The Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure (16x24 1.5 Story Cabin Project)

Started by North Sask, December 06, 2013, 06:22:59 PM

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North Sask

Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
Double top plate the gable wall 5.5" below the roof plane and run lookouts on edge from the last inboard rafter to support the overhang and fly rafter.

That is a good detail. So that would eliminate the rafters at the vertical plane of the gable wall, correct? Two issues come to mind. If I went with an unvented ceiling, the lookouts would be visible from the interior. Seems to me that would look odd. If I went vented, the lookouts would not allow for venting in the interior rafter bay that was adjacent to the gable wall.



Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
I'd omit collar ties and run metal straps over the ridge connecting rafter pairs together, more headroom.

Yeah, that is an obvious upgrade. Collar ties are out.



Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
If there were a door onto a full length porch where the futon is and if the roof were a simple gable covering  house and porch there would be more room in the loft as well, and a place to hang out and keep stuff dry.

I'm not quite sure what I want to do for a deck and for the final orientation of the cabin just yet. I need to give it more thought. I am toying with the idea of a full deck out the front of the cabin (16ft wide section). Your suggestion would be to use the same footprint for the cabin (16x24) but the roof would be possibly 24x24, allowing for an 8 ft covered porch?



Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
Going back to foundation, if you enclose a room between corner, center girder pier and center piers you'd pick up all kinds of lateral strength and have a good lockable generator storage place early on.

I think you are subversively trying to get me to comply with the code.   :o  LOL. I do agree that would make for some great storage. How would I go about connecting this wall to the stone masonry sections? I am envisioning a vertical mud sill that would be connected to the stone masonry with L bolts tied to the rebar, same as the detail for the horizontal mud sill.
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

Yes that does eliminate the gable rafter. I've had a 1"x5" notch in the tops of the lookouts in the center of that end bay specced for venting. We've also done several that used 2x12 rafters with 2x2's over them to allow for 12" insulation and venting space. In that case it does use more time and materials for the 2x2's but allows all kinds of creative venting not only in that area, by leaving a gap out but also in trouble areas like around skylight bays and venting valleys.

yes I wa thinking a ~24x24 roof would kill 2 birds, giving a large covered porch and giving more headroom in the loft area.

I was thinking of more stonework for the cellar making the walls masonry but I like the idea of treated ply bracewalls... good thinking. Yes a vertical "buck", or mudsill, bolted to the pier would work.

If you bevel the top of your subfascia it'll allow a higher level cut on the rafter and allow more dangle on the fascia. Cut the sheathing flush to the fascia and use a metal drip edge or gutter apron to cover and protect the edge of the sheathing ply.


North Sask

Quote from: Don_P on January 28, 2014, 05:40:34 PM
yes I wa thinking a ~24x24 roof would kill 2 birds, giving a large covered porch and giving more headroom in the loft area.

I really like the idea but I think I need to pull back on the reigns. I don't want things to get too complicated or expensive. I'm certainly not ruling out the idea but it will go on the "maybe" list.



Quote from: Don_P on January 28, 2014, 05:40:34 PM
If you bevel the top of your subfascia it'll allow a higher level cut on the rafter and allow more dangle on the fascia. Cut the sheathing flush to the fascia and use a metal drip edge or gutter apron to cover and protect the edge of the sheathing ply.

I've been waiting to come across such a suggestion. Both the sub-fascia bevel cut and the flush cut on the sheathing are helpful. Thanks Don!
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

North Sask

I am toying with the idea of platform framing the rear gable wall (which will connect to the loft flooring - don't worry, no plan to introduce the weak hinge). The platform framing might be a little easier for me to construct (as opposed to tall balloon framed walls) as it could connect the 24 ft walls and the loft prior to constructing the tall gable walls. Does that make sense or should I just stick with balloon framing both gable walls? I am trying to go through the construction sequence in my head: foundation, floor, 24 ft walls, bottom section of rear gable wall (platform framed), loft (to use as a working platform), columns for ridge beam, ridge beam, rafters, front gable wall. Not sure if that is correct or not. I would still balloon frame the front gable wall. I am wondering if it would make sense to get the ridge beam and columns in place before in-place balloon framing the front gable wall. How does one go about "in-place" framing the front gable wall (rather than building it on the deck and standing it up)?

Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
Double top plate the gable wall 5.5" below the roof plane and run lookouts on edge from the last inboard rafter to support the overhang and fly rafter.

Could I not use a single top plate for this wall and put the lookouts directly over the studs in order to stick with my advanced framing plan? With the elimination of rafters at the gable wall plane, the gable wall will be somewhat load bearing. Is it still considered a non load bearing wall in terms of door and window header specification (thinking of OVE principles)? I did a rough calculation that seemed to indicate each stud would carry about 160 lbs (24" x 32" x 30 psf).

It is late and I am not sure I am making sense any longer. Time to go to bed...
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

Yes, you are thinking correctly and your "raising script" is right on.
some pics

I don't win em all but I did at least get him to put a well braced corner under it  ;D. They have since said they wished they did a full crawlspace. I always wonder what to say, I want to say "I've been there, go to school on my mistakes rather than repeating them"

The platform framing for the lower box is in place. The tall built up post for the ballon framed gable is in place with a temporary tie across the end to restrain the eave walls which are braced to the deck, the tall post is tied to that temporary tie and it is braced to the lower deck in the direction of the ridge. The permanent loft post is in place and braced to the deck in both directions. We've built and braced a hoisting tower at about midspan, dangled a chain and swapped off come-alongs to lift the 2 ply ridgebeam from that. It went away and a post replaced it in the final.

One way to do the gable balloon framing is by math  :P, another is to set a string and frame to that, my usual way. Another would be to mark the drop along a nice straight rafter and temporarily nail the top plate to that. Then temporarily slide that rafter into place over the wall location and temporarily spike it. Then frame the wall with the top plate nicely held in alignment by the temp rafter.  When the ballon framing is done brace it to the floor and slide the rafter back into it's permanent location and attach the lookouts to it, over the wall. Block over the wall between lookouts, single top plate is fine if you maintain alignment... very difficult to do if you are also attempting to place lookouts so that they support roof sheathing edges, you are playing with the base and hypotenuese simultaneously. If there is over 2' of wall above an opening you're supposed to have a header. You can sheath intelligently and call the ply/plate/stud an adequate header for the load. Up is generally higher loading than down around the overhangs. There is no shame in a few hurricane ties between lookouts and wall along the ends, lower gable to eave overhang corner is the weakest corner in high wind, attach it down well.

If you look at the wall right behind me you'll notice a hole in the framing, the front door kings/jacks header and cripples are not in yet. By leaving them out we kept that wall light enough for 2 old guys to lift. Then I built the door framing in place. Michelle and I did that quite often so that the two of us could raise longer wall sections out on the backside of nowhere alone. Just about everything in those pics is non OSHA... YOYO, you're on your own.


North Sask

Great info, Don_P. I will have to re-read that a few time to get it to sink in.

Is there a house in that mess of scaffolding, bracing, walkways, and ladders???  ;D
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

LOL, it was a nightmare to shoot the roof ply. I usually bring a bunch of the roof ply in and lean it upright against the loft wall, then lift it up a sheet at a time to someone on the loft floor who is dragging it onto a pile on the floor. Then I go out and they feed me a sheet at a time thru the rafters and I nail them down. The center lifting tower and bracing was gone by then but I leave the bracing in place until the roof is sheathed, or at least until I have a "rack" from eave to ridge on each side. The poor homeowner was working around that end post brace trying to feed me sheets and clocked his head several times.

North Sask

The light at the end of the tunnel seems to get further away (or at least not any closer) as I get deeper into my cabin plans.  d*  There seems to be an endless number of small details that need to be addressed. Luckily, I somewhat enjoy the planning work. I also think that having a detailed set of plans will be essential for this project. Running to Home Depot to pick up forgotten building materials will not be an option.

The latest detail I am looking at is the column to ridge beam connection. At present, the beam will be a 3 ply 2x12 (actually, it will be two 12 ft long, simply supported beams - for weight/logistical reasons) and the two end columns will be 3 ply 2x6's. The centre column is not finalized but it might consist of a 4x4 wrapped with four trimmed 2x6's. Or I will find a good tree early in the summer and try to get it peeled and drying for use in the fall.

I am thinking that Mr. Simpson will have something for me. For those of us that enjoy the Simpson flyer or website, it looks like either an ECC4.62-5.5 or an ECC4.62-4.62 with straps rotated 90 degrees would work. The latter would be preferred based on how it would be bolted through the column. I just realized I could rotate the column 90 degrees (2x6's would be perpendicular to the other wall studs), add two layers of 1/2" plywood between the 2x6's to maintain the 5.5" wall thickness, and use an ECC4.62-5.5 (w/o straps rotated 90 degrees). Sorry if that got a little wordy/confusing...it makes sense to me.  :o

The built-up column will be hidden within the wall so I could probably build some type of "saddle" with 2x6's on either side of the ridge beam, extending a few feet down the column, bolted in place. This would not likely have near the capacity of the Simpson product but the whole roof system will be held in place by many rafters and by the roof sheathing.

Any thoughts on the home-made saddle approach vs. the Simpson product? Are there other options I am not considering?

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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

North Sask

Quote from: Don_P on January 23, 2014, 08:47:34 PM
Double top plate the gable wall 5.5" below the roof plane and run lookouts on edge from the last inboard rafter to support the overhang and fly rafter.

Don_P, I did understand what you were describing with this comment but pictures would have been even better! I just came across this thread you started about three years ago. Great stuff.

I see that you added a false rafter tail in the plane of the gable wall (nailed between the lowest lookout and the sub-fascia). I also had not considered the blocking between the lookouts above the gable wall.



Did you just bevel the lower ends of the double top plate and terminate them in no man's land (in line with the vertical plane of the wall sheathing)? That project had a ridge board. Did you bevel and toe nail the double top plate to the ridge board? I assume it would be acceptable to bevel and toe nail my double top plate to my ridge beam.
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2


Don_P

I make a wood saddle for the ridge, you can see it in the jungle gym framing pic. Steel strapping would work but if you go to that extent look down and strap the bottom of the post to the floor as well or it's for naught... probably unnecessary.

The bottom of my gable wall plates were just square cut, I believe those hit the bottom plate inboard of the eave wall. i've cut angled blocks to stack the top plates on when needed. The top end of the top plates is bevelled to the pitch and nailed to the ridgebeam... or saddle framing. And yes you are seeing a dummy tail down at the bottom.

The 1st inboard rafter is one of your straightest, select your 4 best for those locations. Notice I've stabilized the rafters and the wall at roughly midspan. Going non osha again, I initially cut the lookouts a little long, install them and then mark the top and bottom ones and chalk a line on the topside. Then climbing the ladder formed by the lookouts and keeping my weight inboard I cut them all in the air to that straight line, then apply the subfascia. This is not safe but creates a dead straight fascia. That is strictly up to your comfort level up there. You can also run a string on the inside of the 1st rafter blocked !.5" in off the rafter and brace it straight to the stringline, then cut the lookouts to actual length and nail them in place, no trimming in air. If the rafter is straight the fascia is straight.


North Sask

I took a bit of a break from the cabin planning for the last few weeks. I am getting near the end of drawing my plans (now I have to learn to use sketchup and make a 3D model). There have been a few small details that are bugging me so I avoided working on the plans. The most annoying issue is trying to detail the intersection between the rake soffit and the eave soffit. I want to use a detail like the one shown in A.



Also like this:



I thought that there would be a good reference for how to construct this detail but endless google searches and reading through many framing books did not yield the magic method. A number of the framing books approach the issue but they do not go into any depth (How to Build a House by Larry Haun and Housebuilding by DeCristoforo do the best job). I guess there are many possible combinations of fascia thickness and roof pitch to complicate the matter. I can figure out multiple ways to make this detail work but none of the them feel quite right. With my 9:12 roof pitch and a 1x6 rake fascia I get a 6.9" plumb cut at the rake/eave intersection. If I use a 1x8 eave fascia I would need to rip about a 1/4" off the fascia board to make this work. I was thinking I might install aluminum fascia trim rather than using a painted board. Ripping 1/4" off the fascia board would also require trimming the aluminum fascia. Anyone have any thoughts on aluminum fascia versus painted fascia board. Here is a pic of the detail that I have drawn in AutoCAD. It is pretty difficult to interpret with all the lines...




Here is another view:




Maybe those pics only make sense if you were the one who drew them.

If I use a 1x6 rake fascia then I would use 2x4 lookouts to support my 2x4 barge rafter. This results in a huge drip edge (over 1.5" on the rake and 2.5" on the eave). I am wondering if this would look odd or am I worrying about the small stuff. I could also move the barge rafter down by 1/2" to reduce the drip edge. That would also mean I would have to mess with my eave soffit details. Sometimes it feels like I am chasing my tail with this detail. I could avoid this trouble by using a "pork chop" but I just don't like that look.

That's all for now...I'll come back later with more of my frustrations.
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

I wouldn't leave 1-5/8 dangling myself, I'd rather rip or pad and get it somewhere closer to around 3/4 or so of hangey down... or under dangle, official terms I'm sure  :).
In your pic of the vinyl return notice the eave subfascia forms a flat at the end of the rake plumb cut. They've sort of fudged it out with the vinyl. On a wood soffit I run a flat strip of soffit wood on that level part and my rake soffit wood comes into it, bisect the angles in a miter for that joint. Now imagine if the eave sub were a 2x4 instead of a 2x6. You would simply make a level cut on the bottom of the rake plumb cut and that level portion of soffit would be a bit wider... I'm trying to be lazy and make you draw it, holler if that was clear as mud and I'll reread more carefully and sketch it if need be.

North Sask

Under dangle sounds pretty good to me!  ;D

I have now read your soffit description three times and I just can't work it out. Well, the first time I read it was after a bottle of mead, so that doesn't count. I'm not really sure where the "flat strip of soffit wood" is supposed to go. I don't have my work computer with me so I can't play in AutoCAD. Here is a sweet drawing from Paint:



Am I picking up what you are putting down?

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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

pocono_couple

Thanks for stopping by my thread!   It looks like you are gathering some great information here with wonderful input from both Dons....   what a pair!   
   your northern adventure strikes a number of different chords for me..   off the grid - :)    rather  secluded -  :)    access by boat.. well that is the biggest  :)   -  when I am not on this forum, I am on a sailing one..  can't get enough of being on the water whether in a sailboat or kayak or canoe.. 

with the effort that you have put into the planning stages, you will be well-equipped to get started this summer.  i like your comment that you can't just run out to home depot if you happen to forget something..    the pics of the cabin location  that you posted looked inspiring..   how bad are the mosquitoes up there??     we can't wait to see how your project progresses..  jt


North Sask

jt, thanks for the words of support. You are correct - the Dons are good people.

I have found that the bugs are only bad in the low lying areas where they like to live. The cabin site is up on a rock knob so I am thinking it won't be too bad. I do have future plans to put a screened porch on the cabin if the bugs and I don't get along.
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

You got it  :), tune that level cut on the rake fly rafter up or down according to what you need for the eave fascia. It'll affect the width of the flat strip as you rise but that is about all.


North Sask

Thanks, Don. I'll draw it up in AutoCAD to make sure I can get it to work. You wouldn't happen to have a photo from a past project?
It would be greatly appreciated if you stopped by my thread and left your two cents.
Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

Don_P

I haven't found a pic yet that was close enough to see the detail. I'll post one if I come across it.

Ontario Lakeside

I just got your comment on my thread and then read yours. Our projects are very similar. We were able to use a 30+ year old Honda generator. 1500w. this powered our Hilti, small compressor, winch, drills etc. one at a time. We built a barge like you are thinking of, you see it in our video. it is 8 50 gallon drums with a deck on top, and it works well as a swimming platform!

good luck with the build, Ill be following along.

A

Alan Gage

Time warping back a few months to when you were asking about equipment and safety far from other people I'd recommend getting the best ladders possible and paying close attention to how and where they're set up. I think every close call that I've had that could have been serious has involved a ladder. No worse feeling than stepping off the roof onto the ladder and suddenly having it start to slide down. And there's no better feeling than when it stops 1 inch away from going too far. Both times this has happened I thought the bottom of the ladder had good traction. In one case there was still ice/frost 1/2" under what looked like bare dirt and the other time the ladder was at too low of an angle and the ground was muddier than I thought.

Also get one that can handle a lot more weight than you expect to need. I tried to save money with my first couple ladders and even though I was well under the weight limit they would still start to twist and buck if they weren't loaded evenly or if I shifted my weight. Scary stuff.

A nail gun is extremely handy when working alone. It comes in handiest when you need to hold something in place with one hand and fasten with the other, both of which are hard with a hand driven nail or screw. Not to mention the increased speed when putting in thousands of nails in the wall and roof sheathing. I've never thought they seemed all that dangerous when working alone, though you do have to be aware where your spare hand is when nailing things like studs as if you're aim isn't true or the nail hits a knot it can suddenly come out on the other side where it's not expected and find your spare hand holding the stud in place. Just make sure you're spare hand is back farther than the maximum reach of the nail.  I also never put my nailer on "bump" so that I have to depress the tip and pull the trigger each time. That seems to eliminate many of the possible injury scenarios.

A chalk line was my best friend, found so many uses for it. I went through 3 of the regular cheap ones (the strings start to fall apart then bind up the works) before I broke down and spent $15 on an Irwin with a 3:1 crank and super duty string. That lasted much longer and was well worth the money. I'd make sure I had 2 of them at all times in case one breaks.

Spring for a cordless impact driver. Very handy. I finally broke down and bought a little 12v Dewalt half way through my build because I needed something that could fit in tight spaces. Wish I'd have bought it right off the bat. It's been amazing. An 18 or 20v would be better and not much larger.

Alan


North Sask

Thanks for the tips, Alan. I purchased a new ladder this winter when it came on sale. I have some experience with rickety old ladders so I can empathize with you. I will take your advice with the quality chalk line.
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Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

CarpenterCanuk

 [cool]  I have been following your posts with a fair bit of interest.  I am a carpenter as well, but I don't do much building far from any major cities or towns.  I have however worked as a commercial diver in some remote locations before.  The one thing I am curious about is what kind of wildlife is in the area you are going to be building in?  I know when I was working in the Territories we had a big electric fence around our location due to bears and some other large animals in the area.  I know it is nice to plan on your build, but if you get an unexpected visitor miles from the nearest help, safety is one thing to think about.

As for generators I would seriously read up on reviews on any generator you are considering buying.  I bought a generator for my farm and talked to a lot of guys that used those cheaper gen's at work... they all said the same thing to me.  You get what you pay for quite often.  I ended up biting the bullet because I wanted something for long term that I could rely on no matter what since it is a hassle for me to haul stuff to and from my farm.  I bought a bigger Brigs & Stratton gen and have not had any problems with it in 2 years now.  My buddies at work told me they have worked with the cheaper gens and found they actually shake themselves apart after a full days use... so they have to be brought into the shop each evening and tuned up and everything tightened back up.  You may get lucky and buy a great gen that will work for you for years without any problems, but just be sure before you do buy any gen you read a LOT of reviews before deciding which model to take that far north.  trust me there is nothing more frustrating than getting that far out in the field and finiding it breaks down on you and you have to halt production.  Being that far from any repair shop or warranty depot might be worth the extra few bucks to get something reliable.

You should also go through every single stage of your project very carefully and think of what tools you will need for every single step.  IE: Anchoring holes into bedrock... Generator (for power), Hammer drill (with appropriate sized drill bits - for rebar you choose to use).  Power cords (unless you want to drag generator around all day long from hole to hole). A snipe (heavy bar to bend your rebar if it needs to be bent), an angle grinder with cut off discs to cut rebar to appropriate lengths.  The hammer drill you will need it you choose rebar larger than 10M will most likely be more than just a cheap hammer drill your next door neighbour uses, because if you drill much with a giant bit using a small hammer drill you will burn it out incredibly fast (I've seen it done and heard the boss scream at guys for burning out his brand new hammer drills).  Also take spare bits for drilling.  If you have not drilled into concrete (or bedrock) with a hammer drill before you will be amazed at how easy it is to bend or snap off a bit (I see new apprentices do it far too often).  If you plan on cutting any rebar on site the easiest way to do it is with an angle grinder (you dont need a big one but you will go through a lot of cutting discs).  If you use an angle grinder you will definitely need safety glasses and a full face shield (nothing like getting grit and metal sparks in your eyes far from anywhere).  You could use a hacksaw if you want cheap and light tools, but be prepared to take a long time and work hard if you go that route.  Once you ahve holes drilled out you MUST blow the dust out of the hole so some sort of blower to blow the holes clean (most hammer drilles come with a blower of some sort).  If you think of skipping the step of not blowing the holes out (I've seen that done far too many times), your hilti adhesive will not bind to your hole and your rebar can normally be pulled out of the hole with the adhesive strongly stuck to the rebar by hand (I've done it myself to a few apprentices).  You can use anything from a cheap snot sucker for babies noses to a hand pump from Hilti to blow the holes out as long as it cleans out the dust from the hole.  A round wire brush also helps to loosen up dust that is stubborn when you are blowing out the holes (like a giant pipe cleaner).  If you are going to use rebar for any reinforcing while you build you will need some tie wire and linesman pliers to tie it all together (cheap pliers work just as good as fancy Klein pliers when you are out in the bush... just less cash to drop if they get lost out there).

Once you have your holes drilled you will need a special mixing caulking gun if you use Hilti adhesive (and buy spare tips).  A lot of apprentices I have seen have a very bad habit of drilling one hole, clean it out, add adhesive to hole then stuff rebar in and move on to the next hole.  By the time the next hole is ready for rebar the adhesive will be set in the special mixing tip and it is junk.  So either drill several holes in one shot and clean them all out THEN pump adhesive into one hole, add rebar then go to next hole pump adhesive add rebar... etc, etc, etc.  Do enough holes that you use up all your adhesive with one tip, or just be prepared to go through a lot of tips.  If the temps are cold then be VERY sure you have cold weather adhesive (I know Hilti makes a special cold weather adhesive but can't remember the name off handy - I think it is Hilti Ice).

I hate to be the party pooper, but I just hate to see all your planning going into your plans and blueprints and once you get up there you find yourself missing something or you have the wrong product.  I would seriously suggest you go as thoroughly through every step in your building process and think about every possible step to get all the tools you will need.  A few basics I would suggest are below.

-chalk line (with some spare chalk)    - speed square    - framers square   - 25 ft tape measure  - 100 ft steel tape measure (handy for checking for square on your floor and walls where a 25 ft tape would be short).   - nailgun / hammer (be prepared for a sore arm if you plan on pounding nails for days on end) you can buy all electric nail guns now if you dont want to drag a compressor up there DeWalt makes on that uses rechargable batteries (probably other companies by now also)   - nail bar   - caulking gun (to apply PL adhesive on your subfloor, accoustical sealant inside when you come to that stage, etc)   - Work knife with spare blades (Olfa has tons of models available at Home Depot/Ronas etc)   - skill saw  - tool belt  - whisk/corn broom   - jerry cans for fuel (generator)    - linesman pliers   - pencils (use pencils for marking not pens/markers - you can't paint over pen marks or markers they bleed through the paint - I've sen that done also)   - nails assorted sizes (for framing and sheething your walls/floor)   - Hilti epoxy or an adhesive to anchor rebar to bedrock(with the proper caulking gun to use the epoxy)   - angle grinder with zipcut disc's (or a hacksaw with a spare blade or two)  - PL subfloor adhesive   - spade (to mix concrete if you use any for your main support)   - wheelbarrow or some container to mix concrete in   - pail (to haul/hold water for your concrete while you mix it up)

The one thing I would seriously suggest is to download some youtube videos or videos to show how to do certain parts of your project onto a cell phone or laptop.  So if you are stuck and forgot how to do something you can break out a video and see an expert show you step by step how to do it right.  If you have a generator up there you can recharge batteries on it if need be... plus at night you can always relax by a camp fire and load up pics onto a laptop/cell phone of your project while you eat.  Trust me, if you forget to make sure your walls are square before you stand them it can be quite a pain in the back side to try and fix it once you have the wall sheeted (a LOT of new apprentices do that if not properly supervised on normal sites).

I really do wish you the best in your build but hope you have someone to help you think of everything before you start hauling things up there.  I'm sure some guys could wittle my list down a bit, but standard construction sites do have a ton of tools they use every day.  Not to mention a good laser level can really help you get your structure up plumb and level, but you could get away with a 6 ft, 4 ft, and 2 ft level with a long board that is straight.

North Sask

Hey CarpenterCanuk,

Thanks for your thoughts. I really appreciate the advice. I'm sure there will be a few hiccups along the way due to the remote location but I have started making lists and I will be checking them twice. I want to keep the backwoods trouble shooting to a minimum.

I have given some thought to downloading how-to videos, just in case. I also have some good books on masonry and framing that I will be taking with me. I guess a rewarding part of the experience will be overcoming the challenges that pop up during construction.
It would be greatly appreciated if you stopped by my thread and left your two cents.
Great Northern Saskatchewan Adventure...Round 2

saskdan1

Hi North Sask, I'm from Saskatchewan and living in Texas for awhile.  I have canoed and traveled North of La Ronge on camping/canoeing trips quite a few times.  I'm in love with that area and would seriously like to pursue what you are doing.  Would you be able to help me with some info and guidance in how to accomplish this?

                                                                                                     Thank you,
                                                                                                         Dan M

p.s. I know you have not been on here for awhile and your probably in the wilderness now building :)


vickeyd