codlasher

When you start your weatherboarding at the bottom by the wall plate you will have to 'tilt' the first board to create the correct shape to allow any driven rain to 'drip' off. This would normally be made by a piece of 3" x 2" cut diagonally and fixed on the wall plate, then the first board overlaps this by 1 1/4" to form the drip......If this is spaced out a little you will have formed a continuous air gap for the air to move in the gap you created. It doesn't need to be much as you don't want insects/mice to have access, just an air flow. I am posting a picture of a barn roof showing 100mm insulation fitted between 150mm x 50mm rafters to give you an idea of how your shed should look. The foamy glue holds it in place. There is a traditional set of trusses and double purlins underneath so the insulation is partly held in place by these timbers. The foamy glue just stops movement and any gaps. The Tyvek is laid on this followed by battens and then the roofing material itself. You can use temporary battens fixed to the inside 3" x 2" uprights to stop the insulation falling inwards. Then the foamy glue to permanently fix it in place. codlasher

The very first shed that I helped build was in 1976, that hot, hot summer! Timber framed with one bay as a TV room for teenage children. The whole building was felted using traditional tarred felt and then weatherboarded with 7" x 3/4'' larch from the sawmill. The bay that was to be the children's den was then infilled with fibreglass and plaster boarded. As the heating at that time was by an electric fire there was never going to be problems with heat differences. The shed still stands today and those children now have teenage offspring themselves! So that is one way. If you want to use this as a warm workshop and have a few more £'s and I can't remember if this is an alteration or new build. If it is an alteration I'd fix a 19mm (3/4") batten against the existing felt, on each upright, to create an air gap. Then I'd cut some Ecotherm/Kingspan type foil backed insulation to fit between the uprights. Bad cuts and joins can be foamy glued with Dow Insta-Stik. If you have more £'s you can then use insulated plasterboard to cover over this. Or up the game and add 50mm them either plasterboard or Sterling board. A new build will work in a similar principal but you will be working this in reverse fitting the hard insulation between the uprights first then short bits of batten of foamy glue to hold this in place, then membrane, them weather board. Remembering to leave the bottom tilt fillet with an air gap between each upright. This theme continues right up into the rafters and roof. Then the breathable membrane will do its job. Phew! Have fun.... codlasher.

If your roof finishes like this no wonder there's a condensation problem. This would happen with any membrane, be it traditional sacking felt or etc. Where you have a temperature difference you will have a dew point on the inner surface and presto condensation. Traditional roofs were ventilated for just this reason. This kept both the inner and outer surfaces at almost the same temperature so no problem. A warm roof such as in a modern house will need insulation to keep the dew point separate. The ventilation is elsewhere. On a shed however, I would not be so worried unless as in the picture, there is no air flow between the wall plate and the rafters. Traditional 4'' x 2'' rafters 'birds-mouthed' over the wall plate will always have an air gap. It is then down to the constructor on how the ventilation is controlled on the external soffit.....which can be fixed if needed under the facia.:big grin: Look at this series of pictures to get somme understanding of the warm roof concept https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Warm+roof&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=AbJbVLvSNsTW7Ab-q4CAAg&ved=0CCIQsAQ&biw=1759&bih=848 codlasher

Yes and the new owners will not think or care why a £300 saw only costs £75:thumbdown: codlasher

Your local builders merchant will probably stock Tyvek and a cheaper version. Tyvek is the Rolls Royce of breathable membranes. For a shed I'd look at cheaper types. One roll of tyvek will do one side of an average sized house roof as there's quite a lot on a roll. Alternatively, chat up your local roofing company and see if they'll sell you a length (measure what you need firstly!) codlasher

I purchased an East-lift harness having saved hard for a year. I knew about the system and watched a demo at the Cannock chase APF in 2012. I am 6' + tall and can just cut a 6'6'' hedge. Any taller and I would probably get some plasterers stilts. This is a theory and I have turned down taller jobs because of my inability to be able to do the work with ease and age comes into this too. So with the added height of 18'' on stilts you should be able to cut an 8' hedge...... codlasher.

Perhaps things have changed since I was cutting every day? My boss bought an automatic chain sharpening machine and took all the used chains at the end of the day to be sharpened. We duly fitted them the following morning and went off to cut. By piece time manual sharpening was required and I remember the frustration as the machine had managed to get the teeth too hot and the files ran off because they were too hard. I'm wondering if this will still happen if you're not careful? codlasher

Can't help there, sorry. codlasher

I know where you can tip chip, 30 miles South near Kimble/Stoke Mandeville. You'll have to ask about the timber lumps as I'm not so sure on that side any more. PM me for further information. codlasher

If you are at all worried look up your local bee keeping club and either ask one of their members to help or see if you can borrow a smoker from them to introduce a bit go smoke to the cavity. A little smoke helps calm the bees. If you feel in any way nervous seek advice from this group before doing anything. Me, I'd just do it, but I'm ok around bees as I have my own so know what to expect. codlasher

Absolutely. I'm still with the quad. We had a David Brown fitted with a set of hydra tongs in the 1970's. We were using it for extracting spruce poles (very early thinning of 1960's stock). Great, we got the job done, but my goodness what a mess! A little quad would do this with little fuss and certainly not the mess. codlasher

You'll have some fun with that, eh! codlasher

Dan of; Connecting timber, trees and people. | Woodenways does courses. As you can see on his website. You can start by doing a simple mortice & tenon joint and work up from there. I did and over thirty-something years have acquired a heap of useful knowledge and machinery. I miss my dads old sawmill but I have found another similar for sourcing the timber. Look at timber framed buildings; look at how they are put together, look at the joints and the scale between the timber & joint too. Some timber is better than others, like all things. You want a strong, light, insect free frame. This rules out spruce unless you treat or paint it. Oak is king as it cuts soooo nicely. Larch is fine too but douglas is my favourite, but you have to have sharp tools for douglas as it is very stringy. Oak is the only really fireproof timber, remember that. Beech, ash and any fruit is prone to insect problems. There are many, many books to point you in whichever direction you wish to go. codlasher

Ok go with screwing:001_tongue: They like a little bit of airflow and hate damp. At this time of year they will be very slow and sleepy hence the suggestion to nail. Yes, do the same with the other hole too but put a 10mm hole in that too. codlasher

Nail a piece of plywood over the hole having first drilled a 10mm hole in this. That'll see them through the winter. codlasher

I always put down x3 courses of bricks which is the same as x1 course of blocks. Then you can bed your wall plate onto this (Remember the damp proof course) and fix if you feel the need to. If you are doing it 'proper' like you only need to stop slippage. If you do get any bad buckling no matter how good your fixings are the timber will lift any masonry! Your weatherboard will then oversail the first course by 2'' using a tilt fillet and any rain that runs down the cladding will drip off nicely. Never ever put oak in the ground, it has a surprisingly short lifespan! This company will have nearly all you require in silicone bronze fixings and as you can see they also specialise in stainless:thumbup1:Marine Services in Suffolk Here is a little picture as an example of the traditional upright joint.:big grin: I made this little barn 20 years ago as a scale replica of a big 75' x 25' six bay barn locally. I wanted to 'do' the proper joints for a fun exercise. I have found over the years, no matter how big the barn is it takes x5 days to cut all the joints and half a day to assemble the frame! codlasher

A very sensible suggestion but for 2 acres? codlasher

I had access to two Honda quads. The original was a foreman' and owned by my employer. I think it was 400cc, anyway it was great for getting to the many pieces of woodland I looked after. Fast and smooth along the set-aside of the farmland and fine on the forest tracks. Its downside was actually getting to the stands of trees which needed a smaller and much more nimble machine. I managed to wangle a second hand Honda 300 'Big Red' as my personal machine. This I much preferred as it fulfilled my requirements much better than the foreman. Perhaps the foreman would suit your towing better but for a nimble get-me-there machine the 300 was much better. Parts-wise there's nothing between them. codlasher

I like your answer Bob! I'm glad you managed to work your way around this. I know there were problems with motor manual produce as I had to chase up lengths too, plus buttresses going into the stacks creating odd sizes. Mechanical harvesting simply passed the buttresses dilemma on by leaving them in place, where they were then a pia! The way round this was to have a cutter (Stubby:001_tongue:) working ahead of the machine 'legging in'. Or they were cut off on the 'reset' button and the mushroom carvers were then happy folk. I only sold through Tillhill and later through Euroforest with the occasional small load going into the boat-buiulding world, be it oak framing or larch/douglas cladding material. codlasher

I signed months ago. codlasher

That's the original colour scheme blue & white. Almost a perfect Ford colour match. Then the 3000 arrived (which was the one you sold, and except from a few minor alterations was exactly the same) and these are all the new green & orange colours. codlasher

Do you think this often happens? I know it used to when prices were on the make or break in the 1980's. Keeping a tally was most important else load weights slipped downwards:mad1: codlasher

I have never climbed but agree with the above. Dealing with the things going on to keep the site working safely keeps me occupied. To me the most important part of all this is communication, before, during and afterwards. This results in a smooth stress free and most importantly, safe job. Keeping your eye on the man in the tree is important and ensuring the base/drop zone is kept as ordered as possible. The result is as Mr Storrs says, the climber does not have to do anything other than his side of the work. codlasher

I am shocked that the agent, employed by a reputable company, would behave in this way. I would certainly write a formal letter to the MD expressing your concerns at this mans shabby and underhand behaviour. codlasher

Very Nice! Thank you. codlasher