A Roof for the Foundry

Where the metal submits. Metallurgy to Melt point.
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Harry
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A Roof for the Foundry

Post by Harry »

This was a great addition to the foundry. Not having to cover everything from bad weather and not having the sun beating down on me during hot weather are two great benefits.

Here is a shot before the roof. You can see the small shelter I had put up over my molding bench, that was 5' x 12' and did a fair job of keeping my bench and sand protected from the weather and gave some shade during the morning hours but by 3 o'clock the sun was low enough (this is looking west) to be shining right on me at the molding bench and as this is where most of the grunt work happens it wasnt too good on hot days.

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This next shot shows the first three trusses up and 4 of the 5 sheets on, now there is one more sheet that extends the roof 3' over the fence on the right. That will keep blowing rain off my foundry floor though the prevailing wind comes from the west but from time to time a storm will come in the other direction.

The far truss is quite low, about 6' which means I hit my forehead on it just above the brim of a ballcap. I keep that gate closed most of the time though and I am going to put some foam on it to ease my pain when it is open. Nothing I could do about it as I wanted to keep it with the shop roofline and it has a low wall in the back. The next truss up is several inches above my head though still low enough it makes me duck out of fear.

The 5' roof over the molding bench will be coming down when I put up the other two trusses. That metal will be going behind the shop (just outside the gate) along the back wall. I started pouring a 4' wide slab along that 24' wall and will cover it with this metal. My dust collector, compressor, oil and such will be stored out there.

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This last shot is from the outside the last sheet is on in this picture. I have put up over 400' of that redwood fencing on my property, loads of work but it is really nice. You can see how the roof of my shop slopes one direction, the tall wall is open and the other three sides enclosed, shop roof is currently 24' x 24', the outside roof is just half of the foundry roof that I will be putting up now (30' x 24'), it will go all the way up to the high point of the shop roof once I get the other two trusses up.

The pipe in the air is my oil tower and my furnace pit is in the corner of the fence to the far right.

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Next big expansion will be another 12' wide along the high point sloping down the other direction the whole 39' length. With that and the shelter for the compressor and storage I will have over 1500 sq ft under roof and about 900 sq ft of it enclosed shop space.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...
Muller
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Harry
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Re: A Roof for the Foundry

Post by Harry »

I got the remaining steel trusses up yesterday along with 4 of the 5 sheets of metal roofing. It was getting late and the last one overhangs the fence where there is about a 5' drop so it is going to take the tall ladder to get up there to put screws in and I figured I would hit that fresh and also get momma to come out and supervise. I almost never have any help with these kinds of things but if I feel the level of danger is high enough I at least want someone there to dial 911 :) Getting those last two trusses in place was something else, these things weight about 100 lbs each and are 15' long. There is a moment of great nervous tension from the point I do the final lifting into place until it has at least a tack weld on it.

Outside shot, you can see the concrete I am working on, that is 4' wide and will get a 5' roof over it. This is where my air compressor and dust collector will live along with plenty of extra storage.

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Last truss ready to raise into place.

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And in the air welded up.

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Just one sheet to go... You can see the ridgeline is jagged... it is out of square but thats the kind of stuff you learn to live with when doing this kind of thing by yourself and it will never be seen once the other side sloping down is on and a ridge cap in place.

I am thinking in the gap between the fence and low side of the roof I will put a hinged shutter so I can close off that gap if the wind is blowing hard or open it to let a light breeze in.

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This shows how I did the posts. Rather than trying to get the plumb, in line and the correct height I set them in concrete at a random height. The 2 1/2" pipe slides right into the 3" pipe and a clamp holds it on the marked line while I get a tack welded on.

If you look closely at the base of the mountain in the background you will see some green and white specs, that what neighbors are supposed to look like :mrgreen:

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I also laid in place 4 more of the 3' x 1' grates that make up my pouring floor. These will be leveled then welded and also get rebar driven into the corners and welded so they stay put. They will also get filled in with old molding sand which keeps spills from betting between the grates and locking in there.

I had 4 before so this doubles this space. It would be great to cover the whole area with these but I dont have any more and they would be far too expensive to buy, these I got for $5 each. They are way overkill for this application and some day will get ripped up from there most likely when a suitable replacement is acquired.

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All together I am very pleased at the improvement, no more worries about rain and snow and a lot of protection from the high winds. Next will be laying in concrete everywhere except of course the pouring area.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...
Muller
Krish01
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Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:53 pm

Re: A Roof for the Foundry

Post by Krish01 »

Great information which you share with us about roof foundry,I get some useful points and information from this topic i hope i will get more useful information from this cooperative and informative community.
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