1. We're the homeowners (well, two of us are, plus a friend willing to work for food). We are not and never claimed to be professionals.
2. Other than excavating, concrete, and hooking the power meter up to the grid, we hired nothing else out.
3. Yes, a Y at the end of the 2x4 would have helped a lot. A great suggestion.
4. No, this isn't necessarily the BEST way to do it. No one claimed it was. This is simply how we did it.
5. Sure, you can hate on how we did it. Even from your comfy chair. But... we did it.
6. Pictures of the completed building can be found here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiGVinX2ZUER8h5Jh...
7. It's survived every Michigan winter since 201617 without a concern.
8. Should have used LVL instead of those 20' 6x6's that almost killed me picking up.
9. We LOVE it and are quite proud of our hard work.