20X40 1 1/2 Story log cabin - question

[chatycady]

I want to make sure the walls of our log cabin don't bow out. We tied the floor joists and 2X12 roof rafters together every 4' like the plan states. Do I need to worry? Can we add interior walls in the loft to take some of the pressure off the ridge beam?

I was thinking of putting up a 2' wall along each side in the loft. Will that help?

Thanks. (Maybe I worry too much??) :-? :-?

[glenn kangiser]

Moved here as John only supports his plans in plans support, but he pops in over here sometimes too and any questions on any plan can go over here.

If you did it like the plan says, I wouldn't worry about it.  I assume the plans are engineered or designed by an architect.

[chatycady]

We bought the 1 1/2 story plans from this website,,,, so I guess so?

We just stacked logs instead of the balloon framing in the plan.

Thanks! Can I sleep better at night now?

[glenn kangiser]

OK - sorry about that - the logs threw me off -- back to the plans support section then.  

[glenn kangiser]

Since the walls have been modified from the plan we may need to look at how you did what you did to make sure there is not a problem.

[glenn kangiser]

I went through your pictures again - looks like you don't have much of a knee wall at the sides - you mentioned the attic floor joists are connected directly to the roof rafters every 4 feet?

If that is the case it seems that would stop outward forces on the walls.  If logs are stacked above the attic floor and the roof connects  to them, then there would be a tendency for the walls to roll out at the top without something to stop them.  The balloon framing stops that tendency also.  If you have pictures of the  connections it would help also.

[John Raabe]

If I am understanding correctly you have the 1-1/2 story plan and are using it to build the roof on a log wall structure you have extended to 40' in length.

There is no problem going longer. It doesn't change the spans. If you are tying the rafters and the loft floor joists together on top of your wall that will tie the roof and floor structure into a triangle and cancel the outward forces. Where you do not have a loft and want an open cathedral ceiling you can space the rafter ties at 4' (every other rafter). This will not overload the roof or put undo outward forces onto your log wall. You do not really need a heavy ridge beam as the ridge board is there only to balance the inward forces at the top of each rafter. If you were to pop out a dormer then the ridge starts to work like a beam, but in a straight gable roof this can be a board not a beam.

Hope that helps.

PS - If you are using the taller sidewalls shown in the plans, then you will want to build the site-built truss I show to keep the outward forces off your sidewall. How you support the floor joists on the log wall you will need to work out there as that will be different from the framing detail I show.

[chatycady]

Well somewhere we missed the part about a beam and dormers. We did put two 6' dormers in and we have a 2/12 ridge board. Anyway to beef up the ridge board now that the roof is on??? :-/

[John Raabe]

I expect you are OK for those short dormers. The 2x12 ridge should work fine. They are getting almost the same weight from either side at any rate. If you did want to brace it more you could tie the opposite rafters together with a ceiling joist. That will triangulate and lock together the rafter and joist.

Very handsome by the way. Good work!

[chatycady]

Thanks for the info. I can sleep again!