Finnish shed build

[DennisCA]

Didn't get much done last night, went on a trip with several of my relatives and family to visit my oldest nephew who is 21 and bought his first home. It was a very nice place, exactly the kind of living I dream of.

The main house is from 1880, log house construction, about 160m2 in size with both floors, there's also a nice basement for storing food & drinks in:

Other side

On the upper floor I found this miniature masonry heater, there's a full sized one at the main floor too, it works by burning hot & clean and then running the flue gasses through channels that help absorb heat into the mass of the heater

I found an actual porin matti in the upstairs bedroom. It's a heater that gives both rapid heating and has a few hundred kilos of mass to retain some of it for a longer period. Once in use that flower could not be there, as the top plate was designed as a cooking plate too. One can see the hewn logs in the background.

The property also includes stables, they have 4-5 horses (other peoples horses)

A second house, this is a guest house / sauna

There's also chickens, rabbits, a few cats on the farm

Pretty impressive first home for a 21 year old

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Nice set-up!

In the second pic, does the upstairs window open outwards? If so, won't it make access to the fire escape ladder much more difficult in an emergency 'evacuation'?

 

[DennisCA]

Yeah you're right, but all exterior windows open outwards like that so I'm not sure how to really solve that except by placing the ladder under the window. However these windows once opened can usually be lifted easily off the hinge.

 

[dobbslc]

21? Most 21 year olds here are already shacked up in a council flat with 3 kids

Very nice place he has there, living the dream

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Most 21 year olds here are already shacked up in a council flat with 3 kids

Bit of a sweeping 'condemnation' there.....

 

[James1979]

Yeah you're right, but all exterior windows open outwards like that so I'm not sure how to really solve that except by placing the ladder under the window. However these windows once opened can usually be lifted easily off the hinge.

Is that escape ladder a common thing in Finland? A requirement?

 

[dobbslc]

Bit of a sweeping 'condemnation' there.....

It's a London fing!

 

[DennisCA]

Is that escape ladder a common thing in Finland? A requirement?

Yeah if you got more than a single story you need one

 

[James1979]

Yeah if you got more than a single story you need one

Ok cheers. Just wondering seen the Santa ladders but they’re more for snow clearing I think. Never noticed the escape ones before now.

 

[gaz1]

we call those houses vertical plank houses or vertical board houses

normally seen on stables or barns

 

[colnerov]

Hi, Interesting feature those corner windows on the front porch.

Colin

 

[Henrik]

we call those houses vertical plank houses or vertical board houses

normally seen on stables or barns

Extremely common in Scandinavia to have the houses built like that (even new houses).

It’s even common to find old houses that were originally built with smooth render on laths converted in later years to wooden plank exterior, because it looks so much nicer (talking concrete monstrosities from the 40s and 50s)

 

[DennisCA]

Kinda juggling projects now, welded up the mazda. While waiting for layers of primer or filler to dry I've been doing other things, like starting to paint the shed.

I am painting it before the battens are put up because if you paint it after assembly, lines of bare wood will be visible once the wood shrinks. Also painting it dilluted with water as a first coat, as was recommended on unpainted wood. So I'll have to paint it again after it's done once.

I am surprised at how well the mud paint matches my other buildings color. I just ordered grey since it looked closest, can't alter this paint like a modern paint in the store, it is what it is. It's more like a stain than a paint, it does not seal the wood.

 

[DennisCA]

Mostly been painting and putting up the battens lately, getting some absolutely insane weather for August here with temps nearing 30C, even topping it once, which was a historical record breaker for us. Now it's just ******* outside, been doing a lot of that which is normal august weather, also means it's difficult to get anything done outside.

Above you can see what it looks like when I've done a "primer" coat using paint thinned with water compared to further down where I've been over it again.

This wall I went over with a spray gun last night. I put paint in a 1.8 mm primer gun I have used on cars and stuff and dilluted it with water and it worked pretty well I gotta say. I still went over the wall with a brush afterwards but it was much quicker than doing with only a brush. I think if I had a spray gun with a 2.5 mm tip that would be the ideal for this paint. I'm planning get one of those anyway for spraying polyester filler.

I have bought a special gun for texturing cement and the like and also spraying mud paint last night but it did not work nearly as well as my old primer gun. But there might be something wrong with it, I need to check it more closely, it kept leaking through the front. I had it disassembled and cleaned and everything tightened up so it might work better now. But I'd still say something like a 2.5mm spray gun, a suction type would be fine for this (so you can lean the gun and paint upwards), would be the best way to go.

I'm already pretty decided that I want to cast a floor slab next year too, I believe this place will be useful then for doing car work. A bit tight however length wise... Do I already need to think about extending it...

 

[DennisCA]

First half door is up.

I screwed some wood into the door opening to butt the door up against that to get it sitting correctly, then I screwed it in place. The door frame was made from 125x22mm panel boards, I laminted two layers with the grain in opposite directions to stop the door warping. Then I fitted an outer skin of plywood, with narrower and planed boards to create details.

It's not done yet, but I wanted to put it up like this before I got heavier. I plan to add more detailing on the front such as some , also considering a third hinge. For now the door is screwed in place, but I want to make a concrete threshold under the doors later, and the lock will lock into the top of the door frame as well as into the threshold. The doors will also be painted, most likely white. Though dark grey could be interesting too.

The hinges are also temporary, I really want to forge my own hinges but there's been no time for that. I am so behind on my smithing, haven't fired up the forge all summer and now winter's nearly here.

 

[Onoff]

Do you need to worry about those doors stopping say a.....bear?

 

[DennisCA]

Nah I just want it to be solid. I am thinking that the left door will be the one who locks top and bottom and from the inside only, that's pretty common. Then the right door has a normal handle and locks against the left door. You don't need to open both doors 95% of the time so the left one might as well be solidly locked.

Got two doors now. Still need some adjustment, found the door frame on the left side isn't truly square, the stud has twisted.

 

[DennisCA]

Here's an updated photo of the shed, taken today

You know I am thinking of casting a concrete floor slab in it, insulated of course. I am also thinking of adding insulation and sealing it up better and moving my woodworking shop into there and freeing the space in my garage entirely for metalworking and car related stuff.

I am unsure how well it would work to have an insulated, but unheated shop. I might then add a wood stove, but it wouldn't be heated on a permanent basis and temperature would then definitely go above and below freezing. Which can cause frost to form on metal surfaces which then melts. That's my main worry really. I would have more space in this shed than I do now for woodworking, 25m2 vs maybe 18m2.

 

[gaz1]

cast both dennis and use the slab as a radient heat slab

heated concrete is way better than cold concrete

 

[gaz1]

i know you have a rocket stove type of fire

but this works with holes in it

either use a blower to blow across it or use self lifting tubes by placing them upwards

used as a heat exchanger

ive already built a stove that fires the flames downwards and theres a few out there that also fire the flames in a downdraft configuration thats built like a chimney like yours

just so you know