20x30 in NE Wisconsin

[pmichelsen]

... and not ONE trip to the home center required in that time!

Now that's a real accomplishment! I remember some early work trips where it seemed I was making daily trips to the supply house  .

[Nate R]

10/10 and 10/11: With the ladder set overhangs, there were parts of the roof sheathing that didn't have enough support. I knew that, and had bought H-clips, but kept forgetting to put them in when I was sheathing those parts of the roof!     So, I cut 1/4" off some 2x4 chunks so I could wedge them in, and put solid blocking under those seams of sheathing.

I decided to use the "hybrid" detail from JLC of flashing my roof/drip edge/fascia. This protects against ice dams backing up AND bulk water. The downside was that I had to have the fascia in place before the roofing went on.

https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/roofing/drip-edge-and-ice-barrier-membrane_o




For fascia, I had considered my options. PVC and engineered wood were about $28/ea for a 1x8 in my area. PVC was out as I couldn't paint it a dark color. The store we purchased from offers wood boards in "standard," "quality," and "select" grades. The select was also like $26/ea for a 12 ft 1x8. The quality was $12, and the "standard" board was $8.   So, I chose to go with the $12 option. I purchased a couple extras, so we had options. This worked out OK in the end, we ended up with enough straight enough boards for less than an engineered option.

So, all the fascia had to be painted and hung. We got that done on Saturday. I used Pittsburgh Paints' "Paramount" exterior paint, and had a great experience with it! VERY thick, good coverage and flowed well off a brush. MUCH better than the "high" end Behr paint I'd used on my house trim earlier this year.  We'll see how it holds up.

Sunday, we adding the flashing tape to the fascia/roof sheathing joint, and then installed drip edging. Ran into my first time needing something offsite. ....I had nothing to cut the drip edging with. I was able to borrow a snips from a neighbor, thankfully. Saved me a trip into town. Got the drip edging installed, and then started on the ice/water shield. I'd watched a couple videos on how to install it, and thought it'd be a snap. That was NOT the case. I realized later the videos were on a 3:12 or 4:12 roof, and my 6:12 meant I couldn't roll it out without it sliding off, even with a nail or 2 tacked in. So I ended up cutting 16-18 foot chunks instead of the whole roll, and did my best to keep it straight and unwrinkled. It was cold enough on Sunday that it wasn't adhering well, either. We WERE above the manufacturer's minimum install temp (w/o primer), but still wasn't sticking great. Eventually we got it on well enough, and I moved onto the roof underlayment higher up. Finished that up as it was getting dark on Sunday and headed home.

Oh, and forgot to add we met with an electrician on Sunday. Once the power company told me it would be FREE to have power run from the pole on the road to a meter pedestal, we decided it was worth it. I should've looked into it years ago! My local inspector required I have a licensed electrician then rough in my wiring in the cabin once she heard I'd be grid-tied. So I hired one to drop the meter pedestal with an exterior panel, and then trench to the cabin, put a panel in there, and do the rough wiring. We'll pay him about the same as we would've spent on a small setup of off-grid solar panels, wiring, inverter, battery, etc.... So I'd much rather pay the monthly cost, but be able to microwave my lunch, or heat with electric as a backup, etc    So I guess we won't be off grid, but now merely a "dry cabin."  Fine with me for that price...I'd always assumed it'd be thousands for the power co to bring in power. I get the impression our local company USED to charge a LOT more for new installs....neighbor nearby went from solar panels for 15+ years to paying to have power run over 1/4 mile a couple years ago.

[pmichelsen]

It was cold enough on Sunday that it wasn't adhering well, either. We WERE above the manufacturer's minimum install temp (w/o primer), but still wasn't sticking great.

I'd almost rather have that, it was around 100 out when I did it on my roof and when the Grace got within about a foot of the roof it was stuck (not really but it sure felt like it).

[Nate R]

10/16-10/18

A big storm come through on Monday, the day after the roof underlayment went on! Fortunately, a relative was in the area Tuesday, and was able to check for me that I hadn't lost the underlayment over the ridge or anything, so things were OK. Some wind damage in other areas, so I was glad to come out OK.

I took Friday off work, looked to be better than Monday as far as weather goes. Came up early Friday morning, was about 31 degrees, and a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight. I spent Friday (alone) putting shingles on one side of the roof. Started on the side where the snow had melted off early due to sunlight. I had to be very careful with the cold, stiff shingles. Made sure not to bend/crack them, etc. The weather was NOT as forecast, and ended up getting a bit of rain in the afternoon, that turned to snow, and then a bit more rain. :-p Despite that, I was able to complete one side of the roof on Friday. (about 410 SF of roof).



My wife came up Friday after she got done with work. Cold that night, about 31 degrees where we slept.
Saturday, rain was in the forecast. It was raining when I got up, and about 32 degrees. We worked Saturday morning on a couple remaining pieces of sheathing, and put in an entry door. This door is temporary, and eventually will just be an interior door between our entryway and the rest of the cabin.
By Saturday late afternoon, the rain (and a bit of snow!) had stopped, and things dried a bit. Got a start on shingling the other side. We tried to stay warm, keeping a fire going in the firepit, but was pretty miserable being 30s and wet/damp.



Sunday, I was able to finish the shingles, and put the ridge vent on. Got a rolled ridge vent, what a pain that was to align alone, and get nailed in straight! I wish I had used the ridge vent that comes in 4 foot straight sections, but too late. We hit our 2nd missing material/tool snag....I had no roofing cement! Hadn't even thought about it, but needed it for the ridge vent install. My wife was able to run to town and get some, fortunately. So we got the ridge shingles installed after the vent was on, right as the sun was starting to set.

Phew! Happy to have the roof done! It was a good experience to do it once, but not sure I'll sign up to do it again... But that's why I'm doing this, right? I wanted to build something myself in my life, but not necessarily make a career out of it! :-D

[Nate R]

I'd almost rather have that, it was around 100 out when I did it on my roof and when the Grace got within about a foot of the roof it was stuck (not really but it sure felt like it).

Hadn't thought about the other extreme.......Yeah, good point, that might be more of a pain if it's WAY warm!

I also felt WAY better when I watched a recent This Old House and saw even the pros weren't getting that stuff down wrinkle-free. 

[Don_P]

Looks good, I'm sure you're glad to b dried in. There's really 2 good roofing days per year and I'm usually doing something else  .

[Ernest T. Bass]

Cool project! Covering foam around the foundation has always been a problem area for me as well.. You're probably not too far from where I grew in Silver Cliff WI. Moved to the UP 15 yrs ago.

[pmichelsen]

Looking good! As much of a pain as it was to do my roof, it does give me a sense of pride every time we pull up and see that roof.

[Nate R]

Looking good! As much of a pain as it was to do my roof, it does give me a sense of pride every time we pull up and see that roof.

Thanks! I'm feeling the same now.

Cool project! Covering foam around the foundation has always been a problem area for me as well.. You're probably not too far from where I grew in Silver Cliff WI. Moved to the UP 15 yrs ago.

Yeah, wish there was a better solution. Again, I think I'll be replacing some of this with the pre-coated panels from Styro. In fact, I damaged one of the FRP sections already, so I'll probably order some new foam next year already. 



10/24: With the freezing temps and no heat, my wife and I didn’t’ want to stay overnight again. We came up early Saturday morning. Collected cut shingles, plywood, plastic, and whatever we could fit into her car, and made a run to the landfill/dump, only open in the mornings on certain Saturdays. Got rid of 360 lbs of stuff that way. I've been surprised we haven't had more waste from this process so far.

 Then we cleaned some things up inside and out, got things away from the walls so the electrician could work inside.  Also patched in the last small pieces of sheathing. We put up a temporary housewrap for the winter. (Just as an extra layer of protection, and overlapped the foundation insulation so it will stay dry this winter). Cold, we headed home Saturday evening.

[NathanS]

Looks great. A good roof overhang is so important, not just for protecting the walls/openings from rain, but for aesthetic reasons.

[GaryT]

That's going to be a cool place, and a real point of pride for you and your wife.  Well done.  And always good to keep a jobsite clean!
Gary