Cedar Maintenance

Cedar Maintenance

It is a much put about myth that cedar is maintenance free – it is true that you don’t have to treat it, but it can’t be guaranteed to fade to a consistent grey colour and frequently ends up as a blotchy mess. So what clear coat to use? Well what I have discovered...

It is a much put about myth that cedar is maintenance free – it is true that you don’t have to treat it, but it...

workshop cladding
Exterior vs Marine Plywood

Exterior vs Marine Plywood

Having spent hours preparing and priming my improvised plywood column cladding to the point where I was happy with it, there was a bit of rain and the ply started to de-laminate. grr. Lessons learned: exterior ply is not the same as marine ply. Seal the cut ends. Back to the drawing board on that...

Having spent hours preparing and priming my improvised plywood column cladding to the point where I was happy with it, there was a bit of...

workshop cladding
Heating and Ventilation

Heating and Ventilation

I toyed briefly with the idea of electric underfloor heating, but soon concluded that being too hot was likely to be as much of a problem as being too cold (large windows that don’t open and in the sun all day). So… mini-split air-con …or as I think they are more properly known ‘air...

I toyed briefly with the idea of electric underfloor heating, but soon concluded that being too hot was likely to be as much of a...

workshop electrics
Gutters

Gutters

gutter and downpipe installed...

gutter and downpipe installed...

workshop EPDM roof
Fermacell Exterior Cladding

Fermacell Exterior Cladding

I put up the boards to the rear and right hand side this weekend. I am using the same boards internally and externally, and the trademark name is Fermacell. The boards are made of recycled gypsum and paper. The addition of cellulose fibres to the gypsum plaster makes the boards very strong (they can be...

I put up the boards to the rear and right hand side this weekend. I am using the same boards internally and externally, and the...

workshop cladding
Corner Post Cladding

Corner Post Cladding

in the end I decided to use plywood, rather than cedar, to cover the corner post – mainly because I had a piece of marine plywood to hand and if it ends up looking terrible I will have only wasted £10 on materials. Besides I am getting impatient to be done with the exterior and start...

in the end I decided to use plywood, rather than cedar, to cover the corner post – mainly because I had a piece of marine plywood...

workshop cladding
Cedar Cladding - done!

Cedar Cladding - done!

Completely cleared out Chiltern Timber of their small remaining stock of cedar and finished the wood cladding today – feel like I am at last on the home straight for the outside of the building. In a future installment What treatment to use on your wood cladding....

Completely cleared out Chiltern Timber of their small remaining stock of cedar and finished the wood cladding today – feel like I am at last on...

workshop cladding
Cedar Cladding - (almost) finished

Cedar Cladding - (almost) finished

got as far as I could with the cladding – I also found the error in my spreadsheet that caused me to have under-ordered to the tune of 35m linear meters (about 20% of the total needed so I was not even close) … Will try and get over to Chiltern Timbers next Saturday so I can...

got as far as I could with the cladding – I also found the error in my spreadsheet that caused me to have under-ordered to the...

workshop cladding
Cedar Cladding continued

Cedar Cladding continued

I’ve got the knack with cladding now and managed to get a lot more up in a couple of hours this afternoon. cladding top tips 1. It is impossible to keep the corner pieces together when you nail the boards up unless you brace them first. I found this out the hard way. In...

I’ve got the knack with cladding now and managed to get a lot more up in a couple of hours this afternoon. cladding top...

workshop cladding
Cedar Cladding - Rainscreen Method

Cedar Cladding - Rainscreen Method

I am in the process of putting up the cedar cladding on the front and left-hand-side of the building. The cladding will be installed vertically. Now I’ve got the hang of it, I probably need a day to finish it. It actually goes up quite quickly, but there is a fair bit of fiddly...

I am in the process of putting up the cedar cladding on the front and left-hand-side of the building. The cladding will be installed vertically....

workshop cladding
Barge Boards

Barge Boards

I’m not sure if ‘barge board’ is the correct term, but I don’t know what else to call them – they are the black plastic bits at the bottom. Not much to say, other than the fact that my plunge saw got a bit more use. While fitting them around the metal plates the...

I’m not sure if ‘barge board’ is the correct term, but I don’t know what else to call them – they are the black...

workshop cladding
Completing the Roof - fascias

Completing the Roof - fascias

Got a few hours in between interruptions to fit the fascias and roof trim – great to get a bit completed at last. I spent a good hour faffing around creating mitred corners for the plastic fascias, and although the results were passable, I am pretty sure they would have opened up as soon as the...

Got a few hours in between interruptions to fit the fascias and roof trim – great to get a bit completed at last. I spent a...

workshop construction
Plunge Saws - Part II

Plunge Saws - Part II

The contenders Rough uk prices for saw + 1.4M rail (in 2014) are: * festool TS55 (~£400) * makita SP6000 (~£300) * mafell MT55 (~£500) * DeWalt DWS520KR (~£300). Festool are the grandaddy of the pack, having invented guide saws in the 1960s and holding a patent on key technologies that barred their German competitors (all of the above,...

The contenders Rough uk prices for saw + 1.4M rail (in 2014) are: * festool TS55 (~£400) * makita SP6000 (~£300) * mafell MT55 (~£500) * DeWalt DWS520KR (~£300)...

festool
Plunge Saws

Plunge Saws

This is what I found out about plunge saws. Note that all the below is from research – I am not an expert. In particular note that I have also included some comments about safety features, again, gleaned from t’internet. If you value your fingers do your own research to be sure. With that said,...

This is what I found out about plunge saws. Note that all the below is from research – I am not an expert. In particular note...

festool
EPDM Rubber Roof - installing the gutters

EPDM Rubber Roof - installing the gutters

Now I have my timber delivery I could finally finish gluing down the epdm rubber membrane on the roof. Step 1 was to create an upstand so water does not overspill the edges at the side and front. I cut a 45 degree chamfer on the upstands as I thought this would make it easier...

Now I have my timber delivery I could finally finish gluing down the epdm rubber membrane on the roof. Step 1 was to create an...

workshop construction
Cheap Cladding

Cheap Cladding

I stumbled across a possible cladding material for the out-of-sight sides for the workshop, called ecosheet. Light, completely waterproof, hard-wearing, does not need painting and can be drilled and sawn like wood – perfect! It is also made of 100% recycled plastic so good for the planet. That was the good news, the bad news is...

I stumbled across a possible cladding material for the out-of-sight sides for the workshop, called ecosheet. Light, completely waterproof, hard-wearing, does not need painting and...

workshop cladding