24 x 30 1 1/2 story cabin in Monroe Maine

Started by Don & Ginger Lundgren, September 15, 2009, 09:46:48 AM

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MaineRhino

Good job! Great idea using the tape for markup too! 

We also debated on siding options, and went with a vinyl. Research found that not all vinyl siding is alike! We built with minimal maintenance in mind, and installed siding that will never have to be touched again!



Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well it has been awhile since we last were able to work on the house. Between a trip to Illinois to help my son and our regular jobs more time has gone by than we wanted. The weather has also been just as much of a pain in the butt as well. We finally got to work on the house yesterday. And don't you know it had to be bitterly cold(30's) and damp as we had a storm coming in. So with that in mind we went to breakfast in hopes it may warm up a bit but it did not. We got started about noon. By the end of our day (8pm) we had a full blown snow storm going on and the roads home were very slick.

We tried to use a propane heater to keep the area warmed up yesterday but with no real roof in place yet and some gaping holes it was a challenge to stay warm. And yes you see carpet in the background. My wife found a clearance deal on it for only 50 cents a square foot so could not pass it up.


We got our ledger and center beam up and in place with all of the joist hangers. We also placed our two end joists in to square everything up.



Next we worked on getting all of our other joists in place. After they were in place I then used a set of ratchet straps to cinch the sides and center beam and joist together. Then I could actually secure the joists to the joist hangers. I did this to make sure everything stayed even as it should.


We could then work on the other side of the loft. Now on that side we am acutally going to do a somewhat of a salt box roof effect and will be having a 6-7ft(not sure exactly on height yet) exterior wall. This will provide for much more headroom on that side. That is where our bedroom will actually be. For that I have the joists on that side resting on top of the shorter section of outside wall. Then we will frame up the wall for exterior loft wall on top of that once we decide what we want.


We then got to put in our blocking.


Finally got all the joists up and blocking in and could not resist getting up on it to try it out. Just have to be careful as that first step would be a pain in the..... if you missed.


We then got to putting the subflooring up on the loft. Now for this I created a ramp kind of thing for my dad and such to be able to use. I was up in the loft pulling the sheets up. They could then just slide the 3/4 OSB up the ramp easily and it would just then rest on a scrap piece of wood so they would not have to hold it. That worked great and made it alot easier on everyone.


Now given how cold it was and was going to be I decided to wait to glue and nail the flooring. It is supposed to be back up to normal 50's this week. Last night was crappy snow/rain/slush and I think it would not have been a good night for glue given no heat. So for now it is all layed up where it will go and rough cut to length. I will trim to actual length once I get to securing it. Figured I would rather have to cut twice to get it right then once and have it too short.


I then had to put in a bunch of braces for the tarped roof to try and keep out the snow/slush/rain crap we have going on. So it looks funny but it works.


We are finally done for the night.






I think given it was really just my wife and myself along with my mom and dad for assistance we did good to get as much done in the cold as we did. We know that this week will be a challenge to get much done as both of us have heavy work schedules. But with luck we may be able to start on the roof next weekend.

We really doubted that our tarp roof would hold as it was a wet sticky snow and that with a tarped roof spells trouble. We expected to go over this morning and find the tarped roof collapsed but to our surprise it held... Only a couple of water pockets from where the weight of the snow pulled the tarp enough to catch the water. I have since added more poles to push up in the low spots of tarp to keep any further water from pooling up.


John Raabe

Just checking to make sure... you have larger deeper footings and solid posts to them under those beam supports, right? These point loads have a tendency to add up.
None of us are as smart as all of us.

Bobmarlon

looks great your lofts is built the same way as ours is weve been drying a tree out in our garage getting it ready to replace our 2X6.

Don & Ginger Lundgren

You have a good point on the footings and beam and such and was considered when we put in the footings. We will actually have a wall that extends about 3/4 the length of the beam from the exterior wall. That will direct the load directly to the main support beam and posts below it which has more than enough capacity. At the end of the beam in the middle of the house will be a post that will be made from a tree on our property that will extend the whole way to the ridge(not really load bearing for the ridge but will be connected).


Don & Ginger Lundgren

We have gotten started finally on the roof system. Weather and time have not been on our side lately. Seems like just about all the time I have to work on the house it is pouring... I think I read somewhere if you want to see the worst in weather start building a house...

We decided that maybe we needed to take a different approach. So we took down the temp tarp cover we had up(only about 4 feet above exterior walls). We then put in the actual ridge boards(2x12) using temporary supports in the actual location they will be. We then put up a new larger tarp that could then cover the entire house. Now this was done mostly at night and using all hands available so we really do not have many pictures of the process. Thank you to my mom and dad for helping with this as getting the 40x60 tarp up over the house in one piece was a bit of a chore.

Here my wife gets of me up on the loft after we got the tarp over and secure.



Here is a shot of the diningroom/livingroom end of the house. We decided to rent some staging as that was quite a way up to be messing around trying to balance a ladder. The staging is 15 feet. The total ridge height is about 20' 6" for about a 10.5/12 pitch.





We also have gotten started on the stairway to the loft. This is the first time I have ever created a full set of stairs. I have done a small 4 step stair onto a porch so understand the concept well enough. The stairway is going to be L shaped and as such we defined where and how big our platform would be and framed it in first. We then cut our first set of stringers for the short section of steps. We will be working tonight on completing the balance of the stringers and steps.








We hope over the course of this week to cut and install the rafters and maybe be ready to put on roof sheathing next weekend. We figure we can loosen a section of the tarp at a time to put in the rafters and then tighten it back up. We will be keeping our fingers crossed.

Don & Ginger Lundgren

Today we were able to complete the stairs. Yippeeeeee!!!!!

Here I am starting the cutting of the main stringers. We went with a 7 1/2" rise and 10" run on our stairs.


Here we have the stringers all cut and put in place and I am checking for level and square before we secure it in place.


My dad and mom stopped by after square dancing and gave us a hand. I put dad to work on stair treads and mom on picking up scraps.


Now I am installing the treads and risers. We are going to be carpeting the stairs so used scrap 7/16 OSB for the risers and 2x12 for the treads.


The stairs are complete!!!


View from alternate angles showing full stairway.




Overall I am quite pleased in my very first full set of stairs. Nice and sturdy and level... how about that.

MountainDon

No more ladders, eh?   ;D ;D  And they fit the space. Looking good!
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

poppy

Looking good.  [cool]  I guess you really don't care what angle the pics. have, since we have seen your "clear" head and backside.  ::)

So is that a shower enclosure there under the loft?  Did you get a deal on it?


Don & Ginger Lundgren

Hey! at least it was not a plumbers crack.....

Yes that is a shower stall you see. It is a bit dirty on the backside at the moment from us trucking it home on my trailer in the rain across dirt roads and then sitting outside for a few days to collect leaves. We will clean it up before we actually install it in our master bath which is in the loft area. It was a craigslist find that we picked up. It is a 48" wide and 36" deep white shower and we got the thing complete with newer single handle controls for $75. Fantastic deal as it did not have a scratch on it on the inside. They took it out of the house to put in a custom stone tile shower after they bought the house.

We have a bunch of other craigslist finds going into the house as well. Some are already there. In the walls are currently over 90 2x6x10 and 2x6x8 that came from a garage teardown on craigslist. We picked them up for a $1.50 for the 10's and $1.25 for the 8's. All of our 7/16 OSB was picked up from where it had been used to cover ground for a outdoor wedding for 8 hours. We picked that up for only $3 a sheet. We have many other items acquired that way but they will come into play later in the build.

This forum has been a fantastic inspiration and chock full of ideas and alternate ways of doing things.

Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well, I just tried to post an update twice and it died saying the database had gone away. Maybe it was too large for single post so i will split it into 2 and see. Here is the first part.

Well we had a great weekend last week. We got the balance of the loft flooring all glued and nailed down. We also built and put up the exterior wall and got all the rafters and about 75% of the sheathing in place by late Sunday night.

Now last week we took down the smaller tarp and put up the ridge and put a larger tarp over the whole house. Here are a couple of shots of that in place.





Here I am building what will be the loft exterior wall on the back. We have made it such that our loft area has kind of a dustpan effect. Our pitch on the main house will be 10.5/12 and the pitch on the back of the loft area which will be our master bedroom will be about 6/12.



We picked up an awesome used picture window off of craigslist for only $100. It still had the tags on it and had been installed in a shed(what is up with that) for about 6 months. It is over $250 at Home Depot so we think we got a great deal. Here you can see me test fitting the window in the wall on the floor. Wanted o make sure it all fit properly before completing the nailing and putting sheathing on.





After we completed the test fit we removed the window and completed nailing it all together and putting the top section of sheathing in place. The lower section will overlap the end of the floor joists and top plate so will be put on after the wall is in place.

Next we had to take down the tarp we had over the whole house. That was a chore as we did not really want to rip it up or anything as we may need to reuse it and so far it has faired pretty well for being cheap. Here we are taking down the tarp. Most of my time was spent removing all the blocks we had holding it in place and then helping guide it over the ridge to keep it from snagging on anything.



Yes I am under the tarp somewhere....





Once the tarp was down we were able to get our loft wall up and in which was the last step needed before we could do the rafters. Now it took all 5 of us(mom & dad, Ginger, Britni and myselft) to get the 14 foot wall complete with its sheathing and window in place. We decided to put the window in on the floor and just loosely attach it. Figured it was a lot easier than trying to lift that thing into place from the outside after the wall was up given it would be 12 feet off the ground or more. So no picture of the wall on its way up.

Here the wall is up and in place.



we did find we had to tweak one end a bit as it was not quite plumb. It was so rigid we had to have my daughter and wife pull on a strap attached to it while my dad and I checked for plumb and nailed it in place. My daughter enjoys being a bit goofy here at times.



View from outside.


Don & Ginger Lundgren

Part 2 of three as it failed to post again in 2 parts

We then got to work on adjusting the ridge board to ensure it was level and plumb and all at the right height. That was fun... NOT!





Just about then we had my sister Linda and her husband Duane as well as Keith show up so it was time to kick it into high gear. We then set about prepping the walls with the rafter ties and cutting the rafters to match our pattern we made.









We then set about setting the rafters. Here we are putting in the first set. And DANG... our template fit.





We then got the second set in place to make sure the ridge was held properly in place.





Then we had at it and started to really pick up steam.







We then got enough in that we put a sheet of sheathing in place to keep it more stable as we were putting it together.



One side done.


Don & Ginger Lundgren

Part 3 then...

we then got started on the rafters on the loft side of the house.










Now in the mean time one of Keiths friends Jeff also showed up. The two of them make quite a team as both of them work regular construction jobs. Now lets say that once the two of them were together it made for some very colorful banter between them which cannot be repeated here but was beyond funny at times.



My mom was keeping us supplied with tools, coffee, and generally picking up after us... man the older we get the more some things never change for moms....



Linda and Britni went to work on nailing in all the rafter ties. Yes it is now about 4:30 in the afternoon and getting kinda dark and cold.





We then got back on roof sheathing.







We finished up about then as it was now well into the evening and things were starting to get damp and as such too dangerous to continue.

Here are a few shots taken the next morning showing the great progress that was made.







And a couple of views from inside.









Again thank you to all who had a part in this project. And thanks to everyone for putting up with me and my "I'd like to have it done my way" issues.


Abbynrml



MountainDon

That was a lot o work. Must feel very good to be able to pack away the tarp.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

RainDog


All those photographs are a great help in following your progress. Thanks a lot! Lookin' good!

Parks
NE OK

Sassy

Great find!  Good finds on Craigslist, too!
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

Redoverfarm

 Don & Ginger Lundgren making good progress.  Be careful you are going to make the rest of us look bad. ;D

Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well... on the speed thing... it has been almost 4 months since we started this project. Granted the first month or so of that was waiting for well and septic to be done. Given it is to be the house we will live in and while we are building we have been living with my parents we want it completed enough to live in as quickly as possible. We knew when we elected to move back to Maine and do this that it was going to be a lengthy process. Now when it comes to finishing it that will take quite a bit more time as we will probably change our minds soooo many times it is not even funny. Right now we are aiming to be able to "live" in it by mid December. We know that probably none of our inside walls will be finished but we should be water tight, insulated, plumbed and electric in place enough to get moved in by then.

speedfunk



Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well, the past few nights we have managed to sneak a few hours work in. Now that daylight savings time is over it is now well past dark by the time I even get out of work. Given that and the fact that the past few nights have been very cold not a huge amount was done but we did get some things done.

We managed to get the balance of our sheathing on. We still need to build are gable overhangs and trim up some of the sheathing but getting there.





We also got the gable end on the loft side all framed up including the space for the one Egress window we need. Our picture window with the dual sliders did not have a large enough opening to meet egress requirements. Granted I am not in an area of heavy code enforcement it is still the right thing to do for safety sake I think.







Our plan for this weekend is to finish up the gable ends and sheathing as well as get the roof underlayment(30# felt or other) down so that at least the roof will not leak as it has over the past couple days of crappy weather we have had. We have had rain/snow mix all day yesterday and last night. That means a fair amount of water in the house as it rolls down the roof and in each of the seams in the roof sheathing. Oh well I guess better than a flood....

My wife and I want to thank you all for your nice comments and words of encouragement. This is by far the biggest project we have ever undertaken.


glenn kangiser

Looks like good progress to me.  Thanks for the update, Don and Ginger. :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well we did not get as much done this weekend as we originally planned as we ended up with some unplanned diversions. But we did make progress. We did find out that when we did the rafters we accidentally (ok maybe on purpose and forgot or something) to put the last set on the end of our great room. So we got those put up and in place.

We also got the gable end for that end all framed in now as well. You can see the location for the nice 33" x 67" circle top window we picked up at a yard sale for only $30... yes you read that correctly. I do have to create a frame for it but that will not be that hard to do.



We also got the sheathing all done on the lower section of that wall so now all that is left to be sheathed is the gable ends themselves.



We found out Friday that we needed to have 2" conduit in place by this Wed. for the phone company to run a phone line. We did not expect to have to have that in place already but we did not want to rock the boat as we have been struggling with them to get DSL to our site.  So here I am using a neighbors tractor to dig our trench for our electric and telephone service conduits. It was 105 feet long end to end and 3 feet deep. Now we did not get much in the way of pictures of this as our batteries went dead in the camera and we did not want to stop and go get some. Work at that time was more important.







poppy

Gotta like $30 windows. I haven't even considered trying yard sales, but you just never know where the deals are.

Don & Ginger Lundgren

Well, I have to admit that my wife is the better deal finder at yard sales. When we decided to start this project we did not look at what we needed at the moment but what would be needed at some point in the project. With that in mind the actual first item purchased for our new home we did before we even had signed the papers. My wife found a awesome hanging light for our livingroom/dining room area at Lowes that had been over $180 for $35 on clearance. We then just started hitting craigslist, unclehenrys(local craigslist kinda), yard sales and local classifieds for anything we thought the project may need. Needless to say we have purchased better than 75% of the house in this manner. Heck the big triple picture window you see in our livingroom was a freebie from a yard sale that we purchased 5 other windows from for a total of $35 for all 5. Granted some need to have some crappy paint work scraped off, touch up nicks in exterior wood work and be repainted the correct way but for the price I got them for it is worth it. The deals are out there if you can take the time to search them out and think way outside of your current needs. I know my mom and dad thought it was funny that we had our full master bath and livingroom lighting long before one bit of wood had been purchased for the house.