Doug Galloway
5 year old buck +
Since we are building a new blind, thought about sharing a few pictures and some discussion.
Blinds are built at home them transported to the farm due to distance and time constraints. I will just cover a few details in this thread to help folks. I will not the entire construction process. The golden rules of framing are to 'start square and end square'.....'measure twice cut once and refit as needed'....and 'think ahead'.
Building floor joists and floor decking is the first step. The 4x5' frame is cut from treated 2x6" lumber....this is old 16' lumber traded for doing a barn cleanout.
Note, the true outer floor frame dimension is 48" x 59 1/8" to account for wall sheathing thickness (think ahead).
The outer frame is cut to spec with a miter saw, glued with Liquid Nails Subfloor glue and fastened with 3 stainless steel deck screws (3"x#10). Treated lumber is corrosive to non-galvanized or non-stainless metal.
To keep the floor frame square until floor completion place it on a wood floor trailer our a deck. Measure corner to corner diagonally on each side and note the difference between the two measurements. Half of this difference is how much you need to move the longest diagonal corner to make the frame perfectly square. Say, the corner to corner diagonal measurements differ by 1", then the longest corner needs to be pushed in 0.5" for the frame to be perfectly square. Place a screw at an angle through floor just off the corner with the longest measurement. Put tape on that corner and go diagonally to the other corner, push on the corner with your boot toe until you reach the correct measurement on tape. Angle another screw as in picture below to hold the frame 'square'.....add several more screws like this around the perimeter to keep the frame totally secure. DO NOT angle screws on the inside of frame or you won't be able to move the floor after decking in installed (think ahead).
Both diagonal corner measurements are 76" +/- 1/16". The frame is perfectly square. Inner joists and joist braces were cut to fit snug, then glued and screwed as discussed. The joists for this blind are on 14 3/8" centers. This is the minimum dimension to use that drill and the 3" screws to affix joist braces which are 12 7/8" long. The rough cut 4x5' subfloor decking (19/32" thick or so...OSB like material but with much higher glue content) fit perfectly to the frame on three sides....it was glued and screwed with 2.5x#10 stainless screws. We used a chalk line and skill saw trim the last end to 59 1/8" and match the outer frame. At this point, the angled screws holding floor to trailer can be removed. A couple people can move the floor to level concrete or where for wall prefab.
Blinds are built at home them transported to the farm due to distance and time constraints. I will just cover a few details in this thread to help folks. I will not the entire construction process. The golden rules of framing are to 'start square and end square'.....'measure twice cut once and refit as needed'....and 'think ahead'.
Building floor joists and floor decking is the first step. The 4x5' frame is cut from treated 2x6" lumber....this is old 16' lumber traded for doing a barn cleanout.
Note, the true outer floor frame dimension is 48" x 59 1/8" to account for wall sheathing thickness (think ahead).
The outer frame is cut to spec with a miter saw, glued with Liquid Nails Subfloor glue and fastened with 3 stainless steel deck screws (3"x#10). Treated lumber is corrosive to non-galvanized or non-stainless metal.
To keep the floor frame square until floor completion place it on a wood floor trailer our a deck. Measure corner to corner diagonally on each side and note the difference between the two measurements. Half of this difference is how much you need to move the longest diagonal corner to make the frame perfectly square. Say, the corner to corner diagonal measurements differ by 1", then the longest corner needs to be pushed in 0.5" for the frame to be perfectly square. Place a screw at an angle through floor just off the corner with the longest measurement. Put tape on that corner and go diagonally to the other corner, push on the corner with your boot toe until you reach the correct measurement on tape. Angle another screw as in picture below to hold the frame 'square'.....add several more screws like this around the perimeter to keep the frame totally secure. DO NOT angle screws on the inside of frame or you won't be able to move the floor after decking in installed (think ahead).
Both diagonal corner measurements are 76" +/- 1/16". The frame is perfectly square. Inner joists and joist braces were cut to fit snug, then glued and screwed as discussed. The joists for this blind are on 14 3/8" centers. This is the minimum dimension to use that drill and the 3" screws to affix joist braces which are 12 7/8" long. The rough cut 4x5' subfloor decking (19/32" thick or so...OSB like material but with much higher glue content) fit perfectly to the frame on three sides....it was glued and screwed with 2.5x#10 stainless screws. We used a chalk line and skill saw trim the last end to 59 1/8" and match the outer frame. At this point, the angled screws holding floor to trailer can be removed. A couple people can move the floor to level concrete or where for wall prefab.
