Our backyard art studio

It's done! We have the lovely yellow door we planned. It was something that drifted by on Pinterest one day and we both said, oh, wouldn't it be cool to have a door like that? And now that the city is golden everywhere with autumn leaves it seems really even more apt.

The door

I was hoping we'd find a pretty old door in a back alley but it never happened so on one tedious journey to Reno-Depot that turned up not much I decided we should at least grab their inexpensive steel exterior door to justify our Communauto expense. That resulted in a very uncomfy car ride for me all bent over in the backseat so the door could fit in the little car. But it was cheap and primed too!

Now, one of the reasons for this bargain is that it doesn't have a key hole already drilled into it, something which Michel has pointed out to me several times. And his quest for a drill kit for key hole making was long and arduous. Even more tedious was trying to get his drill bit back out of the keyhole kit after drilling the first part. So yeah, was the inexpensive door such a great deal after all? I'm not so sure as the key hole kit was about 50% of the price but then again, now he can start a small business in drilling doors because he's got the gear. Ahem.

The quest for paint to fulfill our dreams of matching the door to the autumn leaves was also rather long and complex but the managers at Rona on rue Rachel were creative in their solution for a Grade 4 paint that could hold the strong yellow colour. So we have the lovely door we intended!

I have been researching all kinds of new materials now in my planning for finishing the interior. I have spent much too much time considering foil-covered bubble wrap as a quick and easy solution to insulating the studio a bit. But I then had a dream about people complaining about noise from my sound system and woke thinking bubble wrap was probably not the best acoustic solution. So now I have priced out finishing the inside of the studio with Roxul Comfort Batt and they also have a great calculator there to let me calculate the cost of the drywall, vapour barrier etc. None of this is a rush as Michel doesn't have time for more construction right now anyway. He has a musical composition to complete in the next few months.

But in the Spring I will pull out my notes and consider our budget or lackthereof then. I want it to all be as chemical free as possible and came home from Home Depot with some colourful foam daycare mats to toss on the plywood floor for now. This triggered fond memories of kindergarten for our youngest son and so if we don't use them in the studio we can always put them in his room as he feels attached to them.

A couple of little windows

One of my obsessions with the studio design has been a cross current. I can air our house so nicely by opening a few small windows. So the shed will have a mini-version of this option.

Yesterday Michel cut a hole in the siding and installed the first of these, a cheap window from Home Depot that opens easily. I had hoped it would be able to hold an airconditioner in the summer but now that it's up I am not so sure. We'd have to put our little airconditioner sideways in order for it to fit and it's not clear whether the upper glass can easily be removed to fit around an aircon unit. So maybe we'll see next summer.

Today he's installing a small sliding shed window that he got half price from Reno-Depot. It will overlook the ruelle behind our house so some people protest that it's a bad idea, ruining privacy. It's very far away from the neighbours on the other side and not even flush with our fence so set further back than the front windows of our house, for example. And I plan to put a curtain or to put a frosted glaze on it. So after going around in circles about it we've agreed to try it. It really is vital to the cross current! In cold weather like we're having at this time of year that doesn't seem as compelling but in the summer it could make all the difference in the world.

There's a bit of painting to be done on the outside, a door handle, an eaves trough and then we can tidy up and sit inside and ponder the interior. Figuring out materials for that is a whole 'nother puzzle.

After a month away ...

Shed building was interrupted by Michel's need to be in Korea and Japan to play drums. But now, after some time managing jetlag and a busy teaching schedule, he's back in the yard. Unfortunately our area has been hit by a few storms gathering and banding together these past few days, meaning endless rainfall. He put up a tarp and worked inside the shed to put in the big picture window.

Next he's back inside to trim the siding for the last wall, the front wall. And the good news is that the skylight doesn't leak at all. It seems the Ondura panels on the roof may collect water along one seam so that is to be tweaked somehow. Still a bit of a puzzle.

Finishing the roof

The roof is very important in a climate like ours with all the snow in the winter. So there are many layers to the roof. First some lovely pine planks that will show from inside the studio.

After that, the pine is covered by sheets of plywood. And then a waterproof membrane coats the plywood. This is then topped off with tile.











We opted for a new product, Ondura corrugated roofing panels. To be honest, when our new neighbours used them for part of their fence we were very disapproving. They look a bit like a fibreglass product and seemed oddly thick on the fence. But in a stylish red colour on top of our little blue studio, requiring many less nails and less time than crazy heavy asphalt shingles, well, it was a bit of a no brainer.

The fact that they are corrugated proved a puzzle for Michel around the top of the skylight. He couldn't find proper flashing instructions for a situation like this so he spent much of today trying out different flashing ideas and pouring water from a little pan along the skylight frame. So that was annoying for him until finally he was happy with the flow and decided he could nail down the panels. The panel nails are very long so he lined up his nails with the beams underneath otherwise they would have popped out on the other side through the pine planks.




The skylight is in place now. The inside of the shed is looking pretty messy after all the fiddling with flashing etc. Only a few more steps to go and much less ladder!

The start of the roof

Here I am testing the light and height of the picture window frame from under a white tarp. It's already a cosy space that attracts visitors and inspires ideas.

I hate when Michel is on a ladder or high place and can't bring myself to look. Often I just lie down and have a nap and try to send safe energy to him. I'm also crazy busy making a 24 page booklet for his latest cd as well as setting up a quick and dirty home studio to record drums for Reg's new cd. It's clear to me that there will be much that can be done inside the studio when it is done.

The frame for the skylight is now fixed in space. It is a bit of an indulgence to have skylight in a shed but it is the kind of detail that elevates it from storage to studio. Yesterday Michel picked up Ondura sheets for the top of the roof, easily crammed into a Communauto as they bend slightly.

Interruptions

So big storms came and delayed the work, sending Michel rushing out to buy tarps to cover the wood instead. In the gaps of time with a bit of sunshine he finished the frame of our most complex wall, the one with a door and a picture window.

And then he is interrupted by other work, playing drums several nights in a row and teaching. Next comes the worst interruption of all, an early morning visit to emergency after a sleepless night in great pain. Could the strain of making a shed be taking its toll? But no, as it turns out, it was a kidney stone that chose its moment of escape strangely and once it was gone, he was scooting back up a ladder and was enthusiastically back to work. Reading about kidney stones on the internet I come across an article from India that says they are most common in the summer in hot weather in young men working in construction outdoors. Seems to be a combination of dehydration, sweating, lots of vitamin D and vibrating tools that forms and shakes them. Now we know.

This next stage keeps reminding me of the J.D. Salinger title, "Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters!". I am waiting for the surly delivery guy who is bringing our second window today. This free shipping option from Home Depot is a bit tedious but yet better than going all the way out to Reno-Depot to discover their shelves are empty.

Raising the walls

Two walls are up! I am not entirely sure how Michel did the first one alone. He explained something about how he used a technique he saw on a documentary about Easter Island, some rolling, tipping, balancing.

He asked JJ to help with the second one. It is very large and heavy as the siding needed to be put up in advance due to the fences all around. I offered to help but was told it would be devastating if I was injured as my cooking is so vital to the project. Fine, fine, I can take that. I have no feminist qualms about being told my recipes are epic. In fact, I have been very busy trying to truly understand sourdough starter and Szechuan pork bone noodle soup, so it's not as if I have all kinds of time to lift large walls.


They began with a similar pitching, rolling technique. Then apparently at one stage something went wrong and the post holding the wall fell, another blocked it leaving JJ holding the full weight while Michel had to rush around to free the other side. Much swearing later they just tossed the entire thing into place. At this point JJ was happy to go back inside and rub his arms, saying he was really happy he had done 100 push ups yesterday to prepare him for such a challenge.




Studying the matter, Michel found the wall was about an inch out of place so he considered calling some strong men over, but then got some shims and round bits of wood and somehow managed to roll it into place.

Then he solidified it all. Now he is ready to make the frames for the next two walls which contain two windows and a door. This morning he showed me where the door would be according to our plans. It meant entering at a sharp angle near the eavestrough and fence and an open door has a view on our old and battered spiral staircase from the balcony. Hmm. That doesn't seem very auspicious.

Taking a moment to think about Feng Shui plus the fact that we want to paint the door bright yellow, we are moving it to an entirely different spot. Next we discuss the window height.  This is confusing as all the windows in our house are very large and low. I sit on a chair on the platform and try to imagine.

For the next wall we are in luck as JJ's pal Carl is here before they head out for a run. They worked on my aunt's farm together last summer and so are used to doing physical work together. It takes them no time at all to raise the third wall.

The cheerful blue colour of the high wall doesn't look too bad from our neighbour's yard and luckily they have no complaints. 

View from our neighbour's yard

Gathering materials

Finding materials over a range of renovation stores and actually gathering them has proven to be challenging. We settled on LP Smartside for the siding of the shed and they only sell it at Home Depot. Michel and JJ woke early one morning to pick it up at Home Depot and as we do car sharing and don't own a car they wouldn't rent them one of their vans. They considered going to Discount to get a van but it was all so annoying that Michel opted for delivery instead.

But waiting for a delivery with no indication of when in the day they'll arrive is super annoying, plus the delivery van had great trouble accessing our lane as there is so much construction nearby and trucks are always blocking our lane. Nevertheless, the panels are in our yard now.

In the meantime, I have been pondering windows endlessly as I want to have ventilation in the shed that will provide a cross current, lots of light and space for an airconditioner in the summer. That combined with the challenges of the local stores and their lack of stock has been a puzzle. We went all the way out to Reno-Depot one night with our Communauto only to find their website lies and someone had bought up the shed window I wanted. So I insisted on getting a door while we were there, forgetting the Communauto for a moment. After that I spent a car ride sitting on the folded backseat next to the new door all bunched up into a ball. So yeah, I guess most people doing stuff like this have their own truck. This is why I wanted a kit! I exclaim to Michel.

The next adventure is seeing when the windows I ordered online from Home Depot will actually arrive. At least I am happy with our final choices ... we have a picture window for light, a skylight for photography in winter, and two little windows for ventilation. Well, in fact at this point we only have one of them but we have the intention of having the other three. Eventually.

While waiting for these details to sort themselves out Michel has built the wall frames for the first two walls. He's spent some time getting tarps to protect everything in case of massive thunderstorms that luckily didn't manifest yesterday. At Reno-Depot we found new roofing material, Ondura, that looks much simpler to install than asphalt shingles. Hurray! They come in black or red at that shop so we've decided the strong red is stylish. This means I have had to rethink the shed colour to match and in the end I didn't deviate far from my original choice, opting for a cheerful eggshell blue. With the white window frames and the red roof, it should be pretty stylish.

Meanwhile our neighbours to the left have their fence installed. Their handyman insisted on drilling a hole through our cement fence and putting our eavestrough through it. Seems like a bit of an imposition but fine, it's done now. He also re-installed bricks along the bottom of our yard. My dad called to say we must block the bottom of the shed against vermin, and after a newstory about a python in Verdun Michel was convinced enough to put a line of old bricks along the bottom of the base. No pythons for us!

The foundation

Day one goes very quickly and smoothly. After ordering wood, the delivery arrives and it is all unloaded. Next Michel and JJ start putting the frame of the base of the shed together. Measuring well has paid off and also having an assistant is a huge boost.

Meanwhile I have discovered that I need to form an opinion on windows. And really, up until now, I didn't have one. At the same time, I need to learn the limitations of the local renovation stores. I surf around, I measure, I consider, I scratch my head. Finally, in desperation, I make a Pinterest board. My problem becomes clear. I need windows from 3 different stores because none of them sells the same stuff.

Finally, in order to simplify my thinking, I decide that windows should have one purpose, either to give light or for ventilation. All these big windows opening up in odd ways are just watering down their true purpose. All these windows with screens for airing the house or shed are just pretending to provide light as they'll provide shadows and patterns instead.

So now I have narrowed our options down to a skylight and picture window, neither of which opens up, for good light for photography. And two cheap shed windows that can be opened that can vent the place. Phew. Not sure if that will work but it allows me to move away from the cute awming window I was considering for several hours. As we are carless city dwellers, I also need to keep track of which shops will deliver and how much etc. etc. We are starting to narrow down our design options to the cheapest best walkable materials.

While oldest child measures with the precision of a diamond cutter, youngest child is asked to interrupt his self-directed course in graphic design to try out some paint colours. He adds textures and places it in the proper context so we can visualize it all better. As a family project, it is engaging.

Planning some more

Now we are into the stage of thinking hard and designing. I guess we could have done that before but it is very hot and it is summer. So we consult friends and family and gather tips and ideas. We install Sketchup and look at a friend's shed plans. I even attempt a Sketchup plan of my own but I'm still clicking on beginner tutorials while Michel has mapped out a lovely and precise pencil sketch that is more accurate. Why reinvent the wheel?

I insist on a model or maquette so he obliges with a quick cardboard model. I spend a long time studying windows on other people's studios and on various websites, then we fiddle with bits of paper and decide on the window layout. Well, I also suggested Michel dream on it and I did the same. And in the morning we compared our dreams and they contained the same window/door layout so it seemed like we might as well just go with that. Sometimes it is helpful to use a few psi tools in the creative process.

Making space

So we've demolished most of a fence and apparently some of it will be coming back. And now we have a big pile of concrete blocks all over the yard. Why not use them to create a surface under the shed, instead of the usual kinds of blocks people buy?

Oh, but I am getting ahead of myself. First the old shed needs to get out of the way so that takes Michel a day or so, emptying the shed, dismantling and bringing it to the Eco-Centre for recycling.

Now the yard is pretty much clear and he can begin mapping out the shed-to-be. There is some confusion about how large it can be based on unclear rules on the city by-law site but eventually he settles on the correct size, 8'x12'.

The planning is next, lots of debate about old vs. new materials, different ways of buying materials (Kijiji? Home Depot? Rona? Craigslist?), delivery options, prices, sizes ... google google shed shed and we eventually agree on some kind of design.

In the beginning

When we moved into our home our backyard was a big open gravel driveway shared with the neighbour on the right whose tenants regularly parked under our living room window. So we built a fence and put in some raised beds, some plants, a wading pool for the kids and went on with their young lives. Later we added some flagstone for cars that might occasionally want to park in the back and a small shed from Home Depot for storing some tools and flower pots. I managed to hang a big hammock or two from our balcony railing and the yard became for lounging.

But now as our kids outgrow everything, including our house, we all find ourselves competing for desks and tables. As two artists who work at home, either taking photos, writing music, making things, setting up drum sets, recording studios, we agreed. We should make a bigger shed and create a backyard studio.

Several other studios have inspired us. Both our mothers turned garages into their art spaces, a music room for his mom, a visual art studio for mine so with these role models, we have decided to proceed. My brother converted his shed into a music studio. So it kind of runs in the family.

Our neighbours have told us they'd like to build a fence but our crumbling cement block fence was concerning them. What if our fence just tumbled onto theirs one fine winter day in the snow? It's probably unlikely but after moving the clematis and Virgina creepers aside, it did seem they had a point. This fence really was cracking up and tilting.

Tell them you'll repair it, I said, hopefully. So Michel went out one fine summer day and decided to repair it. About an hour later it was clear he was going to have to demolish it.

A similar wall took 3 days, a bull dozer and a few large bins to remove next door to us so we decided to be more ecological about the whole thing and to reuse the old blocks as a layer under the shed to be. Our backyard has a poured concrete foundation under a later of bricks and soil so clearing all of this to get to the shifting slate of this neighbourhood underneath doesn't seem worth it.

The irony in all this is that the wall was helping to keep water from our eavestrough down spout on our side of the yard. A big torrential downpour soon showed that our neighbours on the left were now being flooded by water from our roof. So their fence guy proposes a solution ... he's going to make a small wall of concrete blocks along the dividing line, essentially rebuilding a small portion of our old fence. Well, whatever, we don't want to flood anyone and we'll run our down spout to the alleyway anyway. None of this is the glamorous part, that's for sure.