Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Making a Sows Ear (metal carport) into a Silk Purse (log garage)

For the past two months I have been mentioning that my husband was working on a project.  He hasn't finished yet but with Winter approaching, the finishing touches will have to wait until Spring.  A couple years ago my daughter and son-in-law gave us a carport in exchange for drywall work.  I mentioned in the blog I wrote that it wasn't very pretty to look at but it is functional.   http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/07/a-carport-gets-new-home.html

This summer we decided it was time to enclose it to keep the rain and snow out and make it look a little more like a garage.  It already had the framework and a roof so how hard could that be?  As it turned out, it was pretty difficult.  To start with, the free standing carport wasn't very square.  Next it wasn't quite long enough to fit our pickup truck, so it had to be extended.  I am no earthly good at construction so the entire job was on my husband's shoulders.  He is a planner so that helped a lot.  He thought out every step and even with that, there were unforeseeable problems.

The first thing he did was build the walls framing in the openings for windows.

We had some lumber he was able to recycle for the walls.  We also had some windows in the house replaced and could use the old ones.  Of course we needed to buy some more lumber to complete the framing.


It was after the side walls were constructed that he decided the building had to be longer.  He looked online and found we could purchase another section of metal frame so off to the lumberyard we went.  We had to order it and another section for the door opening, but there was plenty to do before they arrived.  We actually made dozens of trips in the course of this project.

Putting a four and a half foot extension on.


When the back wall extension was completed, it was time to frame that in.  This took a little longer because there was a peak to consider.



When all the framing was finished, it was time to put on the siding.  I didn't like most of the options because even though it was just a basic shed, I wanted it to blend in with our other buildings.  I mentioned it to a neighborhood carpenter who had done some work for us.  He introduced us to the Amish sawmill.  I wrote about that in an earlier post.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/09/an-amish-sawmill.html

Then the siding begins.

It is starting to take shape and is looking more like a "real" garage.

Next the side walls and window framing.

After a lot of measuring, cutting and nailing he has come to this point.  Next Spring he will put on soffit, fascia and garage doors.  When everything is finished we will stain and chink the building.  I have to say, he did a great job for someone his age who is not a carpenter by trade and working pretty much alone.  In fact, a good job for anyone.  Now we will have more room to store even more junk.  Our poor kids will have a job on their hands in a few years, but until that time we have a nice looking shed/garage.



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