A timber frame cabin memoir

[caver]

JJT,

They have options if engineered drawings are needed but not required in my build area. Since my previous response my project contact at Legacy sent this photo he found online which just shows two top plates with no header. He suggested I give him a call today which I will and hash it out.

 

[bullbreaker]

No expert here , been enjoying thread . Dabble in T frameing for years . Always been an interest of mine . Have a good arsenal of Barr and Robert Sorly tools [chisels , slicks , draw knifes ] etc . Anybody lookin to get a good draw knife on the cheap Geodore OX makes good ones from Germany. They make the larger STIHL axes and mauls and STIHL just rebrands them with there colors . Thanks for starting thread . Keep it a coming ! ....

 

[geteh]

A ten foot basement, ok 8'9", sounds great!

The short bolts on the sills in the drawing make me wonder what the tornado specifications are for your area. (Having lived places with tornados, wind, and earthquakes, I prefer to go a little on the cautious side during construction as the marginal cost is usually close to zero in the big picture.)

How is the drainage on your site?

Looking forward to the progress!

All the best,

Peter. SpotifyPremiumAPK

I’ve seen Avrame and MADi, both of which I like but have more of a sleek polished finished than I like. I much prefer the unfinished wood aesthetic and don’t need a premium finish or price. Is there anyone over here offering kits like that? Or any tips on searching for them? Also, I like the looks of these Cabins. They say they can be made fully residential with building reg friendly options. Any thoughts? Anyone used anything similar? i appreciate that while the building itself appears fairly reasonable costs will soon mount up with installation if needed, fitting out with electrics, plumbing, connecting services etc. But are these viable options? Am I barking up the wrong tree/timber build?

 

[ponytug]

I’ve seen Avrame and MADi, both of which I like but have more of a sleek polished finished than I like. I much prefer the unfinished wood aesthetic and don’t need a premium finish or price. Is there anyone over here offering kits like that? Or any tips on searching for them? Also, I like the looks of these Cabins. They say they can be made fully residential with building reg friendly options. Any thoughts? Anyone used anything similar? i appreciate that while the building itself appears fairly reasonable costs will soon mount up with installation if needed, fitting out with electrics, plumbing, connecting services etc. But are these viable options? Am I barking up the wrong tree/timber build?

Where do you want to build it?

 

[caver]

I am back to working on this thing part time but more focused on getting my current home on the market. Taking the advice of many to just sell as is. There's a few glaring things I want to deal with and then have a realtor lined up to look at it. I did some research and she's one of the top sellers in this part of the state. Having a handyman deal with a few ugly drywall issues and a bathroom cabinet that will be replaced. So at the cabin I had a well driller come by. I should have a well in 2 months or less. He can work me in he said since his step brother lives nearby. I want to hire a couple guys to use a telehandler and get the upper south wall studded out, sheathed and house wrap. I also talked to my dirt guy to have some initial septic done...clear some trees. My backhoe needs four cylinders rebuilt and the front motor mounts replaced or I would do some myself. I will say a mini ex is more agile on the hilly terrain with lots of small trees.

 

[EddieWalker]

You have a lot going on!!!

My advice for selling a house is to have at least 5 realtors come by and tell you what it will sell for as is, and what you should do to increase what you can get for it or sell it faster.

Sadly, most realtors will just agree with everything you say just to get you to sign a contract with them. The good realtors know what people are looking for, and what turns them off. Usually the things that hurt the sale of the house are things that offend the person selling the house. Nobody wants to hear that their style, taste or choices were bad.

A good realtor will look at the house with fresh eyes, no emotional attachment, and tell it like it is. I've worked for a lot of sellers that took their realtors advice, and almost all of the work I get hired to do is painting, removing wallpaper, changing lights, and new flooring. A house that has been on the market for years will sell in weeks after it's been cleaned up. While I'm doing my thing, the homeowners are packing up their "stuff" and hauling a bunch of it to the dumps.

Never try to sell a house with stuff in it that you are going to throw away when it sells!!!!

 

[caver]

The agent I plan to use will come and look at it in the next month. My biggest concern is if we don't get a home flipper I may have to get a new roof put on as loaners and insurance are real picky about stuff like that. I should have sold during covid but coulda shoulda woulda. Skyrocketing lumber prices made me also hold of on my cabin start. Could I do some of the handyman stuff myself? Probably but I HATE finish work and drywall. I don't mind hanging it but finishing it...uggg This guy does painting too and I hate painting. I'm moving most junk to a storage unit. I want minimal in the house for what I need for basic day to day living. I did forget to mention I found a better source for Andersen windows and have my basement door and two windows on hand. It took a month to get the windows made. This area lumber yard has been great. No dealing with the dummies and just pure incompetence at the box diy stores and often he beats their prices.

 

[caver]

I heard these are good screws for vinyl windows. Something about recessed bit allows you to loosen screw and fudge window into level. I can't find them except amazon in way bigger quantities than I need. I painted my window jambs and will try and mount the basement windows next time I go over. I may just get some regular flathead screws. Andersen says minimal 1.5"

 

[Gator6x4]

I heard these are good screws for vinyl windows. Something about recessed bit allows you to loosen screw and fudge window into level. I can't find them except amazon in way bigger quantities than I need. I painted my window jambs and will try and mount the basement windows next time I go over. I may just get some regular flathead screws. Andersen says minimal 1.5"View attachment 3540918

That is a KREG Screw. Home Depot has them.

Kreg - Self Drilling Screws - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified Kreg Self Drilling Screws products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Hardware Department.

www.homedepot.com

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Enjoyed reading about your home build. It brought back lots of memories as I was the GC for my 2600' Log home. The glass front looked similarly to yours with 4 6' glass and the trapezoid type windows, and a wing on each side.

In my case I had someone build the crawl space foundation and a contractor stack the logs and put the plywood on top, I hired a roofer.

That is when I took over and did as much as I could while working a full time job. I hired an electrician and a plumber to keep me in code I and my BIL were the grunt laborers, running pipe, setting fixtures, running wires. I hired a sheetrock company as one room had 23' ceiling. Used stained tongue and groove boards for the great room ceiling.

Mine took me 18 months to complete from the time they dropped everything for framing it in on 6 tractor trailer loads. The day they came I had rented an outdoor forklift, it had just rained and was getting stuck. WHEW... But it got done (I think the truck driver helped get me unstuck.

Man was I ecstatic to get the CO. Unfortunately even though I got the CO I didn't complete some things that weren't required to get it. I was in it for about 5-6 years before I finished some parts.

Like the hickory hardwood floors, flooring the attic to be able to store stuff.

I learned so much about building a house. Prior to this I had never seen a house build before. I saw some framing but never did it. I had never seen or done any tile work, very little plumbing or electrical work. I read a lot, watched some tapes (yes before you tube was a thing, about 1999) and asked a whole lotta questions.

In hind site I wished I had finished it completely before moving in.

I'm impressed with your grit. It takes that to keep moving. Keep up the great work and know we are all cheering for you!

 

[caver]

Yes if I had to do this all over again I would have burnt my last years vacation on contract or checkups before I retired. Legacy has a builder they work with who can erect them and get them as far as you want but they were 6 months booked out. Anyway I would have sold my house and just moved to my cabin. But i wanted to DIY major parts of it. Juggling two homes and the cabin being about 120 miles away makes it difficult at times. I had an old back problem flare up in January so for two months I did not work on it then 2 became 3 became 4. When I neighbor rented her cabin to me over a year ago that was so helpful. Once I'm living over there progress will go quick. I looked into a log home but went this route. Putting about 30 rough cut 2x8's up in the loft area was kicking by butt. I could only get them so high on the backside with the tractor. I had an IBC tote cage on my forks. I would put a half down boards on there then cinch the load and raise as far as I could go. Then get up on my scaffolding and slide them off one by one. You can see two bundles here and there's another out of sight.

 

[civilian]

I heard these are good screws for vinyl windows. Something about recessed bit allows you to loosen screw and fudge window into level. I can't find them except amazon in way bigger quantities than I need. I painted my window jambs and will try and mount the basement windows next time I go over. I may just get some regular flathead screws. Andersen says minimal 1.5"View attachment 3540918

I have never seen that recessed diameter under the head. On Kreg screws or elsewhere. That smaller diameter under the head I assume allows the window to adjust some when you back the screw out a tiny bit. Did you try Anderson themselves? Jon

 

[caver]

That's what I read in some forum but they seem hard to find so production may have ceased. they were made by GRK. These are too long but this is the screw.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VCGASU/?coliid=I1K9PHLZ16GIB3&colid=3P14HTE51SK9F&psc=0&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[JJT]

I heard these are good screws for vinyl windows. Something about recessed bit allows you to loosen screw and fudge window into level. I can't find them except amazon in way bigger quantities than I need. I painted my window jambs and will try and mount the basement windows next time I go over. I may just get some regular flathead screws. Andersen says minimal 1.5"View attachment 3540918

I use deck screws and fender washers. Overkill I know. The manufacturer, (Pella) calls for roofing nails.

 

[EddieWalker]

I use Hardie Screws for windows. I like the coating on them, they have a bigger head and shank then regular deck screws, and I always have a bunch of them in my truck. Probably 99% of the windows I've removed have been installed with roofing nails. Very few of them are sealed in anyway. I use caulking around the window, then tape them to the house wrap.

It's amazing to me how much money people will spend on new windows without realizing that they are not sealed, and some of the gaps are so big that they fill up with leaves!!!

 

[caver]

That's the plan. Tape and caulk except no caulk on the bottom to let any water that gets in a way to leave.

 

[caver]

A short couple days putting basement windows in. First one went easy, second one fought me and the door...well that concrete guy didn't put the bracing on or check his walls after he poured them. I would guess over an inch out of plumb top to bottom and my 4' level has been babied. I put the hinge side level and thought how will i trim this out down the road? This door had no trim flange and I mounted it almost flush with the inside. Part of said juts make it flush with the wall but now the threshold is glued down. This will bug me. I've been looking online for like a Schlage deadbolt and entry handle all three (actually 6) keyed alike. I hear you can order them from build.com and say you want them keyed alike. I may talk to the local locksmith tomorrow so I can get a lock on that door when i go back. Currently that concrete wall will not have any siding but I have considered some fake rock type panels. Those used to look janky many years ago but now you have to be right up on it and still think it's rock. I found some 1.5 inch GRK screws and tried out Eddies suggested Big Stretch caulk.

 

[ponytug]

A short couple days putting basement windows in. First one went easy, second one fought me and the door...well that concrete guy didn't put the bracing on or check his walls after he poured them. I would guess over an inch out of plumb top to bottom and my 4' level has been babied. I put the hinge side level and thought how will i trim this out down the road? This door had no trim flange and I mounted it almost flush with the inside. Part of said juts make it flush with the wall but now the threshold is glued down. This will bug me. I've been looking online for like a Schlage deadbolt and entry handle all three (actually 6) keyed alike. I hear you can order them from build.com and say you want them keyed alike. I may talk to the local locksmith tomorrow so I can get a lock on that door when i go back. Currently that concrete wall will not have any siding but I have considered some fake rock type panels. Those used to look janky many years ago but now you have to be right up on it and still think it's rock. I found some 1.5 inch GRK screws and tried out Eddies suggested Big Stretch caulk.

Thanks for this thread. It is fascinating to read.

Good luck on the door. That would bug me, too.

If it were me, I'd pressure apply a bonding agent to that crack above the non-hinge side of the door. (E.g. Sikadur crack repair kit.) I have the concern that the crack will get worse with time.

Some of the faux rock panels that I have looked at are plastic, which I personally wouldn't use on a gorgeous house like yours, and some are cement. FWIW: James Hardie makes a faux shingle siding panel, and it can be applied over a couple inches of densified insulation, e.g. rock wool.

All the best,

Peter

 

[caver]

Good eye. That crack showed up maybe a couple months after the pour? I was considering anchoring a piece of metal across it. As you said it will likely get worse. There was plenty of rebar so something shifted. Having poured foundations during the summer as a teenager working for my dad this guy had some weird ways of doing stuff. I have to pour 3 -30" piers about 10' out for the deck on this end of the house. I already have the Sonotubes for it. I'll do that myself with a helper or hire someone else.

 

[dstig1]

You can buy a kit at Menards/HD for a few bucks (very cheap) that can rekey up to 6 locks to the same key. It will be a new key, that comes with the kit, but they will all be the same. Your locks all have to be the same type, typically Schlage or Kwikset patterns. It's not hard but it is tiny parts and delicate, so you need a nice clear spot over a floor where you can find tiny parts when you drop them (no shag carpet or gravel...). Tweezers advised. I went and got a full kit from Amazon for $35-40 to be able to add a couple more locks to the mix.

And yes, if you order multiple locksets from Build.com at the same time they can key them alike on request for free. I just did it in fact. I gave them a key code number from our current keys so we could reuse all our existing keys without having to change anything.

A locksmith will charge you $50-200/lock depending on if they come to you or you come to them.