12x16 in NE Texas

[lee5267]

After lurking here for a few years I have finally been able to start my cabin.  It is 12x16 and based on the the pictures in bishopknights thread that can be found here http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=4569.40 .  I started the build over my Christmas break using the panel method that I learned here from Cody's thread http://www.countryplans.com/cody.html.  The wall panels were completed during my time at Christmas and I also got the foundation holes dug and filled with iron ore gravel from the dry creek beds on our place.  The soil is practically 100% red clay so I am hoping that the settling/shifting will be kept to a minimum with the overkill I did on the piers for the foundation beams.  So far we have spent about  $2500 to get it dried in with the 5v-crimp metal roofing, door and windows and I expect about another $1500 to get it completed.  The cabin building has been the easy part, the hard part will be trying to figure out how to post pictures on here for all to see.









Lee

[Micah]

Looks great Lee. Any chance at some pictures of the inside? I would love to hear about the "panel" method. I'm gonna have to pre-build alot of my cabin at home and would love some input on how to do it.

[Sassy]

I like how you're doing the siding - looks nice 

[lee5267]

Not sure if I have any inside pics. The only thing that has been done inside is about 3/4 of the loftfloor. I plan to make the inside layout very similar to the link of the cabin in my first post.

As for the panel method it worked great. I essentially drew up each panel layout before I built it and went from there. You end up using a few extra studs but at two dollars per 2x4 in a small cabin the money is very little compared to the ease of construction. If you look through Cody's thread you should find exact instructions for how to use the panel method but if you can't find it I will describe it again and give specifics about how I tied all my walls together with the top plate.

I hope to complete most of the inside and the rest of my outside trim by Sept or Oct but baby number 2 may not allow. My cabin is 5 hours away on my parents place.

Lee

[lee5267]

I have some time so I'll try to explain how I did the panel method my way.  I'll start with a basic panel that would be one of the inside panels as they are the easiest to describe compared to a panel at the end of a wall.  I started by cutting my 2x4's and making the frame first, and then I put the 1/2 inch plywood over the top and nailed it on while ensuring everything was square.  For an inside panel you want a 1.5 inche plywood overlap at the top and bottom. This allows for the sill plate on top and some drip overhang at the bottom as the plywood overlaps the floor joist.  Therefore you want your vertical studs to be 96-6 inches tall or 90 inches to allow for the plywood overlap just mentioned and the 1.5 inches each horizontal 2x4 will take up.  For the width we'll pretend we are working left to right.  The horizontal 2x4's need to be 48'' long or an equal width with the 4x8 sheet of plywood. Then on the left side of your frame you want to place the plywood on top so you have half of your vertical stud showing, so that will be a 3/4 in. underlap I suppose which will also give you the same size overlapp on the right side of the panel.  Once the plywood was fastened to the frame I then put in my stud in the middle to give me 24'' O.C. studs.  For the end panels everything is essentially the same but on my 16' side walls I made the ends flush with the plywood which meant I had to have lots of overlapp on the 12' end walls so that the end stud on the 16' side wall wasnt showing.  To figure this overlap for the ends of the 12' walls you take .5 in for the plywood thickness and add in the width of your stud which was 3.5 inches for me, so I needed a total of a four inch overlap for my end panels on my 12' walls.  You will still want your 3/4 in overlap on the panels in the middle of the end walls just like the side walls so a little careful figuring is all it takes to figure up the width of those horizontal studs.  For instance if you were working from left to right on my far left end wall panel, the left side of the panel would need a 4 in. overlap (to cover the showing stud on the end of the 16' wall) and the right side would need the 3/4 in. standard overlapp for the center end wall panel.  Therefore your horizontal 2x4's need to be 48- 4.75 inches or 43.25 inches wide.  Then the middle panel for the end wall would be the door opening or just one of the basic panels mentioned above.  Then the far right panel on the end wall would need a 3/4 in underlap on the left side and 4 in overlap on the right side to cover up the stud showing from the 16' side wall.  You can do the math from there.  If you have a door in the middle of one of the walls like I did you just remove the 3/4 overlap or underlap and make the plywood flush so that framing the door will be easy.

The reason I did it this way with the large overlaps on the end walls instead of the side walls is because I wanted the end walls to tie in with the side walls so that any outward push on the side walls would be putting a shear load on the nails instead of just pulling them out as would have been the case if the overlaps had been reversed.  I felt this would be stronger since the side walls are taking all of the roof load.  Like wise for the top plate I made sure that the end wall top plate was a full 12ft wide so that it tied the side walls in so that again any outward push of the side walls resulted in a similar shear load. 

I really cant praise this system enough.  In one day my dad and I went from concrete piers to having all the walls up with loft floor joists installed.  We essentially had the cabin roughed in within 3 days with the metal roofing on leaving only the gable ends left to close up. 

I hope this helps anyone interested in the panel method.  It worked great for me. 

[Micah]

Thanks for going into such great detail. I printed your post out for future reference.

[lee5267]

No problem Micah I'm glad I could actually help someone trying to do the same thing  . 

I know there have been some requests for more photos or pics of the inside but I just havent been able to get any more done since it is 5 hrs away.  My dad is getting the wiring in ( he is an electrician by trade) and hopefully get some insulation in so that I can come up once and get most of the interior done to some extent so that we can enjoy it while we are home for the holidays.  I should have some more pics up some time before thanksgiving.

Lee

[lee5267]

Update...

I recently got a chance to go work on the cabin some more and got some more pics mostly of the inside.  More of the outside trim around the door got completed as well as the loft floor going in.  The bathroom walls were also installed  and the entire inside is now insulated after much itching and coughing (dont ask).  Most of the inside walls are also covered with various materials to give it some character.  The short wall to the left leading to the bathroom is a little sheetrock to break up all the wood.  The front wall where the door is has been covered with the rough cedar just like you see on the outside gable ends (very cool and smells great).  The right side and back walls are covered in 1/4'' oak plywood to be stained later, which I used for the sake of time just to get the inside mostly finished.  Before I made it up to work on the cabin my dad had wired everything so that I could get all this accomplished.  The last night I was there my dad and I put in a laminate floor that came out looking really great and I hope should wear well.  It isn't a wood floor per se but at 0.58 per sq ft after my military discount and the local box store I couldnt go wrong and I am really happy with the feel and looks.  I am going to be going back for Thanksgiving and will hopefully get the inside gable ends finished, the ceiling covered, as well as some siding on the bathroom walls and a homemade bathroom door.  I am still looking to come in with a completely finished cabin under 5k and maybe even less than 4k.  Enjoy the new pics and look for more around Thanksgiving. 

God Bless






















Lee

[Barry Broome]

I'm thinking about building a 12X16 myself. I've been debating on if it will be large enough. We won't be there much and most of the time we would be outside anyway. When you get some time will you post some more pictures? I'd like to see more of the inside.

Barry

[lee5267]

Yeah, you can expect more and better quality pics around Thanksgiving.  If I were to do it over again I would definately rethink the loft.  I really like the loft and the cathedral ceiling look but in reality I would have probably been better off to do two 12x12 shed roof cabins or there abouts with a dog run between them with a nice sized deck.  One 12x12 for cooking/eating with a fold out couch and the other as a master bedroom of sorts.  The build would have been ten times easier overall and I feel it would have been just as functional.  Although there is much to be said about the aesthetics of a steep gable roof on a cabin.  Another thing about the loft and cathedral ceiling is that it makes for a lot more area to heat and cool even for a 12x16 you basically have to account for 400 sq ft instead of the 196sq ft footprint.  The loft and steep roof also account for close to half of my build time thus far due to the intricacies that both entail. 

  At any rate there should be more pics up soon and I'll probably even take some video and put it on photobucket with a link to it in a future post unless we have the ability to post video here on the forum as well???  Anyone know about the possibilities of posting some video?

[Barry Broome]

You can post videos on here but I'm not sure how. I've seen others do it.

[MountainDon]

Read this over here in Forum News....

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=11405.0

[lee5267]

Here are the updated interior pics.  Getting close to only needing trim inside.  We did the cathedral ceiling with old (free) rusted corrugated tin.  The rough cedar on some of the walls and the old tin look very rustic together which is what I was looking for. 


















If you have any questions please let me know, I will be happy to answer.  Personally I would love to fix this place up and add on, and live in it full time but the wife is smarter than that.  Maybe it is a potential retirement home??

Lee

[Jaggers]

Good pics Lee, hoes it looking now?

[lee5267]

The cabin is basically the same except the outside is weathering nicely and I added rough cedar trim to the inside. I also finished the gable ends in the same rough cedar.

Three kids and  a full time job with lots of long term travel makes it hard to get much done. The cabin is basically a dry cabin still since we can cook and use the bathroom/shower at my parents house. My wife isn't real interested in finishing out anything else since I built some bunk beds for the two oldest kids and we sleep in the loft. I have been building other cabinets at home so I'm hoping to build my own in the next year or so to make it easier to have cookouts and stuff at the cabin with a campfire and stuff.

I actually just got back from a short trip but we mostly fished in the pond and shot some of my guns.

Here is an updated pic of how it has weathered. I may end up pulling the trim and adding some T-111 but t so far so good.

[lee5267]

Here is my latest cabinet I could modify to add a sink. It is made from scratch and still needs drawers completed. I'm making it to store China at home.



Here is what the cabin overlooks which is the closest bank of our 5 AC pond. Fishing usually keeps work to a minimum if the weather is nice.

[dablack]

Looks like the cabin turned out to be exactly what you needed.  Good job of actually getting to the point of using it.

Cabinets look good too. 

Austin