. If I had my way I would not have put the insulation in as I don't feel it is suited for here.

So I'm guessing the air conditioners will get a nice workout, thank heaven I'm putting solar in.

Insulation alone cannot make things cooler and can only really average the temperature across 24 Hours. So, if a large portion of the day is hot, combine with the expenditure of ANY energy inside a shed the inside temp will on average always be hotter than the outside..

If you can pump cooler early AM air through the shed to cool it down and then seal it up when it starts to heat up it in the mid to later AM, then depending on what you do in the shed, the temperatures should on average be lower than otherwise.

The types of activities performed inside a shed really make a difference. Remember a 2.2kW machine ultimately ends up dumping its entire 2.2kW into the shed air.

Hi Bobl,

I agree, its a pity I had to remove my two tall trees that where shading part of the shed. At the moment there is little air flow and any breeze about is missed. When I build by lean to at the back of the shed, this will stop about 4 hours of direct sun hitting the rear wall and may help a little. I also plan to install soffit vents to allow air circulation and in conjunction with the two whirly birds may draw external air into the ceiling void and help with a little cooling.

Until the power is on which I hope is either later today or tomorrow, I have put a pedestal fan in and this has helped big time to move the air about, although I feel it seems better at making noise than moving large volumes of air.

Sheds, on hold for another week as I'm flying off to Victoria back around the 6th. I hope to do a big push on my return, complete the Men's Shed dust extraction system and I can then start building benches and finally put things away.