Glued and Screwed (gcp) part 6

Today’s entry is about a set wall.  Peter Gick is a master set builder and the creator of the set wall which I’m blogging about today.  His name is synonymous with creative perfection.

A few years ago I had this wall commissioned for a Lincoln job that I was shooting.  It was a portable wall 16 ft long and 10 ft high.  It was a rush job.  We needed the wall in 3 days.  Modern, dark woods, horizontal lines.  Peter took those simple directions and created a master piece.  After the job I couldn’t part with the wall.  It was too beautiful to just toss away.  So I stored it for a future project.

Little did I know that future project would involve a container.  So with a 20ft stake bed truck me, my nephew and brother hefted the wall onto the truck and hauled it to my home/container location.

I estimated it would take a couple hours to unload it from the truck, remove some support boards and screw it onto my studded container wall.  Of course there were a few other details to deal with.  Like the fact that the wall breaks down into two pieces for portability.  After all it’s a set wall not a permanent fixture.  And then there’s the fact that it’s 2 ft taller than my container.  Break out the saw!  And so on.

Well a couple hours after dragging the lower piece of wall off the truck it was obvious that this was going to be much more of a challenge than anticipated.  This was going to be MAJOR!!!  The photos will fill in the details of what would ensue.  My guess is that we logged about 14 hours of install time on that wall.

While a set piece looks like perfection on the outside it’s chalked full of temporary solutions on the inside.  Non of which consider being converted for later use.  So the hundred pounds of drywall screws, glued 1×4 and so on made for a huge challenge in preserving the beautiful facade.

It was well worth the effort in the end though.  The set wall has been re-purposed, saved from a land fill and looks amazing in my container.  This one’s for you Peter!

Metal Holes, Vinyl Windows (gcp) part 5

Installing the windows made for an incredible transformation to my container.  It went from being a metal box with some rough cut holes in it to being something that resembled some sort of dwelling or structure.

The installation went quick for the windows.  Well, kinda quick.  Actually two windows installed without a glitch and the other two took some wrangling.  One of the window holes I slightly miscalculated and had to re-cut the top of the hole, it was the left triangle shaped window.  The second tough window was the only vinyl nail-on type window of the bunch.  That window was a beast in size and in weight.  That hole too had to be re-cut, re-framed, done, undone and redone again.  I’m still battling that window now!!!

The skylights took some deep thinking to figure out how to deal with a rippling roof that looks like swells on a calm ocean.  Also there’s the issue of corrugation and what to do with that, meaning how to seal the skylight to the roof.  My nephew and expert builder came to the rescue on that hurdle.  He devised a way that the skylights were floated off the roof by way of a wooden sandwich stemming from the ceiling joists.  That netted a flat foot print for the skylight to sit on about an inch above the existing roof.  The only downside of that solution is a flashing and caulking nightmare down the road.

The vinyl windows are recycled.  I purchased them for pennies on the dollar at a store called ‘The ReStore”.  All sales benefit the Habitat for Humanity.  And all items in the store have been donated by contractors, home remodelers, etc.  They have  a great selection of vinyl windows.  And buying there contributes to a great cause.  Overall the windows were in excellent shape too!

Anyways the windows and skylights are a snug fit in their new metal environment.

Wood for Metal. (gcp) part 4

Sorry for the delay in Container Postings.  It’s been a wild and crazy ride.

I slightly underestimated my container construction schedule.  I first estimated 10 days.  Then I told my wife

it might be a few more than that.  Next I doubled the estimated time of completion.  Now I’ve had to triple my original

estimate.  I’m hoping we can cap it there!  As for claiming a completion date I’m remaining silent.  For my family I don’t think it will be soon enough.  Except Ian.  He looks forward to building with Dad when ever possible.

Over the next week I’ll be updating more often to catch up to where I’m at in the process now.  It’s looking good and taking shape.

For todays entry we’ll focus on the basics.  The images show the wooden framing that will become the backbone of all my future construction on the container.

The wooden studs will tie the windows to the metal siding, provide space for good insulation and support the finished walls which are drywall on one side and a lovely recycled set wall on the other.

I debated using metal studs instead of wood.  They’re greener in a way.  Easier to recycle and re-use.  But in the end I decided that wood was stronger for the purpose of tying in windows, skylights, etc.  I also looked into recycled lumber.  That proved to be difficult too.  The sources I contacted carried old lumber but it was more finish wood and old growth.  All of it beautiful, expensive and something you wouldn’t want to smother in fiberglass.  So the obvious choice became fresh lumber from the local supplier.

I also tried hard to cut down on the amount of wood I used.  Wall studs are spaced 23 inches apart instead of 16 inches.  The ceiling has joists/studs only where they’re needed to tie in the skylights.  Ceiling insulation is a bubble wrap material that will staple to the minimal beams.  Fiberglass insulation would require additional beams to staple the fiberglass to.

At this point I was sailing along and my 10 day goal looked vaguely realistic.

Enjoy the pics and I’ll have more soon.

Cheers

mm