Thread: My Machinery Shed WIP - a bit different!

Nearly to lockup!

Made the bevel on the ledge outside. Not sure if it is steep enough to shed water without eroding the mud but I'm happy with how it looks. The outside wall will be done the same as the inside with a lime and sand render and if need be I will put a sealer over the bevel.
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Changed my mind with the lintels. I was going to clad the angle iron with timber so it appeared to be a timber lintel. Went for a more unobtrusive look and just used 2 100mm angle iron lintels back-to-back.
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The mud heap had dried out significantly now so I decided to put the rotary hoe on the tractor and us it to mix some water in. Worked a treat. Results in a very fine tilth and a lot of the stones are actually thrown out. Should have done this a while back. Will know next time.
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Made some bricks last Wednesday. They are still fairly green today (Saturday) but do cut really well with a machete and hammer.
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Started work on the floor of the shed. Will wait until I have all the bricks laid before grouting them. Just using a mud and sand mortar under them on top of compacted crusher dust. Will finish with a water-based slate sealer.
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Lintels now over the door and window. Happy with how it looks. A few more course of bricks and it'll be done.
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Regards
Rickey

Half way there with the floor. Have run out of bricks again. Will head up again this arvo and make the bricks to finish the floor and the rest of the shed. 150 should do it.

Should be right to lay Weds/Thurs next week. They will still be a bit 'green' but will be easy to cut and drying more slowly will lessen the risk of cracking.
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Rickey

Floor looks good, should come up well once it has been grouted and sealed.

I've been a bit slack on the updates. This is last weeks progress.

No further bricking on the floor. I'm wanting to get them a bit drier before I lay them as they seem to be taking ages to dry out. We did make another 150 bricks last weekend. The press is going well since the repairs but once I am confident that we have made enough bricks I will bring it home for a service. There are a couple of hydraulic leaks but nothing too major.

Attached a batten to the stud wall - 19mm decking with 12mm packers to give 31mm off the wall and then scrapped it with the machete and tomahawk to give a nice plumb finish. Gotta love mudbrick. The stud wall will be rendered eventually.

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Prepared the treated pine post insider the cabin for rendering. Firstly clamped a piece of 90mm x 45mm timber to the door frame so I could build up the wall thickness by 45 mm. Long story but it was too difficult shaping the bricks to go around the post so I just cut the bricks a bit thinner with the intention of building it up on the inside later.

Stapled some aviary wire to the post
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Cover the wire with mud and roughly shaped it. Once it has dried a bit more I will tidy it up a bit.
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Did the same on the outside back corner to cover the post. There is a fair bit of mud here so I will need to build it up in stages. When I have it almost right I will screed it off across both walls. The bevel where the bricks meet the tyres will continue around the corner.
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Heading up there again in the morning. Want to finish off tidying up the corners in preparation for doing the scratch coat of render on the front and gable walls on the weekend. I think rendering is my favourite job because it transforms the look of the wall so dramatically. I do have difficulty 'scratching' a perfectly good wall but I am getting better

We start building the house on Friday! Builder is meeting me on site to mark out the guest wing and house ready for excavation. Pushing hard to get the shed done before we get too far into the house build.

Regards
Rickey

Jeesh Rickey, you must be a very wicked man - no rest for you.
Haven't quite finished the shed and starting the house - a textbook case of a glutton for punishment.

But well done - ,- it looks great.

brava

I love your work and can't wait to see the floor done.

Mud at this time of year is not too bad. I did my mudding and it slipped into winter. Cold, so very cold. Thought my hands would fall off.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1362550981.534579.jpg
Ice off the top of the bath where the mud was soaking.

Thanks enelef and crash. I'm also looking forward to seeing the floor done. Will get another couple of courses? done tomorrow I reckon.

I was talking to the architect once about mudbricking in winter. He suggested having half a 44 gallon drum of water on the fire and use warm water to mix the mud. A reasonable suggestion.

I spent a week in July up on the block in the camp trailer before we started the shed. Nearly died I reckon. I fair dinkum had to break the ice on the dog's water bowl so she could get a drink. Will be much more comfortable in the cabin.

Rickey

Just back from 10 days up the mountain. Knackered but too much happening in my head to sleep. We have started the excavation for the house but I'm concerned that we haven't gone deep enough and the house wont fit on the pad. I think I will get the builder up to check before sending the excavator home.

Back to the shed. I will head up again tomorrow with the door and the window panes. The plan is to have the builder on site from Tuesday. Him and his apprentice are going to sleep on site using the camp trailer and I will sleep on the floor of the cabin. My intention is to finish the interior of the cabin over Easter including installation of the heater -what luxury that will be. The floor isn't dry enough to seal yet but hopefully by then it will be.

Some photos:


Rendered the front wall using a lime render - 3 parts sieved soil and 1 part lime. The soil is largely silicate I think and is a nice pinky red colour and we thought the colour might be better than a straight sand/lime render. I'm not all that happy with it though. It dried to a colour not much different to the sand/lime mortar and because of the small gravel in it, it was a pain to put on and the finish is rougher than I want. Worth a try though and I will apply a top coat of sand/lime mortar when it has cured.
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Plastered the interior of the front wall with a sand and lime render. Happy with the finish and easy to apply. Still a strip to finish in the corner. I have covered the pole now and 'free-handed' the shape. I'm happy with how it looks. I also installed the 'light switches' for the lights, pump and fridge and wired in the lights. It will be behind the door but having it on the stud wall makes it easy to run more wiring for flood lights etc.
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Detail of the render around the door. A bit fiddly but gives the nice sharp lines I'm after. You can see that there isn't much difference in colour between the 2 renders.
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Finished laying the bricks for the floor and almost finished the grouting (ran out of sand). I will finish it off tomorrow. Pretty happy with how it looks. A bit more up and down than I wanted but adds a bit of character. The grouting has worked well - some cracking but I will go over it again with a sponge and develop a slurry to fill the cracks. It will be sealed with a natural slate sealer. Door sill is a bit of recycled red ironbark.

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The heater that we will install over Easter. As the cabin is only 5 metres by 3 metres I reckon it will be very cosy.
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Regards

Rickey

That heater will look a treat in that room I reckon

Go home Friday night and went back up again Saturday arvo for an overnighter - took the 'fork and knife' up for a 'butchers' as she hadn't seen the work done for the house.

Hung the door and put the window panes in place - just temporary as they will need to be painted. Door frame has moved a bit so I needed to take a bit off the bottom of the door. Forgot to take the chisels up so the door doesn't quite close - just need to rebate the hinges a bit more. Would have plumbed in the drain for the sink but left the pipe home. Think I was lacking a bit of focus Saturday.

Pretty ordinary door on the inside but we had it laying around after our renovations at Newlands Arm (on-going). Will paint up alright though.

Will start sleeping in the cabin tomorrow night as the builder will be on-site from Tuesday to work on the house.

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Rickey

Now that is looking quite extraordinary.

A bit more done in the last few days. A full day spent setting out the guest wing of the house but I'm still trying to get the shed complete.

I've now rendered the east wall with a sand/lime render.

A before shot - one side has been wet down in preparation for rendering.

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After the render. Still drying so it is a bit patchy.
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Notice the newly formed drive -waiting on some rain to pack it down before I top it.

I spent the last 3 nights sleeping in the cabin on a mattress on the floor. Insulation does a wonderful job even without heating. The nights have been quite cool but inside the cabin it is quite cosy. Even stayed up until 10 one night reading. The door now closes and I'm ready to bring up the kitchen unit. The floor is still work in progress but slowly getting there. I put some sisalation over it to protect it a bit and roll it up in the morning as the floor is still drying.

Regards

Rickey

Nearly done on the brick work. A few half-bricks to go on the inside of the west gable and a few around the window in the cabin - behind and above the wall beam.


Preparing to lay the top bricks from the inside. Partially collapsed the camper so I can get a bit more angle on the ladder. Not ideal but I got there.
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From the outside - will start squaring of the corner with mud this week.
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The heater in place and hopefully will have it installed this week. Slowly getting there with the brick floor. The mortar is still cracking slightly as it dries out but starting to get the finish we want. Having a heater will help.
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Rickey

Well we finally have a heater in the cabin.

Had the plumber doing the under-slab work for the house so I got him to put the heater in. We were short on length of outer flue but managed to work something out.

I very happy with how the render has dried on the east wall. I like the subtle variation in colour and the fact that it isn't perfectly flat. Will give it a skim coat one day.
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One day and night with the heater going has dried out the floor substantially. Will need to go over it again to fill cracking in the mortar but getting there. Still not sealed. We are now sleeping in there. Very cosy compared to the camper.
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Bought one of those Companion hot water units. Very happy with it. Water was going in at 5 degrees and coming out at 41 degrees. You should be able to see the steam coming out the top of the tent. The dash from the shower back to the cabin is very refreshing though.
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Slowing down on the shed at the moment as we are preparing to pour the slab for the guest wing of the house. Grapes are ready to pick next week also. Want to get the shed rendered all the way around before the house build takes over too much.

Regards
Rickey