One man's struggle to take it easy
Cabin: Floor - Two days in the sun.
Monday, Jul 19, 2010
Day 1: Saturday (High temperature 95 degrees)
On Saturday I installed the floor joists:
Day 2: Sunday (High temperature 96 degrees)
On Sunday I added plywood strips in the bottom of the joist bays, held in place with 1x2 strips to form a bed for the insulation. I then added the insulation, followed by 3/4” OSB T&G sheathing. I miscalculated slightly on the amount of insulation needed so I still have one piece of sheathing left to install. My generator ran out of gas toward the end also so I wasn’t able to trim the sheathing where an 8’ foot piece went in a 6’ space (14’ wide floor).
Here are pics of a makeshift workbench I built and the tarp I put over the structure.
I appreciate all of the great pictures and information on your site. I'm doing research to build my own cabin in Oregon and your foundation information got me to your site initially but there is a lot of great information I'm learning from all of your experiences.
The 1x2's are nailed to the joists, flush with the bottom of the joist to support the plywood. This forms a kind of "picture frame" system. The plywood is then laid on top of the strips and nailed down. The reason I did it this way was because it's quick and easy and doesn't involve crawling around under the floor. It took about 30 minutes to cut all the pieces on the table saw/chop saw back home and probably about an hour to tack them all in place with a finish nailer. The other option I considered was to use hardware cloth/wire mesh but that would have been a lot of crawling around on my back and cost more also.
Thanks for the comments. I have some minor construction experience (in HVAC 25 years ago) but most of what I did was the result of a lot of research. Building the mini-cabin first helped a bit also. I'm fairly handy and have a lot of professional grade tools which always helps.
I hope things are well for you and your cabin project!
Can you please tell me how you attached the floor joists to the beams?
Thanks!
Chris
I used some type of Simpson connector to attach the floor joists to the beams but I don't remember specifically which type. If I had to guess I think I used just simple H3 hurricane ties that will attach two perpendicular pieces.
I'm pretty sure I used a tie at every joist/beam intersection so if the cabin is going to fly away it will take the beams and footings with it.
I actually have a Bostich air metal connector nail gun that's specifically for use with the Simpson connectors and nails. Kind of a specialty tool but I think it was worth it overall, especially when I got to the roof. Nailing in those Simpson connector nails isn't too hard with a hammer but having the gun certainly makes it easier and less tiring, especially in awkward positions.
Rick