Author Topic: Starting my Build - 8 x 16 (Read 10392 times)

eyesncoke · « **on:** Sep 25, 2015, 11:47 AM »

After using my friends 8 x 10 for a few years and reading many great posts and ideas from this site, I'm taking the plunge and starting the build this weekend. Brought home the lumber for the floor and walls last night, hope to get the floor done on Sunday. I'll update this every so often and try to add pics. I welcome questions, suggestions, etc. I know there will be things I did not think of so I'm more than willing to listen to tips and advice! Just try not to roast me too much. My carpentry skills are not bad, but I'm used to building furniture and bars, never built a structure before.

Going to put most of it together at home and then break the walls down and haul it up to my friends to put it back together and finish it off, hopefully in the middle of December, fingers crossed.

NHGunowner · « **Reply #1 on:** Sep 25, 2015, 08:08 PM »

I like that you laid down an outline to see what space you have, very smart.
I have a 7.5'x10', it is my first shanty. I'm planning to build a new one this year but I have learned a lot with this one.
First, how I was transporting it was a problem. I had an 8x8 trailer when I built it, so I made it 7.5' wide so it would fit. It was way too heavy for that trailer. I now have a 96"x10' and it's better, but still overloading. But heavier trailers aren't as wide, so I'm stuck.
Skis are a major consideration. They need to be durable and tall enough to not get stuck in snow. Wider skis will slide easier. I see so many houses with just some 2"x whatever bolted to the side, it doesn't work.
If you're going to heat with un-un-vented propane, you'll need lots of ventilation. More than I initially thought. A byproduct of burning propane is water vapor, you will have a steam room.
Post pics and progress, love to see it

eyesncoke · « **Reply #2 on:** Oct 04, 2015, 09:11 PM »

Well i made some good progress this weekend. Floor framed with PT 2x6's and joist hangers. 5/8 inch spruce primed with oil base on both sides. Ill put 2.5 inch foamboard on the otherside glued with PL and will spray foam in the gaps. Framed the walls with 2x3's. Two windows 24 x 30 each going in the front wall. Keeping them smaller so its a little harder to break into. Door going in the one end wall. Hope to get the 3/8 sheathing on the outside on this week and rough in some electrical.

NHGunowner · « **Reply #3 on:** Oct 09, 2015, 04:36 PM »

Looking good. And big! How tall is that? Looks like 8 feet tall.
I just started an 8x16 myself, I'll be starting a thread when I have some progress to share.

Arctic Addict · « **Reply #4 on:** Oct 13, 2015, 07:11 PM »

Nice progress. It looks like it's going to be pretty sturdy. How are you planning on getting it onto the ice?

da man cave shack · « **Reply #5 on:** Oct 14, 2015, 02:39 PM »

Dang. Looks good. Big and beefy.

eyesncoke · « **Reply #6 on:** Oct 16, 2015, 09:46 AM »

Yes, 8 foot high walls, in retrospect, should have gone a little shorter, but we plan on putting a few ceiling fans in there so I was worried about them being too low. I think now we'll end up putting them in the peak of the ceiling so we could have gone a little shorter on the walls.

We have a sled that we're jacking this up on and then we'll jack it off once on the lake. I've got a 680 Rincon and my buddy has a quad as well so we figure between the 2 of us, we can get it out. By season's end, there is typically 2 to 3 feet of ice, so we can use the truck. Even at first ice, some seasons there's 12"+. We'll see what El Nino says this year though.....

Just been working on the ceiling rafters and this weekend hope to get the insulation cut and into the floor. Oct 31st weekend we haul this north and will finish the build at the lake.

fishingwithkids · « **Reply #7 on:** Oct 18, 2015, 08:46 AM »

wow what do you have to tow that thing out on the ice with a tank? all kidding aside looks great.

anglure · « **Reply #8 on:** Oct 18, 2015, 09:15 AM »

keep up the good work ! looks great !

eyesncoke · « **Reply #9 on:** Oct 21, 2015, 01:04 PM »

Came across a great deal (free) courtesy of the brother's work, got enough 2.5" insulation that will do all the walls and the floor. It looks like polystyrene skinned in a thin fibreglass layer, maybe known as CSIP or something like that. Anyways, little heavier than I would have liked, but the price was right and I was thinking I would not do interior sheathing on the walls when I put it in. Now I'm not so sure because I'm worried about rubbing up against it and getting fibreglass strands in clothes/skin/etc., especially when sleeping.

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Alternatively, are there other options to skinning the inside outside of using 1/8" luan? That luan has really gone up in price around here. I thought about 1/4" OSB as well, but it's just adding weight. Outside walls will be skinned with 3/8" spruce so I don't think I need to beef up the inside walls too much.

Thought about that corrugated plastic, but it's really expensive here as well.

Also struggling a bit with what to do with the floor. Originally was going to do the roll-on bedliner, but now I'm not sure as the weather (I'm working outside) is going to make that tougher. Trying to find rubber or foam matting, but again cost/weight. Thinking of going the child foam tiles that interlock if they come on sale somewhere, anyone with any experience with those? My fear there is the dogs claws will rip it up. Just trying to find something a little nicer to walk on and keep the floor drier.

This weekend will be about getting the rest of the insulation in the walls, building the ridge board, getting the holes cut in the floor and insulating it, and then finishing the primer on the walls and floor again. Pictures to follow....

NHGunowner · « **Reply #10 on:** Oct 25, 2015, 07:17 PM »

For flooring on the shack I'm building I am planning to use interlocking foam tiles. They make more durable ones than the kid style. Like for garage or gym floors. I like the idea of the small amount of added insulation, the full coverage will act as a good thermal break. Cold floors are always an issue. And they are waterproof and it is repairable, tiles are replaceable.
Big rolls of garage flooring are also available, similar in price. You can get some fancy patterns and stuff.
The way i see it, you're not dealing with many square feet, so cost is reasonable no matter what you go with.

eyesncoke · « **Reply #11 on:** Nov 02, 2015, 11:37 AM »

Well Friday night we loaded the floor and walls on top of the trailer and hauled it all 5 hours north to my buddies. Had no issues towing it up. Managed to get the walls up and sheeted, rafters and steel roof finished, door installed, and most of the electrical done. Will have to get back up in a few weeks to finish putting windows in, finish the sheeting at the peak, etc. Then once it's sealed right up tight, get work on the inside. Wish I hadn't forgot to take a pic of it loaded on the trailer. Here is some porn, more to come...

shootsmcgee · « **Reply #12 on:** Nov 06, 2015, 09:42 AM »

Jesus man that thing is gonna weigh a ton...(literally!) We don't even build them that beefy up in northern Canada. Looks good though

COLD-AS-ICE · « **Reply #13 on:** Nov 06, 2015, 07:58 PM »

Looks good. A little overkill though. Really is gonna weigh a lot. Make sure to keep it blocked up well when on the ice. You would definitely hate having that froze in. Also hope you have a lot of friends to help you move it!

eyesncoke · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 07, 2015, 11:57 AM »

Well I've put 3 more weekends of work into the shack and we're about 90% done I'd say. Still have to do the heat shield for the stove, a bit more insulation, trim out the windows and door, finish off the sled, lay the floor, and then a few storage and shelving ideas. Also need to repaint the propane tank stove we made, went with the cheap paint, and paid the price by sucking in melted paint fumes for a little while. It sure does not look like we'll be spending new years eve and day in it as we had hoped all year to do. We had 12" of ice for the opener last year, I'd say we'll be lucky if it's even skimmed over this year. Anyhow, here are some pics of the progress. Will post some more when it's all finished off.

Chimney installed.

Ceiling insulated.

Outside light installed.

Shelves for the flat screen and the Xbox. You can also see where the thimble for the wood stove is.

Shelf for the propane oven and stove, this drops down out of the way when not used. You can also sort of see the fold down table for playing cards. This moves out of the way when not being used.

Table again. The right side is actually the table. The left side is the platform for the dog to lay and sleep on. His stairs are also build, they slide under the bed.

This shows my fishing spot. The lower bunk folds up out of the way for fishing.

Shows the top bunk. I have to duck a tiny bit to get in there but can stand up once I'm under it. Yes, the beds are wide, 39 inches! Did this so a twin air mattress will fit nicely. I'm done sleeping in bunks where if I roll over, I end up on the floor.

This is the other side of the shacks. This is where Rachel will be fishing, same setup as my side. Have to put her next to the woodstove!

Windows trimmed out, still need to do inside.

Here is the woodstove we made out of a 30 pound propane tank. You can see the paint laying on the floor. We just put it in to stay warm working inside one night. It's back out now for a proper paint job and to get the heat shield in.

P Meyette · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 07, 2015, 07:20 PM »

looking great keep up the great work

tipman14 · « **Reply #16 on:** Dec 08, 2015, 09:17 AM »

Looks good.

OldSailor · « **Reply #17 on:** Dec 13, 2015, 09:08 AM »

BUMP - BUMP!!!!!! More shack porn!!

mr musky · « **Reply #18 on:** Dec 13, 2015, 09:21 AM »

very nice,love the wood stove

Arctic Addict · « **Reply #19 on:** Dec 15, 2015, 07:09 PM »

That looks more like an ice house than an ice shack.

eyesncoke · « **Reply #20 on:** Dec 21, 2015, 02:16 PM »

Made my last trip up to finish the shack off this past weekend. My friend will be finishing the skis over the holidays so the next update should be when we attempt to drag the thing out on the ice, when that will be, who knows. Looks like they may finally get some good temps up there at the start of the new year. Here's some more pics. Have a great holiday season everyone.

2 sections of the heat shield installed. I used 1-1/2" lengths of copper pipe to act as spacers. Keeping them on the screws was a bit of a challenge but finally managed.

Some of the flooring installed with the catch covers.

Coat rack up, installed another shelf down lower, should work as the beer holder for the 2 fishing holes at the front. Also a fan above the door to help push the heat around.

Looking down the other way, there is the other fan, should push the heat around well. I just built brackets and attached the fans so they sit at a 45. They are plugged into outlets that we hooked up to one of the switches so we can control them from there instead of reaching up to them. Also just put a few dowels up with big clothespins, should be good for hanging up gloves, etc.. I kept the pieces long and sticking out from the 2x3 so we should be able to hang our helmets up there as well.

Took one last look at it before I headed home. You can see the flooring all done and the heat shield finished all the way up to the thimble.

Couldn't forget the satellite dish!! Hope I can watch some football playoff games out there.....

nocod · « **Reply #21 on:** Dec 21, 2015, 03:35 PM »

sweet build,I hope the cold comes to you brother

MartyMarPlv · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 11, 2016, 06:24 PM »

Nice work! Is it getting use yet?

eyesncoke · « **Reply #23 on:** Mar 11, 2016, 08:50 AM »

Well, pulled the hut off the lake last weekend, which was lots of fun with the 2-3 foot snow drifts. But we got it done. Next year will make some mod's to the skis to get more ground clearance and will probably widen the width of them as well. Did not take many pictures of the hut in action this year, but here are a few. Going to make some other little changes for next year and will update the thread then. Have a great soft water season everyone....

My buddy's first ever pike, what a tank it was too...

Unfortunately, this was the biggest walleye of the season, just happened to come on our last night up there....

Biggest reason I designed the hut the way I did is for the big guy on his perch...

And the machine that got the thing off the lake, will try and take some pics of it in action next year....

Chris338378 · « **Reply #24 on:** Mar 14, 2016, 11:19 AM »

That's a good looking shanty, good luck with it.

Clear_Ice · « **Reply #25 on:** Mar 17, 2016, 11:12 AM »

Fantastic job!

eyesncoke · « **Reply #26 on:** Dec 15, 2017, 01:38 PM »

Looking for some advice on runners for this...going to stop using the removable sleigh.

I was going to put three - 6 inch wide runners - one on each side and one down the middle. My friend thinks 3 skis is a bad idea and thinks I should go with just the standard two and that I only need them 4-1/2 inch wide each. Will be putting puckboard on the bottom. This thing is heavy. I've never weighed it but I know I built it heavy.

Do you think 2 skis 4.5" wide will give me enough flotation? Do you think having the third ski down the middle is a bad idea?

Appreciate the input.

AndyJ · « **Reply #27 on:** Dec 15, 2017, 05:33 PM »

The pics you posted don't show up but reading through the posts it seems the shack is a heavy one. 4 1/2'' skis wouldn't give any floatation except on bare ice or a few inches or hard pack so a third would make no difference from what you have. My 5x11' shack weighs about 900lbs and has 10'' wide, 14' long skis. It's hardly enough in dry powder over 12'' deep.

eyesncoke · « **Reply #28 on:** Dec 19, 2017, 01:52 PM »

Ya I'm not sure what the deal with photobucket is now....
I'm thinking I'm probably double your weight and I always had thought the wider the skis the better so was leaning towards at least 6" wide. Problem is that the catch cover holes on the one side are tight to the walls so if the skis are too wide, they'll be under the holes. I'll go at least the 6". But once I get north to measure maybe try and go wider.

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Author Topic: Starting my Build - 8 x 16 (Read 10392 times)