*This post is sponsored by The Home Depot Rentals.
I feel like the house we're building is trying to kill me. Well, maybe it's not the house. Maybe it's building a house during an Arizona summer. Also, it's just our luck that we would happen to be building a house and detached workshop ourselves during the hottest summer on record since 1895.
If you didn't know, my husband and myself are currently building a contemporary styled home and 1,200 sqft detached workshop ourselves. If you want to get caught up on where we are in the building process, you can check out the full series by clicking the links below.
We still have a good amount of work to do on the house, but the workshop is almost done! So today, I'm going to tell you all about one of the most intimidating steps in the building process, which happened to involve the shop.
Make sure you check out the video below to see the whole installation.
We put off finishing the interior walls and ceiling of the workshop for weeks because we had no idea how we were going to make it happen. The ceiling and walls slope upward, towards the west side of the property and at it's highest point, reaches over 18' high.
The idea of Bryce and I climbing wobbly ladders, while hoisting full sheets of OSB over our heads one handed, trying to drive screws as fast as we could (repeated several dozen times) left me feeling totally overwhelmed. We finally realized it was time to bring in the proper equipment and I feel so good about it!
We decided the safest and easiest thing to do would be to rent a scissor lift from The Home Depot Rental.
No matter what DIY project you're working on, The Home Depot Rental probably offers the equipment or tool you need. They have everything from hand tools, all the way up to large equipment like a skid steer.
The associate who delivered our rental was EXTREMELY helpful. He gave us great product information and made sure we felt comfortable operating the scissor lift before he left.
We made the pleasant surprise that the scissor lift platform included a 110V outlet so we didn't have to drag our extension cords over the side of the basket.
In addition to the scissor lift, we also requested a heavy-duty, 6-gallon air compressor,
and a 21 degree, collated framing nailer.
Beside driving my Father-in-law's forklift around our property, I don't have very much experience using large construction equipment. Surprisingly, The Home Depot Rental scissor lift was very user friendly.
It only took me a few minutes to figure everything out, getting comfortable with the joystick and controls. The same module both steers the wheel and controls the lift function.
Because stucco was already applied to the shop's exterior, our stucco contractor recommended we attach the OSB using screws. Hammering hundreds of nails could cause vibrations which could lead to cracks. However, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to try to hold full sheets of plywood above our heads while we drove screws every 6". When we watched our drywallers hang Sheetrock in our house, we decided to give their technique a try on the ceiling and tallest parts of the walls.
After lifting the OSB into place, beneath the ceiling trusses, we used the framing nailer, firing a nail in each corner to temporarily hold the sheet in place. We then came back and drove 1-1/4" screws around the perimeter, and into the trusses running through the middle of the sheets.
Confession: I have a hard time hefting a full sheet of 1/2 plywood or OSB by myself on a good day. Thankfully, Bryce and I were able to both fit within the scissor lift basket, allowing us to lift each sheet together. My shoulders have never been more grateful.
We were able to hang most if the sheets whole, but as we approached the last row, I had to cut 2' wide strips using a circular saw.
At that point, my father-in-law came over and lent us a hand. I continued to cut the partial sheets, as well as drilling the holes for outlets and light boxes, and Bryce and his dad worked up on the scissor lift.
When we were all said and done, we ended up hanging over 100 full, 4' x 8' sheets of OSB on the shop walls and ceiling.
If my Instagram comments are any indication, I'm sure a few of you are wondering why we clad the interior with a wood product instead of drywall.
There were 2 main reasons. First, both Bryce and I are kinda hard on our workspaces. We liked the idea of the walls being protected by something really durable, not easily dented or scratched. Secondly, we had all the materials leftover from sheeting the exterior of the house and shop during framing, so it was already paid for.
Although it is extremely gratifying to build my own home, I'm definitely looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to start using my shop, building furniture and fun DIY projects. Don't worry, it's coming soon!
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