The Great Cabin Erection!

(I'm already regretting the title...   )

I've been spending some of my evenings after work for the last month or so prep-ing a spot on the hill above the orchard for a cabin for myself. I was going to take some pictures earlier, but nothing much has changed since I've been digging the holes and pouring concrete piers for the foundation.

Here's a single pier. There's a rebar cage inside the concrete to add structural integrity, and a less-expensive post-base stuck in the top to hold the beam:



I'm finishing it rather piece-meal as even though I usually get off work by 3 or so, that doesn't leave me much time to get home, set up my tools, and get some work done before it gets dark around 5:30 or so.

Slow and steady though! I'm done with 6/8 now of the piers, and have installed a rim joist/support beam combination along the top of the four piers on one side. It's a muddy mess currently, as we've just had flash-flood rains come through yesterday, and the clay really sucks up all that moisture:



The "glulam" I made from pressure-treated lumber, plywood, construction adhesive, and a bunch of nails; mounted in place:

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Part of the view from up there, looking down-hill. You can see our former Christmas tree on the left, and one of the eucalyptus groves illuminated by sunlight in the background.

That must be quite a fulfilling task. Hope you get far enough along this winter to use it.

Why is there no grass between the piers? Looking at that mud I'd think you'd want to leave it as long as possible.

There used to be a small run-down "green-house" (stick-frame with old plastic over the top) on that same area that I dismantled and hauled away, and I then leveled the area to some extent, which covered over what grass remained with fresh dirt.

The mud is unpleasant, but it wasn't going to stay fresh grass very long anyway with my walking all over it with working anyway.

That looks like it's going to be a nice sized cabin Forest!  Are those piers set at about 6'? And I don't see a road in the pictures. Are you packing stuff up by hand? Looks like a fun project!

I can imagine that's gonna be a really cosy cabin ! Chucking lots of shingle into clay helps break it up, settle it & lets the water run off. I hate that thick claggy stuff that sticks in huge clumps to yer boots. Where's your view going to be ? looking out onto those trees ? Fire behind you, veranda ? This is the sort of out doorsy project I could get my paws dirty with. Good luck Forest

I absolutely adore cabins, they fascinate me and I always walk in them kind of slowly, smelling the wood and feeling they are magical places. There is a café bar near me and they have an outdoor cabin or shed, they use for extra space, its got a lovely atmosphere and I can sit there for hours just imagining I am in an Alpine doofer. In Summer it smells of pine and in Winter it smells of Christmas. The Alpine people call them Stube, and they sometimes have stoves.

David H wrote:That looks like it's going to be a nice sized cabin Forest!  Are those piers set at about 6'? And I don't see a road in the pictures. Are you packing stuff up by hand? Looks like a fun project!  

I have been packing stuff up by hand, yes. It's... a lot of work! I finally got my brother around to hauling up a pallet of concrete bags last week with his skid-steer. I'm anticipating having to carry a lot of the lumber up from the parking lot down below: about 80 feet or so.

I've been rather... small-scale with this project. I'm doing all the work myself (until it comes to some of the trickier framing stuff) while at the same time trying to keep the price down. For that reason, I didn't go quite that deep with the piers. They're only about 2 1/2 feet below the soil level. It's still a sturdier foundation than the yurt here has, and that thing's stood there for 14 years just fine, so I'm not stressing about having shallower-than-usual piers.

If they start sinking haphazardly I'll update with pictures!

It is quite fun now that I'm starting to get past the concrete. I mean, I love the smell of concrete, and it's satisfying to work with, but not nearly as much as when you start getting into the carpentry of it. I just spent the afternoon making myself some sawhorses, and putting together the other "glulam".

Mrs Figg wrote:I absolutely adore cabins, they fascinate me and I always walk in them kind of slowly, smelling the wood and feeling they are magical places. There is a café bar near me and they have an outdoor cabin or shed, they use for extra space, its got a lovely atmosphere and I can sit there for hours just imagining I am in an Alpine doofer. In Summer it smells of pine and in Winter it smells of Christmas.

I'm hoping I can give it a little more personality without it costing too much. At the very least, I'd say a touch of Norse design for the siding and roof is a must.



I'm planning on a steep roof and tall walls anyway to accommodate a partial loft on one end and a tall ceiling on the other.

Azriel wrote:I can imagine that's gonna be a really cosy cabin ! Chucking lots of shingle into clay helps break it up, settle it & lets the water run off. I hate that thick claggy stuff that sticks in huge clumps to yer boots. Where's your view going to be ? looking out onto those trees ? Fire behind you, veranda ? This is the sort of out doorsy project I could get my paws dirty with. Good luck Forest

Thanks, the mud is horrible, I agree! Of course most of the year the soil around here goes the other way and becomes as hard as a brick during the dry season.

Very cool, Forest! Hope you'll keep us posted as it comes along.

I read the title of the thread and was worried where you were going with this Forrest but it sounds like a interesting little (or large?) project, keep us posted as it progresses

(I'm already regretting the title...   )...........Forest.
Well, yes You said it At first I thought this was going to be a tale of guile & cunning, braces & bustles ( on or off, who knows ? ) The sort of innuendo that we've come to expect from a certain antipodean........

The work carries on apace!



Here are the floor joists, ready to go in.



I put another pier support in the middle of the floor to help hold up some of the interior framing for the loft. It's overkill, but my brother had a bunch of left-over concrete from a project of his, so why not? (I can't put in the vertical piece of 4x4 until the concrete dries, if you're wondering how two metal prongs not touching anything is supposed to hold up a floor joist. )



And one on each end wall in the middle, to help bear the weight of the wall and roof. I wasn't sure I needed these before, which is why I put them in after all the main piers were already done.



I got all of these joists for free from off of one of my boss's jobs. It wasn't quite enough to hit 16" on center though, so I had to order 6 more. They haven't arrived yet, so I guess the next step is to get all the under-floor plumbing done. Not my area of expertise, so it's going to be a bit of a headache I imagine!



And it's raining tomorrow anyway. So it'll probably be an inside day.

You look like you have the makings of a very nice erection there, Forest. I'm keen to see more of it as it grows.

Orwell would

I'm impressed by the size Forest, I never realised how much hard work it is erecting these things, Its staggering the effort that goes into it. You are going to be so over the moon when its finally erected, standing tall & proud I know I would be .........

{{ I had an erection once but it fell down the first time I tried to use it }}}

This thread reads like a comedy script.

This thread reads much like the rest of this forum !  We are the muckiest minded bunch going !
Many a time ive had wood in my hands, only just this week I was busily screwing some........................

....................And I made a rather nice bird table to put my bits on

{{Very important to have somewhere secure to put your bits on - when I tried that the poor birds got nothing as the squirrels had already made off with my nuts Cunning little devils can get up anywhere }}}

I've worked with hammer, nails, screws and wood before. It can take a lot of whacking to get wood erected. Then comes the endless screwing. At least the whacking is a rough job that one can usually do by ones'self. But getting everything properly aligned for the screwing is usually a two person job. Doing it right takes a fair amount of discussion at first. Three people would be better but then the discussion is better described as endless negotiation and it just never seems to happen.

there's nothing worse than nut nibbling squirrels flipping gland grabbers!

{{This is very unfair- we should be talking about Forests magnificent erection although he doesn't appear to have quite got it up yet }}

halfwise wrote:I've worked with hammer, nails, screws and wood before.  It can take a lot of whacking to get wood erected.  Then comes the endless screwing.  At least the whacking is a rough job that one can usually do by ones'self.  But getting everything properly aligned for the screwing is usually a two person job.  Doing it right takes a fair amount of discussion at first.  Three people would be better but then the discussion is better described as endless negotiation and it just never seems to happen.