September 15, 2019 – Porch roof framing in section three continues today with the installation of the ceiling joists. The joist installation process is the same as it was in section two so I’ll keep this post short.
After setting eleven ceiling joists in section three I started the solid bridging installation.
Ceiling joists and solid bridging.
I ended the day a little early so that I wouldn’t be to late getting back home. Next weekend the porch roof framing in section three will continue. I will be finishing up the solid bridging and starting on roof rafters.
September 14, 2019 – Exciting day today! This morning our new sliding door was delivered! It’s a Pella 350 Series white vinyl door. It’s the first new door in the cottage since October of 2000. At that time I had to replace the front door because of a break-in.
While we waited on the delivery, we removed the old living room screen door, metal door, and frame for the last time. These went immediately into the dumpster. Good riddance.
When the delivery truck arrived we got the door up onto the porch. We unpacked it and gave it the once over. I was worried about the door delivery because of the rough condition of the cottage road. Thankfully, none of the glass had any cracks.
New sliding door up on the porch.
Before we set the door, I prepped the threshold with Pella flashing tape and caulking / sealant.
Prepping the threshold for the new sliding door.Temporary framing, screen door and metal door removed. Opening ready for the door.
We set, plumbed and fastened the door in place. Everything went very smoothly. It looks great!
Door set into the rough opening.
After the frame is fastened, Pella tape is placed around the door jambs and head to seal the flange to the building wrap. This makes for a water and air tight installation.
Inside view of the new sliding door.
We will complete the inside door trim when we finish the interior of the cottage, some time in the future.
Thank you to Troy for his help getting the door off the truck, onto the porch and installed in the wall. I am very grateful!
I finished up the day installing some more hurricane ties and rigging up a string of temporary lights. Tomorrow I will be continuing the porch roof framing.
September 08, 2019 – Today is renovation day 100. A milestone? Anyway, we continued the exterior wall demo in front of the bathroom. Late in the day I was able to start the roof framing in porch section 3. It was a pretty good day.
There is no more wood rot in the front wall! This morning Ryan and Robrandi removed the siding from the exterior wall in front of the bathroom. All of the oak planking in this area looks good. The last section, along the back bedroom was repaired way back in June of 2018.
Exterior wall demo Continues.Oak planking at the bathroom.Tinnler Roofing on exterior wall demo.
I forgot that the deck spans as we near the back bedroom are slightly greater than 8 feet. One is 8′-8″ and the next is like 8′-4″. I previously purchased 8 foot long 2×10’s to use in the porch beam construction. Obviously they are short and won’t work. While Robrandi and Ryan headed to out to get me some longer boards I continued the exterior wall demo along the bathroom.
When my team returned with the longer 2×10’s I built the next two porch beams. We installed them atop the next set of posts, plumbed them up, braced them off and called it a day. Next weekend I’ll start the porch ceiling joists and solid blocking.
Porch beams in roof section 3.Building wrap on the exterior wall at the bathroom.
September 07, 2019 – Up early this morning. Lots of fog on the river. After our morning coffee at the lookout, I continued the plywood roof deck installation that I started yesterday.
Fog on the Juniata River.
The new roof has a low pitch so the plywood roof deck is not difficult to install. The hardest part is getting it up onto the roof!
Plywood roof decking in progress.
Although not show here, between each row, I place metal deck clips to help support the plywood edges.
The Lookout from the new porch roof.
I like to chalk line the rafter locations so that I know I am hitting each rafter as I nail down the plywood. Not every carpenter does this, I’m just anal.
Chalk lines to guide the pneumatic nailing.
Early in the afternoon I finished the plywood decking and immediately started to roll out and nail down the roofing paper. Because the first roof section we completed had 15 lb. felt I rolled a layer of 30 lb. felt over top. We had a pin hole leak at one of the plywood deck joints.
Gyeem Raj-Du-Kamar nailing down roof paper.
I worked a bit late but managed to get the entire section covered with roofing felt. We now have two porch roof sections dried in. Tomorrow we will start the third section. Hoo Raw!
September 06, 2019 – Yesterday I completed the roof rafter installation on the first span. Today I am continuing the roof rafters on the second span. The second span runs fron the mid span knee wall to the ridge of the existing roof.
First span roof rafters complete.
The roof rafters in the second span must connect to the existing ridge board. In order to gain access to the ridge board I need to cut and remove sections of the old oak roof planking. With the planking removed I can fasten the new rafters to the ridge with galvanized joist hangers.
Holes in the existing roof to access the ridge board.Second span roof rafters in progress.
Tinnler (Tinder?) Roofing
As I am installing the rafters, one of the “Tinnler Roofing” employees is stripping the shingles from the next section of roof. Man that Tinnler (Tinder) Roofing is really great! I think their slogan is “Get a Date and Go Up On a Roof” (or something like that).
Tinder Roofing on the jerb!
With the rafters in the second span complete, the plywood decking can be installed. To cover this section of roof we need 12 sheets of plywood. Since we are not keeping a large stockpile of material on site, once again we are off to the Lewistown Lowe’s.
Second span roof rafters almost complete.Lewistown Lowe’s for a load of roof deck plywood.
We got back with the plywood but the sun was on the way down. I only got two sheets installed before we had to quit for the evening.
Roof decking installation.
Tomorrow I will complete the plywood roof decking and hopefully the roofing felt. This will dry in this section and we can move on to section three. When this section is complete we have two more identical sequences to finish the new porch roof. Our goal is to complete the roof structure and hire a “real” roofing contractor to install the metal roofing material. We will see how that goes.
September 05, 2019 – The ceiling joists are complete. The next step is to construct a mid span knee wall to help support the roof rafters. Our roof span on the new porch side is 24 feet. The midpoint of this span is at the exterior wall of the cottage. The mid span knee wall is constructed on top of the exterior wall. Simple as that…
I build the knee wall framing on the ground on saw horses and then I hoist it onto the roof.
Framing for the mid span knee wall on the roof.
Once the framing is plumbed up and nailed into place, I face the knee wall with 5/8″ exterior grade plywood to keep it square and help stiffen it up.
5/8″ plywood facing on the knee wall.
Intermission
At this point I am out of lumber so I cover the roof and make a make a quick trip to my favorite store, the Lewistown Lowe’s. Be back soon…
Covered over for a quick trip to Lowe’s.
Whew, I’m back….
With the plywood facing complete, I begin setting the roof rafters in place. The first span of rafters run from the porch edge beams over to the mid span knee wall, atop the exterior cottage wall.
First roof rafter set in place. Bearing on the porch beams.First roof rafter in place. Bearing on the mid span knee wall.
I continued setting the first span of roof rafters until it was time to clean up and grab some dinner.
First Span – All roof rafters set.
As always, before I left, I closed it up for the night.
Tarped over and closed in for the night.
Tomorrow I will install the second span of rafters. They will run from the mid span knee wall up to the ridge board of the existing cottage roof. Nearing completion on the second roof section, exciting stuff!
September 04, 2019 – Just a short blog today. Woke up this morning feeling tired. Not sure what is going on. Maybe it was the constant up and down the ladders, but the only thing I accomplished today was the installation the of the ceiling joist solid bridging.
Solid bridging provides lateral support to twisted joists and it helps them maintain a vertical orientation. It also facilitates load sharing. Load sharing across wooden joists is important because of the large variation in material properties found between the joists.
September 03, 2019 – Hooray! Today I re-started the new porch roof construction. It’s taken awhile to rebuild the rotted out front wall, and thankfully, that is now complete, so let’s go.
This is the second roof section of the new porch addition the first section was started way back on June 16, 2019.
The first step is to set, plumb and brace the 4×4 Douglas Fir posts. These support the edge beams which in turn support the ceiling joists and rafters.
Set, plum and brace the porch roof posts.
Next, the edge beams are constructed from 1/2 exterior grade plywood sandwiched between two, 2×10 boards. Panel adhesive and 16 penny nails, on both sides, join the beams together.
Once complete, we lift the beams into place on top of the Douglas Fir posts. G90 Galvanized wood to wood wall ties keep the beams aligned and together.
G90 wood to wood wall ties.Porch Roof Construction – posts and beams installed.
2×6 ceiling joists are next. The ceiling joists span from the exterior living room wall out to the porch beams. They will hold up the porch ceiling.
Porch Roof Construction – ceiling joists installed.
With the daylight waning I set the last ceiling joist of this section and cleaned up for the night. Tomorrow I’ll continue the porch roof construction with the installation of the solid bridging between the ceiling joists. See you then…
September 1, 2019 – We installed the stud framing and header for a new living room window today. The rough opening size is 7 feet wide by 4 feet high. This is a fairly large window and should provide a great view. With the new sliding door alongside we should also have plenty of natural light.
Exterior wall framing in progress.
Throughout the build we had several guest carpenters, helpers and Labor Day Revelers on site.
Guest carpenter nailing up the window header.Personalized window header!Helpers and Labor Day Revelers.Living room window from the inside.Living room rough opening from the outside.Helpers and Labor Day Revelers closing in the opening.
Luckily, we were able to cover the opening before the Hurricane Dan Rain Storm blew in.
…and then the annual Hurricane Dan Rain Storm blew in.
The front wall demolition and repair is complete from the old kitchen door across to the bathroom wall. This encompasses the entire section where the original porch roof connected. Due to the lack of slope on the old roof, we experienced a long lasting roof leak along this wall. Now, I am happy to report that all of the rotted wood, mold and wet insulation has been removed. The area is re-framed and we are ready to continue the new porch roof!
August 30, 2019 – Continuing to prepare for the next roof section on the new porch, today’s plan includes living room window demo. Because we have disturbed the mice living in the attic I have to start out with the mice eradication image.
Attic Mouse no more!
Let this be a warning to anymore of you mice out there. We have a zero tolerance policy in effect! Sorry…
Before I can do the living room window demo, I need to remove an electric outlet that is in the way. Up in the attic, I disconnected and removed more of the two conductor wire that feeds the outlet. In the process, I came across more burn spots on the insulation.
More old wiring with burn marks.
After it was disconnected I removed the old outlet. When the living room window demo and re-framing is complete, new wiring and outlets will be installed in this area.
Old electric outlet.
With this receptacle removed I cleaned out the rest of the rotted top plate. The nails sticking out of the ends of the roof rafters were cut out with a hack saw. In order to fit in the new top plate I had to jack up the living room ceiling. I used a piece of old 2×4 oak wall stud to replace the top plate. It went pretty smoothly.
Rotted top plate, rafter and ceiling joist in exterior wall.Nails sticking out of the end of a rotted roof rafter.Jacking up the ceiling joists to make room for a new top plate.New to plate installed.
Living Room Window Removed!
With the top plate repaired I removed more of the oak planking and eventually the living room window. At the end of the day we put up a tarp to temporarily cover the opening for the night.
Living room window demo.Closed in with a trap for the night.
When we return, We’ll be framing up the front wall and creating the rough opening for the new living room window. Y’all come back now….
