Cantilevered garage

[Matty F]

I've nearly finished my garage that I discussed recently. There's no room to drive into the end of it, so I have made two huge doors so that the end and most of one side open up.

Here's the garage with the doors shut:

with the doors open: 's the inside of the roof, which is held up by Douglas Fir: little post on the left does a really good job of holding the roof up. I can hang off the roof and it scarcely deflects. The two posts are one third cantilevers.

On the right you can see a bit of the wooden hinges that I made, because I was under the impression that decent big hinges would cost a lot. Then I discovered that they are cheap. The two doors latch on to the spikes on the roof, in case we have a hurricane. One spike not fitted yet.

The stringline on the roof is for the spouting yet to go on.

Total cost of garage, about GBP75 including paint. Most of the garage was made from junk I had lying around in the way. I'll paint the rest of the fence. The neighbour's house used to be orange!

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Matty F writes

I see you have stiffened one with diagonal bracing. It might be as well to do the other now before you have to lift to close.

There is space to replace your post with a steel column concreted into the ground and having a braced joist. Unless you start parking a box van:-)

What the poets might call antipodean expediency.

regards

[Matty F]

discussed recently.

That's 12mm plywood on the door. Surely that is enough to hold it square. I was a bit worried about weight, but the doors swing wery well. The wind does catch them though so I'l have to have a hook to hold them open.

The post has a cross piece in the ground bolted to the bottom. I don't believe anything could pull it out. The post was free, not like your steel post and concrete. And it's working fine.

If I can make something for nothing out of what I have lying around, I will do that.

[michael adams]

Judging just from those pictures and without knowing any further details I think I'd be rather more concerned with the possible consequences of the roof blowing off in a high wind than with it falling on my head. Failing that I'd maybe find the the address of an empty property in the locality, print up up a phoney invoice for the timber with that address written on it, and staple it to one of the cross members in the roof.

michael adams

...

[Matty F]

The roof is bolted to two posts on the right (which you probably can't see) which are 150mm square and buried deep in the ground and attached to three one metre high timber retaining walls. The other side of the roof is bolted to five posts. When the doors are shut they are very rigid, and will hold the roof down. Besides there are never any strong winds around here. It's very sheltered.

[fred]

In article , Matty F writes

Nice job, thought the finishing in trellis work was a nice touch.

Curiously, the cantilever looks positively under-engineered compared to your normal work ;-)

A true scratching DIYer at work .

[michael adams]

Fair enough, maybe I should have read your previous thread.

michael adams

...

[Matty F]

discussed recently.

I thought it would look rather bulky without the trellis. Those two little bits of trellis were a third of the total cost.

Nobody has asked what the roofing and half of the walls are made of. It's very lightweight, and free!

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Matty F writes

You should see my *possibles* pile. Big sort out soon as I am moving 3 workshops into 1!

regards

>

[Tim Lamb]

Go on then. Surprise us.

regards

[Matty F]

These are guaranteed to stand up to UV for two years, and indefinitely if I paint them!

[Tim Lamb]

Dense polystyrene display boards? Don't walk on your roof!

regards

>

[Matty F]

Twin wall Polypropylene sheet. They cost about GBP25 each including signage. I put them up at election time, and had about 35 old ones that are of no use for anything else. I had to walk on the roof in order to nail them on. No problem with a couple of planks.

[MuddyMike]

What do the neighbours think of all the advertising on the roof?

Mike

[Bob Minchin]

I suppose you don't get any snow in your part of the world? That would soon bring your roof down.

Bob

[Matty F]

Green paint covers that very well.

You are right, there's never any snow here. Hailstones could do damage, but I have clear plastic roofing elsewhere that has lasted 20 years.

[Jules Richardson]

One of our cats is enough of a lard-arse that he'd bring that roof down ;-)