Progress pics Snail forge under construction
Hey guys,
This holiday I finally started building a smithy which I could call my own. So far I've been working in the garden, or underneath the carport, but it's an inconvenience. I have always wanted to have a fixed place. That way I can just fire up when I have an hour, instead of first having to set up everything, and clean up everything afterward. After some careful consideration and consulting with my CFO, we decided to build it in the back of the garden, where there used to be a compost heap.
That is also where the name comes from. There was a significant number of snails living there, as well several empty shells. I don't know what to call the place just yet, so for now I settled on snail forge.
this is ground zero:
http://onikudaki.be/gallery2/d/116-1...fa5aba70f866c4
My friend came over to help me with the first part of the construction. I wanted something strong and sturdy (it is going to be a smithy after all) so I decided to build with concrete pillars after I got the idea from my friend's wood shed. Those pillars weigh 200+ pounds each. They're 2.5 feet buried into the ground, and set in concrete. Moving the pillars was a drag, and digging the holes was not much fun either. My ground is hard clay as soon as you're a shovel deep. On the plus side, the ground is very stable. On the downside, it is hard to dig. And someone also buried a huge concrete lintel right where we needed to dig.
http://onikudaki.be/gallery2/d/120-1...fa5aba70f866c4
We put in the wooden panels at the end of the day. We were pretty much done for by then.
http://onikudaki.be/gallery2/d/123-1...fa5aba70f866c4
I built the frame for the roof using actual roof beams. The 3 main beams are 2.5 inches wide, and 7 inches high. Huge overkill for my humble shack, but this way I am certain that the entire structure is strong, and if I ever need to hang a workpiece, some machinery or a tool from the roof for whatever reason, it won't budge. And of course, in the summer I can put up a hammock :-)
http://onikudaki.be/gallery2/d/126-1...fa5aba70f866c4
That's it for now. I have the roof panels (metal, with a layer of insulation to prevent condensation and echo) lying ready to put up, as well as the gutter for rain water. I haven't started that part of the construction because we are having a local heatwave, with local temperatures way above 36 degrees celsius. Not really the right time for doing hard work in the blasting sun, with panels that are too hot to touch. After the roof, I'll have to put in a decent floor, and electricity and water.