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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / floor questions
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BossLog
Member
# Posted: 9 Jan 2014 09:36pm
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Happy New Year from Canada!
As I get older I find I am spending more time at my 900sq.ft.cabin in the fall and winter.Have been doing this for 20 years and am getting tired of the commute.This summer I want to build a 16'x12' work shop.I spend a lot of time working on projects and a small wood stove heated shop would be a benefit.Can you tell me......the heaviest thing will be a small stove and I want to know if 2x6 joists spaced 16"oc would be beefy enough or do I have to go 2x8?I'm using 6x6 concrete deck pads for the corners and every 4 ' in between with xtra support under the stove.Packed foam insulation on the joists with vapour barrier on top of that covered with 1/2" osb sub floor(should I use 5/8 ply instead?) 2x4 wall studs ,fibre glass insulation and vapour barrier.1/4 ply sheeting on outside walls and cheap paintable panelling inside.Shed roof,,,spacing of joists and what size? Roof will be covered with ashphalt shingles.I have made the windows and door,have the stove and just about ready for the end of May.Any ideas,suggestions,thoughts would be appreciated.
thank you all very much
Grant

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 9 Jan 2014 10:01pm
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I guess you mean for the floor joists, right? A twelve foot span is a bit much for 2x6 on the floor. But you can run a girder down the middle, reducing the span to 6 feet.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 9 Jan 2014 11:04pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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For the roof, what is the snow load? Can't figure much w/o that. Geographic location is you don't know the PSF. But for an axample 2x6 #2 DougFir on 16" centers can span 12feet for a 30 PSF snow load but that is stretching things, IMO.


For the floor... 2x6 #2 of common species are only good to 9 ft or so at 16" OC. 2x8, 16" OC can do 12 feet. Those are calculated using 40 PSF as average floor load. To my mind using 2x8's is simpler than running a center beam.

Use 3/4" for floor if 16" OC joists are used. Use T&G OSB or T&G plywood and you can skip the vapor barrier on the floor.

I would recommend 7/16 or 1/2 for exterior wall sheathing. 1/4" or 3/8 don't have a structural rating most of the time, because they are not stiff enough. Also be aware that not all exterior panels are structural... case in point, LP makes some 4x8 sheathing with the faux wood grain look that are structural and some that are only cosmetic.

Shingles... what pitch to the shed roof? Shingles have a minimum pitch requirement. Low pitches (under 4/12 as a rule) need double layered roofing felt.

beachman
Member
# Posted: 10 Jan 2014 06:27am
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I agree with MtnDon. Too long for 2x6. I built a shed just the same size (in NB) and I used 2x10 hemlock for the joists 16"oc. The floor is rock-solid. I build my own roof trusses with 2x6 at 16" oc and a 12 12 pitch. I tied them in with 2x6x12 and made a storage loft. I have not regretted this. I left about 4ft clear just off the middle of the shed for good access to the loft with a ladder. Gives me a small loft on one side and about an 8ft long loft on the other. It hasn't moved an inch in 5 years.

old243
Member
# Posted: 10 Jan 2014 09:10am
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Did I understand that you were putting plywood under the floor joist . I don,t know if you have porcupines in your area. We had a plywood floor in our camp the porcupines almost ate through it. They love plywood. We put used roofing steel on the bottom. This keeps them out. old243

BossLog
Member
# Posted: 11 Jan 2014 03:31pm
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Thanks Guys for all your info,advice and experience.Will probably be back at a later time to pick your brains again.
Grant

rockies
Member
# Posted: 11 Jan 2014 05:28pm
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I always seem to be the voice of doom lol. By a workshop, I'm guessing that you will be doing wood-working out there? Are you running any big items like planers, table saws, sanding machines? If so, I wouldn't want an open fire inside a wood shop. The fine dust in the air can build up to the point that there is a flashover and a fire can start, or an explosion. This is what used to happen in old grain elevators when the wheat dust comcentrations built up too high. One little spark and BOOM!
I would consider an indoor furnace in a separate small outbuilding. You can run radiant tubing to all your buildings from it and then heat them, plus get free hot water too. Also, since the furnace is within a small building itself, you don't have to wade through snow or stand in a blizzard to load or clean it.
I am looking at the Empyre Elite 100 from Profab.

http://profab1.org/product.php?id=1

The "100" is the smallest, plus by having it out of the shop you get more space for projects.

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