• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Ian’s new workshop. The Wonky Donkey’s Walls

The windows I did as you have done flush with the exterior and the tapered returns were inside due to another plumb :unsure: wall inside the wonky original exterior wall. I asked them what's with the second wall only being 1 1/2" thick. They were told to do it this way as opposed to properly insulate the exterior wall which had no insulation. Most of the old farm houses were never insulated or had wood chips/shavings and saw dust used as insulation.
And yes we also have cowboy/shady contractors here.
 
Spent a few hours today preparing the end wall for the insulation, true to form the wall is Barrel shaped, reasonably flat at the top and bottom but it bellys out in the centre by 3 inches.
So at the level of the Furring strips each upright has an individual lump of wood added to bring it all level.
A record has been made of the levels and also the horizontal positions of the uprights, this will be needed in the future if I am to have any chance of fastening things to the wall.

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Were you using the blue tie down strap as a straight line?:)
Is that a propane gas line for your pool heater,Ian?
Definitely a Wonky Donkey's Wall.:cry:
 
Haha, yes I couldn't find any twine, but this worked really well, its good to be able to get it really tight, much easier to measure for the block.
Yes you're correct again it's the gas line for the pool heater ( that we don't have) we're waiting to see if we really need one. But of course it's right in the way of the three layers of insulation that's going on these two walls, nothing too straightforward!
 
My Son has an in ground pool, fairly large and avoids the pool heater as much as possible due to the cost.
The only time he will fire it up is if he has a party gathering happening. But they will heat their hot tub year round.
 
duke said:
My Son has an in ground pool, fairly large and avoids the pool heater as much as possible due to the cost.
The only time he will fire it up is if he has a party gathering happening. But they will heat their hot tub year round.
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We never used the heater in Pennsylvania, yes, it’s costly and just wait a little longer and the sun will do all the work anyway, but all the way up here we may have to wait till August!
 
I have forgotten what you plan to attach over the rigid insulation. Is It plywood or a much cheaper OSB. By the way the shellac based primer I used on the cabin walls will mask the ugly manufactures printing. Just a thought to cut costs.
 
Cabinetman said:
We never used the heater in Pennsylvania, yes, it’s costly and just wait a little longer and the sun will do all the work anyway, but all the way up here we may have to wait till August!
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We had a pool at our previous house which had a gas heater. I showed it to a friend once and he said it was like the burner on a hot air balloon! We used it very sparingly!
 
It's this kind of thing that makes outdoor domestic swimming pools a white elephant these days. We have been contemplating a Japanese style log burning hot tub. Maybe next year when the outside terrace at one end is re-done.
 
duke said:
I have forgotten what you plan to attach over the rigid insulation. Is It plywood or a much cheaper OSB. By the way the shellac based primer I used on the cabin walls will mask the ugly manufactures printing. Just a thought to cut costs.
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Fairly sure it’s going to be drywall, now whether I can get away with square edge and a bit of caulk as I have on my other workshops, or if Pam has her way it will be taped and mud then sanded back flush, never done it and it sounds messy!
AJB Temple said:
It's this kind of thing that makes outdoor domestic swimming pools a white elephant these days. We have been contemplating a Japanese style log burning hot tub. Maybe next year when the outside terrace at one end is re-done.
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and constantly fishing leaves and everything else out of the thing, along with the constant battle to stop it going green, and all for a short number of hours use each year, tbh I hate the things.
 
Around here the only way you can get square edged drywall is via a special order. The usual suppliers only have tapered edges on the side but square on the ends. You may have to pick up a new skill, wear your grubby's as you will end up with mud on your clothes.
 
duke said:
Around here the only way you can get square edged drywall is via a special order. The usual suppliers only have tapered edges on the side but square on the ends. You may have to pick up a new skill, wear your grubby's as you will end up with mud on your clothes.
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I have seen it at Home D, but that's good to know that it may be in short supply, thanks.
 
It’s now time to finish off the last 1/3rd of the floor.
I’ve got the three frames in place and I needed to pack under with firstly a pad of cushion vinyl flooring, I haven’t read of anyone else doing this but to my mind it can’t do any harm, three reasons, it protects the damp proof membrane being abraded over time by the packing, I think it will also stop some of the noise going into the concrete pad. And thirdly maybe just a tad of spongyness underfoot.
Then an assortment of wooden blocks and wedges/shims then all of them are stuck together and to the joists with Not Nails type adhesive.
Next is two layers of insulation between the joists bonded all round with expanding foam. And FINALLY the ply on top and the floor is done!

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Cabinetman said:
It’s now time to finish off the last 1/3rd of the floor.
I’ve got the three frames in place and I needed to pack under with firstly a pad of cushion vinyl flooring, I haven’t read of anyone else doing this but to my mind it can’t do any harm, three reasons, it protects the damp proof membrane being abraded over time by the packing, I think it will also stop some of the noise going into the concrete pad. And thirdly maybe just a tad of spongyness underfoot.
Then an assortment of wooden blocks and wedges/shims then all of them are stuck together and to the joists with Not Nails type adhesive.
Next is two layers of insulation between the joists bonded all round with expanding foam. And FINALLY the ply on top and the floor is done!

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I did a similar bodge. I had a load of used plasterboard which I laid over hardcore to prevent the dpm being perforated!
 
So back to the us and back to work, minus 6c but I was well wrapped up, I had realised that the vertical blocks I had added to the end (very wonky) wall would be difficult to hit with the 7” screws through all the insulation so I have had to sacrifice an inch and a half off the workshop length and add horizontal 2x4’s.

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Forgot to mention in the what tools I got for Xmas that son Ben bought me a small level, just like a dozen others but with the added bonus of coloured lights to tell you when it’s level. Now I did think that it was just a gimmick but for a job like this it was very handy indeed, not super accurate about 3mm over 6feet, so you wouldn’t want to be doing anything critical but for a job like this it was ideal with a driver in one hand and levelling up the 2x4 and squinting at the bubble or not in this case! Lift the wood till the level turns green and screw it down.

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Then it was on with the Kingspan type insulation, you may remember I was finding it difficult to cut? Well out came a very useful tool, long wavy edged cutters that fit onto a multi tool. Noisy yes but so quick and easy, even better than a hot knife through butter!

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A level that lights up, that's a first for me, I can see it being useful.
-6C with no heat, you just have to work harder to keep warm . :)
Must feel good to be back at the workshop reno.
 
RogerS said:
That level is really good, Ian. Do you have a manufacturer’s name?
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This is what I’ve found from over here Roger, Ben bought it in the uk but just where?
franklinsensors.com

12 Inch Light Level - Franklin Sensors

The Franklin Sensors Light Level changes color and turns green when level or plumb. Easy to see from distances and angles, this is the perfect tool for leveling your RV or camper at night or working in dark areas.
franklinsensors.com franklinsensors.com
duke said:
A level that lights up, that's a first for me, I can see it being useful.
-6C with no heat, you just have to work harder to keep warm . :)
Must feel good to be back at the workshop reno.
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Too many lights on it really, bit of a disco lol. Cold or not, yes it’s great to be getting on with it,
Making the window reveals next, just need another pair of hands to clear a lot of stuff from the move to get to the last two sheets of ply.
 
Cabinetman said:
Oh wow that was quick, forgot to say it works on vertical- plumb things too.
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How accurate is the level Ian? Over the years I've found that the only ones I really trust are Stabila and even those lose accuracy especially if dropped. I've got half a dozen and only two are 100% accurate now.
 
Lons said:
How accurate is the level Ian? Over the years I've found that the only ones I really trust are Stabila and even those lose accuracy especially if dropped. I've got half a dozen and only two are 100% accurate now.
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As I said really, 3-4mm before the green light comes on and goes out again over about a 6 ft distance. It also has the two bubbles, but I haven’t really checked those.
Tbh it’s not for things that need to be spot on, it’s main use is for rough stud work where a visual indication of near enough level will do, without having to stand in front and check the bubble.
For spot on work I use the blue 6’ one seen in the pic, it’s also really flat/straight.
 
Thanks Ian, I missed that bit earlier, must learn to read. :rolleyes: The Stablias I have that have lost accuracy aren't as far out as that
 
Cabinetman said:
As I said really, 3-4mm before the green light comes on and goes out again over about a 6 ft distance. It also has the two bubbles, but I haven’t really checked those.
Tbh it’s not for things that need to be spot on, it’s main use is for rough stud work where a visual indication of near enough level will do, without having to stand in front and check the bubble.
For spot on work I use the blue 6’ one seen in the pic, it’s also really flat/straight.
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Many thanks for introducing me to this bit of kit. Ian. I bought one. Brilliant…..makes levels and verticals so so easy 👏🏻
 
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