Article Read. You Can Find All Kind of Articles

Home | Search Article

Search

-- All Categories --Auto and TrucksEducationFamilyFood and DrinkGadgets and GizmosHealthHobbiesHome ImprovementKids and TeensLegal MattersParentingPets and AnimalsRecreation and SportsSite PromotionTravel and LeisureWeb DevelopmentWomenWriting
Advanced Search

• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Family
• Food and Drink
• Gadgets and Gizmos
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Kids and Teens
• Legal Matters
• Parenting
• Pets and Animals
• Recreation and Sports
• Site Promotion
• Travel and Leisure
• Web Development
• Women
• Writing

---

The Finishing Steps to Building Your Log Cabin: Roofing, Sidingand InteriorAfter the rafters are in place, you will be ready to put on theroof boards. These boards can be 5/8-inch by 6- or 8-inchtongue-and-groove boards. There are some exceptions to thiswhich are covered in the next section.For siding, probably the most practical and easiest material touse as the exterior finish is wood. It has the advantage ofcoming in many different shapes, colors, and textures. It can bestained, painted, or left natural.As noted in previous articles, I have not specified thatsheathing must be used. Plywood or one of the compositionsheathings or diagonal sheathing boards may be used--in fact,should be used if you plan to use the cottage year-round at sometime in the future. It should also be used if you are going touse plaster or plasterboard on the inside.The sheathing helps to stiffen your structure. One of the mostcommon types of siding is the lapped bevel. Cedar is one of thepopular woods from which this siding is made. It comes in 4-,6-, and 8-inch widths. The thick butt edge is usually 7/16 inchthick. The 10- and 12-inch widths have an 11/16-inch butt.The minimum headlap for 4- and 6-inch widths is I inch; widthsover 6 inches should have I inches headlap. Hot-dippedgalvanized nails should be used for applying the siding to thestuds. If sheathing is used, try to nail through the sheathingto the stud.Rustic and drop siding as well as shiplap and matched siding arealso popular. The first two should have a finished thickness of inch. The maximum width is 8 inches. Shiplap or matched sidingshould be a minimum of 25/32 inch thick. The maximum width is 12inches.Plywood is always a possible exterior finish. It is veryimportant that it should be exterior grade--never useinterior-grade plywood for exterior purposes. Cottage No. 2would look particularly attractive if it were finished with%-inch exterior-grade plywood.In this case I would nail the 8-foot length of plywoodhorizontally. The horizontal joints and nails would be coveredwith batten strips. Similar batten strips could be nailedhorizontally every foot above and below the joint. Thisprocedure would also keep the plywood from warping or raising atthe edges.Be sure the vertical edge joints are joined at the mid-point ofa stud. One of the best ways of finishing the exterior of yourcottage is the use of vertical tongue-and-groove boards. Thistype of siding is usually nailed at the bottom to the sill, atthe top to the plate and in the middle to a herringbone brace.In Hawaii the vertical siding is often used without anyintermediate framing members. The roof load is actually carriedby the siding. Shingles can also be used to cover the exteriorof your cabin. I would suggest that you follow the instructionsof the manufacturer for laying these.Usually the manufacturer recommends the use of sheathing. Ifplywood is used for sheathing, the shingles should be appliedover l-by-2-inch nailing strips, and attached with copper orgalvanized nails. Asbestos-cement shingles should be attached tothe sheathing with barbed nails.Fiberboard sheathing is not acceptable as a nailing base forthis type of shingle. Wood shingles should be attached tol-by-3-inch nailing strips which have been spaced according tothe shingle exposure.There are many types of roofing materials that can be used onyour cabin. To some extent, the choice of materials will dependupon whether the roof is pitched or flat. The table on page 120indicates whether you should use a roll or shingle type ofroofing material.Asphalt shingles require a roof pitch of at least 4 inches toeach lineal horizontal foot. When the pitch is this low, mostmanufacturers of roofing materials recommend that roofing feltor asphalt-saturated building paper be laid under the shingleroof. If your roof has any valleys, Id suggest that you startyour work by laying heavy roofing felt down the center of thevalley.One layer of felt, 18 inches wide, should be laid face down.Then a second layer, full width, should be laid face up. Afterthis is nailed down, you can start laying the under roofing feltor paper. Manufacturers recommendations vary, but youll bepretty safe if the edges overlap about 2 inches horizontally.Start with the lowest part of your roof. Let the edges of thepaper overlap the end of the roof by 2 or 3 inches. This overlapshould be cut later, a little under the first shingle course.The next layer of paper will overlap the lower one by 2 inches.Continue this process to the peak of the roof.When both sides of the roof are finished, lay one width of paperover the ridge pole. Short wide-head roofing nails should beused with this paper. When the paper has been put down, use acarpenters chalk line, which is impregnated with chalk, andsnap the guidelines for the shingles. If your shingle exposureis 4 inches, you will want to snap chalk lines with this spacingall the way from the first course to the last at the top.You are now ready to start laying the shingles. The first courseof shingles should be laid double and should extend % inchbeyond the roof edge. The guidelines on the paper will align theoverlap which each course will have. The last rows at the topwill have to be cut; and a strip of granulated roofing paper, ametal cap, or a ridge piece, or shingles laid edgewise will berequired to finish the top as shown in the illustration.Wood shingles are laid much as asphalt shingles are except thatthey are not butted on the sides. Leave a %-inch space betweenthe shingles. The ridge piece can be made of wood strips asshown in the illustration.Roll roofing is one of the easiest types to apply. Theaccompanying illustration shows how this is done. Youll notethat there is an overlap that is cemented down and nailed. Thisoverlap varies with the type of roofing felt used.One type has half of the width granulated, the remainder heavyfelt. The granulated section is left exposed, and the felt partis cemented and nailed. This type can also be used on roofshaving only enough pitch to drain the water, provided that theroofing boards are first covered with roofing mastic.Flat or pitched roofs can be covered with a number of materials,but one of the least expensive methods is to build up the roofwith a number of layers of roofing felt saturated with asphaltbinder. The illustration shows how this is done. A cold roofingcompound or hot pitch may be used as a binder.Regardless of the above directions, be sure to follow themanufacturers directions for applying his particular roofingmaterial.

About the Author

About the Author: Jack Hudson is a writer forhttp://www.log-cabin-plans-n-kits.com andhttp://www.best-house-n-home-plans.com/. These two sites workcollectively as a resouce for the planning and building of logcabins as well as choosing from different house plans. Visit oneof these sites for informative articles as well as free TIPS forbuilding a log home or choosing a house plan.