I'm thinking of starting a thread on our cabin construction. Where should I put it?
Here are the first pictures.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Grading-site3.JPG)
Cousin Rodney getting to grade
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/forming-up.JPG)
Forming it up.
Qweaver,
I would probablly put the cabin where the footings are being formed up :D :D :D
It looks like a great spot, so keep the pics a comin' 8) 8) 8)
What no building permits :D... i work on lummi island at a quarry.. I drive past some cute places/cabins. So is this a kit cabin you are building or are you going to be getting friends and family to peel the logs for you hehe.. 8)
bob
Hi Qweaver,
This will be a good thread - I will follow with interest. Tell us some more on the style etc youre building. And plenty of photos! :D
Cheers
Charlie.
Looks like a fun project Qweaver, will be fun reading and looking your nice pics :)
A bunch of smart alecs! Of course whadda expect from us? ::)
I love cabins - I always wanted to be a hermit - unduly influence by "My Side of the Mountain" when a kid. I guess I have to do "My Side of the Jungle" now. :D
I have access to some releos (thinnings) of teak that are undersized (not mine, someone who planted too close) and I can buy each for about 25 cents - I tend to use them for post.
So, I will be watching your thread really carefully!
Fred
Fred,
"My side of the Mountain" had the same effect on me! It's been so many years ago now (way too many years :D )when I saw it. I do think it had influence on my career path and my choice of dwelling places. I need to try to find that movie again, I can't remember why it had such an impact. Maybe it was the scenery like in "Jeremiah Johnson".I'm glad to hear that someone else was moved the same way.
Oh yeah...Good luck with the cabin! :)
Mark
I hear that Jeff was influenced by it too. Now, that would make an interesting thread - how many of us ended up where we are because of that book? :)
Oh, the cabin will go well - Hector and crew will build it!
Great project and even better way of getting away from everyday stresses. I helped my dad build a 16x24 lakeside cabin while in my teens. We had fun putting it up and spent a lot of quality time there. No building permits, no insulation, no power, and his idea of running water was two kids with buckets.
Here are the plans.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/alturas_06.jpg)
I scaled the plans from this picture. The bottom will be open on my cabin, with room to park cars, tractor or whatever.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front-view-1.jpg)
Front View
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/side-view-1.jpg)
Side View
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/WaterSupply-1.JPG)
This tank will supply flushing and washing water and drinking water will come from a small well that has great water but not much of it. This shed gets another extension on the left side and by the time I capture water from that side also, we should have plenty of water. This shot shows the slope better. The foundation is another 10' below where I am standing to take this shot.
These plans are in a constant state of change.
The concrete gets poured Wed. if the rain stays away. Getting the concrete trucks to the site and back out is the problem. I don't think my Kubota would pull an empty concrete back up the slope...and a wrecker big enough to pull them out would put a big hole in my budget. We need 3 rain free days in a row to make the road solid .
Quinton
Holy cow! Here I thought we were talking a small little cabin - looks like a Lodge to me!
It looks very cool!
Qweaver,
Once you get the kinks worked out in your "cabin" construction project, please let me know. I have a few acres in Illinois where I'd surely like you to build a "cabin" like that for me. "Cabin"? Yeah.....right! ;) Let us know if your property taxes end up being calculated on a "cabin" basis!
Jim
I should have added some dimensions. The cabin is only 24'x32'. That's only 768 sq ft. The decks make it look big. The decks are 6' on the back and sides and 8' on the front.
Here is a plan view w/o decks. The interior dimensions are on another layer with a lot of other info that makes it confusing to look at, so I left them off...but you get the idea of how small it is.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Floor%20plan-1.jpg)
Quinton
We built 4 cabins here in the hot tub capital of Ohio, on contract. Any way the ground was so steep and the site so wooded. That we couldn't get a concrete truck to 3 of them. We poured concrete into the bed of a Toyota truck and backed down while 3 of us sat on the hood for weight so we could steer then shoveled it down a trough then into the footings.
Dale
If you've been on the forum today, you'll notice that I've been here a lot. That's because it's been storming and raining most of the day...but if you take a look at the picture of our motorhome shed a few posts back, you just may be able to make me out hunkered behind those stacks of firewood cooking ribs. I've had a fire going all day and the corn and potatoes went in to the coals about 1/2 hour ago. The beer is cold and friends will be showing up soon. DanG the rain...Life is good!
Quinton
That is a great looking cabin! This will be a good thread. Im looking forward to it.
You call 24x32' small? Im looking at a 21x12' cabin! :o :)
Any progress this week Quinton?
Cheers
Charlie.
Finally the weather forecast looks like there may be concrete onsite tomorrow or Tue. Today was beautiful with sun and some wind. The road is already solid. We have been cutting joints all day today and getting lumber restacked in the order that we are going to use it.
I have a cut list with a drawing of each sill, post and girt but it is still mind bending to get the cuts properly oriented. The only mistakes that I have made so far were on the waste side so that I only had to re-cut to make all well. wooo!
Come on sunshine, just stay dry for four more days and then it can rain for a week and I won't care.
Here's a few pics. I'm amazed at how straight the poplar has stayed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Concrete%20Ready.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/CuttingJoints.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sills.JPG)
Looks great.
Uhh, you saw 'em and the lad in the green shirt hauls it away and brings another? :)
Over here that size cabin would house a family of six,
it sure looks like a beut of a spot, you got any pic of the local?
iain
Hallelujah, finally a break in the rain and the concrete flowed today at 4:00PM. The final troweling was done at nearly 10:00 pm. Everything goes up from here. The block gets laid tomorrow.
I am excited!
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Concrete%20down.JPG)
looks good
nice when a project starts taking shape
can't wait to hear/see more
Iain, Here is a view looking east from the MH shed which is about the same height as the finished cabin. You can just see my saw shed to the left side of the picture that sets just on this side of the West Fork River. The small section of road that is visible on the right side of the picture is on the other side of the river and the hill behind the road just goes straight up for about 600'. The slope down the hill on this side of the river is quite a bit steeper that the picture shows. In winter the sun does not break over that hill until 10:00 AM where the cabin will set.
My Father and Grandfather orginally bought 3 acres here and then several of our family got together to buy an additional 23 acres. We now have five houses and a catering hall on the property and my cabin will make six houses. My childhood home sits about 200' to the left and out of frame of this picture and down close to the river.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/The%20View.JPG)
Seven courses of block went up today and the rest will go up tomorrow. Then filling the block with steel and concrete and I'll be ready to bolt the sills in place.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Blocks-1.JPG)
Looks good,keep the pictures coming.Looks like a good spot for a home.Enjoy it every day.
Nice work on the shack errrrrr cabin errrr house errrrr mansion :D :D
How big of a water tank is that? Looks to be about 2000 gallons correct? That should last the family about 3 weeks before fills... ;D
Brad.
Its going up fast, this cabin! You dont muck around do you Quinton. You mentioned the weather - are you building this going into the dryer time of year? Or is it just unseasonably wet?
Charlie.
Not much progress on the cabin during the last few days. Our next step is to fill the cement block posts with concrete, set the anchor bolts and attach the sills. I orginally sawed the big timbers 1/4" oversize to allow for shrinkage and I've decided to re-saw the sills, posts and girts to exact sizes now that they are mainly dry. We are setting the saw up on a concrete pad so it will be a few days before we can saw again. We have over 3 yards of concrete to hand mix over the next few day, so no rest for the weary.
What a finish for the Indy 500 yesterday, eh?
Quinton
I had hoped to have pictures of the sills up on the posts by now but cousin Rodney convinced me to wait a few more days to let the concrete in the post get a little stronger.
Since my last post we have filled the posts with concrete and set the sill bolts, cleaned the slab and applied two coats of sealer, and got the sills to size and ready to go up.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/PostsDone.JPG)
Now I have to come up with a rig to lift the sills into place...here is what I'm thinking. With one of these on each pier it should be easy. I may get a couple small chain hoists instead of B&T. Suggestions?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Lifting%20Rig.jpg)
OK, I know this ain't much, but I'm excited. After spending much of the day getting together a lifing device, we finally got three sills up and then the rain started. But we'll have clear skys tomorrow and then the rest of them will go up. Yee-ha! 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1st%20Sills.JPG)
Quinton
Glad to see you are making progress.
Did your design of a lift work?
That front end loader tractor in the background won't lift those sills? Or at least give you a good assist?
Hey Beenthere,
Yeh, the lift worked great. I mounted a clutch type boat wench to a 4x4 with a turning block at the top and horzontal 2x6s top and bottom clamped to the blocks with bar clamps.
The front loader will lift 8 or 10 of those sills at a time but getting them to the blocks is a whole nuther thing. The slope is a whole lot steeper than it looks in the picture. I can place a few of them with the loader but the lift works fine and is quick to move.
Quinton
We would have had the sills done today but my LT15 decided to shed a sprocket. By the time we got it fixed we got two more sills up and it started raining.
Oh well, I don't mind setting under the shed listening to the rain on the metal, sipping a cool one and waiting for the charcoal to get hot. There's always tomorrow.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/more%20sills.JPG)
Nice work Qweaver.Really enjoying the pictures keep 'em coming!
Sandmar
Here are the latest pics. We're making progress, thanks in many way to help and advice from members of this forum.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Set-sill-1.JPG)
Our threesom
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Set%20Sill-2.JPG)
Will it fit?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sills-up.JPG)
Ah, finally
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Joists-1.JPG)
Now, just 500 more boards and we'll have a dance floor
Looks great, Qweaver! Thanks for taking the time to post the pics! 8)
Qweaver, I really like your thread. I've always wanted to live in the mountains. Having built most of my log home myself, I know the satisfaction that you must feel when you stand on that hill and see what you have accomplished each day. ;D 8) 8)
How are you attaching your subfloor banding boards to your beams and how are you joining your consecutive runs of floor joists? ???
Thanks for letting us have a glimpse into your jobsite.
Don
The latest,
All the joists are up and all but three pieces of blocking are nailed in. Can you find the missing pieces? :D My knees are a mess from crawling around putting blocking in today.
I guess we'll start on subfloor tomorrow. I'm un-decided about whether to put down temporary flooring or just go ahead and nail it in. It will certainly get wet several times before the roof is on.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Joists%20Done.JPG)
Quinton
Very nice! On our last house I used a floor sheathing called advantech if I remember right. It was supposed to hold up to being wet and really did a much better job at that than any other I'd used before.
Looks great! 8)
Today was another milestone as we got enough sub-floor nailed down to give us working room to put up the first post. That's one up, 12 to go.
The posts are 7"x7"x10'6" but they seem smaller than that in the picture.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1st%20Post-up.JPG)
Quinton
Here are the latest pics. We have fallen into a routine of sawing every morning and working on the house in the afternoons.
We call this room the electric room because we had to build it before the electric company will give us a permanent hook-up. Besides the service center it will ultimately house all of the utilities, pumps, water heater, etc.
I wish there was a way to keep the wood looking this good.
The rest of the downstairs will remain open.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Electric-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Electric%202.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Electric-3.JPG)
Great Thread Quinton.
I look forward and love your updates.
Same here! I'm really enjoying this thread. :)
Love the pictures. check out the works of ted benson. Looks like all nice no rainy days on the work of the house :D looking forward too more postings.
These pics have nothing to do with the building of the cabin but we screwed up on the under-ground electricity sweeps and have to get more conduit tomorrow, so we built this and an outhouse today.
Rain water makes for a great shower and we've just been taking them out in the open and baring all or going to cousin Cindy's and using her "city" water. Now we have our own. Next comes the black barrel hung up in the tree and heated by the sun.
Out-house pics tomorrow.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Shower-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Shower-2.JPG)
Great Pictures project is really moving along nicely!!
Qweaver......
Nice shower ;D ;D ;D
I can't wait ta see the outhouse.......
I really like this thread ;D ;D ;D
That shower head, is it an auto of a manual one?
Enquiring minds and all that
iain
This is fast becomming one of my fav. threads...
Way cool shower, kinda reminds me of our old house in arkansas...
The outhouse is still under construction. We set it aside to concentrate on getting the electricity connected. We sucked the lines thru the conduit yesterday for the power company to use to pull their wire...There were a few anxious moments there as the pig hung up a few times. It's a 300' conduit run from the pole to where the transformer will set and then 50' more to the house. I still wonder how they can put a 7500v conductor and a neutral together in a 3" conduit?
The electrical inspector came today and he was a jewel. He torqued the connectors for me, found a case bonding lug in his bag for the one that we must have lost and installed it for me. Made some good suggestions for when we start wiring and then stamped it "approved" Why can't all inspectors be this way? Go to Texas City, Texas and get an inspection...I guarantee they will stay until they find something. I'm gonna sent this guy a ham for Christmas.
So, Lord willin' and the kricks don't rise, we'll have power in a few days. We have been running off of generators and long extension cords for way to long!
Quinton
Glad to hear it, power is a big step up. He sounds like our old inspector, I like the ones that understand and help you move toward the goal. As much as anything, how we treat another is how we get treated. I suspect he felt you would do the same for him.
I bet you could sell those showers on ebay like popcorn , ship em flat ! Glad your project is moving along good . Keep up the wonderful job fire_smiley
Well, not much progress on the house due to the rain, but we did get the outhouse done. I was raised on this piece of land until I went into the army at 17 and we never had running water and only ever had an out house. Now we've come full circle and are back to using an outhouse until the house is a little further along. Don't get to feeling too sorry for us tho' ...we are living in a 30' motor home while we build the cabin that does have running water and a bathroom, but we choose to use the rainwater shower and an outhouse just because we want to...
I think Snuffy smith would be proud of this one...Do you know how hard it is to build something out of square on purpose when you get so used to making everything straight and plumb?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Outhouse-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Outhouse-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Outhouse-3.JPG)
That's one fine looking outhouse you got there.
Keep up the good work. It looks like you are making lots of progress
Gotta like having an outhouse. I bet your better half likes it even more than you.
That is one fine outhouse and it is where it belongs, outside, not inside like I have seen others put their's. ;)
Bob
I have never seen an outhouse in the house ;D
Hi All,
There are no new pictures to share, we've been busy fighting mildew and trying to stay dry, but the sun has finally shone and we finally got the electricity turned on today. Halleluiah! We've done lots of little projects that we could bring under the shed and also built a water tower to hold a 55 gal barrel to supply water heated by the sun to our shower. I'm fixen to go try that out now. Now that the power is on pressurized water and a water heater is not too far off!
I ran some wall plug-ins(recepticles) on the new service and my saws are very happy with the 120+volts vs the 97 that we had before.
We'll be back to sub-flooring and sawing logs tomorrow.
Quinton
We finished the sub-floor today. I was hoping to get a good picture with all of the ends trimmed and the trash off, but I was so tired (13 hour day in the sun). that I just left it like you see it. Tearing down the metal roof and then rebuilding to keep the utility room weather tight cost us a lot of time and this will be a continuing problem until we have the roof on. Rain is back in the forecast. Dang! :-[
We'll be setting posts for the decks tomorrow because we plan to put up temporary decking to work off of to erect the posts, girts and rafters. So rain, rain, stay away. ;D We have been having a real problem with mildew and the pressure washer and bleach sprayer have been busy. Even some of the wood in my stacks have mildew starting.
Here's the pic.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sub-Floor%20done.JPG)
looking great smiley_thumbsup
Looking good! 8)
Keep on keeping on! 8)
What a frustrating day this was. We've been dodging rain all day but we did get all of the posts resawn to size, ends squared and the 1.5" hole drilled in the bottom. We've also started applying the finish before putting the posts up. I'm drilling a 1.5" hole in the lap joint of the sills and driving a hickory pin into them and leaving 4" of pin for the post to set on. (see pics)
I'm making these pins from old oil well Hickory sucker rods and I counted 37 annual rings on a 1.5" dia. pin!
We would have had all of the posts and most of the top plate/girts up today save for the rain. BTW, did I mention that I hate rain! >:(
The sun is just coming back out as I post this, so I guess I'll go uncover and see if it will dry some before dark.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/ThePin.JPG)
The pig pole works really well
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/PigPole.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Drivin%20her%20Home.JPG)
The last rain shower was a duzzy and we tried to cover up with limited success.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Rain.JPG)
That is very nice . I like the looks of the outhouse and shower so good I might just leave them there after you are all done .
I think your project looks nicer than the plan picture 8)
I like your knockerer downer ;)
iain
From the looks of the radar it seems there will be no joy in cabin building today. We could drag some work under the shed but when it rains it seems like you work twice as hard to get half of the work done. Where's a good drought when you need one? :D But every cloud has a silver lining, Right? Let's see, well the water tank will be full again, we won't have to water the tomatoes, the gravel road won't be dusty, etc., etc.
I guess I'll spend the day looking for roofing materials on the net. Anyone have any clues about where to buy foam insulation and metal roofing?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/weather.jpg)
The arrow marks our wet spot.
Quinton
No new pictures today but I got the #10 wire run to our MH shed from our newly installed electric today and we now have AC running in the camper for the first time in over a year...and just in time too, as it's going to be in the high 90s here for the next few days. Sarah was just oohing and aahing over that cool air in the camper. It's also nice to be able to run the air compressor and the microwave at the same time without blowing the breaker in my cousins house.
We've been sawing logs between showers but the rain has shut down work on the cabin over the last few days. It looks like some hot but dry weather for a spell so maybe we'll get her going again.
BTW, here is a pic of the outhouse base. I tried to convince Sarah that we didn't really need walls but as you can see from earlier pictures, she wasn't having any of that.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Just%20John.jpg)
Quinton
Hi All,
We've had several good clear days now and we've cut and sawn a lot of trees and made some progress on the frame. We should have all of the posts and girts up by the end of the day tomorrow.
Sorry for all of the clutter in the pictures...I'll take some better ones when the frame is complete.
BTW, comments are welcome...good or bad, you won't hurt my feelings :D The detail in the close-up of the tie beam support is really hard to see. I'll take another from a different angle and post it later.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Girts%20GoUp.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/TieBeam%20Supports.JPG)
Why did you build the frame a stick at a time ? why not build bents on the deck and pull them up into place ,like old barns were raised?
Hi Don,
I guess the best answer to your question is that I didn't design it to be put up that way. Also I don't have the manpower or a crane to lift the bents but I have been able to lift every sill, post and girt into place with my tractor using forks or a pig pole attached to the FEL. I'm using 1.5" hickory pins to locate everything and I can set the posts, level them and then cut the girts to exact sizes. My joints are fitting really well that way, and I'll bet that my time expended to make a joint is far less that if I'd try to do it the traditional way. The bottom line is that we are just enjoying the challange of designing and building this cabin and figuring things out as we go.
Thanks for the interest.
Quinton
Here's my buddy David handing me up one of the 6"x 7" girts. It was a stretch on a couple but we got them all up using the pig pole.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/LongReach-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/LongReach-2.JPG)
And to add a little spice to the thread, here's Sarah naked in the shower.
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(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/StayingCool.JPG)
Gotcya :D
Nope ya did'nt scare me ;)
iain
Here's where we are now. We thought we had all of the posts and girts up today but when we stepped back and looked at it, we decided to add two more 6x7 horizontal members at the rear to support the floor joists for the loft. So we cut out all the parts and they'll go up 1st thing tomorrow...and then it was Miller time.
We plan to cut and install the diagonal braces tomorrow. They'll be 4x6x5' and I haven't decided where to put them for sure yet. I could just brace every post, but that's un-needed.
Looking at these pictures, where would you put them?
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/FrameDone.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/FrameDone2.JPG)
Looks good , Quinton 8)
I'm glad you finally got some dry weather.
If its not to critical with your design
i would put them where i would get the most viewing pleasure
iain
Hey Quinton,
Lookin' good!
So just out of curiosity, what type of wood are your timbers made from? Have the timbers been down long? It sounds like you're cutting them as you go--have they dried already, or are you putting them up green?
Wow
that is looking very good. I'm enjoying this thread a lot. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Quinton,
looking very nice!
I like to see someone else use the ready,fire, aim approach. Got the plans in your head?
"Looking at these pictures, where would you put them?"
I would think that bracing at the corners would be the most critical.
Stephen1
Hi All, thanks for the comments.
In answer to the questions. All of the posts and beams were sawn last Sept. and most of 2x8 and 2x10. The majority of the 1x for sub-floor and sheathing was cut this spring. I'm using poplar for everything except the pins which are hickory.
I'm working from a very detailed set of plans. Just look to the left to see a miniture front view and a front and side view can be found in the first page of this thread. I just think I had too many braces in the orginal plan and was looking for some opinions.
I'm on lunch break right now but we hope to finish the loft sub-floor and diagonal bracing by days end.
Quinton
Qweaver,
Next time I get up to Fairmont, WV, I'm going to make it a point to get down to see this place.
Bruce/subsailor
Come on by Bruce, we love having visitors! That invite goes out to any FF members that are passing our way. Heck, bring your tools, come for the day or even spend a night or two...as long as you don't mind an outhouse, cool water showers and sleeping on a cot under the shed. :D
Quinton
Today was a good day. We got the loft joists and temporary decking up...so we can start putting up rafters over this section tomorrow. We didn't get the diagonals in however, so this has to be the first job for the A.M.. I'm a little concerned about what a really heavy wind could do.
Here's the pics.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Loft-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Loft-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Loft-3.JPG)
The view is getting better all the time
Quinton
She's lookin' good there Q,
This is gettin' good...lots of progress lately ;) ;) ;)
I was just lookin' back to when it was just a spot of dirt ;D ;D
Thanks Burl,
we've cut all the braces this A.M and will finish putting them up this P.M. Just gotta keep the rain away for a few more days and we'll have a roof on her.
Quinton
Another rain interrupted day but we made some progress. Here we are drilling the 1.5" holes and putting the hickory pins in.
I hate working at this height! It's to low to deploy my parachute and to DanG high to risk falling. That drill motor will twist you around three times before you can get your finger off the trigger. I did buy an old Snell hand boring machine with a 1.5" bit to use for boring these holes, but it arrived with several cracks in the wood that need to be repaired before I use it and I just have not had the time to spare to fix it.
We also have most of the diagonal braces in as you can see in the pics.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Drilling%20pins.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Drilling%20pins-2.JPG)
We reached another small milestone today as the first truss went up. Rain is still our nemesis however, as much of the painting that Sarah did last evening was partly spoiled by rain over night and we are losing much time to the rain.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1st-Truss.JPG)
You're moving right along 8) ( when it don't rain ;D )
Thanks for the pics.
Very very nice. In no time the rain won't be a problem anymore.
Have a good week
Tom
Whoo, I swore that I would not complain about the weather as long as it was not raining but we knocked off at 4 this afternoon in 90 degs because we were just burned out. But we took a cool shower and let the sun go down and went back to work and got 2 more trusses ready to go up.
We like to make this fun but the weather is a real pain in the ass for us old folks.
Quinton
Q...You said it all right there.......... ;D ;D ;D
I believe it was a little warmer today :(. We set up chairs under a shade tree and took frequent breaks with ice tea and juicy pops.
If you have time during the heat of the day piddles, some bigger bracing wouldn't hurt while the roof is going up and gaining weight. We've had to run out and sit in the yard during some big winds before, it sure doesn't feel good to think "I'll pick it all back up if I have to"
Our motto during tough weather, just get a little done every day.
Quote from: Don P on August 02, 2006, 06:46:41 PM
If you have time during the heat of the day piddles, some bigger bracing wouldn't hurt while the roof is going up and gaining weight. We've had to run out and sit in the yard during some big winds before, it sure doesn't feel good to think "I'll pick it all back up if I have to"
Hey Don, those were my same thoughts exactly! We have half of the trusses up and they are WELL braced now and we'll be decking tomorrow.
We're heading back to Texas this weekend to pull our camper out of harms way(TS soon to be hurricane Chris) and bring back more of my tools. I hate to waste the time but it's got to be done. Having a house on the bay is great until the hurricanes come calling.
No pics today...worked til dark.
Quinton
Here are the latest pics...but it's becoming a real hassel to post pics. We're hoping to get roofing down in the next few days.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/RoofReady.JPG)
Qweaver, real nice picture, it reallly coming along!!
keep at er your almost covered in. Save the pictures untill your not so tired, we can wait a few days.
You are really moving along there, Quinton.
Hope you are having good weather this week.
Comon Q Your like my wife - Get me all excited, then roll over and go to sleep!
Just kiddin.
I know your bussy but I'm dying to see some new photo's.
Hi All,
We just got back in WV this AM from what was supposed to be a 4 day round trip to Texas to get tools and our camper. All went well until the transmission gave up the ghost 6 hours from home. So cousin Rodney to the rescue and now with 2 days with very little sleep we are back home in WV with 10 briskets, 50lbs of shrimp, lot's of mesquite,a crippled van and our camper.
Uncle Lowell and cousin David sawed up a storm for us in our absence and were waiting on me this AM to fell them another tree and I can hear the saw buzzing as I type this. Praise be for good friends and family!
So it's off to bed for a few hours for me and I'll post some pics later.
Quinton
Hey Quinton! Good to see you back!
Sorry to hear of your vehicle trouble.
I don't know though...might be the price for kidnapping our mesquite. ;)
Have a good nap. ;D
**I reckon that would actually be woodnapping, huh?**
Here are the latest pics. 2/3s of the roof is ready for insulation and metal. We have stopped working on the house to get ready for our party this weekend. Texas style BBQ with all the fixin's, a small 70lb pig and 50lbs of 18/21 shrimp should do nicely I think.
Next week we are white water rafting and 4 days of family reunion/camping...so no more work on the house until Sept. We need the break! ::)
Sarah and I up on the roof. It's mighty steep!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Up-on%20the%20Roof-2.JPG)
The latest.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/latest.JPG)
That sure is a steep Roof
Glad to hear you are taking a few days off Enjoy
Here we are with all the rails and decorations up and ready for the guests to show up to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary party and renewal of vows.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Ready-2-party.JPG)
We also invited a pig and a cow. Part of the cow is in those aluminum pans
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/The%20Pig.JPG)
And after the "I Do's" we invite everyone to eat, drink and be merry
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/s%20time%20to%20eat.JPG)
This was the first real test of the strength of our construction as well over 100 people were jammed onto the 24x32 foot space.
It was a great party and now it's back to work on Monday with the goal of being completely dried-in by October.
Happy Anniversary.
Great place you built there just for a party. Pig looks great too.
I assume "back to work" means on the party house. :)
Q,
Good for you 8) 8) 8) That looked like a GREAT party.....The little piggy didn't look too happy tho....
You have come a loooong ways since the first post when you were diggin' in the ground.
I hope the weather holds up for ya and ya get her closed in before the bad weather smiley_sun smiley_sun;D ;D ;D
Keep up the good work smiley_smash smiley_smash
Thanks Steve and Beenthere,
I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote "back to work Monday". We are taking the week off for recreation with the family.
Quinton
I don't know Q....Spending time with my family sometimes is a LOT of work :D :D :D
Most times I'd rather be at work.......What's that Honey... ??? ??? Oh right...I don't work :D :D
Happy 40th Anniversary to you and your wife.It's nice to see two people together like you two are.Your cabin is looking good and it is still standing after 100 people put it to the test.I didn't doubt it for a second. :) What about the railings?Where are the railings going now?
I dunno guys, I'm only coming up with about 20 psf. I think you need to do it again in 10 years with twice as many people :).
We just got back from the whitewater rafting trip to the New River this AM. The New river is only an hour and a half south of us so we go rafting often. The water level was a little low but it was still a lot of fun...especially for our daughter and son in-law that had never rafted the New. Now it's load up the camper and we're off to my uncles cabin on a mountain stream near Moorefield, WV for the family reunion.
Thecfarm, the railings will move straight out to the decks, so no time or material was wasted.
Back to work next Tuesday.
Quinton
Happy 40th to you and the missus, it takes a lot of work to stay together like that.
We are celebrating my inlaws 50th in 2 weeks it should be a good party also.
the place is looking real nice have a great vacation
Stephen
Qweaver.......been following the thread/construction pictures; love it; Congratulations on the anniversary. Wife and I had the 40th in May; damnation, where does the time go; we've gotten old while we weren't looking; too busy to pay attention. When I look at her (wife), I still see the 19 year-old she was in '66. Her hair is still the same color, but she spends a lot of time in the bathroom about once a week; I've got my suspicions. :D
Thanks Stephen and Thurlow, we had a great party and the camping at my uncle's cabin was also great despite the rain from Ernest.
We are back at work on the cabin now. Uncle Lowell and cousin David sawed and stacked all day and Sarah and I got everything ready to put up the last five rafters and decking tomorrow.
Here's a heads up!
We've found a great source of building material in the World Vision warehouse which is located about 45 minutes drive from us. I have no idea if these are located in all states but if you have one near you they are a source of great buys on building materials...mainly windows, bathroom fixtures, doors etc. We went there last evening and found all of the windows and doors that we need to do the cabin at a fraction of what they would have cost at a regular store. We are going back tomorrow with our trailer to get them. Your minister has to recommend you and you have to do 8 hours of work but that will be the best 8 hours that you ever spent if you need what they have.
More pics in a few days as we get further along.
Quinton
Happy Anniversary Q's ! I bet it was a great feeling to be standing in your beautiful work of art ! Happy 40th 8) 8)
Here's where we are today. All of the main rafters are up and decked(except for those three boards that I can't reach until I get a toe board up). We should have the roof ready for insulation and metal by days end tomorrow.
I'm including a picture of the windows that we bought Tuesday. There are 10 windows and 3 doors there. The round top windows are 6'x7' and 5'x6' with 2 opening window at the bottom of each. These will go on the gable ends. They are double glazed, gas filled Simonton, still in the orginal shipping wrappers and we paid $50 each for them. 10 windows, 2 steel doors(one with casing) enough raised panel oak doors to do all of the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and sundry other small items was $560. Wow! We were also going to buy a 10' bow window for @$275 but we did not have room on the trailer...so we'll go back next Tuesday.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/roof-2.JPG)
Our booty
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/windows.JPG)
Here's our party fire. You could feel the heat 100 yards away!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/fire.JPG)
Tha cabin's looking GREAT 8) 8)
And you got a heck of a deal on the windows and doors.
nice haul on the windows!!!!! where do I sign up. I just priced windows for my gable ends full right angles with a window opening on the bottom $3000.I need to find a location like that up here.
It's a World Vision charity warehouse. Of course, you have to take what they have on hand, but in our case they had pretty much what we wanted. Sarah was thrilled with the windows. We'll also get our bathroom fittings and fixtures from there.
They are constantly getting new stuff in so the trick is to visit on a regular basis and since it's located only 34 miles from us...that's easy to do.
Quinton
You made out like a bandit. :D :D :D I am really enjoying this thread. Congrats on the 40th.
Thanks for all the "best wishes".
Now a question to the learned audience here. Is it possible to paint or stain vinyl windows?
There were some great white vinyl windows but Sarah wants the "almond" color and what Sarah wants, Sarah gets. ::)
Now for a rant. I have been following several threads on the forum where the requirement to follow a building code that is enforced by inspectors ends in unnecessary and sometimes even stupid methods of building! My house in Texas falls within one of these strict systems where even the building of an out building has to be permitted and inspected.
Why do we let our governments inflict this kind of control over us? What gives any governing agency the right to dictate to me me how I should build MY house on MY property for MY own use?
I have bought and lived in two houses that were built supposedly to the code and inspected, that were pieces of junk...so any argument that codes insure that structures are well built are, in many/most cases, false. But thats not the point. If I choose to build and live in an unsafe house, that's my right. Let's have our governments get back to serving and protecting and get the H out of the controlling business.
I'm done.
Quinton
Q,
I wish!! here in the Md. DC area this inspection is stupid. One inspector comes out,
you need this and this, the next one comes no you need this. On our restroom addition at church one inspector turned us down on the final, Called the other inpsector, passed :o no questions ask. ::),8).
In this county people were building big garages and puting apt. in them. So new code was passed, an out building can only be so big, ( i think about 24'x 30' ).So farmers have to fill out a bunch of paper work and apply for a varience to put up a cow barn. Some of the gov.people have no common sence. (sp)
Richard
Insurance companies dont want to insure houses that didnt have the seal of approval of a building inspector. When a hurricane blows the house down, they want someone to blame and someone to sue to recover their costs. They want grade stamped lumber in the house so they can sue the lumber mill if a piece of lumber was mis-used and caused a problem later on.
Nobody wants to be sued, but we are all vulnerable to the threat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. The building codes arent necessarily to keep you from being sued, but rather to keep the insurance company from suffering a loss. The county and state dont want to be sued either, so they enforce the stupid "one law fits all" mentality on how to build a building.
building codes are all about stupid law suits. Until we, as Americans, stand up and put an end to all of the frivilous law suits, it will only get worse. Nobody wants to do this though, we are afraid it might be us that are the next beneficiaries of the next stupid law suit that will put a little money in our pockets.
What GOI said. Problem comes when you try to insure the mortgage or for fire protection. The insurance co's can and will find every loophole. Also, if you don't build to code, da goobermint can go to court and make you tear it down. Seems stupid in a mountain retreat but that is the reality.
Our builder had a pretty good description of the process. It's often silly and counterproductive but such a small percentage of the population goes through it in any given year and all they want is to be done with it. He said that if everyone had to put up with it in the same year there would be such an uproar it would get changed in a heartbeat.
At least half our overruns were caused by people who never came to the home site, sat in an office 50 miles away and made decisions that cost us a substantial amount of money.
Another small step completed. The roof is black and the purlins are screwed down and my knees are a mess again. Rhaaaa! 8) Now we are just waiting on insulation and we'll get the steel on. I guess we'll start putting wall sheathing on tomorrow.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roof-3.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front-1.JPG)
place looks great
amazing how you are building a cabin
and tearing apart a body ....
lots of new stuff on the market for cartilage in the knees ... none cheap !
keep up the good work
Quotebuilding a cabin and tearing apart a body ....
Ain't that the truth :D
You've got 'er now, it's looking great 8)
Howdy everyone,
We've been burning the candle at both ends lately so little time to post pics. Here are some shots of our progress with the sheathing. It's all 4/4 random width poplar. We put in one window using very dry wood but I am going to let the rest wait until the sheathing has had a chance to get to where it wants to go before framing doors and windows. We have also got a lot of work done inside the cabin and have spent rainy days shopping and gathering materials.
Our theme song is "One board at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all we're trying to do. So show us the way and we'll make the day...One board at a time"
I'll have to make up my mind soon on whether or not to use Tyvek. I'll post a drawing of my wall cross section a little later to get some input here.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Side-Sheet-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front-Sheet.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Side-Sheet-2.JPG)
Your cabin is really looking good Quinton. Where do you plan to use tyvek on the cabin? I put tyvek on my barn and am quite unhappy with it. My barn is board and batten over the tyvek and it makes noise on windy days. The inside insulation is against it but it still makes paper crinkling noise on windy days.
I just did a major remodel on my house and I covered it with Dow Styrofoam Weathermate housewrap. It is much better in my opinion that tyvek. Very strong, soft and quiet.
I suspect that Tyvek is crackling because it is stopping the wind trying to pass through. I know the noise is annoying, but slowing that wind down would be important too, I'd think. I'd use it in a heartbeat if stopping the wind was of interest (and I hate that crackling sound of the Tyvek, but when I put board and batten over mine, no more sound. However there was insulation behind the plywood sheathing, and vapor barrier over the insulation and under the drywall on the inside. Tyvek will breath, unlike Visqueen sheeting.
I found out about some 6" wide rubber strips to stick around the windows to seal off that joint, too late to use it. Tempted to remove the board and batten and put that stuff on (but probably won't go to the trouble).
Yes it is stopping the wind but so does the Dow Weathermate that I used on my house. Tyvek is not near as strong in my opinion. I put in 25 or so windows and I used that flashing around all the windows. I also taped all seams. My house is only 80' off Lake Ontario and I get some pretty good winds off the lake. I think the only way my tyvek would not be noisy is if I had sheathed the whole outside first and then put the board and batten on top.
Here is a cross section of the walls. I think that I need a rain barrier between the board and batten and the 2.5x3 spacer (roofing felt?) but do I also need another barrier to stop air infiltration? Suggestions? Just to clarify. The sheathing is nailed directly to the posts and beams. The interior paneling will be fastened to the sheathing next summer and maybe thats where the tyvek should go.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/wall-section.jpg)
There have been some issues with deterioration of Tyvek used under cedar siding. Real or rumor I know not but it would be something to investigate.
I have seen the photos of that in the trade journals. Dupont claims to have fixed it. I've gone back to tarpaper whenever I can. Reading some of the info at
http://www.buildingscience.com/designsthatwork/mixedhumid/section2/enclosure.htm
might help confuse the issue further.
Quinton,
QuoteI think that I need a rain barrier between the board and batten and the 2.5x3 spacer (roofing felt?) but do I also need another barrier to stop air infiltration?
IMO I wouldn't put any more barrier than what you have in your drawing as the 2" rigid insulation is accomplishing this for you... Just seal the joints... I like the idea of the airspace behind the B and B... As Sikkens recommends stagger your spacers so you have air movement... Place vents on the bottom and top of the walls... just me 2 cents
pappy
Don,
I've got tar paper behind my clapboard siding and can't keep paint on it... When we did the major overhaul on the house I did what was already there and put tar paper under the new pine clapboard, had the house painted by a so called "pro" ... He recommended oil base paint and in 3 years the house paint was curling off like paper... Since tar paper doesn't breath and for the moisture to escape it pushes off the paint ...
In digging around on the web I found this bit of interesting info from Sikkens... When I paint hopefully next summer I'm planning on replacing the siding with new clapboards and install as Sikkens suggest in the following link...
http://www.nam.sikkens.com/exterior-basics.cfm?product_category=exterior
Quote from: pappy on October 01, 2006, 09:49:19 AM
...........I've got tar paper behind my clapboard siding and can't keep paint on it... When we did the major overhaul on the house I did what was already there and put tar paper under the new pine clapboard, had the house painted by a so called "pro" ... He recommended oil base paint and in 3 years the house paint was curling off like paper... Since tar paper doesn't breath and for the moisture to escape it pushes off the paint ...............
In your case, I would strongly suspect moisture from the house coming through the wall and condensing on the cold clapboard. It must lack an adequate vapor barrier on the warm side of the insulation. That is normal behaviour when there is no vapor barrier on the warm side. Normal tar paper isn't a vapor barrier, I don't believe, so shouldn't be the problem. Chances are good (or bad) that the insulation is soaking wet too, from that moisture not being kept on the warm side.
From my experience I can second what beenthere said.
If the insulation isn't wet, it sure is moldy.
Thanks for the replies. But this is my dilemma. I read different "studies" and opinions like the links given here and I get no real answer. On one hand it's a good idea to have a vapor barrier on the warm side but it's also necessary to have a barrier that will keep wind driven rain from penetrating past the B&B. Another thing, the warm side of the house is inside in the winter but outside while cooling with AC in the summer. So...again, should I have a vapor barrier on the inside of the sheathing and a water barrier behind the B&B? One builder that hosts a radio show in Houston adamantly states not to use vapor barriers at all. ::) I read one article and think, "that makes sense" and then I read another that also makes sense that is just the opposite. What to do!? My walls will all be covered by porches and that helps some with wind driven rain but surly there is a "best" way. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Quinton
Probably for Houston, no vapor barrier because it isn't -20° outside and 70° inside, like in the North. Between the two extremes, you pick. :)
Here in MI we heat longer each year then we cool, there fore we are better off with the vapor barrier on the inside of the wall. Things vary based on where you are in the country.
If I was building what you are, where you are, I would have a vapor barrier on the inside and house wrap on the outside under the B&B and not seal the joints of the foam board.
My 2 cents.
I'm with Furby on this one
I'm in full agreement with the experts, I'm having an egg with breakfast :D
It seems like the best opportunity for a good continuous vapor barrier is outside the sheathing. Correct me if I'm wrong but the sheathing wood is still on the warm side of the insulation and above dew point. Basically consider it and the panelling as the interior wall. If it were me I'd run the foam full over the sheathing, put the weather resistive barrier over it and then screw 1x strapping through the foam back to the sheathing. I like Pappys staggered idea. I like fully stained or backprimed siding , it seems to weather the best.
The way I understand it is that tarpaper is vapor permeable when dry but when wetted the fibers swell and seal their tar laden selves together to repel the bulk water. When it dries those fibers shrink and allow vapor to pass again. The job of the outer weather resistive barrier, (tarpaper or tyvek) is to allow any vapor trapped in the wall pass out while repelling any bulk water that might have penetrated the siding from getting in. Getting an airspace behind the siding helps it dry faster and vent better if moisture does penetrate.
Furby is right on when he says the vapor barrier goes on the inside and the housewrap goes on the outside. The house wrap will block the wind and water droplets but will allow the water vapor to pass through. I am not so sure you want a space between your siding and the foam insulation. Seems like that would be a good place for bees and other insects to set up housekeeping. Any board and batten I have seen from rough sawn lumber has enough variation to allow it to breathe on the backside pretty good. Your housewrap should be just under your siding and cover your insulation and purlins. If you don't have a good water plane there water could travel in along your horizontal purlins and creep into the interior of your cabin. If I were making the purlins I think I would make them the same thickness or slightly thicker ( 1/32" to 1/16" ) than my insulation. Be sure and tape all seams of your wrap. The tape I used was a red plastic like tape that is very thin but strong and sticks very good even in freezing weather. Don't remember the name on the package but its great stuff and I would definitely use it again. Good luck in your project. :)
OK, Thanks for all the info. So it's going to be a vapor barrier between the insulation and the sheathing...then tyvek or roofing felt behind the B&B. Can the vapor barrier be plastic sheeting? I'll also cut 1/4"x 1/2" grooves in the purlins to allow air flow and any moisture to escape.
Quinton
When we did the big overhaul 24 years ago we stripped everything down to the outside walls and found out the house was a balloon frame... Made it real easy to rewire and insulate... After the rewire we had the walls filled with blown in insulation... with the exterior walls exposed we could see where all the voids were 8) after insulating we placed 1/2" Thermax insulation (rigid foil faced both sides) and taped the joints... I have from time to time replaced a window and door and the blown in was as dry as when it was when installed,,, certainly not moldy ::)
Within the next few years we are planning on replacing the old clapboard siding with new... That Dang tar paper is being replaced (tar paper is for roofing) with a good house wrap vertically strapped 12" on centers then sided with stained (not painted) both sides one coat and stained another coat after the install...
Quote from: bitternut on October 02, 2006, 12:46:10 AM
I am not so sure you want a space between your siding and the foam insulation. Seems like that would be a good place for bees and other insects to set up housekeeping.
That's why a good bug and critter barrier must be placed at the top and bottom openings of the air space,,, metal screen or the material used for ridge venting, Vent a rigid ?? is real tough stuff...
Quote from: Qweaver on October 02, 2006, 09:08:30 AM
OK, Thanks for all the info. So it's going to be a vapor barrier between the insulation and the sheathing...then tyvek or roofing felt behind the B&B. Can the vapor barrier be plastic sheeting? I'll also cut 1/4"x 12" grooves in the purlins to allow air flow and any moisture to escape.
Quinton
Quinton,
I believe if you use rigid insulation with a foil face both sides, tape and/or caulk the joints then strap on top of the rigid, place a poly or tyvek on top of the strapping then the B & B you'd be all set... Keep in mind you need to place screening on top and bottom of the air space to keep out unwanted creatures.. ;D
Pappy, what is the strapping made of? What is it's purpose?
Quote from: Qweaver on October 02, 2006, 12:06:08 PM
Pappy, what is the strapping made of? What is it's purpose?
The strapping is 3/4" X 2 1/2" and usually made of spruce and/or fir up in these parts anyway... Using it this way enables you to seal the building up tightly with the insulation board with no voids between the sheets and provides an air space and a good nailing surface for the B & B...
This was a day that we've been looking forward to for some time. It took us a long time to get everything ready this morning and we only got five pieces of roofing up but we are moving right along now and should come close to having the roof on tomorrow.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roofing-1.JPG)
Here's Sarah up on the roof again!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roofing-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roofing-3.JPG)
Looking good! 8)
I like it!! Carefull up there without any saftey harness. It looks like the window frame is coloured. How did you do it?
Hey Stephen,
Thanks for the concern, we are being very, very careful up there. The windows come in that color but I understand that vinyl windows can be painted.
Quinton
It has been raining since last evening and it's too cold and wet to finish the roof but we did get a toeboard up so that I can finish the ridge of the roof. I've been thinking hard about how best to do this and this is what I came up with. I've always been able to just straddle the roof to put the ridge cap on, but this was just too steep and slippery. This is nice and solid and easy to work from. I guess there might be an easier way but I'm not going to take any chances on sliding off of this roof. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and sunny and we'll be ready to go.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/ToeBoard.JPG)
Whether you feel safer or not, make sure that you pick up all the concrete blocks, scraps of wood, or anything else that might do you more damage than the ground, in case you do slip off.
That's a long way down. ::)
Ananias
That's perzactly what I've done to get up there before. On one I had some ply rippings and made a nice trough at the top to keep me off the metal.
I've also screwed down snowguards and stood on them, unscrewing and removing them on the way down. You can also get 3" screws and screw down toeboards. With both of those you replace the screw with a gasketed one when you strip it. You don't want to do the math on that connection :D. I've had someone rope me from the far side for that last sheet before too.
Don P said
""I've had someone rope me from the far side for that last sheet before too.""
Not sure where I heard it, but was about a guy who used the rope trick to keep him on the roof. He tied the secure end to the bumper of his car. ::) Failed to tell his wife, who jumped in the car and drove off, with him being pulled over the ridge, and off the roof. Don't recall how it ended, but prolly not too pleasant.
It's actually myth, like the guy sailing to the ground on a sheet of plywood. But it makes a good story :).
That is good advice for anyone about keeping the jobsite policed. Its better to meet that miracle halfway :D.
The latest. The main roof is done and we are now getting the surrounding ground at the final grade and building the decks so that we can easily install windows and deck roofs. That will be all for the exterior until next spring. We'll now concentrate on getting it air tight enough to heat and work this winter.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Building%20decks.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sheathing%20on.JPG)
Very Nice Quinton 8)
Having the roof done must be a good feeling.
Dont 'cha love it when things start ta come together.... ;D ;D
wow
you have done a very good job !
with all the work you have done it
is great that you took time to post here on the forum
thanks for keeping us up to date
RED
Hey Burl, Mooseherder and red. Thanks for the encouraging words. I stayed in out of the cold all day today and started adding all of the money that we have spent on the cabin so far and it's getting a little scary.
This cold snap has made us start thinking about a heat source for the winter and when cousin Rick heard that we were going out to buy a stove, he offered to lend/give us one. He said, "it's a little heavy but it works good". I'm thinking, how heavy can it be?
When he showed up with this one, I can testify... it's HEAVY!!! The name is Hearthstone and he claims to have heated a 2 story house with it.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Hearthstone.JPG)
Ours is a Hearthstone.......Phoenix model......looks to be somewhat smaller than yours; they're made of soapstone. You're gonna love it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13111/stove.jpg)
I was unfortunate enough to still be on a job when one of those came in, they will make you sing soprano. They're a heck of a stove, that one kept us warm in a unfinished 2 story. If its the same I think there's a catalytic converter under the hood that might need service. I know it feels good to be off the main pitch 8).
Congratulations on getting the roof done, Quinton, and that is a beautiful stove 8) 8) 8)
You've really put it together quickly and you'll be airtight in no time :) 8)
Quote from: Don P on October 12, 2006, 06:42:42 PM
I was unfortunate enough to still be on a job when one of those came in, they will make you sing soprano.
ROTFLMAO
You are sure right about singing soprano Don . :D I thought Rick was gonna pop a vessel pulling that dude up the ramp.
You know Sprucebunny, it seems like we are going very slowly, but everytime I turn around we have another task done. Things should really start to move when we get the decks done and don't have to work off of really tall ladders all of the time.
BTW, I think the stove looks bigger in the picture than it really is.
Quinton
Yah, dat stove looks bigger to me too. ;D ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10180/1Hearthstone.jpg)
You wouldn't call cousin David tall but he's not that short!
We're putting decks up now and I've decided not to buy ACQ treated lumber. So I'm treating it myself using Penetreat, a borate based treatment. I guess only time will tell how well it works. I'm attaching the decks so that they can be easily replaced if they rot out. Penetreat came recommended by a friend that builds log homes so that gives me some reason to believe it'll be OK.
Quinton
If I understand your design these are covered porches instead of open decks aren't they?
Hey Don, yeah they will be covered. The decks on my 1st house in Texas were covered also and the builder made them with untreated SYP and that sucker rotted out in 3 years. Of course that's a whole different climate than WV. I'm hoping someone on the forum has had some experience with borate treatment.
Quinton
Everything I have heard about borates is that they will leach out when the timber is exposed to moisture. From what I have seen on covered decks, they still get plenty of moisture. Have been treating with borates but do it primarily for insect control. Saw one recommendation of using a water base sealer in the borate solutions but have not tried any myself.
The borates are good but this probably isn't their best application, it will help, whether it will help enough is another question. It doesn't hurt to spray your entire frame. The powderpost beetles don't turn up their noses to poplar. Naturally decay resistant species like locust or white oak for the decking wouldn't hurt if you have some good ones.
I did saw up poplar decking and locust framing for a neighbors porch, must be at least 5-7 years old, north facing, doesn't get much water, doing fine.
I should add that I'll use a sealer/stain with UV protection when the Penetreat is dry. This penetreat/staining process is pretty time consuming and I'm thinking of making a dip trough if I decide to do a lot of this. Any suggestion on how to make a trough? ???
Quinton
Quote from: Qweaver on October 18, 2006, 07:04:53 AM
Any suggestion on how to make a trough? ???
Quinton
Depending on the width of the decking, maybe buy large pvc pipe, put endcaps on it,
skillsaw a channel on the top for dipping access.
Quinton
A trough can be made simply with heavy plastic draped in a framework of the height, width, and length of the size pieces you want to dip, and the amount of solution you want to fill it with (so it doesn't overflow).
I've helped on a project where the siding was dipped before installation, so all sides and ends are treated. Sorry, no pics.
The framework could be replaced with a trench dug in the ground but might be a bit more difficult to maintain and work around.
Be careful using plastic sheeting (visqueen) as oil based solvents, stains, and such will eventually eat through it, some faster than others. Don't even ask me how I know this! :D :D
Stew
Hey Stew...Did that kill the grass ??? ??? :D :D
Nope, didn't kill not one blade of grass, but....now the finish on the hardwood floor, that's another story. :D
Stew
What was the finish (treatment) that ate through the visqueen? And what does "eventually" mean ???
Just curious. :)
The finish for this particular incident was Minwax stain. The solvent content of the product is what determines the "eventually". The higher the concentration, the sooner the visqueen fails. I'm no chemical engineer, but the solvents do attack and break down the visqueen's structure. I know paint thinner breaks it down pretty fast. The stain I was using took about 45 minutes to break down 6 mil material (to the point of leaking and failure).
Stew
I make troughs out of boards, caulk and screws, sometimes plywood bottoms, sometimes boards. A drain tray with nails, sloped on some horses dripping into a mortar pan helps catch the drips for recycling back to the trough. I've got a pic summers, will see if its findable ::)
We have the HearthStone stove set up in a temporary spot and we've been burning it every day. Now I need to build a hearth for a permanent location and I really don't know how to do that. My thoughts are to make a brick surround on top of Hardy Board with the bricks on edge. Then fill the brick enclosure with fire brick on it's side. Then tile up level with the brick enclosure. This stove is very heavy...I'm guessing at least 400 lbs, maybe more. So weight will become an issue and a too heavy hearth will only add to that. I've never build a hearth so any suggestions for ways to decrease the weight and still protect the under lying wood from excess heat are appreciated.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Hearth-1.jpg)
You might want to check a building code manual to determine what the code calls for in your situation. In many rural settings, there are few or no building codes in place, but you can use the codes in place for the more populated areas where people need protection from unscrupulous building contractors and the local govt. employs building inspectors. Building it to the code will assure that it is safe. That is what I did when I built my hearths. Also, be sure to add a couple of re-inforcing joists under the hearth, you might want to double-up on the joists that run under the hearth if that is possible.
I am envious! Your cabin looks great..........
We've got a Hearthstone. Simply built a frame of 2X4, sheet of wonderboard and then tile on top of that. In for six years now and no problems at all. The tile gets warm but not too hot to lay your hand on. I think the firebrick might act as a kind of heat sump but not really necessary.
Ours is installed in a corner with wonderboard and tile directly on the wall. I think you can "float" backing on the wall with air able to circulate behind it and cut down on the distance between the stove and wall. But the Hearthstone doesn't get near as hot at a plain cast stove.
Beautiful "cabin" by the way!
A picture of what it looks like, complete with cat staying warm.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12858/Stove.jpg)
I haven't posted updates for awhile because we have a lot of work in progress but nothing complete. The front porch is framed and temporary decking is on. We have all of the openings covered with plywood or plastic and one door is in, so we are able to keep the place warm. We have all of the woodworking tools in place except for the spindle moulder and we plan to spend the day tomorrow cleaning and arranging everything. Here's a pic of where we were at the end of the day. What a mess but I was too tired to start the clean-up. More pics in a few days as the outside starts to come together.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Interior.JPG)
Looks like work in process to me.Kinda like any building projects.Some days looks like you get alot done,some days looks like you have not done much at all.
Hey Q,
It's startin' ta look down right homey in there now....... smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup fire_smiley fire_smiley
Hi All,
We got the mud/sun room closed in yesterday. Those windows were a trick to lift up and put in. Thanks go to cousins David and Denzil and our faithful Kubota for getting them up there with no cracks. Now on to the front porch windows. I haven't quite figured out how we are going to get the big windows up into the peak of the front and rear walls. I'm thinking straps and a chain hoist.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Mud%20Room.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front%20Porch.JPG)
We took off a little time and went to an auction. Came home with a few wall hangers. One of those draw knifes looks to be handmade.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Stuff.JPG)
Looking great, Quinton.
Double hung windows you can sometines take the sash out and then two people can manouver it out the opening and pop it back in where it belongs. I did this on my house even with 5+foot tall double windows.
Hi all,
Here are some pics of the mud/sun room that we've just added. I used freshly sawn 2x8s for the porch floor joists and horizontal supports and now I'm concerned about shrinkage. If they all shrink 1/4" it could make quite a change. I had orginally planned to finish all of the porches and then put on the roofs next summer but now I see that adding the roofs as I go makes way more sense. My posts are setting on solid rock so they won't move but those 2x8s sure will.
Happy thanksgiving everyone. I'm off to Ohio for 3 days to help a friend erect a log cabin. I sawed his rafters which are on my trailer ready to travel and he gets my foam insulation for 1/2 of box store price. A good trade I think
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sunroom-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sunroom-2.JPG)
Well, Quinton, you are certainly making fine progress here!
The place looks like it might be nicer than the one you lived in at Orchard Hills...
G'Day Ray,
Welcome to the forum and it's nice to hear from friends down under. Actually the house on Castle road in Orchard Hills was pretty nice... it was the abandoned chicken farm home on Castlereigh (sp?) in St. Mary's that was the rough one.
I just looked at the weather in Sydney and I'd sure like to trade . It's 20 deg F. (-6deg. C) here this AM.
We are currently installing the foam insulation and every sheet that we put up makes it a little warmer inside.
We would normally be back in Texas for the winter but we are committed to finishing the cabin by next fall, so here we are shivering and shaking and arguing about whose turn it is to go out to the cabin and start the fire. :D
Quinton
Sometimes I drive through that area, Quinton, and recently I went by and the house is still there. Most of the area has been well and truly built out with 'little boxes' 3/4 bedroom brick veneer w/en-suite and attached garage homes. But not that patch.
Sydney yesterday, or at least the part I was in, the Eastern Creek Raceway (big Tasman revival... your mate Graeme McClintock was there helping the new owner of his old Mawer)... and it was threatening rain all day but not delivering. Wore a jacket all day, but still in shorts.
Now, about this cabin, are you going to have a trained frog in the toilet?
We have been considering what type of flooring that we're going to use in the cabin. Today we came across some pine T&G that was $1.80 for 3/4"x5 1/2"x 6' boards. That works out to about $ .75 per sqft. I had to make a decision right then, so without a chance to compare prices, I bought what was available...enough to do the main living area of the cabin. Not a good way to make a decision but it's done. The boards came in plastic wrapped bundles of 6 boards so I assume that it is kiln dried. It's not totally defect free and I'll have to cut out some knots but it's pretty good. Ok/ good/ bad deal????
Quinton
PS. For those that read the previous post and are scratching your head in confusion...Ray is a good friend from the years that we lived in Australia and the little green frog that he refers to is the one that lived in our toilet tank in Orchard Hills, NSW. We had a fair sized pond on the property and our 7 year old daughter would try to "help" him out by taking him down to the pond where he/she could live a happier life...but always within a few days there he'd be again, back in the tank happily eating mosquitoes. This went on for all the years that we lived there...I'm sure it was not the same frog but there was always one in there. We loved that place! My daughter still talks about that frog.
Having something right there is a temptation, no doubt. And to be honest, there's not many timbers that don't grow on you eventually.
But for a floor, I really like Cypress Pine:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/species_cypress_350.jpg)
That flooring is a beaut! 8)
Is Cypress pine native to Australia?
We're back in Texas for a few weeks. It's a real change to get back to where most of the trees and the grass stay green all winter and tee shirts are the most worn colthing. It's a rainy, overcast day but I love it anyway. It's great to have two places 1300 miles apart that we love equally well. Both of our homes are pretty humble abodes but we consider them perfect for our needs. We'll get back to work on the W.Va. cabin in about two weeks.
Merry Christmas everyone.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Corner%20View-1.JPG)
The view off of the back porch
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/The%20Back%20Yard-1.JPG)
QuoteOriginally posted by Paschale
That flooring is a beaut! 8)
Is Cypress pine native to Australia?
It seems to grow here naturally, yes...
There are some sawmills which do pretty much only Cypress. One is out at Gwabegar (the 'G' is silent like the 'P' in ocean), which is a small hamlet in the middle of the Pilliga Scrub in northwest New South Wales.
I worked out there a couple of times a couple of years ago, not at the mill, but around the town. Strange place. Just one retail establishment in the whole town, the Post Office, which has a set of shelves full of snack foods and soft drinks and that's that!
Pilliga is similarly small, about 20 miles to the north, Baradine is another whistle stop (but a little larger) about 18 miles to the south. I always say to people that it's a measure of the people of Gwabegar that they go to Baradine to shop.
There are others, but I'm not familiar with them. I recall that a friend of mine was selling a tract of land on the hills between Wallabadah and Currabubula and asked me to see if the local mill might be interested in the regrowth of the cypress as it stood at that time. I met the rep on the site, but I don't remember where he was from.
Cypress has the distinct advantage that it's resistant to most white ants or termites. In some areas homes are built entirely from this timber for that reason. Beams, purlins and studs have to be a size larger than for normal timbers, however, as it's graded as not as sturdy as many others.
To my way of thinking, though, it's simply magic as a flooring timber.
One other thing I know about it is this. Just after WW2, a man from Sydney bought himself three war-surplus Ford V8 blitz trucks. Brand new. They were going cheap.
One was converted into a prime mover with a six-seat cabin (made from timber), the other two chassis were used to build up a semi-trailer mobile home, like a modern 5th wheeler, while one of the spare power units was used to power a sawmill up on the back of that prime mover.
Here's a pic of the rig, note that the bodywork is made from hardboard.
PHOTOS MUST RESIDE IN FORESTRY FORUM GALLERIES
This man would take his family to new farms that were being made available to returning soldiers. He'd camp there with his family, cut the timber from the stands on the land, season it (somewhat hurriedly, I gather) and mill it, and then build their home on the property for them. He'd spend about six to eight months on each property.
A lot of the timber he milled was cypress. This makes me very envious, as to enjoy the aroma of freshly cut cypress is to know that there's a true beauty in it beyond its appearance.
About another 10 days and we'll be heading back to W.Va to continue work on the cabin. Until then I guess we just have to keep on catching these guys. The redfish is 28" The trout about 16" It's hard work but someone has to do it. 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Redfish-3.JPG)
Somebody will have to fire up the grill and cook them to. Maybe even the same somebody!
You just never know how things will work out. Sarah silpped on the 1' ramp coming out of our shed and broke both of the leg bones at the ankle. Looks like surgery to fix. She was just a real tough girl thru the whole process of getting her to the hospital. This girl has so much grit...way more than me.
Quinton
Very sorry to hear about that accident. Sure puts a damper on a great project. Pray she heals quickly and without problems.
Wow sounds like a bad break .... surgery and time will heal
are you in TX or WV ?
My thoughts go out to Sarah, give her our regards and hope for a speedy recovery. I go for exrays this week #4 and hope to start some type of therapy on my foot, still can't use it and I am going nuts. just ask my wife & daughter's.
Queaver, best of luck !! Sarah hang tuff...... I broke my right leg/ankle 2 years ago, stay strong it has been a rough ride, Major pain in the A$$ but it does get better Slowly..... Surgery = permanent steel plates and screws. Be mindful I had dislocated the foot, broke off the inside of the tibia at the knuckle and spirial fractured the fibia " log rolling"..... Sarah I, hope your injury is no where near the mess i made of mine. Speedy recovery, always available to talk, recovery can be a bummer !!!
BULL :'(
I can't remember who Sarah is,sorry,your wife?I can't remermber anything these days,except how to run my sawmill.
Sorry to here about your wife's injury. :( I only broke half my leg, the fibula, this past Oct. I was very lucky and it is doing fine now. Don't tell the boss, she thinks I still can't do anything. Wonder where she got that idea. ;)
Bob
Bob, you been feeding her a fibula? ::)
Sorry to hear about the accident, that sounds like a tough one. Is the cabin good to ride out the winter? I think the weather is taking its turn here.
We saw the "sawbones" today and she'll have surgery tomorrow. The breaks are very similar to your's Bull. Plus a small bone at the back of the ankle is broken. Six weeks with no weight at all and then about 6 months until she is back to normal. We'll probably head back to WV in about 3-4 weeks. I guess we'll just have to park her in the middle of the cabin main room by the spindle moulder and let her make T&G. :D
Don, the cabin is pretty well dried in except for the small spaces where the sheathing has shrunk.
Thanks to all for the good wishes.
Quinton
Aaawww Q....That's too bad. I know all too much about rehab..... :( :( :(
I wish her well....and tell her to do mostly what the Doc says....I learned the hard way that he pretty much knew what he was talkin' about..... ;D ;) ;D ;)
Sorry to hear about the accident! :'( Make her project manager, set her up on a chair in the middle of the cabin and let her supervise.
Reminds me of the day Sarah crashed your race car, Quinton...
She was all sorry for herself and upset about the car, I just told her not to worry, "Quinton will build you a new one!" I said.
Tough break though, puts a real damper on everything, especially your plans to get this project finished. Keep us posted, won't you?
Sarah's bones are now plated, bolted, screwed and cast. She's not having much pain and the stiches come out on Monday and then it's just a lot of laying around until she gets the walking cast in about a 5 weeks. I guess we'll just stay in Texas until then.
I've been thinking about the siding for the cabin. I like B&B for ease of preparation and installation but it's not really the look that I'd like to have for the cabin. My orginal plan was to make shiplap, but providing a nailing place with vertical sheathing with 1.5"x 3" spacers for the ridgid insulation is a problem. I love the look of shingle siding but I still have the problem of nailing it up. Now that OSB has come down in price, I'm considering wrapping the house with it and going back to shiplap or shingles. I'm not sure that 1/2 OSB would make a good nailing surface for wood shingles tho'.
Quinton
Quinton, thanks for the update on Sarah; I'm glad to hear that things are progressing well. We will keep her in our thoughts and prayers.
I think that you are correct in that 1/2" OSB is not a good nailing surface What if you put the OSB up, house wrapped it, did your spacers and foam over it, with shiplap on the outside, nailed into the spacers? If there are not studs to mail the spacers into, then you could screw them into the OSB from the back side. I'm thinking that you would end up with a homemade type of SIP w/o the glue, from a ridigity perspective.
Scott
Here is a picture of how I'm planning to do it if I use B&B. Keep in mind that where I am at the moment is with 11' 1x random width sheathing running vertical and nailed top and bottom to the sill and girt. Running horizontal 1.5x 3"s which will be screwed to the sheathing from the inside will stabilize the sheathing and give me a nailing place for the B&B...as well as a place to put the foam insulation. This will make a simple and stiff shear wall...especially after I nail the horizontal T&G paneling to the inside.
But what if I want to use shiplap or shingles? I could run my spacers vertical but then the only thing keeping the sheathing in line would be the interior paneling. I will put house wrap between the sheathing and the insulation. I could use 5/8" plywood to nail shingles to, but now I'm getting into major bucks to sheath the entire exterior walls.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/siding-a3.jpg)
Run your horizontal spacers as planned.
Then over them run either ¾" or 1" spacers vertical.
I belive that to be the best way to do wood siding.
For shingles, I belive you also want the air space behind them, so there is going to be a lot of extra work there.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Now to change the subject a bit. You are going to have both 1" sheathing and seperate inside paneling?
Then I would simply use your spacers as a vertical stud wall and place the 1" horizontally on the outside of that.
Any further furring needed for proper installation of siding or shingles will be easy after that.
I'm not even sure I would use the 1" sheathing if you don't need it for panelling as the stud wall would be your nailing surface and you don't need anything to stiffen it as your structure is a timber frame and not a standard stud frame..
What about a combination of B&B siding with shingled accents? Maybe something like fancy butt fish-scale or octagon shingles around the entry door. Possibly just do the gables with shingles? Arkie came up with an attractive combination of B&B siding along with ship lap on the gable end while back.
Hey Furby, vertical nailers would be a good solution. I hadn't really considered that. If you look at page 10 of this thread, you can see where I am with the 1" sheathing and I'm pretty well stuck with that.. It actually looks almost good enough on the interior to be used as the paneling, but we're going to dress it up with T&G for a more finished look. Now that Sarah is going to be immobilized for a while :D we'll let her make T&G from her wheel chair.
Yeah, guess I forgot about the fact you already had the sheathing up, sorry.
Well, I guess we won't be in too much of a hurry to get back to WV! Cousin Rodney tells me that the river is frozen over enough to walk on. I do remember the river getting hard enough to skate on back in the mid 1950s. Dad hung lights out over the ice and people were skating the 2 miles from Weston to where we lived on the river. I was pretty young then but I vaguely remember that. The ponds frequently get frozen hard enough to skate but seldom the river which is only a few miles downriver from the dam.
We are also having a cold snap here in south Texas...it's down to 42 52 deg F. Burrrr! BTW, the water temp at the end of my pier is 60 deg F. :D
Quinton
Here is the wall layout that I have decided to use.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/siding-a-2.jpg)
One thing I would do before the B&B went up , would be to put a sheet of 1/2 or 3/4" extrudeded poly foam over the firing . EXP has a crush density of 15 or 25 psi try to get the 25psi . It does not cost that much and the energy savings will be good . glue the seams with PL300 ( it is a blue glue for foam) to eliminate air infiltration. then nail up the B&B and enjoy a warm draftfree cabin. Cool in summer.
Quinton, something else to consider from an insulation standpoint is Tekfoil. It's a foil / bubble insulation that is very effective at keeping the heat or cooling inside. I would use it in conjunction with the foam board.
Regards,
Scott
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14805/Image1.JPG)
There's nothing like a nice warm cabin the first day of hunting season or your wifes birthday 8) 8) 8)
This is what we have been waiting for! Sarah is back on two legs again, the weather is breaking in WV and the trailer is loaded up with 200 gal of $1 diesel and true 6x6 timbers treated to .6 for the cabin decks...non of which that I can buy in WV. We should be back to work on the cabin by next weekend. 8)
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Loaded%20Trailer.JPG)
Glad to hear y'all are mobile again. Yup its sure trying to be spring, daffodils popped in a big way yesterday. We got a house wedding to attend next weekend, we're gonna yaller that place up ;D. Hop on in the waters fine...for the moment :D.
Glad to hear Sarah is mobile. We are are a few weeks away from any work up here.
We pulled into the WV cabin about 10 pm last night. It's really strange to get up this morning to bare trees and brown grass. The trees were all green and I'd already mowed the grass once in Texas before we left. Oh well, we'll have the joy of going thru' pollen season again in the next few weeks. BUT it's great to be getting back to work on the cabin again. :D 8)
I'm going to spend the morning making and prioritizing our "To Do" list. It'll be a long one.
Quinton
Good luck on your list. Glad you got in safely and look forward to seeing your progress.
Stew
Welcome back Q...Can't wait for more pictures... ;D ;D ;D
We've been back in WV for several weeks now and if you're wondering why we haven't posted any pics of cabin progress...this picture tells it all. Since the Case 450 got back to WV...no stump is safe from cousin David's wrath. Here is the last one that we took out today. Those two trees were joined into one and I wasn't sure we were going to get'er for awhile there. Mighty big stump for a 450 to tackle. Just a few more to pull tomorrow and we'll be able to plant the rest of the pines. At least the weather is getting good.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Big%20Mama.JPG)
My neighbor has an old case 450. We found that it and my Ford 555A backhoe are a good match for just about anything.
After many weeks of clearing land, planting trees, sawing logs and generally getting ready, we're finally able to report some progress on the house. If you've been following this thread, you know that our cabin will have covered decks all around and we need to get these decks done before we can start work on the exterior walls. We now have the deck framing done on three sides and hope to complete the 4th tomorrow. Which brings us to our next decision which is what to use for decking. I really only have two choices, 2x6 treated pine or 5/4 rough sawn white oak. I can buy No.1 ACQ treated to .4 for the same price that the box stores sell No.2 treated .21 but I have to drive 180 miles round trip to get it.
Suggestions?
Here's where we are now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Decks-2.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Decks-1.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Decks-4.JPG)
In my opinion I would go with the pine. It may cost more probably but I believe you would get longer service out of it.
The .4 ACQ pine is safer.
The white oak will look better.
Qweaver
You said the decks would be covered, and you don't have treated joist framing, from the looks of the pics.
So I'd go with the white oak, as it should last as long as the joists. Just seems to me... ::) ::)
Ah, but I do have treated deck framing. It's called Penetreat and we treated several test pieces and the front section of deck last summer and it seems to be holding up well. A friend that builds log houses has used it for years and has high praise for it. We'll see as time goes on.
Quinton
If the decks are to be covered, the white oak would be a nice contrast. As long as water does not stand on the deck boards, I suspect the white oak will do well.
Quote from: Qweaver on May 27, 2007, 11:26:23 PM
Ah, but I do have treated deck framing. It's called Penetreat and we treated several test pieces and the front section of deck last summer and it seems to be holding up well. A friend that builds log houses has used it for years and has high praise for it. We'll see as time goes on.
Quinton
That is interesting. What species is the framing and how did you go about treating it with Penetreat? I'd be curious.
The wood is poplar, not my 1st choice for outside framing, but it's what I have. The treatment consists of a heavy wash down with the pressure washer and that is allowed to soak until the wood is just damp. Then 3 coats of the Penetreat with about 15 minutes of soak time between coats. After a days drying time we are applying the stain which also contains a fungicide. The treated wood that we put up last summer shows no sign of weathering or discoloration. We'll know more in a year or two. The side decks will be screened and will see very little water but the front and rear decks will get blowing rain and snow. I will leave a slot at the wall so that air can circulate to help dry any water that does get in there. I used this same building technique on my decks that are located 100 feet off of the salt water in Texas and I have absolutely no rot with the deck fastened against a cedar planked wall.
Just keeping my fingers crossed on this one.
Quinton
PS: More on the ACQ corrosion topic. I pulled several 2x4s that I had been using as temporary braces yesterday. They have been on for about a year now and were fully out in the weather and were nailed on with uncoated, bright nails. There was no corrosion and only slight surface rust and actually were less rusted than the nails that I pulled out of the green poplar that the other side of the brace was nailed to. That's a pretty un-scientific test but so much for "they'll corrode in-two in a few weeks" theory
I was hoping to post pictures of our completed decks today but a little gift from Florida and Georgia (rain) has pretty much slowed us to a crawl. But we got this much screwed down. Being able to get up on the decks is a major step for us and progress should pick up now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Decking-1.JPG)
Here's Sarah (We call her hop-along now) trying to make sure the count is right.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/How%20many%20is%20that.JPG)
Quote from: Qweaver on June 03, 2007, 05:42:01 PM
I was hoping to post pictures of our completed decks today but a little gift from Florida and Georgia (rain) has pretty much slowed us to a crawl.
Violin_smiley Violin_smiley Violin_smiley Violin_smiley
Here's another design problem that's been bugging me for awhile now and I'm not completely satisfied with any solution that I've come up with. Should I try to seal the porch siding to decking intersection or leave an air space to allow any water that gets in there to dry. As this drawing shows, the exterior wall comes out over the deck. So if I try to seal and it fails, then the trapped water causes all kinds of grief. I'm leaning toward the method shown here and then if I do want to seal it, I can always do it with an easily removable flashing. Whadda ya think?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/wall-swction-2.jpg)
I'm not an experienced builder, so I can't offer any valuable insights, but I just had to comment on the quality of these diagrams you post from time to time. smiley_thumbsup
What design program do you use?
Hey Paschale, good to hear from you. The drawing program is a really old version of Designer. (1992) If you get rid of the libraries, samples and help files, the program only takes up a few hundred K. The entire program is about 6 MB of which 5 MB is samples and clipart. I'm sure there are better programs out there but this one is really easy to use and I can draw to exact scale. I've also used it for so long that I know all the shortcut keys and it's fast for me. I've never taken the time to learn the 3D CAD programs and after teaching drafting for 30 years, my mind works in orthographic and isometric anyway.
On cabin progress:
We finished the porch decking before lunch this AM and will start framing up the washroom this PM. Yee ha!
Quinton
I'm enjoying the building.........vicariously (sp); always known my mind worked a leetle differently than most; you've identified it; THANKS! I now realise it works in orthometric and isographic, also............
Hey I member that stuff...you had the top view, below that the front view, and off to the right the side view. Ran a bunch of hidden lines up to the top right quadrant for the iso-metric-ortho-graphic view.
Well, maybe that wasn't my best subject. :-[
Can't help on the deck problem...waiting to see a good answer and maybe I'll learn something.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/wall-swction-2.jpg)
This is how I've been doing the ledger to building flashing. Not sure whether its at all applicable, but maybe it'll prompt an idea. The blue piece goes on first to protect the wall and whatever is below, then the ledger, then the red piece kicks water out over the face of the ledger and counterflashes the blue piece. Then the black tarpaper laps the red piece of metal.
Thanks Don, good ideas! It's just so critical to keep the water away from the wall. The first house that we bought in Texas, the builder just screwed the untreated decking joists to the wall with no way for the water to get out and it rotted out in three years. The way it was built even treated lumber would have failed. Our wall to deck joins should see very little water but I'm trying to build them so that if they do...they'll be OK.
Quinton
Hey Thurlow and Larry, if you really want to get confused about orthographic...go to Australia...I took every drafting class that was offered at my collage and made straight "A"s, but when I got to Aussie Land to start my first teaching assignment, I discovered that not everyone in the world draws in the third angle. Not only that...high school kids in Australia were doing more complex drawings than I had ever done in college in the US. Doubly inclined, interpenetrations of solids nearly ate my lunch for a while. Easy stuff for a CAD program, but try it on paper...better know how to solve true length lines. I still firmly believe that all drafting classes should start out with paper and pencil.
Quinton
Pencil (2H, of course) and paper were all we had when I was doing this stuff at Parramatta High School. I always enjoyed what was then termed 'Descriptive Geometry and Drawing' but was popularly known as 'Tech Drawing' and did well at it.
I don't remember 'orthographic', though. Isometric comes to mind, however.
Good to see this kind of progress, Quinton, and also to see Sarah on her feet...
We're still sawing logs to be used on the house this fall. We cut this big-un a few days ago. We had to fall it across the area where we are building the pond and the Case 450 was struggling mightily to drag it out of there.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/a-big-en-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/a-big-en-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/A-Big-en-3.JPG)
The photo makes it look like there is rot at the heart but there is not. Lot's of pretty lumber in there.
Quinton
What a fine log 8). Nice looking mill, too ;D. I see alot of lumber drying in the shed :).
Have you ever had one of those days when you just should have slept thru' it? My chainsaw had just completely quit oiling and thru several acts of total stupidity, I turned a 15 minute job into a 4 hour job. ( I ended up with it torn down completely except for separating the wrist and crank pins)) Well, bottom line it oils great now...so I wasted 4 hours...time to move on and saw some logs. Fired up the LT15 and it promptly ate the drive belt. The spare one that I had hanging on the wall?...it was the wrong size. So off to NAPA to hopefully find a replacement...the only thing was what they called a "commercial" belt that was at least close to the same size, worked but I had to re-adjust everything to make it work. Another hour gone. I think the belt I got was designed for a mower application. I'll order a proper belt tomorrow but the "mower" belt is working OK and maybe it'll see me thru'.
DANG!
Quinton
I never realised that Poplar was so usable... what qualities does it have?
Hi All, we've changed plans a little and are now going to get all the porch roofs in place before starting on the walls. We've had great weather this spring (unlike last year) which at some point will end and with the porch roofs in place we can continue to work on the walls regardless of the weather...plus it gives the B&B more drying time before we put it up
Here's where we stopped today.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Porch-Roofs-1.JPG)
We decided to take a break and do some camping and boating for a few days. But I got a little restless this morning and I drove back in from the campgrounds and nailed a few more roof decking boards onto the deck roof. We're getting there...one board at a time. But dang! there are sure a lot of boards when ya don't use plywood! ::)
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Deck-5.JPG)
Quinton - it sure is looking good! Thanks for the update and pix. Give my regards to Miss Sarah.
Scott
Q, it is looking fine ;).
We are back to work today after our little vacation and the north side deck roof is done. I think we'll spend a little time out of the sun now and start putting up the wash room walls.
Thanks Scott & WDH, Sarah says, "Howdy". She's doing much better. Still a little limp but I'm not sure if it's the broken leg or just a little age showing. ;) I'm running for cover now, gotta go! :D
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/N-Deck-done.JPG)
I've been watching from the start, AWESOME !!!
Quinton, you like to live dangerously, don't you? (PS - I'm glad to hear that Sarah is much better! Y'all need to quit working so hard and drive down to NC and visit Laureen and I!)..
:D
Quote from: Qweaver on July 06, 2007, 03:38:01 PM
We are back to work today after our little vacation and the north side deck roof is done. I think we'll spend a little time out of the sun now and start putting up the wash room walls.
Thanks Scott & WDH, Sarah says, "Howdy". She's doing much better. Still a little limp but I'm not sure if it's the broken leg or just a little age showing. ;) I'm running for cover now, gotta go! :D
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/N-Deck-done.JPG)
More progress today. These are views of the south side deck. We have the posts, beams and rafters up. Tomorrow we plan to deck and tar paper. I'm glad we arn't doing this in the Texas heat but 93 deg. was hot enough. I'm going to cut the roof decking to length tonight in the cool of the downstairs.
The interior of the house is staying very cool in this heat so the 2" ridgid foam insulation in the roof must be doing a pretty good job. By the time we get another 1/2" of foam and the interior panaling, I think it will be fine for a "cabin".
I do have one gripe. I hate the look of the hurricane ties and metal straps on the deck posts and rafters. Most of the straps and ties on the main frame members are hidden behind the sheathing or otherwise out of sight but the porch hardware stands out like a sore thumb. I'm wondering if I couldn't achieve close to the same strength with wooden "straps" screwed on?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/S-Deck-Roof.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/S-Deck-Roof-2.JPG)
Here's my thinking on replacing sheet metal hurricane clips. Don? Others?
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Rafter%20joint.jpg)
NC State had some barn plans that had 6x6 poles with 2x12's notched in on each side for the beam up top. You then ripped the "tie" stock to 2-1/2" and nailed them in the space between the 2x12's, alongside rafter layout, then nailed them into the rafters.
Old mill construction often used hardwood blocks and bolts instead of steel hangers. I'd think about setting up shop and predrilling them a shade oversize so they aren't going to split. Could dunk em in stain to get all sides while you're there.
I'm throwing some numbers around, not sure how close they would be, 2' of rafter spacing x 8' of span=16' x maybe at worst, codebook looks like 15 psf uplift in a 90 mph breeze = 240 lbs/ rafter uplift. You're looking at about 3 nails in the beam and 3 in the rafter to be up to that, all depending on the quality of that word problem :D Screws are ok if they aren't brittle, technically the ones in the simpson bin at Lowes. #8 screws in poplar are worth about 100 lbs each in shear or withdrawal with at least 6 diameters in in shear and over 1" into the main member in withdrawal.
Not strictly kosher but I've never had it fail is to use a 90 degree framing angle 2x2x5 on top of the carry beam and nail down into the beam and into the side of the rafter. It puts the nails in withdrawal which isn't specced but you do get 60-90 lbs on a 16 sinker that way. I angle them around.
It seemed like a good day to grout tile in the basement ;D
How about using a piece of trim or something to simply cover up the clips?
BTW, if any of you old time draftsmen think that my top view is backwards (it is) just imagine that I drew it in the 1st angle and "she'll be right mate" Old habits die hard. ;D
Quinton
Latest update:
The south side roof is now done and we are starting to finish exterior walls. We can just laugh at the rain now. Man!, does that feel good. 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/S-Deck%20Done.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Main-Entry.JPG)
That is looking really good Quinton. I got a job for you when you are done. :D :D
Quote from: Qweaver on July 17, 2007, 09:55:57 PM
Latest update:
The south side roof is now done and we are starting to finish exterior walls. We can just laugh at the rain now. Man!, does that feel good. 8)
That rain coming down on that steel roof has got to be a very pleasant sound...especially now that you know it's the sound of keeping the rain out!
How loud does the rain sound on metal roofs? :P
Quote
How loud does the rain sound on metal roofs? :P
Really loud! In Hawaii our roof wasn't insulated and at times you coulnd't hold a conversation when the rain was really coming down, which it can really do there.
Like Steve says, in HEAVY rain it's LOUD.
99% of the time it's a very nice sound to drop off to sleep to, but in a hailstorm you will know something is going on :D
Steel roofs are the norm in NZ, and so is rain ::)
Cheers
Ian
Our camper shed metal roof is just screwed down to 1x3s on 24" centers and the rain is VERY loud, but we love it...just don't try to talk over it. The roof on the cabin is decked solid with 1Xs and 3" of foam and will get 3/4" t&g paneling on the inside so it will be a lot quieter.
It's rainy today so I'm going to work on getting the hot water system installed. The girls (wife and daughter) are thrilled at getting more hot water than what a black hose lying in the sun can provide for showers. :D :D
On another note: The screws holding the Case 450 drive shaft universal joint together came loose yesterday. Of course it was the rear joint so it banged around a bit and put some dents in the shaft tube. I'll chuck it up in a lathe today and if it's reasonably straight I'll weld a patch around it and continue on. I've made, lengthened, shortened, straightened a heap of these over the years and these turn pretty slow...so it should be an easy fix. I'd hate to see what one costs. It's hard for me to understand how this one worked it's way loose...never had that happen before. Cousin David is not a happy camper with his toy a crippled dozer setting out in the field. :(
Quinton
My parents' summer cottage had a metal roof and was among large cedars. Conversation was impossible during a heavy rain then the trees would drip for hours after the storm. The squirrels made a racket on it too.
A little more progress today. We got the lower 2000 gal tank set and it's filling from the upper 1500 gal tank as I type. Also got the pump, expansion tank and water heater plumbed and as soon as we get the pipe from the tank to the pump connected we will be ready to make pressurized hot and cold water. We would have come close today except that the rain made it hard to dig the ditch. I've still got to figure out an easy way for the upper 1500 gal tank to feed the lower tank. I may just run a 1" line and manually open and close a valve...at least for the short term. I'll get some pics when it's done tomorrow. Looking forward to that 1st hot shower. :)
Quinton
Quinton, did you go with a rainwater collection system? I'm anxiously waiting to see your pics. We have rural water on site, but thinking about alternatives for our new home.
Get a float valve for a cow tank . My buddy uses one on a 1000 gallon tank for spray water . It is hooked up to city water and fills his tank then he can pump his portable full in short order with a 2" pump
We now have a operating hot water system and the first high pressure hot showers were just completed. What a treat! We never had running water, let alone hot running water, when I grew up on this same piece of property years ago.
We are still using the same outdoor shower that we have been using since we first started the cabin but now it is HOT. Another milestone. Here's a pic of daughter Sonya enjoying the hot water.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Sonya%20shower.JPG)
She sure seems to have grown up since I last saw her...
Then again, that was 30 years ago!
Lookin' good Q........
Yer almost ready to have us all over..... :D :D :D
Exterior framing and foam going on...finished wall pics tomorrow.
Metal roof is the norm in Brisbane. Lots of heavy rain too (though not enough at the moment). Allways enjoyed going to bed with heavy rain thundering on the tin roof.
I grew up in a house with a tin roof. Nothing like laying warm and snug in bed on a cold night with the rain drumming on the roof.
I was hoping to post pics of the completed south side this evening but one thing led to another...well, you know how that works. A lot of the wide boards on this south wall curled up and I've had to saw a cut down the board and pull them back flat with screws. It's time consuming but we got them pretty flat. We should have it done by lunch tomorrow and at least it is starting to look like a real cabin now.
I'm not liking the window frame color as much as I thought I would. I've been told that vinyl will take paint OK. Any one have any experience painting vinyl?
Here's our current crew left to right. Uncle Lowell, Cousin Dave, Daughter Sonya and my Sarah.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1-The%20Crew.JPG)
We are framing the walls with well dried white pine.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1-Pine%20wall%20framing.JPG)
Sonya showing off our good window fit. You may notice some sticker stain but we are bleaching the boards before we apply the finish and it's OK after that.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1-Sonya-Window-fit.JPG)
It's getting there...one board at a time.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/1-Getting-%20there.JPG)
Quinton
Those tall concrete block columns are making more sense now that there is a house on them.
Lookin' good. 8)
Looking great!
I've painted a bunch of vinyl with no trouble using a sherwin williams product called lox-on. I spray it on with a pump sprayer.
Except for battens, the south side of the cabin is done. We are going to wait a week or so to put battens on. We're starting on the front wall today. I'll post pictures this evening.
Quinton
Here is the pic of the completed south side. There is a lot of building clutter and the battens will change the look some but this is pretty well it. Now it's back up on the tall rafters(you can see the front porch posts on the right side of the picture)...we don't look forward to that.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/South-done.JPG)
Looking real good Quinton. I have enjoyed this thread. I know is has been hard work,but you are definitely closer to the end than you were a few months ago. The end result and satisfaction of "do it yourself" will be well worth it.
Great job to all! Now that you have this almost complete and are experianced stop on over to my build. ;D Oh, Don't forget your tools! :) :D
What a beautiful job, Q. If I was you, I would be bursting with pride ;).
Well Bill, we're a long way from done but when we are, I'll certainly entertain your offer. ;D
Hey Don and WD, It is pretty satisfying to stand back and look at it now...but not for too long as there's much to do before winter. I spend almost every evening up on the decks, drinking a few brews, listening to good music and planning the next days work. What a way to retire. 8)
Lots of helpers and progress today but we worked til dark. Pictures tomorrow...just tired tonight.
Quinton
The front porch framing is up and we will complete temporary decking today so that we can start putting up the rafters. The front porch will become our main work area once the roof is on. I'm trying to find a source for hammered flat bar to use for straps but have had no luck. I hate the look of the galv. straps from the box stores and plain flat bar is not much better. I may just make some but that is really time consuming and not on the agenda night now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/F-porch%20framing.JPG)
Well, it's raining so no rafters going up for awhile. Here are two close-ups of the worm trails in the railing tops that we are using for the front porch. These logs had only been down for a month, so those little critters had been really busy. What kind of bug does this? ???
Now, for things to do on a rainy day. ::) Please come on out. smiley_sun
Oh well, at least it's refilling my water tanks.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Worm-trails-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Worm%20Trails-2.JPG)
Here's where we stopped today...we still had plenty of daylight left...just no energy. Today was Sarah and my 41st wedding anniversary and we had an extra long lunch where we cooked rib-eyes for our crew ( cousin Dave, BIL Don, Cousin Mabel and daughter Sonya). Then it was back up on the roof and nailing down decking. What a difference from this time last year (see page 5). Gonna hit it early and hard tomorrow.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/porch-6.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Porch-7.JPG)
Congratulations on the progress and on the 41 years; Angie and I completed 41 in May. As our anniversary nears each year, one of us is apt to exclaim to those around, "26 (or 30, or 32; or whatever comes to mind) happy years together", to which the other replies, "We've been married 41 years".
King Architecural Metals 1800 542 2379
they have flats in alm and steel No minimums If you fax an order it is sent next day
Lookin' good Q....I went back ta when it was just some dirt bein' moved around... ;D ;D ;D
You've done well and you should be proud.... ;) ;) ;)
Here is the latest. I wanted to get the porch felt on and dried in today but it was just to hot to get up there. However, we did make good progress on the front porch framing and may get the B&B on by the end of the day tomorrow. We are all excited about the look we are getting.
Here's another look at the worm trails after we got it stained. Kinda neat I think. But I'd still like to know what kind of critter did them?
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/front-going-on.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front%20rail.JPG)
Q, definitely some sort of engraver beetle. Not sure which one.
Looking fine 8).
What ever kind of bugs those are,I have them too way up here in the north.Never thought of using them for the horse barn. :D Really looking forward to seeing the windows in your last picture in. Looks like you have some good ideas.
Here's the status at lunch time today. All of the lower front wall is insulated and caulked. We'll be siding this afternoon. Man those round top windows take some time to frame.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front%20insulation.JPG)
Todays update:
The boards are up and the windows are in and here's the pic with my two favorite girls. Upstairs tomorrow
Sarah and Sonya really hit it hard today and right now it' 8:00 PM and they are outside mowing. I'm feeling a little guilty...guess I'll get out there and help.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/FrontWindows-1.JPG)
Quote from: Qweaver on August 09, 2007, 08:16:17 PM
Here is the latest. I wanted to get the porch felt on and dried in today but it was just to hot to get up there. However, we did make good progress on the front porch framing and may get the B&B on by the end of the day tomorrow. We are all excited about the look we are getting.
Here's another look at the worm trails after we got it stained. Kinda neat I think. But I'd still like to know what kind of critter did them?
my guess would be "sawyer beetles". the larva feed under the bark of recently downed trees and leave those grooved out trails.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/sawyer.pdf
that is one very beautiful building youve built. i spent the last few days reading this whole thread. wow!
A fantastic job, Quinton...
Hope I get to see it in the flesh some time.
Thanks Rokky and Ray, it feels good to get positive feedback. Thanks! But I've also learned a lot from good constructive criticism on this site. We should have pictures of the completed front of the cabin tomorrow. I'm loving it. 8)
Quinton
Update:
All of the front windows are now in and only some trim work and braces need to be done to call the front DONE. That large window in the peak was a bear to get up there. We have one just like it to go up on the west wall and that dude is going up before the roof goes on. smiley_idea We're cleaning up today and hosting a family reunion tomorrow. We'll be hitting the north walls Monday.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front-Windows-in.JPG)
Umm.. I hate to say this at this point, but it looks like you built it about a 10 degree tilt. ::) ;D
That is an absolutely beautiful cabin. Makes me want one f my own. What is your availability?
Looks like we need to take a few lessons in photography. here's a close up of the window that went into the peak. Heavy! :o Even with a boat winch and a turning block we had to do a lot of pushing and shoving
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/F-peak-window.JPG)
We've used pump jacks to lift and install some pretty large glass, just another thought. Circleheads are time consuming, that is a great looking porch though. We had one house that had 7 of those suckers trimmed out with arches from 5x10 stock (thank you Mr Architect :D) I have a nice shop bandsaw from that one.
Update:
The front porch is now completely framed, decked and papered and will get green metal in the morning. We sat under the completed roof this evening and it's amazing how different and cozy the low roof line makes it. We like it! smiley_bounce
The last few days of 90 deg. + heat has keep us felling trees and sawing rather than being up on the roof but we were on a roll again today.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/F-porch-black-1.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/F-porch-26.JPG)
Very nice, Quinton. Ya'll should be very proud. smiley_thumbsup
Don
As usual best laid plans get ruined by the unforeseen...a stick poking a hole thru' the bottom tank on the tractor has slowed us down some. ::) I was able to make a temporary patch that is holding OK until the new one gets here. We did get the 16' pieces of roofing and the ridge cap on yesterday and as soon as the dew dries we'll try to finish the 8' pieces today
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roofing-4.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Roofing-5.JPG)
Quinton, it sure looks great. I like how you did your porch railing also - with the "log siding" nailed to the outside. I think that I'll steal that idea for the farmhouse project that I'm working on!
Scott
Hey Scott,
No log siding there. I found the "curviest" logs in the pile and cut the tops and bottoms off. Now if I can just keep them from cracking too badly. I may brad some thin pices of wood over the tops to keep the sun off of them for awhile.
We had a family re-union here last week and because we are pretty well hidden from view, there were many surprised relatives when they discover what has been "growing" on the old home place. We're talking about having a "the outsides done" party in about a month. Maybe you and Laureen can make it. We'll put a FF invite on here when we have a firm date. We are ready for a little less work and more leisure around here. ;)
We got the front porch roofs done this AM. Now just the 6' of rear porch roof and I can bid a fond (not!) farewell to that part of the project.
Quinton
Quinton - thanks for the tip and the invite. The Doc and I have been kicking around escapaing for a few days when the leaves start turning - perhaps we could escape up towards y'all!
Let me know how the party plans progress - would love to see y'all again.
Scott
A question. I'd sure like to get rid of the collar ties on the front porch shown in this view. Could I use a queen post arrangement to replace them? They really clutter the view of the window in the peak.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/f-roof-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Front-Windows-in.JPG)
Structurally they are too high to be "ties" in the sense that they resist rafter spreading thrust. The unmentionable book says that they need to be in the lower half, preferably lower third, really preferably at the top plate, otherwise the ridge should have a beam capable of supporting that section of roof. Technically the only tie there is the front carry beam. The book calls for one at least every 4', could you live with another midspan on the porch? All connections are for substantial tension tieing rafter to rafter ;).
So by the book, ties at 4' max, or beam type ridge, or engineering is the stock answer.
A kingpost above the midpost to the peak could support a ridgebeam if you could live with that, a quick shot at that looks like a 8x8 or 6x9 poplar ridge would do it. In the real world the existing collar ties may be helping to stiffen things and also would help if the wind got under there and tried to blow it apart.
Into engineering thats beyond me, if the carry beams that the rafters sit on cannot bow outwards, and if the rafters are tied well enough against thrust, then the roof is locked. If you can call the sheathing a diaphragm so much the better. Under a heavy snow the front carry beam is under a fair amount of tension trying to seperate all its joints. If they pop, the carry beams under the rafters swing out at the outward end and the roof starts sagging down. That's why the book wants a ridge beam or ties on 4' and wants engineering if it gets any more exotic.
Thanks for the comments Don. Well put and thought out as usual. I don't want a king post..again because it blocks the view, but I think I will add another tie beam. But I can not support it at the center with a post, so it will just lie across the short beam that spans the 8' between the outside center porch post and the wall of the cabin. How about this idea? I'll add these (queen posts?) to the porches and the interior roofs and also leave the collar ties on the inside of the cabin.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/queen-post.JPG)
I love setting on the porch at the end of the day and looking at what we've done and planning the next day's work...especially if the light bulb comes on and I see a better way to do things. ::) I don't need to add more tie beams. ( I really don't think I need them anyway but I may have to please an insurance company at some point) I'll just drill horz. holes thru' the beams and put in 1/2" threaded rod to form the ties. DUH!
Quinton
Makes it fun when that happens :) Dat'll do it.
We finally have some progress to report. The northside is now complete except for the washroom side walls which we are going to leave open for the winter so that we will have room to mill our interior lumber without filling the house with shavings. I am going to encase the northside porches with plastic to keep out snow and rain. This will become our primary work area and we can heat it if we need to.
We've had a bunch of interruptions but now it's on to the west wall and porch roof and I'm hoping we can knock this out without anymore sidesteps.
I'm really liking the look of the planed poplar and we will probably finish it natural. The view here is the north wall with the washroom wall in the center.
Quinton
This is a fairly recent view of the front
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/FrontView.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/NorthSide-3.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/NorthSide4.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/NorthSide-2.JPG)
Here's a good chance for a before and after view. The windows and siding should be on by the end of the day tomorrow. We'll see in the "after" pictures tomorrow. We're going to miss that door that got closed in.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/WestSide-Start-2.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/WestWall-2.JPG)
Here's the first "After" picture. We were 3 boards and some window trim from having the bottom part done...but tomorrow is another day and tonight is beer and Monday night football.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/After-1.JPG)
We've been working on the inside of the house all of last week while the welcome rains were here, but now we are back on the west porch. The posts and tie beams are up and the platform for building the upper wall are in place and we are planning to work dawn to dusk tomorrow to get this wall finished. It's been really cool the last few days and it's hard to keep heat in the house with all of the openings in the west wall. We were watching football in our Carharts this past weekend. Showering in our outdoor shower has been a character builder also.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/After-2.JPG)
We hit another benchmark today. The first indoor hot showers were enjoyed by all. smiley_clapping smiley_hellow_im_here
I'd include some pictures of the happy crew but the shower doors are clear and the Boss might send me to the wood shed :D
More progress pictures soon
Quinton
I am working on my own place as well so I have been really enjoying this thread.Thanks for all the pics. and detail to help us all understand.
I, too, will begin building our cabin/house in the Ozarks either the spring of next year or 2009, depending on how well the sawmill does. I really appreciate your pics and details, especially when things didn't go "eggsaxly" as planned!
You have given me some wonderfull insights and probably SAVED me a mulitude of mistakes in the meantime.
THANKS.. keep those pics and info coming 8)
Here are the latest pics of the front and rear of the cabin. There's still a lot of building clutter and a few pieces of trim missing and the rear deck will get a roof later, but this is pretty close to the final look.. The ladies are trying to convince me that it looks better without battens and considering the porches all around to protect the walls, we may try it w/o them. The temporary stove pipe will go away as soon as I decide how I'm going to build my chimney.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/A-3.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/A-4.JPG)
(More photes below)
We decided to salvage the old sink from my parents old house. We never had running water but we had a sink. :D
This may have been a mistake on my part because now Sarah wants an Elmira stove and frige to match. Have you priced those things lately? :o And with the declining dollar, it can only get worse. Is there no one in the USA building retro appliances? The old sink is in excellent shape (it's a little dirty in this photo) but getting fittings for it costs more than a new sink and fittings combined. Ah well...at least the sink is free. ::)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/a-2.JPG)
Here's a shot of the new shower. Note the high tech shower head...it's just like the one we had in the outdoor shower. Oh! Dang me...it is the same one. ;) From the look of Sarah's dirty cloths, she's in the right place. :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/A-1.JPG)
Looking good, and getting ready for winter.
Your chimney, if concrete block to the foundation, should fit real well with the concrete block piers already under the house.
Q,
Those covered porches look real nice. You will spend much enjoyable time there. Good luck with the battens :D ;D.
Quinton, I have the mirror image of your sink and a story to go along with it.
Kathys sink (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=8366.0)
One more tidbit not in the thread. I couldn't restore the original drain but found a drain with strainer at Lowes. It's made for a standard bar sink...and wonder of wonders it wasn't to expensive.
Thanks for taking the time to post your progress pictures...one of my favorite threads.
Do you mean like this Quinton,
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10436/elmira2.jpg)
This is a 4 gas burner with 2 electric surface burners.The surface burners we use as a work station too.It's flat so we can place items on there.We hardly ever use the surface burners,but are there if needed.Has a convention oven with a warming oven.We really enjoy the warmer.My wife don't see how she got by without it before.There is a top part that looks like a warming oven.There are more picture in my gallery on page one.Did not want to post more. My wife would of love to find a sink like that.We did not get the Elmira fidge.That is really a big rip off.All they do is put a false front on to a standard fidge.The stove is bad enough.At least you can have it built anyway you want it,for a price.As you can see we did not go with a lot of chrome and the pieces to dress it up.We wanted it to go with our cook stove we have.
Your place is really looking good.I have enjoyed following all your progress.
Hey Larry, your sink install looks really good. Thanks for the photo, Sarah liked how it looked so that's how I'll do it. Any chance that the old hardware store would have any more of those fittings? I could use two of them.
Yeah Thecfarm, that's the stove. She's found a white one that she can get for $6800. Man! That a lot of money just to be able to cook some grits. :D
Quinton
Outstanding!
Glad you are almost finished. I could use a experianced crew!
I'm thinkng of putting in a commercial stove.
Quinton, Thayer Supply Co. in Atchison Kansas. Phone is (913) 367-0675. They keep two models in stock because St. Benedictine College has a bunch of those old sinks. If I remember correctly the heavy duty model has a heavier spout. Not needed for a residence as the standard model works quite well.
I would pick one up for ya but we moved 300 miles away.
Q, Don't forget about the "new" OLD building green deal that is sweeping the country. I was watching "THIS OLD HOUSE" on PBS and seems there are a lot of non-profits getting into the recycling business; reclaiming old, but still usable sinks, fixtures, fireplace mantles and the like. Might try surfing for those with a keyword "reclaimed sink fixtures" or something like that. They were especially interested in helping low income families, so the prices should be inline with your pocketbook.
Wow! What a difference air infiltration makes (or the lack of) Two weeks ago the temps were in the high 30s and low 40s and we were working in the house with long johns and Carharts. We had a 20000 btu propane heater and a 3000 watt electric heater going and the place was still like a fridge. We could just not get the temp up to 60. Now after stopping the majority of the leaks and finishing insulating it's like a completely different house. The out side temp is @ 28 and I've been working in my tee shirt... and that's with the wood stove only and it's choaked down. By the time we add the other 2" of foam to the cealing and 4" of foam to the floor, this place should be very cozy and cheap to heat. I hate to try and do carpentry work in the cold.
I didn't have any luck finding reclaimed sites Karen, but I did locate some cheaper new stuff. Just gotta pay the price I guess
DanG, Q, I wish you had been able to locate the "real deal".. but some of the new stuff is good.. at the PRICE they want.. should be made of GOLD!
Anyway.. post us a pic of the one you get installed and I KNOW we will like it.
Good news on the sink fittings. Sarah found an old harware store in Grafton, WV that had several of these wall fittings in stock. We got one that will work perfect for $27. They had just about anything you could want in this store and many of the prices were from years back. We spent hours there and bought a bunch of stuff. They had new Flexible Flyer sleds there that were cheaper than the antique stores want for used ones. It's now hanging on the porch waiting for the next snow. :D
Our new stoves, fridge, dishwasher, microwave, range hood, and the old sink are setting in the middle of the floor ready to be installed. I'm building counter top bases today so that maybe I can have most of these in place by football time tomorrow. I've never built counters before so I'm figuring this out as I go. I'll add some pictures as I assemble them this evening.
We have essentially moved into the cabin except for cooking so getting the sink and stoves working will be a big relief.
We are still debating on what kind of floor to put in the kitchen. We'd like to have ceramic tile but I'm not sure if a wood floor in an elevated house will be stable enough to keep a big expanse of floor from cracking. I put floor tile in the mud room but only a 6'x6' section and I used 1/2" backer board under that. My floor is made up of 1" poplar subfloor with 3/4" osb screwed down through the board and into the floor joists. It should not move but I'm leary of tile. If I did decide to tile; would I need to put backer board over that? I've never done this so I just don't know.
Quinton, in the toasty warm cabin in the mountains. ;)
PS, I think we are getting the cabin too tight. I'm having to crack a window in the mud room to keep the wood stove drafting properly. I may have to add a fresh air make-up right next to the stove.
I just installed a ceramic floor over a wood base and the backer board is needed. The Thinset will not adhere properly to the wood.
The cabin is looking great. It is inspiring me to start on my house sooner. ;)
I have installed ceramic over a floating wood floor( 1"sm blue with 5\8ths T&G plywood) over my concrete floor. I used a wire mesh with thinset, then the tile over that, works real good. Talk to the ceramic people for the proper materials.
When I was building a few years ago, they recommended a 1 1/4" subfloor and then gluing the tile down with latex modified mortar. That mortar stuck real well to plywood. Never did try osb. But never did get a call complaining about a ceramic floor installed that way. We would lay 3/4" ply subfloor and then take 1/2" and screw it to the other sheet. Put long screws to the joists, and 1 1/4" screws to the subfloor, on about 3" centers. This backer board is much easier, just mortar the floor and nail the backer board with roofing nails.
The cabin looks really nice, that walk around covered deck is going to be really nice to have. Jim
What size joists and what is the span under where you want the tile?
(I know it's in this thread someplace)
My parents had 12" tile laid over vinyl sheet flooring.
They went ahead and screwed through the vinyl into the joists to tighten things up before laying the tile.
I REALLY had my doubts, but there have been NO cracks so far.
Hi Quinton,
The cabin looks wonderful! What a lot of satisfying work. Sarah how did you manage to get on that roof? It is so high and such a steep slope! My admiration for your true grit goes up immensely!
Anne
Hi Anne. Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
We have moved into the cabin. It's filled with building materials and tools but it was time to get out of the camper and the loft is really cozy
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Kitchen-2.JPG). (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Stove-2.JPG)
Here's a shot of Sarah at her new countertop and stove. There's still a little work to be done. ::) :D
Unfortunately, our wood stove is not working well and is filling the house with smoke when we get strong winds. Our stove pipe routing and height are not good but it's all I can do until we get the permanent chimney built. I'm wondering if a air-tight stove with fresh air supply might be the answer. We will eventually put in electric heat to suppliment wood heat but we'd really like to get the wood stove working now.
Some good news tho'. Our insurance company determined that the cabin was far enough along and has insured it. The cost is $370 a year for full coverage, except for flood and even if the dam breaks, it's not an issue. I was surprised that they set replacement value at $230000.
That replacement value is good........till the tax man sees it.
:(
I have followed your progress and you guys certainly have done a fine job and should be very proud of your accomplishment.
Hope you get the wood burner to drawing. There is nothing more bothersome than a smoky house.
Can you add another section of pipe to your stove Quinton?
or perhaps a draft inducer.(spinning cap on top )
Quote from: Tim L on January 01, 2008, 06:27:43 PM
or perhaps a draft inducer.(spinning cap on top )
I agree. It sounds like the chimney is not drafting well. I had placed a brand new cap on my chimney at the beginning of heat season, but after just a couple of weeks, I was getting smoke in the house. Went up on the roof and put the old cap back on ( after vigorously scraping all the creosote and tar off the screen) and VIOLA! no more smoke. The new cap was completely blocked with creosote and tar. I had forgotten I'd been burning some slabs from the yard here and some were pretty green, so I ended up with a lot more buildup than I had allowed for.
KarenKae ,
that would be Voila ! instead of < and VIOLA! > The exclamation would be better then the violation . ;) :)
:D :D :D :D
KarenKae, Get that creasote out of that chimney ASAP
Quote from: Don_Papenburg on January 02, 2008, 10:41:33 PM
KarenKae, Get that creasote out of that chimney ASAP
Yep.
Swept that chimney THAT DAY.. Been burning older, dryer wood since and reduced the danger.
Thanks.
Hi All
The chimney problem is fixed. The pellet stove is working great and no smoke. Certainly not as much heat as the wood stove but we're happy with it.
The place is still just a workshop but we now have running hot & cold water in the kitchen, bath and laundry room and best of all a flushing toilet. Stuffed in amongst all the tools are a big screen TV, a computer station, a bed and a full complement of kitchen appliances and a working bathroom...AND we can keep it cozy when the temp hits the teens...what more could we want? We could use way less saw dust...I'll tell you that.
Here are a few pics
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/P1010177.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/P1010173.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/P1010180.JPG)
Looks great...and much progress...even an indoor shower. 8) 8)
But...where would the sawdust be comin from?? ::) ??? ;D ;D
Hey Beenthere, I guess I should have included a picture showing the jointer, radial arm saw, band saw, and miter saw that are setting in the middle of the living room. Not to mention all of the hand tools that are dust producers. :D :D
At least the table saw, spindle molder and two planers live out on the porches. Our shop vac gets a workout everyday. After living in Texas for 30 winters, we are really ready for spring and warm weather to come to WV.
Quinton
You mean the jointer, radial arm saw, band saws etc. are supposed to be somewhere else? :D
QuoteOriginally posted by Qweaver link
Hey Beenthere, I guess I should have included a picture showing the jointer, radial arm saw, band saw, and miter saw that are setting in the middle of the living room. Not to mention all of the hand tools that are dust producers. :D :D
At least the table saw, spindle molder and two planers live out on the porches. Our shop vac gets a workout everyday. After living in Texas for 30 winters, we are really ready for spring and warm weather to come to WV.
Nearly time to build a workshop, Quinton?
Here's another milestone. This is my first attempt at building a cabinet so we did the linen closet first. The oak had been drying for over a year in the loft and worked and stained well. I still have to fill a few nail holes and put the finish on, but we like it. Sarah will have it filled by days end. :D It took me three full days to build this thing and I sure hope the kitchen cabinets go faster. The boards are all T&G and biscuits on the miters. That orange splotch on the side is just a reflection.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/LinenC-1.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/LinenC-2.JPG)
Quinton, that cabinet looks great! Tell me about your wall paneling - is that a v-groove T&G?
Quinton,
You are a man of many talents ;D. Looking fine 8).
Thanks Scott And WDH.
The bathroom paneling is V groove T&G and that's how I'll do all the rest of my wood paneling.
Her's a pic of the glue-up of one of my kitchen cabinets. I hope to have a picture of it hung tomorrow. smiley_really_happy
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Cab-Glue-up2.JPG)
Here is the cabinet up on the wall. I still need to mill out some sort of moulding for the top. Sarah is putting three coats of finish on the doors before we hang them. She has fallen in-love with oak and I guess all of our trim will be oak now. smiley_angel02_wings Not exactly what I had planned when I decided to build a simple little cabin in the hills...but we've got the lumber, so why not. ::)
The under-sink frames are glued-up and I'll get them up tomorrow. It won't be long before it looks like a real kitchen.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Kit-Cab-3.JPG)
Howdy all, here are the latest updates. We finished the loft floor/bed and bath ceilings with bevel edge T&G Pine. I was a little concerned that the 3/4" pine would be a little "springy" but with the 16" OC rafters it is fine. We have 24" sq. rubber backed carpet to lay in the loft. We stained the ceiling side of the pine a light white and it looks real "cabiny" I like it.
We finished laying the tile in the kitchen/dining area last night. I'm not looking forward to the grouting. I've never done it and the directions that I'm reading sound pretty sloppy. I still have to build the cabinet front for under the sink but that job is on the back burner for a while. It's all coming together but much slower than I'd like. I'm shooting for mid summer to be able to call it "DONE".
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Kit-Cab-4.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Bath-Ceiling.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Loft-Floor.JPG)
Is this a cabin in the mountains or a mansion in the mountains? It looks great ,wish I was that handy.
Stonebroke
Beautiful clear pine on that floor/ceiling! That is really nice.
By the way, I am not sure that you can ever get "finished" ;D.
Hey Stonebroke, this house is being built by cutting my own trees and seeking out the best buys that I can find for those things that I can't build or trade for. The tiles that I just installed cost 60 cents each, I usually manage to get at least 10% off at the box stores. Those round top windows cost $35 at the World Vision warehouse where I've also bought all of the other windows, sinks, hardware, stain & paint, counter tops,doors, the pine flooring and numerous other items usually at 50% to75% less than the box store prices. I just have to be willing to take what the have and modify my plan to suit. I also use Ebay a lot. I built all of my bathroom and kitchen cabinet frames and sides from my own oak and bought the oak cabinet doors from World Vision for $5 to $10 each.
I'm keeping good records and I'll post the total cost when it's complete but I'm betting that it's 1/3 of the material cost of having it built.
BTW, on close inspection some of my work is less than craftsman like...but I just fall-back on one of my favorite sayings..."it's just a cabin and at my age I can't afford to take too long" :D
Quinton
I was just saying that you are going to have a very nice house when you get done. Something that you should be very proud of. You will be able to say "I built this" .
Stonebroke
Thanks Stonebroke, at this stage we can use all of the moral support that we can get. :) It's amazing how much can be saved by just taking the time to look around. I don't like using cheap stuff...I just like buying good stuff cheap. :D
Learning to live on retirement income takes a little getting used to.
Quinton
Hi Qweaver, here is some moral support, looking very nice from my last visit to you site, I can not believe all you have done, but being retired really helps with the time factor. Working does get in the way I noticed. Only so many hours in the day. Keep up then good work..
Here's the latest. We finished the floor yesterday. We are mainly working on cabinets, wiring and finishing touches now. The poplar paneling in the center of the pic will be a bookcase for the living area. The oven is on the other side. I am SO ready for warm,green weather.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Main-Flooring.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Main-Floor-2.JPG)
The floor is naturally pretty and oh, so warm looking. I like it. :)
I agree with Tom, that floor radiates beauty. You get to walk on it and admire it for years to come. Now, how special is that!
It looks like home now.
My Wife and I look forward to reading all your posts, as we are doing the same thing, but at a much slower rate. We started in 2001 and have the road, sewer, electric, and an old trailer on site, We hope to get the foundation done this summer.
Are you planning an open house? We would really love to see it in person.
Yeah, we're really happy with the look of the maple. It's 5" x 3/4" and hard as a rock. Our orginal plan was to use oak but the maple became available and we just changed the plan. :) We will have an open house later in the summer when we get most of the "finishing touches" done. We'll list it here as soon as we are sure of the date.
We're leaving for Texas today and will be back to work on the cabin in a week or so.
Quinton
At last all of the roof is done. We finished the rear deck porch yesterday and just in time as the rain moved in this AM. smiley_turkey_dancing I hate working on that steep roof. Now a little trim and bracing work and we can call the rear done.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Rear_Porch-2.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Rear_Porch.JPG)
Quinton,
That has to feel really good to hear that rain on the completed roof!
OUTstanding! Hat's off to you and helpers!
I'm at about the half way point I would guess. My next trip I will become an electician................
That is awesome. Nice work!
I still say it looks like a mansion in the mountains. It is awsome. You should be very proud of it not everybody could ever do something like that.
Stonebroke
Hi everyone,
We haven't been working on the house much lately. We decided to concentrate on the outdoors and leave the interior work for next winter AND to take some time off for recreation. We now have a complete septic system, the open area of the floor is insulated and closed in with 1/2" plywood (we'll be much warmer this winter), we have AC (which we've hardly needed to use) and landscaping and drainage around the foundation is next on the list. Here is a look at the poplar T&G paneling around the stairs. The bathroom door is actually the same wood but it has not been finished with urethane yet. We will panel the rest of the walls this winter.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/StairWall.JPG)
Quinton,
I love the way your poplar paneling looks. I hope to put 3 very large ones on the ground this winter and saw them into 4/4. After drying for about 6 months, I want to use it to put a 3 bead ceiling on the pouch in front of the house.
Looking good and good job.
Bruce
I never realized how nice the poplar would like, Thanks for the pictures. I have about 30 nice sise poplars that are in the way of the maple trees in the sugar bush. We were talking in the spring about how to get them out of the way. I can see they can be put to good use.
Steve
Quinton,
I was just searching under "cabin" and yours came up, I just finished reading through all the posts and must say it looks mighty fine!!! You sure have come along way since that first picture, my hats off to you and your wife (and all your helpers)
I'm wondering what the pitch is on your roof (maybe I missed it) and how many coats of urathane are you using on your interior poplar?
Like all the others have been saying, thanks for taking the time to share your "cabin" project with all of us. Oh by the way, I want to let you know that I'm holding you personally responsible for my lost sleep tonight because all I can think about now is building my own cabin someday! :D
Hi Piston,
I hope you do build your cabin and find as much fun in the building as we have. The roof is 9 in 12. I love having it, but hated working on it...SCARY for us older gents. I'm using a sealer coat and then 2 coats of urethane on the poplar. 3 coats really works better and I may add another later.
Thanks for you comments.
Quinton
Quinton,
Did you saw the poplar yourself?
If not what is the going rate there per board ft?
I'm thinking of using it for the board and batten and alos interior trim.
Other than oak cabinets and trim the whole cabin is poplar. We've cut and sawed everything that we've used right here on the property. I think the poplar is especially good for B&B.
Quinton
It looks great! I'm dry walling now swearing every minute that I will never dry wall again.
Raider Bill
Are you at the taping/mudding stage yet?
I hate drywall and anything associated with it :).
Raider , do not try to make all the cutouts fit perfectly , the mud will fill all imperfections . But do not get sloppy ,close is what you are after. Do you have a foot jack to lift the lower sheet tight to the upper one ? Do you use PLpremium to stick the drywall to the studs , it keeps it there for eternity the screws just hold it till it dries. another trickis to put two or three screws close together in a couple of places in the field of the sheet rather than evenly spaced . This makes the mud work faster . Just a couple of swipes with the knife insted of long strokes across the drywall . Less sanding also. Hope this helps.
That PL premium is one real good glue ... it'll stick almost anything to anything ... you can bet it will stick what ever you have that you dont want stuck to what ever is beside you that you definilty do not want anything attached to. :-\ Don't ask . ::)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Been there Don eh eh :-\ Glad I aint the only one . ;D :D :D
I'm still hanging :'(
Have all rooms done except for greatroom which I'm starting today.
I am using a lift, tried it with T's but didn't work out so good. Will get some of that PL stuff at this point I need all the help I can get.
Rader, you have to push the tube in overhead aplications . If you try to pull it the glue will roll up behind and pass the tube and then splat you .You will figger it out after a tube or two ;D
When hanging drywall and automatic screw gun is worth every penny. I used a quick drive but the dura spin seems to be available at the big boxes. The screws are a little more expensive, but it keeps a hand free which is worth gold. I've hung about 200 sheets in my house.
When you mud, consider not using the lightweight compound (blue bucket). It goes on easy and sands easy, but it comes off like chalk. I just finished some work using the dustless stuff and it scratched like crazy when I laid the carpet. All that work to get it perfect downt the tubes. I like the first coat with the green bucket and the second and third with the light blue (topping mix). The third coat can be diluted with water a little to help feather it out a little. Also get a hawk. It's a lot easier to get the mud on the knife instad of from a mud box.
What ever you do, make sure the first coat is smooth. If it isn't your 2nd and 3rd coats will be tough. You can also knock off the high spots with a taping knife before you start your successive coats. This saves a lot of sanding.
Have fun. Drywalling makes the biggest transition in a project and signals coming closer to the end.
Tim
It would mean that my kids would have a new clean place to draw on
Thanks Alot Mr Mom
USG makes a product called first cote . It is the best primer sealer for drywall ,barnone. It is in the paint department a Menards My be there in other bigbox stores.
Howdy everyone,
It's been a long time since I've posted here but we have another problem to solve. We had planned to put 3/4" x 6" T&G paneling between the rafters and was offered 2 large Buckeye trees to do that job. Those 2 trees were blown down two months ago and we finally got around to sawing them today. We were told that buckeye was a light weight wood that would cut easily and dry quickly to a nearly white color. Well the wood that we sawed was very hard and heavy and the heartwood was a beautiful amber/brown color. We are going to use the wood because it is just beautiful but now we don't know what to expect from this wood in terms of shrinkage and warping.
Are there several types of buckeye or was Cousin Rodney just mistaken about the tree? I did not look at the leaves during the summer and I have no clue as to what this tree really is or how it will act during drying. The tree has very little taper in the 8" lengths that I'm bucking to and I'm getting beautiful 12 to 16" boards with a nice streak of white sapwood on each side and it would be nice to use it in that width. I could post a photo of the wood if that will help in the ID but I know that it is not a wood that I have sawed before. Any help in learning about this wood is greatly appreciated.
We continue to work on the house daily and we love our "Cabin in The Mountains"
Quinton
I found the ID of this wood on this site. This is a great site. Check it out.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/indextotal.htm
The wood is Bitternut Hickory and the logs that I have are excellent with mostly clear straight grain.
Does anyone know how this wood will act as it dries?
Quinton
Quinton,
You are right that is a very hard(dense) wood also beautiful. I would recommend keeping lots of weight on the stack during drying also the wide boards will be very susceptible to cupping as they have both sap and heart wood going across the board. You might want to consider cutting them down a bit to help keep them flat. Once the lumber is dry you should be ok with it staying put. It will take quite a bit longer to dry than say poplar. It will be very pretty when you have it in place. One other thing it is one of the most difficult wooods to machine your tools need to be sharp and a good constant feed rate.
Good luck with your ongoing project it has been very interesting.
Dewey
I suspect that it will act poorly as it dries. Good luck with it.
Plenty of weight on top of the boards will help a lot. I've had better luck drying wide boards flat than narrow ones. Boards around 6-8" seem to be the worst, while 12-16" boards I've never had a problem with. Boards from the edges usually cause more problem than boards from the heart. Then again, I've never dried hickory before, so what do I know ;D? It will be a tough wood to work with, but it's absolutely beautiful!
Quinton, I've gone to the site you linked, but couldn't find the picture of the Bitternut Hickory. It's not listed alphabetically under either 'B' or 'H', nor 'P' (as it's a Pecan species) and I see no pics listed anywhere when I google.
Keen to see what it looks like... how do I find it?
BTW... you have mail
Hickory makes beautiful flooring too.
There are lots of pictures on this site of most of the woods listed.
After you get to the site click on the alphabetical letter (in this case H) Then scrool down to Hickory, click on the block of wood shown and wait for the graphics to load, Bitternut hickory is about halfway through the pictures and looks exactly like the wood that I'm sawing. Pretty stuff.
Quinton
Yeah, I really like contrasting colours like you get on the edges...
It's one of the things that makes it a real shame timber is so often covered by paint!
Howdy Everyone,
I'm back with more questions. This long spell of below freezing weather ( -8 f for a while) has given our insulation and pellet stove a real test and I'm pleased with both.
Our above ground rainwater tanks are a little bit of a worry tho'. We have not been frozen out of water but the tanks do have about six inches of ice around the sides and a few inches on the top and I did punch an air hole a few times...not sure if I needed to do that or not.
My question is about how to set up a wood fired heater to help thaw the tank during an extended cold snap. We are thinking of drilling a well which will guarantee a winter water supply but I'd like to keep the rainwater system also.
A search of the net found few small wood fired systems. I may have to build something. Suggestions?
We've been working on inside rooms and trim mainly and I'll have pictures soon.
Quinton
About 10 years ago the huge wild cherry tree that was always there when I was growing up fell on the old home place. I was in Texas and my uncle had a portable sawmill owner come in and saw the logs. It has been stacked in the dry since then and I used it in our bedroom to build this closet, trim the windows and panel the wall behind our bed. It was a disaster for the old house but it sure looks good in our cabin. The folding doors are red oak but they stained up to match the cherry well enough to suit Sarah and that's all that counts.
Quinton
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/closet-1.JPG) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/closet-2.JPG)
WOW! Great work! :o
Wow is right. That's fantastic work 8)
Simply beautiful. Now that is one fine closet! That wood just glows, and the groove really gives it a classy look.
Absolutely beatiful!! Are you shure this is just a cabin? ;)
You'll never get to sleep. Yu'll just keep lookin at that wall going that looks greeeeaaat!
Tim
I knew when we bought the round top windows that trim was going to be a problem. It's really hard to cut round trim and get a smooth finish without a drum sander...so here's my solution. Not perfect but good enough for a "cabin". We have just the bathroom left to trim and that will be another step done. It's really cold working the wood up on the porches. Come on spring.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/f-win-trim-2.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/F-win-trim-1.jpg)
Quinton, that trim looks GREAT! I think that it adds more to the appearance of the windows than fully radiused trim would have.
Way cool!!!
Scott
I agree too, same as Scott.
I like it...seems to have a scalloped look that fits the timbers real well. Good on ya. 8)
It looks like a sunburst. smiley_sun
That trim is 8). It takes thinking outside the box to really make something unique and you have done it!
That trim is awesome. Great workmanship there. :)
Thanks for the comments guyes. I just love how the Oak works. I am a little surprized at how much wood it takes to make the trim. I had barly enough.
That trim gives the windows a custom look. Well, I guess it is a real custom look because it is real custom work ;D. Very well done!
Awesome. :)
Well done!
Two months and no posts?
How's it coming along, Quinton? Warm weather and all, you must be getting something done.
They are too busy enjoying their had work! 8)
Hi Everyone, we survived our first full winter in the north(burrrr) and the house is approaching the "done" stage. We still have some paneling and trim to do and Sarah's massaging tub is not done but the house is very comfortable now. We love it! I'll post a few more pics this evening.
Quinton
As promised, here are some of the latest projects completed. The kitchen and island are done and Sarah was able to fill every space that I completed. No surprise there. Sarah was cooking for a birthday party when I took this picture so the kitchen is pretty full. We really like the old cast iron sink that came out of the old home place. It had never had a faucet or seen running water until now.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/P1010328.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/P1010327.JPG)
Sonya is up from Texas and we will be sawing logs next week to build Sarah's garage on the slab pictured here. No more parking up the hill and trying not to bust our butts getting down to the house in the snow and ice.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/P1010325.JPG)
We finished the concrete floor on the shed a few weeks back. It's great to have a place to work out of the weather. The MG TD poking it's nose out was completely under salt water in last years hurricane. Lots of work to be done on it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/P1010330.JPG)
Looking good, Quinton...
The TD... does it need much new timber in the bodywork?
You should enjoy restoring that after the house and garage are finished.
Very cool project. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Everyone,
The "Ole Buick Barn" is done now so Sarah's baby won't have to set out in the cold and snow this winter. Sonya and I sawed the framing out of poplar and the white pine siding has been cut for two years. I sheathed the walls with 1/2" OSB ($4.95 per sheet) then roofing felt and the pine 1x8s The roof is 3/4" OSB then felt and metal roof.
I ordered the door from Lowes and what a mess that was. I asked for a door with opener that would fit an 8' roof clearance and the guy ordered a 7'6" door. Luckily I checked the manufacterers web sight to get the rough in dimentions and found that I needed at least 12" of head room. After an angry call to the lowes guy he agreed to supply a low clearance kit at no cost to me but I still had to make modifications to the truss bottoms to allow the opener to fit. The door was delivered by an installer who quoted me $150 to install the door and opener and I said "when can you start". That was money well spent especially do to the clearance problems. I still have to add gutters and piping to tie into our rain water storage system and a few outside lights. But the buick and the Preacher seem happy. I sawed materal for the soffets but I will let it dry until winter before I install. I've sworn that this is the last building that goes on this land!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Garage-2.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Garage-3.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Garage-4.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/Back.jpg)
That is a nice buick barn and a fine door. Looking very good, as always!
got a floored attic for storage?
We've just been so busy that I don't visit here as much as I'd like to. We are into the process of adding finished stairs to the decks of the cabin to replace all of the temporary ones. This is way more time consuming than I had planned. I did what I think will be the hardest one first. This took three days and $200 worth of treated lumber...but we like the way it works and looks. Working on a hill side makes it tougher. Three more to go.
We also filled, graded and rocked a parking spot next to this stairway so that the lovely Mrs Sarah can load and unload her car more easily.
The assessor came today and agreed that the cabin will not be deemed to be "finished" until next july. Which means that we will not start paying tax until the summer of 2011. We should know what the assessed value will be soon. We pointed out everything that we could to keep it low. ::)
We have a huge amount of stacked logs to saw...so back to the mill next week.
Here are the steps to the ground floor.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Steps-1.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Steps-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Steps-3.JPG)
If you weren't a carpenter before you are now. Stairs are hard to do well, and those look great, as does the rest of the place. Good Work! :)
Thanks Erik, but a "real" carpenter would probably not have to draw the whole thing out like I have to. I spent 2 hours making a scale drawing before I even cut a board. :D I'm having fun tho'
Real carpenters draw all the time. Drawing is a lot cheaper than buying more boards ;)
Yes, getting the clear picture of what you want to do is worth the time. Otherwise you spend more time improvising ::). Those stairs look perfect.
Well, this is one of those good news/ bad news posts.
My under ground cistern is in and plumbed so no water freezing worries this winter. The geothermal heatpump is complete and working great. I bought a John Deere 110 and love it.
The bad news? I fell off of the stairs to the loft and broke my femur right at the hip socket. What a stupid, careless move that was. So at least 6 weeks of no weight bearing and maybe more if the ball dies.
To make matters worse this is one of the best deer seasons in years and the only hunting that I can do is off the back porch
where I can certainly kill a small doe but not one the 10 pointers that my friends are getting on our deer lease.
Oh well, this too will pass. I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving.
Quinton
Quinton - that - as my young friends say - sucks the big one!
I hope that you have a complete and fast recovery. At least you have some very able nursing talent in the form of Sarah and Sonya.
Scott
That sure beats my breaking the ring finger the other day , :-\ Breaking a leg hurts , take the time needed for a full recovery , don't rush it . Look at the bright side , ya got lots of time on your hands now to read all of the forum . :P ;)
Marcel .
Q,
Think about all the neat projects that you can imagine up while you are laid up ;D. You can list them all, and when you get back on your feet, you can get cracking :D.
Sorry to hear that, Quinton. Hope you heal ok.
Don
The hip seems to be doing OK. Not much pain but it's a pain not being able to bear weight and limp around on the walker. But I'm doing exactly as the Doc said. 6 weeks of no weight. I sure don't want the ball to die and need a replacement operation. I now see that I can never give up on having something to build or work on. I'm bored to tears. Thank goodness for football and the internet. I'm so luckly to have a wife and daughter who put up with this old whinie cripple.
Great read. I've started to build an Appalachian style log home with square logs and dovetailed corners.
Did you cut all the timber on your LT15?
I'm considering purchasing one, possibly.
I have completed 2 courses at a friend's yard back in West Virginia, and will finish it up out on the west coast when my timber gets out here. Most of it has been milled already, but between rafters for roof and porches, flooring, t&g, etc...I would have plenty of use for a small mill.
Cheers,
Alan
EDIT: Quinton, I see you live in Weston part of the time, I started my log home at Tim Bullock's yard in Jane Lew (Tamarack Log & Timber Homes). He has a diesel mill that is really cool. You should stop by and say hi to Tim when your back there, nice guy, and he lives in Weston.
Hi Alan,
I've visited the Tamarack work site. They are doing some very nice work.
I did all of the sawing for the house and all of the other buildings on the LT15. Logs 24" and smaller are good for this saw. My saw has extentions to saw up to 20', but turning a 24" dia. log over 12' long gets to be a problem. I can do it but its not fun.
Good luck with your project. Enjoy it. I sure have had fun with mine.
Quinton
Quote from: Qweaver on November 30, 2009, 08:30:24 PM
I've visited the Tamarack work site. They are doing some very nice work.
They sure do, I think Tim Bullock does some of the finest log work available. Here's a video they put together.
http://www.youtube.com/v/gnxTnTDdXLE&hl=en_US&fs=1
Quote from: Qweaver on November 30, 2009, 08:30:24 PM
I did all of the sawing for the house and all of the other buildings on the LT15. Logs 24" and smaller are good for this saw. My saw has extentions to saw up to 20', but turning a 24" dia. log over 12' long gets to be a problem. I can do it but its not fun.
Good luck with your project. Enjoy it. I sure have had fun with mine.
I have a forklift, so I'll get to "cheat" if I pickup a sawmill...;)
Most seem to hold their value pretty good it seems. I'm looking into a used LT15, but like I say, they seem to hold their value pretty well...
I'm hoping my pine is going to ship soon. Grader is supposed to final inspect next week, and then they'll be off to Cali, hopefully...
Quinton... good to see you're taking note of the doctors...
But like you say, the penalties would be severe if you didn't. Anyway, like someone said, it will give you time to dream up new projects.
Like maybe a runabout to scurry around those hills in?
Six weeks since the injury, Quinton... how's it healing?
Hope you haven't died in the cold there due to your lack of activity...
Hi Ray,
I get an xray and a trip to the doctor tomorrow and I should know then how the femur has healed. I'm still using the walker but I can now bear full weight. Fingers crossed.
BTW the clubman car that I was building in Texas was fully submerged in the salt water of Ike and I don't know if I will be able to salvage the tube frame. I designed this car with inboard suspension and rabbit engine mounted in the rear. I'm just sick about losing it. It was almost done. I'm now considering buying a Stalker kit. http://www.bruntonauto.com/ Check it out. Not as fancy as my new design but I could have that on the road by spring. I'm getting too old to start building a new frame from scratch.
Quinton
That Stalker kit is quite affordable! My brother had a real Super 7 back in the 60's- I always loved that car.
Well other than the ceiling paneling and some trim work the cabin interior is done. lot's of land scaping to do this summer and more guttering to get more rain water into the cisterns but we WILL have a IT'S Done Party this spring.
I agreed to furnish the house with new appliances and that has been a nightmare. I am absolutely sick of buying new stuff that does not work properly or that breaks down.
My List:
1. GE convection oven. Plastic cover over control panel buttons came unglued. The replacement is showing signs of doing the same
2. Frigidair Washing machine. Improper fractory assembly caused the tub to slip down and distroy the seals. Clearly a factory defect but not covered by warranty. We did not put the washer in service for a year.
3. Expensive Corner Shower. Door Leaks. Just bad design.
4. Breckwell Pellet stove. Multible noise and burning problems.
5. WM bandsaw. Saw chain sprocket fell off. Bad weld design.
6. Glass top stove broken. Our fault but it cost almost as much to buy a new glass top as to buy a whole new stove. This ended up being covered by extended warranty.
7. Dewalt router, quit working at high rpm.
8. Several circular saws just quit working.
and the list goes on and on.
All of these things were bought new.
Q
How are you feeling? How did the doc's visit go? Hope everything healed right.
Stonebroke
Quote from: Qweaver on January 17, 2010, 01:18:55 PM
Well other than the ceiling paneling and some trim work the cabin interior is done. lot's of land scaping to do this summer and more guttering to get more rain water into the cisterns but we WILL have a IT'S Done Party this spring.
I agreed to furnish the house with new appliances and that has been a nightmare. I am absolutely sick of buying new stuff that does not work properly or that breaks down.
My List:
1. GE convection oven. Plastic cover over control panel buttons came unglued. The replacement is showing signs of doing the same
2. Frigidair Washing machine. Improper fractory assembly caused the tub to slip down and distroy the seals. Clearly a factory defect but not covered by warranty. We did not put the washer in service for a year.
3. Expensive Corner Shower. Door Leaks. Just bad design.
4. Breckwell Pellet stove. Multible noise and burning problems.
5. WM bandsaw. Saw chain sprocket fell off. Bad weld design.
6. Glass top stove broken. Our fault but it cost almost as much to buy a new glass top as to buy a whole new stove. This ended up being covered by extended warranty.
7. Dewalt router, quit working at high rpm.
8. Several circular saws just quit working.
and the list goes on and on.
All of these things were bought new.
I feel your pain! Stuff just doesn't seem to last and or bad right from the start.
My stove, refrig, microwave all brand new all bad. A window or wall a/c unit lasts about 3 years anymore. I've had 3 of them go out in rentals with in a month all bought same time all puked within a month of each other.
It's discourging.
How you feeling other wise?
The doctor turned me lose to go back to normal activities. My hip is still a little sore and I have a pretty good limp but this will go away with exercise and use. I'm planning to fire up the L15 during this warmup next week. I love this little cabin but it is time to get outta here for awhile. Yehaw!
Quinton
Glad you're feeling better!
One burner went out on our glass top stove. The replacement cost nearly the amount of a new stove. We bought a new one and set the old one aside for spare parts. ::)
Now that Cabin is nearly done I've added up the costs:
These numbers do not include the worth or the cost of producing the lumber on my sawmill. I did not have to purchase any logs so the cost could only be based on the price of blades, fuel, and consumables. I may take the time to estimate the worth of the lumber if I had bought it. Any suggestions on how to figure lumber worth??
I did add in the actual labor costs that I paid to various workers
I may also estimate the cost of using the dozer, backhoe, and truck and trailer based on hours used. I could not have prepared the site and handled heavy lifting without them so their cost must be considered to obtain a true construction cost. There may be a few more minor costs but the majority of the spending is done.
I will sell the Kubota TLB and some of the tools in the spring so that large cost will decrease a lot.
The Motor Home shed was built before I had the LT15 and I had to buy all of the lumber for it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Costs.JPG)
Categories:
Cabin= All building materials and hardware bought to build and outfit.
Appliances= Oven, cooktop, dishwasher, washer/dryer, microwave, freezer.
Garage= all items paid for to build the garage and driveway but not the framing & siding made on the WM.
Saw Shed= Roofing, hardware, treated Posts and concrete.
MH Shed. This shed was build before the Sawmill arrived so all materials were bought.
Machines &Tools= Planers, shaper, Bandsaw, table saws, jointer, WM lt15 and many hand and power tools.
Heavy equip.= TLBs, Dozer, costly implements, trailers. I did not include the 3/4 ton truck but I could have because I only bought it to handle moving machinery and logs.
These costs do not include furniture, beds, TVs, Audio Equipment, and other electronics & furnishings
Hi everyone
Here are the figures for lumber produced on our LT15 for the cabin and garage.
Total used: 18,600 BdFt. This is the finished size so probably 10% more sawn and ended as waste.
Cost @ $2800 to produce at 15c per BdFt production cost.
Would have cost about $14,000 to buy.
So that's $11,200 in savings that just cost me my own labor and gave me the ability to cut what I needed when I needed it.
These figures do not include a 24'x32' storage/workshop, a 14'x30' camper shed and a 8'x16' kiln all built with sawn lumber.
Quinton
Nice break down on construction cost. Any pictures of the finished cabin & accessory buildings?
jim
Quinton,
As everyone stated, nice job all the way around...it is a great feeling to stand in/around/near something you built from scratch and just look at it,, especially when you also made many of the boards as well.
I too live on Tx, in West Hou. Used to fish with some buddies where we would put in @ the TX City Dike, so I know right where you are.
My place in the country is in NW Colorado Cty, TX, about 8 miles east of Columbus, 10 milles N of I-10. If you and the Ms are ever coming up or down I-10, let me know and you are welcome to hook-up at my place...could always use another good opinion on projects that are in the queue...always something cooking on the grill or in the smoker too.
Thanks for posting your cabin project. It was great seeing it unfold and I am sure everyone enjoyed the progression of its' unveiling.
Best of luck,
tstex
Well the interior is DONE! All of the pictures now are of completed work. I'm sure we will make changes and add things but the work is done. If I would have done the step rails last November, I would not be walking with a limp now. It's great to have all of the scaffold boards out of the way. I am adding another underground water tank and moving the washroom upstairs and I may make one of the downstairs rooms into a handloading and airplane building shop...but the building is done. Sarah is making noises about another built-in closet and chest of drawers in the bedroom...but I am resisting that...I will probably lose. More pictures to come when we get the outside cleaned up of all the building clutter. 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Trim-Done.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Trim-done-2.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13195/650/Railing.JPG)
OUTSTANDING JOB!
VERY NICE !!!
Nice work. Is that a Goldberg Eagle 63 in the rafters? Or maybe the Eaglet 50?
Quote from: Radar67 on November 05, 2010, 02:29:12 PM
Nice work. Is that a Goldberg Eagle 63 in the rafters? Or maybe the Eaglet 50?
I built that several years ago and it is just a generic trainer of some kind. All of my "good" planes were distroyed in hurricane Ike the summer of 2009. I'm planning to spend a lot of time this winter rebuilding my "fleet". I haven't tried battery powered planes but I'm going to. It'll be nice to get away from glow plug fuel.
Well it looks really close to my Eagle 63. My dream plane is a quarter scale F4U Corsair. It is tough trying to find a 36 inch 3 or 4 blade prop that you can fly. I also have my eye on a very large B25 Mitchell.
I want to try an electric as well, but I'm thinking a Zeppelin or something similar.
8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
I bet it even looks more impressive in real life.
You did good Quinton.
Quinton,
That takes the cake!
End results are awesome 8) 8) 8) really enjoyed following the build thanks for sharing it with us.
Absolutely beautiful!! Really like the window trim.
Joe
Quote from: Larry on November 05, 2010, 08:27:28 PM
I bet it even looks more impressive in real life.
You did good Quinton.
It's an old and dead thread now, but I have to post that I agree with this suggestion...
And the reason I can agree is that in October, 2012, I visited Quinton and Sonya along with my wife, Janet, who had never met him. Sarah was, unfortunately, away for a few days at the time.
Quinton's legendary hospitality (which we saw when we lived in Australia) was well and truly alive and it was nice that Janet, who was quite a bit younger than me, hit it off really well with Sonya.
I can vouch for some of the things Quinton has said, like the efficiency of the pellet heater and the beauty of the spot in which he lives. It was only our fourth or fifth day in America and all new to us so we enjoyed it thoroughly.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/3-1012quintonhouseandview.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1592994289)
We drove that blue Dodge pickup 9,600 miles through 28 states in six weeks, but one of the most memorable times was catching up with Quinton again after 36 years. We slept soundly in that loft he built up top there and learned a lot about America just being there for one day.
And I learned a bit about this timber milling business, too:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/3-1012quintonandsonyaatmill.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1592994560)
Sonya and Quinton showing me one of his machines. And then the other:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/3-1012quintonwithpetersonmill.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1592994692)
It just showed me that Quinton hadn't changed, always ready to have a go at doing anything himself. We had to move along on our trip, so much more to see, but that time we spent with Quinton and Sonya certainly helped settle Janet into enjoying the trip more. When I first proposed the trip to her she didn't want to go, but with events like this she decided when it was over she wanted to go back and see all the other states.
All farewells are sad, leaving Quinton's place that Monday morning back in 2012 was too, even if I was excited about all the other places I wanted to go. Here's how the 'cabin' looked as we left:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/3-1012quintonhouse.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1592994982)
I do hope that Quinton doesn't mind that I've dredged all this up out of the deep...
And I hope that he and his family are doing well despite the difficult times of mid-2020.
Great way to bring back an old thread. I can feel the friendship and sincerity from your words. thumbs-up
I did a tour through this thread
Great work. Beautiful cabin
Hello, this is my first time posting on the forum. I own a Woodland Mills HM122. I'm gathering research on cabin building. I intend to build a 12X15 cabin in the woods. There is a cabin located on the campus of St. Marys of The Woods college in Indiana that I will be trying to replicate. I have had trouble finding any good material on how to build the stone fireplace. Can anyone point me to a book, article or video of how to build a stone fireplace? I'm curious to know how the fireplace will affect the design of the cabin so I'd like to have a good understanding of how to build one before designing and milling my logs.
I've attached an image of the cabin I wish to replicate.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/60914/IMG_1196~0.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1603387492)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/60914/IMG_1196~0.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1603387492)
Quote from: rjwoelk on June 24, 2020, 04:36:49 PM
I did a tour through this thread
Great work. Beautiful cabin
Yes, me too. A stunning journey indeed!
Hi coreyjames
This might be better spun off into its own thread.
That appears to be thin veneer stone over probably a block core. The stone appears thin at most corners instead of a full rock appearing at the corners. Nothing wrong with that, it is what most chimneys and fireplaces are nowadays. It is uncoursed rubblestone in technique, pretty poorly done but it is a place to start talking from. The cabin looks cool, it looks like half dovetail corners.
Charles McRaven, "Stonework" would be one place to start reading, then start looking at work. The IRC codebook (the residential code in this list of codebooks) , I think chapter 10 is fireplaces;
Codes - VBCOA (https://vbcoa.org/resources/codes/)
That is Virginia but it is pretty stock for that chapter lots of good infor there.
With it tied into logwork remember the logs, roof, etc need to be able to slide down as they shrink without getting hung up on the non settling chimney. That will probably take more discussion as you get a handle on the basics.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10017/chimney_001.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1510754400)
I remembered I had a few pics of stonework in my gallery. This is Ed working on a stone chimney using fieldstone we gathered from old farm piles on that property. It is being applied at about 6" thickness over a solid poured and reinforced block core with flue liners. His work is bonded to the block with mortar and brick ties laid in the blockwork. I also had him make what he called a birdcage of rebar as he laid the stone. If you're cussing the reinforcing steel it is probably almost enough :D. I think at that point Ed had about 200 tons of stone laid on that job, he worked there for another year after I was done.
It is with great sadness that I have to pass on the news of the passing, on May 18, of our good friend Quinton Lee Weaver. Born on October 8, 1944 in the same locality as he built his final home, Quinton was only 77 at the time of his death.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/quintonanddog.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1655211324)
Quinton at home. Though his health was failing, Quinton's
spirit still shines through.
It has been a terrible 15 months for Sarah, his wife of almost 56 years, as they had lost Sonya to Covid in March, 2021. Sarah also contracted the virus and recovered, but Sonya had 'underlying conditions' and so Quinton and Sarah had to endure the loss of their only child.
Those who followed his build of the 'cabin in the mountains,' over those exciting years in which Quinton and Sarah conceived and constructed their West Virginia home, will be well aware of Quinton's irrepressible attitude to the problems he faced. He conquered every obstacle and never stopped learning, drawing repeatedly on the experience of other members here to enable him to bring to birth a home which embodied all the effort, energy and ingenuity he could muster.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/cabininsnow.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1655211425)
The cabin kept them warm. Winters came and went, the 'cabin in the
mountains' is a place of warmth.
At the same time as he kept repeating that he was learning from people here, and kept on asking for advice on timbers or building methods, he was doing what he probably did best – teaching. For Quinton wasn't one to learn solely for his own benefit, he was always willing to pass on information and experience, both professionally as a teacher and personally as a generous human being. There are several posts in which members of this forum have indicated that his example was inspiring them.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14517/cabin.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1655211443)
A permanent home. It was intended to be a holiday home, but plans changed and
Quinton and Sarah made it their year-round dwelling.
We also saw in the progress of this thread how important family and friends were to Quinton. The number who attended their 40th wedding anniversary, detailed in these pages, underline that and remind us all that we need each other, that if we have a generous and outgoing nature – as did this incredibly talented man we've just lost – then we will always have friends and family who care about us as we do them.
Very Sad to hear . . thank you for telling us
Ray, thanks for letting us know. I am deeply saddened to lean of Quinton and Sonya's passing.
A number of years ago I visited with the three of them in Texas. It was a trip that I will never forget.
I will keep Sandra in my thoughts and prayers.
Scott
Yes, thank you so much for letting us know. May he rest in peace.
That is a bummer! Thank you for passing along the news, my condolences to his wife. What a horrible time for her😢
Rest in peace to a real craftsman and friend of the forum. Born on the exact same day as my father. Godspeed.
RIP Sir
What a cabin!
What a guy!
What a builder!!
Glad he got to fulfill a build.
A nice thread to read.
He will, is, missed.
My condolences to his family. This thread is a textbook on how to build your own home and would make a great mini-book. I'm glad he had time to enjoy it.
I enjoyed reading about the build a while back . Was a very nice journey . Not many get such a one
Sad to hear his passing & condolences to his family
May he rest in peace in his new home overlooking the mountains. I have followed his story over the years.
Condolences to family and friends and may he enjoy his cabin in the mountains for an eternity. This thread demonstrates his determination to reach his dream. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Quinton, rest in peace.