Cabin in the Woods Part IV: Raising The Roof

          Now it was time to get that roof on, so we chose a weekend and got to work. We decided on metal roofing as it would last a long time, and would be convenient in our snowy climate. With a 12' x 12' pitch we certainly wouldn't need to shovel the roof off! First, we covered the rafters with cabin grade pine tongue and groove boards from the outside. These boards were affordable, and we didn't mind all the knot holes. We wanted to leave the rafters and pine exposed inside, and it turned out better than I expected. I just love the ceiling in my house!

Exposed beams, and pine boards for our ceiling.

An outside view of the tongue and groove pine boards going on.

  The next step was covering the pine boards with tar paper.

Tar paper over the pine boards.

                       We purchased used 3" thick foam board insulation, and used two layers. Those of us on the ground pushed the sheets up to the crew on the steep roof. We laid strapping that we milled ourselves over the insulation board to screw the metal sheets to. 

The 2 layers of foam board insulation. Strapping is started from bottom.

                          We then passed the green metal sheets up to the men on the roof. Two of my uncles, my brother-in-law, my son, and my dad braved the roof, while myself, my oldest boy, and my husband hefted the sheets up to the staging, and then onto the roof where they were screwed to the strapping. The day we put the metal on it was quite warm, and the sheets of roofing became hot to the touch very quickly. This became a challenge. The peek was also difficult to work on. 

Attaching the metal sheets with screws.

                   These men from our family worked hard and had the roof on in a weekend. I think it looks great, and I'm glad my husband insisted on this color. I really like it. (I was leaning towards brown.)

Roof complete!

A long weekend comes to a close.

               Up to this point we had less than $3000 in the cabin. This included ground work, purchasing our pine logs, fuel, and all building supplies. I will post a detailed spending list in a future blog.

                      Now that the roof was on, the chinking could begin. Join me for my next cabin post, and see the process we used with homemade chinking.