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I agree! The nails are treated to help them hold.

I will have to price a decent nail gun. I would like to have a cordless but I do have a compressor for a pneumatic type. If I purchase a cordless I would like to stick with DeWalt as I already have several tools, batteries and chargers. Any recommendations?

Find a gun that has a popular nail associated with it. My pneumatic DeWalt uses 22 degree, 16d and smaller nail. Great gun, but trying to find 22 degree nails is getting harder to do. Usually Amazon has what I need and DeWalt makes rebuild kits still.

I have pneumatic, never tried a cordless.

John

I'm sure you already know this, but just in case...make sure the nails are rated for the pressure treated wood as common nails will rust away in a few years.

Mike B

Stopped by Lowe's after work just to look at Nail Guns. The cheapest was over $200.00 and wouldn't handle the size of nails I would be using. The cordless versions were twice as much as the pneumatic and you still had to have a battery and charger, no DeWalt's though.

I may just go with my original plan and use decking screws, I can get 5 lbs. for around $30.00.

For a short time usage run by your local Pawn Shop. Educate yourself on exactly what you need, then when you find one negotiate for a good price, insisting on a “It better work” warranty with the shop owner. Talk to him about what your doing and that you might just bring it back to “Pawn” it when your done. That way he makes $ twice. Offer to take him for a ride in your truck when finished. It doesn’t hurt to have a Pawn Shop guy as a friend.

Most municipalities don’t allow PT lumber inside buildings, so you better check with you code enforcer before you use it.

I prefer to use plain old SPF 2x’s because they are kiln dried and resist twisting and warping much better that PT. You won’t need treated nails for PT wood which is twice the cost. I have a Bostitch framing gun (pneumatic) and dragging a hose around is not a big deal. My Dad was a carpenter (before nail guns,) he (and the trade) used 8 and 12 penny nails for framing. 8 (2-1/2”) for toe nailing and 12 penny (3-1/4”) for everything else. You can really get away with 10 penny (3”) for everything with a nail gun and just add a few more nails for the 12 penny applications.

There are plenty of Bostitch nailers in the pawn shops. Check it out, you won’t be sorry.

I suppose that being in the South may have something to do with this but my county doesn't consider a "Garage" to be indoor space. Actually the only consideration for a permit was the square footage of the building, the permit was accessed at $0.25 per foot. Even if I add HVAC it's still not listed as "Heated" space.

The main reason was using PT over common was purely cost. A 2"x4"x12' was $15.38 for common and $9.99 for PT.

Still looking into the nail gun.

Craig,

Pressure Treated dimensional lumber is also less expensive than common here in Colorado. I just bought some to deck a trailer I just built, and was very surprised to learn this.

I pray this never happens, but if it does, please be safe in case of a fire. When PT burns, it outputs a poisonous gas that is way more dangerous than the smoke it makes. I think this might be the reason it's not allowed for the construction of walls for human occupied indoor spaces.

Your project looks really great.

David

Well as things go I got my feelings hurt... BAD! I had priced trusses awhile back and thought maybe the price wouldn't have changed that much, WRONG. The quote as of yesterday was $5900.00, that was for 28, 3/12 pitch with a span of 28ft (delivered).

I may have a work around. I have a 12" tall I-beam that I could run the length of the shop and stick build the rafters off of that. I realize that the pitch would be less, I could work with a 24" rise as we don't deal with snow loads here. The cost of the lumber to do this with a 24" on center build would be just over $2000.00, or $1300.00 with a 36" on center. Keep in mind that I still need to purchase the roof panels and hardware.

Still need to crunch some more numbers and do a little "Jethro Bodine" ciphering on this.

3/12 is a pretty shallow pitch on a roof, what are you using for the roofing material (shingles or metal)?

What is the actual size of your 12" beam and is it rated to span the distance carrying the roof? Will there be columns under the beam or is it clear span?

Mike B

I would try to raise that peak to a minimum 3/12 and better yet 4/12. The greater the slope, the less issues you will have with your roof and you’ll be able to use whatever roofing material you want.

If the beam is rated for the span and load, you can build post on each end to raise that beam as high as you want.

Phil, I had to go back a research the Roofing Code for Ga. I want to use metal roofing panels and the minimum pitch for these is 3/12. I allow need to verify the rating on the steel beam, I'm sure it is more than adequate to support the roof without center posts but I will verify this.

The roof line on our house is a 3/12 pitch, I would like to have the shop roof look close too if not match the house, that is purely for ascetics.

I have also checked on roll up doors, I am required to have a wind rating of 110 MPH. A 10'x10' door door to meet this rating will run me about $1250.00 each plus delivery.

3/12 with a metal roof would be great! I have metal roof’s on both my house and garage and think it’s the only way to go. Ouch on those roll up doors. I’m sure the metal for the roof won’t be cheap

My 10 x 10 doors are barely wide enough. They do allow good ventilation when the shop is hot.

I know that the 10 x 10 doors are just big enough, going larger would just be too much out of the pockets. As for the metal roof, let's just say I know a guy. I've been told that I can get the sheeting cut to length for under $3.00 a linear ft.

I had an interesting discussion with a friend who is a Mortgage lender, he thinks that now with the interest rates going up again that the price of materials will come down drastically. I suppose we'll need to wait and see as I will still need to sheet the sides.

Made a lot of progress today. I enlisted some help and got two walls framed and set in place. So far it's been a lot of labor and plenty of head scratching.

I’m envious of the size of your shop but I’m not envious of the labor involved.
Three very hard working gents built mine in 13hrs. No kidding.

Since your waiting on sheathing, there will be nothing preventing the walls from racking. Level your studs than nail a couple diagonals at a 45° angle to your studs. Make sure you start at a side and finish on the top or bottom plate to create a triangle. Apply them to the inside so you can sheath without removing them. Once sheathed, they can be removed

Phil, we had diagonals in place while we set the walls and removed them afterwards to square things up. Once it was all level and plumb we put the diagonals back in place just as you said to hold everything. Jay, it's been a lot of work but it's great to step out the door and see the walls coming together.

I worked on the front wall section today. I framed what I could untill I complete a section of the roof and move the shed. Was on my own today so I wasn't able to set the front wall, hopefully I can get that done in the next few days.

For now though here are a couple of pictures.

I see you already pressed the lift into service.

Looks like it's coming along well.

Love the chop saw extension!

Your shop is looking great. Thanks for sharing your progress.

Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts and interest in this project.

I was thinking about the last time I was involved with building a structure, it was with my Dad and Grandpa, both are gone now. I'm glad I had the chance to learn somethings from them before they past. My dad and Grandpa had built several houses together over the years, I only got to be a short part of that but now I'm glad I was.

Not wanting to criticize but I normally apply double studs at the header. One stud just as you have it with the extra stud under the header thus allowing it to rest on the extra stud. Too late to change it now as the header would need to be 3 inches longer (1.5 inches each way). Should work either way. Make sure to use plenty of nails as that is supporting the weight of the header and that portion of your roof. Something else you could do is apply sheeting inside and out cut in an "L" profile for added support.

Otherwise looking good.

John

Which way are you positioning the roof trusses...Gables on the sides or front/back? If on the sides to match the house you really need to fix the header so you have a King and Jack stud on both sides of the door to carry the roof load. If the gables are on the front and back, you might be OK until the inspector shows up.

Mike B

John, Mike...
I left an additional 3 inches to the door opening to allow for a second stud. The additional stud will actually be a 2 x 6 running from the slab to the header. the area for the door frame will be boxed to allow the roll up door to have an adequate mounting surface.

As for the roof, the gables will be on the side to match the house. I am working out the framing now, the trusses will be set 24 inches on center.

Attaboy about the Jack Stud! Looking good! Carpentry can be like riding a bicycle. Once you learn the basics and principles, the skill is not forgotten even after a long wait or years of not driving nails. If I lived in the neighborhood I would help you frame and lift the wall sections. I built my shop wall sections in 12’ lengths so I could lift alone. That was 25 years ago. Now, those sections would need to be 8 feet long.

Here is a book that helped me build mine without help:

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Alone-Tips-Techniques-Building/dp/1561585459

Tom,
I'm used to doing thing by myself, I even had a plan for lifting the wall section into place. I have a HOA named Linda that's 4' 9" that said "NO".

I was going to attach a 10k rated strap to the opposite footing an loop it over the post on my lift and use a come-along to winch it it place. well the "BOSS" caught me rigging it all together and put the brakes on the whole process. I have tried to explain to her that in a past life I was a Combat Engineer and trained to handle unique situations, she still said "NO". Happy wife happy life, so now I'll wait a couple of days and get the crew together to set this wall.

yeah, I get it. Best to wait if you know extra hands and strong backs are on the way. What's the rush? Sometimes, as you know, its best to slow down to speed up. I always had to "work on" my patience at times wanting to see how the project will look and forcing myself to take it one step, one bolt, one cut at at a time. Most certainly it is a disciplined mindset to accomplish outstanding work and results you can live with. Good posting!

Tut,
Have you considered renting a nail gun? When finished just return the gun.
Type brunswick,ga. nail gun rental in your browser.
All sorts of options in your browser
Harold[b][/b]

I dream of a garage in which I can make a U-turn.

Worked a lot on the framing this weekend, set the front wall and started the area for the breezeway.

I have settled on building my own trusses, the lumber will be about $1800.00 and the labor free. I plan on using a jig for the layout to keep all the trusses uniform. I want to run them 24 in on center. As the only weight that will supported is the roof panels I think 2x4's will be more than sufficient to use for truss framing.

I have a lot yet to work out on measurements and angles for cuts. More head scratching.

Looks great! Good when a plan comes together 😀

Are you building a standard truss, scissors truss or a truss with storage? I wish I had used a scissors truss to gain more ceiling height for at least half or 2/3 of floor space and other 1/3 for loft storage. Everything is a tradeoff. I built my own trusses too, but paid a structural engineer friend in beers and a dinner to give me the snow loads and design. 2x8 Rafters, 2x6 bottom chords... 24" o.c. 9/12 pitch. I don't think you need to worry about snow loads in Georgia - unless that freak storm drops a few feet. In hindsight - I should have just hired a truss company to build and deliver them...a lot of work. (to be honest, consider 2x6 rafters and bottom chords)

You can try a chalk layout on your shop floor for a full scale to layout a model truss and check your angles after calculating them.

Trigonometry and Pythagoras are your friends (many know this and just need a refresher...as for me? I had to start all over and re-learn these math skills). If there is a local HS math teacher there, buy him or her some beers and a dinner - and sit there to do the calculations for angles and lengths. (don't forget to add the rafter tail length after you calculate the rafter length...and a little extra to snap a chalk line on the tails after the trusses are up to make a nice straight fascia line.)

There are Trig Apps too to download into your phone. You will know several variables: the 90 degree angle, length from the one half of building width, Height of the roof - that will give you two legs of the triangle and more than likely you can calculate the hypotenuse (rafter) , opposite and complementary angles.

You may calculate the angles in 100th's of an inch. If you can acquire a framing square in 100th's that will help. Bit not necessary - just convert inch fractions to decimal....but you know this anyhow.

Tom,
I searched the web for truss calculators and found several that give you the the corrected angles and lengths required. The two truss builders I have locally were going to frame a standard truss from 2x4's, the overall length would be 28ft with a 3/12 pitch. I had thought of using 2x6's for construction but the cost almost doubles. Given that the overall roof load will only the roof panels, trim and hardware and a 26 gauge panel is 0.88 lbs per sq foot I believe 2x4's 24in on center will be more than sufficient.

The last snow that had any accumulation here was in 1989, that was 2 inches. For me the main concern is the wind rating and hurricane fasteners required by code. We are required to add steel strapping to the trusses at the point where they meet the top plates every 48 inches. I lean toward the side of caution and will more than likely double up on the requirements and add strapping on each truss.

I have several sheets of 1/2in plywood left from another project and considered using these to form an actual pattern for the trusses, I think it will aid in keeping my framing uniform. I will be ordering the lumber this week so I will need to make a decision.

You are well on your way! Nice job. I almost didnt go into details - but posted anyhow for the curious minded who will read this long after I am gone. I admire your effort!

Ordered more lumber for the trusses this morning. 80 2x4x16's, came in at $1168.35, got a 10% Veterans discount for this weekend. Every nickel counts. I'll pick up the lumber the first of the week.