Building

Building started, logically enough, with the floor. We put the frame together in two halves which we man (and woman) handled into position on the concrete blobs. Unlike the walls, the floor needs to support the weight of people walking on it, so although it was all built from 55 x 100mm timber we used joist hangers (which required some bodging as most hangers are designed for 150 mm timber).

The frame was beefed up with some noggings and then we lifted the whole thing up (just about manageable with two of us), chocked it with some wood, and attached breather membrane to the underside. This was a bit fiddly, and I can now consider myself an expert at operating a staple gun at a funny angle.

The gaps in the floor were filled with insulation and the floor boards fixed on top. At this point we decided to go ahead and sand the floor before the walls were installed, as we wouldn't have to be as neat round the edges or worry about the mess.

The wall plates were assembled ready for some extra muscle to move them into position. The two longer walls were made in two parts so we could lift them, then connected in situ.

At this point we really needed a few extra bodies to get everything into position, so some friends were bribed with food and beer. Over the course of an afternoon we managed to get all the frame for the building into position and fixed together.The lintels for the door and windows were knocked into place once the frame was up, then the joists went on.

 As the walls went up, they were skinned with sheathing board to add rigidity and some weather proofing. We had already had one minor disaster when rain got into the floor plate and soaked some of the insulation, which meant we had to stop work, dismantle the floor and dry out the damp bits before reassembling. With the walls now resting on the floor, we wouldn't be able to do this, so it became even more important to get it weatherproofed.