Over the next 6 years I'm going to be putting 3 sheds of different purpose on my property. Only 12'x12' or 12'x16'. I'm trying not to spend more than $15,000 on each before all the finishings. The first I will likely completely sub out, possibly just using a contractor buddy of mine's connections or direction entirely, but by the third one I'd like to do everything but the foundation myself. A decade from now I intend to build my own house, assuming all goes well.
My question is, how do I learn how to do this, aside from the practice? Are there any books you guys recommend? Online resources? Should I take night classes at the local community college? For obvious reasons, a reading list would work best for me if possible. The books don't have to be available for free.
Why not just start building? Seems pointless to hire it out when you want to learn.
Also, in my experience. If you can't just look at something and get a general understanding of it. Then you're not suited for doing it yourself.
Mistakes are fine, you'll always be learning. But if you don't understand it from the start. It's not likely you ever will.
>Why not just start building?
Because I don't know how to. Could I do a foundation and frame and roof and whatnot just based off of vibes? Yeah, probably. But it would be shit. Also I'd like everything to be up to code
he doesnt know
>, how do I learn how to do this,
Get a copy of the IRC. It tells you everything you need to know.
Thanks anon, I'll start here
Alright I started here and God damn, is there a more digestible way to learn this or is that just how it is?
Ngmi
>is there a more digestible way to learn this
yes. get a job in construction like everyone else who ever learned how to build a house. zoomer, millenial, whatever you are, you are NGMI
>get a job
I already own a business that sucks up 80 hrs of my week depending on the season, I have neither the time nor the need for a second job, and I'd rather not waste time on trial and error either.
Thanks man yeah, I already bought books for stick and timber framing, I was just hoping for books that explained everything else the same way. For some reason I can't comprehend how one would go from foundation to framing. How the hell are they attached? The framing books really gloss over it. Oh well, if I have to dig through that doc I will. There's a reasonable chance I'm expecting things to be more complicated than they are, but I feel like building a house should be complicated and difficult. I mean, it's an entire house.
>How the hell are they attached? The framing books really gloss over it.
I'm starting to suspect that you are one of those successful people who are intelligent but at the same time are absolutely and completely moronic. good luck with your "house building".
>the school of YouTube
I've watched two of those, I just can't believe YouTube tutorials are enough. Are they? Like I leared Java from YouTube, but building a house? No way
>you are one of those successful people who are intelligent but at the same time are absolutely and completely moronic
Alright now you sound like my wife
you unironically can learn to frame a house from youtube, it's the easiest part of any build
even working solo a 12x16 is maybe 3-4 days work, less if you buy pre-fab trusses
day 1
>install sill plates (PT wood not normal stuff)
>cut your studs to first floor height
>nail them to plates, leaving openings for doors + windows
>stand them up
>level and brace them on the inside
day 2
>attach zip sheets to outside
>stack trusses in a pile on the roof
>start with out-rigger truss on one side
>stand them up one at a time and block them to each other
day 3
>sheet roof with zip sheets
>install metal roof or shingles
the hardest parts will be sourcing your materials and moving them by yourself, framing is dead easy that's why they pay $15 an hour to a guy with a nailgun set on bump mode
> How the hell are they attached?
I believe poured in anchor bolts have been the standard since a while for the us. But you’re building a shed, you can also be pragmatic. The wood frame shouldn’t move sideways or be lifted up by wind, a few fisher FBN or SXRL will do that just fine. Is it code? No idea, but it’ll work.
Also NDSU has a lot of great plans to draw inspiration from (yea I know I post these a lot)
https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/ag-topics/natural-resources-and-facilities/facilities/building-plans
Yea it’s course material as it’s thought in courses for contractors etc. Sometimes you can find some of it online, but most times they have single courses on one small part of the code (like the proper use of nails or depth of foundation etc).
There isn’t too many to know for a shed, find out what type of foundation is common for your area, then look up the code for that type of foundation. That saves you 80% of reading on foundations. Many contractors do it like this because they only use 1-2 foundation types anyway.
For framing there should be books and videos available
>videos available
the master
Was going to suggest him but I don’t know if the stuff in his videos complies with current year building code in the US
Though I’m not even sure if that matters for a shed
kek gave up in 7 minutes
I don't think that document is for people who have never bought a 2x4
>You will never build that house unless your circumstances change drastically
I'm going to withhold any further details about my business, but in a decade I may be wealthy and retired
Hey that's great. I retired early three years ago, I hope you make it. Just watch out that if you have genuine ambitions to build your own home, it's very much a young person's game and past a certain point you simply won't have the energy or mental acuity to do it.
I'll see if I have any interest after three sheds. I may not! Thanks
my old boss started building houses when he was in his 50s and built about 15 houses from start to finish with a small 2-4 man under him crew before died. he's an exception to the rule and OP sounds like such a little b***h that he could never hope to accomplish that, but building a house isn't just for the young and fit, even and old fat woman could do it if she had the zeal, like a Roseanne Barr kind of b***h
With no prior background in construction or amateur interest in the decades prior? Really interesting!
check out Larry Haun's "How to build a house"
It's a digestible, straightforward primer on building a stick framed (2x4's and plywood) conventional american style house. The book is a few decades old and a little dated, but not in any way that really matters.
Building a 12'x12' shed is an approachable project for a novice as long as you bother to read up a little bit.
With housebuilding, there are always sets of rules that tell you how to spec everything, from the framing, the connections, what kind of plywood to use, wiring sizes, etc. Understand that the people doing the work aren't expected to understand the engineering rationale behind why things are done the way that they are. That's what codes are for; they provide a prescriptive, pre-engineered framework that you can use to build something in accordance with structural engineering and safety principles when you don't have that expertise yourself.
Also, be aware that any material or style that you would like to build with will have an industry trade group that provides technical guidance and manuals to help you do the job correctly. For tile installs, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) has the TCNA Handbook, for wood frame buildings the American Wood Council has the Wood Frame Construction Manual. And so forth for masonry, steel, concrete, or other applications. "Wiring Simplified" is a simple book about how to wire a house that is written by some of the people who write the national electrical code.
Im learning thru this myself since I need a SHED.
Check out Graphic Guide to Frame Construction. Shows everything in gory illustrated detail.
Also:
>IRC
pretty sure that was a joke.
Oh hell yeah, finally a book. Thanks anon.
>IRC, pretty sure that was a joke
That makes sense. Some of my customers are contractors and the less successful ones range from a step above literally moronic to so drunk they fall over. It was hard to imagine them studiously scouring something a step above a legal document
kids can hammer nails into wood you moron.
>Book too complicated
>Video too simple
>I work eighty million hours per day and don't have time for this!
Black person just pay the fricking tradies, the obvious tradeoff of working that much is having to specialize and abstracting away nearly everything else in exchange for cash.
You will never build that house unless your circumstances change drastically.
>frick off
>go to YouTube
>search "how to build a shed"
>frick off some more
>go to Google
>search "shed building workshop (insert name of state/country)"
>frick off even more than last time
oh but you didn't need me to tell you this
you need me to care about your stupid shed building bullshit and walk you through it while you ignore or argue with my advice
you have no real friends to bounce the idea off of so you came here instead
hoping we would give a frick, same shit different day