The Last Detail

unsightly gaps

Ever since I installed the siding there was a bit of an ugly unfinished quality to the edge which is exposed when the roof is open.

From the first look I decided this could be covered with something like a piece of gutter. I checked around the hardware store but didn't like the fancy profile on gutters made for homes and they would leave a wide gap outside where all sorts of bugs might call home.

What was called for was something with a simple look that fit tight. I checked with a metal worker next door but he didn't have a large brake, tool to bend sheet metal, so I held off hoping for someone with a good one.


Well a year has passed and no connections came through, I suppose I could have called a gutter installer and asked for two 8' sections and pay handsomely if they would bother with a small job.

Recently I signed up at Make Nashville which has a nascent metal shop and therein I caught the brake I needed. This one is only capable of doing 30" sections but this was the opportunity to finish out that last bit of aesthetic that bugged me for so so long. With a ten foot roll of aluminum, the same I had used on the awnings, I was ready to wrap this up.

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After breaking bad(ly) the finished pieces ready to load up!

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First I foamed the gaps on the edge then ran a string of foam straight down the edge. Slapped on the first piece and fastened it with some fat head screws. Repeat for each piece and then adhered weather stripping all the way down so it will help seal the wall to the polycarb panel when closed. I think this really turned out well.

seal the gaps	slap on a piece	layered up
add weather strip	nice seal to the outer panel	supervisors

Video: Opening the A-frame cabin

How quick and easy it is to open the wall panel with the gas struts I added. They support 150 pounds each, so I don't even need the props but still use them so the struts will last a long time.

TWO YEARS!

Looking back at the blog it was two years ago that I started the base. It was fun building and more fun to hang out in for the past year and something. We keep camping overnight, I have done a two night stay at least once. Wish I'd made hash marks for each night camped, I have no idea how many times now.

Observations:
I would not change much of anything on my build. It suits my place and needs very well. A solid foundation is crucial to any building large or small, my piers have done well but some settling occurred and while I've shimmed and jacked a little bit it seems the span under the door sags so it sticks a bit. I really need to get more support in that area.

The pallets. As a sub floor I think they are working very well. I'd use them again on a similar project (and have!) even the ones that stay exposed outside are holding up well. I never even coated them for weather proofing since screws where used I can replace them with similar sized pallets anytime. I wish I'd used better pallets there, the middle one kind of has a gap to it that is problematic.

Someday the pallets will weaken due to exposure, when that comes I will probably fill in those three feet with a regular deck.

The ugliest part is where water drips under the panel that lifts. Could a better design keep more moisture away? Could I use a different material for that bit of the floor? So far the outdoor rated plywood is holding up fine but discolored. I can trim the last few stained inches out with a circular saw and replace it with a composite so water and weather will never be a problem.

The best afterthought I've had is the rubber I used to seal the flexing area between the fixed roof and the panel that raises. All I could find suitable in hardware stores was a rubber shelf liner. That holds up well but a better plan would be some conveyor belt material from an industrial supply house. Even used conveyor belt would probably hold up for years in this situation. Being heavier I think would lend to it sealing better than this flimsy liner and the belt comes in long rolls. It was tough finding the liner I used in one piece because I didn't want seems.

Well two years in - who knows how what will happen in the next two years.

Before I sign off I must give a shout out to Joe Everson and Deek again! And everyone in the builder, creative community.

I think expanding the dimensions was better, at least for me. The cost was marginally more. I wouldn't dig climbing and sleeping in the loft like Deek did. Hammock is more my style and by having the extra distance between the walls that worked just right. I dropped the sky light idea early on and don't regret it. Maybe in some humid area it would be useful but it adds a lot of complexity to building and many saw strokes to materials. Also by going wider it made the loft taller. For me it means extra storage, we keep an inflatable mattress there but I still prefer the hammock.

I hope others build and share their thoughts. I have one friend who is now planning to do an A-Frame at his place.

Cheers!

pegs

For storing things I've installed several hooks under the framing and a couple of screws in the wall that work well for light items such as a broom. When I show up with a duffel bag for overnight something a bit sturdier would be better so I picked up a big fat dowel and a paddle bit.

First drill a 7/8th inch hole at a downward angle

cut a dowel down to size

insert into the hole

two for the back side

example: holding a bucket of tools

Table

She says we need a table because cooking breakfast on the deck isn't working to well, so I set out for a plan that won't take up much space and I came up with a fold down table. Simply putting a hinge against the wall was easy but then how to prop it up? Folding legs could collapse and leave breakfast on the floor or worse. Someone suggested a rope or chain and that seemed like the best fit for my situation here. Just unhook it and the chain hangs out of the way. Possibly the chains could be used for something else when the table isn't needed.

second chain in the works to make it twice as strong

close up

very functional

down and out of the way

profile

Now what can I do for flooring that won't break the bank?

awnings

If one noticed in my last post they saw that I'd cut a pallet at an angle. This was to give it a slope to become an awning. One above the door and the other above the window. I bought a ten foot roll of aluminum and cut it to fit, for the rear window some left over roofing material was used.

covered

I've neglected blogging for over a month, shame on me. That doesn't mean I haven't been hard at it, we've had a lot of good weather for sure.

In the last post there was still some uncovered plywood, I managed to paper that and also the other side. After that I completed all the siding front and back.

With a bit of help from Nick I've widened the cross bracing inside to make it a foot wide shelf. 

 Above he is breaking away ice that built up and kept the wall from opening.

Here's a shot of me after I completed the backside planking a week later, you can see how the cedar color changed already, above the window is fresh red wood. It was a bit chilly and you can see snow in the lower right

Next up I've cut a pallet to become awnings over the window and door. They were mounted using six inch screws and a lot of patience.

sideline

With all the roofing done, or so I thought, it was time to begin covering the walls. When I first started this project I was going to cut pallet decks down to shingles and do the walls with that. I did cut some down and will use them somewhere but it would take far more pallet shingles to cover a 12' x 13' triangle than I have time to scrounge up on this project.

Nearby is a cedar mill and while the half inch siding there will cost more than pallet wood it has the wonderful benefit of being insect resistant. And the smell is very nice too. Eight foot planks are only three dollars for B grade so I'll be able to cover both walls for less than $200. Below I am getting started and you can see the flip-up roof open.

scaffold ladder is so handy!

There was a little oopsie with the Tuftex panels and that is my fault. Running out of daylight last time I had screwed down the ends but not had time to fasten across the top and it seems the wind must have gotten strong and popped the middle one out. Only a tiny piece tore off the corner that overlaps the next panel so I was able to salvage it. If it doesn't work out I can unscrew the panel and replace it with a fresh one any time. In fact the whole cabin has been screwed except for the roof, I went with the nails recommended by Ondura for their roof.

Flooring, my friend has some left overs from work and it it'll cover the whole 120 square feet then I'm all set!

I started totaling up receipts last week and if I have all of them it looks like I've topped $1000 now. Not too bad in my opinion and I'm about 90% done building, maybe $200 away from completion.

Sunday poured rain all day so until the next good weather - cheers.

An Epoch

Dry-in, stage two is complete wahoo!

It has been a few weeks since posting, some rough ones in the middle where weather was decent but health was not.

First some catch-up -
Dec 26
Seems I've been a bit lazy in my posts and so I should mention that my good friend Rod came out post Christmas and helped me install the door, make some skilled cuts and also get plywood started on the roof. Following the New Years Day post weather for the weekend cooperated and I got 30# felt installed on all the roof albeit with light rain going on so I had to do this under the blowing tarp ending the day with a tar-paper shack.

Jan  11
A few weeks later on the 11th my father-in-law helped me get the front and rear walls sheathed and frame in the flip up roof. Big feature of that day was installing the pipe through the wall which acts as a hinge for the flip up!

Scooter supervising cuts

3/4 pipe gets inserted

and a leg is installed for the flip

And here is how it looks with the tarp on the convertible side

Back to the present -
Saturday there was snow but the temp was heading toward 50 so I was eager to get out after being cooped up and ill. I was able to get most all the Ondura roofing on. It meant tromping in constant mud on the uphill side but a couple of cold toes couldn't slow things down.

My figures left me one sheet shy of completion where I'd needed to have one cut into 24" pieces to complete the last gap. Sunday was promising to be another fine day but I was tapped out on funds until my lovely bride came up with some extra and away I went!

Happy to report that all roofing is done and all the building needs is cedar siding on the front and back walls. Everything else will be the basic interior.

Tuftex panels complete the shell just as light rain comes in, the wall is
halfway lifted up here so I can screw in the bottom of each panel.

At this point it was good to feel like a complete structure. No more worries about weather ruining things means not being pressed for time even though every hour has been a joy. The wall is easy to raise and takes a couple of steps to ease it back down into closed position.

Transition from upper roof to flip-up wall	Just beyond tar paper shack
	Above Left: Rubber shelf liner will bend in the gap Above: Finishing roof panels Left: Convenient built in hangers all around The weather was nice on this day but in the summer a mosquito net will go around the  open deck.

This is how Sunday started. No more tarp after this!

Buddy decided it was warmer if he hung out in this corner.

For the next step I should be visiting the cedar mill for planks which will complete the outside shell, stay tuned for that.

Happy 2015

Waiting to be unwrapped for a days work

I got  up early and made some progress. Also the A-frame had it's first visitors today, Nicole and Mark dropped by to check it out on their way into town. It was nice to have a bit of a break.

Report for today is that all plywood has been attached to the roof so things are looking pretty solid! On the backside I sawed  the roof so it tapers in from the top and there is little overhang at the bottom. Just an odd aesthetic thing I went with.

Here I am at the top looking down as I fasten the ply to the ridge beam. Try not to get vertigo LOL

 

Not much to really show in pictures just more plywood, besides it was too dark to get pictures when I called it quits for the day. After dark set in I plugged a light into the generator and was able to install the window then clean up a bit.

After all that I spent the next day looking at roofing options. Metal barn roofing seems like an obvious choice but there is a newer product that appeals to me; Ondura.

I  think cutting the vinyl-like Ondura will be better than snipping or sawing metal. The tapered roofline on the back would make for 14 noisy feet of sawing on metal and it would leave the edge to fix up some way so sharp edges wont cut people or snag things.

One additional benefit is that Ondura comes in six foot lengths so it will be easy to carry to the site and it won't bend leaving creases like tin does. Cost-wise it came in a few cents cheaper per square foot than metal roofing.

Also picked up were spray foam insulation and 30 weight roof felt.

upwArd

Last week was spent doing a final layout, marking and cutting the rafters (which are also walls for an a-frame). More tedious than anything so not much to write about.

The rafters are complex cuts since I need the angle at top cut and then also notched to accept the beam. Then the bottoms need to be cut so they are flush with the floor. Seems pretty simple but those two angles are twelve feet apart and need to be right or else I have to haul another very long board out and that is a delay on everything that I don't need.

After all that I only had time to haul the wood up to the site and then the door which is very heavy and required some improvisation to get way uphill without breaking. But I made it!

How to move a large door with a small trailer

So this weeks installment is where things start to come together, uprights and framing begin and we finally it begins to look like a cabin.

       Plenty of helpers today.                              Getting 40# sheets of plywood up the hill took some ingenuity.

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	I couldn't have done any of this today without a great assistant! (left) Standing 2 x 6 lumber at an angle is no solo job. She's good with a drill too. And tying off a rope to support a frame. And lots more. (right) A Jenga-like move to support the beam on an upended pallet and spare pallets stacked to make a work platform. (below left) mating the rear frame up took a couple of tries. All the bracing is temporary until next time when more wall pieces firm things up.
ready for side braces	The work site with the generator working nicely today, it'd be a bear to do all this without it.	measure twice, cut once

She got the best shot of the day.

After getting all four corners fitted with gussets it was time to close up shop.

Snow is forecast for this weekend so I can't plan too much unless that changes.