Plans Change, and now I'm starting with a 12 X 12

Started by JavaMan, April 20, 2010, 12:37:41 PM

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JavaMan

Well, plans have changed once again... but this time in a positive way.

Pending approval from my boss, I will b leaving from the house Friday morning to head to the ranch.  Which means 2 things.  I'll be able to take it easy on the way there, and I'll get there earlier on Friday so I will get the tasks done that I want done before the excavator shows up.

Taking it easy up there is a plus because I have a loaded flatbed trailer that looks like:



That's 10 roof trusses and some other stuff.  Then the compressor and genny in the back of the truck.

Gonna be fun! ;D

OlJarhead

Awesome!  DId you hear from Tom?  I sent him a msg also.


JavaMan

Yup, I heard from him ... I think I've got what I needed from him ...  and we'll just have to play it by ear the rest of the way  :D

The best part of this is that I'll be able to get my preliminary work done by Friday night, so then I'll head over to your place a bit earlier on Saturday.  I'm hoping I'll get enough done Friday that I can simply get up and head your way (crack o' dawn - sorta (there needs to be a yawing smiley)

I'm trying to gather the things I need to take, and discovering just how unorganized I've become over the last year  :(

I'm getting antsy to get going now.  :)

JavaMan

Well, I got up to the property/cabin/shed about 5 pm on Friday.  I would have been there an hour sooner, but I thought I would  try going in from the "other" direction (sometimes called "the back way")... Not a good decision.  After driving for nearly 1/2 hour, getting caught in a hail storm, and thunder and lightening, I decided I had to have taken a wrong turn and was on the wrong road.  Turning around (not easy with a trailer full of trusses on a single lane dirt road), headed back to go in the "front" way.

Got hailed on again, but finally made it to my place. I attempted to enter on the "driveway" (which really isn't one yet), and proceeded to crush the drivers side taillight on the truck. I decided that I was going to need to unload the trusses and carry them into the building site. So I waited  for a break in the rain.  Once that occurred I hauled them one by one to the site, about 150 yards away.

About 3 hours later, after they were all unloaded, I was able to pull the truck and trailer up into the 'drive'.  Not wanting to back the trailer in,I dropped it at the 'turn-around' (a wide spot) and turned the truck around to back it in the rest of the way.

After that I was beat, and it was about 9pm

Saturday morning, I got to work ... climbed out of the truck, moved a few things, climbed back in the truck and went back down the mountain to my favorite eatery and had breakfast.  On the way back I gassed up the truck.  Back at the property, I unloaded some of the 2x10x12' board I had brought and proceeded to cut them to 12' exactly and install them for the loft floor.  Originally,I was only going to put the loft at the back of the shed/cabin but I decided that it would be simpler to put it completely across the place.

I then took out the first 2  2x6's that I had originally used for the back 4 joists, and replaced them. By that time I was ready to quit.  Working at 4000' altitude takes it out of you when you're not used to it! :-\

I was beat, so I headed to OJH's place arrived there at about 5.  Had a great sit by his fire, nice dinner, and  great breakfast the next morning after sleeping soundly and warm! (thanks for the hospitality, OJH!)

He and his friends offered to come help put the rafters up on top of the loft for me on Sunday on their way home, but i hadn't got the floor on it yet and didn't want them (the trusses) in the way while I finished the loft floor.  Sorry to say, I had to decline the offer of help - although it was much appreciated!

Got back to my place Sunday, after stopping on the way for  couple of things at HD, and went to work finishing up the loft -framing the "stairwell", and getting the floor sheathing up there were the big tasks. By 7 pm I was beat, and headed for bed.

Monday,I finished the loft floor, took  down the old rafters, and in general sat around for part of the day.

Did I get everything done that I wanted to? Nope. But that's ok. part of the trip was to assess the weathering of the place (fairly good - it will need a new floor next time or the time after that).

There are a few discussion points that came out of this trip that Beautiful and I need to cover ... -  but that will happen over the next few days.  And the shape of the roof has been reviewed (yet again), and might change before I head back up  ???

But I did have a good trip  :) and even saw a few deer (video to come)  ;D

OlJarhead

Glad you were able to get much done!  It's always hard to not get everything you want done (that's my story EVERY trip almost) but it's always good to get up to the property and get SOMETHING done! :D  Keep it up and in no time you'll be sleeping under your own roof and warming by your own fire.

Cheers and well met.


JavaMan

And here's the video that I promised...

http://rockofagesranch.com/jhasz/DSCN2191.AVI

Sorry for only the link, but I'm having trouble embedding the video this morning.  Not enough coffee, I guess.

Video is only 18 seconds long, and very jumpy at the beginning, but about 12 seconds in you can see the doe - it will finally stop settled on the doe and her fawn (the fawn is between the fore and hind legs of the doe when she's standing still.

The reason it's jumpy is that I wasn't aware I was videoing.  The last person to use the camera left it on video and so I thought I had the picture at the very beginning (which was supposed to be just the fawn) and the picture at the very end.  When I got back to the camp, and checked it out, I realized it had video'd it all.  Good thing it's not my nature to say anything uncalled for  ;D

JavaMan

Just got back from vacation.  It put a big dent in the budget, but since the next item is to get the roof rafter/trusses up and I'll only have about 1.5 days to get that done, I don't think I'll need much more than gas and food money.

Vacation was a blast.  10 days with 2 teens.  d*  But it was pretty good.  A great time seems to have been had by all.  After all, who can go to Yellowstone and Glacier Nat'l Parks and not have a good time.  Even with miles and miles of hiking.  And I gained only 3 pounds!

Saw some of this:



and this:



But no moose and no big horn sheep.

At Glacier we saw some mountain goats... and a few Antelope.

Lots of water at both and "Old Faithful" and a few others at Yellowstone.

All in all it was a great vacation capped of with a half-day rafting trip down one of the rivers bordering Glacier Nat'l ... you can imagine how cold THAT water was  ;D

OlJarhead

Did you tent it?  Did the misses enjoy?

Glad to hear you had a good time -- it's important to take time to do that now and then, or so I keep telling myself while I keep putting off just that!

JavaMan

No, we didn't tent it ... just couldn't justify set up and striking camp every morning.  We stopped the first night about 1/2 way to North Yellowstone, then night 2 in North Yellowstone, then night 3 & 4 in West Yellowstone, 5 in Idaho Falls (Forth of July fireworks were AWEsome), night 6 in east Glacier, 7 in West glacier, night 8 about 1/2 way home again.

Beautiful planned the entire thing, and truly enjoyed it.  We found a couple places that we would love to retire to on the way back  :)  Just wish I was closer than I am to it.  I'm going to have to look for a telecommute job in a couple years  ;D (once the kids are out of the nest)



JavaMan

I would if I could, but the boss says policy is that you have to be in the office... Of course you can bend that policy once in awhile, but not on a regular basis. >:(

But there is some beautiful stretches of ground in ID and western MT.  Plenty of pasture, plenty of wood, and plenty of water coming off the mountains.  ;D  I might have to finish my build, sell at a profit  rofl [rofl2] , and buy something new to build the "real" getaway on.

JavaMan

So, due to budget and (mainly) other plans, the July trip to the ranch has gone out the window ... well, sort of.  It's really more like it's been moved to the first weekend in August... and the Trip that was supposed to be the 3rd weekend in August is now been moved up to the 2nd weekend.

And then there's labor day weekend.  I'm hoping to go to the ranch and finish up things, but since it's a holiday, I am hoping that Beautiful won't want to do something else instead (since we had our big family vacation already)

Plan is to get the roof on (or nearly so) the next trip, finish up anything left on the roof, and finish the gable ends the second week in August and do Metal roof, "siding", windows, and door finished on Labor day weekend.  At that point it's only a matter of finding a nice, small wood stove for heat in the cold parts of the year  :D  Then it will be ready for hunting season.

JavaMan

#187
As usual, not as much got done as planned. >:(

But it wasn't for lack of trying!  The entire goal of heading up this weekend was to get the roof trusses on... Well, as you'll see in the pictures, we're 60% done.

Got the first truss up!:



The first 5 are done...



And 60% finished:



Which is where it was left.  Why? Because I couldn't figure out how to get the last 4 up without standing outside the building 12' off the ground! (obviously, there's no way I can do THAT!  ???)

Had I been able to muscle the last 4 into place, I would have been exceedingly pleased.  As it is, I'm fairly please with what I *did* get done.

Basically I needed a third (and maybe a fourth) hand to help steady them as they went up - and to help lift them into place.  I think I'll take a block and tackle along next time.  From what I can tell that would help a lot.  The only issue I have is how to get it higher than the peak of the roof.

Then comes the part that will make me truly nervous - putting the sheathing on the roof!

Oh, and when I got there, I noticed some of my lumber was missing and 2 sheets of T&G OSB were gone along with my small grill.  Someone felt they needed those more than I did, apparently.  Probably kids planning on building a ramp to just their bikes with from the lumber.

On the way up I drove past this:



And this:



Of course, the fire website says it's "Brewster", but it really was southeast of Pateros ... near the Azwell dam, on the east side of the river.  There was section south of the dam and some north of it - mostly put out except for these few spots which were completely out when I headed home late morning, yesterday.

OlJarhead

Bravo!  Bravo!  Great job Java!

Just put ALL four of the remaining trusses up at once (well one at a time but at the same time).  Stack them against the last one you put up, then move the gabled end truss to the outside and fix it in place, then the next and so on.

A way you can make this a little less difficult (maybe) would be to put strapping on (1x4's) on the outside of the first trusses and extend it to past the end where the last needs to go.  Once in place and plumb nail the strapping to the truss to hold it, then nail the ends to the hurricane clips on the roof tops and your done ;)

Something to consider.

If you go back when I'm up there (next weekend I'll be there) then left me know and I'll bring my hammer and ladder ;)


JavaMan

You're on OJH ... the plan is to head back up on Friday for the weekend and finish putting them up.

The way you said is exactly what I was thinking... Great minds and all that  [cool]

In the one day (Saturday) I went through 2 gallons of water it was so warm and I was working that hard.  I have to say - I am fairly proud of what I've managed to accomplish - so far 100% on my own (well, there was a little help, but I changed direction and undid most of that part)

I am at the point now where an extra pair of hands would be handy (no pun intended  ::))

We'll have to connect during the week and figure it out (Before you head up!)

JavaMan

Got to the property on Friday evening. Accomplished a few things in preparation for the next day.  Somewhere along the line got a call from the friend that was to come help that he wasn't going to be able to. 

Ah, well.  Such is life.  Thought about how to re-arrange the schedule of things to get done to fill the time.

Started the day by measuring the OSB that the thieves actually left and found that it was the same thickness as what I had on the side of the building already.  So, I put up one of the sheets to finish the majority of the "front" of the place.  Put extra nails into the other sheets - especially on the southwest corner (it seemed to be missing quite a few!).  Interestingly, once I did this and climbed to the loft, it wasn't as "wiggly" as it had been last weekend!  [cool]  Which would do wonders for assuaging my fear of heights.

Then I thought I might cut the sheathing for the three top sides that were left and put it up... got it cut, needed extra hands to put it up - basically to hold it in place until I got the first two nails in to it.  Gave up on that.

Moved the last of the rafter trusses up to the loft area, got them leaned against the ones that were already set in place (photos to follow, stay tuned), took a short break for water, and then went back and stood the up.  Walked them into place starting with the end one first, tacking them to a 1x2 that I had to hold it up (along with bracing on the end).  Then did the last three, tacking them to the 1X2 as well.  As I'm nailing the last one to the Simpson Strong-ties, I got the one side nailed, and walked over to the other side (the side with the 1x2), and in a half crouch, I start to bend down to set the pail of nails down before sitting down...

BAM!  d*  Wacked my forehead on the corner of that 1x2.

Could I have placed the "soft" corner facing up? Noooooo!, I had to have one of the sharp edges up.  I am sporting a new lump and a cut on my forehead.  And I had just looked at hardhats at HD on the way up  [waiting] [frus]

I did finish getting all the trusses in place (picture to come).

So I moved a few more things around, did one more spot of wall sheathing that needed done, and came home.

I do, however, have a question for the experts in the group that follows:

I would like to do sheathing on the roof with 19/32" OSB, but I am unsure if I will have help when I need it to accomplish this.  Is it "ok" to use a T&G instead? What I mean is can I use 1"X6"x?? T&G boards to sheath the roof with instead of 4x8 sheets of osb?  I ask because it's way easier to handle a 1x6x12' (or similar) piece of whatever by myself than it is to manhandle a 4'X8' sheet of OSB into place by myself.

I fear I would be giving up some of the lateral sheer strength, but I don't know if it would be so much as to cause concern.

Thanks for the input...

Don_P

You would be giving up a fair amount, a diagonal set of steel straps making an X over the T&G would help. If it gets a metal roof there is the diaphragm.

JavaMan

By diaphragm, do you mean that the T&G running one direction and the metal roofing running the other direction would give it the strength that I would be missing (or most of the strength?)?

OlJarhead

Sorry I wasn't able to make it out Jeff!  I was pretty bumbed out but sadly, when out of work, I have to stick to a budget :(  As it was, I blew my budget completely out of the water with TWO trips, count them TWO TRIPS to Omak on Thursday....the wife wanted to kill me until she saw the running water ;)

On a positive note, though, it looks like I have a promising job interview coming up soon!!!!

On the OSB to the roof, I find it best to do it this way:

1.  Lean ladder against wall at the recommended angle (standing straight up can you reach straight out and grab the rails with you feet at the bottom of the ladder?)
2.  Hoist a sheet of OSB onto your shoulder with right hand twisted sorta backwards cradling the sheet and your left guiding it up top.
3.  Begin walking up the ladder balancing the sheet until you are high enough to slide the sheet off your shoulder onto the roof.
4.  Place the sheet carefully (not to hard actually) and tack in place -- nail as needed once secure.

Now you can do that with the next and so on until all the lower sheets are in place (which doesn't require climbing the ladder all the way up but just a couple rungs -- so not high enough to hurt yourself badly if things went wrong.

With one row of sheets you can do the second by sliding it over the first and catching the second as a stay -- but don't forget to install the clips!

Also, you can screw on a 'tack rail' to the end of the trusses to set the sheets against before nailing in place (just thought of that since I didn't need to)....use two pieces of sheeting staggered so one sticks out above the truss line but allows the sheet to drop to the edge of the truss.

JavaMan

No problems OJH ... I shoulda thought of it, but I coulda 'contributed' gas money, at least!  And maybe lunch at the cafe.... guess I wasn't thinking straight.

As for getting the OSB upon the roof ... once more I got to thinking about it today (yeah, Beautiful asks if I actually do any WORK at work, but an hour on the ferry each way give one lots of time).  Anyway, was thinking about it, and I believe I can get most if not all of it on there without too much difficulty.  At least up to the last peak part.  Which is where I will have to gather my nerve to get it done.

Then, of course, there is the felt...  [shocked]


JavaMan

So here's the schedule for Labor day weekend.

Arrive at the ranch Thursday early evening, having picked up a few sheets of 7/16 OSB for the last parts of wall sheathing
Finish sheathing the walls on Thurs eve and Friday morning, then run to the hardware for the roof sheathing, and put that up on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning.
Finally, on Saturday and Sunday, put in the door, windows, and steps to the door.

That should leave the felt on the roof, the stairs to the loft, the steel on the roof, and the outside siding that I hope to get finished this year yet.

After that, it's insulation and inside walls.

Somewhere along in there I would like to find a pot-bellied stove to put in - which I'm sure would heat the place sufficiently, insulation or not!

OlJarhead

Quote from: JavaMan on August 14, 2012, 10:46:22 AM
So here's the schedule for Labor day weekend.

Arrive at the ranch Thursday early evening, having picked up a few sheets of 7/16 OSB for the last parts of wall sheathing
Finish sheathing the walls on Thurs eve and Friday morning, then run to the hardware for the roof sheathing, and put that up on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning.
Finally, on Saturday and Sunday, put in the door, windows, and steps to the door.

That should leave the felt on the roof, the stairs to the loft, the steel on the roof, and the outside siding that I hope to get finished this year yet.

After that, it's insulation and inside walls.

Somewhere along in there I would like to find a pot-bellied stove to put in - which I'm sure would heat the place sufficiently, insulation or not!

Plan a trip to Oregon ;)

They can sell the stove you want and it's CHEAP.

JavaMan

Yeah, I've noticed... and there's no sales tax, either!  Hmmm, Beautiful is headed there on Wednesday... ???


JavaMan

Ouch!  Seems to me I saw one listed someplace for around $150.  Harbor Freight, or someplace like that, maybe.  But that is what I'm looking for.  That would really heat up a 12 X 12 space, don't you think?