Victoria Cottage NE TN

NavyDave · December 16, 2012, 09:17:22 AM

We made some more progress this week. Got the felt on the East gable end, finished up sheathing the roof, installed the Zip tape and layed a strip of felt paper (temporary until the metal goes on) over the roof peak where it vents. I worked all day yesterday taping seams and got it done right before the rain started. I have a couple drips on a few nail holes that i'll have to seal up (was warned by Rich2Vermont that this might happen) and have a leak where the main roof funnels water around the bedroom peak because i didn't tape the felt on the peak on that corner. Once those couple issues are taken care of I should be nice and dry!

tried to tape as much as I could reach by sitting on the peaks.

loft support beams staged on the deck. will start hanging them after Christmas.

We'll be using an Englander 17NC model wood stove for heat.

mountainlady1956 · December 16, 2012, 08:09:41 PM

You are making great progress. I love the wood stove. I'm looking forward to seeing it in

January 21, 2013, 08:12:33 PM

Well the holidays went well and we've been working for a couple weeks getting the house sealed up so it would hold some heat from the wood stove. Since my last posting we've:

installed the wood stove

Installed the windows and 2 of the 4 doors

Polyuerethaned the interior beams and hung them

built a set of stairs and a deck landing with septic tank access hatches.

East side of house

North side. The chimney is installed but i'll be raising it an additional 2 feet once the metal roof goes on.

North and west sides

South side. Nice view from the 57 inch picture window!

We used a block and tackle and a chain suspended from the collar ties to raise each beam into place. 2 coats of polyurethane on each one. The hardware is primed and painted with semi gloss black.

6x12s and 6x8s

The first set of stairs on the East side of the house. The deck platform is over the septic tanks. I'll be building flush mounted access panels so I can get to the tank.

I've also been getting wood shaving from the 2 neighbor's horse's beds every day having been inspired by Oljarhead and GlennK to use them in my garden as mulch. I'm looking forward to seeing the results this year. This was the movie that Oljarhead posted on Glenns page http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/#movie It's an hour and 45 minutes long but very interesting!

nathan.principe · January 21, 2013, 08:43:12 PM

Ive been waiting patiently for this update! keep em coming

NavyDave · January 22, 2013, 09:41:42 AM

Thanks for the interest Nathan i'm trying to document things as best as I can. Here's a couple pics of the setup that we used to raise our beams.

this system simplified the lifting process and once the straps were balanced along the center of gravity of the beam we were easily able to lift them into place.

January 22, 2013, 06:31:46 PM

The beams are just georgous! I just love the character of the wood knots. We had beams like that in our log home and am dreaming of having them again some day. You have made great progress NavyDave although it never seems fast enough when you're doing it. It's a lot quicker when I get to watch

I'm looking forward to seeing more Cathy

pocono_couple · January 22, 2013, 10:49:21 PM

Hi Dave,
i have been silent on this forum for a long long time.. we started our build 4 years ago.. and we are just about ready to move in full time. in the meantime, however, we have enjoyed lots of time at our house. It looks like you are doing a great job. I got to read your entire thread this evening. We shared some of the same frustrations that you have encountered, but I probably don't have to tell you that the rewards far outweigh the temporary setbacks!

my brother lives in sevierville - we were hoping to get down to visit in Feb, but we have had to postpone that trip. It is nice that you are able to work throughout the year. The first two years of our project, I just buttoned everything up at the beginning of january and returned in May - that was a luxury of sorts - it was nice to return to the project with renewed energy and excitement. we also has the benefit of not having to work under any specific timeline.

I sure am glad that your project survived Sandy - even as far inland as you are, i bet you got quite a lot of wind.. best of luck as you continue your build.. it looks like you have a great spot, and your house is coming along very nicely! jt

NavyDave · January 23, 2013, 08:28:28 PM

Cathy, I love the way the beams look also. When I put the poly on my first beam I was amazed at the look. I'd love to see a couple pics of your cabin. You've mentioned it a few times in my thread and it seems like it's similar to the look i'm gravitating toward. Might give me a few new ideas.

Pocono, It definitely has been an adventure. Sometimes I wish I could step away from the action like you were able to, especially on these recent 20 degree days. We must go on though and the sunshine (and the wood stove) has been a blessing. I can understand your renewed energy upon your return to the project. It's similar to starting a new phase for me. It seems that no matter what the phase I can't wait to get to it but also can't wait to finish. Things tend to get monotonous after awhile especially when they take longer than normal due to working alone. My brother has been working with me for the last week though and we got the windows/doors installed in short order. It's absolutely amazing the difference in work that can be accomplished with an additional person.

Today I finished the stairs and stair platform and built the 2 flush mounted access hatches for the septic tank openings.

I used a 1 1/8" bit for finger hole pulls on the hatches.

The hatches are propped up to show how they were constructed. They aren't connected with any type of hinge, they just lift off the platform.

Redoverfarm · January 23, 2013, 09:02:47 PM

Dave were yoiu required to get a permit for your septic system? Just wondering as here the septic tank I believe is required to be at least 25 feet from the residence.

January 23, 2013, 09:33:59 PM

Yep the septic is about the only thing that a permit was required for. It's a pump system and the leach field is about 150 feet away so that may have been the main reason for the approval.

The only red tape to have to deal with in this locale (Fentress county TN) is the septic permit and the rough and final electrical inspections.

ColchesterCabin · January 26, 2013, 08:03:31 AM

Up here in Nova Scotia I'm in hibernation mode until spring, just thought I would log in and see what's been hapenning. Dave to say your work is inspiring would be an undestatement. My propert is snow locked in until spring so watching yours grow is growing my itch... roughly 2 more months. Kepp up the good work!

NavyDave · February 01, 2013, 08:00:46 PM

Colchester, Good hearing from ya. I thought you got lost hunting in the woods up there or something. I can imagine that your building itch is getting really scratchy. If you're anything like me you've been using your down time researching and reading everything you can get your hands on to come up with ideas on how to move forward. You have a great project started and i'm looking forward to seeing you start up again.

I've started working on my loft floor. I'm using 2x8 white pine V-match tongue and groove stock with Semigloss polyurethane on the bottom portion (ceiling) and a finish yet to be determined for the top (loft floor)

Prior to the polyurethane

After the poly

The wood stove is keeping the place at about 55ish degrees with the outside temp in the low 20's. No insulation yet and LOTS of gaps still in each window and door frame.

Redoverfarm · February 01, 2013, 10:41:16 PM

Dave you figured out how you are going to attach your T&G?

Jeff922 · February 02, 2013, 06:47:42 AM

Looking great ND!!!!

February 02, 2013, 08:44:26 PM

Jeff thanks for the seal of approval...still have a long way to go to catch up to all that you've accomplished up in Maine though.

John, I pondered drilling pilot holes in the tongue of my 2X stock and nailing them in place with spiral nails but after some review and discussion via Private messages I am leaning toward screws so I can use the screw to pull the tongue into the groove completely. Prior to fastening the floor I'll be routing channels and laying wire into the top of the beams for electrical fixtures that I'll later hang from the bottom of the tongue and groove. I appreciate your shared experience and insights via PM. You've probably saved me quite a bit of time and given me info to produce a better project overall. Thanks.

NavyDave · February 09, 2013, 05:49:24 PM

Polyurethane! Polyurethane! Polyurethane!
The picture below represents 6 days of work with 3 coats on each board. They dried sloooow with the temps mostly in the high 20's to low 30's. I think it was Mountainlady that mentioned how tedious this part was....boy was she right, but a wise man once told me that "slow and steady wins the race". If that statement is true then I'm surely gonna win!

Next is building my stairs. I'm going with the steep cottage stairs made out of 4X12 stock. White pine like everything else.....and more polyurethane on those too....uuuugh! Here's a before pic of the stairs....hopefully by the end of the week there will be an after shot.

mountainlady1956 · February 11, 2013, 11:05:55 PM

Yup tedious is the understatement

but oh so worth it. Your ceiling is going to look spectacular!
Cathy

NavyDave · February 23, 2013, 01:30:08 PM

Took almost two weeks to get to a finished point on the stairs but it's been a really fun project. All in all I have about $325 in lumber, hardware and polyurethane and 45 hours into these stairs. They are steep at 54 degrees but very functional. 9 treads and 10 steps with a 9 7/16" rise and a 6 1/2" run. I ended up using the entire 4x12 for each step which gives 4 3/4" overhang. Here's how I built them:

I first cut each runner, set them in place and used a 2x4 as a storypole to help lay out the treads and risers.

I used a level and carpenter square to mark where i'd later chisel the tread and riser notches.

I used my level that is exactly 1" thick to set my skill saw depth.

I CAREFULLY ran my skillsaw up the layout lines and then at every 1/4".

Used a 1 1/2" inch chisel to remove the notched out material.

I used the same 1" thick level to check the notch depth that I used to set my saw with.

used a 3/4 inch chisel for my riser notches to accommodate the 1x10 risers.

these notches were quite tasking. over a day on each runner.

it was worth the work though. They turned out real nice.

then the polyurethane work started, 3 coats. Luckily I had help on this part.....it may have taken a bit longer with my helper but she's a lot of fun

stair treads are exactly 32" wide giving 30 inches of usable tread with the 1" notches.

I drilled a 1/2" countersunk hole and used 2 - 4" timberlok screws on each side of each tread.

all assembled and stood up for the screw cover accent pieces to be glued into place and a final coat of polyurethane.

screw covers glued in place.

Up and secured. This pic is taken while standing on the loft beams on the west side of the house.

A happy helper!

metolent · February 23, 2013, 02:44:19 PM

Wow! Those look amazing!!!!

UK4X4 · February 23, 2013, 06:29:17 PM

love the big timbers and those stairs look great !

March 07, 2013, 01:02:26 PM

those stairs are inspiring... might have to use that technique with mine....

NavyDave · March 07, 2013, 07:02:23 PM

Thanks for all the kind words. I'm real happy with how the stairs turned out but may have been able to save myself some time by making a router jig for the grooves instead of kerfing with a skill saw and chiseling out the waste. Regardless it was a fun project and they are as solid as the bedrock that they are built on.

NavyDave · April 10, 2013, 08:43:13 PM

Wow it's been a month since I've posted anything. Mainly because the progress I've made hasn't seemed worth posting but looking back at everything I've done in the last month I guess I've been pretty busy after all.

It's definitely spring in East Tennessee now with the daytime temps in the low to mid 70's and the night time temps in the 50's. I guess I've felt spring in the air because lots of time has been invested in the garden area. Throughout the winter I've been collecting the neighbor's horse's bedding (wood shavings) which obviously has horse manure mixed with it. I've been gathering the daily mixture to build a vegetable garden. Awhile back I watched the "Back to Eden" video that Oljarhead posted and decided that the concept really made sense (see previous posts for a link to the video). I've made beds for the following vegetables with most seedlings emerging: Cauliflower, broccoli, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, brussel sprouts, red, yellow and white onions as well as salad onions, beets, turnips, salad greens and lettuces, kohlrabi, sugar snap and pod peas, climbing beans, parsnips, and carrots. If there are any gardening fans out there watching the "Back to Eden" video is time well spent.

Anyway, this site is about building so one of the projects that i'll share (also in my garden area) is an 8X9 chicken coop (framing pictured above). I used railroad ties as a foundation and pallets for the wall framing, which are surprisingly strong. The roof overhangs 3 feet on the sides and about 2 feet in the back for the chickens to always have a shady place to escape to. I'll be using some poultry netting that is 24x24 to use as the top of the chicken run (more to follow on that one). Here's a couple pics of the almost finished coop:

I decided that Spring was also a good time to get the old 1952 Ford 8N that my dad bought for me last year running real good so I could start clearing some of the land that we'll eventually fence and turn into pasture. I rewired the entire tractor, changed plugs, wires, points, coil, resistor, battery and oil. I also lubed both the tractor and brush hog. Along with a bit of chainsaw work and a chain attached to the back of my brand new antique tractor I was able to accomplish this:

OK so back to the house, I've made some progress on the interior wall framing and dry fitted the bathroom for plumbing measurments.

I also figured out (after lots of pondering, and some very helpful advice from Redoverfarm) how I was going to run wiring through my beams to meet local electrical code prior to my loft flooring going in. Here's a pictorial:

In preparation for the metal roofing I had to plan my plumbing vent system so I could figure out where the roof flashing would be located. I used 3 inch PVC for my main vents.

And speaking of the roof, here it is:

The OSB that I used as the subroof for my end bedroom bumpout was replaced by the better zip roofing. Partially because it's a better product and partially because the winter that it spent without the benefit of tar paper cover left it weathered and deteriorating.

The roof is the only area of the build that I've used hired help. The cost using help was $3100. it would've been $6250 if I decided to contract the entire job out.

I was short by 2 sections of ridge cap so we had to call it quits until my ridge caps come in. Very happy with the color (Hunter green)

waterbug · April 11, 2013, 06:23:59 AM

I always enjoy your pictures ND. The place is looking nice!

Abbey · April 11, 2013, 07:33:39 AM

Just read through your entire thread and you've done so much and your home is looking great. I knew I guy here who built a huge post and beam house and he wired it the same way you've wired your house. I was also wondering if you ever found out what the gas lines were?