Author Topic: Diving into new territory, my first Hard Side build. A work in progress. (Read 46310 times)

Quantumn · « **on:** Oct 10, 2012, 04:47 PM »

Reaching out to all of our members and looking for thoughts and helpfull criticism. I have been doing my homework for some time and have finally decided to build my own "Todd-Ma-Hall". Looking forward to the experience and interaction from the community. I will be sure to post pictures and my thought process as we progress into each upcoming stage and hoping for great ideas from everyone.

To start out, I will be honest and say my experience as a carpenter is below par, along with my lack of wood working tools. This is where my father falls into the mix, master cabinet maker for many years in the U.P. of Michigan. But my devotion to build a fishing palace is at an all time high, has been for many years. Hoping to keep it lightweight, but with size and amenities I plan, that may be counter productive. Good thing I already have a trailer and snowmobile to move this around.

My lady is actually more excited than I am, she loves to fish year round and is my driving force. WooooYa.

da man cave shack · « **Reply #1 on:** Oct 10, 2012, 05:53 PM »

OH MAN, I can't wait to see the pics and you piced the right place to ask questions about it. And again as many pics as possible.

pipeboy98 · « **Reply #2 on:** Oct 10, 2012, 06:17 PM »

Nice...ya gotta love it when the wife not only agrees, but is pushing you to do it! All I can say is make it bigger than you think you need...you'll always find stuff to put in the open areas...if you have any! Good luck..and feel free to ask lots of

's and plan plan plan. I was putting ideas down on paper almost a year before I started the build. A good place for ideas is on here...and I also got a lot from the ones for sale on craigslist...have fun!

Quantumn · « **Reply #3 on:** Oct 10, 2012, 06:23 PM »

Great point Pipeboy, using craigslist just for visual ideas. I have seen quite a few of them being sold, just never wanted to buy someone Else's problem/mistake. I will definitely utilize that as a resource as well.

Joedirt34 · « **Reply #4 on:** Oct 10, 2012, 09:31 PM »

Good luck ! I love to watch the builds ! So whats size are you thinking ?

Quantumn · « **Reply #5 on:** Oct 10, 2012, 09:59 PM »

Love the name JoeDirt, and great movie as well. Currently as I draw up the plans, I am leaning towards 6' X 8' X 7'. Only reasons for this size is because my trailer is 6' X 8' and I am personally 6' 1". I hope I have enough room for all my amenities. Beer, gear and cheer. Mostly it will be for my lady and myself, but always welcome to visitors stopping by. Plus the addition of a bunk will allow for overnights as well.

chummyhole · « **Reply #6 on:** Oct 11, 2012, 03:28 PM »

Ive been dumpster diving for a couple weeks bout to start my 2nd hut, 4x8 was way to small, going 6x10 for this one....

Joedirt34 · « **Reply #7 on:** Oct 11, 2012, 09:36 PM »

I understand the limits of the trailer ! I would take a piece of rope lay it in the ground get you and your lady ( plus all my gear ) and see if the space makes sense ! You can do a lot with over hangs and bump outs .
Yes it was a great movie !!

OldSailor · « **Reply #8 on:** Oct 12, 2012, 07:46 PM »

I'm a big fan of these builds, and if there are common threads to most of them, it is money and weight!! More of each than you planned!!

Good luck and keep us posted with pleanty of photos and updates!!!

Quantumn · « **Reply #9 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 12:06 AM »

So I have been utilizing a new CAD program to draw up my new project, that in it self is a work in progress. My father has graciously offered me alot of wood to use so I am taking him up on that offer. This wood is from his old rear house deck that he rebuilt a couple years ago. Upon inspecting the "merchandise" we found that the wood is still solid and looking for a new purpose. Tomorrow we begin cutting 2 x 2's, 2 x 4's and 2 x 6's. Hoping to have a base set and ready to be built upon by end of this weekend.

Still sketchy on my idea of skids though. Each one will consist of a single 2 x 6 that is 9 feet long. On the bottom edge we plan on attaching a 4" wide by 9' long piece of plywood that will be wrapped in aluminum stock for weatherproofing and snow gliding ability. Being from the upper peninsula of Michigan, my biggest concern is snow covered ice.

My camera is already set up for documenting and pictures to be posted here very soon. Any input would be welcome and thank you as well for your ideas already posted here. Great community and looking forward to this adventure.

pipeboy98 · « **Reply #10 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 01:10 PM »

And he's off...

I already have a suggestion...skip the wrapped plywood and find some old downhill hill skis to take the buckles off and screw them to the bottom of the skids. I bought 3 pair last year to make sleds for the kids...and I made a smitty sled for myself. You can pick them up at goodwill or garage sales for under $5. If you trim the skid to the curve of the ski...you could put two pair on the bottom and be able to push it from either direction.

Have fun,

Pipe

Quantumn · « **Reply #11 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 11:04 PM »

Ok here I go, so my adventure started at my fathers house. He had to replace his rear deck on his house and offered me his old lumber. With him being a master carpenter, he was able to use his tools to gather me some much needed lumber.

Its not much for eye candy, but lots of potential.

This is what we ended up with, not too shabby. A great start.

Then a quick trip to the local Menard's for the last of what I believe (how naive I am, lol) I need to finish my castle.

And last, having a Menard's employee loading my last piece of lumber was classic.
Really getting excited to hearing your input. More pictures to come very soon.

pipeboy98 · « **Reply #12 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 11:29 PM »

Looking good...but I gaurantee that is the first of many trip to menards!...remember that this is only your first one. If you get hooked...you will build another. I just finished mine last year and I'm already thinking another one would be better!

Quantumn · « **Reply #13 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 11:32 PM »

Great thing is that my lady has been employed at Menard's for over ten years, so if I need anything, a quick text message and the delivery will be same day arrival. Lol

pipeboy98 · « **Reply #14 on:** Oct 13, 2012, 11:49 PM »

Wow...you truly are blessed...she wants you to build this thing and she works at menards??? You'd better marry that girl if you haven't already!

Quantumn · « **Reply #15 on:** Oct 14, 2012, 12:07 AM »

She is a wonderful lady, truly blessed to have her with me. I've been chasing her since the 5th grade and finally caught up to her. She is my best friend and partner in adventure. I sometimes wonder if she loves fishing more than me, its a toss up. Thanks for the kind words Pipeboy.

Quantumn · « **Reply #16 on:** Oct 14, 2012, 12:18 AM »

For skids/ski's, I acquired 2 2x10x10 that I plan to split down the middle and get 4 2x5x10 in which 2 will be attached by a 6" wide strip of 1/2" plywood wrapped with aluminum gutter stock. Almost like a pontoon boat setup and hoping that will give me the rise above the normal snow fall we experience here in the U.P. (upper peninsula of Michigan).
The old downhill ski idea sounds awesome and would work except in my situation, I am worried that my hut will weigh approx 600+ lbs and I look for mobility.

FRESHBAIT · « **Reply #17 on:** Oct 14, 2012, 06:18 PM »

If you rip your 2x10 in half you'd end up with about a 2x 4.5 or so. Not sure how much snow you get up in the U.P. but that might not be enough clearance for you. I usually just run a single 2x10 or even a 2x12 on my shacks and it gets me up over most of the snow and pulls easily with the wheeler or the sled. I once put aluminum gutter material on the runners of my 6'x8' shack and the first time It got off loaded from the trailer and dragged accross the ground at the launch it was all ripped/torn up.

Quantumn · « **Reply #18 on:** Oct 15, 2012, 06:29 AM »

Good call Freshbait. The past few winters here have been rather low on snow accumulation but word on the street is that we may get hit hard this coming season. So with that in mind, I will look into getting a higher profile for the base. And also the aluminum material is a higher grade than your normal Menard's store bought product. Trying to find a place up here to get good polycarbonate plastic strips is a chore in itself. But still looking for a location. Anyone know where I could purchase some 1/2 or 3/4 thick plastic strips either 8" x 5' or 8" x10' size? Thanks for the advice.

Quantumn · « **Reply #19 on:** Oct 19, 2012, 04:20 PM »

OK, almost got the power tools ready to start constructing. Should be chopping wood here in the next few days. More photo's to come for sure.

Quantumn · « **Reply #20 on:** Oct 19, 2012, 04:53 PM »

Notice the bomb fin holding up the back of my Arctic Cat machine, a story in itself. Feel free to inquire if needed.

Bout-Time · « **Reply #21 on:** Oct 19, 2012, 05:31 PM »

Quote from: Quantumn on Oct 15, 2012, 06:29 AM

Good call Freshbait. The past few winters here have been rather low on snow accumulation but word on the street is that we may get hit hard this coming season. So with that in mind, I will look into getting a higher profile for the base. And also the aluminum material is a higher grade than your normal Menard's store bought product. Trying to find a place up here to get good polycarbonate plastic strips is a chore in itself. But still looking for a location. Anyone know where I could purchase some 1/2 or 3/4 thick plastic strips either 8" x 5' or 8" x10' size? Thanks for the advice.

Check local hockey arenas for used puckboard, it would be perfect for your skids.

SeisMec · « **Reply #22 on:** Oct 20, 2012, 11:09 PM »

Good start

Quantumn · « **Reply #23 on:** Oct 26, 2012, 11:01 AM »

Well, I got my windows all framed up, so the project is about in full swing, will post pictures later on today. Hoping to get the base completed this weekend, work permitting.

Quantumn · « **Reply #24 on:** Oct 30, 2012, 03:31 PM »

Well my intended goal of finishing up the base was put on hold, silly work schedule, booooo.
But I was able to finish up framing my windows, nothing fancy as of yet, but its a start.

Going to start the base tonight and hopefully will have plenty of pictures to add here real soon, getting real excited to putting all this wood to good use.

Quantumn · « **Reply #25 on:** Oct 31, 2012, 09:32 AM »

So I finally found some available time to start the base. First off, I started with the removable skids, 2, 2" x 8" pressure treated planks cut to size and rounded off both ends.

I used the top of our water treatment container to form the curve, then jigsawed the excess material off. A little sanding and they are taking shape.

Quantumn · « **Reply #26 on:** Oct 31, 2012, 09:35 AM »

And such a wonderful sight I got this morning looking out my back door, getting excited

Quantumn · « **Reply #27 on:** Oct 31, 2012, 09:40 AM »

So most of the base framing is cut and layed down to get an idea of hole placement.

Now to notch the crossmembers and drill out the skid/sidemembers to allow emergency removal of skids.

Quantumn · « **Reply #28 on:** Oct 31, 2012, 11:42 AM »

So I started by marking the 2 x 4"s on the end to help me not get confused while assembling.

Then it was a matter of cutting out the notches, pressure treated wood really has alot of moisture content, it was oozing out like crazy, lol.

And this is all the notches cut. My odd sense of reasoning for the cut outs is two fold. 1) To provide extra support, 2) Cut down on weight. Instead of chopping up 30 short 2 x 2's and screwing them all into place, I was able to use just 4 full length 2 x 2's and they work in tandem with the 2 x 4 crossmembers.

Now its time to drill out the Skids and bolt them on to the sides of the flooring base.

shake · « **Reply #29 on:** Oct 31, 2012, 12:12 PM »

awesome....looking good.

thanks for the updates, love these threads.

News:

Author Topic: Diving into new territory, my first Hard Side build. A work in progress. (Read 46310 times)

FRESHBAIT