Coyote Ridge Observatory - 10x14 Modern Shed

Gary O · October 24, 2011, 01:45:36 PM

You did it, MOB!
Good show

waggin · October 29, 2011, 05:19:52 PM

Very nice! I've always liked the shed roof design and am planning on using it for a 12'x12' shed. Notice you angled the top plates on the front and back walls. Some folks do it this way, and some cut them flat and bird mouth the rafters. Can you (or anyone else) enlighten me on the pros & cons of the two methods? Seems like this one would be easier to frame, other than the angle cutting. Does it require any special care in terms of fastening the rafters, assuming using something like a 3-1/2 or 4:12 pitch roof? Looks like your 14 degrees works out to an even 3:12 according to the online calculator I found. Do you have any concerns for snow loading with that pitch? Also, it looks like your fly rafters don't sit against the roof sheathing. Is that an optical illusion, or are they down at the level of your top plates? I know you'd mentioned doing something different with them in the thread. Would love to learn more, so anyone who can respond would have my gratitude.

October 29, 2011, 06:20:49 PM

Quote from: MikeOnBike on October 06, 2011, 10:29:23 PM
Yeah, we have a Snotel site near our place. I've been watching it all week. Freezing overnight and 1/2" of rain since yesterday morning.

I won't be back up there until the 14/15th so hopefully it will warm and dry by then. Guess I got the windows, door and tarpaper on just in time.

Mud Flat Snotel? I have made that drive Mud Flat to Jordan Valley. I really think that is a great place over in that area!

MikeOnBike · October 31, 2011, 12:19:16 PM

waggin,

I went with the angled top plates because it seemed easier at the time. I couldn't find anything on advantages on the different methods. I made a little wood jig that was set to 14deg. and just made sure I kept track of whether my measurement was the high or low side of the angle. I toe-nailed the rafters with a 10p/3" nail on each side where it contacted the top plate and I also used hurricane clips.

The roof is 2.5/10 or 3/12 pitch. That seems to be the minimum for a metal roof. The back wall is 6.5ft. and the front is 9'. With the 2x6 floor that let me use 4x10 sheeting on the front wall with out having to splice the siding and out reach my ladder.

We have snow monitoring site about 4 miles from our place. The records going back to 1982 show a peak snow water content of 12". That works out to ~63lb/sqft load on the roof. A span calculator for the 10'3" span advises 2x8 rafters on 16" centers which is what I used. That should take me up to 75lbs/sqft with #2 grade 2x8s. Yeah I'm worried about the roof. The weight with a full load of snow is 14,000lbs! 4,000lbs of that is on the overhangs. I hope the fly rafters are up to it.

The fly rafters are a bit different. The roof sheathing is nailed into the top of them so it must be an optical illusion. They have 2x4s that run from the bottom side of the outer fly rafter under the rafter at the wall and continue under the next inner rafter. That supports from the bottom and the sheathing covers on the top. My thought is that with a box like that it would be stronger than the rafter ladder that I see many just nail to the outer rafter. I do have some concern about the snow load on that cantilevered part of the roof.

If you have any other questions just ask. I'll try to explain with an answer or diagram.

Rick,

We are about 4mi east of the Mud Flat SnoTel site that is near the BLM camp. I'm a little higher up at 6000'. If you know where the top of Freezeout Ridge is, that is my driveway.

MikeOnBike · October 31, 2011, 12:47:25 PM

My wife and I made a 2-day trip to the mtn. this weekend. Our goal was to have the shed ready to endure winter. On the list for the first day was finish the siding around the door, put up the corner trim and caulk everything that is in place.

On Sun. after it warmed up Pamm started slinging paint. I focused on getting the windows and doors trimmed and adding nails to the sheeting where I had missed or skipped due to time or weather in the weeks before.

We didn't get all of the painting done but it will do. I was able to get caulking on the tops of the windows/door but as the photos show we were running out of daylight.

We left a few bare spots on the siding. I'll be back up a couple of times over the next 2-3 weeks to help my daughter get firewood. I'll snag the granddaughter to come help me 'finish' the painting and close up both sheds. I still need to put my material piles neatly under both sheds and put away the chairs, grill, shower and fencing supplies.

Other than that I think we are done for the year. Snow is forecast for next weekend. I don't think we have any more buildings planned for at least a year. Next year we will finish fencing/gates, probably put in a well, get some solar power in place and finish the interior of both sheds.

October 31, 2011, 08:26:57 PM

Excellent choice of colors... the place looks great!!! I look forward to updates.

BB

MikeOnBike · October 31, 2011, 09:26:39 PM

Glidden 'Dewy Iris'

Pamm is the decorator and I told her to have fun with it. She is.

MikeOnBike · November 07, 2011, 01:09:53 PM

My son Jason and I went up on Fri. to close the sheds and put everything away for the winter. We got my son-in-law started cutting firewood on a neighbors property and headed over to our place to put things away. Jason hadn't been up to mtn. for a year. He works weekends and has school during the week so the second shed project was all new for him.

While I fussed with the last couple of items at the upper camp he wandered off to take a few pictures to show his girlfriend who also hasn't been able to get to the mtn. this year.

It doesn't look like I will get to finish painting with my granddaughter this year. Oh well, the bare spots will be there next spring.

After standing around enjoying a hot cup of coffee, watching the light snow fall and listening to the quiet we headed down to the lower camp. Everything gets tucked in the shed for the winter. I had already drained the hot water heater on the outdoor shower so we just removed the heater, pump and shower head from the wood frame and tossed them in the shed with the BBQ grill and fencing supplies.

All closed up for the winter. Just a five month wait for the snow to melt. Lots of time to think about all the interior work to do on both sheds, and building the deck, and the fencing, and drilling a well, and starting a cabin...

rick91351 · November 07, 2011, 04:42:34 PM

Five months-----

This is what has me hung up the most about moving up to the ranch! We have pulled our irrigation pump and drained everything. I plan on going up tomorrow and grabbing the fifthwheel.

Has been cold - real cold in the mountains already.

November 07, 2011, 07:39:30 PM

Very pretty photo of the dusting of snow. Thanks for the response on the rafters and top plates. Your place has great lines and proportions and has a beautiful view; I'll look forward to hearing your progress once the weather allows next year!

MikeOnBike · July 05, 2012, 03:56:37 PM

We are finally working on the shed. Most of our effort this spring has been on fencing the property. Given last year's theft problems we are very glad to finally have a locked gate.

Pamm and I went up last Sat. for a 4 day stay. We were able to get the shed wired, half insulated and the deck and stairs in place. The previous week, on a fencing trip, I hauled up a bed so we are no longer sleeping on the air mattress. Wow, what an upgrade that was.

hpinson · July 05, 2012, 06:17:57 PM

Hi Mike. I noticed you have a metal roof that is similar to one I am building now. I've found the correct side flashing, but what did you use for the shed top and bottom ends? Was it just L flashing over the top of the metal roof sheet?

MikeOnBike · July 06, 2012, 05:57:36 PM

hpinson,

I got the metal roof materials from a local roofing supplier.

The side flashing has a little curl that laps over the ridge on the flat panels. The front flashing is almost identical but does not have the curl since it needs to lay flat across and perpendicular to the ridges. I used solid ribbed foam strips on the front flashing since I have vented soffits front and back. The back/bottom flashing is just an L shaped piece that is about 2" on a side. It really doesn't do anything and is just cosmetic.

The roof is 5/8" plywood over 2"x8", 16" OC ceiling joists, covered with 30lb. tar paper. Our record year was 12" of snow water so the roof is a little sturdier than you might expect for desert country. The overhangs are 16" with a vented soffit in the front/top and back/bottom. The side soffits are not vented.

OlJarhead · July 06, 2012, 07:10:22 PM

Nice rock pillars! How long did it take to build them?

On our property we have a lot of rock in spots (no topsoil) and will have to do that too.

July 06, 2012, 08:26:19 PM

I think the rock jacks take about an hour or two.

We set 4 t-posts in about a 3 ft diameter circle. They are cross wired in the direction of the fence run with barb-less wire. We wrap them with 9-10 ft of horse no-climb wire.

Filling them with rock can go pretty quickly if it is close but can take quite awhile if you have to walk very far for it.

We will probably have about 30 of them when we are finished.

rick91351 · July 06, 2012, 08:49:34 PM

Looks like to me it is sort of hard getting four tee post sunk in some of your spots......

I have been thinking of making the loop and coming out over at Jodan Valley one of these days. My wife has never made that trip.

WOW that is one heck of a view across there. I bet there are not many lights out there in the distance at night.

By the way I love that photo of the light snow you posted back in November.

Hope to see you around one of these days. Still have the scaffold.

MikeOnBike · July 06, 2012, 09:17:38 PM

You're right, the soil is a little thin. Sometimes the posts are just something to tie the wire to.

Let me know if you are going to make the loop. If I'm going to be up there I'll have to give you the tour.

You can see Jarbidge, the Independence range, the Santa Rosa range, Juniper Mtn. and South Mtn. from there. It is very dark. I can't wait to get my telescope up there.

My son took that photo when we were closing up the sheds last fall. We had a nice light snowfall and it was just dead still quiet.

I think we will probably connect up this year.

rick91351 · July 06, 2012, 10:30:11 PM

Quote from: MikeOnBike on July 06, 2012, 09:17:38 PM

You can see Jarbidge, the Independence range, the Santa Rosa range, Juniper Mtn. and South Mtn. from there. It is very dark. I can't wait to get my telescope up there.

My son took that photo when we were closing up the sheds last fall. We had a nice light snowfall and it was just dead still quiet.

I think we will probably connect up this year.

I have been over to Jarbidge, that is some neat country over there. Lots of Indian lore and mining history off that way.

Boise any more is big enough that its lights just floods and washes out the night skies so bad up our way. Some nights it is okay. I hear it is not as bad during the winter time. I guess the Boise inversion traps some of the light down. It has been a long time since I had a good telescope. Last one we had up there was one my daughter had. Pretty low budget outfit but a higher priced low end scope. However it was a lot of fun. I do get some stuff from Orion once in a while and on a e-mail list with them. If we get moved up there I will most likely make the plunge into a good scope.

I have something up my sleeve for up my way but I am not saying anything. Bad jewjew man for me.

Seems ever time I say I'm going to do something -- something happens! Loose lips sink ships and plans

Checi · July 09, 2012, 12:49:25 PM

Your cabin is ADORABLE!! I just started building the 14x24 at my land in NY and when I'm finshed with that one I'm going to be building the 10x14 for my daughter right next to it. I am putting a shed roof on both of them so they will match.

MikeOnBike · July 24, 2012, 11:21:12 AM

My brother and I made it up to my place last weekend. We focused on the deck and managed to get bracing on the posts, the pergola in place and the shade cloth installed.

We also spent a lot of time playing lumberjack. The big tree to the left of the shed is coming out and we have a lot more work to do to establish a defensible space. We had some large fires burning within about 12 mi. of us over the last couple of weeks and fencing will have to take a back seat to fire control for awhile.

It is dryer now than it usually is at the end of along hot summer. Since the fence is not complete we have the BLM cattle on the property now. There's not much for them to eat so hopefully they will pull them early this year.

July 24, 2012, 11:41:48 AM

That is neat looking I like it.......

The junipers, they really blow up when they get on fire. You might try and keep the cows in there and maybe they will eat all the fuel. A few cow pies are better than the maybe alternative....

I asked our lessor this year to keep their cows in our place as long as they could and 'grub it off' really good. They have been grazing our place so light the last couple years that we have a had huge fuel load building up.

Checi · July 24, 2012, 01:35:06 PM

The angle of your roof is steeper than the flat roof in the plans. Is that a 15 degree angle? Is your cabin 8' in front to 6' in back?

Checi · July 24, 2012, 01:38:04 PM

Ooops, never mind my last post! I see you talked about it in a previous post. I was almost right about the specs anyway!!

MikeOnBike · December 20, 2012, 10:31:19 PM

In early Oct. we made the last trip to the mtn. and finished the trim and paint on both sheds. Finally, I hope, the wasps and moths will be sealed out. This shed hasn't been near as bad as the other. We were gone overseas until late Nov. and there has been either too much mud or snow since then to make another trip. Next year with the shed fully insulated we hope to visit into late Nov.

I have a lot of winter projects for the shed to keep me busy. Shelves, solar panel rack, hot tub, water storage, shower materials, outhouse and much more. Happy holidays to everyone!

MikeOnBike · May 07, 2013, 06:47:13 PM

We finally made it up to our place on 4/26 for the weekend. Every thing was in good shape. Our neighbor was overrun with mice this winter but we had no sign. The blue birds were very active and entertaining all weekend.

I managed to get the rest of the insulation in place and a couple of sheets of paneling up. We won't be back up for a few more weeks but since the snowpack was so poor and the spring is running so low I'm going to haul up a 500gal water tank so we have a more reliable water supply. That and finishing the paneling will be the focus of the next trip.

I love lithium batteries. After 7 months, cold weather and ~750 pictures the trail cam battery indicator shows full charge.

We did have a couple of interesting visitors on tax day.

Momma cat making her rounds.

And waiting on...

junior.