12x16 shed/cabin w/loft

[Phssthpok]

I suppose since I've actually plunked money down for material, I can stop debating whether or not I'm going to build.

Back story: A couple of months ago I was laid off. (Don't feel too bad for me...I'm single, no kids, no bills, and I saw this coming from WAY off so I was prepared ). I was just beginning year four of a five year plan to buy land in Montana, build a cabin and go as self-sufficient as I could. To this end I've not only been saving money for land (the 'gulch' fund as it were), but also acquiring materiel for remote living; solar panels, charge controllers, batteries, inverter/charger, generator, tools,wood stoves, and most importantly initial shelter in the form of a 1972 22' Terry RV trailer given to me gratis by a long time friend. It needs some sprucing up, but it's dry and solid.

The plan (once I acquired land) was to live in the trailer while building a more permanent abode...like him, his wife, three boys and a 65 lb furball did when building their house (that's why it needs some sprucing up! ) and then gut the trailer for the fixtures /plumbing, wiring, etc. to put in the cabin. The big hitch is that he's storing the trailer about 120 miles away (no room for it here) and it's hard for me to get up there to work on it. With that in mind, a couple of weeks after I got laid off he made me an offer that was very tempting:

"Build your 'cabin' here on our five acres, and use it as storage for all you 'stuff' so you can move up here to work on (and eventually move into) your trailer until such time as you make the move to Montana." Now this offer is not altogether altruistic, I'm sure. He needs some manual labor assistance around the place that his three boys are just a bit too young to provide, but I don't have a problem with that...I'm usually put to work when I visit anyway. The other upside is that it places me in a lower cost living arrangement, while at the same time increasing my available job market. Still...I wasn't sure I wanted to add the cost and hassle of an extra 'move' into my plans.

The local lumberyards monthly clearance sale cured that right quick. I wasn't able to buy EVERY thing for the shed/cabin, but here's what I got on my first run:

(14)        4X10 T-111 siding (plus one free 4x8 throw-in)
(48)        2x6x8 fir studs
(9)          2x6x12 TAP (treated, all purpose)
(2)          2x6x16 TAP
(3)          6x8x18 TAP (someone snagged the 6x6x16's that I needed, so I was 'forced' to upgrade  )
(~20)      12"x11' engineered floor joists*
(~10)      12"x(random lengths between 10 and 16') engineered floor joists*
(3)          3 step risers ($6 each....couldn't pass up the chance to save a headache)
(240 lf)    2x6 fir (random sizes from 8 - 20 feet)

With a $25 delivery charge (WELL worth it) the total came to just over $775. (*This was almost three times what I needed for less cost than buying ONLY what I needed (10 pcs.@12' long) just because they didn't want to bother with breaking the mish-mash bundle that my desired pieces were in. Price was listed as $1/foot but the deal they cut put me at about .45/foot! I still haven't counted/measured them as the bundle is on the bottom of the pile). So far I'm WELL on track to come in under my $2K budget. 

Of course they also had windows (some of them custom arches!) and doors from canceled orders on hand, and it was VERY tempting, but first things first. Pier blocks, screws, and some subflooring are all I need to start construction.

The plan is for a 12x16 w/gambrel roof for more loft space almost identical to the one below (minus the side shed) with the exception that mine will be 2x6 construction instead of 2x4. The loft will be full length in the original (storage) configuration, but I may leave a section open when I reassemble it in Montana as a home. (I'm constructing with screws instead of nails in order to make de-construction for transport that much easier.)



Fortune smiles on me in yet another aspect of this project. My friend works for a walk-in cooler/freezer manufacturer and can get me as many closed cell rigid foam panels as I want for insulation for FREE! These are 'blowouts' from when the factory is constructing metal skinned insulated panels. If the skin doesn't hold when the foam is injected, then it 'blows-out' and the panel must be stripped of the foam, reconstructed and shot again. The hardened blow-out foam is useless to them at that point so they just pile it up in the back and pay to have it hauled away. Most of these panels are a standard 4'x8' and all are 3-3/4 thick!(panels are 2x4 framing) I'll have to shave down some of the excess (where it blows out), but they should keep me plenty toasty in the winter.

I am faced with one dilemma though; how to roof the gambrel. You see, I want (read MUST HAVE) a metal roof where I'm going to be in Montana (forest fire territory!), but due to snow, and my desire to shed it effectively, I need the ridges to be vertical, not horizontal. My google-fu has yet to unveil a solution for the 'hips' of the gambrel when using metal roofing in a vertical orientation. None of the metal roof manufacturers (that I've so far found) even show a gambrel roof with metal on it! Does anyone here have any experience/ideas regarding this quandary? I just don't like the idea of an exposed joint both for looks and coverage.

[bobtheengineer]

The metal roofing isn't any problem with a gambrel roof.  They make a trim called outside and inside gambrel break trim.  The outside for the mid-roof break between the steep pitch and less steep pitch.  The inside is for the lower roof transition, that some gambrel roofs have that flare out towards the bottom.  Anyplace that sells the roof sheeting, should also be able to sell you the gambrel break trim.

I have toyed around with a gambrel roof for a long time.  Building a 12' wide one shouldn't be much of a problem.  The best looking gambrel roofs have a 12/7 pitch on the lower section, and a 7/12 pitch on the upper section.  A 12' wide one can pretty easily be built as a rigid frame, or it can also be built as a truss type.  The rigid frame will give you more room upstairs.

I can ramble on along time about a gambrel roof.  I think the gambrel barns are one of the most asthetically pleasing structures in the USA. 

If you want any more information, just let me know.  Good luck.

[bobtheengineer]

Whoops forgot to mention.  Check out Barnplans.com for lots of barn construction photos.

[Phssthpok]

Update on my efforts.

Two weeks ago I set an achievable goal of simply getting the foundation (such as it is) leveled and set, and the 'deck' built. (bear in mind this is all happening 2 hours from home, so I'm pretty much relegated to weekend work) I fully intended to photo and post at that time, but I completely forgot to grab the camera, so this will be a double update.

Completed deck with my truss cutting set-up.


Yes the 'foundation' is only cement blocks, but this structure will only be on-site for a year or two before deconstruction and relocation, and a 30x60 shop is going to be built in it's place, so I couldn't do anything too permanent. (Remember I'm 'pre-constructing' on a friend's land). One of my roommates managed to acquire some full length glass doors from a business remodeler for me that I had originally planned to use for solar air panels. However I decided that the double glazing made them just a bit to heavy for my comfort level, so I spent some time (with my friend working his Auto-cad magic) figuring out how to incorporate all the glass panels into the 'south wall' for the purposes of passive solar gain instead. We doubled the studs on either side of each panel just to be on the safe side for load bearing capability. They wouldn't all fit (roomie scored 7 total!) so we figured out the west-wall entrance/window layout too. Here you can see the door and side windows in a rough approximation of how they will be configured: (yes, the door and window tops will be level w/ each other)


And here is the 'back' door I scored for $10 at the 'local lumberyard sale':



With the deck completed I had a work surface to cut and assemble the roof trusses. 72" sides, and 48-1/8" tops coming together in a nice, perfect peak....at least that's how it was SUPPOSED to work. Apparently the 'pointer' on the sliding compound saw got bumped and the 22.5 degree setting was a tad off. Just a fraction of a degree, but it was enough to leave a 1-1/2" gap at the top:



I had a choice of either refiguring the angle of the cut for the top pieces to bring them together or find some other solution. Fortunately a 2x6 will fit nicely into the 'gap':


...so with a little redesign of the gussets, I opted to go with a full length 2x6 ridge beam. A side benefit of this is that I pick up an additional inch of headspace whereas I'd lose some were I to recut the angles. Having solved that problem, I set about stripping the plywood for the gussets:


I also need to cut some filler blocks to go between the gussets so I have something to anchor ceiling material to (was tempted by some 6"x16' T&G pine for $6.40 each at the sale....one piece would go full length on the ceiling!), but of course both my batteries got drained mid-project. (Apparently those circular saws really put a hammering on the battery). The original plan was to have the trusses sit directly on the upper flooring, but closer examination of the T-111 I purchaed revealed 10' lengths instead of the 8' I thought they were. So we figured in a 19" stubwall for the upstairs (16" spacer w/ single top and bottom plates) This will bump my headroom quite a bit upstairs, and actually improves the overall proportional aesthetics outside.


Once the gussets are cut, and the blocks specced out I'll assemble one truss 'DTFO' and then screw some blocks to the deck to act as a fixture for the remaining trusses. (A 'trick' from a BHM article I've been wanting to try). The plan is to have everything pre-cut and/or sub-assembled as much as possible, then get everything up and dry in one day...two at the most. If all goes well that should happen over Fourth of July  weekend.

[secordpd]

Hi P
Yea those cordless saws drain the batteries quickly. The trick is to have four batteries and 2 chargers, and keep 'em charging constantly.  Either that or spend a mint on Lithium ion batteries...

Did you see the article in Mother Earth News about the Simple Solar Heater

Great link to Dan Fallick's 5 tricks to super strong framing.

Heres another article about home made trusses
here's the pic

[considerations]

You're my kinda guy....find the best deal you can and make it work...very inventive!

Thanks for posting pics....we luvs pics. 

[Phssthpok]

Hi P
Yea those cordless saws drain the batteries quickly. The trick is to have four batteries and 2 chargers, and keep 'em charging constantly.  Either that or spend a mint on Lithium ion batteries...

Yeah, I had heard that the saw's do a number on the batteries, so my plan was to start with two fresh batteries, make one cut, then swap out the batteries while getting ready for the next cut. That way each battery would get a rest and recharge while the other one was working.

DeWalt, however, had a different view of that arrangement. Seems their charger won't throw any juice if the battery is either too hot or too cold. Normally I'd be glad for such a feature, but after just one 8 foot long cut, the battery would be 'too hot' to take a charge! I had a lot of down time waiting on those blankety-blank batteries!  (I guess I can't complain too bad.... it seems to be a feature for extending battery service life which is, overall, a good thing). These things are DEFINITELY not designed as a full-on replacement for a corded saw.

Did you see the article in Mother Earth News about the Simple Solar Heater

I think I've read just about every article on the web regarding solar air, looking for the most cost-effective way to go, and the 'soda can' model seemed the easiest to construct, and the most portable.

You're my kinda guy....find the best deal you can and make it work...very inventive!

The motivation behind all the windows to the south and (more especially) the west is the views I'll have (assuming I'm able to close on the land I'm hoping to).

View to the southwest:


And the money shot....view to the west:



That little white dot on the hill in the first photo is the only visible 'neighbor' up in the hills....A snowbird that's about 1-1/2 miles away! there's only two other people that live up the road that land is on...one almost all the way back near town, and one just behind the first ridge in the second photo (about 1/4 mile off), and he's the one who turned me onto this plot! You know him as Prometheus...the one with the large timber framed house I posted photo's of here.

[secordpd]

yea, that's definitely a money view, I'd spend all my money on the windows facing that view...

[Phssthpok]

Well...things didn't quite go as planned over the weekend of the Fourth. Friday was spent mostly helping my friend with his projects (part of the trade off for letting me build/storing my trailer). On Saturday, his boys were slated to walk in a local parade with their Scout troops/packs. This meant that he was unavailable to help untill after 3pm or so, and when he got home he was bordering on heatstroke from the parade (as a scout leader, he marched too) and needed some time to cool off in the pool.

I stayed behind and managed to get some trusses pre-cut for notching



....the gusset filler blocks cut



....and a few truss halves assembled



...but I made a fatal mistake while working.

I took my shirt off (it was about 90 degrees and there was no one around to get blinded by my pasty-northern-whiteboy-ness)....and got BURNED. I didn't even notice it untill I took a small break to get some panels in place on my 'contracters office'/guest house



...and the battery bank reassembled to take a maintenance charge. (it was decomissioned about two months ago for relocation)



While it wasn't terribly hot out (I kept hydrated so I didn't really notice the heat), there was no shade in the work area, and every shirt I had was BLACK so after I went back outside Saturday, and everytime I went outside on Sunday it was like laying down on a hot iron. I didn't get a danged thing done, but at least I have 12v for a radio while I work, and some lights in the evening.

Local weather calls for showers the rest of the week, so I'm calling an end to this trip, but I'll head back up next weekend when it's slated to clear. Friend has promised to dedicate some time to helping me next trip, and the weekend after so I don't have to worry about leaving a half-done cabin for 6 weeks while I'm out of town on family business.

[Phssthpok]

Well...so much for the getting it dried in idea. Although I spent 10 days on site trying to work on the cabin, weather (heat+humidity) conspired to slow progress to the point that I won't be able to get dried in before I leave for several weeks. I did make significant progress though considering the promised help was not a dedicated as I was led to believe. For the most part it was limited to helping me tip up the wall sections and hang the siding. Basically the heavy lifting parts. I tried to remember to take progress photos though.


Since the cabin is intended to be moved, no single section is larger than 8 feet wide on at least one dimension. This allows me to use a nailgun for the sub assemblies, making thing quite a bit easier.


Three 8 foot sections in place...two on the 'north side, one on the 'west'.


This is why I opted for the 12 incher...


One fell swoop!


Rear entry framed in.


First section of the 'wall o windows'. The larger openings will pretty much be all glass.


All framed in. Every header you see will have a glass wall section....except for the rear entry, which has become the main/ONLY entry for the moment. Once we got to the last wall, we stepped back and concluded that trying to incorporate the last big glass section as a door (the original funcion of ALL the glass panels) would have been a nightmare of framing, and also detract from usable floor space. The 'front' glass door was subsequently removed. Future secondary access will be through a door in the 'north' side which will be framed in when the shebbage* is permanently installed and the north side addition is constructed.


Got the joists hung with my $.50 hangers. 12" joists on the 9' walls makes for a 8" ceiling inside. With such a tall ceiling I decided on a full loft instead of losing floorspace upstairs to a vaulted ceiling for a more 'open' feel.


Getting the 3/4 OSB flooring up there was a feat, but it WAS one of the times I actually had help.


Some dunnage and a scrap 2x6 helped keep the cut straight, and the saw from dropping into the valley of the joist.


To minimize floorspace loss the decision was made to do away with the original dog-leg stairs and go with a spiral case. 5' sqare inside with a 3" center post gets me 30" treads.


Bonus points for the kitchen assembly (small double sink, counter and four-burner gas stove and oven) from my trailer measuring out at ~57" so it can drop right in against the longer wall (60")! I also figured out that with the location of the treads on the spiral staircase, I can frame in and finish out a big enough area underneath for a small shower, saving me even MORE floor space! Rather than trying to seal in the shower stall from the trailer, I'll probably just tile the whole thing.


The future kitchen space with two of the large 'wall o glass' openings as seen from the north side wall.


SW corner as seen from the 'kitchen'.


I did manage to get the bottom half sided though which helps.


Of course that necessitated making some 'working' stairs to get in and out.


I got all my truss halves up top and started to assemble only to discover that NOW (for some odd reason) they're fitting together almost perfectly WITHOUT the need for a ridgebeam. Go figure.


I tried to knuckle down and at least get some trusses fully assembled, but being up there in the open with the sun beating down, and no breeze made that all but impossible, so after just two units, so I scrapped that idea!


In the heat of the day we've been busy harvesting the bumper crop of red huckleberries that are all of the property (along with salal, Oregon grape, wild strawberries, wild blackberries, salmonberries, thimbleberries, and wild raspberries).


It truly is a banner year too...the one on the left is an average size red huckleberry. These things ONLY grow (native) in the wet PacNW corridor from BC down into Oregon from the coast to the Cascades. They likes the cool-n-wet environs, to such an extent that they are most commonly found growing around cedar trees and stumps, and in the deep, shady spots of the forest near springs. They're a pain to harvest a CLEAN (no twigs, leaves, or stems) quantity of though, particularly since they are so small....which is probably why they go for ~$25/lb online!




*The Shebbage is what it has been officially dubbed by my friends 7yr old. A combination of shed, cabin, and cottage, I think it fits and fully intend to make a "Welcome to the Shebbage" sign to hang over the door, just to make him happy!

[poppy]

An interesting design you have there.  I really like the savings on building materials; so what if it causes a different design?

I will be interested to see how things turn out, like the stairs and shower.

I have thought about transfering my trailer kitchen to the cabin, but I don't currently plan to use propane so I don't know.  A good way to save money though.

Good luck with the build.

[Phssthpok]

Interesting 'good', or interesting 'odd'?

The windows weren't really intended as a material saving feature (even though I DID get them for free ). The idea was to design and implement the most effective passive solar I could, keeping in mind the desire for good southern and western views, while incorporating provisions for the small wood stove. The wood stove is why there is a 'solid' section in the middle of the south wall. the stove will be installed facing the 'kitchen' to reduce it's footprint out into the room, as well as facilitate cooking.

I thought about pushing all the windows together toward the kitchen along the south wall and installing the woodstove in the corner, but
A: It would kill the SW view
B: It wouldn't be as 'handy' for cooking, and
C: I fully intend for the stack to punch through the wall fairly low and continue up outside, rather than trying to punch it through the upper floor and roof. Doing it this way also provides heat during the winter to the green house intended to be built onto the south wall.

I remeasured a few things in the camper today and discovered, to my dismay, that I bungled the dimensions of the kitchen. It seems the kitchen assembly in the trailer is in fact SIXTY -seven inches...not FIFTY-seven. So it looks like it won't be the easy 'drop in' installation that I thought! I can make it work.. it's just more... WORK.

I'm planning on hanging onto the gas range, at least to start so I don't have to pump a lot of heat into the house if I need to cook something in the summer. I fully intend to do as much cooking as I can on either the small wood stove, or the full on wood COOKstove (that I got for a song) once the north-side expansion is in place and I (most likely) relocate the kitchen.

[Don_P]

I'm not sure of your loads but a ridgeBEAM is used to support the roof basically hanging from that beam. Don't switch from a beam just because it ain't fitting, if its a BEAM, its a structural part. From what it looks like there are short cripple walls on the upper deck and a gusseted gambrel "truss" frame. If that is the case the nails and glue in the gussets is what is resisting the forces on the roof that are acting on the lever length of the rafter sections.
In a truss the members are loaded along their axis, you could connect any joint with a single free to rotate pin and the truss would be stable, the geometry of triangles makes it stable. A moment resisting frame is dependent on the joints themselves and the bending strength of the members to resist the rotation.
With plywood gussets and a few nails this can work in lightly loaded situations but it should really be looked at in a heavy snow area, just a heads up for anyone wanting to duplicate it.

EDIT: emphasis added - MtnDon

[poppy]

Interesting 'good', or interesting 'odd'?

I meant interesting good. 

That's really a great looking old cook stove you got there.  Is it wood or gas?

I would like to have an old stye farm sink in my cabin, but haven't found one yet that is affordable.  It would bring back memories of the old farm house I grew up in.

If you haven't discovered it already, it's a good idea to listen to Don.  He usually has sound advice.

[ben2go]

 

Great cabin.I am considering doing a gambrel roof on my 12x12 work shop so I can have a small loft home office.

[Phssthpok]

Sad news.... it looks like I'm going to have to stop construction on the shebbage.

Seems I went and signed on 20 acres of Montana mountain land (happy dance!! ), and now I need to start DEconstruction in order to relocate the partially built structure. It's going to be a bit of a push, but I'm going to try and get my stuff moved over there before the winter snows start to fly fast and furious. Fortunately I have friends willing to put me up over the cold parts of the winter in case I'm not set up in time.

[Bobmarlon]

good luck on the move,  make sure to post pictures of the new location!

[Phssthpok]

Well...things didn't quite work out as planned. Weather and other things prevented me from getting the shebbage deconstructed, so I cobbled together a quicky roof to keep it dry over winter and set about moving the rest of my stuff up to the land. I'm fortunate in that I have friends 'in town' willing to store things over the winter and the neighbor up on the hill is letting me stay in his 'man-shack' untill spring thaw allows for construction.

The drawback to this is that the 'man-shack' (10x12 w/wood stove) is currently uninsulated...which is why I brought some along on my last trip (for the season) 600-some-odd miles up from Portland.

[MountainDon]

You must have some great rear springs in that pickup.   

[Redoverfarm]

 

[Whitlock]

When I saw that pickup loaded down the frist thing that came to mind was I wonder is he related to Glenn

By the way I Glad to see that there are more of us trying to make it on our own living with less but living better


  Good luck,W

[waggin]

Brilliant use of the cable spool to support the material at the rear.  It even looks like you set it up to provide caster to track rather than skid during cornering.   

x2 on the creative use of free or almost free materials to build a minimalist shebbage.  I too will look forward to seeing what you do with the new homestead, be it moving your existing started structure or starting another one.

[Phssthpok]

It's been a while so I thought I'd throw in an update on my overwintering arrangements. About 2/3 of the insulation I brought up went into the previously mentioned 'man-shack' and, while I spend a vast majority of the time up at the main house with my hosts, it's now my bedroom/personal space. Unfortunately I only get to occupy about half of the space as a vast majority of my host's tools remain there in storage.









The wood cook stove is a mixed blessing. It's easy to start and I can actually cook things (I've gotten really good at making biscuits in the oven!), but the firebox is small and I can only damp it down so much so I get to choose between roasting (if I keep it loaded) or freezing (in the morning) if I let it go out. It's not a tough choice as I prefer to sleep in a cold room with lots of blankets. It only sucks when I have to crawl out of bed and put on cold clothes.

[Whitlock]

In hunting camp I sleep with my clothes shoved down in the foot of the bed No t cold in the morning that way.


Cool place,W

[considerations]

And I thought I was living rustic.  Just goes to show that its all relative.  Great pics by the way. 

FYI I found a way to overcome the really cold in the AM problem.  I have a franklin stove/fireplace that cannot be sealed down to burn all night, its no way airtight.  I found these "presto" type logs that are only compressed sawdust, no additives to make pretty flames.  I'm so far getting them at $1 ea.  On a cold night I chuck one on a bed of coals about 9PM, and at 5AM i still have a log of coals, warm and easy to stoke up a new fire.