First, a couple weeks back I did the 90k bike leg of a half ironman triathlon relay.

I did the race on my trusty handbuilt steed and learned that being in pretty good shape + constant utilitarian bike riding + steel sport touring bike does not equal competitive athelete ! I was dusted like I was standing still by so many Serious Atheletes with ironman tattoos on their calves riding crazy tri rigs with aero wheels. Our team finished 12/19 of the relay teams, and I will happily take the credit for dropping us to the middle of the back after our awesome swimmer put us right up at the front.

And the workshop!

A few concerted days of effort have produced great results. My Dad and I worked to raise the walls, though I ended up cutting them down a bit the next day after I decided they were too tall (the full 8′ plus a gable roof was just too encroaching on the rest of the neighbourhood, I felt).

Anyway, here’s the finished box:

Next up came the rafters. Note to talentless hack DIYers like me: it’s probably more economical in terms of time AND money for you to just order pre-built rafters. Though they eventually came together, it was a lot of work, stress and sweat equity poured into making this stupid things go together nicely.

Geometry works out marvelously on paper, but has this whole issue of not necessarily applying In Real Life. Believe it or not, I ended up using a great youtube video on marking out rafters to make it work.

Anyway, it’s all there now. Huzzah!

I’ve since finished about 75% of the strapping on the building for the board and batten siding. I priced out steel roofing, and it actually looks to be cheaper than asphalt shingles at this size, which is awesome.

Unfortunately (for my neighbours) I’m heading to Newfoundland for a week on Saturday, so I won’t get around to actually doing the siding or roof until a few weeks from now. But the building is essentially done! Woohoo!