After finishing the shed block wall in early June, I took a four month break from the shed project. By late October I had completed the house pad work and a performed a major repair on the axle of my backhoe that had been a priority for me. With those done, I proceeded to hire a concrete pumper to grout the shed wall with 3000 psi pea-gravel mix. The batch plant mixed the concrete to a 4″ slump and then added plasticizer to increase it to 8″, which made pumping and filling the blocks easier. Filling the front 8×8 columns was a little tricky. The bonds holding one of the columns broke in a couple places as we were filling it. The pressure from the grout started to seep out and push the top part of the column upward. We were able to salvage it but the column set slightly out of plumb (It was not enough to compromise on safety, though).
The first step after grouting was to install the sill plates. I wanted to ensure that the shed was well sealed so I applied a bead of silicone caulk between the 4×4 sill plate and the concrete. There is a cheaper foam product available for this (SillSeal) but I couldn’t find it at the store when I looked.
I started working on the rest of the structure after that. The 4×4 posts and four main 4x8x20 roof beams were installed first, followed by 2×6 rafters and 3/8″ roof sheathing. I was able to use several hundred dollars worth of salvaged lumber that I had been collected over the last few years, especially some 4×8 pressure treated beams that I used for sill plates along the back wall.
The roof sheathing was next, after the rafters and fascia. It took about a day to install the full 16 sheet complement of plywood. Having a nail gun makes this go very efficiently.
I decided to install the roofing prior to working on the straw walls to in order to provide better weather protection for the straw. The roofing came from a pile of tin sheeting that my Grandpa had stored for many years on his property prior to his passing. When my parents sold the property I was able to obtain the roofing and so I had it on-hand. The roofing had set for so long that many of the panels were rusty. It took several weekends of effort to comb thru the pile, select the panels that could still be serviceable, then clean them, and trim off the rusty areas. It was a tedious job.
Below are some pictures of the roofing installation. I used GAF Versashield for the underlayment. It was expensive, but I felt it was worth it for increased fire resistance since we are prone to wild fires here. The roofing is installed over 1×2 runners placed on end and nailed into the sheathing. These runners provide a channel for air cooling as well as providing a gap to prevent heat conduction into the house. On a hot day, they seem to work fairly well: I can feel the hot air exiting the top of the channels even without a breeze.
Once the roofing had been screwed down around the end of last year, we added the loft framing and the window rough openings. It’s now ready for the straw bales and meshing. It’s exciting to finally start to see it come together!
