CountryPlans Forum

After years of lurking/researching/envying we have started our own cabin project in Corrina Township, Wright County, Minnesota.

It has taken a lot longer to get to this point than I originally thought because of numerous things including:
1. township/county approval.
2. getting our finances in order.

Our old cabin was 20x22 over a 1'-3' crawlspace. Our well had plugged up, our cabin did not have a bathroom or running water.

We will be building a new cabin that is a single story 20x27 over a 6'6" crawlspace to be serviced by a holding tank, new well and yes an indoor bathroom.
We had planned on a larger cabin over a full basement, but our county ultimately only approved a much smaller cabin :-(

Our old cabin and detached garage was demolished last week. The well was installed and the crawlspace was excavated.
This week we hope to have the footings pored and the block crawlspace walls installed. The concrete contractor is out at the cabin today,
pumping as much of the 5" of rain that fell this weekend, so hopefully they can get the block installed this week.

Old cabin:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/226373_2113454034953_1203730116_2638393_664384_n.jpg)
Demolition was fun but sad to watch:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/227963_2113459915100_1203730116_2638413_7175313_n.jpg)
Crawlspace was dug (and filled up with many of the 5 inches of rain we had this weekend):
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/228765_2116548912323_1203730116_2641511_2039216_n.jpg)
Our floor plan:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/Floorplan.jpg)

My family and I will be doing as much of the work ourselves except for grading, block crawlspace and slabs, septic tank install.
Our only real goal for this year is to have the cabin dried in (siding and roofing installed) and the landscaping/grading completed.
I have more photos including some models I built of the cabin that was not approved:
https://s677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/

I look forward to sharing my experience with you all.

Walkabout

 w*  My grandparents & mom were from Minnesota (Zumbrota & Stillwater).  I bet that was hard to watch the demo...  could you save any of the materials?

Looking forward to seeing your build!

 w*

I'm excited to see another Midwest (minnesota even!) project here. There is so much south and west of us... nice to see something local. (I'm in the west metro, hoping to build near spooner wi in a few years).

which lake are you on?

did you make your plans yourself?  tell us about what you are going to build!

looking forward to watching your build!

Sassy,
The old cabin was one of the original 1920s resort cabins in the area. It looked sturdy, but there was not much on the old cabin that was worth keeping. The foundation/block wall was collapsing in on itself making every window and door bind. We thought of keeping some of the old windows, but they did not meet current energy code as they were not insulated.

DS,
I too are in the west metro, but our cabin is out in Wright county on a lake called Sugar Lake. The drive is about 50 miles, which is great.
I bought the 1 story plans from this site about 2.5 years ago, but plan on a few changes:
A. 6'6" block crawlspace to be accessed via internal stairs. This was a must have for us for safety reason, since we have had some really bad storms at our cabin, where we have had to seek shelter at neighbors with basements. We thought of a storm door on the outside, but would not want to mess with unlocking/finding the keys in an emergency.
B. I wanted to frame my own roof per the plans, but the building inspector wanted rafter ties every 2' instead of the 4' the plan called for, which I did not want. We will be going with scissor trusses over the living area, 6/12 external and 3/12 internal pitch. The bedroom and bathroom will have standard trusses. This will hopefully allow us to get the cabin dried in before winter.
C. We took some of the planned bathroom space and will be making a closet by the side door for clothes and/or extra storage for the kitchen.
D. We thought of adding a fireplace but could not find a location that would work or not obstruct our west facing view of the lake. We will have natural gas installed, and will have a ng furnace and water heater installed.

While you are digging, put in a 8x8 storm shelter!

Seems like everyone needs one of those these days!  >:(

Good luck!  I am lurking right now.  I am hoping to start mine next spring.

Footings have been installed. Block walls of crawlspace is being installed today. The rest of the concrete/block work will be completed tomorrow, including the interior drain tile, slab floor, core fills etc. I would like to seal (DryLock) the block walls this weekend, but might not be able too since it is meant to rain a lot this weekend, so I am looking at other work I can do on this long weekend. I would like to at least frame the daylight basement wall if I can't paint.

Question 1: daylight basement wall framing?
Even though I am limited to a 6'6" (ceiling to slab floor) crawlspace, I would like to install windows in one of the walls. Our concrete contractor will be doing 10 courses of block on 3 walls and 5 courses (pony wall) on the one side where the land slope allows it. Does the following framing diagram look adequate? The farming will be 2x6. Green = green treated lumber.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/daylightbasement.jpg)

Question 2: location of electrical panel/furnace/sump
Unfortunately I had not given the location of where water heater, electrical panel, furnace, sump pump will be located until the concrete guy started asking where I would like the sump pump. I drew up this preliminary diagram this morning. Do any of you see any issues?

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/mechanical.jpg)

In my complete "non-expert opinion", I might double up the studs on the short wall, especially in the middle between the two windows.  That is a long run for that short wall to support.  I have nothing to justify my answer other than "it sounds right".  Hopefully, one of these more experienced guys will chime in for you!

As you can see, I am still lurking.....

I would consider eliminating those corner block piers. If you have a solid bolt down PT sill plate between concrete and wood all the way around, and then frame the pony-walls with 2x6 at 16" o/c and sheath the wall in plywood for a diaphragm. This will be stronger and easier to build than those isolated pony-walls between piers.

If only one of your walls has room for the pony-wall, then your diagram may be the way to turn the block corner. Ask your mason.

Some progress was made this past week.
The footings were done, block installed, internal drain tile installed, 2 coats of water-proofing on the outside painted.
We did have a lot of rain though (5"), so my brand new sump pump worked all day today to empty the water that filled the crawlspace and outside the footings.

Here is a photo:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06428.jpg)

John,
I am not sure what you meant by corner peers. Either way there is not much I can change now. Hopfully the photo above explains what I was trying to explain. The low wall in the photo is obviously the wall I will be framing first, with the 20' trusses running from that that pony wall across the cabin.

Yes, you have only one pony-wall and block corners. From the diagram I was wondering if all sides were pony-walls. They are not!

The pony wall framing is adequate, The header table in chapter 5 lists the allowable span on 2- 2x6's for a header supporting a 20' clearspan floor supporting floor and roof as 3' 11" so you should be fine there. The window dimension and height from floor gives me pause. I know this is technically a crawlspace. Have you explored dropping the sill as low to the block wall as possible and making those as tall as possible for egress just in case?

Good suggestion Don.

Thanks Don and John.
I will redesign with the largest awning windows that I can. Sliders don't work well for egress it seems.

I also found out that the trusses I will be getting will be 16" engeneered trusses 19-2 OC (19 and 2/10 inch). I assume I should frame the studs in the pony wall to match the trusses (i.e. 19-2 oc)?

I have also decided to change the way the walls/sheathing will be done.
Originally I was going to have the studs, sill plate and trusses line up flush with the outside wall, resulting in the sheathing being outside of the block,  per this diagram:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/floordetail.jpg)

But because I this would have created some exposed sheathing on the sides of the pony wall framing I have decided per the advise of the building supplies people to have the sheating flush with the block. This alows me to install any trim work right against the sheathing and block:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/floordetail2.jpg)

There are diagrams at the TJI mfg. website.  They show something like this:


All of the floor structure, including the rim joists, rests on the sill plate.  In your diagram, you don't show the rim joist directly, but do show the non-structural Thermax resting directly on the block.  They show the Thermax inside the rim joist.  The reason to have the sheathing extend (overlap) the block is minimize water weep.  I think it depends on what you plan to use for final siding on that section. 

With engeneered floor trusses there is no rim joist at the end of the joist.
They are tied together something like this:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/floortruss.jpg)

If I add the siding and trim to my diagram it would look like this:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/floordetail3.jpg)

I missed that.  I was thinking TJI's.    d* d*  I am surprised there is no rim joist, as they add much of the side/lateral strength, but I don't know enough to comment. 

Here are some diagrams from an engineered truss system, but it might not be applicable:

http://www.ufpi.com/literature/ojtech-77.pdf

In your diagram, the trim block and siding overlap should keep the water running down properly.

Insulating between the sheathing and the sill does not make a great connection between the sheathing diaphragm and the sill/foundation plate. Your 2x band is acting as the rim and that is also floating out there on the foam board. Those solid ties can be pretty important for your lateral bracing in wind and earthquake conditions. What if you took out the foam board, made a solid well nailed connection and then did a spray foam for both rim insulation and air sealing?

You do not need to have the framing of the pony wall the same as the truss spacing. Check locally but I'll bet you can use 16" o/c framing with a double top plate. Makes the sheathing layout work better.

I just found another article - a builder indicates that if you ever plan to add a deck or any other structure off that side of the house, add the rim joist now, or there will be no place to attach to in the future without a lot of work.

Thanks guys.
If I increased the sill plate to 2x8 and moved it out to within 1/2" of the block wall, that would provide better support for the sheathing?
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/floordetail4.jpg)

That would improve the bottom connection. I like to put the sill flush with the foundation and let the sheathing go outside the foundation wall and hang down about 1/2". Then the floor and wall framing is the same size as the foundation. This decreases errors and increases (slightly) the interior floor area.

Here's the typical layout:

(http://www.world-housing.net/uploads/101324_082_15.jpg)

Note all the framing that is nailed to the sheathing and tied into the foundation plate. This is one of the non-engineered aspects of platform frame construction that works to make things stronger.

The lack of a rim joist still concerns me. Looking at your drawing, much of the weight from above that bears down on that end does not have anything underneath it for support. Half the 2x6 wall is cantilevered in your drawing.  The band tie does not add anything downward, only laterally.

What am I missing?

For a 20' wide span a 16" tall truss at an odd spacing seems overkill. You could use an 11 7/8" I-joist at 16" o/c (ie: TJI-360) with a solid rim board supplied by the manufacture. That gives you a L/480 deflection that is more firm than code requires and you have all the advantages of standard platform construction.

Floor was pored and the exterior drain tile installed by my contractors.
I completed the pony wall this weekend. You will notice that there are no headers over the windows. This is because the truss company is building a header into their floor-truss design, allowing me to move the windows up as high as possible in my 6'6" crawlspace. I am going with web trusses instead of I-joists because I can hide all the plumbing and a/c ducts within the web and not loose any of my precious 6'6".
Trusses arrive this week and I will be installing them next weekend.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06448.jpg)

Good point about the ductwork. Project looks good and you're doing careful planning. Should be fun when you start framing!

Looks good!

My father and I made some progress today. We hope to finishing installing the trusses and the floor sheathing tommorrow:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06450.jpg)

We are off all week, and will hopefully get a lot done if all goes well.

We feel we made some great progress last week, but were completely exhausted after 6 days of work. There was just my old man and I doing the work.
This coming week the roof trusses arrive, so the plan for the weekend is to:
1. insulate the outside of the floor trusses and any outside facing wall cavities (corners and t-intersection of walls).
2. sheath the outside of the cabin
3. Install the roof trusses. Any advice on erecting roof trusses by hand?
4. possibly install the roof sheathing.

Here are some photos of our progress:
Floor sheathing installed:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06457.jpg)

1st 20' wall up. We built this as a single wall, but found it very difficult and heavy to lift.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06458.jpg)


2nd wall (27') built in 2 sections:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06459.jpg)

4th wall completed and some grading done.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06468.jpg)
The building inspector wanted at least 3-ply 2x6 from floor to roof line for extra strength against the strong westerly winds from across the lake, hence the extra vertical beams.

Great progress & view! 

We put up trusses by hand once. They were about 30', all 2X4 construction. With a crew of 6, we had them more or less in place in half a day. We first attached uprights to the gable end to rest the first truss against. We had 3 people on the ground and 3 on the roof. Hoist a truss up, walk it into position, fasten it temporarily. Each subsequent truss is attached to the roof deck, and braced to the previous truss so they won't fall down. If it's at all windy, use plenty of bracing, or you'll wind up with a pile of expensive lumber in your yard. Once they're up, you can go back and fine-tune the alignment and location. Finish tying them down good. I found that I had to push and pull the trusses to line up with the sheathing as I went- they're not as straight as they look! Once sheathed, your roof is good and strong. With our trusses, 4 strong guys could probably have set them- they were light enough that I could pick one up by myself.

looking good!!

MushCreek. Thanks for the advice on the trusses. Our crew of three managed to install the roof trusses yesterday and my father and I sheathed the walls the day before.

Today (wather permitting) we will :
balloon frame the front gable end.
Sheath the gable ends.
Install ladder lookouts.
And hopefully start installing the roof sheathing.

Here are some photos of our progress the last 2 days:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06473.jpg)

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06477.jpg)

Nice progress.    d*

We got some of what we intended to do today before we ran out of energy:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06480.jpg)

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06479.jpg)

Installing the trusses went very well. We carried them into the house (2 guys), then lifted them onto the walls upside down, slid them close to their correct location and then flipped them right-side up (3 guys) with the aid of a longer 2x4 with a fork in the end.

I am starting to plan for this weekend and need some advice on getting sheathing up onto the roof safely without using scaffalding. We will have 3 guys to do the work.
I though of having one person on the inside between the trusses leaning over the outside of the wall and having 2 people lift the sheets up to the first person.

I will also be building a ladder lookouts to give the 1' gable end overhangs:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/images.jpg)
I can install this before sheathing is installed, or install it after sheathing is installed.

Also do any of you have some good photos of how you framed your gable ends/soffits that

We were able to finish the wall sheathing and sheath the roof this past weekend.
We started installing the roof tar paper even though we did not have the ice-shield or the trim boards installed, but soon stopped after doing one side as it was too hot, plus I had not thought it through enough. I realized that it was going to be too difficult to remove the bottom 2 rows of tar paper so that I could install the ice-shield and get the remaining tar paper rows to overlap nicely.

Anyways here is a photo from the weekend (minus the tar paper):
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06486.jpg)

Some more progress made the last few weeks although the heat and humidity here in Minnesota has slowed us a little.
We were however able to get ready for installing the windows and doors this weekend after we passed all our inspections (with some minor changes).
I have lost over 20lbs since starting this project (2 months).
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/tyvek2.jpg)

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/tyvek1.jpg)

looking great!  the heat and humidity were incredible. Finally it broke... 85 has never felt so good :)

Looking good with great progress...nothing like building a house to get the old body in shape!!!

Thanks for the kind words.
I am further than I thought I would be, although I chose not to set expectations as I have normally agreed with the old saying that everything takes twice as long and twice as much as you think it would. My only goal was to have it dried by October so that I can work on the inside all winter. Unless something major happens we should be able to meet this goal.

I don't think I can continue at this pace for 2 reasons though:
1. My body is extremely tired. so far I have worked on the cabin 6 weekends in a row with one full week in there, so a total of 18 days in a 2 months.
2. Our cabin fund is running on empty, so it is time to save more before we start the inside.

The good thing is that we don't have too much more to do before winter:
1. windows this weekend.
2. siding early next month
3. rough electrical.
4. natural gas install.

Looking good, you're smokin'!

That heat and humidity really slows down the pace, doesn't it?

Alan

A little more progress to report. We took a few weeks off to recharge our batteries and are now in our final stages of drying in the cabin.
We have had electricity installed, and almost completed the siding.
We will doing the following next (in no particulr order):
1. having natural gas run.
2. fishish installing the siding (caulking and painting included)
3. bolder walls installed.
4. septic tanks installed.

Here are some photos:
Soffit framing:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC06531.jpg)

Siding:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/P1010037.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/P1010036.jpg)

A quick update.

Outside is now complete, so I will be starting to work on the inside as weather permits.
Next steps:
1. Plumb sump pump.
2. frame stairs to crawlspace/basement
3. frame internal walls.

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/cabin_onecoat.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/305415_2565839344303_1203730116_3159355_1720424762_n.jpg)

looks great!  (that was fast!)

After taking a few months off over the holidays I have started working again on the cabin.
I had been stressing about the stairs for over a month now as I kept reading that it was one of the more difficult framing jobs you could do. Anyways I had been reading, and re-reading the following 2 books:

Building Stairs (For Pros By Pros)
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Stairs-Pros-Andy-Engel/dp/156158892X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327673784&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Building-Stairs-Pros-Andy-Engel/dp/156158892X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327673784&sr=8-1)

and

Do-It-Yourself Housebuilding: The Complete Handbook
http://www.amazon.com/Do---Yourself-Housebuilding-Complete-Handbook/dp/0806904240/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327673881&sr=1-4 (http://www.amazon.com/Do---Yourself-Housebuilding-Complete-Handbook/dp/0806904240/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327673881&sr=1-4)

I also spent countless hours drawing the stairs in Google Sketchup too:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/stairs_diagram.jpg)

After all this research I found that building the stairs was a piece of cake. I guess building the stairs in my head late at night so many times paid off!!

Having my laptop with me to make adjustments to the diagram to match the field measurements was invaluable too.

Here are the results:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/Staris1.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/Staris2.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/Staris4.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/Staris5.jpg)

Looks great...real feeling of accomplishment when that plan in your head becomes reality!  Now the next challenge...railings.

Quoteguess building the stairs in my head late at night so many times paid off!!

Darn right !!!

A lot of people stress about stairs, but if you take your time, measure accurately, and do some simple math they really aren't that bad at all. Yours look great!

I will be starting on the interior walls on Thursday and I need some advice please:
Q1. When framing the interior door rough openings does one frame the opening 3/4" higher/longer than the door's rough opening height? (or whatever your finished floor thickness)
Q2. When installing the door and frame when the finished floor is not installed, does one use 3/4" spacers under the frame? Or is it better to install the finished floor before the doors/frames?

We have not decided on whether we are going with hardwood, tile or a combination of both throughout the cabin.
We are on a lake, have 2 boys and a yellow lab dog, so the chance of someone being wet or muddy is highly likely.
Q3. If you have a lake cabin/house or have a similar situation to us, what would you go with? Hardwood, or tile?

I can't say if it's the way they teach it in carpentry school, but I've always framed to R-O to the exact dimensions given on the plan, or the size that came with the door.  Then the walls/ceiling all get finished, painted, etc.

Then the wood or tile floor installed. Then the trim installed and the (interior) door bottoms cut if necessary to clear the floor. If trimming off a door the cut edge must be painted.  If wall to wall carpet is to be installed, especially if the trim is painted, then the trim is all installed before the carpet, with the base being rised of the rough floor 3/8" - 7/16" or so. Then paint, then carpet. With wood or tile floor paint or stain the trim in the garage and then install.

If the doors are all installed before the finish floor then the flooring can be changed at any later date and there is no worry about the door casing then being too short.


Anyplace there is a chance of water or dirt being tracked in we prefer tile, but then our entire house is carpet except for the M-bedroom which is wood. We assume the adults will be more responsible / careful. That has almost always worked.  ;D  Our cabin is all tile.

Thanks Don.
I will am drawing up the interior wall plan myself and have not purchased my interior doors yet (regular and bi-fold) and have been stressing over the rough openings for them.

It seems that for regular doors and bi-folds (assuming a 3/4" frame installed by me), it is safe to add 2" to the door width and 2" to the door height.
This sound correct?

Any advice too on framing a wall from floor to cathedral ceiling?
I have read a lot on this and currently plan on:
1. nailing down the bottom plate.
2. use a string & weight to figure out location of top plate.
3. Install top plate.
4. measure, cut (top cut is an angle) and install each stud 16" oc

If the top plate does not fall on a truss can I add 2x4s between the adjoining trusses and attach to those?

Here is my floor plan:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Floorplan1f.jpg)

I'd use this over a plumb bob:

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-77-189-FatMax-Self-Leveling-Laser/dp/B0007M6B9K

I bought one and it's been incredibly handy for all kinds of things (like marking ceiling electrical boxes). I was thinking I paid quite a bit less at HD than Amazon shows but I could be wrong.

Alan

A factory prehung 32 x 80 door has the RO at 34 x 82 1/2.    +2 on width and + 2 1/2 height


Sounds like a plan on the int cath wall.

The laser plimb sounds nice. Iy can be a devil of a job using a plumb bob and string on a tall height. Worls best with a helper.

I ended not buying a self-leveling laser bob as I could not warrant the expense and used the old trusted plumb bob. It is true that a plumb bob is hard to use by yourself as you need the helper to slow the pendulum down. Luckily my wife was there to help me so it was not bad.

We managed to get all the interior walls up and are pretty pleased with the results. We still need to install the cripple studs and headers for our door openings though.

Balloon framing to cathedral ceiling:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/422210_3312518290810_1203730116_3543163_1687907236_n.jpg)

Me standing in the bedroom:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/429870_3312516970777_1203730116_3543161_179473883_n.jpg)

My wife standing in the bathroom looking out through the entrance closet:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/419254_3312518770822_1203730116_3543164_1304674704_n.jpg)

Now I have to decide what to tackle next. Decisions, decisions!!

Looking good! that was a great question... and thanks for the followup pictures to help explain it. Cant wait to build some day!!

Good work on one of the more tricky problems with sloped trusses.

Milgard are specifiying only 1/2" bigger for their PVC windows

"Dimensions:
36" x 60" R.O.
(35 1/2" x 59 1/2" N.F.S.)"

for example so the rough opennings are to 1" and the windows are supplied fractional sizes to fit.

Sliding doors are the same for that company

Just have to be carefull on choosing your window and door framing lumber !

Y'all were doing so well I wasn't following this closely. There is one little problem with the cathedral wall framing. If you think about attaching the ceiling there is nothing to nail it to at the sloped wall to ceiling corner. You can nail some 2x6 or wider blocking in between the cross blocks that hangs over each side enough to nail to. I think I see the same issue on the top of the wall your wife is leaning on. I walk through the frame repeatedly looking for missing "backup" for the sheetrockers.

I'll typically set the cross blocks 1-1/2" up from the bottom edge, nail a full length "backer" of 2x6 or wider that is flush to the sloped ceiling level. Then locate the wall edge on that, snap a line, attach the 2x4 top plate to that and fill with studs.

One trick with a plumb bob if you just need to hang it and get the vertical but not the bottom is to dangle it in a 5 gallon bucket of water to dampen it.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I assumed that I needed to add some sort of blocking to attach paneling, but had not got that far yet or even thought about how I want to do it yet. Thanks for the ideas as it saves me some time or sleep (as it is late at night that I think about framing).

I will be doing the following in the next 2 weeks:
1. fill in some framing above a few of the walls
2. frame the door openings and headers.
3. I am having someone install HVAC
4. and DWV. I know I should (and want to) do this myself, but I was overruled by my wife.

I will be doing wood paneling on the ceiling and drywall on the walls like the photo below.

Anyone have any detailed photos of making and installing beams/faux beams like this?

(https://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz223/abbeap/29-January2010.jpg?t=1295992709)
From Pat's (Victoria's Cottage - Western Montana ) thread: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=9527.25

Quote from: UK4X4 on February 28, 2012, 03:31:55 PM
Milgard are specifiying only 1/2" bigger for their PVC windows

"Dimensions:
36" x 60" R.O.
(35 1/2" x 59 1/2" N.F.S.)"

for example so the rough opennings are to 1" and the windows are supplied fractional sizes to fit.

Sliding doors are the same for that company

Just have to be carefull on choosing your window and door framing lumber !

The original question was: "Q1. When framing the interior door rough openings does one frame the opening 3/4" higher/longer than the door's rough opening height? (or whatever your finished floor thickness) "

The RO reply was based on what is necessary for a prehung door.

Windows and sliding glass doors bring some differences to the picture. Swinging doors are sized by the actual width of the door; 24, 32, 36". When you add the door jambs to that you end up needing a R.O. that is about 2" wider than the door itself.

When getting the R.O. for a window or a sliding door assembly, the window measurements come from the actual measurements of the window unit, not the size of the glass. (outside dimensions of the framed window, NOT including any fins). The R.O. will then be, most often, only a half inch wider and a half inch taller than the actual window measurement.

Hey,

That's a great looking build walkabout! This is the first time I've seen it.

Thank you for posting your progress here.

I have made a fair amount of progress since February.
We had someone else do the

• DWV rough-in
• the plumbing rough-in
• and the electrical rough-in.
• gas furnace, gas water heater and A/C are also installed.

We did however do the following ourselves:

• run low-voltage wiring for speakers,
• CAT6 and coaxial for network and TV,
• installed attic vent chutes,
• R21 un-faced insulation in the walls,
• installed 6-mil and 4-mil vapor barrier on the exterior walls and the ceilings,
• and repainted/sealed the crawlspace walls so that we can later install the 1.5" foil faced insulation on the walls.

We also now have a toilet that is working, which is great as we have never had a flush toilet at the cabin, only an outhouse before we bulldozed it down. We have been 'camping out' in the cabin too which has been fun.

Here are the vent chutes. I did end up extending them twice as long over the vaulted ceiling as I wanted to get R60 in the ceiling which is 18" of blown in cellulose insulation. I did not need to extend them over the flat ceiling as there was enough space for 18" of insulation.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC00192.jpg)

Here are 2 photos of the vapor barrier and R21 wall insulation:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC00376.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC00378.jpg)

Lookin' fantastic !   ;D

That Clearwater Lake in the background per chance? For some reason I think I had seen the old place you took down. (?)
I'm in Minnetrista myself, fished about every inch of water in your neck of the woods over the years, and now working on land in UP near L'anse .... I pray I can get all wrapped up and start to clear over the summer. I have to escape this rat race here before it consumes me anymore

Close, but no it is not Clearwater, but a Muskie lake just west of Clearwater. Our old cabin used to be part of a resort 40 years ago, so maybe you had seen it or even stayed in it before. I have been up in your neck of the woods to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Park during the summer, but have wanted to head up that way to go snowmobilling. 

Drywall was delivered today. I decided to have someone hang, tape/mud the drywall for me as my past experience with dry-walling did not result in a professional looking results or even OK results. I will stick to working with wood!!

I sub contracted the drywall out and it is almost complete.
We are having to slow down again and make some decisions as to wall color,trim color, floor tile etc. I delegated these the choices to my wife, but still retained the veto option ;-)

Here are some photos from the weekend:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/drywall2.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/drywall1.jpg)

An update.
We progressed a little since the last update.
We have primed and painted the living room/kitchen and the bedroom. I also installed a faux beam and wood panelling in the living room/kitchen.

Next steps are to do the following:
cement/board and tile entire main floor
build kitchen and bathroom cabinets
tile and paint the bathroom
etc.

Here are some photos of our progress:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC00520.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC00527.jpg)

Have you considered Ditra instead of Concrete board.  It is a little more costly but so much easier to install.  Thinset layer, lay the Ditra, press or roll down and you can immediately start laying the tile.


Here is a company that I got mine from.  They have various size rolls (54 SF to 323 sf) depending on the quanity you need.

http://www.shagtools.com/tools/schluter-ditra-150-sq-ft-roll-49-ditra150.cfm

Thank you for the suggestion. I have consdered it. Is it as great as the brochures say? Or is cement  board still the old trusted way of doing tile?

I have a guy that will install the cement board for 400, which seems great for 500 or so square feet. I will supply the materials though. So at $9 a 3x5 sheet, 60c a square foot,plus mortar = approx $1 a sq foot for materials plus 400 = approx 900 before I can install tile.
For ditra it looks like it is approx 1.67 per sq foot without mortar, say $2 with mortar, before i take into account my labor/time. Without my labor it is already more expensive.

I second the Ditra recommendation - I had previously only used cement board.  On Redoverfarm's recommendation I used Ditra on both bathrooms and the mud room in my cabin - super fast and easy ... for me it was worth the slightly higher cost.  My bonus was that all of my tile is at exactly the same level as my hardwood floors... 

Btw, your place is looking great!    [cool]

If I have a 3/4" OSB subfloor would I need to add another layer of underpayment before I can add the ditra and tile? The ditra instructions show many options? Since I am doing the entire main floor I want to do it  right.
I have 1/2" durock partway in the bathroom (under the toilet) already.

Quote from: walkabout on June 04, 2012, 07:36:52 AM
If I have a 3/4" OSB subfloor would I need to add another layer of underpayment before I can add the ditra and tile? The ditra instructions show many options? Since I am doing the entire main floor I want to do it  right.
I have 1/2" durock partway in the bathroom (under the toilet) already.

Generally you can apply it directly to structurally sound OSB subfloor  But to make sure you can check with the professionals in the link at the bottom of this post.   I added 1/2" ply because I had to make up 1/2" of elevation in the rooms I tiled.  You have two options on the partially done bathroom.  1. being to use Durarock for the entire bathroom and you will have a elevation difference at the doorways.  2. lift the toilet and replace Durarock with Ditra. Options # 2 might get complication especially if you alread have the toilet flange secured to the sewer pipe.  The flanges are relatively cheap if that is all you have to change.  The Ditra is easy to install and cuts with a heavy pair scissors or utility knife.  1/4" trowel to thinset it down and the rest of your tile installation is virtually the same.  Here is a portion of my thread about the steps I used with Ditra.  I believe I used a unmodified thinset and if I recall the person I talked to said that since it was on a membrane it took a little longer for the thinset to cure as there was no wicking like in CBB and moisture is retained longer on Ditra.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3613.msg90768#msg90768

If you need any professional advice on your tile or the Ditra product these individuals will have the answer.

http://www.johnbridge.com/

http://www.johnbridge.com/product-reviews/ditra-set-mortar/

Redoverfarm,
Do you have any advice when installing the tiles over Ditra? How big an area did you tile at a time? How much of a 50lb bag of thinset did you mix at a time? etc

I have installed 70% of the Ditra on my main floor as per the manufacturers recommendation and will start installing (9x18) tile using Ditraset unmodified thinset. As you said the underlayment was really easy to install. I chose not to add another layer of ply or OSB as it served very little purpose for me as the engineered floor trusses I have were more than sufficiently rated for deflection.

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/195178_4696761496025_394351457_o.jpg)

I have also almost completed my bath/shower (will be grouting this weekend):
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/269039_4696761936036_128363271_n.jpg)

Forgot to mention the other big work we got done, and that was to insulate above the ceiling. We rented a insulation blower from Menards and spent a very hot day blowing in 60 bags of insulation. We decided we only wanted to do this once and went with a thickness that provided R60.
Be warned these blowers are large as it barely fit in our minivan with all the seats removed.

While blowing the insulation was not that difficult crawling around within the scissor trusses proved difficult for me. I might also look at the weather forecast next time too and choose a cooler day, as it got really hot in the roof.

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/282246_4173271489102_791872250_n.jpg)

As a wise old man says "it depends".  Meaning how fast can you satisfactory lay tile.  You do not want to mix up too much and have it set up too soon. I would just mix maybe 1/4 of the bag to start with and then see how it goes.  Nice thing about Ditra vs durarock is that you can actually pause your work or stop as it does not have to have a continual bond.  If you have to stop just wipe the thinset off the Ditra adjacent to the last tile laid and start again later.  I would never stop halfway through for any length of time but you do have that flexibility.

The area also depends on how much you want to bite off at one time.  I laid my kitchen at the cabin in one day. I was using 1/2 marble and seemed to take a little more pain to keep it level and the like.  Biggest thing to tile is the layout.  Have that already before you lay the tile.  If you have to stop mid stream to figure out what to do in certain areas it can be a real PIA.

Don't forget to butter your tile with a scratch coat to improve the bond.  Noticed that you are using the short side of a notched trowel.  Need to find a trowel that has notches (size to your work) on one side and straight on the other.  Making larger swipes works better and keeps a uniform thickness to the ridges. Your tile will be more even and level.

BTW If you are part grey squirell I could use you putting insulation (R30) in my house addition.  5/12 pitch 12' room doesn't leave much wiggle room especially on the eve side which is all on your belly. 

G/L

John

Things are moving slowly now that we have heat, running water a flush toilet, but we are still making progress.

Since my last post we have:
Installed internet service
Installed a internet enabled thermostat (so we can get notices of temp changes in the house and have the ability to turn the heat up before we get there)
Tiled the bathroom floor.
Finished bathroom shower tiling.
Built a bathroom vanity and mirror.
Started tiling the great room.

Redoverfarm,
thanks for the advice on the ditra/tiling. So far so good. The only bad thing is that my muscles are still sore after just spending one day on my hands and knees. I have got 160 sq foot down and another 300 still to go, so I am in for some more pain ;-)


Vanity:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/486310_4990931730097_1067013866_n.jpg)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/75278_10200148205126886_1615075383_n.jpg)

Greatroom flooring:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/460838_10200148204646874_2127459989_o.jpg)

Our first significant snowfall:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/257117_10200152294429116_2040430574_o.jpg)

Glad the Ditra is working out for you.  Yes it is a little hard on the knees.  I had never been able to get use to wearing knee pads so I just do what I can do until I can't take anymore and quit.  Start again the next day.  BTW I feel about like you as well after crawling around in the attic laying 350 sq ft of R-30 on my knees resting on 1-1/2" ceiling joist.  Only difference is that I can't stand up while I am up there.  Ran out so another 5-6 rolls should do it.  But that is another day.

Sorry I have not updated my project for a while. Took a little time off over the summer, but have made some good progress:

• Finished tiling entire 1st floor using Ditra.
• Finished kitchen base cabinets
• Just had countertops installed
• Finished and installed a few bedroom and bathroom door (still have a few doors to go).
• Insulated crawlspace with Thermax

Doors:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/IMAG0228_zpsbc182d2d.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/IMAG0228_zpsbc182d2d.jpg.html)

Kitchen Cabinets:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/468687_10201246973195401_1961733216_o_zpsc33355db.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/468687_10201246973195401_1961733216_o_zpsc33355db.jpg.html)
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1093802_10201848260587210_607796342_o_zpscdf225c6.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1093802_10201848260587210_607796342_o_zpscdf225c6.jpg.html)

Countertops:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1276512_10202093006585707_2144724300_o_zps52d4a5f3.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1276512_10202093006585707_2144724300_o_zps52d4a5f3.jpg.html)

Crawlspace:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC02409_zps6c146a8d.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/DSC02409_zps6c146a8d.jpg.html)

Started on the shed. Pretty happy with the progress after the first weekend:

Slab:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/1278767_10202166564504609_428350323_o_zps30bd9545.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/1278767_10202166564504609_428350323_o_zps30bd9545.jpg.html)

Start of the framing:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1397363_10202271126478593_402331731_o_zps306f3881.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1397363_10202271126478593_402331731_o_zps306f3881.jpg.html)

Ridge beam installed:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1400486_10202278393140255_2003290302_o_zpsbcf90e5a.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1400486_10202278393140255_2003290302_o_zpsbcf90e5a.jpg.html)

Some rafters installed:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1147774_10202279974859797_443619634_o_zps919c08ad.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1147774_10202279974859797_443619634_o_zps919c08ad.jpg.html)

Pretty able ridge beam given the relative size of the shed. 

Yes, I thought it was an overkill for a 10x18 shed, but I worked with the inspector and he wanted either double 9.25" LVL or a single 14". Single 14" was less expensive.

Found a great article/video to help cut the rafters. Worked like a charm:
http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2012/11/09/common-rafter-framing/ (http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2012/11/09/common-rafter-framing/)

Load and especially span call for impressive looking beams. When the span of a beam doubles, the bending force that the beam must resist quadruples.

A little more progress before the snow and rain made it too uncomfortable to work.

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1399806_10202328576434806_1840212471_o_zpsf544873e.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1399806_10202328576434806_1840212471_o_zpsf544873e.jpg.html)

Also a nice view of the fall colors from last weekend:
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1381263_493145877449630_503571595_n_zps34e33e97.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1381263_493145877449630_503571595_n_zps34e33e97.jpg.html)

More progress.
I passed my framing inspection, so I can now move onto the siding. Hoping to finish before the heavy snow arrives:

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1383823_10202376334868737_584655977_n_zps50420574.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1383823_10202376334868737_584655977_n_zps50420574.jpg.html)

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1399165_10202418234756208_444776483_o_zps201353b4.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1399165_10202418234756208_444776483_o_zps201353b4.jpg.html)

(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/1073249_10202447505807966_1401113465_o_zps40112769.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/1073249_10202447505807966_1401113465_o_zps40112769.jpg.html)

I completed the siding. Painting will have to wait till the spring.
Rollup door arrives next week, and I will install it over Thanksgiving.
(https://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/home_walkabout_usa/Cabin%20rebuild/IMAG0276_zps91d1d58c.jpg) (https://s677.photobucket.com/user/home_walkabout_usa/media/Cabin%20rebuild/IMAG0276_zps91d1d58c.jpg.html)

looking good! [cool]
Looks to be we may all still squeeze in a few more weeks yet this fall....sure been a roller coaster on temps hasn't it.
Wonderful year for color all across UP and northern MN and WI for sure....put on 2971 miles wandering around the backroads all across area over 3 plus wonderful weeks of truckin' around. Even managed to sneak in 9 days in the tent all told - man I love the fall!  Makes the skeeters in summer and old man winter all seem worthwhile. By March I'm saying never again and then it all begins anew and I realize I wouldn't trade it for any other place in the USA ! ;)

WOW Eye popping fall colors in that photo.  Maybe some day we will get up that way for that. 

Sure fells good when the inspection is done and you can move on.   [cool]  At least you will be undercover to put in the door  ;) no matter what the weather brings.