Bushcraft Studio (Pic Heavy)

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milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
Hi everybody.

As I've mentioned earlier I moved out of town and with my girlfriend I'm back to live where I was born. When moving I realized how much stuff I have and I started to wander where it'll all fit. After a short consideration I decided to use some of the space that is available and make myself a bushcraft studio, where I could safely store all my gear, clothing, gatherings and the rest. This is my diary of how I made a studio out of an old mill :)

I was lucky enough with the materials that I'm using. As I'm working on a new bedroom for me an my missus I have plenty of materials that I can use here. So this studio is going to be 90% recycled :)


Day 0:

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This is the end of an old farm building, some time ago there were cattle, pigs, chickens and so on... This end of the building was used for cooking up the food for animals and upstairs was used as a mill for flour. You can see an entrance where we used to load up the wheat. There is an inside entrance but it will be shut and a new stairs will be made here.

I used couple of days to clear out the room, It was full of junk that was gathering there for years, plus there were a storage containers for wheat, you can see sides of them piled up in the bottom of photo. So it took the best part of two days just to get ready.

Room cleared:
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You can see small doors there, that's where the new entrance will be.

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The other side. I will keep the wooden box for storage. Originally the cabinet was used for storing smoked meat, it's called "smoker" and has some ventilation installed. I will keep it for storage too.

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That is the original mill aparatus, that stays too :) It's good, and could be used in making some home made beer ;) ahhhhhhhhh.........

Day 1:

I started out Monday, that is the A team :) my two cousins that are spending their summer here.

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They were more than happy to help. I let them do quite a bit of measuring and sawing, they had to figure out themselves what length of boards do I need and so on. That's what kept them busy for quite some time.

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That's one of the moments :)

For the walls I used old boards from bedroom, and the insulation was bought. Actually insulation and steps for the stairs is the ONLY two things I needed to buy, the rest is scavenged, found or stolen :D
So we spend first day on walls.... did them half way up on both sides.

Day 2:

I had this beam in the middle of the room that I needed to get rid off as it was in a way when you walk across the room.
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And so I took an old beam, took it through electric smoothing plane and finished of with an edge grinder. The result:

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This beam will show in the end, as I will mount the ceiling without hiding it underneath. Should look good. Some more detailed photos later ;)

The rest of the day was spend mounting it and preparing ceiling support beams. I insulated the chimney with the same insulation materials that I used for the walls. Some sort of glass fiber material....

Day 3:

The biggest chalange yet. The plan was to mount a roof window in one of the walls for better light and comfort. At first I thought of buying one, but then we had like 10 windows left from the house as we changed them all to new ones some years ago. Naaaaaahh, I can do a roof window myself! Or not?

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What you see here came like this. I dismounted one side of the window. Sealed everything off with silicone and mounted it back. I need it waterproof !!! Then I broke the other glass :D :D Then I want to get another glass and realized how brittle they are. Only 3mm in diameter... They will not hold weight of snow in winter... *&*&#@#*** OK ok, think.... And there goes my dad. He, being an engineer straight away suggested a support system solution that you see here in the pic. Lets hope this will hold it out though the winter.... I mounted that, sealed everything off with silicone, mounted glass.

Then went on to changing my cars exhaust system. What a waist of money, two days pay up the ar**...

Day 4:

Some serious help arrived today. My uncle. He has experience and knowledge in construction so it was a big relief from my shoulders.

That is me posing:

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Me with the safety gear on:

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The mounting took quite a while but it all went down quite nice. There is me cutting the hole for the frame:

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And of course when you mount a window there is always a risk of sinking it all :D Guess what? I had to finish what I could in a rain. Actually in a storm! I was off the roof in no time after thunder struck nearby.

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The window showed no major leaks and is now left for better weather for finish.

And that is my progress so far. Hope you enjoyed reading ;)
 
Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
That roof isn't made of asbestos cement is it? If it’s metal you are alright, if it’s asbestos, then .............

Looks a fantastic project though- as per the above posters, i'm really quite jealous!
 

jackcbr

Native
Sep 25, 2008
1,561
0
50
Gatwick, UK
www.pickleimages.co.uk
I can see a lot of jealous faces reading this post. Oh to have that kind of space. Still, the less space you have, the less gear you can put in it, the less you can spend on it.

sigh, if only that was true.....
 

milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
That roof isn't made of asbestos cement is it? If it’s metal you are alright, if it’s asbestos, then .............

Looks a fantastic project though- as per the above posters, i'm really quite jealous!

I'm in "then........" position at this point. It is from asbestos, I don't know much about it, but we don't make such a big deal out of it here as you do in UK. I believe it's poisonous, but I do also believe there is a lot of money involved in this "scam" too... At this point it is out of question as I don't even nearly have the funds to change the roof plates... ;) there is so many things I need before that. I'll have to stick with it ;)


And thanks everyone for kind words !
 

Mafro

Settler
Jan 20, 2010
598
2
Kent
www.selfemadeknives.co.uk
I believe in its solid state you're pretty safe from it mate, but what ever you do DO NOT cut through it without wearing the correct safety gear, as just 1 fibre breathed in can cause you serious problems. Its a very horrible way to die.

Your place looks amazing though, and I look forward to seeing the progress you make
 

Geordie9

Forager
Oct 25, 2010
219
0
Hampshire
I believe in its solid state you're pretty safe from it mate, but what ever you do DO NOT cut through it without wearing the correct safety gear, as just 1 fibre breathed in can cause you serious problems. Its a very horrible way to die.

Have to agree with this, my father in law died of Mesothelioma 6 months after being diagnosed with it, its not worth the risk.
 

Retired Member southey

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jun 4, 2006
11,098
13
your house!
I'm in "then........" position at this point. It is from asbestos, I don't know much about it, but we don't make such a big deal out of it here as you do in UK. I believe it's poisonous, but I do also believe there is a lot of money involved in this "scam" too... At this point it is out of question as I don't even nearly have the funds to change the roof plates... ;) there is so many things I need before that. I'll have to stick with it ;)


And thanks everyone for kind words !

just to add, it really isnt a scam, and as you saw it will powder up, a face shield and wet down the area to cut would be the minimum id do, take care matey!
 

milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
OK, so I had some time off the project. Was busy with many other things, life goes on no matter what.. :)

This Monday I had two of my friends coming over to help. I hoped to do a lot but wasn't expecting to have it all finished.

Day 5: Ceiling - finished. Walls - finished. Had to work quite a bit around the window. Sealed it in with Makroflex, that moved the construction a bit and it started to leak somewhere. Couldn't do anything on the outside as it was raining. It keeps raining everyday.... What a weird summer. Anyways, I hope the leakage will not spoil my boards, they're from paper...

So that's the result with furniture in:

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Feels home with the cabinet and carpet. It's an old furniture, but very solid and perfectly functioning.

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I love this table. I got it for free when I bought furniture for my bedroom. It's second hand, but made from wood (pine) and you can see the texture of wood in detail. I like wood ;)

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And that is couch to any fella buscrafter that is staying over. :) Or me to contemplate on "things"...

That is a ceiling beam in a bit more detail.

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This cabinet is for fishing gear... Needs some shelves though..

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Next to that cabinet is chimney that's where I'll install a small stove. I have it already, my uncle just dumped one here many years back, it needs some refurbishment, but should work well.


And that's the view from my roof window :)

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That's it for now. I spend a day in woods today, was picking mushrooms and seeds for a new forest and heading off to a bushy trip on Thursday, so leaving project behind till next week ;)

What's left to be done?
1. Stove.
2. Stairs.
3. Little things that you never have time to finish.


Best of luck, and thanks for reading! :)
 

milius2

Maker
Jun 8, 2009
989
7
Lithuania
Good news mu studio has heating now :D :D
We had this stove for ages, but it never had a place. I'm glad that it's finally in use.

I installed some plaster board on cabinet, for fire safety, and a metal sheath on floor:

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And that's the stove:

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With a full view on chimney:


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I liiiike it ;)

Could not give it a try yet as I have finish up the chimney's entry to the main chimney.

What do you think about dissss ? :D :D
 

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