2025 Winter Challenge - Building Time Forgot

[Larry C]

Quick update:



About 90% of the framing is finished waiting to be sided with vertical boards once my lumber order arrives. Constructed the middle wall, which is a scale 6 in. narrower, so the front comes out right. Built the three rafters and glued the end ones so the entire section can be sided in one fell swoop. The middle rafter is just sitting there and will be glued in place after the building is assembled.



A little bit of a different angle showing the middle rafter better. As far as detailing the inside walls, other than a workbench on the left end wall, most everything will consist of old worn signs, a couple of old cabinets, and possibly a few other items. Being that the building has been left unused most anything of any value would have been removed a long time ago.

Hopefully Monday the lumber will arrive and I can keep going with the building. Most of my efforts will be the ground in the building and the surrounding area outside with details and scenery work. Also I've placed an order with SW for a tractor and some pulleys so they can be here when I'm ready for them. Thanks for stopping by and for all your great comments.

[Mark Dalrymple]

The trusses and walls look good, Larry.

It is a long way for the purlins to span.  Depending on your intentions and what will be visible, you could add two more intermediate trusses.  To support these you would want a stud on the inside of both outer walls and a stud either side of the interior wall.  Two beams would then span the openings, sitting on top of the four studs.  The two new trusses would sit on these beams.  Of course, if it wont be visible, it doesn't matter.

Cheers, Mark.

[Larry C]

Mark thank you. Once the the building is glued together then I'll run a beam across the front opening. As far as the roof goes there won't be much of one left. Thanks for the suggestions on the extra rafters.

[Pennman]

Larry, Mark does make a good point. The extra rafters would hold up the structure a lot better.
For the lower walls and for the roof. Think about snow loads.

Rich

[Larry C]

Rich thanks for your input and I have been giving the idea some consideration but probably not the way y'all expect.

[Jerry]

Larry if your making it like the building you posted.
It looks to be right on.
No wonder that roof is failing it didn't have any rafters either!!

Jerry

[Rick]

Larry, the framing looks good.

[Larry C]

Jerry and Rick thank you both.

Jerry I was thinking as I start detailing inside the building I might show a failed rafter on the left side busted and the end on the ground with the other end still on the wall; we'll see.

[Larry C]

Now that I have the wood I need I'm back at it:



The vertical siding is made from 2x10's since they take heavy graining with a plumbers brush better. They were colored the same as the beams but added a heavier amount of grey chalk dry brushed into the wood. Everyone has their way of making sure a building is square so here's mine. A square taped to the work surface and a triangle to hold the two walls tightly together. I run a thin bead of Elmers glue down the end of one wall then even it out with my finger. Once the walls are pressed together it doesn't take long for the glue to set. I usually do back-front together then front-right. After those dry then I glue the 2 halves together. Without a front wall I improvised.



Here's the left end.



And the right end.



And finally the back wall. I added splits, gouges, and missing sections of the planks to give a used and rundown look. Also I left lots of gaps between some of the boards and even a few at an angle.

Next I'll detail the inside walls with a workbench and some old worn signs before gluing in the middle wall just so I can get my hands inside without breaking anything. After that then I'll glue in the center wall and figure out the size of a piece of 1/2 inch foam for the diorama. Thanks for stopping by and for all your great comments and/or suggestions.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good, Larry.

You are better at random than me.  Its something I really struggle with.  The lopsided and broken boards look great.

Cheers, Mark.

[Pennman]

Nice looking build so far Larry.
I like the coloring of the wood and the random attached lumber with gaps.

Rich

[Larry C]

Mark and Rich thanks. Before I started adding the siding boards I went with the idea wherever they ended up was fine; quite the departure from my normal techniques.

[Jerry]

Nice coloring and detail on the boards Larry.

Jerry

[IWannaRetire]

Mark and Rich thanks. Before I started adding the siding boards I went with the idea wherever they ended up was fine; quite the departure from my normal techniques.

I'd like to say that I am really enjoying your thread here, thank you for posting!  Scratch-building is why I am on this forum.

I don't know anything about the original structure other than what's in the photograph.  But I do know something about working with unseasoned lumber, as in lumber strait off the mill.  As part of my 1:1 woodworking I operate a portable bandsaw mill (Wood-Mizer) and a small kiln, so I and am familiar with shrinkage rates as various wood species dry.

This chart shows the range of shrinkages one can expect as lumber looses the water present when the tree was alive.  Depending on how the log was milled and the species, 8 to 10 % and even higher in certain species, is not uncommon.  https://woodbin.com/ref/wood-shrinkage-table/   

It wasn't that uncommon in the past to work with rough-sawn and unseasoned lumber, and it is still an occasional practice if one is careful to calculate in the shrinkage. For certain structures it can be used right away.  An example is fence boards and also board-on-batten or board-on-board construction. One must pay attention to nailing patterns to minimize splitting. Air-drying, kiln-drying and subsequent surface edging and planing all add value to lumber, so unseasoned rough-sawn lumber is relatively cheap in comparison.

Perhaps that real-life shed was constructed with lumber right off a mill, and was put up without gaps.  8% shrinkage across a 12" board is close to an inch after air drying eventually occurs.

Again, I am thoroughly enjoying this thread, Thanks.

[Larry C]

Mark you're welcome and thank you. 99% of what I model is all scratch built; I've only built one actual kit. I enjoy the challenge and the designing process. I'm glad you're enjoying this thread. Thank you for the detailed explanation of lumber and the difference between raw and seasoned; the table was informative.