RANT.

That’s right folks. We’ve reached the point in the shedshop transformation process where I’m starting to lose it. The bottom line is that everything is fine, but WHY can’t a SINGLE step of this process happen without some sort of GLITCH?? Whether it’s unexpected problems (re rot), finances, timing, or just a plain old miscommunication, I just feel like there hasn’t been one step of this project that has just happened without any issues.

The box on the shed leading underground! (the wire is buried 24” down)

So it turns out that the world of insulation is a STUPIDLY complicated one. Not only do you have the question of how much insulation you need, but there’s what kind of insulation you need (spray foam, fiberglass, foam board, etc.), where you need to put it (believe it or not, there are apparently places where you’re not supposed to put any insulation…like, what?), what R-value you need (i.e. how well it resists temperature conduction - the higher the R-value, the more resistant it is), whether or not you need a vapor barrier, what kind of vapor barrier you need….it goes on…and on and on and on….

After MUCH hemming and hawing (and money-spending and crying), I finally decided on a spray foam insulation kit for the walls of the shed, 24” R-15 Rockwool insulation for the ceiling, and foam board insulation for the door (maybe more Rockwool if I have leftovers).

To be 100% honest with you, I cannot 100% explain why I chose what I chose, because understanding it is not the same as getting someone else to understand it. But here’s what I can explain: I didn’t need as high R-values as I originally thought I did, because of the size and purpose of the shed; I thought I couldn’t install the spray foam insulation if it was too cold, but I was wrong; I can’t use spray foam insulation on the ceiling, and I already have some foam board insulation lying around that was here when we moved in.

The latest big news, which some of you may have seen on my Instagram story last week, was that I had electric run to the shed from the house. The electric is only roughed in right now. There still aren’t any actual outlets or light fixtures because there was a miscommunication between the electrician and myself about what I wanted done when (an easily resolvable issue, but do you see? Just every little thing…). Oh also I dug a big trench with a big trencher, all by myself. I’m a tough gal.

Right now, we’re waiting to have someone come out any inspect the electric job thus far, and then the electrician can put in the fixtures, and I can insulate, which brings me to my current complaint…

Artsy trench photo with the warning tape (it has to be buried 6” down, so if someone digs there in the future, it stops them from going too deep and hitting the wire.

If you DO require a deeper explanation of why I chose what I chose, you can ask my dear husband Chris. He has been a WONDERFUL teammate these last couple of weeks; while I was busy tearing my hair out, he spent I don’t know how long digging into old message boards on what I have to assume was the DIY Builder’s Dark Web and found out basically all of the things I needed to know. He then distilled his findings into easily understandable information for me to use to make my decisions. So, HUGE shoutout to that guy.

Deep in thought…considering the data…

Also huge shoutout to Oscar for being cute.