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I Built a Shed (2020)

eduardosasso.co

91–100 of 323 posts

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#91
post #15

Minor etymological note: the word plumb describes something that's hanging vertically. It comes from the latin word plumbum (lead). When people wanted to make sure something was vertical, they'd hang a lead weight from a string, and align the string with whatever was supposed to be vertical. Even though we've moved on to different metals, we still call them plumb bobs, and we still say that a vertical part of a house…

I knew "plumbum" meant "lead", but I'd always assumed the etymology of "plumbing" was just that pipes were historically made of lead. thanks for posting!

Plumbing can also be the act of making something plumb, but generally people use specific sentence fragments to make that clear.

I was plumbing a wall when I dropped my hammer and had to start all over.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#92

Awesome project! How long did it take total? Note that it’s against code to run electrical and data cable in the same conduit, both for safety and interference. Get outdoor rated cat 6 and leave it out of the conduit instead.

Or run two conduits in parallel

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#93
post #33

Not that anything about this shed is built to code, but this takes the cake: > PRO TIP Use screws for everything; if you mess up, remove the screws and redo it; with nails, it’s a lot harder to do that. You absolutely should not do this for framing, and most building codes specify the type and size of nails that you must use when fastening load-bearing structural components. Screws are convenient, sure, but they are…

Was thinking the same thing. Also a nail gum would make putting that frame together pretty easy. I worked in construction until I was in my mid 20’s and I’m amazed at how uninformed people are when building sheds and tiny homes. YouTube also spreads a lot of bad info.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#94

Very cool. I love these DIY office setups. The author mentioned organizing material transport by figuring out what would fit in his car. I would highly recommend just renting a flatbed truck from home depot to transport your materials home if they don't fit in your car. Its usually something like $20 to rent for an hour. Also I wonder if the author has any plans to heat/cool the space. Seems like they might live in a…

Buying materials online with delivery (~$75) can also be a really good approach, especially if you know everything you're going to need up front.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#95
post #85
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to post about code violations but I’ll just tuck it under yours here so we don’t flood the top level (although one could argue that this really deserves it). I had to stop reading r/diy because half the stuff in there made me angry. Especially people building lofts to store heavy stuff without knowing anything about construction. You can’t overlap rooflines like this. That’s how they allow people to build…

I can comment on the second portion of this issue- never run Cat cables in parallel with electric cable. You are forcing low voltage and high voltage cables to share their electromagnetic field. That’s never a good thing. It can lead to unstable connection all the way to frying your Ethernet card.

Good news: he ran a 100ft cat6 cable so that he could plug in a wireless access point. His ethernet card should be fine.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#96

I am planning on building what is essentially a tiny house for my shoffice. Basically I want something that also includes a bed and a shower/bathroom. My biggest concern is whether I will need to pull permits for this project and/or if I need a foundation or if I can get away with a gravel pad + railroad ties as the base. Tying into house plumbing and power is going to be the trick I guess.

I think it's very likely that the OP was supposed to pull a permit and get zoning permission, but if you are going to be including plumbing and sleeping, you almost certainly need to.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#97
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to post about code violations but I’ll just tuck it under yours here so we don’t flood the top level (although one could argue that this really deserves it). I had to stop reading r/diy because half the stuff in there made me angry. Especially people building lofts to store heavy stuff without knowing anything about construction. You can’t overlap rooflines like this. That’s how they allow people to build…

Putting signalling and power wires in the same conduit is about as bad as it gets. The proper way to do this is to dig a trench and use armored cable suitable for burial without further protection and to use a plastic uninterrupted tube for the cat6 (which you can blow through). That said, there isn't a lot of difference between a DIY person and a low grade contractor, and a competent DIY'er is probably better than m…

Just expose the armoured cable. Hardly an issue, and you know where it is.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#98
post #33

Not that anything about this shed is built to code, but this takes the cake: > PRO TIP Use screws for everything; if you mess up, remove the screws and redo it; with nails, it’s a lot harder to do that. You absolutely should not do this for framing, and most building codes specify the type and size of nails that you must use when fastening load-bearing structural components. Screws are convenient, sure, but they are…

> You can get structural screws, but they're uncommon, expensive

Agreed that eg GRK R4 structural screws are pricey, but they are widely available. You can buy them at Home Depot, for example. I do like them better than nails for small projects.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#99

If you are interested in this, could you please answer two questions (warning: My lack of understanding is usually offensive): - Do you regret having children? - Do you regret living together with your spouse?

I'm in a similar situation and also built something similar for an office during covid. I definitely don't regret having children or living with my spouse, and we actually decided to have a third child (now 6m) during covid.

Re: I Built a Shed (2020)

#100
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to post about code violations but I’ll just tuck it under yours here so we don’t flood the top level (although one could argue that this really deserves it). I had to stop reading r/diy because half the stuff in there made me angry. Especially people building lofts to store heavy stuff without knowing anything about construction. You can’t overlap rooflines like this. That’s how they allow people to build…

I like your parent's explanation of why screws are not allowed by code in some places and also saying that yes, screws actually can be used, if you use the right ones, even if they aren't allowed by code in some places. I really like that because just mentioning code doesn't do any good. Just because code says something doesn't mean that it makes sense. There's tons of omissions in codes or stuff that is unnecessaril…

Overlapping rooflines allow you to make a “detached” building that is functionally an addition to your house. The downside is that if you want to build a breezeway to a detached garage you’re going to have to get permits to do that. It sucks but otherwise you get people who make a long narrow house that’s a series of rooms that were built over time, and never inspected.

You may see properties that have three fairly large but separate buildings, this is often someone skirting building codes in such a way that they stay within the letter of the law.

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