Al and Robins 20x30 1 1/2 near Lake Eufaula, OK

[ajbremer]

Monday Afternoon - July 16th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

Thanks for that skylight information redoverfarm. I'll look into that brand name Pella. The only reason I noticed Velux is because that's all I found at Lowe's.

Well, I got more felt on today. I've only been stapling the felt on so far, just to get it up there. I'll tell ya what, it is really slow going up there...and hot too! I could barely touch the felt after I laid it out and the sun started to shine on it. I think the hardest part about it all is moving and replacing the 2x4 boards and the roof brackets.

Here's a pic - don't look at those wrinkles!

[CjAl]

how much are you overlapping the ends?

[ajbremer]

bout 4" CjAl

[CjAl]

think i would be going at least a foot. thats the prob with cutting it, just like installing it vertically needs to have the exposure tightened up. just my opinion, mabey someone else has an idea

[UK4X4]

Velux- quality product- have 4 on my UK house roof- set into concrete tiles- with the flashing kit to suit

We have enough rain to prove they work !

10 years and counting - no leaks

Really open a room with the natural light

[ajbremer]

Wow, that's awesome UK4X4 - thanks for sharing that with us.

I hope the installation won't be too difficult with my metal roof. By the way, is your house a countryplan place?

[ajbremer]

Tuesday Afternoon - July 17th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

I was able to buy 2 harnesses today off a guy for $30.00. The big leather one used to also attach to some kind of saddle for climbing trees but it's pretty tight around the waist and feels pretty good.

The Miller Harness is a nice average one but I don't have a clutch assembly so the only thing I can do right now is tie knots through the loop. I would love to buy a clutch for it but I have no idea where to go to get one.



I'm also ready to frame my gable ends. The gable end framing looks a little tricky. I guess I can't frame it like a wall and then set it in place and then nail it like I did the lower walls because of the angle cuts that I'll have to do where the studs meet the rafter. It should be a simple frame job because all I have is 3'x5' window openings on each side of the ridge post, 2 on each gable end. My plan is to have the window flange of each side rest against the ridge posts on each end. That ridge post is 6-1/2" wide so I believe there's enough room for a window on each side.

Should I frame the window opening (3'x5'), put the header up top, and then set that into the framing that I'll attach to the rafter? I'm not really sure how I'll go about this yet. I just hate to toe nail and I wish that I could figure out a way to do it on the ground and then just lift it into position and nail it. Any suggestions?

Here's gable end pics:

[CjAl]

i know you like swinging that hammer but toe nailing is SOOO much easier with a gun

[Redoverfarm]

AL normally trying to pre-build a partition to set into a space doesn't work out.  Yes you would think that exact measurments should suffice. Nah.  Most gable ends are built in place piece by piece.  Everything can be done from the floor in the loft.  Same principles apply regarding top plate, bottom plate and studs.  Just cut the top plate with the correct angle and nail in place.  Same goes for the floor plate.  Then fill in with studs with the angle cut correct to length.  If you are not confortable toenailing then pick you up a couple pounds of 3-3&1/2" heavy deck screws and use them.  Or a combination of both screws to anchor in place and then toenail. Just make sure that the wall is plumb.

In regards to the ridge pole and the windows.  My first instinct would be no.  The ridge is transfering the weight of the roof.  If there is any settling it will draw the window with it if secured to the pole and may cause problems with their operation later.  It appears that you have enough width on either side to center the windows at the correct heigth to give that uniform look.  Just like the attachment to the ridge pole on the other side I wouldn't butt them up against the rafter either. 

[ajbremer]

Hey, I know your right about the nail gun CjAl BUT, I've gone this far without one and
the gable end framing hopefully won't take too long so I guess I'll hold off on buying a gun.

Great advice about not attaching the loft windows to the ridge post redoverfarm, I didn't think about them settling.

[UK4X4]

"By the way, is your house a countryplan place"

Nope a sturdy  brick cavity wall construction

it was built before the internet- and had an outhouse and a fire place in each room....Built year 1900 ish

It started with a slate roof- and central chimney- lead water pipes and cloth covered wires.

I ripped the ceilings out after a water tank leak wrecked the wattle and daub, sat down covered in crap enjoying  a well earn't cider I looked up into the attic space and thought - wow this would be awsome opened out.

Then out came the hammer and saw......now back to the thread

There will be a specific kit for a steel roof- must be easier than concrete tiles !

[Don_P]

It looks like studs notched around the rafters in place, I would continue doing that . My first stud would be 3" wider than the rough opening width of the window to allow for a jack beside that stud and at the center post. The header doesn't really need to be more than 2x4's on edge. Oftentimes if a bad toenail is the choice you can figure out how to block it and get a good nail in.

[ajbremer]

Wednesday Morning - July 18th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

I just got back from my local lumber company. I bought 70' of drip edge.

Am I to understand that even though I'm going with the metal roof, I'll still need to put that metal strip of drip edge on the eaves but not the rake ends? I say not the rake ends because apparently there's metal rake trim that does the job of a metal strip of drip edge - am I right in saying that?

I also thought there was eave trim available, but I guess even if there is eave trim for the metal roof, I still have to use the drip edge.

Another note:

I priced the 2" x 8" Hem Fur log siding for my 20x30 countryplan. I measured the width of the siding and it's 7 inches. I told the lumber man my dimensions of 20x30 with a 12:12 pitch and included the gable ends up to the top. Total price was: $1,700. I thought that was a pretty good price. They said you should treat it once every 2 years. At that price, I could do the front first, then the back, and then the sides. So I guess for around $400 or $500 I can get the front totally done right after I put in my windows and my door. The guy also said that the best way to trim around the door and windows is to use rough cedar 2x's.

Does anyone know how good the hem fur log siding stands up to the weather and time?

[suburbancowboy]

My log siding was very white when I got it.  Some of it has been on for a month now and has yellowed quite a bit.  Looks lots better.  Next week I will start treating it with UV protector so the color will quit changing.  Problem I have had with the log siding it that in longer lengths there is a lot of warping and twisting.  Also the widths and curve has been up to 1/2 inch different.  I was putting some of it on last night.  It was in 16' lengths.  Quite a job 12 feet up on one ladder by your self.  I ended up cutting them into 8' lengths and the work went twice as fast.  Go figure.

Almost got killed last night coming home.  An elk jumped in front of me coming around a corner and stood right in the middle of the road.  I swerved went off the road into the gravel and did a little drifting as I got control and made it back on the road.  Glad to be alive today.

[John Raabe]

Glad you made it around that corner. A big elk can be an impressive stop sign!

[Don_P]

With log siding I like to power plane a relief groove down the middle of the back so that it lays flat on the wall, some companies mill this when they are making the siding.I build staining troughs out of lumber and plywood, glued and caulked throughly and stain the entire piece. We screw the siding on from the backside, very few exposed fasteners. You can use as many screws as it takes to pull a piece flat... it does take 2 people.

The metal roofing supplier will have matching edge trim metal, sit down with them and plan out your package, you can go from none to several options. None is not good in the wind. what are you doing the bottom edge for, there is a transition and porch metal at the bottom of what you're doing now. This metal will not make you watertight at the bottom.

[ajbremer]

Wednesday Night - July 18th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

Well, I've got all of the osb covered with felt on one side, the south side. As you can see, I've left the lower part open for where the porch rafters will go BUT (here I go changing my mind again...sorry). I was going to simply cover the open area with felt and attach it to the rafters and then go to the other side and do the same there and then leave it that way till I can do the porch. One thought was that it would be pretty lose and blowing in the wind. The width of that opening is 31". Then I thought about putting osb there but only nailing it in a few places so that it can be removed easily later after I build the deck and am ready for the porch rafters.

Well, I have yet to also frame the loft gable ends and that will take some time. Then, I have to get all the windows and doors in and then do the siding. Some where in between all that I'll be putting the metal on the roof. All of this building is going to take me some time, before ya know it - winter will be here. So my thought is that I had better hurry and get all that I can done and get in the place, to the point where no rain gets in.

ALL THAT TO SAY: I'm thinking about putting that 31" wide osb on top of the roof in a permanent fashion, put the drip edge on the eave, cover it with felt, and then put the metal all the way down...like I was never going to have a porch. Then, in the future, I can decide whether to use a ledger under the main roof or cut the metal away, pop out that 31" of osb, and then shove the porch rafters through - at a later date.

I'm definitely going to have porches, just maybe not as quick as I'd like. Thoughts?

[Don_P]

I'd talk to the supplier and see if they have damaged and cover sheets that will cover the lower gap + about 6-12" and then order the upper metal the correct length. Screw a 1x or scrap osb across the lower edge and apply the scrap metal first... hang it over the wood an inch or two, no drip edge. Apply the upper metal lapped ocer the lower and scrwe thru both sheets. Continue securing the upper sheet. When the time comes back out the lower screws and remove the lower sheet and purlin, install the porch framing, the porch metal and tuck the transition under. No field cutting later. The gable framing can wait till you are dry. Pick out the skylights and have them and the flashing ready. I've used velux exclusively for the last decade or 2 with good results, the only leak was on metal where the crew made their own flashings.

[AdironDoc]

Awesome vanity! Really creative. Two thumbs way up 

[ajbremer]

Thursday Morning - July 19th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

I have some thoughts about how I should proceed but first...

That is an awesome vanity that UK4X4 did AdironDoc. Those look like wicker drawers and it almost looks like the whole thing was made around them. I love the way the sink faucet is cocked to the right side and also how the front lower doors stop short from the diameter of the sink. AND, for a second, those medicine cabinet mirrors make it look like there's another room through glass! Are those lower right toggle switches controlling the two upper recessed lights? Anyway...

Don_P, your ideas are great! Thanks for letting me know that. Putting a temporary 'scrap' row of metal on the bottom and not having to cut it later is an awesome idea. And going with the screws instead of nails, I keep forgetting about screwing somethimes.

One thing though, you mentioned that I should wait to do the gable ends till I'm dry. That sounds like you think I should concentrate on the roof and get all the metal and skylights done BEFORE I ever do the loft gable end framing. I guess I could do that but right now I have all of the material to do the framing but I don't have the money just yet for the roof metal and skylights. My thought is to get all of the felt on, then do the loft gable end framing, and by that time I'll be able to 'start' purchasing the metal and skylights. That #30 felt may not be the best rain stopper but it sure helps.

I wanted to mention one more thing about those velux skylights. I miscalculated the price and also didn't think of the flashing cost. It seems those Velux skylights that are made for the metal roof are much more expensive. The one I saw at Lowe's was curb style for a shingle roof. That one's not made for a metal roof? Anyway, I was looking at flashing kit prices and they cost twice as much as the skylight! I'll have to call Velux to get a good figure but I think each skylight will total at around $400 plus! The flashing kits for metal roofs are over $300 alone.

[CjAl]

n my opinion you definatly need to get the roof on next. you have 2' overhangs, only a driving rain is getting in get a lid on it. plus the longer that felt is exposed the faster it deteriorates

if you already have the supplies for the gable ends and cant buy the metal yet then i guess there is no loss in doing it but the roof is definatly the next thing i would spend money on.

[Redoverfarm]

AL just to add more fuel to the fire as if it is not hot enough now that you have been overwhelmed by procedures and steps.  You might check with the metal provider and see if they can get a special type screw used in attaching the metal roof.  Normally they are 1/4" hex head.  I found some screws (color matched) that give the roof a cleaner/neater look.  They are torx recessed head metal roof screws.  They are virtually hidden in appearence and they will not catch debris (rounded head) as much as the higher profile hex heads.  Here is a picture.

[UK4X4]

Another hand up to say concentrate on the roof ! and yes the proper flashing kit is almost as much as the window - but they work...

Vanity wise it's a botch job- all reclaimed timber - the top is 2x6's, the doors are 1x6 old floor boards

The mirrow doors have a cupboard behind them hacked out of the original chimney breast, the right hand side closed in sections covers the on demand boiler, hence the switch's
the upper section just all pulls out the lower is a door for service access

and back to the thread !

[ajbremer]

Thursday Night - July 19th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

Well, I started to put down that last row of osb and man, it was hard getting it up there. I couldn't lean the ladder in between the rafters because that's where the osb was going to lay. I'm using one of those 4-way scaffold ladders and I tried to fold down 1 end and then lean it up against the front wall but then I didn't have leverage to slip the pieces of osb up above me and behind me without falling backwards. I'm doing it in 4' long sections because I can't manage lifting it up the ladder and slipping them in place if there any bigger than that.

I ended up having to nail a board stop at the end of the rafters to hold the osb in place. I also tried with all of my strength to hold and position the osb and to also screw them in with the gun. I just couldn't get the leverage that I needed and still be safe while trying to screw them in so I just gave up and nailed them.

Very tedious work, folding and unfolding that ladder and then repositioning it all the time...in 100 degree heat and no shade.

Maybe I'll just make a ledger under this main roof and build my porch roof from that - leave the main roof alone...I don't know - too hot out!

Here's todays pic:

[ajbremer]

Friday Night - July 20th, 2012 Mid-Oklahoma

It was very hot today (104+) but I still was able to spend about 5 hours on and around the roof. I have
all the osb on the south side now, tomorrow I'll finish with the felt and then move onto the other side.