With all the roof trusses finished and moved out of the way, it was time to start the cabin framing. We started with the front wall. For the cabin framing we used 2×6 material, ten feet tall. This would give us extra headroom in the loft, even if it will be harder to get the roof trusses up.
I got a bunch of useful books for Christmas, including the Ultimate Guide to House Framing. This proved to be a great resource and I read it from cover to cover before we got started. There is a lot more to framing a cabin than I initially thought. Consideration had to be given for both the sheathing on the outside, and the drywall on the inside.
For the first wall, we had help show up. Mom, dad and Peter all showed up to lend a hand. Good thing too, we hadn’t anticipated just how heavy 2×6 walls would be.
For the headers above the doors and windows we sandwiched Styrofoam insulation between two 2×10’s. It gets cold in the winter, so every little bit helps.
We weren’t sure what height to put the windows at, so we guessed based on our height. Probably not the best idea as both Sharon and I are short. I suspect if we have tall visitors they may find the windows a little too low.
Still, as long as it works for us, we should be OK.
Lifting the Framed Wall
We decided to not put the wall sheathing on until after the walls are all up. It may be easier to put the sheathing on when the wall is laying flat, but since it would be only Sharon and I lifting most of the walls, we thought weight would be an issue.
Good thing too! When we went to lift it, it didn’t budge at all. I literally had to check to make sure we hadn’t accidentally nailed it down. After we were all sure it wasn’t nailed down, we tried again. With great effort, and lots of grunts we managed to get it up.
While Peter and my dad held it in place, I quickly ran and nailed braces to hold it in place. This was one of the smaller walls, so it would be interesting to see how the rest go.
After the first wall was up my mom said, “Good job we were here to help. You and Sharon could not have lifted that on your own.” Sharon and I both looked at each other and though: Challenge Accepted!
As soon as they left we set to work to get the back wall up.
Completely on our own!