The Kingdom gets a balcony

jon f mn

Well-known Member
On Saturday I managed to procrastinate all day til it was time to take a nap before leaving for the company Christmas party, so nothing got done. But today I felt a little more like working so I headed out to the shop to put up the balcony I've been wanting. My friend Jeff came over and helped too, thanks for that or I doubt I would have been able to get it done.

It's 2x10 around the outside and 2x6 joists. It's 8' wide and 20' long.


cvphoto5493.jpg


cvphoto5495.jpg


I screwed a 2x4 to the 2x10 under the hoists to carry the joists. I could have used joist hangers, but this works good too and is a little easier to do.


cvphoto5496.jpg


Here it is all done.


cvphoto5497.jpg


I even got some of the "stuff" moved up before my knees gave out completely. The DC worked great for lifting that stuff up.


cvphoto5498.jpg


cvphoto5499.jpg


I got most of that stuff up, but some will get stored outside such as those wheel weights and castings. Supposed to be warm next weekend, so depending on my ambition level I think I'll work on the doors to the quanset shed and re-screwing the tin. We shall see tho. Still no sign of those dang peasants tho, I'm beginning to think I'll just have to do everything myself. Kinda dissapointed about that. Lol
 
my definition of 'space'
That area that promotes the proliferation and propagation of junk. grins

nice work though
 
Jon, your a King now. It's no longer called [b:b480943a7e]"procrastination"[/b:b480943a7e]. For a King (or his Queen *lol*), it's called [b:b480943a7e]"planning"[/b:b480943a7e].

And [b:b480943a7e]"naps"[/b:b480943a7e] are now known as [b:b480943a7e]"mental sessions"[/b:b480943a7e].

If you're gonna have your own Kingdom, you better get up-to-date on the lingo. Otherwise, you're liable to give the rest of us a bit of tarnish on our crowns! :shock:
 
It looks good Jon, but I would get the joist hangers nailed in before you put too much stuff up there. It looks like you will have to string some lights up under it also. Geeze, So much to do and so little time to do it!!!! When do you have to start working at the new location, and did you get more compensation for the longer drive to and from work???
Loren
 
No word on the move, may not even happen yet. They said we would talk about money if they decide to move.

Don't need hangers because I screwed a 2x4 under the joists to carry them. So no hangers needed.
 
Yes, but those will have to be done by someone else. Stairs are beyond my abilities.
 
Maybe a rail on left side. Then build a set of pallet forks for loader and pile things on pallets and set them on front edge with label on header below it showing what is on each pallet. That way you never have to go up there. Just bring that pallet down and pick off what you want and set it back up there.
 
That's an idea, but I don't think there is enough room to do that with the DC. Maybe when I get a skid loader.
 
Stairs are easy. Shoot me an email and I can help you with em. We have done 100's of sets of steps on decks .
 

cvphoto5533.jpg


Dont shy away from the stairs. I did these last summer. Had to make wood forms and calculate tread/riser. Came out very well and are comfortable to walk. My first attempt at steps. You can do it. Not as hard as you think.
 
I may just do that. But my friend Doug which has been doing the work on the house may do them for me. If no, I'll certainly give you a shout.
 
'Stair nuts' are the easy way. They clamp onto the framing square to maintain the rise/run the same. A little math (total height divided by 7" is a starting point - then you have the # of steps required - then adjust so that the # is equal = rise and run depending on how wide you want the treads), confusing but easy. HTH
 
When you do get to the steps go wide at least 36" wide(48 is better)and short rise. I walked up and down a set at the body shop in town(he put up with me) when I was about 14. It was a lot easier to move stuff on those wide short steps the narrow steep ones. I have a ladder on mine, but stairs are on the list.
 
I like reading these kingdom tales.

My husband built small storage lofts in our garage, granary and the shop. They do come in handy - you will like yours.

Husband began work on our kingdom here over thirty years ago. Just a word to the wise - a kingdom never gets completed - there is always another thing to do OR after 15-20 years a project to redo. :)
 
Personally as a general contractor and home builder for over 40 years I would not trust the 2x4 to hold up a load. I would put the time into using the joist hangers to be on the safe side.
 
The 2 by 12 uprights, 10 feet long, can take a lot of bending load IF lateral movement and torsional deformation is restricted. I'm not sure these restrictions are in your design.
For an impression of the failure mode, see attached link.
torsional lateral buckling
 
Now you need a lift or folding ladder to get up there safely. Glad to see your old school loader for the heavy stuff. You got me thinking now as I have some room for improvement too.
 

I have a balcony in my shop too, but the main reason for building it was for my "inner heated room". It is fully insulated and heated with a propane wall mounted heater and I keep it at 50 degrees. It heats up quickly to 60 degrees when I go in and costs me only $400-$500 annually. I have my work bench in there, along with plenty of shelves. There is a door large enough in one end that I can get my Ford 9000 in there.
 
Being that I like most others suffer from not enough space syndrome I am looking at your photos and designing your shop in my head.

If a guy were to put a set of metal stairs and a small landing on the outside of the building it would save you a bunch of space inside the building.

Then you could sheet in the long side and have a wall to hang things on or build shelves on.

Probably not going to being going up there all that often and a landing on the outside would give you a spot to set a skid on when you need to move stuff up or down.
 
Dave, is there an official building code or formula for calculating tread and riser measurements? Your treads look wider than normal steps, well normal steps inside a building anyways. Sometimes I have found climbing stairs a bit awkward if they are different than what a guy is used to.
 
I'm into the "redo" part you mention. After 40 years here, all the build-from-scratch things I built are in need of refurbishment. Gotta be careful on what and how....don't want to "improve" too much....I like my current tax base.
 
(quoted from post at 07:15:03 12/10/18) I'm into the "redo" part you mention. After 40 years here, all the build-from-scratch things I built are in need of refurbishment. Gotta be careful on what and how....don't want to "improve" too much....I like my current tax base.

Mark, don't let the building department force you into modern upgrades when all you are doing is maintenance. I was planning for a new replacement handicap ramp for my church, and the building department told me that I would need to get a third party company to inspect it for him, and that it would need to be longer because the slope requirement had changed, and being longer would require an intermediate landing as a resting place, and being that long would put me out to a slope which would require a 90 degree turn which would trigger another landing. The husband of a member is an architect, who told me that we are doing strictly maintenance which requires no permit nor inspection, and gave me copies of the state laws that govern building maintenance work.
 
I built a much smaller one about 20 years ago. Lately I've found that I need to have one of the kids pitch out all the stuff I couldn't live without back then. Mine turned out to be a catch-all for stuff I'll never use, and all my fault. Yours looks great.
 
I had one in my little shed on my last place and made hundreds of trips up there taking stuff up and down. I hope this one works that way rather than just collecting junk. But I am a saver. Lol. Guess time will tell.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top