Shelter 2.0 _Sheldon_ and_Lofty_Sheldon_assembly

Build the Original Sheldon or a Lofty Sheldon, the 8x8 Shelter 2.0 designs

NOTE: The Lofty Sheldon is very similar to the smaller, “unLofty” Sheldon, with a very few modifications. You can follow along with the Sheldon instructions which are in RED, but these are the main changes:

NOTE: The online version of these instructions can be found at:

Shelter 2.0 _Sheldon_ and_Lofty_Sheldon_assembly_instructions

There are several more of the 3" wide splice plates that work the same as the splices at the top of the inside panels that attach the ceiling panels. They are used to link the bottom inside and outside panels with the 2' extensions that make it "Lofty". The cnc-cut parts have marks to show the center of the splice, with half above and half below the top edge of the inside and outside main panels. Screw them to the lower panels and then put the upper extension panels in place and fasten that to the splice plate. There are pilot holes to mark where to put the screws, and a couple of clamps might help?
There are several "zippers" and splices that join the solid back wall parts. One runs horizontally and connects the half-moon top to the two bottom panels. The shorter zipper goes on the inside and stops where the loft will go, and the taller one goes on the outside. Through bolt everything with carriage bolts but you might just use enough at the start to keep it from falling apart and wait until it's all partly assembled and confirmed before finishing up bolting!
Two of the coroplast ceiling panels will get a slot where the loft support beam goes. These two panels are the lower ones that join the top of the inside plywood wall, and both slots are near the bottom edge and closest to the back endwall end of the ceiling.
We use a sticky tape called Zipwall tape to seal the outside seams and cover the spots where the tabs poke through panels. We suggest running continuous strips where the outside wall panel and extension meet, and cutting small patches to cover and tabs that are exposed where they come through slots.
The Sheldon has instructions for building and Installing a door, but the Lofty Sheldon has enough height to use a prehung commercial door. 2x material is added to frame the opening.
The Lofty version doesn’t have any window opening by default, because there are so many options. Feel free to add any you want…either openable or fixed…or leave it at none if you prefer.
The photo images in this doc are of the original Sheldon so some things will look a bit different in your Lofty version. The most important Lofty changes are shown with images from a Sketchup model, but we’ve left out all the fasteners in those images to make the model simpler. The fasteners are very similar between the original Sheldon and the Lofty version.

Getting started:

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 for the Original Sheldon can be found in bit.ly/Sheldon_Materials

The materials for Lofty Sheldon are at bit.ly/Lofty_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.

Start building with the stringers:

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.

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.

Assemble the Ribs and interior side walls:

LOFTY NOTE: The process for assembling the ribs for a Lofty Sheldon is exactly the same as the original Sheldon. The upright pieces are just a little taller than the original Sheldon so might require a taller ladder to assemble the ribs.

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.

Add the Lofty Wall Extensions:

Your Lofty Sheldon will look a little different than this. The ribs are 2’ taller to let you add an extra 2’ of inside and outside wall panel…that’s what makes it “Lofty”!

There are splice panels that hold the 2’ wall extensions to these wall panels. They fit between the ribs and are fastened using screws through the lower wall sections and into the splices…the screw hole locations are marked along the top edge of the panels.

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, but can be hard on your hands if you are not careful.

Once these splices are in place, the shorter wall extensions are added using the same process as the first sections.

Add the floor:

LOFTY NOTE: There are a few modifications to the front and back edges of the floor panels, because of the difference in doors. Don’t worry if the pictures of the front and back edges of the floor don’t look exactly the same as your floor panels…the assembly process is the same.

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. Tap them in place securely…if one falls out during the next steps it is a pain to replace it!

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 need to “oouch” 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

Add the Purlins:

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

½” plywood blocking pieces should now be added to help connect the side panels to the ceiling panels. They fasten to the top of both the outside and 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. The same blocking is also added to the top of the upper inside panels to help connect the inner ceiling panels to the inside walls.

LOFTY NOTE: These are the same blocking pieces that you used to add the Lofty side panel extensions, and use the same attachment system

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

Install the ceiling panels:

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.

LOFTY NOTE: For the Lofty Sheldon, two of the ceiling panels have slots cut in them for the support beam for the loft. These ceiling panels are the 2 lower panels and the slots should be on the end closest to the back endwall. The center ceiling panels DO NOT have these slots in them, nor do the ceiling panels for the original Sheldon.

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 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. They are easily stripped out, so 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.

Installing 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 bottom 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.

When the endwalls are in place, slide the loft upport piece through the slots in the ceiling panels, and bolt it through the matching holes in the last set of ribs

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:

LOFTY NOTE: The outside wall panels have 2’ extension panels like the inside wall panels, and use the same system of blocking to attach them. If you need a refresher you can revisit the Inside wall instructions.

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.

Install Lofty support beam and shelf (Lofty only!):

Now is the time to install the support beam and shelf for the Lofty version, before the roofing is installed and access to the ribs is blocked.

Insert the support beam through the slots in the ceiling panel and align the holes in the beam ends with the holes in the back set of ribs. The holes should line up, but if needed the slots on the ceiling panels can be adjusted a little with a utility knife.

Bolt the beam to the ribs on each end and insert hatchets into their slots in the beam. Put the shelf on top of the beam, aligning the tabs in the beam into the slots in the front edge of the shelf and the tabs on the back of the shelf into the slots in the back wall. Secure the shelf in place with screws into the hatchets. The shelf can be a bit awkward and it sometimes helps to have someone help you support the back edge while installing it, to help line everything up.

Install the 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.

Lofty door framing:

LOFTY NOTE: The Lofty Sheldon uses a prehung manufactured door. The opening is cut to the rough opening for a 32” prehung door, leaving room for shims to square the door frame to the opening. We recommend an out-swing door which leaves more room on the inside and can be a little bit more secure, but the choice is yours.

To stiffen the opening and make attachment of the door more secure, frame the inside of the door opening with 2x3 or 2x4 framing lumber, fastened to the front endwall with screws through the plywood and into the framing. Make sure to read and follow the instructions for the door you are installing before you install this rough framing though…you may have to make some minor adjustments to the opening depending on the door you have selected.

Sheldon 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.

If security is a concern you could use tamper proof screws in the install, or bolts and nuts

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 or use “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.