Victoria Cottage NE TN

[flyingvan]

   Love people that understand numbers....It's more than just the hourly rate though----you aren't paying tax on that labor.  If you got a second job or worked OT to hire someone to do the work for you, you'd pay ever more in our 'progressive' tax system.  Now, that labor gives you a direct gain in wealth without being taxed (unless you sold it, then it's due as capital gains).  Wealth isn't taxed.  Income is.  Increasing your wealth without increasing your income is a very savvy move.
   Your assessment of the site's accuracy matches mine.  I thought they ran just a little high and I wonder if they fudge the numbers upward on purpose.  People tend to be happier when a project ends up below the projection

[NavyDave]

Roof framed over the "front" porch today. Actually I have no idea what the front of the house might be considered. I think most people consider it the side that faces the road. I'll be drinking my coffee in the morning looking out over the pond so that's my front. 

Heard my first Canadian Geese for the season this morning...Here comes winter   

[MountainDon]

woodteacher, thanks for the trig lesson. I was right in that with a 12/12 the forces get split equally, just wrong on the values. The right answer makes it even worse to not have proper bracing and proper rafter ties. Thanks again.

[NavyDave]

Yesterday and today I framed the 3/12 pitch roof of the East side porch. The first rafter was the hardest to get right but once I got that one where I needed it I used it as a template for the remaining ones. I pounded 400 nails today and my arm isn't happy!

[NavyDave]

I got my table saw out today and started making the vent blocks that will go between the rafters. These allow the roof to be vented and with screen stapled on the inside of the v-notches keep the bugs/critters out. It was real nice to work for a day where i didn't have to lift heavy pieces of wood. Once the collars ties are up the big stuff is over.......WELL except for the loft beams




This one shows the back/inside portion with the screen stapled to it.




this is where the bedroom meets the main house.

[Redoverfarm]

Starting to take shape.  Nice work.

[mountainlady1956]

That was a good link for calculating costs flyingvan. Gives you a good idea of a ballpark figure for the cost. I want to build in a retirement/vacation home but that's still in the planning (dream) stage at this point. I want to pay as we build so it will definately take more time that way. I'm having to be content at the present in watching your build NavyDave ;DThat siding is beautiful. It will look really nice and the price seems good too. Will the boards be rough cut or milled smooth? Looks smooth in the pic but a little hard to tell. You sure got quite a bit more accomplished with those vent blocks too.
I know budget constraints may make a difference but buying a pnematic nailer was one of the best purchases we have made. When we built our house we did not have the nailer and nailed every nail in that house by hand so I definately can relate. Especially since I stunk at nailing to begin with. I kept missing but fortunately got muchbetter as I went along-thank goodness. We bought our nailer at Harbor Freight and it was VERY reasonable. I know they are not the best quality but they get the job done. We have used ours alot and it has held up fine. They wouldn't be very good for commercial work but they would be fine for what you are doing NavyDave, TOTALLY WORTH IT, especially with how much nailing you have left They have one in Knoxville and frequently have sales. You can get coupon online too! Anyway just my opinion.
Cathy

[CheeseYeti]

Hey Dave...looks great and love the updates on the progress!     I'm in mid TN and would love to stop by some day and see the progress or finished project.  Having to live vicariously through you until I can realize my own dream! 

[flyingvan]

I like your vent block solution.  I'm going to use that someday

[NavyDave]

That siding is beautiful. It will look really nice and the price seems good too. Will the boards be rough cut or milled smooth? Looks smooth in the pic but a little hard to tell. You sure got quite a bit more accomplished with those vent blocks too.
I know budget constraints may make a difference but buying a pnematic nailer was one of the best purchases we have made. When we built our house we did not have the nailer and nailed every nail in that house by hand so I definately can relate.

I will probably go with a smooth cut, I think the stain will go on much easier and it looks cleaner also. As far as the nailer goes I actually have a framing nailer. I also bought the package deal that they sell at Lowes that Bostich makes that comes with the compressor, finish nailer, brad nailer and power stapler. This project has been in the works for about 4 or 5 years and I've been collecting tools since then. It makes a big difference to have good tools.

Hey Dave...looks great and love the updates on the progress!     I'm in mid TN and would love to stop by some day and see the progress or finished project.  Having to live vicariously through you until I can realize my own dream!

WOW CheeseYeti I've never been lived vicariously through, at least that I know of  Thanks for the kind words, keep dreaming it will be a reality if you want it bad enough. Keep in touch, one can never have too many friends.

I like your vent block solution.  I'm going to use that someday

As much as I'd like to take credit for the design of those vent blocks it actually came with the plans of the Victoria Cottage. Pretty nifty though dontcha think?

[NavyDave]

I made some good progress today. Got the bedroom rafter ties installed, framed the bedroom gable end and installed the bedroom barge rafters. I've been trying to figure out how to install these barge rafters in the safest manner while working alone and came up with a pretty good way (in my opinion). I think it may help some to share it:


     When I notched the end rafters on the ground prior to raising them I used each one as a template for it's corresponding barge rafter, marked where the notches were and set them aside for this part of the build.
     In this picture the 2 bottom clamps are holding spacer blocks. When the barge rafter is set on top of them it positions the top of it exactly 1 1/2 inches above the top of the end rafter. Also notice at the bottom of the end rafter I screwed in a corner brace. The corner brace kept the barge rafter from sliding down and the spacer blocks allowed the outriggers to be nailed while remaining flat on top of the second rafter (the one that the end of the outrigger gets nailed to).
     I clamped (top clamps) the rafters in alignment based on the notches and the marks made on the ground, nailed the outriggers, realeased the bottom clamps and then the top clamps which dropped the barge rafter into the notches. Then I tapped the ends of the outriggers into place and nailed.
     Mumbo jumbo to most i'm sure but if I could help someone it's worth it.




I used string on both sides of the rafter as a gude to clamp my collar ties level before nailing into place.


Gable wall frame, will have the same 24x24 window as the bumpout below.
     

[mountainlady1956]

Very ingenious (I think). Looks good

[ColchesterCabin]

nice approach I like it very much!

[grover]

Looking really good Dave.  What's the time frame for getting it "dried in"?

[NavyDave]

Grover, I don't necessarilly have a time frame but I should easily be ready for the roofing by Thanksgiving. Then after the holiday I'll tackle the roof, tar paper the walls and then work on windows and doors. I also have all of the loft beam material and tounge in groove flooring for the loft. Once the loft floor is in i'm planning on stepping back from the project for a bit and enjoying the holidays.

[NavyDave]

It rained all day yesterday so I wasn't able to get anything done then but today I made some progress. I got the collar ties installed in the main house section and another barge rafter installed. We had our first hard frost of the season this morning. 27 degrees when I woke up but the sun came out and it warmed up to a high of 47 quickly.


had to wait till about 9am to get to work because the frost made things pretty slick.


Forgot to mention that i rented 3 sections of scaffolding for a week. For $81 you can't beat it!

[NavyDave]

The framing is done!! 

I've spent the last few days framing and sheathing the main house gable ends. I only have a few small things (vents on the south of the house and south deck barge rafters) to wrap up before the roof sheathing is ready to go up.

Awhile back I mentioned considering using Zip system panels for the roof and said I'd share the cost comparison. Building materials are through the roof right now but here's the cost difference between OSB with felt paper and Zip system sheathing and zip tape:

OSB and felt paper:
60 sheets of 5/8" OSB @ $17.80/sheet = $1068
9 rolls of 30# felt paper @ $18.64/roll = $168
Total = $1236

Zip system with Zip tape:
60 sheets of 1/2" Zip roof panels @ $23/sheet = $1380
9 rolls of Zip tape @ $21/roll = $189
1 Zip tape dispenser = $60
Total = $ 1629

The difference between the two options is $393.  We've decided to pay the few extra dollars for the Zip option for a couple reasons; First with inclement weather being imminent at any time it will allow us to put our house frame under protection in the time that it takes for roof sheathing to be installed without waiting for the metal roof to be installed also. Second it will allow us to step back from the build a little sooner so we can start  concentrating on the holidays. Lastly I believe the Zip system is an all around better product than OSB with felt. After researching I now wish I'd used it for the walls as well.


Standing on my 2 foot sawhorse while on top of 12 feet of scaffolding and installing barge rafters has been my least favorite experience of the build so far!


West gable end sheathed


Inside view of the East gable framing and sheathing. I'm standing on the scaffolding while taking this pic so it gives sort of a bird's eye view of the installed exposed beams also.


This one is a few weeks old but definitely worthy of sharing

[ColchesterCabin]

very curious about this zip system. Love the picture with your daughter, reminds us all of why were are building our dreams....

[NavyDave]

Colchester, If you're interested/curious about the zip system check out Rich2Vermont's "Vermont 10 x 16 shed with loft" or you can peruse it at http://www.zipsystem.com/

I brought back the scaffolding today but not before I maximized it's use by setting it up on the outside West end of the main house and used it to install the 30# tarpaper to it's peak. Tomorrow we head to Atlanta for Thanksgiving with family and some much needed rest and relaxation

[ColchesterCabin]

Well Happy Thanksgiving Man, enjoy the quite time with the family...

[NavyDave]

Been back at the build for about 4 days now and have all of the felt paper on the walls with the exception of the East gable. I've been tieing up loose ends before the Zip roofing gets installed this Saturday.

I've had company visit me 2 days in the past week. A family of Otter and they are quite docile. At one time I was only about 10 feet away from one of 'em......click the video below to check him out.




I put felt over most of the window openings to better protect the structure until I actually get the windows installed.

[kalstar]

Looking great.......I'm very jealous.

[NavyDave]

Started installing the Zip sheathing on the roof this weekend. We got about 2/3 done and had to stop for rain. I'm real happy with the looks of the place though. Just have to finish sheathing the North side of the main house and the West side of the bedroom addition and tape it up. Once I get the North side done i'll put my chimney through and light a fire in the wood stove to celebrate

[rich2Vermont]

Looks great Dave! I know how hard it is to haul those panels up there, but it sure it worth it. Hope the weather cooperates so you can get the rest up there.

[NavyDave]

Thanks Rich, It wasn't as hard to get those panels up as you might think. This is the first phase that I used help. I hired a couple of guys for $650 to help me out who are doing a fantastic job. I'll be using them to hang the metal in the spring as well.

As far as the weather.....it rained all day today but the rest of the week is supposed to be nice and sunny.....hopefully we'll enjoy some progress