project archives

Issue 10
The Modular Dwelling Issue
Check out the RM Photo Gallery

Gimme shelter

Build a modern bungalow in your backyard.

Mimi Zeiger and Edgar Blazona

Need a little more space? An extra room for sleepovers? Maybe a home office or an
art studio? Edgar Blazona has the 100 square feet for you.

The 32-year-old Blazona is a former graffiti artist turned furniture designer whose modular dwellings have been installed in art museums, at health spas, and by anyone
willing to pony up the $15,000 they cost to build. His design calls for standard Home Depot stuff like concrete, corrugated metal, and fiberboard, but the results are breathtaking and sleek-thoroughly modern dwellings that, once seen, immediately dissolve the default visions of Armstrong trailers and double-wide highway homes associated with the phrase modular living.

So, snared as we were by the Le Corbusier charm of his casitas, but crimped by the price tag, we asked Blazona to put together something a little different: a cozy, code-safe, zoning-friendly 10’ x 10’ version for elbow-greasers on a tight budget.

Nothing could prepare us for the shock and awe we felt when he showed us what he’d created. Blazona’s ReadyMade shed is constructed from Plexiglas, steel, and prefinished
plywood-and it costs just $1,500. Be warned: The instructions herein are spare, intended for Craftsman-level builders who frame walls in their sleep. Others may consider dialing up a skilled contractor to raise the roof. (Confident DIYers who want to go it alone can purchase a full set of blueprints and a more detailed how-to at www.readymademag.com/store.)

$1500

ingredients

  • 3” square-drive deck screws
  • 1 1/2” Phillips self-countersinking wood screws (exterior grade)
  • Sheet-metal screws for wood with rubber washers
  • 5 tubes of clear silicone caulking
  • 1 gallon Man O’ War exterior marine varnish
  • 1 quart Rust-Oleum aluminum paint
  • Mixing bucket for paint
  • Paint sticks for mixing
  • 2 rolls of roofing asphalt
  • 3 pounds of 3/4” roofing nails
  • 2 tubes of Henry’s Asphalt Roof Coating
  • 5 10’ lengths of 1” x 1” drip-edge metal flashing
  • 6 8’ lengths of 5/8” “J” flashing
  • Corrugated foam material
  • 1/2” particleboard or Sheetrock (optional)
  • Wall insulation (optional)
  • 1 36” x 80” door (we used birch)
  • 2 satin nickel-plated door hinges
  • Locking doorknob
  • 9 concrete piers

tools

  • Circular (skill) saw
  • Chop saw
  • Table saw
  • Electric drill
  • Orbital sander with 120-grit sandpaper
  • 4 sawhorses
  • 16’ tape measure
  • Carpenter’s square
  • Carpenter’s pencil
  • Carpenter’s knife
  • Chisel
  • Hammer
  • Abrasive metal-cutting blade for circular saw
  • Tin snips
  • Caulk gun
  • String line
  • String line level
  • Shims
  • 5 sheets of 220-grit sandpaper
  • 5 smooth-wall foam paint rollers
  • Paint thinner
  • Blue masking tape
  • Cloth rags
  • Safety goggles
  • Earplugs
  • Work gloves

MAKE IT

FRAMING

Floor frame (all wood is 2” x 4”)

2 120” lengths
9 117” lengths
2 101/2” lengths
6 141/4” lengths

(Diagram A) Set out four sawhorses in a 10’ square on a level surface. Use the 3” square-drive deck screws to assemble the two 120” pieces with two 117” pieces to make a 10’ square. Use screws on exposed areas to help prevent rusting. Assemble the rest of the floor joist using the deck screws. Screw in the outside pieces of 141/4” blocking from the outside in. This blocking will be used to screw down the plywood floor later. Check the remaining blocking dimensions for exact size (about 101/2”, depending on wood thickness). Cut the blocking to the correct size and install.

Front frame (all wood is 2” x 4”)

2 108” lengths
3 110” lengths
1 803/8” length
1 231/8” lengths

(Diagram B) Use the deck screws to assemble the outside rectangle with two 110” and the two 108” pieces. Assemble the inside portion starting with the remaining 110” horizontal piece. (Use the 803/8” piece as a guide to determine where to screw in the 110” horizontal piece.) Now screw in the 803/8” piece in the correct location to create your door opening, which must be perfectly square to install the door. Screw in the remaining 231/8” piece.

Back frame (all wood is 2” x 4”)

2 96” lengths
3 110” lengths
4 803/8” lengths
2 111/8” lengths

(Diagram C) Assemble the outside rectangle using two 110” and 96” pieces. Lumber markings should face in. Screw in the remaining 110” horizontal piece using an 803/8” piece as a guide. This will determine where the horizontal board will go. Next screw in the 803/8 pieces. (Cut two scrap pieces of wood at 207/8” to use as a guide between the studs.) Work from the outside in, rotating from side to side. The center dimension will be slightly different. Screw in the two 111/8” pieces in the center of the opening.

Side frames (all wood is 2” x 4”)

2 1133/16” lengths
2 96” lengths
2 108” lengths
4 113” lengths
6 803/8” lengths
2 183/4” lengths

(Diagram D) The directions for assembling the right and left sides are the same. Screw the 96” and the 108” pieces to the 113” piece to make a “U” shape. Attach the remaining 113” horizontal piece using the 803/8” lengths as guides to determine the exact positioning. Screw in the 803/8” pieces starting at the back (Photo 1). (Cut two scrap pieces of wood at 221/2” to use as guides between the studs.) Measure and cut the angled horizontal piece (1133/16”). Now screw it in. Cut the 183/4” piece with one 84° angle cut. Fit into place and screw together from the top on the side that will not have Plexiglas so the screws won’t show through the glass.

Roof frame (if using 1/2” wall paneling or Sheetrock, use these dimensions)

2 731/2” lengths
4 112” lengths (if not covering walls with paneling, use 4 113” lengths instead)
6 221/2” lengths

(Diagram E) Screw the two 731/2” pieces to the outside 112” pieces to create a rectangle. Screw in the two remaining 112” pieces using the 221/2” pieces as spacers, then screw in the 6 221/2” pieces.