I would not suggest you let-in (notch the studs) a for a 2x ledger in a 2x4 wall. The old balloon frame builders did notch 2x4's for a 1x ledger and it might still work if all the studs and floor joists can be nailed together.

Hi Weasel - I have absolutely no regrets regarding the 12 foot walls. I had plenty of help raising them and they did save time and some lumber. I'm not sure about using 2x4's. I never really considered it as I want the extra insulation space. And the cost difference is not as big as one might think. And, as John points out, I wouldn't have been able to use a ledger for the loft beam support. The loft space is really nice. There's plenty of headroom, and also plenty of room for some built-in cabinets (to be built eventually). I look forward to hearing more about your build. I really like the size of our place - it's just right for us, for now.

Thanks for the reply. Rather than building a ledger I was thinking of just adding an 8 foot stud next to the 12 foot stud, and then place my floor joists on top of the 8 foot studs.

Also, what did you use for your floor joists on the first floor... and then the second?

For the platform I used 2x10's on 16" centers. For the loft we went with mostly 4x6 beams, using 4x8 beams around the stairway opening. The beams are on 32" centers.

I would assume that supporting your joists as you suggest would work fine, but I'm almost the opposite of an expert on the subject. Perhaps John or others would know better.

Yes, you can support joists by a shorter stud sistered to another stud. Remember to use a detail that includes fire blocking.

Great thanks guys... I'm just trying to get some ideas put together before I start my official thread on here... should still be a few months away.

I've been doing little detail work while waiting for a roofer to show up (still waiting, but Irene may have complicated things). I couldn't find 2 x anything in hardwood to trim up the loft edge, so I made my own out of some sugar maple. I took a 5 - 6" diameter log and ripped 3 sides of it, then fit into the loft. I really like how it sits proud of the rest of the floor. I used remaining loft beams for the railing posts. For the railing I found some white cedar and used maple branches for the slats. It was fun and not hard, with a set of forstner drill bits and a good whittling knife. Picts:

What a wonderful build, and truly inspirational.
The railing looks great!
It's very hard to incorporate natural shapes with milled wood and make it look so good.
Very very nice, reb.

Nice job on the railings.

It would take a pretty cold inspector to see if he could push a 4" diameter rubber ball through any of the those spaces, but that would be a code problem in many places.

Hey Reb, we need some of those railings in some areas at our place    Very nice!

Beautiful!!! Looks great!

Thanks all. I'm looking forward to getting the last section of railing on, and then some poly.

Railing done, and we have a nice new metal roof!

A few windows more...
I had an urge to spend some more money on windows before winter. I bought 3, all for the loft. That leaves 4 for whenever we can afford 'em.

In the back, installed:


The holes for the front - gotta love the view, and what a difference having natural light up there:


Front windows installed, including our current mess in the loft:


From the outside. They make the place look a little friendlier, I think:

Hey Rich, are you available for hire, I need railings too.... 

Hey Tracy - it's actually pretty easy to make those railings. Much of the wood I collected from the property; the posts were beams left over from the loft. The majority of the work in making the railings is in pealing the bark and sanding. I'd be happy to show you sometime.

Small update, no picts - we have a mattress! No more sleeping on cots! Woohoo! Also, got the rafters and gable ends all insulated. I had wanted to have the expanding foam insulation installed, but with the cost is 10 times as much as fiberglass, I really couldn't justify it. Of course, now I can't wait to get the 1x6 T & G up so we don't have to look at the insulation facing.

Things have been busy at work and home, so we haven't made it up to the property in a few weeks. The house is pretty much all insulated, and we found a great old kerosene heater that does a terrific job warming up the place. I finally gave up my desire to have foam insulation sprayed in. The cost was just too much, it didn't make any sense. So, we went with fiberglass, R-30 in the loft ceiling and R-21 in the walls. Good enough.

In the meantime, I've been building a log bedframe. The wood is mostly from a future dog park here at home - we don't have a whole lot of hardwood up at the property. I worked out a system of making the tenons on the logs that didn't cost a lot. And I used the same method for the slats as I did for the loft railing. I didn't make too many awful mistakes, but this type of furniture making is pretty forgiving. Here's some pictures of the process and the end result:

Strap the log to my crappy table saw:


Used a door knob hole blade, but I'd buy a better, longer one if I were to do this again:


Screw on a guide block - just a square piece of wood:


Run it through said crappy table saw, with the blade at 45 degrees, turning the block a little after doing all 4 sides. Usually 16 cuts per end:


With the block off:


With part pried off with a screwdriver:


Footboard complete, without finish:


The whole bed, finished, save the slats, which I need to buy today:


My only costs were around $45 for the birch plywood I used for the rails, the cost of the Rockler bed brackets, and one 1 15/16 inch forstner bit for the mortise. Not too bad.

very nice. thats fantastic for only $45!

The bed, in place in the loft. Nice to have that project under my belt:

Wow!  Very, very nice!  And I love your railings, too 

Thanks Duncan and Sassy. I have to say, I'm having a blast with this stuff. It makes it really hard to return to the real world. ;-)

So nice to see your progess. I have pretty much buttoned mine up for the winter and will resume in the spring. Hope we can get together next year for that BBQ, have a great Christmas, Trudy

We're hoping to get up there a few times this winter, though I don't expect to get any additional work done until April or May.

Let's plan on a BBQ, or at least a visit next year. I hope we'll have a little more time to play next year. And, hopefully, the weather will be better! Have a great Christmas and a healthy winter. Cheers, Rich

It's been a crazy winter and I've only been up to our place overnight one night in the last couple of months. I finished up the insulation and reset the door in the frame for better weather stripping. But we've been busy planning for this year, once the warmer weather hits. We've decided we need to add a good-sized wraparound porch. As we don't have siding yet other than sheathing (on either side of the wall) yet, we figure it's better to do it sooner than later. Anyway, here's an early Sketchup drawing. Initially, this is to guestimate materials, primariy for the deck first. The roof structure is not filled out yet -- I'm researching hip roofs and compound miter cuts, some things I have not done yet. More as I get it refined:



-Rich

I like your plan.  I just tried my hand at a half hip gable end detail.  I'm in a bit over my head.  Sacrificed a couple 2x6's to the dimensional lumber Gods.   Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing your progress.