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Build a Sheldon, the 8x8 Shelter 2.

0 design

You’ve got a pile of plywood and plastic parts and we know you’re anxious to start building,
but have a little patience. There are a few things you need to do to get ready!

NOTE: As with all Open Design projects, documentation lags behind design files and is always a work in
progress...that’s why we’re wearing shorts in some pictures and bundled up in others! In the meanwhile
we’ve noted changes and missing sections with comments in red. Please bear with us as we work along on it
and make the red sections disappear!

We’re working to make these instructions as modular as possible, mostly to make it easier for
us to keep them updated as changes are made. So some of this info will be housed in separate
Google docs

Hardware:

The list of hardware needed can be found in bit.ly/Sheldon_Materials


Tools:

A list of tools to assemble a Sheldon can be found at bit.ly/Shelter_Tools

Preparation:

You’ve gotten your fabricated Shelter parts, assembled the hardware and tools, and are ready
to start building...now comes the fun part! There are just a few steps that need to be done
first:
The sidewalls, floors, purlins, and endwalls all have shallow dimples to mark where screws will
go. Using the proper sized bit for the screws you selected, drill a hole in the center of each
dimple. If you miss a couple it’s not a calamity and they can be drilled out during installation,
but it’s easier to do it now.

A lot of the parts, especially the really small or long-and-thin parts, are held in place while
cutting using small “Tabs:, similar to the way that plastic model parts are held in place. Most of
these will never be seen after your Shelter is assembled and can be left but some of them
need to be removed...we’ll point them out as we come across them.

Some options for removing them can be found in the Tools doc

Occasionally sawdust will pack in some of the slots and notches, and needs to be removed so
that parts fit together accurately. Usually all it takes is a couple of quick whacks on the parts
with your hand, but any that is persistent might need to be loosened with a screwdriver or the
end of a screw.

Prepare a flat surface to build your Shelter. Try to minimize ground contact by building on a
bed of gravel or on concrete piers or pavers. The rounded shape minimizes uplift and wind
problems, but If you’re building in an area where high winds are possible, anchor to concrete
piers or to the ground as necessary for safety.

A coat of paint or other protective coating will extend the life of your Shelter considerably.
You can certainly paint it when it’s finished, but it’s much easier to do a thorough job if you
paint everything before you start the assembly, including the underside of floors and
especially the edges of all the ribs and panels.

Start with the stringers:

Begin by assembling the two sleepers. The sleepers are the foundation for the Shelter 2.0
design on which the rest of the building will be done. It’s easier to work on them when they’re
on sawhorses, but sawhorses are not necessary
Each sleeper is made from three ¾” thick parts that were nested on the sheets with the floor
panels, fastened together with ¼-20 bolts that are at least 2.5” long. We recommend using
galvanized bolts here, and carriage bolts make the job a little easier.

You’ll need a total of 8 bolts to assemble each of the 2 sleepers, with washers and nuts as
needed.
This is one assembled sleeper. The sleepers have two different sized slots. At each end are
slots that receive the end walls that are a little bit wider to make it easier to install the
endwalls. The rest of the slots are narrower and receive the ribs.

At each end is a larger hole that can be used to tie a rope bridle, making it easier to move the
Shelter if necessary
Place the sleepers in the location you plan to build your shelter with their inside faces about
51” apart. You’ll be adjusting square and level as you go along, but the closer you can get it at
this point the easier it will be later on.

The Ribs and inside side walls


Starting at the other end, slip a rib bottom piece in a pair of the narrower slots in the sleepers.
When everything is lined up correctly the rib will drop into place.

Install the other 2 rib bottoms pieces


Use 2” screws to “Toenail” the ribs to the sleepers by driving them at an angle through the rib
and into the sleeper. The angle doesn’t need to be precise...you just want to securely fasten
the ribs to the sleepers in case you ever need to move your Shelter.
Drive these “toenail” screw flush-ish to the face of the ribs. No one will ever see these screws
again!
Using ¼-20 bolts with flat washers and nuts, bolt a splice plate onto the top of each rib section.
You can use 1.25” bolts if you can get them, but we generally use 1.5” long bolts because
they’re much easier to find.

Tighten the bolts by hand at this point, just enough to hold everything together, but wait to
snug up the bolts until all the ribs are fully assembled to give some wiggle room. Repeat for
the rest of the ribs.
Now add a rib upright to each bottom section, using the same 1 ½” carriage bolts with nuts
and washers.

When all the uprights are bolted on, your Shelter should look like this! It may seem a little
wobbly at this point, but we’ll start firming things up in the next steps.
The wall panels, floor panels, and purlins are connected to the ribs with deck screws, but
screwing into the edge of plywood is generally a bad idea…the plywood has a tendency to
split. To solve this problem we’ve developed parts we call “hatchets” …tapered wedges than
fit into slots in the ribs. These hatchets allow the screws to fasten into their face grain instead
of the edge, end grain of the ribs
Press a hatchet into each slot in the ribs. You’ll eventually need a hatchet in each one of the
slots, but for now just make sure that you have one in each connection point on the inside
faces of the ribs.
Almost all the hatchets can be pressed in just firmly enough to keep them from falling
out...they’ll never be seen after the shelter is finished. There are some in the floor and
endwalls though that will be seen and might be a tripping hazard. For those a couple of taps
with a hammer or mallet will make them flush
The two ½” sidewall panels are the next to be installed. There are slots along one edge (circled
in red in this image) that tabs on the floors panels will lock into. These slots need to be at the
bottom, and when everything is lined up correctly the panels will lock into tabs on the ribs.
Using 2” screws, screw the side panels to the ribs so that the screws go into the hatchets.
Drive them flush but don’t go too crazy and sink them way below the surface of the plywood.
The clutch on your drill is there for a reason!

Repeat with the other side panel. This will firm things up a lot.
If you didn’t already do it, insert hatchets into each slot along the rib bottoms. These will
receive the screws that hold down the floor panels
Add the floor
Attach the two ¾” floor splices in their slots, using the 2” screws.
There is a shallow recess marking each screw location in each floor panel. Drill a pilot hole in
each one. You’ll notice the wavy edge on the panels...these help to keep things aligned and
square.

There are three ¾’ floor panels...two side floor panels that have tabs along one edge, and one
center floor panel that doesn’t have any tabs and has two wavy edges.
Start installing the floor with one of the edge floor panels. Insert the tabs into the slots along
the bottom of the wall panels and then lower the floor panel the rest of the way. You may
have to “ooch” things around to get the tabs in the ribs to fit in the slots in the floor, but
eventually it will drop into place
Screw the floor panel to the ribs and splice plate using 2” screws. We find it easier to drop a
screw in each pilot hole before screwing the floor panels down...it’s easy to miss one if you
screw then down as you go.
Repeat with the other edge panel and the center panel
Install hatchets along the edge of the floor where it meets the wall panel, tapping them as
flush as you can to avoid a trip hazards. Drive 2” screws from the outside of the sidewall into
these hatchets to pull the side panels to the floor
Be especially careful at the ends of this connection to make the top edges of the floor flush
with the tab on the sidewall. It will make your life much easier when you start installing the
end walls!

NOTE: The next 3 squaring steps should not be necessary because of the way that the wavy
edges on the floor panel edges now interlock. It doesn’t hurt to check though in case there’s
a minor variation.
You may notice that If you look where the two panels meet there will be a bit of a
misalignment like in this picture. The fix is easy but require a bit of brute force!

What has happened is that one of the sleepers is a little further forward than the other,
making the foundation just a bit out of square.

Go to the side that is “proud”..that’s sticking out too far...and push the end of that side’s
sleeper in. Watch the seam in the floor panels and you see them becoming even.
If you’re building on a slick surface you may need someone at the opposite corner of the other
sleeper to keep from moving the whole Shelter

Our experience has been that the first time you’ll push too hard and it will go out of square the
other way. Just be patient, go to the other end, and repeat these steps and you’ll get it just
right!
You’re getting there...you have a nice stable platform to work on now! Attach a top rib section
to complete each rib using 1.5” bolts. You may need to wiggle things a bit to get them to
fit…that’s why you left the splice plate bolts a little loose.

When you have everything assembled, go around and tighten all the bolts holding the ribs
together

Next add hatchets to all the slots along the outside of the ribs where the long, lengthwise
Purlins will be attached. The Purlins have tabs on their ends that you should remove. They
won’t hurt anything but just won’t look right!
Screw all the purlins to the ribs using-2” screws. The ends of the purlins will extend past the
ribs at this point, but will eventually be attached to the endwalls. You will be able to do most
of them from the ground, but some will need a short ladder

Note that the 4th purlin up from the bottom on each side has been eliminated because of the
addition of a new outside wall panel, which will be screwed into those hatchets.

Install the Ceiling

½” plywood blocking pieces have been added to help fasten the ceiling panels. They fasten to
top of the inside wall panels using the existing screw holes, with a shallow groove used to line
things up. Snug theirs ends up against one of the ribs and attach with 1 1/4” screws through
the side panel and into the blocking
NOTE: Be cautious after these pieces are installed. The points of the screws will stick out a
little bit, but will all be hidden after the outside wall and roof panels are installed

Using the tabs on the inside of the ribs, bend the first ceiling panel and pop it into place. The
tabs should hold it in place for the next steps. Along the bottom of the ceiling panel is a row of
small pilot holes. Screw the ceiling to the blocking you just installed in the last steps using ¾’
lath screws. If you use a power driver of some kind be VERY careful..it’s easy to crush the
coroplast ceiling panel.

There are also holes running vertically at each rib that allow you to fasten the ceiling to the
ribs. Once again be careful when driving them

There are also new blocking pieces, cut from the same coroplast material as the ceiling panels,
that are used to join the edges of the ceiling panels. They are attached with the same ¾” lath
screws, which can be screwed in with your fingers or a hand screwdriver. DON’T USE A DRILL
OR IMPACT DRIVER!!!
Repeat with the other ceiling panels, taking your time and being very careful especially when
screwing into the coroplast blocking. It helps to have someone on the outside to help hold the
blocking in place when you’re starting the screws.

The Endwalls

There are two ways to install the endwalls. If you have some help, we find the easiest way is to
join the two halves of each endwall while you can lay them flat on the ground, and then install
them as a unit. The advantage to this is that you can make sure their edges are lined up
correctly, but they are somewhat unwieldy to move around so you’ll need an extra pair of
hands.

If you decide to assemble them first, for the front endwall you’ll need the correct two half
panels, one of the standard splice plates that you used to assemble the ribs, one of the
narrower splice plates, and bolts and nuts. The narrow splice plate goes at the top to join the
two halves, and the standard one joins them at the bottom. Make sure that the top and
bottoms edges are in line before tightening the bolts.

Once they are together, follow the basic steps below to install them the same way you would if
you are installing in two pieces.
Adding the endwalls is the trickiest step because there are tabs in just about everything that
have to fit in slots in the walls. Be patient and everything will come together, but sometime
you’ll have to push or pull on the floor, ceiling, or wall panels to line things up. An extra pair of
hands helps here!

The ends of the purlins will be in the way as you try to get the endwall into place, but here’s
enough spring in them than you can pop them out enough to get the wall in place. Once the
wall panel is lines up, the purlin will pop into the recesses in the endwalls and help hold things
together.

This step is a bit of a wrestling match, but certainly do-able! If things are just not going
together, there’s a good change that your sleepers are “wonky”…not parallel and with one end
higher than the other.
Sometimes the floor is just a little too high or low, so that the tabs in the floor don’t quite line
up. It’s OK to use a flat bladed screwdriver as a lever to GENTLY line them up.

Since there are multiple parts where the floor panels meet at the splice strips, sometimes
those tabs are hard to get into their respective slots. If so try taking out a couple of the floor
attachment screws out to let things wiggle a little. Just remember to put them back once the
endwalls are in place!
Repeat with the other side. This can be a little trickier because the first wall can restrict your
ability to wiggle things around but trust us..it will go together!
When both panels are in place, fasten the seams with bolts and a regular splice plate at the
bottom and one of the two narrow one at the top. You’ll have to fasten the bottom one by
squeezing your hand in the space between the endwall and the ground,

If the top seam doesn’t want to go together tightly, sometimes it helps to fasten it loosely and
then pull it together with a clamp or even a piece of rope. When it’s lined up to your
satisfaction, tighten the bolts.
A screw that goes into this recess (marked in red in this image) locks the floor splice stringer to
the endwall. The hole is big enough that the head of the screw is driven below the floor panel,
screwing the splice stringer to the hatchet in the endwall
The last assembly step for the front endwall, and the most awkward, is to install the bottom
splice plate. This is installed using 1.5” bolts inserted through the front of the endwall, with
the plate on the back side.
If you have a ratcheting box-end wrench or a 7/16” socket and ratchet, your life will be MUCH
better. Trust me on this one!
The back wall is a little different because the two halves are joined with splice plates on the
inside and outside. These splice plates will show when you’re done so remove any tabs before
continuing

Install one half of the back wall just like the front, dropping it in place in the notch in the
sleeper, and lining up the tabs in the floor, sidewall, and ceiling with the slots in the endwall
panel. Lock it in place using the ends of the purlins.
Repeat with the other endwall panel. Unless you are extremely lucky the seam between the
two panels won’t be even..this will be fixed using the zippers

Before you start installing the zippers, insert a hatchet into the notch at the top of the panel
You won’t be able to do it once the zipper is in place
There are two zippers..one longer than the other. The longer zipper goes outside, with the
rounded end up. Hold it in place and insert two 2” carriage bolts through a matching pair of
holes in the panels.
This is where a second person REALLY helps! The second zipper piece goes inside the Shelter,
and the two bolts go through matching holes in this piece and are loosely fastened with
washers and nuts. When these are secure so that teh inside zipper stays in place, insert
carriage bolts into all the other pairs of holes EXCEPT for the top and bottom pairs. Add
washers and nut on the inside and tighten when they are all in place.

The outside zipper extends beyond the interior space and just bolts to the endwall and not
through the inside zipper. You can use either the same 2” carriage bolts or 1.5” ones….either
one works fine.

These bolts are a little awkward to install and require a wrench. The top ones will need a
ladder, and the bottom pair require reaching underneath the Shelter to tighten the nuts.
Insert hatchets in the endwalls, tapping them to make them flush with the outside face of the
wall, and fasten the ends of the purlins to the walls using 2” screws. Also fasten the endwalls
to the floor and sidewalls at the pilot screw locations.

NOTE: The top purlin will stick up a little higher than the others. Don’t worry...it’s supposed
to be like that!

Outside Wall panels


Next we’ll install the outside wall panels. There are rounded corners to mark the bottom of
these panels, and the notches fit over the bumps in the ribs are deeper on the bottom the ribs.
To make sure that everything stays lined up, start at the bottom and, with the notches lined up
in the bumps in the ribs, screw the panel to the lowest purlin with either 2” or 1 ¼” screws.

Screw the outside wall to the ribs along the top row of holes, and to the three purlins using the
rest of the pilot holes. DO NOT screw through the 6 larger holes along the outside edges of the
panels..they will get bolts in the next step!
Using the three ¼” holes along each outside edge of the panel as guides, drill ¼” holes through
the purlins and bolt the panels to the purlins with 1 ½” carriage bolts.

Roofing

You’ll start by adding a strip of weatherstipping to the top edge of each endwall. This
weatherstripping is mostly used as a backing for caulking later on, so any that is at least ⅜”
thick by ½” wide will work fine.
Stick a strip of foam weatherstripping along the top edge of both endwalls to help seal the
seam with the roof panels. Start at the edge of the top purlin…
...and extend to the top of the side panels. Repeat on both sides of both endwalls
Center the ridge panel.. the one with a row of holes down both edges.. on the top 3 purlins.
Bend the edges down and they should be flush with bottom edges of the purlins. Once it’s
center on both ends,clamp it to the two outside purlins. Using the hole in the ridge as a guide,
drill through the center purlin and fasten with a 1 ½” carriage bolt.
Apply a continuous bead of caulk to the panels at the overlap.
Screw the roof panels to each other and to the purlins using gasketed roofing screws. Start in
the middle of the panels and work toward the edges to avoid any puckers or bulges.
Don’t put screws in the larger holes at either end of the panels. They are for bolts, just like the
one in the center of the ridge panel
Continue adding panels as you work down the sides, remembering to caulk the overlap each
time.
Repeat the fastening steps until all panels are secure. The final panel on each side will be
screwed to the top of the outside wall after applying caulk along the top of the plywood.
When all the panels have been securely fastened, use the larger holes near the edges of the
roof as markers to drill 1/4” holes through the purlins and bolt these connections with 1.5”
carriage bolts.

Door and trim


Lay the door on a flat surface. Spread a thin coat of wood glue on the “Bad” side of the two
stiffener panels and bolt them to the door using the holes around the window opening. DO
NOT TIGHTEN those bolts with a wrench...a window will be bolted there so finger tight is
plenty

The edges of the stiffeners should join, but if there’s a little gap push the panels together and
then fasten through the pilot holes using Lath screws.
Clean up any glue that’s squeezed out and set aside to let the glue set.
The next step is to install the front wall trim. Remove any tabs using a knife or a router with a
trimmer bit

Bolt the top trim piece to the endwall with 1 ½” carriage bolts inserted from the outside.
Using 2” carriage bolts, attach the side trim to either side of the door opening. The outside
trim pieces have a wavy top end that matches the same waves in the top trim
The inside trim stiffener piece has a rounded end which goes at the top. Loosely put a washer
and nut on the first bolt, finger tighten to allow for alignment, and insert the rest of the bolts.
When they’re all in, tighten everything up
Place some shim material on the floor in the door opening, to raise the door enough when
installing it so it won’t drag on the floor. Two layers of scrap from cutting the coroplast ceiling
works just right.
(You’ll probably need some help with this step)

Put the door in place in the door opening, with the bottom of the stiffener resting on the shim
material so it’s lifted up a bit.
Center the door in the opening, shimming on the sides with pieces of scrap if necessary to help
keep it centered. Fasten the hinges to the trim pieces and the door with the supplied screws.
This is where a VIX centering bit comes in really handy, but if you’re careful you can drill the
pilot holes with a small drill bit.
Repeat with the second hinge toward the bottom. If you decide to use 3 hinges, space them
fairly evenly. Add latches and other hardware as needed.

Finishing up
To make it easier to install the endwalls, the slots at either end of the sleepers are double the
width of the slots for the ribs, and U-shaped clips are included to fill that gap.
Drop one of the clips into each of these slots to fill this extra space.

Go around the Shelter and look for any bolts with exposed threads that someone might get
hurt on, especially a child. In particular check the outside bolts in the ends of the putlins, and
the bolts on the inside that attached the zippers, trim, and windows.
We like to use plastic thread protectors on those exposed bolts, but if you can’t find them you
can put a couple of extra nuts on the exposed threads of used “acorn” nuts to cap off the ends
Now’s the time to caulk everything and to prime any exposed edges of the plywood parts. The
plywood tabs are intentionally left a little short to leave room for putty, to fill in the empty
space. Also caulk along the seam where the roof panels meets the endwalls and prime the
edges of the door trim parts and the zipper that joins the back wall parts
We recommend using the gap-filling paint that’s used for painting wooden decks. It’s available
in a smooth finish and various textures...the choice is up to you.

If you want Sheldon to look extra sharp you can finish the door, inside and out, with clear
varnish or polyurethane. Apply a couple of coats, lightly sanding between coats to make the
finish bond better.
If you want to close up the Shelter quickly you can install the windows before painting, but we
recommend waiting until after you’ve painted to help assure that the plywood is well sealed. If
you paint before installing them, wait until all the finishes have had time to dry and then install
the windows with carriage bolts. Run a bead of flexible caulk along the plywood window
openings between the bolt holes and the edge of the opening, and then install the windows.

Plastics in general change in size quite a bit more with temperature and humidity changes that
plywood does, so you don’t want to tighten the bolts too much to allow a little room for
expansion and contraction.

The two side windows can be attached with 1 ½” bols, but the one in the door has to bolt
through 2 layers of plywood so needs bolts that are a little longer. Be sure to cover the ends of
those bolts with thread protectors.

If you want to be able to remove them quickly use wingnuts instead of hex nuts on the inside,
with a band of foam weatherstripping around the edge of the window where it contacts the
endwall to keep the inside dry. To keep bugs out when the windows are removed, a piece of
screen can be stapled over the opening.

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