finished my cabin roof

[kawalekm]

When we bought our property two years ago I inherited an unfinished block building the previous owner started to construct. *He poured the foundation, raised the walls, put in doors and windows, but did not roof it. *We decided this would be our first major project after first planting our orchard trees. *I started by looking through construction books to decide what style I wanted to build (and had the ability to build). *I showed a rough draft to an architect friend and he showed me how to read rafter and joist tables to build the building according to code. *I then took my finished drawings to Home Depot and ordered my materials. *I was surprised that they could drive an 18 wheeler 20 miles up my dirt road and they only charged 100$ for the whole delivery. *I got the roof started on the fourth of July weekend. * http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/startingtheroof.jpg *Not much got accomplished that weekend. *Gradually weekend by weekend I added joists, attic flooring, rafters, and plywood. http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/puttinguptherafters.jpg * http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/layingtheplywood.jpg I put down a steel roof and put in the windows. *Here in the Sierra's the fire danger is very high in the dry season, and metal roofs are standard around here. http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/metalroofing.jpg. *Lastly, I put 4 foot windows at either ends for light and good ventilation. http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/puttinginthewindows.jpg *I'll be finishing up trim this weekend and putting in a few more roofing screws to maximize wind resistance. *I'll be putting the same metal siding on the window walls as the roof, but for now it's water-tight enough for a light rain.

[scoutinlife]

Kawalekm Wow that looks great!!!! You should be very proud of yourself!!!!So will you be moving to the cabin or is it a getaway retreat? The scenery looks beautiful!!!!Look forward to seeing future progress and good luck with the building process!!! ;D

[Wise_Tioga]

Kawalekm,

Looks good and you should be proud, however in the Sierra foothills I would want to wrap the metal roofing around my trim and under the eves for additional fire protection.

Best wishes,
J.W.S.

[kawalekm]

Right now we are in the process of developing the land and don't live on it yet. We have a five year plan for its development and paying off the mortgage before we would actually live there. We'll be installing a woodstove next, and then running water inside the building. We have about 50 trees in the ground, but it will be a few more years before any start bearing. For now, its our weekend retreat.

I will be adding trim to the eaves shortly. I am finishing the roof walls with the same metal sheeting as the roof and will also be adding a sheetmetal sofit and drip edge. That should make the building as fire-tight as possible. The last thing I want to do is make a 5 foot gravel perimeter around the building so a light surface fire would be held back.

[scoutinlife]

That is sweet thanks for the info and good luck to ya kawalekm keep us posted of the progress look forward to watching you progress!!!!! ;D

[clawhammerdan]

Looks great! :D

[kawalekm]

The roof is on but that's just the end of "Stage 1". Once I buy a woodstove, I'll be opening up the roof again for the chimmney. Then all the work inside begins. The next major project is to plumb the well-tank water inside the building and have a complete bathroom with a tub, sink, and toilet. Unfortunately, the previous owner build the bathroom dimensions to the scale of the 8" concrete blocks, and the interior horizontal space is only 57". This means that standard preformed bathtub assemblies measuring 60" will not fit.

To complicate things further, I'd also like to install alternative drains to collect greywater, and use everything besides the toilet for orchard irrigation. I'd like put in a master valve so that everything can be directed to the septic system when I don't need the water, or I don't want the bother. I expect to have lots of free time because this will be so simple to construct, so why don't I add a solar water heater at the same time: just to keep me busy!

[desdawg]

You may find a tub that will work for you at a mobile home supply place. They didn't always use standard 5' tubs. Your project is looking great. Keep up the good work!

[kawalekm]

There's a big RV headquarters one town to the north of me. I might be able to find what you suggest there. There is another thought I've been thinking of though.

Home depot has several prefab fiberglass bath inserts that you just pop into a 60" space. One of them is a single piece tub/shower combo. Like the rest, it's 60", however, the maximum dimension comes from a "support lip" formed at a right angle along the edges of the fiberglass body. It looks like if I trimmed off the "lip" with jigsaw, that would reduce the overall dimesions to 57", what I need. The walls of the shower stall and tub would be supported directly by the block walls, so maybe the "lip" would not be required. I would only have to come up with a practical way to cover over the very unsightly saw edge.

There would be no space to run the piping to the tub and shower, so I would have to run the pipes on the opposite side of the inner bathroom wall and then go straight through the blocks to attach the fixtures.

[tufhelp]

We were in the Lowe’s the other day, kinda window shopping for the homestead home we’ll soon build. We are considering a whirlpool tub. (Lindawoman wants some relief for the ole’ “ritious” brothers” that visit her…) In that section of the store we ran into a kind of corner jet tub, that set kind catty corner and did not have as large a foot-print as the common 5’ tubs – more like 4 to 4 ½ feet. Might be woth a look.

[desdawg]

Your drywall laps over that lip and keeps the moisture out of your wall cavities. Cutting it off may cause you problems. The other thing is you may chip the tub while trying to cut it. Just a thought.