Small Cabin

# Posted: 18 Oct 2021 10:05am
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Looks great! And even better the kids were involved!

Grizzlyman
Member

# Posted: 18 Oct 2021 10:44am
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Way to go! Looks like weâ€™re in similar spots this weekend!

# Posted: 29 Oct 2021 02:29pm
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travellerw What's your plan for stairs to access the loft area?

Tim_Ohio
Member

# Posted: 29 Oct 2021 02:42pm
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Nice looking build.

Great job!

Tim_Ohio

Aklogcabin
Member

# Posted: 30 Oct 2021 07:38am
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Nothing quite like sitting by the fire at your cabin looks nice

# Posted: 8 Nov 2021 06:02pm
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Things are moving along (super thankful for the mild fall, but set to get -10 this weekend). Its going slower than I thought it would due to the height and logistics. Sigh, I also keep finding things I overlooked (like some nailing edges for drywall, that are of course 15 feet in the air).

I have a 4 day long weekend coming up so I will see if I can get some updated shots.

but holy frogsnacks do materials add up fast. I'm just finishing the wiring and I will be over $250 in wire, boxes and poly hats. My wife just shakes her head every time she looks at the credit card and there is another $1000 on it! This is starting to feel like owning a boat again, except it should stop once construction is done!

gcrank1
Member

# Posted: 8 Nov 2021 07:10pm
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Well, it wont sink!

# Posted: 9 Nov 2021 08:21am
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Quoting: travellerw

but holy frogsnacks do materials add up fast. I'm just finishing the wiring and I will be over $250 in wire, boxes and poly hats. My wife just shakes her head every time she looks at the credit card and there is another $1000 on it! This is starting to feel like owning a boat again, except it should stop once construction is done!

Right!! It's the little stuff that gets ya and adds up quick. On the plus side, the value of the cabin will go up unlike that of a boat!

Aklogcabin
Member

# Posted: 9 Nov 2021 09:48am
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Yeppers just pecking away. But you know every board in there. And when you're done, for me anyhows, and building your own is rewarding in it own way.

Alaskajohn
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# Posted: 9 Nov 2021 09:58am
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Quoting: travellerw

Warning: It never totally stops! When the main project stops, there is always the next project. But you can get to those when the budget and time allow.

I look forward to your pics after the 4 day weekend!

TheRealPapaK
Member

# Posted: 6 Feb 2022 02:08pm
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I just signed up to the forum. I planning on building almost the exact cabin as you except 24' deep. Right down to the 2x8' gambrel rafters.

Are your walls 12' high? How did you tie your loft rafters to the wall?

I am thinking of building with 12' walls to gain more head room in the loft and was thinking of using a ledger board like you would do on a deck to tie my loft rafters 8' up the 12' wall....if that makes sense at all. I have tried googling interior ledger board etc and haven't seen anything like this.

My other idea was to maybe make a double stud wall. One that's 12' that the gambrel rafters sit on and one that's 8' that my loft joists/rafters can sit on. I'm just not sure if I need the loft joists to tie the 12' walls together to stop it from splaying out. But it looks like like you have some wide open spaces with no joists tying you walls together.

I'm still at the high level planning but it's neat to see how similar yours is to what I want.

# Posted: 6 Feb 2022 04:28pm
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Quoting: TheRealPapaK

am thinking of building with 12' walls to gain more head room in the loft and was thinking of using a ledger board like you would do on a deck to tie my loft rafters 8' up the 12' wall....if that makes sense at all. I have tried googling interior ledger board etc and haven't seen anything like this.

You cant do that for the loft. Theres not enough tieing the walls together. It's been covered in these forums before.

Have you sat down and calculated the cost of 16ft wide va 20ft wide? 20ft wide means your ridge is roughly 2ft higher above the top plate.

TheRealPapaK
Member

# Posted: 6 Feb 2022 06:39pm
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Quoting: Brettny

You cant do that for the loft. Theres not enough tieing the walls together. It's been covered in these forums before.

Im just curious because there are gambrel cabins sheds I see that have full vaulted ceilings. Even in this one it looks like a large portion is vaulted and the section that's not has joists lower on the wall.

I can also modify my rafter angle to get a bit more. I really don't want to go wider than 16' for a variety of reasons.

# Posted: 6 Feb 2022 07:01pm
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Quoting: TheRealPapaK

That is exactly it.. Those are sheds.. Not for human habitation. They are not insulated, or have interior finishings.. Different buildings completely.

So the first thing I will say, is that although it looks like its vaulted (and it is). That portion will have 3 stainless steel cables running across to tie the walls together.

Now, our walls are 10ft 2X6 studs. The upper plate is 3 2x6 laminated together (screwed and glued) to add strength (for push out). The loft floor joists/rafters are sitting on 2X4s that are sistered to the 2x6 studs. Those 2x10s are then nailed to the 2x6 studs with 6 8 penny nails on each end. The gambrel trusses are connected to the top plate with hurricane ties and toe nailing.

I suggest you go an look at the threads by both me and Will1e as we are building similar cabins. There are MANY things to consider with this kind of build (like how to insulate the roof and still have airflow). If you are planning to follow code and get permits, it will be tricky.

IMHO, it would be crazy to build a 20ft wide Gambrel roof with 12ft walls. The roof height would very high and trying to sheath and roof it would be very difficult. Mine required equipment as it is.

gcrank1
Member

# Posted: 6 Feb 2022 08:45pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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Spend some time perusing the past threads, odds are you will find lots of conversation and considerations for you to study out, then start a thread of your own to keep all your specific questions on track.

# Posted: 7 Feb 2022 10:48am
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Quoting: travellerw

IMHO, it would be crazy to build a 20ft wide Gambrel roof with 12ft walls. The roof height would very high and trying to sheath and roof it would be very difficult. Mine required equipment as it is

I built a 19' wide shed with a gambrel roof. Granted it was a shed and I only use 2x6 for the rafters. And no getting the rafters up wast easy. If I remember right we ended up walking them in up over one wall, not tipping them up like a standard truss.

# Posted: 7 Feb 2022 11:38am
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Quoting: Brettny

And no getting the rafters up wast easy.

20ft wide, with 2X8 rafters and 12ft walls. The rafter assemblies will be over 100lbs each and super long (top heavy). IMHO A picker truck or some kind of lifting equipment would be the only way to install them SAFELY! I can't imagine standing on scaffold that high in the air trying to get those buggers set and nailed in.

TheRealPapaK
Member

# Posted: 7 Feb 2022 12:53pm
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Quoting: travellerw

Yeah that's all why I don't want to go to 20'

Thanks for the info. The stainless cable was the piece I was missing. I will have my cabin engineered but I will not be permitting. I basically plan to give the engineer a design that's close so it's nice to know what I can and can't do. Even 10' wall like you did would give enough room in the loft I think.

Thanksagain for the info. I won't hijack your thread anymore

# Posted: 7 Feb 2022 02:29pm
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Quoting: TheRealPapaK

Thanks for the info. The stainless cable was the piece I was missing. I will have my cabin engineered but I will not be permitting. I basically plan to give the engineer a design that's close so it's nice to know what I can and can't do. Even 10' wall like you did would give enough room in the loft I think.

Make sure you come back and update. I would be interested in what an engineer says. Anecdotal evidence on here says they won't sign off on a "dropped loft" design. The one engineer I did speak with didn't want anything to do with a Gambrel Roof!

Just an FYI, our loft at the center is about 8 feet (ish) from floor to ceiling!

# Posted: 8 Feb 2022 08:05am
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FWIW, i would never do gambrel again. The cons (mostly related to the construction phase) in my opinion outweigh the benefits. Same goes for the 10' walls. The only thing i'm really happy with how it turned out is how i cut in the ledger board in my walls for my loft to sit on. My opinion on the roof might change as i finish things out on the inside, but right now the wounds are still pretty fresh

# Posted: 8 Feb 2022 09:22am
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Both of you did 10 or 12' walls on a gambrel? Seams overkill for headroom? If your going taller than 8' walls why not just build another story?

We are doing 20x24 with 8' walls.

You can build a scaffold with a pully at the top for pulling up trusses. Theres also a few videos on YT on how to do it with out.

# Posted: 8 Feb 2022 10:22am
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Quoting: Brettny

Both of you did 10 or 12' walls on a gambrel? Seams overkill for headroom? If your going taller than 8' walls why not just build another story?

We are doing 20x24 with 8' walls.

You can build a scaffold with a pully at the top for pulling up trusses. Theres also a few videos on YT on how to do it with out.

I did 10ft walls.

As to the second story, that wasn't the look and feel we wanted. We wanted a loft that overlooked the living room area.. and the high vaulted look in the living room! Could have got all that with a 1/2 second story and traditional roof, but then the building would have been taller than I liked (and ugly imho).

We watched a few Youtube videos with scaffold and pulleys, however they were all much shorter heights. By the time I built that at 30ft high it would have been a serious amount of work and investment. Not to mention trying to move it on uneven dirt ground. Instead, we brought in a picker truck and had all the rafters up in 4 hours with 2 guys. I was lucky and had access to one for a favour, but they can be rented for not too much money/day!

I definitely hear what Will1e is saying. The gambrel and tall walls made things a challenge.. for me, that is what I was looking for. I wanted a challenge and to end up with a unique building. Otherwise I could have just walked into one of the building supply companies and bought a "package" for a traditional building. It would have included all the plans and materials right down to the house wrap. They even would have delivered as part of the price. But where is the fun in that?

# Posted: 8 Feb 2022 12:39pm
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I went with 10' walls because we needed a loft for a space for my son. I'm 6'5 and my son who will be 15 this month is already 6'3". So i wanted him to have good headroom in the loft without sacrificing headroom in the rooms below it...or feeling like or head is going to hit at any moment for us tall folks.

I'm always up for a good challenge, however the cabin wasn't a place i wanted one. But i should have known better the second my wife got involved and turned my simple cabin idea into a small house.

# Posted: 24 Apr 2022 07:01pm - Edited by: travellerw
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I haven't posted updated pics in a while.. A ton of work has been done since then. All the "rough-in" work is done and we started finishing. Both the bedroom and bathroom are now painted. The plan was to get those rooms finished first, then finish the rest. However, with spring here we will probably just bring the trailer out and start living in that.

Things are coming together now and we are seeing our decisions paying off. We really like the location of the bathroom as it will be easy to pop in from the fire to use the facilities without walking through the whole cabin. We also decided that the loft was too small and have extended it. This also helps with wall tie in, as there is now only 8ft of untied walls. With triple 2x6 header I may leave it that way or possible just add on piece of stainless wire.

Anyway, here are some photos.

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# Posted: 24 Apr 2022 07:02pm
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More..

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paulz
Member

# Posted: 24 Apr 2022 10:57pm
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Looking good. Until I realized the second photo is sideways I thought that was some kind of wall heater.

# Posted: 25 Apr 2022 07:00am
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Looks great!
How do you like those Baker scaffolding? I have never used them before. Can you move them easy enough stacked 2 high with no wheels?