Construction Of A Country House: Making A Roof (Himself A Builder - 6)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

My own builder

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

The next stage will be the manufacture of the lathing and protection of the structure from any precipitation, that is, roofing work and all related operations.

Manufacturing of lathing

Our next step is the lathing of the roof or, as they call it in the countryside, the formwork. It is made from an unedged inch. The bark must be cleaned off without fail so as not to involve various pests - wood eaters - in the construction.

Figure 5

At the ridge of the roof, a flat rail is nailed onto the two extreme rafters on the left with an outlet for the extreme rafter of 500 mm. The first lower board is also produced behind the rafter 500 mm and 50-60 mm below the top of the rafter beam (see Fig. 5).

A stop rail is nailed to the end of this board and the top rail. It will be the size limiter for the boards of the sheathing on the left. If you are left-handed, then right-handed. Boards are nailed to the rafters with a narrower part of their plane, 2-3 nails of 70 mm each (see Fig. 6) with a distance between them sufficient to accommodate your feet, but nothing more. Before stuffing the crate - I recommend arranging movable scaffolding by moving the already used walking bridges to the workplace. Work will go faster and safer. You do not need to cut six-meter boards on the right side in advance to size. You will do this when you have completely filled the crate.

Figure 6

Before reaching the ridge of the roof three boards, make two boards on the ground with an edged edge - for the ridge element of the sheathing itself and nail both boards in place. After filling in the remaining gap, go to the other side of the roof.

I would like to remind you that the boards of the sheathing break apart, that is, the top alternates with the butt part, otherwise you will come out to the ridge with a great skew.

Next, we interrupt the upper rail with the stop rail on the left side of the other roof slope, and we start all over again. Having finished the entire crate to the end, set aside 500 mm from the roof rafters on the right side of the roof and from the bottom. We throw the cord over this size and cut off the excess boards with a hacksaw (or chainsaw) according to the markings made. We repeat a similar operation with the opposite roof slope, and your crate is ready.

Roofing

But now you can do the roofing material. If it is not roofing iron, then we will start by rolling out rolls of roofing material … We know the size of the roof slope: we add 100 mm to it and multiply by 2. It turns out a roll that overlaps both slopes and gives a small overhang over the outer boards - so that the rain does not wet. It is better to nail, as already mentioned, with iron strips, the length of which is equal to the length of the prepared roll. It is advisable to use special nails - roofing. Their length is 40 mm with a diameter of 4-5 mm. To better preserve your fingers, it is advisable to make holes in the shank (steel strip) in a comfortable environment on some kind of stump. This turns out much faster, and if some holes do not match, you can always make new ones along the way. They are performed using a core with a thick rubber hat on it - again to save your fingers. It looks like this:

Two ridge ladders are required for roof covering work. They are made from fairly wide boards, onto which the bar-steps are nailed every 400 mm. A hook in the form of a bar or a strong steel strip is nailed to the ridge part of the stairs, the shape repeating the angle of the roof ridge (see Fig. 1)

Ladders cling to the ridge, each on its own side of the roof, and move as needed. Each roll of roofing material rolls from both sides like binoculars, and for ease of delivery is tied with a short rope. After that, it is easy to climb it up the stairs to the ridge of the house. Also, in advance, lift a bundle of strips with pre-made holes and two slats equal to the length of the roof slope plus 50 mm onto the ridge. And, if you are going to nail all this, take nails with you in your left pocket, and a hammer in your right hand. And may you be lucky in this difficult matter.

Having dismissed both parts of the "binoculars" at the same time, with the help of an assistant, achieve an overlap of roofing material equal to 40 mm above the ends of the sheathing boards. Then, moving both ladders onto the roll rolled out on the roof, you begin to nail the prepared slats to the edge, and after 450 mm, approximately in the center of the roll, a steel strip. After nailing a roll from one side of the roof, move to the other.

Attention! Do not try to finish off the strips and slats to the very bottom, this can be fraught with a fall. Take care of your life, it is just beginning in your role as a gardener, and there will be so many pleasant and not very surprises ahead … You will finish the lower parts of the roofing material later from the usual stairs.

Each subsequent roll must lie on the previous one with an overlap of at least 100 mm. In your case, you can afford an overlap from 150 to 200 mm, since the length of the ridge is 5 m, and the roof will require 6 rolls in width, taking into account the overlap, that is, 5 overlaps, because the roll width is about 1 m. Do not forget to nail the middle of the roll with a shredder, and not only the joint, this will save from rinsing in a strong wind, which sooner or later leads to a very specific result - a torn roofing material. After the end of the roofing work, fill the slats on the ends of the sheathing boards - this will save them from slanting rain and snow, while the top of the slats will remain protected from precipitation by the overhang of roofing material.

Be sure to remove the ridge stairs to the second floor, so they will serve for many years, will remain dry and light, always ready to go. By the way, when making the aforementioned stairs, nails (120 mm) must be driven into the steps through the board, while drowning the cap flush, and the part of the nail that comes out must be carefully bent and hammered into the step with a point, so you will keep yourself and your work trousers intact and safety.

Returning to the roofing material flooring, we note - when leveling the roll to control the size of the overlap, it is advisable to have an assistant on the ground - it can even be a child.

We have got a wonderful lumber dryer on the second floor, but before using it for this purpose, we need to dry the wall cladding boards and not only for this. The choice of material depends on your capabilities: for example, if it is a lining, and even dry - great! You can immediately start making the cladding. And if it is a raw edged board, then each row of it must be folded onto thin strips and dried with open windows on the second floor. With a frame without cladding, this will happen quickly enough. And it is advisable to withstand the lining of natural moisture for two summers, but with closed windows, because in our area it happens not only rainy autumn, but also snowy winter …

Using an already dried edged board for sheathing, it should be borne in mind that, one way or another, you cannot avoid cracks, and this must be taken for granted. Subsequently, life will become even more fun, and you may have funds for the lining.

Walls, floors and other little things

While the board is drying, let's start preparing the rough floor. It will require approximately 18 m2 of unedged board. As with the lathing, be sure to debark the boards. On the lower part of the floor beams (see Fig. 2), nail the so-called "cranial" bar. The same must be done with three-meter logs. In addition to the lower "cranial" bar, it is necessary to pull the cord along the beams and make markings under the "cranial" bar of the finished floor.

And now we start covering the outer walls. Upwards. To do this, you must have available

glassine in the appropriate quantity or its modern counterpart, which is somewhat more expensive, as well as nails - 70 mm. It is advisable to beat the boards alternately from different sides, controlling the horizontal with a level. If you do not do this, closer to the rafters you will get a fair amount of skew, so do not create a problem for yourself.

First, nail the glassine, then the paneling. Do the same with the rest of the outer walls.

I would like to remind you about the window and door frames. When installing in openings, expose them outward, taking into account the future cladding - both the first, possibly the only one, and the second - decorative, for painting. Then, after sheathing, the gaps between the box and the sheathing (which should be flush) are closed with platbands.

The outer cladding is complete, now we are starting the subfloors. To do this, we lay the unedged boards on the cranial beam, adjusting them to each other more tightly, if necessary. Then the boards are covered with glassine. Further options are possible:

· In the old fashioned way, filling with dry sawdust mixed with lime;

· Sand (dry);

· Mineral wool 50-60 mm thick;

The price of insulation can vary greatly depending on the quality and manufacturer. The choice is yours. On top of mineral wool, sometimes glassine is laid, sometimes not, citing the fact that mice-rats do not like this business very much (although I had to see the nests of the mentioned animals in mineral wool).

Next, we have to finish the floor. And again options are possible:

1. If you have a tongue-and-groove board, then it must be nailed wet and not tightly - only along the edges at the ends of the board. This is done in order to tighten them as they dry with wedges and staples until the cracks disappear completely. The process is not quick, you need to be patient.

2. Edged boards 40-50 mm should be dried on the second floor, and only then beaten. With proper drying (on pads and with a load over the stack), you will not get special propellers.

3. Unedged boards - they are the most troublesome: debark, dry, hang, adjust with a large hacksaw with large teeth, and then nail.

4. It will not be superfluous to add a few words about the need for a smooth surface of the finished floor boards you planted.

At this point, the floor question of the first floor is closed before painting

We proceed to the insulation of the walls. You can use porous foam. It is easily sawn with a hacksaw, is an excellent heat and sound insulator, is relatively inexpensive, and the joints between the plates can be sealed with Macroflex or a similar foaming material without much difficulty. You can also use mineral wool - whoever likes what. After laying the thermal insulation on the racks and jibs, glassine is nailed. And so on in a circle until completion.

The next stage is ceiling insulation. It makes sense to hem the ceiling along the bottom of the rafters with a dried edged board. Subsequently, plywood, hardboard or even lining can be stuffed on top of the board. But let's not rush into this yet. Put glassine on top of the hemmed boards, and then mineral wool. The ceiling can also be insulated with sand (sandy loam), but for this you have to nail a cranial bar to the rafters. Without it, the nails in the boards will not withstand such a load.

The floor on the second floor can be made simpler and cheaper, based on your financial capabilities. If you need to build a partition on the second floor, then this must be done according to the rafter. The staircase to the second floor is appropriate from the kitchen, next to the entrance to the room. A built-in wardrobe is very conveniently located under the stairs, so you don't lose an inch of usable space.

At the entrance to the house, it is advisable to arrange a semblance of a porch, but not from wood, but to cast steps from reinforced concrete - this is more durable. It is advisable to build a small canopy above the porch; a pitched roof will be enough, but this is at your discretion.

Do not fit the door leaf of the front door too tightly, otherwise you will not be able to open it without an ax in spring. On the windows, it is desirable to provide strong shutters with a metal plate across, which is fastened with pins from the inside of the house on the "lambs". Shutter hinges must be one-piece.

You do not need to insulate the inner partition, but if you leave it empty, it will creak like a drum, so it is better not to save on sound and heat insulation, suddenly you have to spend the night in the kitchen, by the stove in winter.

Frames should be provided for double, and a large threshold should be made at the entrance door, which will impede the movement of cold air.

In the future, if necessary, make a strip foundation - the temporary hut will immediately become warmer.

The appearance of our building will not be complete if we do not install some functional imp-pig on the ridge of the roof. This means, of course, a weather vane, which is easy to make from trimming galvanized iron. For greater attractiveness and durability, it should be painted with bituminous varnish. May he keep your house, you and your loved ones!

You will complete the further arrangement of the temporary hut to your liking. If you have any questions - write, I will be glad to help.

My own builder:

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6