Today I did some more work on the bee shed project. As mentioned last time, I was thinking about changing my plan for the doors, from wide double doors to a more sensibly sized single door. I did decide to do that, so today built the door and adjacent wall framing.

Firstly, I tried a proof of my concept, with a couple of scrap blocks of wood and a door hinge. In this example, the left block represents the door frame, the right block is part of the door itself, with a hinge sandwiched between:

The first step was to add new 4×4 posts for the doorway, spaced 3’ apart, as a comfortable doorway width:

The posts were clamped to the existing board at the top:

A post level ensured they were straight:

The bottom of each post is buried in a hole, for bonus stability and support:

The two posts installed:

Next I added 2×6 wall boards, like with the other walls, again making them level:

The door will close upon the posts on the side, and a horizontal post at the bottom as a door sill:

Here’s the doorway and the framing for one side wall:

A closer look at the wall framing:

I also added blocks on the corners to fill that gap; like on the back wall, the corrugated panels will abut this board, to avoid exposing a gap:

A similar gap filler block on the other side:

I also added a door frame header:

Here is the final framing for the side walls and doorway:

Next time, I will build the door itself, hang the door on the hinges, and install the latch. I probably won’t have time to mount the corrugated panels to the walls and door, but that’ll be the next step after that.

A few days ago I did another few hours on the bee shed project, adding corrugated steel and transparent panels to clad the walls.

The first step, of course, was to bring the panels to the shed from the hoop house, where they’ve been waiting for the past year. I laid them on top of my wheelbarrow for easy transport:

Then I added one clear and one steel panel to the wall that already had one, temporarily clamping them in place while I tweaked the positioning:

A closer view of the clamps (these quick-grip clamps are very useful, highly recommended, especially since they can be operated one-handed):

I lifted the top panel again so it could overlap the clear panel for better weatherproofing, and screwed the panels in place:

I used a wooden closure strip with the clear panels, to eliminate the corrugated gap:

Unfortunately I didn’t realize that the curvature of the metal panels was different, so wasn’t able to use the closure strips I had on those. I’ll have to either find different ones, or just fill those gaps with gap-filler foam or caulk. Oops.

The heavy-duty self-tapping screws I used include rubber and metal washers for weatherproofing:

One wall done:

I reversed the boards mounted onto a corner post to fill that gap, for reasons:

A closer look at the tweaked corner fillers:

One benefit of assembling with screws instead of nails is it makes such adjustments much easier. I enjoyed using my pneumatic nailer when building the chicken coop and other early projects, but nowadays I much prefer using screws. They’re adjustable, tidier, and hold things together better. The screwdriver is also much quieter.

This back wall shows why I reversed them — the ends of the panels abut the boards sticking out from the corner, so there’s no corrugated gap:

Two walls done:

And three walls done:

A closeup of the last wall; it’s so shiny, for now:

Here’s the doorway; the next step will be to make the door frame, then the double doors:

I am wondering if I should change my plan for the doors, though. The current concept is to fill that space with two doors, each almost 4’ wide, which is a bit wide for doors, though not fatally so. The doors will be made of 2x4s with clear corrugated panels. Looking from outside, the left door will be the main one, and the right one will have a cane bolt to hold it closed. I expect we’ll leave the right door closed almost all the time.

So there could be merit in simplifying it a bit by making a narrower doorway, with just one door, centered on the wall. I think I’m leaning towards that.

Looking inside:

With those windows, even if I reduce the size of the door, there will be plenty of light inside. Hopefully not too much of a greenhouse. Hey, a metal and clear box without any shade; how hot could it get?!