onthecoast
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# Posted: 13 Dec 2020 01:37am
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Hello all,
I recently went in with some family on a remote property off the coast of BC. It is 25 Nautical Miles from town, by water, and we are in the initial stages of planning a cabin. There are three couples, and two babies on the way, and the plan is, long term for a large group cabin, or a few small ones close to a central hangout cabin.
For now, we want to quickly put up a 14x20 or so cabin to make the property usable over the next few years. Heres where I have come up with a few questions, and it seems that the people on this forum might be able to help with (found this forum last week and have landed on it numerous times now).
Q-1)
I want to make the most of the small space, and have a loft. My plan is to run 10' studs, and frame in a floor around 8'. With the 2' knee wall upstairs (I guess it is an upstairs not a loft) and a 12/12 pitch, I think we will have adequate headroom to make it usable space, even with some collar ties. I am fine with 6.5' upstairs and 7'-7.5' headroom downstairs. The question is, should I balloon frame it? If so, do I "Let in" a 1x4 ledger as I have seen in some diagrams, then set my joists on that and nail them in to each stud (2x6)? Or do I just attach a ledger to the inside face of the studs and compression block/use joist hangers? Another thought would be torun a beam across the centre and frame pockets for it to sit in, same on each end, then joist over, but I'll lose 6-8" of height somewhere doing this.I would build to 8' then put a 2' knee wall on top, but I don't want to create a hinge point in the wall with a stick framed roof, am I going overboard?
Q-2)
Being in Northern BC, materials are very expensive. Then transporting them 25 miles by water adds to that cost, as well as logistical headache,
but there is a small remote town of 20 people only 5 miles away, and there happen to be a few small mills, so this is where I will be acquiring our building materials. I planning on sheathing the walls with 1x6 or 1x8. Should I be running these boards on a 45 for racking? will that make much difference, and even if not as strong as ply, will it do? Or could I get away with just strapping horizontally and doing a board and batten? I will want building paper, so I could see trying to paper over strapping to be a pain.
Which brings us to question 3.
The plan is a 12/12 pitch, with tin on top. Rafters on 2' centres. If I just strap with 1x4 for the tin, can I paper that somehow? Mainly worried about the condensation. Or are we better to just sheet the whole thing, roofing felt, or full peel and stick before putting the tin on? We will eventually insulate the inside, but it may not be a right away thing.
Q-4)
Putting a floor down, I do want to keep things to a minimum. With 5/4 x6" boards, if I run them through my router table with the tongue and groove bits, can I get away without a subfloor? I'll be running 16" centres most likely, but may try to stretch to 2'.
I have quickly come to realize how a "small cabin" can get carried away. Visions of timber framed joinery, ever expanding dimensions, and many "maybe like this" moments. But we are trying to keep this first build simple and relatively quick. Any of your advice and/or suggestions is greatly appreciated!!
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