Hey all, I’m handing the blogging reins over to Kyle for a special guest post. You have been warned.
Well I know this is Lauren’s blog but she’s been kind enough to let me have a guest appearance and I didn’t even have to bribe her with doing extra chores or anything. Actually we’re kind of at a stopping point with remodel physical labor so I have some extra time on my hands for a change. After wasting a bunch of time playing Tiny Wings on my iPhone something spontaneous occurred…
A couple friends of ours, we’ll call them A&E, invited us over for a BBQ and they got to talking about how they needed a shed for their backyard. They’re super hip Vespa peeps so they need to store the scoot and they’re also outdoorsy and have a couple of those Pacific Northwest pleasure boats called kayaks. I call them divorce boats. I don’t recommend trying a 2-person kayak unless you want to drop some f-bombs on your significant other. (Lauren’s edit: Agreed. Kayaking turned me into a potty mouth. Probably should have avoided getting stuck in the oyster farm and breaking an oar.)
Anyway, they had done some online looking around and came upon a bargain deal at Costco that looked like this wondiferous amalgamation of neo-bunglelowed cute country shit.
They knew they wanted something better and more modern but didn’t quite know what. So I came up with these options:
A&E have a 17ft sea kayak, WTF I said. Do you need that to hunt giant 800 lb tunas or something? They also have a smaller kayak for who knows what, probably for cozying up to dolphins and sea turtles. 17ft really? Besides the rubber ducky, they wanted a swing incorporated into the structure. I don’t know why, they don’t have kids (yet) but I think they thought it was a cute idea so I obliged. I just hope they know they’re first kid is going to look like Austin Powers’ mini-me. Actually A&E are both pretty attractive so I’m guessing they won’t have an ugly baby. Actually I kind of like the swing but it creates some dynamic structural problems that the wood column can’t handle. Maybe a steel column would work, we’ll see.
It’s a 10ft x 12ft shed and it’s 12ft tall at the top. It’s not meant to be insulated or even airtight, it’s just a shed. 10×12 seems to be the most standard dimensions allowed by most city building codes without requiring a building permit. Of course any electrical work would still require a permit. Here’s the second version:
The idea is that A&E are going to bust their arses like we did and build it themselves. We’re also considering a prefab type option where we build most of it in my shop as a flatpak and then assemble it in their backyard. Hell it could even be 100% prefab if more people want one. How much would you pay?
The idea is that everything in the design would be available locally from hardware stores, with the exception of a few specialty items or maybe there’s an option where I create a list for A&M and they just go to the store and buy the stuff without having to scratch their heads too much. Maybe if I’m really nice I’ll do some construction plan drawings for them, kind of like a DIY kit with list of parts and assembly instructions?
The materials are pretty simple, I’m thinking slab on grade concrete or maybe even gravel with a pressure treated or redwood base for framing. The siding options could be painted cement board or corrugated metal. The doors could be 4ft wide sheets of Okoume exterior grade plywood with maybe even a sheet of corten weather steel on top. The framing is minimal 2×4 or 2×3 stud framing with skipped sheathing at the roof structure and a pair of glulam beams to pick up the overhang. The roofing materials could be corrugated metal that aligns with corrugated translucent fiberglass to get some natural light into this sexy lil’ thang.
The barn door hardware is the same stuff we used in our house. There are other cheaper options but they don’t look as good so A&E are going to buy this one. When the barn doors are in the closed position a pad lock hasp would keep either door from moving, magic really. The windows are polycarbonate translucent panels held in place with wood stops.
I’m thinking the interior could all be peg board or maybe even just plywood. Add in some shelves, a couple kayak hoists and a workbench and bammo, you have a modernized shed. A&E, when do you want it?