Alaska Cabin Progress

[mtngun]

Almost half our 8' lumber is less than 8' and the rest are way over, none of the ends are square so we have to double 7 triple cut everything. And our "true" 2x12's are all less than advertised and all vary 1/4 - 3/8" -- should be real fun trying to laminate a beam with those! 

Is this store-bought lumber ?

Sorry to hear about your setbacks, but I do appreciate you sharing your adventure.

What kind of internet access do you have ?

[PlicketyCat]

It's rough lumber from the professional yard in the city because they mill their own, it's local wood and locally owned, and they do have great customer service (not so great delivery drivers or mill operators, apparently!). I'd've spent a fortune getting finished storebought lumber from a box store and having it delivered out here --yikes 

We're using HugesNet satellite for internet. Got the dish mounted to our tent platform .  This far north the satellite alignment is almost straight out on the horizon, so we had to cut a few trees down. It doesnt' suck up a lot of juice out of the battery bank, though. Once we got un-used to lightning-fast FiOS, we can appreciate how much faster satellite is from the dial-up speeds folks get in the village (we can't get dial-up since there aren't any phones out here -- thank goodness!).

Day Eleven:  We have our first sill beam built-up. T'was an adventure dealing with cups, warps and bows and still keeping the beam straight but we did manage to get it all flush to the top and straight. The bottom is a whole other story since none of the lumber is the same width... we'll have to let in a few places here and there to get the leveling jacks to seat flat across the 3 laminations and just deal with some of the gaps caused by cupping. 

We discovered a not-so minor faux-pas in the placement of our piers... the two on the ends were just a wee bit too far out because we forgot to account for the offset. ARG hate hate hate surveying, stupid crap like that always happens... mostly, I think, because me & DH have extremely different work styles and they conflict badly when it comes to the detail stuff.  Anyway, we got out our diggy-bar and levered the end piers in so the beam rests properly on the jacks and the load is carried straight down the center of the posts and jacks through the center of the piers.

Of course moving a 24-foot 6x12 beam with two people and no power equipment is true excitement. DH got frustrated (with me), Mongo-ed it, and cracked his shin really badly when it flipped and slid on him.  He is not happy that I'm trying to keep everything within an inch tolerance... but, hey, if I could lift the darned thing myself, I would ;)  Heck, I don't even weigh enough to push the darn thing, much less lift it by myself... but I can lift my end 

So, tomorrow we can set the jacks and the get the beam up there permanently. It shouldn't be as difficult to make the second sill beam since we got it worked out now. We'll have to move the other outer piers once we get squared up with the joists again, but it'll happen.  Now we just have to figure out how we're going to get the two header beams (same size) up 10' in the air onto the wall posts without power equipment and no stout trees.  Thinking we'll need to build it on the ground and then use leaning skids and the truck winch to slide them up onto the posts... stayed tuned for that adventure, I'm sure one of us will get a noteworthy injury  :

[Rooster]

PC,

I have a thought... could you build up some cribbing to build your second sill on...positioning it next to the piers and tall enough that once it is fully laminated on it's side, you could then "roll" it over onto the jacks?  Eh?

Good luck,

Rooster

[PlicketyCat]

It's actually pretty easy to just build the sill beam on the pier using spare lumber as a temporary platform across them. We can slide the beam out and flip it up and over, and remove the other boards at the end just lifting it up an inch or two. It's also a good height for hammering in those fat spikes, too. 

We didn't really need to move the beam onto the ground to make the adjustments to the piers, we could have just tilted it up and braced it out of the way with an anchored dead-man and lowered it to check fit pretty easily... but DH didn't agree. I think I'm more used to doing construction projects solo, so I'm always looking for ways not to move heavy things very far, especially not unsupported, if I don't absolutely have to. I don't care if I have to take more time to do 8 extra little steps to accomplish a task properly and safely... whereas he gets frustrated and just wants to get it done and over with.  Conflict of work styles fer sure!

The scary things are going to be the header beams. Don't know if I trust building the headers up on the posts the same way we're building the sills on the piers, we'd have to be up on ladders or scaffolds with lots of bracing on the posts to do that even half-way safely. You might break something if a beam falls on you from 2' -- but a 10' drop with the beam landing on top would probably kill one of us... and you know I'm not the most coordinated person in the universe ;)

I once saw an old timer lift his beams up the side of the house on angled skids with a gin pole and a horse team hitched over the span and pulling from the other side. I think using the truck and winch (since DH is allergic to horses ) like that would probably work best for our header beams. At least we'd be clear if the beam falls or the cable snaps, and the truck should be heavy enough to keep the beam from falling if it should slide off the posts a little while we're setting it. Might get a hand or leg trapped if something goes wrong, but at least I won't go squish!

[Hilltop366]

It must feel great to get started !

I must comment (though I probably shouldn't) about the irony of wating so long to get rid of the water only to haul water to mix concrete. (that's all I'll say about that)

About your 2nd floor beams if I understand your dilemma right, the great thing about "lam" beams is you don't have to lift them all at once, so I try to take advantage of that. Toe nail the bottom of the post then brace your post where they belong getting them plum in both directions ( this only requires two braces per post one 3 1/2" nail in each end). For the center post you can nail a piece of 2x to the floor making sure to hit 2 joist to have some thing to nail the brace to. Then for added safety run a piece of wood up the post extending out past the top of the post) on the outside to keep the lumber from sliding off the post (you can put one on the inside as well) . Then your ready to build your beam in place, a few toe nails will keep it secure when you remove the extra pieces of wood to add your strap if you are using them, because of the different width lumber you can either start with the wide one first and shim the rest to match, or start with the narrow one and notch. In my opinion this would be a safer way to build.

[PlicketyCat]

I'm really more concerned about working for long periods up high, especially on a joint project where one person could "accidentally" do something that knocks the other person off their ladder/scaffold.  If I were working alone, I'd be happy with either approach (build in place or skidding the beam up) and think I could do it safely either way. Working together?! Ummm... not so much  : 

If we clash and wound each other on the ground, I shudder to think what havoc could occur 10' in the air.    I have figured out how to keep him safely off the roof while I'm doing the sheathing and shingles... I'm not strong or heavy enough to anchor his belay line on the safety harness, so he has to stay on the ground and anchor me instead.  I'm a horrible klutz with atrocious balance, so him getting frustrated and yanking/jamming stuff around is a total recipe for disaster. I can work safely despite being uncoordinated because I'm slow and steady, and have adjusted my working style to compensate... sometimes DH completely forgets that I'm not as nimble or graceful as a feline (or even that I'm on the other end or directly in the path of whatever we're working on!!).

[beenthere]

I hope you are not giving us a pre-cursor of what is about to happen.  

If not hilltop's approach then.....
Cutting some tree tops up so you have several 4' lengths, that you can build a couple of cribbed columns (two at about 16' and between the posts) to raise the beam up a little - one end at a time, slowly and surely. Almost could do it that way alone. But two can do it without concern for having a beam wipe you out.
Raising those beams is not something to do on ladders, no matter how athletic or clumesy you or DH are.
Laid up and spending another winter in the tent are not going to be much fun, even for the most adventurous.

[PlicketyCat]

Too true -- we're cramped enough in the tent as it is -- neither one of us could hobble around well enough on crutches and definitely no room for a wheelchair!!

We're going to run into a real dilemma here soon since we need to start stocking up for winter... which one of us stays home and continues building and which one makes the multi-day restocking trips into the city?  I'm the better combat-shopper, but I'm also the cabin "architect" and detail person.  Chances are good that either scenario will result in things being forgotten or needing to be done over... unless we both go into the city, which means we lose a few building days and have to do the 4-hour road trip with the cat and the dog in a single cab pickup. JOY -- not!   The weather has certainly put a major crimp in the fluid execution of our plans this year!!

Day Twelve: No progress on account of more rain and a wounded linebacker

[jander3]

When you only have one or two individuals to deal with beams, ridges, etc. a little rigging goes a long way. In my opinion, working with heavy stuff from ladders can end poorly.  And, if you don't want to rent a crane or can't get the crane to the site, a  gin pole works well, but I've found a lifting shear is even easier to set up and operate with one person.  Plan the lift, check things twice, and proceed slow and careful.   I've found that rigging is much safer than man (or woman) handling larger logs or beams.

Here is a lifting shear used to rig the ridge pole  
http://peelinglogs.blogspot.com/2009/09/rigging-ridge-pole.html

Here is a little portable gin pole (set up with a single guy line), that one person can move around.  
http://peelinglogs.blogspot.com/2009/04/gin-pole-set-up.html

http://peelinglogs.blogspot.com/2008/10/parts-is-parts.html

[PlicketyCat]

Thanks for the links jander!  I was trying to explain the whole set up to my hubby and not doing a good job of it... your photos helped clarify things a lot. 

I've got block & tackle and the gin pole mounts set aside for me at Alaska Industrial Hardware for the next time I make the trip up.  The best I'd be able to manage getting larger equipment back here would be maybe my neighbor's tracotr with FEL. One of our neighbors does have a log boom for his skid steer that could work, but he's got it up on his mining claim until winter which is too late for us.  No way to get or rent other big equipment out here unless we get it air dropped or road freighted from the city $$$$$. Just have to do it the ingenious way with what we got available and can rig together with parts and prayers  

I am so glad that we opted for the 5 1/2-ton winch with the heavy duty cable on the truck. The winch remote sure comes in handy when you don't want to be anywhere near the cable or the load!!  Should make short work of slowly raising the beams once we get the rigging sorted.

[PlicketyCat]

Day 13:  Second sill beam is built. Yay  8)

Started raining again so we had to stop for the day.  Soggy cardboard tubes = construction adhesive explosion.

End piers 2.5" too far out N-S, entire wall 6" too far out E-W.  Always make sure you remember whether you're supposed to be aligned in the center or to the edge of our lines!!   :-[    No worries, we can scooch them all over with our trusty diggy-bar so we're back at 16' to the outer edge of the beams.  :  We'll fix that right up tomorrow if we're not experiencing rain of Bibical proportions.

No brake lines today either. No-fly advisory of some sort has grounded our mail plane... maybe Tuesday  :-\. Ah, the joys of country living!

[Bill Gaiche]

PlicketyCat, I have to admire the both of you for what you are doing. This is something that few people would ever try, especially in these times when most things are done the easy way and in better conditions. Have patients and trust in each other and you will complete this project. The two of you are a team and you rely on each other to make all the ends come together. Hope you all the best. Keep us informed. bg
 
p.s. the vice grips on the brake line does work.

[PlicketyCat]

Day 14 & 15:  Drilling the concrete piers and drilling out the beam for the jack screw.  Took way longer than we'd planned since it's raining and we kept having to run under cover when it went from drizzle to downpour.  Drilling 1/2" x 8" holes in concrete for those rawl anchor bolts totally sucked -- highly recommend that anyone considering a similar foundation go with my original plan and set your bolts in the concrete when it's wet!!  Boring out a 2" x 6" hole in that beam with a spade bit and chisel sucked pretty much as well... definitely find a 1 3/4" or 2" ship's auger if you can.

We got the jacks mounted on the piers after a few issues, and then got the beam up on the jacks with a lot of issues. Most of the issue was our own fault for attaching the top plate onto the beam and then trying to get that to line up and thread onto the screw... bad plan since the beam is really heavy and kept wanting to tip over which made threading the screw a total nightmare. We'll rest the 2nd on the assembled jacks and then attach the plates from underneath... much better plan!

Voila - me and the beam

[Roxie]

The picture made me smile.     Feels real good getting something like that accomphlised.  I'm lovin this thread. 

[Thehardway]

I have found rollers to be extremely handy for handling large and heavy objects with minimal effort.  They need to be nothing more than a short piece of pipe or dowel.  This was my primary method of moving all of may large timbers by myself or with the aid of one person.  Another handy item is a small hydraulic floor jack or some farm jacks. the floor jack can make very small adjustments in height a simple affair.

[PlicketyCat]

I try to add some of our bloopers in for entertainment value... nothing is more satisfying than laughing along with someone else's mistakes, and it makes the eventually success all the more sweet  ;D

We have a couple of varying size pipes to help with rolling and levering, as well as our trusty diggy-bar.  We also have a couple bottle jacks and two hi-lifts... big problem with those is that the ground is not always solid enough for point-loads like that.  We squished the hi-lift about 8" into the mossy tundra in one place and it didn't move the beam at all... ended up needing to stack a few boards underneath to keep it from sinking (it cracked the first two!!). Luckily the 4 beams are the heaviest inividual units on the house, the rest of the framing and finishing should be less taxing (from a weight perspective at least). The sill beams are probably the hardest since they have to be lifted up and placed on the jacks on the piers and that's wobbly... once we get the sills on and the joists in, all the rest of the building will have a nice stable platform to work with and we won't have as much problem with things doing a disco

[ljmathias]

Remember the first rule of building a house: flat, square and plum.  I worry your footings will sink like the whatever-you-called it did without four boards under it... and if you floor ain't flat, things get real ugly the higher you go in the building.  Something I learned first-hand, the hard way: lot easier to make it right on the bottom than to "adjust" everything going up.

Remember the second rule of building a house: it can break a marriage.  Keep your minds stable and focused: hard to do when your working hard and fast, making mistakes, fixing them, going back and doing it over cause you forgot something.  The frustration factor in house building is absolutely huge- but then so is the payoff when you're done, or even almost done.

And the last rule (learned again first-hand): don't move in till it's all finished.  You may not be able to follow this one, but it's so easy to get used to stuff that ain't right or ain't finished... ok in a mate, not so much in a house.

Keep up the fantastic work!  I would guess there's a dozen or so forum members planning to come visit as soon as you're done.  Shoot a moose or two and get the BBQ pit done quick- food and wood go together like... well, something neat.

Lj

[PlicketyCat]

The piers sinking was a problem we were worried about, and the only solutions given the permafrost issue was to pour a wide base plate on top of a thick gravel pad, and add in those leveling jacks at the top of the piers.  Any heave and sink should be correctable by tweaking the 30,000# timber jacks... as long as we keep the permafrost from melting!!

Square, plumb and level from the foundation, for sure. One of the reasons we had our own private quake with the tent platform was that one of us felt we could adjust for unlevel piers by plumbing and squaring the other bits as we went... and the one who felt we should start square and level from the get-go didn't argue strongly enough. Problem was that stuff didn't line up, proper attachments of sheet goods couldn't happen, and it left everything just a little weaker than it should have been. Not pointing fingers, just sayin' :D  (see rule #2 hahaha)  Since the cabin will actually have walls and doors and a roof instead of a nice flexible fabric tent on it, we're not playing fast and loose with this building project!  There's still a small amount of fudge-factor where we agree to "cover that with trim" or "hit it with the sander later" -- but not where it's structurally important and not outside of reasonable tolerances.

On rule #2 -- I suspect once we finally get it done we'll both be too exhausted to leave, or to pick up the shotgun and shovel for an Alaskan divorce for that matter   But seriously, it's hard sometimes; but we're doing better at communicating and working together. Patience and a lot of tongue-biting is the key!

Rule #3 will likely be broken unless we spend another year in the tent.  Luckily, this isn't a fancy-finished cabin, so any of those little "undone" things will just add to the rustic charm. Besides I'm way too OCD to leave something all messed up for long, especially if it's a practical problem/inconvenience... and the cabin isn't big enough for stuff not to be a practical problem or inconvenient. I'm one of those psycho folks that will wake up in the middle of the night because those nail holes in the baseboards absolutely must be filled with putty right now  :-[

Ya'll are more than welcome to come celebrate... take your pick of season: freezing, bear or skeeter ;)

[Gary_C]

Ya'll are more than welcome to come celebrate...

I wasn't think of coming to celebrate but sure wished I could come to help you get this cabin done. But the best I can do is to say that I am watching and rooting for you to get this thing closed in and insulated soon. Looks like you are making good progress now and once you get the foundation and the base in it should go faster.

So for now, moral support is the best I can offer and maybe someday....

[PlicketyCat]

hey, there's never a lack of projects to be done around a remote homestead. Anyone ever gets the hankering and opportunity to come up to AK and help out... I'm sure we can rustle up something for ya' to do ;)  I'll even share some of my (in)famous "mystery stew"  :D

[PlicketyCat]

Day 21: We now have two beams and two joists; it's plumb, square and level (well, good enough for the bush anyway!) and stable/sturdy.



It absolutely poured for 3 days straight, and it took a whole sunny day to dry out enough to be safe; but we finally got the foundation 'finished'.  YAY  8)

Now we just need to fix the truck. We have the parts, they forgot to send us the flare tool -- arg. One of our neighbors is bound to have the one we need, so we'll be able to fix her without waiting for the retailer to ship it to us. With the truck fixed, it'll be a gajillion times easier to haul the remaining building materials to the site and we can (hopefully) pick up the pace a bit.

And, in homage to Jon's travel video from Stump Ranch, I've filmed our ride, too.  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/v/LzLYhlNowDc?hl=en&fs=1

[Bill Gaiche]

What a place you live. How did you wind up at this location? Everyday has to be a new adventure! bg

[PlicketyCat]

Hubby and I were looking to drop out of the corporate rate race and get a little closer to the Earth. At first we were looking at New England and the Upper Midwest, since we both love cold winters (yes, we know we're crazy). Well with politics, property prices and property taxes, things weren't looking so good for early retirement in those locations. Then one day, we're watching Discovery Channel and it's Alaska Week and my husband says "what about Alaska?"... which I was totally on board with because I'd live up here before and absolutely loved it.  Next day one of my NH/VT contacts tells me about some land that he just bought from the AK DNR. And the rest, they say, is history

This place is awesome... some days it's so quiet you can't imagine anything ever changing, and the next day things are happening so fast your head spins. Never a dull moment, only restful ones  ;D

[Bill Gaiche]

 PlicketyCat, I looked on Google Earth at the address you have and I would say that you sure are in the middle of nowhere. Seeing a neighbor is less likely as seeing a bear. Hope you continue loving your place and good luck to getting your little corner of the world set up. Continue to keep us updated on you progrees. I enjoy reading your venture. bg

[Hilltop366]

All things considered that trail is not that bad compared to the trail to our back wood shack, it is bad enough that it takes twice as long on a 4 weeler than walking, it is about a 20 min walk,  40 min on a atv,  50 min on a tractor. About 10 years ago I had a old beater 79 f150 with 33" tires and welded front axel (full posi) I made it about 1/3 of the way but then got jammed between some rocks, two years ago my friend tried with his series 111 land rover and made it about 1/2 way and got hung up that took about an hour or more, so we usually walk.

Looks like your making some cabin progress, keep at, now that you got the base in you got nowhere to go but up!