RichardH

The matching headstock looks great to me - not "too much" at all. The spalting on there almost looks like slightly tangled strings!

PM incoming!

1 hour ago, soldersqueeze said:

Afraid I'll not be packing this up and sorting a courier, so first to PM me to arrange local collection gets it.

Totally understand that's unlikely given the new lockdown but I thought I'd offer it up. I'll hang onto it until after the weekend

I'll see what I can arrange.... I'm over in Lewes, but might be able to get the band's singer to pick it up as he lives in Brighton.

By all means you grab it over me, @3below - it shouldn't cost much to arrange a courier to ship it via Interparcel if soldersqueeze is willing to package it up. 

I'm interested! What sort of pocket does it fit, any ideas?

As I understand it, it's not a proper regulation as such, but around 450mm seems to be an accepted depth for general work. However, for gardens where it is less likely to get disturbed by deep digging, then it's not as hard and fast - I've seen "a spade's depth" mentioned. Where it's covered by your paving slabs I suspect the electrician felt it was safe under there as it was unlikely to be accidentally disturbed.

I'll ask the electricians what the deal is when they come along to get it sorted.

We're on clay here, and until we had the rain come through over the last couple of weeks, it's been mega dry, so the soil's been like iron. Now things have softened up, I could probably do the "spade in, wiggle around to create slit and repeat" method, but it's near enough 50m, and although it would be across grass in the main, who knows what digging might be done in the future, so probably safest to have it the recommended depth.... they have said they should be able to get here for a day fairly soon, so fingers crossed. 

2 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

it's not dissimilar to mine! 

We have an outhouse that was my workshop we are trying to convert to a home office, and then the garage was made watertight and now has my workbench in it. 
There was an old cable going from the outhouse to the garage... "if that cable is good" i asked the sparky "can I get power in the garage too?"

Guess who spent a day rigging up lights and plug sockets in the garage before they tested the cable? 😬😡 Guess who spent the weekend pulling up the drive to dig a trench for a new cable? 

 

Oh dear! We've been waiting for the guy with the digger to be available for blimmin' ages now.... Even if I clipped the cable to fences where I can, I'd still end up having to dig trenches, so for the moment I'm waiting for a digger to come and do it all for me.... especially as the feed for the workshop is coming from the other outbuilding which also needs cable run to it before that has power anyway.

Good grief! I've only gone and done it....

...Actually put the bench in! 

In fact this is the second build of it - the first time I put it in place the bench was too high, so I took it all out again and reset the height - it's now at just under 36" to the top surface. I've used the worktop offcuts - so I have a joint in the middle which is a bit ugly - I guess I could have tried to clean up the edges of the two meeting surfaces, but I had a feeling they'd not get that much better than they are at present. 

The bench is supported on a 2x3 bearer fixed to the wall - I had the stud positions marked so was able to fix into the studs rather than the 11mm OSB. 3x2 along the front edge as well. Shelf is supported on some 2x1 batten on the wall and 3x2 at the ends, plus also a bearer on the back of the central leg. Again, this had to be jointed as the length of the bench is just shy of 3m. I had thought the front edge of the shelf would need a batten, but it's 18mm OSB, and once it was screwed down into the back and side bearers plus to the back of the central leg, it's really stiff. I may run a piece of 2x1 along the underside to ensure it stays stiff if I feel it's needed, though. Bench surface is fixed from underneath using brackets and swearing.

Apart from the 3x2 and the 2x1, the rest of the bench was made of "free" materials - the OSB was left over from when the shed was built, as were the lumps of 6x2 used on the legs. Worktop was offcuts from the kitchen fitting. 

I decided to turn the worktop upside down as when using the worktop as a temporary bench on a couple of sawhorses, I realised the "proper" surface was way too slippy.

Now all I need is power!

26 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I ran an armoured cable from the house to my summerhouse for power and I also ran a Ethernet cable from my router to another router in the summerhouse for WiFi, it works great 🙂

Yeah, I need to dig a trench for the cable though..... and it will be around a 40m run. We are supposed to be having a patio put in and I was going to get them to dig the trench when they had the digger here. Though the soil is softer now we have had some rain, so it might be feasible to do it myself.

For WiFi I have got some Tenda MESH hotspots - they are pretty good, and so I will be adding one more into the mix to extend the wifi further. Already works OK in the workshop, and I won't be doing anything that needs major bandwidth so they should do. I may well run some ethernet into the studio building though - "just in case".

On 02/10/2020 at 10:47, LukeFRC said:

I used the Leland stuff - I wonder if PVA is needed as if anything the seal on the concrete will stop the paint keying into it. From memory the first coat soaked in a wee bit, and the second coat went Ontop 

Missed your post before - yes, I realised that PVA wasn't right for this stuff - particularly as this paint is spirit rather than water based unlike the stuff I used at my old place.

I thinned the first coat with white spirit, and it really sunk into the concrete, so should have keyed in nicely. The second coat went on nicely and gave a decent finish. I used pretty much the whole 5l tin for both coats - floor area around 3.6 x 5.8m

1 hour ago, Pea Turgh said:

Looks good.  How’s the music room coming on?

I'll do another thread on that....

26 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Do the walls white while you can, it makes a huge difference to the reflected light in a room.

I'd thought about doing that - particularly ceiling - even if it's just a quick roll of some masonry paint we have knocking around. 

49 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

So we had a cable running to our garage- electrician hooking up power to our outhouse so I ask: can you quote for lights and power in the garage, and if the cable is good we do that too. 
 

so he spends a day installing lights, plugs, breaker box in the garage - then tests the cable to find it’s bust ... 🤦‍♂️ 

D'oh! I still have to get a cable run to the workshop, at the moment I have an extension lead running over to it from an outdoor socket just so I can run some lights to see what I am doing when on my early morning painting exploits.

....and yes - I did paint the rest of the floor..... just put the second coat on. I'll let it harden off for a few days and then I can get the shelving put in its proper place (if I can decide where that is, of course!)

Don't Stand So Close To Me - Police

4 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

Yes, would be nice to have a solution. As well as the high p[itched whistle I have a low volume 'dawn chorus' which gets a bit irritating.

I tried those Flare Audio things (only 20 quid) but they did nothing for me either way (making it better or worse as opposed to how I stuck them in my ear - before any of you lot make the joke!!).

I tried them too - no help to me either, so sent them back. Weren't very comfortable either, and I could see them falling out without me noticing.

....another top tip. Don't paint anything in the garden at this time of the year, unless you want it to be decorated with dying daddy longlegs - just had to go and pluck about half a dozen from the (now dry) floor paint 🙄

13 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

That's a really, really nice space....

....Knowing my luck, soon to be filled with crap and never to be used as a workshop ever again.

Nearly painted myself into a sticky situation adding the second coat yesterday. It stopped raining, so I opened the big doors to get better light, and thought I would take my boots off (since they were wet and muddy), then paint from the far end out to the doors then close them from the outside once I had re-booted. Of course it started raining again just as I got to the last strip, so I had to close the doors quickly and stand on a narrow strip of unpainted floor waiting for the rain to abate. Thankfully it was only a few minutes so I could open up again, get my boots on and do the last bit before fleeing to the comfort of the house... and other DIY jobs...

I'll give it a couple of days then move the gear over to the painted side and get the other section done. Then I can build the bench!

2 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

I missed the fact that the floor was concrete.  I assumed timber.

Forget tiles though.  Now that you've sealed it makes an excellent foundation for some nice parquetry.

Nah.  I'm impressed with what you've done.  Anyone would be proud to have a shed like that.

Ahhh - yes, when "shed" is mentioned, I guess the assumption is that it will be on timber. We keep the ride on mower in there though, so it is really more of a garage (it's single garage size - 3.6m x 6m). 

Forgot to say, this initial coat was thinned with white spirit as per the instructions on the can. 

First coat of Leyland Frigate Grey applied to about 70% of the floor - with the weather as it is, there is no way I was going to empty the shed

Hope to get a second coat down this afternoon and then I can leave it to harden until next weekend, when I might even get to start making the bench!

8 minutes ago, Si600 said:

I've read various threads on Pistonheads and the like and the consensus is that if you're parking a car in it then you need to use 2 pack epoxy, because the normal paint type stuff sticks to warm tyres and gets lifted off.

For a workshop where it's just a decorative and dust suppression coat then I wouldn't spend any more than the absolute minimum 🤠

Yep, that's what I reckon. I guess the mower won't end up with hot tyres like a car does, so it will have less impact on the paint, too - as well as being lighter etc. 

2 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Got a couple of shelving racks down one side, and a couple of kitchen cabinets with worktop as a bench.

Mats just run under the shelves a bit, cut round the feet.. so not set the shelves on em...

For a tenner get a pack and see, if not doing the whole floor great for an under foot anti fatigue section...

Pretty much what I was thinking re anti fatigue matting etc. Brother in law was trying to get me to make a duck board for the same reason, but this matting is a load easier

Yeah, I think I need to stop worrying about needing an epoxy - it's just the "if I'm doing it I might as well do it with something super long lasting" thoughts that crowd my brain. Also comments about wet/warm tyres causing paint pick up on non epoxy coatings. Having said that, the mower is a lot lighter than a car, so it may well not be an issue.

Also, I've just been enquiring about epoxy, and it seems that minimum temp for proper curing is 15c - maybe down to 10c, and this ain't the right time of year to be doing that!

I have a load of PVA, so I think I will seal with that first and then go for the Leyland stuff (though the Screwfix no nonsense stuff seems to get good reviews too).

[EDIT] - no, not going to use PVA as on further digging this may not be appropriate. Will thin the first coat of the Leyland stuff with white spirit, and give the floor a good vacuum before starting work.

13 hours ago, Si600 said:

If you're going to paint it, do it all at once. I meant to paint our garage white inside by moving stuff around to give me room. We moved out with one wall still unpainted. So do it proper like 😉

I know exactly what you mean (and also partly why I'm considering epoxy to avoid the need to do it again in 3 years time) - but with the weather as it is I'd be hard pressed to find a window of opportunity to clear the garage and not get everything soaked, though I do have various tarpaulins I could cover stuff with.

The main reason to paint it is to stop the constant dust that comes off the concrete. Now is the time to do it while the shelving etc is already moved to one side from when we boarded out - so I don't think I would just do half and leave it , as the garage is not set up for use yet anyway. 

11 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

Did the garage floor with Halfords floor tiles... works out quite cheap, any damage, just replace the tile...

Not great, mark up a bit with the wait of a motorbike etc.

 

Those Halfords mats are loads cheaper than the other garage floor tiles out there - I assume they are less substantial than the others. Can you set shelving etc on them, or are they too wobbly? Also looks like you can't interlock separate sets, is that right? [edit, seen now that they come with edging strips, so ignore that last question!]

Here's the completed shed - already in use as we finish off a new door for a different outhouse - that's my brother in law in picture, who has done most of the work really... he's a chippie, so knows what he's doing

...now I need to decide if I should paint the floor before it gets too covered in crap etc. Seems like epoxy is the way to go, but a lot more hassle.... I will have the ride on mower in this shed, so it will need to cope with wet tyres being stood on it at times.... Had hoped to be able to paint one half then the other, but I think epoxy means clearing the whole space out before starting. Sigh....

Bloody "proper" work getting in the way of everything.... plus more pressing projects. Still no bench, but this weekend my brother and law and I did some work on the shed to insulate and board it out in OSB

For insulation we used a mix of superquilt and left over rockwool (from the more pressing work we've been doing - setting up another outbuilding to be used as a music/art studio plus crash pad when the kids come back to visit)

Had to kick the ceiling up a bit on the side where the window and door was, as line of the underside of the purlins once counterbattened took us too close to the window