20 x 30 Single Story in Central NY

[Squirl]

2x10 studs.  My energy code requires R-21 walls. 

That left a few options.
2x6 with high density rock wool- downsides: cost of insulation, high embodied energy of insulation, poor air sealing and gaps of batt insulation.
2x6 fiberglass batt with exterior foam - downsides: cost of foam, installation of foam, high embodied energy of foam, poor air sealing of batt insulation, possible condensation issues with foam and batt combo.
2x8 with walls with blown cellulose- downsides, loss of square footage.

I went with 2x10 for that extra bit of insulation.  I've many graphs of the diminishing returns on insulated values.  They really start to drop off after R-30 for walls.  I like stability in energy costs, and would like to build as close to zero net energy as possible.  The few extra dollars at this stage of the game was worth it for me. 

I could have gone with double stud.  I like the concept of using smaller sticks of lumber, even though I really don't like working with them.  The cost of double stud was a few dollars more, and with 9.25 inch thick studs @ 24" on center, the stud heat loss shouldn't be as great.  Building double the walls didn't sound as fun either.

[Rob_O]

From memory, my jeep is only rated to tow around 2500 lbs.  It is not the go.  The straight six can easily move 3500 lbs or more.  I had a Cherokee with the same engine rated to tow that.  It is the stop.  It doesn't have the breaks, wheel base, or weight.

Wheelbase, mostly, from what I've been told by the Jeep mechs. My 09 wrangler is rated at 2000lbs, but the same year 4 door (same engine, brakes, etc.), is 3500. I've towed some moderately heavy trailers just across town and the tongue weight lifts the front wheels enough to make it real squirrely. Steering and control get downright scary. Guess the engine being further forward on the 4 door makes a better counterbalance, and allows an almost double tow rating.

The 4-door version also weighs a thousand pounds plus over the 2-door, that helps as much as the additional wheelbase.

My Durango is rated for 4500 but it gets scary at that load. I don't like scary tow rigs so I bought an old diesel Dodge, three tons on the bumper ain't <expletive deleted> for that truck.

[Squirl]

These pictures were taken last September.

I left off at having the rafters up.  I then had to do the last rafter and outrigger rafter.

I lined up four and measured to 2x6 outriggers.



Lots of cutting with the circular saw.



A little notching.



I then assembled them on the roof deck.  Don't Do This!  I tried reaching them out to holt them in place.  The weight was way too heavy for one set of hands to hold that far out, let alone nail.  I spent a few hours, and kept dropping it off the roof.  I scrapped that idea.

I then hung the last rafter over the wall and built a little cradle from the ends of the other rafters to slide the far rafter out.  It worked O.K.. In hind sight, I would have made it line up a little better.  The soffit end of the rafter was about half an inch higher than the rest and I had to shave it down to put the sheathing on.



Then I nailed the outriggers in place. As you can see in this picture, the dropped rafter set.  I had to disassemble that add put it in place one piece at a time.



I then calculated the required overhang for passive solar gain in the spring and fall, and not the summer.  I then placed a nail and chalked a line across the rafters.



Measured and cut.



I then set my circular saw to the angle of the roof and cut the 2x6 facia board to match the angle.



Facia board in place.

[Squirl]

I then had to put the sheathing in place.  I used 5/8 inch OSB.  I wanted a little extra thickness so that I have the option of adding active solar to the roof.  I nailed the cut pieces of the rafter tales into the facia board so that the sheathing wouldn't slide off the roof.  I put the piece of sheathing flat against the ladder.  I then pushed it up the ladder until it dropped onto the roof.  I then slid it into place.



I tried to use H clips on the first row.  It would give me the right amount of spacing and extra edge support.  I gave up after the first row.  With osb, even the smallest amount of edge swell would give a tremendous amount of aggravation.  Since it wasn't required by code, I used nails to get the needed 1/8 spacing.



After the first row, I would remove the osb temporary deck I had built over the rafter ties, slide the sheets out between the rafters, and position them on the roof.



I am glad I saved my H clips.  I used extras on the last strip of sheathing.

[Don_P]

I normally make the fly rafter as well as the eaves subfascias out of 2x6 then the finished fascias are 1x8's most of the time.


In that setup I'll nail a 2x4 soffit nailer on the wall with the bottom edge in line with the bottom edge of the fly.


I usually run my lookouts a few inches long, nail them in place, snap a line,  and cut them in place, it corrects any wiggles from the rafter framing... non osha manuever 

[Squirl]

As I was installing the, I thought to myself...  Wait a second.  This spacing is 12" O/C and the rafters don't actually bear on anything, I could have used smaller lumber.  Head slap.  I would have saved a few bucks and a bunch of aggravation.

This is the half inch that it was off.



A few extra minutes to fix.

I went with the 2x6 facia.  The house will be dependent on rainwater catchment for the water source, because the gutters will be so critical, I wanted a little extra to screw into.

[Squirl]

This was my other mistake I made.  I notched the one rafter a little off.  I then re notched it.  As I was nailing it to the top plate, it split.  I cut out the split section and wedged a 2x4 in place.  I thought to myself a 2x4 is an acceptable top plat and the rafter bears on it by 1.5". Ignore the bent nails, they were later removed.



I then reread the section of the building code.

R802.6 Bearing. The ends of each rafter or ceiling joist shall have not less than 11/2 inches (38 mm) of bearing on wood or metal and not less than 3 inches (76 mm) on masonry or concrete.

Does this mean I don't have to be so paranoid about it as long as the ceiling joist bears (9.25") on the top plate?  I also have almost double the required rafter to ceiling joist heel joint nailing, shot from both directions. 2x10 rafters overlapping 2x8 ceiling joists gives a lot of overlap for nailing.

[Don_P]

As long as it is well tied and bears well, tie it down for uplift and it doen't hurt my feelings, you've made a rigid triangle, hold it down and you're good. That bearing area cite is one of those sections of code that can cut it pretty fine. It helps to have some sense of the loads and bearing areas involved, that minimum 1.5 x 1.5" is good for about 750 lbs before wood begins to bite into wood. I've been playing with some oak today, that same bearing surface would be good for about 2000 lbs before crushing became a concern.

My power planer gets used alot, it's quick and helps things plane in better. Run a long straightedge around and remove high spots whether from framing oopses or bad crowns.

[Squirl]

I framed the gable end wall.



I then chalked a line to lay out the tar paper.  I never would have been able to keep a straight line without it.



I unrolled and cut the paper on the ground.  I rerolled it up and rolled it out on the roof.  A lot easier.



This is why you use plastic cap nails.  I used lots of staples, and climbed down to do the next row.  The wind kicked up and I had to start all over.



Tar paper on.



I predrilled the metal sheets upside down.  This way any scraps or shavings would not scratch the surface.  I scratched the surface a few times while unloading them.  I'm going to need some touchup paint.


I chalked a nice bright red line on the tarpaper.  I then used the predrilled holes to line them up till I saw the red.  It was the only way I was able to keep the sheets square across the length of the building.  I use a lot of little cheats.



The sheets were long enough to lay right against the facia board.  I just climbed up on the roof and lifted them into place.  Wear a safety harness!


When I got to the end, I put the last sheet in place.  I traced underneath the overlap with a sharpie.  I took it down, cut along the line and reinstalled it.



This is a picture showing the foam ribs in place.



Hey look it's sunny and the roof is almost finished.  Two sheets later it was dark and it had rained.  Wear a safety harness.



When I had come back in November this is how I left it.

[Don_P]

Shoot, so close.
One thought, can you hire a local contractor, roofer, barn builder... to button it up? It would be cheaper than backtracking and pulling up sheets.

[speedfunk]

Looks good Squirl.  So it looks like basically you need to get more gasketed screws in and the ridge cap.

[Squirl]

So, I got a late start this year.  I have also been very busy at work and haven't gotten as far as I would like.

First thing was first.  I had to finish the roof and repair whatever damage occurred over the winter.



I was surprised to find half of the tar paper still there.  I tore it off.  I removed a panel and overlapped the new with the old.  (notice the safety harness rope)



I put the two eave pieces over the gable ends then started with the ridge cap.



It was a sunny day.  You can see the eave panels, eave pieces, ridge cap, and some of the venting under the cap.  That was a pain to install.  They did not fit right and I had to use construction adhesive that I had  around to glue them in place while I put the ridge cap on.

Gable end sheathing in place.

[Squirl]

I framed in some windows.

[drainl]

Looking good!  Must be nice having lots of natural light inside. 

[Squirl]

Yes, it is better.  I will be happy when I can get some insulation in.  It was cold last weekend.

As you can see from the previous pictures the siding is starting to grey and get weathered.  I have to get it covered.  Siding is a lot more work than I expected it to be.  It is longer than many of the projects for the house.

I started with some tar paper.  It is harder to put up in one piece in the upper parts.



I chalked lines for the studs and the starter piece.  I can keep a straight line otherwise.



I went with 6" novelty pine, with a semi-translucent stain.  If I am paying for the wood, I wanted to show off its natural look before I have to paint it.  I was told novelty pine was one of the most popular siding choices at the lumber yard this year.  The yard worker told me they have gone through pallets in the last month and can't remember a single order of vinyl.  Surprising.



Any thoughts on varnish?  Spar?

[hpinson]

You mentioned spar varnish and I had an bad experience with that this year.   It creates a real shell and if the wood underneath contracts and expands, the varnish shell can separate, quite cleanly, from the wood surface.  I had this happen on a door that was exposed on the outside to rain and strong sun.  The pine wood of the door expanded from humidity and the spar varnished separated in several places and is now flaking off. It is not elastic enough to move with the wood. Once flaking starts water gets under the varnish and makes the problem worse.

[MountainDon]

My thoughts on outdoors wood are probably not what you want to hear. We have had exterior wooden doors, windows and assorted other things in both a northern (Canada) and a southern (New Mexico) climate.  I love the appearance of a clear or transparent finished wood. I do not like the maintenance that comes along with that look. The initial beauty does not last.

A clear or nearly clear finish as the least UV resistance of all finishes. UV kills wood. The more opaque the finish is the more UV resistant it is. That is why I use solid opaque colored paint on most everything exterior.  I keep the nice clear coated wood inside.

An oil finish may be a compromise. It soaks in and leaves no hard film. Nothing to flake off. But that requires a lot of maintenance applying new coats of oil.

[ColchesterCabin]

Being in Canada, I have to tend to agree with Mtn Don. It is the sole reason I have decided to compromise a bit on my cabin and switch from a dutch lap wood plank siding to a Vinyl siding with the same look. I love the bug of building but don't want to burn out the bug on mainainence issues. The inside is where the difference will be made with mine. IMO

[Squirl]

Yes, I realize in about 5 years it will need another coat of something. I will probably paint it at that time.  I want to try and get the natural look to last as long as possible.  The lumber yard recommended a second coat of stain in a few years.  I have a little experience with spar varnish in boating.  It worked on my boat.  That is where I got the idea for a coat of spar varnish as a UV protector. If you don't mind me asking, what brand was it?  Was it oil or polyurethane?  I am surprised. Marine spar varnish is supposed to bend with wood.  I will research that further.  So I will count that on a no vote for the varnish.

[Squirl]

A quick wiki search lead me to an idea why my idea spar varnish maybe different than what is being sold.

Despite this, the widespread perception of "marine products" as "tough" led to domestic outdoor varnishes being branded as "Spar varnish" and sold on the virtue of their weather- and UV-resistance. These claims may be more or less realistic, depending on individual products. Only relatively recently have spar varnishes been available that can offer both effective elasticity and UV-resistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varnish#Spar_varnish

[MountainDon]

To be fair to the use of a 'clear' finish, the NM climate is very hard on wood products. Most of the year it is very dry, humidity in the single digits at times. Then we have a month or so of elevated humidity when the summer monsoon comes. We can feel the expansion in the increased tightness of various wood things; doors, drawers, etc. Add in the elevation with the increased amount of UV that brings, along with days that are never short and the sun damage exceeds that of much of the country. However, my bad experiences with clear coated exterior wood began in Canada.

If it was just wood trim I would say to try some of the Interlux Marine finishes. But I would not even want to contemplate their use on an entire wall(s).

[hpinson]

This was Minwax 'Helmsman'. Climate is similar to MtnDons - big swings in temp and humidity, with very strong UV exposure. Good neither for wood siding or bagpipes.

[hpinson]

What about products like UVGuard and and Penofin that are used by the log home industry as sealant / UV protector?  There seems quite a bit of innovation in that area.

[MountainDon]

I also understand the desire to have that really nice 'natural' wood look. When we were in the planning stages of our cabin we saw the very nice looking wood "log" siding a neighbor up there used. Karen was keen on using the same thing. I talked her out of it because of the maintenance issue. Now about 5 years later that siding is looking like crap. It was a hard film finish (don't know what) and now the only way to save it is to scrape and wire brush or something and then use an opaque paint. It did not receive any maintenance that I ever noticed. Just a slow and then more rapid degradation. But it sure looked nice in '07 and '08.

[Squirl]

minwax helmsman spar urethane

This is very helpful.  I noticed all the exterior "spar" varnishes at the big box stores were "spar urethane".  I was confused because my original understanding was that spar varnish was oil based.

A little bit of wiki reading.

However, a thick film of ordinary polyurethane may de-laminate if subjected to heat or shock, fracturing the film and leaving white patches. This tendency increases with long exposure to sunlight or when it is applied over soft woods like pine. This is also in part due to polyurethane's lesser penetration into the wood.

It is pine siding.  Urethane is out. Thanks hpinson.

Cabot makes an oil based varnish.  I am already using a cabot oil based stain.  I wonder if it is better to use an oil based varnish or just restain with an oil based stain in a few years?