Dec 2013

Cabin Build Pt 5. Under Cover!, 9th Dec

This weekend, we hit the roof. I have deviated slightly from the planned schedule of works but while the weather is with us, thought it would be nice to get the project under cover.

First job Saturday morning was a 3 hour round trip collecting the materials for the weekend’s work; once this was out of the way we could get stuck in.

The rest of Saturday was spent cutting the waterproof chipboard and chalk-lining the tile lines onto each board as they were cut on the trestles; it’s easier to do it here than on the roof as water proof board is very slippery, even at only a 17 degree pitch. By two o’clock we were ready to screw all the panels in place and managed to get the last one fixed about half an hour before it got dark, phew!

Sunday was purely fixing the bitumen tiles, 460kg of them to be exact! With William on the ground passing them up to me on the roof, we managed to fix about two thirds of the total area leaving the last third and all the bonnets over the hips to be cut and fixed next weekend.

External joinery is also under way with 2 of the round windows built and ready to fit into the studwork in the kitchenette area. The eighteen 4 inch perimeter posts which will hold the rope fence around the decking are also being housed out and varnished ready for fitting to the main deck very soon……. We’re getting there!

Dec 2013

Cabin build Pt 4. Finishing up the Exterior Framework., 2nd Dec

This week saw a lot of finishing up of the exterior studwork including the toilet/gas cupboard wall.

On the roof, the rafters were cut back and the facia boards fitted. The front door area was finished up ready to take the door frame and inside, the framework to carry the ceiling was put in place, this is also additional bracing for the roof and helps to stiffen the whole upper structure even further.

The roof is now ready for its covering and final measurements have been taken to start making all the external joinery next week.

Nov 2013

Cabin Build Pt 3. Outline Structure Really Shaping Up, 25th Nov

Despite the volume of rain we have seen lately, the project is still running on schedule; there’s no better way to slow a job down with time spent covering power tools up constantly instead of cutting the timber!

This weekend we have managed to get the doorway opening set out and the bulk of the roof framework in place. It was really pleasing to feel the whole structure become rock solid and square itself up after the 6 hip rafters were fixed in place; this is exactly how I had designed the structure to work, with lots of triangulation.

Next weekend, the plan is to finish up the roof structuring and complete the studwork on the last of the external walls which will partly house the toilet area and gas cupboard. The Toilet will be set in a room which projects slightly into the decked area (the perimeter walkway).

After this comes making all the external joinery such as windows and front door. Three of the windows are round and one is a panoramic rectangle. The front door will be arch topped, again with a round window in it. These should keep me busy for two or three days working on a bench indoors out of the rain!