David and Lisa's 20 x 30 in Plumas County, CA

[davidj]

Once the rough inspection was over, it was on to insulation.  I priced out everything I needed at Home Depot and figured it was gonna cost about $2K for the materials (R38 in the cathedral ceiling, R19 in the walls, vent chutes and polyethylene vapor barrier).  I then got a quote for the "local" insulation guys (almost 2 hours drive away) and they wanted $1900, delivery and installation included.  The decision wasn't a tough one!  Two guys did the whole thing in 4 hours, which was pretty impressive - it would have taken me many days.  I did have to go back and fill in some details - more spray foam around the windows, blocking to keep the insulation away from the chimney, filling behind outlets and taping the vapor barrier.  But it passed inspection and now the cabin is nice and cosy (and a lot quieter - you can hardly hear the generator outside).

[MountainDon]

Hard to beat that!  Insulating is not a favorite pastime of mine.

[davidj]

Normally the drop-dead date for road access is Thanksgiving - it'll be clear until then but any snow after the end of November and it may not clear until May.  So in early November I had 1600 linear foot of 1x6 T&G pine delivered [for the cathedral ceiling - 90c/foot from the local lumber yard - not cheap, but delivery included].  I also hauled the scaffolding inside.  I was extremely lucky that I did this a little early - it snowed a week and a half before Thanksgiving and the road hasn't be accessible by truck since.

Fortunately I also managed to haul in the one fixture that was gonna make the winter a bit more civilized - a toilet!  We have an outside flush toilet, but this is too much work to use during winter given the problems with freezing hose pipes, so we'd been using the neighbors outhouse.  Not having to put on snow shoes, hike 200yds and then shovel snow to go to the bathroom is such a luxury!

Other than preparing for Winter, not much else happened in the last few weeks of 2010, which was a relief as I was definitely ready for a break!  The original plan was to do the cabin in <3 years (one Summer foundation, one Summer framing, one Winter rough and the last Summer finishing).  The 30 months had already passed and there was at least another year of work to do, so time to be lazy and take a break for a month or so before starting on the interior.

[jdhen]

I had the same experience with both the insulation and the drywall.  I might have saved on a little on both by doing it myself but having someone else do it was priceless when I saw how quick and easily they did it!  Like you, there were a few things that needed some improving- they aren't going to do it with the same attention to detail that you would.

Looks good!  Moving right along....

[davidj]

It's been a strange Winter in the Sierra's this year - loads of snow in November/December, spring conditions in Jan/Feb (most of the snow melted) and now back to real Winter.

We drove up this weekend (President's day) to try and finish the T&G on the cathedral ceiling, but it was tough to get anything done.  We couldn't leave at all Thursday night - Interstate 80 was closed due to snow + accidents, as was 70 (a good Winter alternative).  So we drove up Friday morning, but the roads were still a mess - a long wait for chain control at about 3000ft and 7 hours drive (usually more like 4).  But the timing of our arrival was perfect - the last 800yds of road had maybe 6" of snow but we were right behind the snow blower and he cut a parking place for us at the trailhead.  The trail, on the other hand, had >3' of very soft powder and we had 3 days of food and lots of warm clothes in our packs.  Fortunately some snowmobiles had recently been through on most of the two mile trek, but the last 500yds or so was virgin powder and it nearly killed us getting through it (even with oversized snowshoes).  Here's the view from the front door:

Layla, our lab, was basically swimming in snow! 

Overnight almost another foot of snow fell.  On Saturday the neighbors were supposed to come in, but we get a text saying that they had to turn home because the road was closed - apparently we saw the snow blower just before it died.   And the local ski races had been cancelled because of too much snow! We were officially snowed-in!!

One other problem was that we were supposed to check some samples of the slate we hoped to use for the floor (main room, bathroom and bedroom).  What's more we needed pretty much all that the tile shop had in stock and they'd no idea when the next shipment was coming in, so we had to decide  ASAP.  So on Sunday we hiked back out to the car, spread out the 10 tiles on the snow, picked 4 that looked representative (still maybe 20lbs) and packed it back to the cabin again.  The good news was that a snow plough had obviously made it past the parking area - it looked like we could get our little RAV4 out.  And fortunately the slate looked good in the cabin, although we were so exhausted we could barely get it out of the backpack!

On Monday morning it still hadn't reached 20F when we started to hike out.  Fortunately the low temps combined with our previous tracks and light packs made the walk out quite pleasant!  And the drive home was a breeze - all of the skiers were still out on the slopes rather than clogging up the freeway.

All in all a tough weekend, especially for Lisa who was less keen on being snowed in than I was (for me the extensive wine and canned soup stocks in the crawl space seemed a reasonable alternative to work!).  In between the snowshoeing trips we did actually get some T&G up too, but not quite as much as we'd hoped.  I'll try and post some pictures of the progress in the next few days...

[rick91351]

All in all a tough weekend, especially for Lisa who was less keen on being snowed in than I was

Visions of the Donner Party undoubtedly danced in her head.  Layla the lab also most likely was not too crazy about the whole prospect because she would be the first....

It does look like a very adventurous time of it, and at least you had a chance to get away.  It is so strange how things change so quickly up there is it not.  Look out and there are a few flakes coming down.  Lookout again and there is a couple feet, look out again and there is a lot more.  So it goes up there in the Sierras this time of the year.  Well be assured spring time is just around the corner!

[Sassy]

Quite an adventure!  Looks pretty, though 

[duncanshannon]

Great project! thanks for sharing all the photos and the stories.

incredibly beautiful setting too!

i'm looking forward to hearing how the rest of your project goes!

[davidj]

We're currently installing horizontal 1x6 T&G pine on the cathedral ceiling - photos coming soon.

The next decision is what to do with the walls.  The three obvious options (based on what is easy to find locally) are:

1) Horizontal 1x6 T&G
2) Horizontal 1x8 shiplap
3) Vertical 1x8 shiplap

Anyone have any thoughts?  The vertical 1x8 is a bit more work as we'll need to put horizontal 1x4s behind it and do jamb extensions for the doors (the windows need them anyway).  Is it best to go uniform with all horizontal 1x6 in a smaller cabin?  This would certainly be easier with materials.  Or does some wider and/or vertical wood add variety and make it more interesting or less "busy"?

Should we still used water-based poly on the walls/trim?  Or should we switch to oil-based in areas that are gonna get more abuse?

Thanks.

[MountainDon]

For me, vertical or horizontal is a personal choice. I don't think there is any rule. However, I think that if the main covering is horizontal wood boards it is nice to break that up with something different. Either different material or some boards vertical. Even a wall someplace that is sheetrocked and painted a color; not an off white, but something bolder. In our home we have drywall. None of the walls are a shade of white anymore.

Are you thinking of staining the wood or is your preference for a clear coat? Again that is personal. We really prefer light natural colors that an absolutely clear coat provides. Are there any pure clear oil based? Everything oil that I've used seems to impart a yellow cast. Some like that, we don't.

[davidj]

Are you thinking of staining the wood or is your preference for a clear coat? Again that is personal. We really prefer light natural colors that an absolutely clear coat provides. Are there any pure clear oil based? Everything oil that I've used seems to impart a yellow cast. Some like that, we don't.

Thanks for the feedback.  We've used Polycrylic satin (water-based Poly) on the ceiling.  I hadn't thought of the fact that the oil-based equivalent is slightly yellower.  So we'll stick with the water-based for all of the pine.

Still haven't worked out what to do vertical - I've got a few random boards that I'm gonna put up next week to see what the vertical looks like next to the ceiling.

[davidj]

Talking of the ceiling, we finally got it finished this weekend.  It was a long job, mostly due to the difficulty of working with long boards and being high up on the scaffolding.  Not to mention applying poly to 3200 linear ft of board (actually half that, but each was done twice).  Lisa made the whole thing possible, helping to slot in all of the 16' boards and doing more than her fair share of the painting.

One useful trick is to have an awl or sharp screwdriver handy.  For the more warped boards you can stab or hammer it into the joist and use it as a small lever to pull the board in.

The next projects are the loft railing/posts, finishing off some of the electrical (to make sure there's nothing wrong before covering everything) and then the bedroom/bath ceilings (great - more finish application!!!).

[davidj]

Here are a few pictures of working on the ceiling.

[davidj]

Here's what it looks like now it's finished.  Unfortunately the photo framing isn't great but my little point-and-shoot doesn't really cut it for this kind of shot.  Any change in wood color from the other pictures is due to the difference between natural light and an underpowered flash - the poly was all applied before installing.

[MountainDon]

Very nice David.

And I just want to take a moment to make certain that the viewers understand that glorious cathedral ceiling is made possible by the use or a ridge beam. One can see some of the roof load path from the ridge beam down around the windows. That's why there's no rafter ties across the width.

[davidj]

And I just want to take a moment to make certain that the viewers understand that glorious cathedral ceiling is made possible by the use or a ridge beam. One can see some of the roof load path from the ridge beam down around the windows. That's why there's no rafter ties across the width.

Good point.  I'm guessing that it probably cost us around $1200-$1500 extra to skip the rafter ties by the time you take into account the beam, posts, hardware and crane.  Probably a bunch of extra work too - more one-off details like bigger footings and drilling bolt holes, which can be slow for an amateur when every different step is something new.  Rafter ties are repetitive and probably quite quick to install after the first one or two are in.  That being said, I'm glad we went with the open look.

Also there are no collar ties.  The rafters actually sit on top of the beam and opposing 2x12s overlap.  There're somethink like 12 x 16d nails connecting each pair of rafters together.

[davidj]

The snow was finally down to just a few deep patches last week and one of the neighbors brought over his Bobcat, so finally we can drive in.  The last time we could do that was mid November!

Since the last set of photos I've also finished the bedroom and bathroom ceilings and most of the finish electrical (mainly to test it before closing in the walls).  Now I'm working on the loft ladder/railing and putting slate down on the bathroom floor.  Hopefully some more photos in the near future now that I'm not spending half of my life hiking through snow or hauling slate and 4x6s on the ATV!

[davidj]

The railings for the loft look simple but required a bunch of thought.  Apart from the basic design (wood or metal, horizontal or vertical, how much wall below railing) even the issue of how many posts and where was hard - I wanted to make it somewhat symmetric, avoid joists and fit in a ladder too.  Originally the ladder was gonna be the other orientation with a side dismount but it wasn't as clean so we went with the face-on approach.

The railings are gas pipe, which looked like a cheap and simple approach.  Turns out to be more complicated than you'd think (e.g. you can't do closed loops with threaded pipe) and also pretty expensive (literally hundreds of fittings).  That being said, we're pretty pleased with how it's turning out.  I'll try and post some more details pics and costs later, but here's where we are so far (without the corner pieces, which are fiddly to try and get right and so still need a bunch more fittings and cut pipe).

[davidj]

As promised, a few more details on the railings.

Here's another view, including the end section.

The top rail is 3/4" x 1/2" tees with 3/4" x 3 1/2" nipples between them.  Getting everything really tight (I actually ended up using pipe compound to help), you can get a 4 7/8" o/c spacing, which just about gets you to the 4" code-specified maximum gap between pipes (but it's marginal - you might want to go with 3" nipples if you have a fussy inspector).

The vertical pipes are 1/2" x 34", which with the length of the tees, a 4" gap beneath and a 2 1/4" stem wall (so stuff on the floor doesn't get kicked over the edge) gets you over the 42" code height.

At the bottom, there are also 3/4" x 1/2" tees, but this time with a 1/2" pipe running through all of the tees.  Currently it's not attached to the tees, which results in the vertical pipes being slightly movable and off parallel.  At some point I'm gonna drill a hole in the bottom of the tee and put in a set screw to hold it in place.

All of the connections to the posts (which are 4"x6", but 4"x4" would work) are with floor flanges - these can be a bit harder to find but any good plumbing supply store will have them.

The end sections are basically the same setup, but with a bunch of 90s and 1/2" x 4" nipples, and vertical pipes that get 4 7/8" shorter each time (actually I used 5").

The bit of T&G is a substitute for the final trim.

All in all it only took a few hours to assemble, but at least the same again shopping (and yet more to work out the design, but that was mostly because I had no idea what I was trying to do).  And there's >$500 of pipe and fittings in the whole thing!  (probably more like $350 at HD prices but I couldn't find anything like the quantities I needed at my squalid local city stores and had to pay more at a pro plumbing supply store).  It's certainly not the cheap option I thought it would be, but we're very pleased with how it turned out and fits with the industrial feel that we're using elsewhere in the cabin.

[IronPatriotTN]

The pipe rail looks very cool and and intreresting project. 

[davidj]

The next decision is what to do with the walls.  The three obvious options (based on what is easy to find locally) are:

1) Horizontal 1x6 T&G
2) Horizontal 1x8 shiplap
3) Vertical 1x8 shiplap

In the end we decided to go with vertical 1x8 shiplap pine on the walls.  For reasons that seemed sensible at the time, we also went for a square-groove shiplap rather than a V-groove.  I.e. something like:

This was in an attempt to make it more old fashioned looking, and different from the ceiling, which does work.  The downside is it's fussier to get the groove just the right width and the boards all in the same plane.  So if you're looking from afar, it really just looks like V-groove shiplap or T&G. From too close up and you can see the occaisional place where there's maybe 1/16" difference in groove size where I didn't quite manage to straighten a bent board enough, or even variations in lighting that give the same effect.  But from just the right distance it looks great!  Oh, and the other downside is having to put two 3/4" rabbets in almost 3000ft of board, which turned out to be more work than I would have imagined (not being experience with a table saw, it took me a while to work out the key tricks - buy a decent quality dado blade and use lots of clamps and feather boards).  We put two coats of Polycrylic on the front and one on the back (except in the bathroom, where we put three on the front).

Here are a couple of pictures:

[davidj]

For the bathroom, we wanted something a bit more waterproof, and wainscoting seemed a good idea.  After the gas pipe railing we were on a bit of a roll with the industrial look, so went with corrugated metal roofing.  The floor is slate ("California Gold"), which will eventually be installed throughout the cabin, probably sometime next year given how long it took me to do the 50 sq ft in the bathroom.

Originally I wanted the old-fashioned HDG-style dark grey galvanized steel but couldn't find it.  We bought the really cheap and shiny metal at HD and tried to weather it with Phosphoric Acid, which sort-of worked, but it came out very blotchy and required sanding as well as an acid wash.  Finally we ended up with a galvalume finish on 29 gauge 7/8" corrugated, which is a bit lighter than we wanted but at least it's not shiny.  Probably $150 total - definitely cheaper than the pine - and pretty easy to install too.  It sits on the slate and I'm gonna use silicon caulk to seal the joint.  At the top I'm gonna put some wood or metal trim - still working on that detail.  The corners are just touching each other but with vertical flashing behind.  All attached with rubber washer roofing screws to some horizontal blocking.

[Turkeyhunter]

the wood and tile looks great

[Sassy]

Everything looks really nice!  One of our bathrooms has the galvanized steel for walls & I like it.  We have the old stuff w/lots of neat patina in our great room on one wall & on a wall by our wood stove in the kitchen/den room. 

[davidj]

Everything looks really nice!  One of our bathrooms has the galvanized steel for walls & I like it.  We have the old stuff w/lots of neat patina in our great room on one wall & on a wall by our wood stove in the kitchen/den room. 

Thanks.

I couldn't make up my mind whether to put the same steel behind the wood stove but maybe I can copy you guys - all I need is one piece and maybe I can start scouring the scrap yards for something old and weathered for that location.  The bathroom was more urgent so we went with new material (when it comes to patina vs. indoor toilet, it turrns out indoor toilet wins) but there's no hurry with the stove so looks can trump convenience.