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Small Cabin Forum / Member's Projects and Photos / 10x14 Modern Shed
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hattie
Member
# Posted: 6 Sep 2011 21:03
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That's going to be some nice view out that front window!!!

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 7 Sep 2011 15:25
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Quoting: hattie
That's going to be some nice view out that front window!!!



The view from the cabin, when we get it built, will be even better.

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Cabin View
Cabin View


panamadavid
# Posted: 6 Dec 2011 12:25
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What a fantastic view and I really like your design. How is it going now? Have you got your roof on yet? Seeing some one make progress from a plan to a cabin is very inspiring.

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 6 Dec 2011 12:50
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The exterior is pretty much finished. I need to update this thread. I'll try to get to it over the weekend.

Anonymous
# Posted: 23 Dec 2011 22:10
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Aloha,
I have greatly enjoyed reading your thread. We just purchased an acre of mountain land here in Hawaii and are planning our own escape cabin that looks like this. Hope all is going well on your finish. Wish us luck!
V & E

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 23 Dec 2011 22:50
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V&E

Thanks! Hawaii is on my bucket list. Please share your build, with pictures.

I need to get this thread up to date. I have the rest of the year off so will probably get that corrected next week. The exterior is pretty much finished so check back.

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 19:45 - Edited by: MikeOnBike
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I made it up to camp for 3 days, minus travel and supply shopping time. Boy, that can eat up a day. The goal this trip was to get the sheathing, rafters, roof plywood on and tarpaper the place. I was doing pretty well until a stiff afternoon breeze came up on the last day. There was no way I could handle long strips of tarpaper on the roof by myself.

9/10/11
The first day I got into camp about 4:00p and started sheathing the shack. I was able to get most of the big pieces up before it started getting dark.

9/11/11
My daughter and her husband and my granddaughter made it up to help me with the rafters. My method of building the fly rafters results in a very heavy assembly that would probably cause me bodily harm if I tried to get them in place myself. Jade saved the day and he and I were able to get all the rafters in place, toe-nailed and hurricane clipped, in spite of an afternoon rain delay.

9/12/11
They had to be back to work on Mon. so on day three I was on my own again. I got almost all the wall sheathing completed and put all but a small strip of the roof plywood in place. The late afternoon gusty breeze drove me off the roof and I was done for the weekend.

Eight days of work so far from start to this point. I was pleased with the progress but impatient to have more done before the weather starts changing.

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1st day
1st day
2nd day
2nd day
3rd day
3rd day


MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 19:53
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Weekend of 9/17/11

I added some more small sheathing pieces on the sides you can't see in the photo but the bulk of the work this weekend was the roof. I finished the small strip of decking at the top. The previous weekend we set the rafters and we set the end or fly rafters first. I made the mistake of not running a plumb line between the two ends to help align the reset of the rafters. As a result I had some trimming to do on the high side and some shimming to do on the low side.

The next job was to get the 65lb, 9.25"x12' long Harditrim boards up on the eaves. These things are 1" thick so all of the nail holes had to be pre-drilled. I could either hold them up over my head or nail them, but not both. The desired distance between the bottom of the rafter and the bottom of the trim board is 1.5". This made it pretty easy to make some brackets with two offset pieces of scrap 2x4 that I screwed to the bottom of the rafter. I then lifted the trim board up on the roof, lined it up, marked, drilled and started the nails and then I eased them over the edge onto the brackets. At that point I just had to hold it in place and set all of the nails.

The last task was to cover the roof deck with 30lb tarpaper. The breeze wasn't too bad so I put it on in full width 17' pieces.

.
Ready for roof metal
Ready for roof metal


MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 19:58
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Weekend of 10/1/11

I was able to make another trip to the mtn. for about a day and a half. With rain and snow forecast for the coming week I really wanted to get the windows and door installed.

When arrived at the lower camp where I sleep, I went in the shed to get some supplies and found myself standing in a shed with 200-300 wasps all over the walls, ceiling and windows. At first I didn't notice the couple of hundred on the peaked ceiling so I grabbed a can of bug spray and started hosing down the wasps on the windows. As I looked up I realized that I didn't have enough spray to kill them all. I figured that they had been coming in to get away from the cold nights and couldn't find their way out. I decided that the only thing I could do would be to leave the door open for the day and hope that they would fly out. If they didn't I might not have a place to sleep that night. When I came back down from building at the upper camp I found one wasp left inside. With a little coaxing he flew out. I'm sure I will have that problem every weekend until I can get the opening under the eaves sealed up over the next few trips. I just hope they will cooperate as well next time.

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Windows and Door, Oh Yeah!
Windows and Door, Oh Yeah!


MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 20:01
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Weekend of 10/15/11

I made it back up on the 16th for a couple of days. This trip was all about siding.

My daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter come up to help. Jade and I got started and got as far as three sheets of siding and the soffit on the back of the shed when it started to rain, lots of rain. We spent the next 4 hrs. in the shed snacking and visiting. The rain finally started to let up early evening and they headed back to town. With a 1/2" of rain in 3-4 hrs. the ground was too muddy to work on so I called it a day and headed to the lower place for some dinner, more snacking really, and early bed.

Next morning the weather began to clear. It froze overnight and the ground was steaming as the sun came out and burned off the fog. I was able to get the last of the tarpaper up, finish the nailing from the previous days work and get three more sheets of siding up. It didn't feel like much but it's a step closer to completion.

No pictures.

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 20:05
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Weekend of 10/22/11

Finally the end was in sight, for this season anyway. All of the siding/soffit is up except for the 3 1/2" trim.

I think the deck will have to wait until next spring. I'm running out of weather and I need to help my daughter put in some firewood for the winter.

Even though the picture doesn't show it the roof is done. I had to take a picture before it got too dark. I finished the last of the metal in twilight.

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Finally some metal
Finally some metal


MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 20:12
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My wife and I made a 2-day trip to the mtn. the weekend of 10/29/11. Our goal was to have the shed ready to endure winter. On the list for the first day was finish the siding around the door, put up the corner trim and caulk everything that is in place.

On Sun. after it warmed up Pamm started slinging paint. I focused on getting the windows and doors trimmed and adding nails to the sheeting where I had missed or skipped due to time or weather in the weeks before.

We didn't get all of the painting done but it will do. I was able to get caulking on the tops of the windows/door but as the photos show we were running out of daylight.

We left a few bare spots on the siding. The plan was to be back up a couple of times over the next 2-3 weeks to help my daughter get firewood. I was going to snag the granddaughter to come help me 'finish' the painting and close up both sheds but that didn't happen. Oh well, next spring then.

I still need to put my material piles neatly under both sheds and put away the chairs, grill, shower and fencing supplies.

Other than that I think we are done for the year. I don't think we have any more buildings planned for at least a year. Next year we will finish fencing/gates, probably put in a well, get some solar power in place and finish the interior of both sheds.

.
Color changes
Color changes
with the light
with the light


MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 20:17 - Edited by: MikeOnBike
Reply 


My son Jason and I went up on 11/4/11 to close the sheds and put everything away for the winter. We got my son-in-law started cutting firewood on a neighbors property and headed over to our place to put things away. Jason hadn't been up to mtn. for a year. He works weekends and has school during the week so the second shed project was all new for him.

While I fussed with the last couple of items at the upper camp he wandered off to take a few pictures to show his girlfriend who also hasn't been able to get to the mtn. this year.

After standing around enjoying a hot cup of coffee, watching the light snow fall and listening to the quiet we headed down to the lower camp. Everything gets tucked in the shed for the winter. I had already drained the hot water heater on the outdoor shower so we just removed the heater, pump and shower head from the wood frame and tossed them in the shed with the BBQ grill and fencing supplies.

All closed up for the winter. Just a five month wait for the snow to melt. Lots of time to think about all the interior work to do on both sheds, and building the deck, and the fencing, and drilling a well, and starting a cabin...

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Winter quiet
Winter quiet


neb
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 21:05
Reply 


Very nice. And it is a good feeling to have it closed up. Where abouts are you located at?

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 4 Jan 2012 22:08
Reply 


Thanks neb.

We are in SW Idaho. The shed sits at 6000'.

I was all panicked about the snow but we have only had a couple of inches so far.

ErinsMom
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 20:16
Reply 


It's looking really good. Without going back to your original thread, how far are you from your cabin? How much snow is normal for that area?

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 20:34
Reply 


We are 90 mi and two hrs away from the property.

We usually have 2-3 ft. of snow. Last year tied the record, which only goes back to 1981, with 3ft and 12" of snow water.

ErinsMom
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 20:39
Reply 


That's about the right distance. But that much snow, when will you be about to get back?

customrunner
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 20:39
Reply 


Great build, love the location keep up the good work..

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 20:48
Reply 


ErinsMom,

March in a dry year, usually April, last year was early May.


customrunner,

Thanks, I'm looking for a little less work and more recreation next year.

Anonymous
# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 13:46
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Dear Mike -

I have found and followed this blog regarding your small shed build. I really appreciate the building details, pictures and general work description of the shed build.

I think your blog is the best I have seen on this site. Its a step by step description with pictures of how one should describe such projects.

I hope to include my "cabin" build with such details for the benefit of all interested. Thank you for setting the standard! And ideas too!

We are planning a small shed/cabin ourselves just an hour north of us, on a small lake. One benefit is it is one hour away, building supplies are close and on a lake to swim off on a hot or end of day.

I have a few questions...

I would appreciate to know how the (hortizontal) roof trusse(s) are applied, cut and assembled including there dimentions and also how you closed off the sofits.

I am a rough carpenter, so the finer details would be appreciated. Can you also give us a sense of the cost to build and the actual hours you spent on the project. Lastly; this project is similar to the size and roof we consider best.

Though we are consider a lower front wall not 10'. But, 7' in the back wall and 8' in the front, and more windows since we will use it as our cabin.

How does the shower work? Hot water how do you get hot water, boil.
We plan to put in a small wood stove too. No loft. But, a small screened in porch next/attached to the cabin eventually.

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 19:57 - Edited by: MikeOnBike
Reply 


Anonymous,

Thanks for the compliments. You should create a profile and start a thread about your build plans. There is no need to wait until you start building.

The roof rafters are 2x8 on 16" centers. With a 10' span and a 2.5' rise and the application of Pythagoras theorum my rafters are 10'-3.5" from the outside to outside of the walls. The interior span is that distance minus the 2*3.5"=7" of wall thickness. I used the following span calculator.

http://www.awc.org/calculators/span/calc/timbercalcstyle.asp

The rafters are toe-nailed at each end with 16d nails and then hurricane clipped on each wall. I think I used Simpson H2.5.

Since my wall height is 6.5' in the rear and 9' in the front I have a 3/12 or 14deg roof slope. I angled the cut of my studs so that the top plates on my walls are 14 deg and no birds mouth was needed on the rafters. I created a hand sized 14 deg jig and used it to mark all my studs.

Our record winter for water content is 12" of snow water for 64lbs sqft. of live load on the roof. My setup gives me 70lbs. sqft. load rating. The 2x8 also allows me to get R21 insulation in my roof.

I have a 16" overhang on the eaves and used Hardi perforated soffit material to close and ventilate the soffits. I used 1x10 HardiTrim to close the eaves. The roof rafters ended up being the 10'-3.5" length plus 1/2" on each side to account for the plywood sheathing and 16" on each side to account for the soffit. That's a total of 156.5"

The cost will probably be similar to our first shed build which is referenced in the first post. It was about $4000 total including basic interior finish. It sounds a bit high but since we are in range fire country we have opted for a metal roof and fiber cement siding. The sheds are fully insulated including R10 sheet foam in the floors. I tried scavenging via craigslist but really didn't have much luck.

As far as time, well that's a little hard to tell. I think I have about 14 man days into it so far. On a typical 3 day weekend I only got about 2 1/2 days of work done because of material gathering and travel. Some things were quick, some were not. It took me an entire day to set the piers because I kept running into shallow rocks and had to move the holes. I think I dug 15 holes to get six that were usable.

I chose my wall height to keep at least the minimum recommended slope for a metal roof with show build up which is 3/12. I used 6.5' on the back wall since my brother, son and myself are all a bit over 6'. That put the front wall at 9' and took 9.5' siding when including the floor/joist. That allowed me to use 4x10' Hardi siding without a seam. If you don't have a heavy snow load you can probably get away with a shallower slope. Make sure it is compatible with your roofing material.

The shower utilizes a 12v RV pump which pulls the water out of a jug or barrel and runs it through an Eccotemp L-5 tankless propane water heater.

We don't have too many pesky bugs so I'm just going to put a screen on the shed door. Since we eventually plan to have a larger cabin and will only use the shed for three seasons I'm going to pass on the wood stove.

I utilized a the window near the bed to get a cross breeze with the door and/or front window. The window at the kitchen is for lighting and can also help with breeze. I didn't want too many windows since I need some wall space for storage. I also didn't want too much solar gain in the summer. July temps can run close to 100F in July and Aug. The deck will have a pergola with greenhouse cloth to create shade. I can remove the cloth for the winter to prevent it form collecting snow and collapsing the pergola.

neb
Member
# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 22:40
Reply 


awesome

ricardojsbrito
Member
# Posted: 10 Sep 2012 21:22 - Edited by: ricardojsbrito
Reply 


How deep is deep enough? For lateral support

RnR
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2012 16:47
Reply 


Very cool.

MikeOnBike
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2012 16:54
Reply 


Thanks for the comments!

ricardojsbrito, My piers are as deep as I could get them. The deepest is about 18" and the shallowest is about 6". Not as deep as I would like. Our other shed has ~24" piers. They are also as deep as I could get them but there is more topsoil at the other site.

I haven't been able to do much on the shed this year. I did add the deck but we have been building fence. I do have a lockable gate now. Hopefully that will keep the thieves out.
A lockable gate.
A lockable gate.
Steps!
Steps!


tex
Member
# Posted: 19 Apr 2014 19:40 - Edited by: tex
Reply 


We did a similar design as permits only allow 108 sqft. The main difference is no loft and much larger windows.

In fact; the windows are on each side and a picture window 6' x 4' looks into the valley on the south side.

This generates natural sunlight/warmth in spring and fall and a more open concept in the small cabin.

I would always recommend a large picture window for such a cabin.

No fireplace is required or recommended. Unless a brand new one with all the safety and efficiencies that can be had. Anything used or old will just smoke out the cabin and cause problems.

I also built a natural floating deck 8'x8' that allows for more space and a nice sitting area too.

We do not plan to build a "cottage" size building. To me; that means its just like a house which takes away from the whole idea of keeping it simple.

Once you start down that slippery slope the next thing will be appliances and flushing toilet!


Not the way one should be enjoying and protecting the last wild places.

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