Re: The Father & Son Bar (Man Cave Const...

ruredi13

*The Father & Son Bar*

INTRODUCTION
My 14yo son recently came home from school and told me that he’s considering a career in Carpentry when he leaves school.

I was never really taught much as a boy and my chosen career path never made up for it. I’m far from a qualified trade and I couldn’t even call myself a DIY’er. As a parent, it’s something I’ve always stressed about; not having any hands-on skills to pass on to my boy. He certainly isn’t getting any younger.

Luckily for me, information nowadays is more accessible than ever. The double-edged sword is that It’s becoming ever increasingly difficult to get the kids of today outside and off of screens. So instead of outsourcing and hiring trades, I figured I’d use this opportunity to tackle putting together the “Man Cave” that we’ve been envisioning for some time. This will be put together inside the shed that is in our backyard.

By using it as a Father & Son project, I hope to try and at least teach him something and bond in the process. I’m sure it will be far from perfect, but I’ll give it a shot. The lesson here is that perfection is impossible, and you don’t know if you don’t try. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes, but those are part of life.

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing the progress of our project as a bit of a keepsake memento. Something that I can look back on one day. I encourage anyone with any know how to share your advice on any of the stages as we progress, and to tell me if you see me making any fatal errors. No doubt there will be some of you that will receive a call/text to ask a dumb question somewhere along the way.

*A little about the shed*

Footing: Concrete Slab
Construction: Steel Portal Frame, Gable Roof and Colorbond Steel Cladding
Dimensions: 3,160mm (W) x 6,210mm (L)
Wall Height: 2,400mm
Roof Pitch: 20 degrees

Stay tuned.

Materials

Tools

Steps

Step 1

DAY 1 & 2 - ***THE FATHER & SON BAR***

Alex and I kicked off the project last weekend. We started off by giving the slab a good pressure wash on the Friday arvo’. The following morning, we applied a Moisture barrier to the concrete.

We plan to build a false floor over the slab and so a painted or sealed finish wasn't required. We came across a product called “Moisture Proof” (Manufactured by Duracore). By using this product, we avoided the messy and time-consuming process of traditional two part epoxy systems. It also turned out to be very cost effective. The other big benefit being that it is a trafficable surface.

No mixing was required, and a single coat was all that was needed. The product was applied using a low pressure weed sprayer. After 45 minutes, any excess pooling was pushed around with broom. The product is fully dry within 24 hours. The product is designed to penetrate the concrete up to 200mm and forms a non-destructive, 100% colloidal gel. The colloidal gel provides a permanent barrier that withstands hydro static pressure (rising damp); which is all we needed it to do.

Next, we moved onto some painting. Due to the way that we intend to line the walls, part of the frame will remain visible. We started off using a palm sander together with hand sanding. Very quickly realising the job would be much quicker by using a wire wheel on a drill.

The masking wasn’t necessarily required as the adjacent surfaces will be covered. It was mostly about showing Alex the entire painting process. As you can see from the end result, I gave up on the masking by the time the top coat went on 😅.

The frame at the rear will most likely end up being covered. I figured we were already there, and it gives us some flexibility if we change direction later on.

After hitting it all with the sander / wire wheel, it was given a wipe down with solvent. We then applied two coats of primer followed by two coats of topcoat (Colorbond ‘Monument’). The $149 investment in a spray gun was well worth the investment.

Step 2

***THE FATHER & SON BAR***

Step 2: “Rough In”

After consulting with an Electrician, we made the decision to save ourselves some cash and do the Electrical “Rough In” ourselves.

Before the shed slab was laid, conduit was trenched in with a 20amp supply cable. We’ve just finished installing 3 circuits in the shed. Each circuit has been installed in conduit and affixed to the inside of the wall girts and roof purlins.

-Circuit 1-

2.5mm Twin and Earth cable. Allocation has been made for 12 x Double GPO’s (2 in each bay). These will run on a 20 Amp RCBO. To ensure no cable ever touches the steel structure, we have used “Purlmate” 3650 mounting blocks at the intended fit off point. The conduit was reduced down to 20mm corrugated flex conduit at the mounting blocks to give the cable protection in the void that will be behind the wall lining and steel frame.

-Circuit 2-

Another run of 2.5mm Twin & Earth installed in conduit in the upper girt. This will power the 3.5kw Split System Aircon that will end up on the back wall. As such, it requires its own circuit. This will come back to the distribution board on a 16 Amp RCBO.

-Circuit 3-

1.5mm Twin & Earth cable installed in conduit inside the roof purlins. This circuit will power the lighting and will come back to the distribution board on a 10 Amp Distribution board. The flex conduit pictured will eventually tuck into the ceiling battens that we intend to use to mount the lining boards to.

A recessed surface mount Distribution Board will house the RCBO’s together with a 32amp MCB Circuit Breaker.

Once the walls have been completed, we will engage an Electrician to complete the fit off and connect the supply cable to the house.

#shouldhavebeenasparky

School holidays kick in this week. I’ve got a couple more days of work until I go into 3 weeks of leave. Then we can get properly stuck in.

Top Tip: I've since learned that the correct conduit for this install would of been Medium Duty (MD) - They grey stuff. HD is usually only used for underground applications. It is not UV stable. If exposed to sunlight, it will become brittle and crack if impacted. Luckily for me, the conduit will be covered and so it won't be an issue. If the HD was going to be exposed to sunlight, it would need to be painted.

Materials

Tools
Haron 42mm Pipe / Tube Cutter

JacobZ

Hi @ruredi13,

I didn't expect to have my heartstrings tugged as much as they have been by this.

It is fantastic to hear your son has shown an interest in carpentry and that you'd like to encourage that interest with a shared shed-building project.

Funnily enough, my first real construction project was building a shed with my dad. He bought it to house my growing collection of tools and to encourage my growing interest in carpentry.

That shed, and a cheap tool belt he bought me for Christmas that year, was his way of encouraging me to follow my heart and find a job as a carpenter. The time I spent in the construction industry ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I hope to pass on some of the things I learned to my kids one day.

It's a simple shed, three metres by three metres with nothing too fancy about it, but the sentimental value it holds is far greater than I think even I realised. Years later, it's still there in his backyard and is a reminder of a wonderful time we shared.

I am extremely excited to see this project become a reality and am happy to help in any way I can.

I'm sure our wonderful members such as @Nailbag, @Noyade, @Dave-1 and @Jewelleryrescue will also be happy to help.

Thank you for sharing this and I look forward to the next update.

Jacob

Dave-1

Afternoon @ruredi13

Oh man! Now how I wish I had this in the past Seriously it would have been a lot of fun.

I had my grandfathers tools to play with and his containers of nails/screws but mostly nails.

My grandmother enforced teh rule of if I left a tool out and she found it then it was gone and I would have to do chores to earn it back (the chores were hard lol) I ended up with only a ball hammer for months!

Best Christmas pressent from her was a 2kg bag of 4" bullet head nails

Cant wait to see how the projects unfold, really constructing anything let alone a shed teaches you so many tjhings without even knowing its not funny!

Dave

mich1972

Well @ruredi13 I am super excited to watch your special bond with your young bloke working together !!!! Good luck, there are great Community members in the Workshop who are extremely talented, supportive and passionate about their craft ! I know, they have all taught me a lot 😀😀

ruredi13

Thanks for your reply, @JacobZ, much appreciated. I'm really happy that I was able to remind you of such a fond memory. Your dad sounds like a ripping fella'

ruredi13

New Post

Day 1 & 2 have been added into Step 1 of the Project. I've had to work a rare Saturday today but planning on getting back to it on Sunday.

JacobZ

Hi @ruredi13,

He's a pretty good bloke all things considered. I'm grateful for everything he's done for me over the years.

That black portal frame looks great and will form a nice feature once the shed has been lined.

I'm sure the paint sprayer made light work of things once everything was prepped.

Did you run into anything that you guys had to stop and ponder along the way, or did it all go together smoothly?

So far everything looks great and I'm keen for the next update.

Jacob

Dave-1

Afternoon @ruredi13

Looks good, and love how the painting of the beams changes the whole feeling of the space!

Dave

Nailbag

I had a bit of an opposite story @JacobZ after explaining to my father I wanted to be a carpenter. He marched me down to one of the neighbours down the street and asked him to explain his son's experience since being a carpenter. He basically said don't waste your life, building industry is dead (late 70's) and he can't get consistent work. So, reluctantly I went in to a completely different trade within the television industry. It wasn't long after that the building trade had a major turn around and hard been going gang-busters ever since! But I am still very grateful for the support my Father did give me to still pursue practical skills that today I can pretty much tackle most projects.

I think yours is also a great and very special story @JacobZ , especially having that shed you built together still there as a reminder. The same will be of @ruredi13 and your son. It's a terrific project you are both building and one that will be a great inspiration to others following your progress. With homes being knocked down for townhouses, there is shrinking space for DIY as people spend more time indoors than out. Practical skills are slowly on the decline for fathers able to pass on practical skills with each generation. So, good on you for taking the lead!

Nailbag

Nailbag

This is such a neat job and very impressed to see you both wearing your PPE @ruredi13

If you're not already committed, can I suggest for at least one of the walls as a feature OSB sheets. I have built quite a few man-cave's for people as well as workshop sets over the years and despite being essentially used for bracing framework, I think it looks super cool and always gets great feedback.