Okanogan 20x30

[ScottA]

Nice crib. You're making good progress. I need to learn that getting the wife to stain trick. 

[OldDog]

 

[SkagitDrifter]

It's been a while since my last update but things have been moving along- granted, sometimes at a snails pace, but nonetheless we are closing in on wraping it up for the winter.  Sorry for the picture quality on some of these but my camera has issues with the cold weather and condensation.




As a one man show I worked on metal siding and framing the small entry deck while I waited for my help to arrive.


The weather took a turn for the worse- got some snow but not enough to really set us back too far.  Hard to tell from the bad picture but the soffit detail might be interesting for some of you...
I droped the height of the gable end wall 3-1/2" and ran Cedar 4x4 out-riggers over the top of the wall and back to the last common rafter- this holds the barge rafter in place.  After, I filled in between 4x4s with 2x4 at the building line. 

The next step was the cedar T&G which I installed on top of the rafter tails up to the bird blocking and out over the gable overhang.  I then ran 1-1/2" OSB strips up the rafters to flush everything out.

 
Next we sheet over the top of everything. This gives double thickness in the 3' overhangs so no roofing nails/screws poke through the soffit.  Also, I prestained the soffit material and the rafter tails before we put it together, so I won't have to go back and do it later.

[SkagitDrifter]

With the sheeting done we installed the windows.


...and got the paper on.  I can breath a small sigh of relief.


No picture but we got the Tyvek on as the day ended.
Last step is to install the metal which should be done this weekend.


Hope all of you who were fighting the weather got things wraped up.
More to come in the next week of so.

Tom

[alcowboy]

Beautiful land there in Okanogan! That is a gorgeous view of the drive up to the cabin! I just love to see how God paints our world especially in the fall. No master painter could ever do the Master's painting true justice!

[SkagitDrifter]

Hi All-
Went over to the cabin to wrap up a few loose ends this weekend...
thought I would share a few pics.

Most likley will not be able to do much more to the cabin this year- the weather is closing in on us- after the snow starts to stick around we will not be able to access the place except by snowmobile or snowshoes
(about a 1/2 hour walk in from the main road).



We hauled the old camper off the place and gave it to a friend- it was great to have on the place while we were building. 



We'll hit it hard next spring and get her finished up- although I often wonder...
Are you ever really done with a building project?  There's always something else that needs doing.

Hope you all had a good, productive weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving- and remember this Holiday Season...
Gravy is not a beverage!

Tom

[NM_Shooter]

Tom, that looks fantastic.  Very nice work and fast progress too.  I am green with envy. 

Have a good Thanksgiving too!

-f-

[glenn kangiser]

Old Chinese proverb.  The man who finishes his house dies. 

How can I not follow wise advise like that.

[SkagitDrifter]

So, I'm snowed in. 

Our house on the coast with plenty of snow.

Really not normal for where I live but we're making the best of it.  I decided a while ago to make up the exterior window trims for my cabin project in my shop and not on site.  I took tight mesurments of each window and created a cut list.  Each trim gets a 2x3 sill, 1x6 legs and head, and a 1x2 backbend to finish it off and create a logical termination spot for the cedar siding.  I biscut joined and glued all the joints and use screws and 15 gauge finish nails to hold it all together.  Working on the shop table makes it easy to get everything tight and square.  When it comes time to install all I will have to do is place the trim over the window and nail it on- done!
The plan is to stain all the trims before install.  One less thing to do on the ladder.


Cedar window trims-  I'm about 1/2 done.

Hope you all have a great Christmas!
Tom
   

[Bishopknight]

Great pics Tom! You're really making alot of progress in a short amount of time!

Love the views. The metal at the bottom is probably a good idea with the snow.

Have a great Christmas!

[MountainDon]

The trim sections look nice.

[Jens]

very nice job on the cabin.  I especially like the trim units.  I haven't had the chance to do that with exterior trim yet, but prefer to handle interior trim this way.  I use pocket screws, and make up a bunch of U's that then get installed on top of the stools which have been installed all at once.  The cedar is all very pretty.

[Yonderosa]

All the snow we've been having around here makes me wonder what the snow is like over there.  Friends in Oroville and Tonasket say they've been doing a LOT of plowing on their spreads.  I can't wait to get back to see how things are holding up.

Window trims look great.  Good progress!  It is coming together well and ahead of the weather.  Well done.

[Redoverfarm]

Nice job on the trim.  Want to frame out the ones on the cabin?   Don't really look forward to that.  There is no verticle plumb to the outside walls with the varing log widths and bows.  Still thinking of how to make them shed water.  Probably an angled kerf above in the log and then a drip edge onto the sills.  Maybe a few more nights before sleep and I will have it pictured out.  BTW nice snow picture.  Should be on a post card or Xmas cards.

[SkagitDrifter]

Hello Folks-
It has been a while since I posted an update.  I hope everyone had a great spring and start to summer.  I haeve been burning the candle at both ends for the last six weeks trying to get as much done as possible while I have the time.  Here are a few pics of what we've been up to...

Fianlly got some stairs built.


Had to fence a small area around the cabin to keep the cows out.


Got the wood stove hooked up.


Got started on the cedar shingles.


Got the shingles finished up last weekend.


It's starting to look like a real building.


Time to take a weekend off.

The plan is to continue on the exterior - decks, rails, garage door etc. and then move into the inside as the fall weather starts to close in.
I am on the hunt for info about solar panels and how to install a small system for lights only- I know many of you have gone down that road already- Any sugestions where I should start my search?
All the best- and thanks for looking in.
Tom

[Jens]

Your cabin looks great!  I especially like the metal siding on foundation, and the shingles.

[Yonderosa]

LOOKING GREAT!  That is a LOT of work you've accomplished.  Very impressive.

Don't you just love free range cattle?  They do a nice job keeping our meadow mowed but what they leave behind...

[John Raabe]

Tom:

Thanks for keeping us all up to date on your fine project. Your work is looking very good and you've taken some great photos.

On the solar PV question - I was at a presentation last week by the solar folks linked below. They have a pretty good page of info on all the incentives that are available in WA state. Your utility may differ and if the system is totally off grid then some of these wouldn't apply. A grid tied system can look pretty attractive when all the incentives are bundled up with WA manufactured components (some of which will be coming to market in a few months). These folks are very helpful and can answer questions.

http://www.whidbeysunwind.com/incentive.html

[poppy]

Some how I missed your build thread last year.  Looking good and you call that a cabin? ; it looks bigger than your house.

Gotta like the cedar shakes.

A high off the ground design kind of looks like what folks do in flood plains.  You guys must get a lot of snow.

[SkagitDrifter]

Thanks for the kind words Gang.
And thank-you John for the link to the solar guys.  I'll be checking them out sometime this week.  I need to be thinking about running wires before I get too far ahead of myself- after spending nights in an old camper over there last fall and winter I'm thinking insulation- even thought its 90 degrees out.
Poppy- it's not uncommon to have 4+ feet of snow stacked up next to your house over in that area. 

[SkagitDrifter]

So got back to working on the joint over the last few weekends.  It seems like I'm just picking away at the mountain of work that seems to be in front of me.  I try to take one thing at a time and always remember that this is suppose to be fun right?  My montra has been "keep it fun" and you will enjoy the process more.
Then came the garage door...
What a pain.  When I opened the hardwear box there was what seemed to be an explosion of parts and pieces everywhere.  I'm a wood guy and believe myself to be pretty handy but the garage door was way over my head.  My advice... hire a pro.  In the end I got it done and it even seems to open and close the way it should.

After installing the cedar posts for the deck rails I made up the hog wire and cedar panels in my shop.
I trucked them over and installed them- with a bit of tweeking they all fit like a glove.
Making the window trims and deck panels in the shop off site makes so much sense.
I have the panels for the stair to complete and install and the decking to put down (which I'm not sure what I'll use-maybe Alaska Yellow Cedar 5/4x6) and spread the two mountains of gravel in front of the place and the exterior will be done.  This weekend I insulate- I'm really looking forward to that job-yuk!    


Hog wire panels. The top cap in this picture is scrap wood- The final cap will be whatever I use for the decking


Closing in on completion of the exterior.


The new garage door looks good from this far away.  I wanted to screem during installation.


Not the greatest photo but we've been seeing alot of bear scat around the place.  Caught him with the game cam about 100 yards from the cabin.  The date is wrong on the pic- it was taken Labor day weekend.

Fall is here- I hope you all get tons done on your projects before old man winter comes knockin'.
All the best- thanks for looking in.
Tom

[PA-Builder]

Your place looks great !

I noticed you have a Mr. Heater propane heater sitting in front of the wood stove.  Is that the Big Buddy model ?  How effective is it in heating ?  How big an area ?  How much propane per day ?

Thanks.

[SkagitDrifter]

PA
Thanks.

Yes- that is the Big Buddy model. We bought it when we were staying in a 10' truck camper on the place and it worked great.  It would heat the little camper up in a matter of seconds.  We would go through about 2 bottles of propane per weekend (friday afternoon till sunday afternoon).  Now we use it for "spot heating"  ie. when lighting the wood stove is not necessary but you would like to take the chill off.  Good product I recomend it, very efficient and handy to have for a spare bedroom etc.  It also has a auto shut off / low oxygen sensor so it is safe to run inside.  But we always play it safe and have a carbon monoxide detector always standing by.

[PA-Builder]

Thanks . . . that was the info I was lookin' for.

[Redoverfarm]

Nice work.  It will not be as long as it has been.