Greenroof Bike Shed: Day 6

Day six: Raising the Roof

After taking a day off, it was lovely to spend Father's Day building a roof with my dad. :)

Greenroof Bike Shed: Day 5

Day five: Windows and doors

The final wall went up, and openings for the windows and doors are roughed in.

Then, we headed out to pick up the doors, and purchase the final lumber needed for roofing, which will have a 15 degree slope. We will also be installing a motion detector and outlets in the shed, so we picked up some wiring and switches.

New materials purchased/used: 100 ft 14/2 outdoor copper wiring, drip edges, furring strips, 8 2x4s, lighting and switch casings = $127.22
Labor hours: 3-4.

Greenroof Bike Shed: Day 4

Day four: Two more walls, one less tree

It continues to be hot and humid, so work goes more slowly than expected. We decided to extend roof on the eastern side of the shed, in order to make an overhang for the motorcycle (rather than storing it indoors.) So, Dad felled another pine tree in the back corner, so we won''t have to notch the roof. More s'mores!

He also framed in two more walls and put up the siding. It's starting to look like a box.

And the view from the street:

New materials purchased/used: $0
Labor hours: 4

Greenroof Bike Shed: Day 3

Day three: Framing in a Wall, Buying Materials

We found a wide double-door at the ReStore today, which we will cut in half to make two separate doors.

Next was to start framing in the walls. We started with the back wall, using more of the plywood from freecycle. With the frame nailed together, we primed the exterior wall (using leftover primer from other projects), which we will paint a dark green, brown, or other unobtrusive color, to minimize visibility from the street.

The humidity index was pretty high as I started to prime, and it seemed like it might raining any moment. So, Brennan and my dad made another run to Lowe's to purchase additional siding and lumber. We decided to make a pitched roof in order to make use of more short pieces -- and also to increase the load-bearing capacity.

 As soon as the guys returned with the materials, it started pouring, so we called it a day.

New materials purchased/used: lumber, siding, roofing nails, an roof felt = $473.20
Labor hours: 2-3.

Greenroof Bike Shed: Day 1 + 2

Hilltowne Hollow has undertaken its first major joint project: the construction of a greenroof bike shed. Given that we're located in a flood zone, any effort we can make to reduce runoff from the rain will benefit the property.  In addition to a greenroof, we may eventually install rain barrels too.

Inspired in part by this Raleigh-based greenroof, work on the shed began this week.

Several months ago, we purchased a pile of two-by-fours at the ReStore for $20. Last week, we picked up $200 worth of plywood sheets for free from freecycle.


Day one: Clearing the site.
Ironically, the first step to building our greenroof bike shed is to cut down a tree and clear the brush. We weren't particularly attached to all pine trees growing on our lot, and selected the shed footprint based on minimizing large and hardwood tree removal, as well as maximizing light to the roof and to my living room window. :)

My friend's truck, "Georgia Grace," was on hand to move the brush into our backyard where we will eventually burn and/or chip it for mulch. We stocked up on graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows in case of the former.

Within an hour, the site was clear:

Next, we marked out a 10'x10' area (to support a 12'x12' floor) and placed nine cement blocks, (reclaimed from our crawlspaces) on the ground, making sure they were level:

New materials purchased/used: 0. Labor hours: 3-4. Cost of s'mores ingredients: $10.

Day two: Building the foundation.
Using discount coupons for Lowe's, we purchased lumber to build the foundation. Within 3 hours, the floor was complete. To ensure that the structure wouldn't slide off the blocks, we dug a few holes and "staked" with a couple posts.

Nailguns are the secret weapon. Oh yeah.

New materials purchased/used: 12 2x6s, 3 4x4s = $133.23
Labor hours: 3-4.

The Silver Lining: Spare Bedroom Makeover

BEFORE AND AFTER

My previous roommate had a blind, special needs cat, whom he mostly neglected and kept shut in the bedroom for several months. Unbeknownst to me, said cat had stopped using its litter box, staining the carpets and leaving a terrible odor. When my roommate moved out, I spent a week trying to treat the carpet with enzyme cleaner to no avail. Bottom line: it was GROSS!

Since the cat urine had stained through the carpet, carpet pad, all the way to the subfloor, I had no choice but to replace the flooring. Not exactly within my budget this summer, but the odor was so foul that a classmate for whom I was storing furniture didn't even want to leave her things in the room.

So, I ripped up the carpet and started looking into flooring options, as discussd in my previous post. Before laying new floor, however, I treated the subflooring with more enzyme cleaner, then sealed the entire floor with a shellac base primer sealer.

Fortunately, my parents were planning a visit, and my dad had 150 sq foot of leftover hardwood flooring from a house he'd been remodeling. I thought the room was 12 x 12 (plus closet), so we'd have plenty of flooring to spare. And as long as I was going to replace the floor, it seemed like the most convenient time to refinish the ceiling and walls too. So, within 8 hours of my family arriving from Michigan, my dad had removed the popcorn-textured ceiling, while I pulled up the staples left from the carpet pad. The next morning, I woke up and Dad already removed the trim, and plastered and primed the ceiling. Dad had gotten a bit plastered himself! :)

Meanwhile, Mom and I went to pick up paint, and chose a light periwinkle-tinted gray, called "Silver Lining." I wanted a fairly neutral color, that wouldn't clash or dominate potential roommates' preferences and styles. At the same time, I didn't want white or beige. I've never painted an empty room before, and without having to tape or cover the floor, we were able to paint the walls in record time. The results are clean, cool, soft, and bright. One person said the room felt like being in a tree house!

Our 48-hour makeover plan hit a bump, however, when it turned out my room measurements were short by ~10 sq feet short. Oh no! Fortunately, we were able to find matching wood flooring at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to make up the difference. For the closet, we picked up Pergo, and used a darker wood border.

 

Finally, with the trim removed, Mom sanded and cleaned all the dirt and paint from previous sloppy jobs. Then, the trim was re-stained and varnished before re-attaching it to the walls.

It is a beautiful new room, and now smells only faintly of hardwood and paint: the silver lining to a situation that literally stunk.