Thursday, January 19. 2012Building Bow-Roofs - Site Selection
Selecting a site is a good first step in the building process. Placing the structure in a problematic location takes out some enjoyment every time you look at it, so careful consideration is important. If there is only one site choice, then you simply have to choose a building design to fit the site. If many site choices exist, then you have several things to consider.
The most significant aspect of a site is its slope, primarily because of the amount of excavation necessary to level it. The steeper the slope, the more digging is required, and the more unstable to down-slope fill will be. It's easiest to orient the bow-roof's long axis along the slope. Next, find a location to also fit other site aspects, such as light and wind. Depending on the use of the building, it might be best to orient the structure north-south, so sunlight illuminates the south end. Conversely, a greenhouse should be oriented east-west to maximize total light entering its clear panels. Though bow-roof's hold up well against strong winds, in some areas blowing snow might pile up against it's door if not oriented properly. If you need electric grid power in your bow-roof, then save yourself the high cost of power lines by locating the site close to an existing junction box. If only lighting is required, a simple alternative is battery-powered LED lights. Batteries for most LEDs can last over a year, especially if used in motion-detecting lights. Lastly, survey the site's surrounding area for trees. Greenhouses are best located in shadeless areas. All buildings can be damaged, or destroyed, by falling trees. So it's best to remove any trees showing weaknesses, or whose falling direction is toward the bow-roof. And don't neglect weak branches which may fall during a windstorm. When choosing the site for my own greenhouse, I found a location offering the most light. This area also had the advantage of a gentle slope. Trees, however, were a major problem there. There were many surrounding healthy trees, but one birch was overhanging; it had to be cut first. Also, a lot of work would have to go into moving out the huge pile of logs laying directly on the site. But since light was the most important factor, I went with the site anyway. After the site is finally selected, the next design step is determining what size to build. See the next part in this series, Size Selection. Greenhouse Site I selected this greenhouse site because it has the most light and is mostly flat. Removing the pile of logs which extended nearly to the birch on the right was a big job. I later had to cut the birch because it overhung the site. Photo by [~jeff] Building Bow-Roofs - Part 1 - Introduction
We mostly think buildings should be made with vertical studs and gabled roofs. Yet alternative designs offer many advantages over conventional construction. Common materials can be used in new ways to make a wide range of structures, from tool sheds to insulated cabins. The gabled-arch bow-roof shed is one of these innovative designs.
Bow-roof sheds are easy to build, light weight, low cost, free-standing arched frames. Structural strength comes from the arch shape formed by their bows. They can be 10 to 20 feet, and any length. The free-standing frame, allows covering with any sort of roofing, including plastic sheeting. Even the foundation can be light and simple. A sill plate may rest simply on ground stakes, or just a row of railroad ties. Concrete blocks with adjustable cradles also work. Your flooring could be anything from bare dirt to conventionally framed floor joists. Pea gravel offers one low-cost, easy-to-build floor. Place plastic sheeting under the gravel to keep moisture and dirt from coming through. Individual bows are mass produced on a jig. They consist of two bent wooden strips separated by wooden blocks. The 1” x 3” strips, cut to match the width of the bow-roof shed, are bent around these blocks. The strips are fastened using bolts and screws. When the bow is lifted from the jig, it holds its arched shape. Each bow stands up on the sill plate and is connected to a top ridge beam. Bows may be placed up to 4 feet apart. The erect bows create the classic Gothic arch. Lateral structural strength comes from horizontal purlins fastened to each bow. You can also attach diagonal supports if the roofing has little shear strength. You can use almost any bendable, water-shedding material for roofing. For example, clear, UV-inhibited plastic sheeting can make a great cover for a greenhouse. One economical option is thin plywood covered by conventional asphalt shingles. Metal roofing makes a strong, permanent roof for a reasonable price. You only need to consider the snow load when selecting roofing materials. Once the roofing is installed, the bow-roof shed is a strong, waterproof structure. The final step is closing in the walls on the ends. The end walls are typically framed in with conventional vertical studs, although you can use almost any material since they don't hold up the arch. Doors and windows can be placed within the walls. Although bow-roof sheds are typically just storage space, they may also serve as heated living space. The floor, end walls, and roof could be insulated using conventional techniques; just be sure to use an inside vapor barrier and provide air ventilation under the roofing if you are building in a cold climate such as found in Fairbanks. These Gothic arches provide enough strength to use light-weight, affordable materials and allow you to get creative with your design. My 12'x20' bow-roof greenhouse. The roofing is clear poly-carbonate. End walls will be conventionally framed and will include doors and vents. Photo by Jeffrey H. Simonson My 12'x12' bow-roof storage shed. Metal roofing makes for a long-life, strong roof. The vertical stud end walls are simply covered with plywood and painted. Photo by Jeffrey H. Simonson Monday, September 26. 2011Roofing CompleteYou can see I also got all the pea gravel placed on the floor. It took a full to move half the pile of pea gravel in a wheelbarrow. It was luckily downhill all the way. So, now there's about 8 inches of pea gravel, over 8 inches of dirt, over 2 inches of insulation. The back filling along the outer walls is also nearly complete. Just a few more loads to go before the ground freezes. The ends will have to stay open until spring. I have to engineer the end walls to contain both doors and vents. I am thinking there will be several technical challenges in their design, so I'll need time to figure out how to build them. Thursday, September 15. 2011Dirt Fill CompleteThursday, September 8. 2011Horizontal Stringers InstalledTuesday, September 6. 2011All Bows Up.The Ridge is Up.Monday, August 29. 2011Carrying 20' RoofingFoundation Installed.Insulated SubstrateTuesday, August 9. 2011Greenhouse Foundation PlanThe Greenhouse Site is ClearedI also bought the clear polycarbonate panels last night. You can see them stacked just above the planting beds. I got 45 panels at $35 each. the white boards just above the Panels are PVC boards; I'll use them under the concrete blocks. All the materials in the ground will be completely inert so they will not rot or leach toxins into the soil. The zucchini in the beds are finally producing food now. There's not much time for them to grow fruit before the freeze comes though. Wednesday, July 20. 2011Fuel Shed with Fallen TreeThis shed started as a simple palette I intended to simply cover with a tarp. Then the palette broken, so I covered it with scrap OSB. then I thought the two old saw horses I got at the transfer station would help hold up the tarp. And then I needed a rood to hold up the tarp. And then I figured there was enough scrap OSB to make walls. And then it also needed a roof overhang over the door, and a nice shelf. And then a neighbour gave me enough tar paper to cover the whole shed. So this functional, but very ugly, temporary shed cost only a day's work. I'll build a really nice one in a couple of years. The very next day I had to cut a dead spruce tree that would endanger the new greenhouse. I cut it to fall away from the new fuel shed, but it hung up in a birch. So I simply winched it back the other direction. It fell directly into the fuel shed. The structure held nicely; there were just a few small holes in the tar paper. This ugly fuel shed may actually last longer than I wish. Monday, June 20. 2011Loft Trim is CompleteThis image shows the odd room from both directions. It is a 30-60 triangle with a vertical side of 7.5 feet high. Sure, it's a strange room, but it is essentially free because it is simply an artifact of the steep 7:12 roof pitch. The room is very good for sleeping and storage, and frees up a lot of space on the main floor. The wainscotting on the knee wall will also be installed on the main floor. Notice the clever counter-weight on the stair-hole door. The door keeps me from falling though the hole in the dark. The strange metal rod in front of the stair hole is a hand railing which makes descending the stairs so much easier. The stairs descend past the kitchen cabinets; they are attic pull-down stairs to save space. This week I'll move the bed and storage shelves back up here. Then I can finally get started on the greenhouse...only 3 months late. Wednesday, May 18. 2011The First Window is TrimmedThe first challenge was making stock for the jamb. It is wider than the widest commonly available lumber. So I joined two 1" x 8" pieces to get to the required 11 5/8' width. I used pocket screws and glue. Then I built the jamb box to fit the window and installed it with shims. Next I built all the face trim parts. Before installing anything, I finished the bare wood with a semi-transparent oil stain coloured to look like driftwood. This slight gray colour makes the wood look somewhat like old, gray wood, and also matches the gray colour scheme of the entire house. The trim job will go faster now I know how to build it. There are 4 windows and 2 doors remaining. I may decide to add a few more trim pieces to make them a bit more complex on the first floor. I tend to experiment on the upper floor where my mistakes don't show, then do nicer work in the main room. Yet the remaining trim and wainscotting on the main floor will have to wait because I have way too many outdoor projects to complete during the short summer. Wednesday, March 30. 2011Kitchen is Mostly CompleteAfter I finished with the cabinets, I installed the propane range. It fit right where I had planned since I left plenty of extra room for it. The manufacturer recommends 2-inch clearance all around so the cabinets do not get too hot. I used some cabinet spacer panels to fill in in the front. The propane line into the house was a bit more complicated then I imagined. I should write a whole blog entry just for its design and installation. Next I spent a few weeks building the counter tops. I had already ordered 3 sheets of Wilson Art laminate. Their selection is nearly unlimited. I chose Luna Night which is pure shiny black with tiny ridges. To made the counter tops, I used 3/4" medium-density fiberboard on top, with 3/4" plywood underneath. On the large counter top, I only used the plywood around the edges. This method gave me 1.5" thickness all around the edge. Then around this edge I glued poplar to make a nice hardwood edge. Next I glued the laminate on top and trimmed it at 45 degrees all around the edge. The resulting edge is very clean. I suppose I should connect the water system this summer, but other projects will probably delay it until next year. Siding is InstalledTuesday, February 9. 2010How to Install a WindowThis diagram shows how I installed my windows. There are several goals for this window-wall interface. 1. Hold the window physically in place. 2. Keep outside water from getting into the frame. 3. Seal the vapor barrier to the window so no inside air leaks out. 4. Physically attach the vapor barrier to the window so it does not detach. 4. Insulate the gap between the window and wall frame. 5. Make a seal that can expand and contract. Wednesday, January 20. 2010House Panorama![]() Here is a 180 degree panorama of the Simo-Homestead. The new, empty gravel pad is for the main house I might build someday. See the full-size photo. This six-shot panorama was stitched with Hugin Wednesday, April 15. 2009Latest House DesignI've been looking at options for siding lately since I want to use the same siding for my shed now. Prices of wooden siding are way up, so alternatives like metal and cement are quite reasonable. I think I will use Hardie cement siding. Only $60 per sheet for colored panels. I decided on a dark gray color to complement the red metal roof. Hardie Siding Monday, March 9. 2009Moonlight Sonata in Ice (HDR)HDR is a very nice technique for these images. Yet another sculpture did not look as good using HDR as this one. I think the tone mapping did not work out in that case. It will take me awhile to completely understand the HDR technique and its limitations, but I am very happy with the results here. I've been shooting nothing but bracketed exposures of the ice in preparation for HDR conversions. I'll be going out tonight to get more shots of multi-block sculptures I missed Saturday. Hope I can get good images of them all despite the snow and warm temperatures. Tuesday, March 3. 2009HDR IceIce sculptures are light from lights on the ground which often cause the tops of the sculptures to be very dark and the bottoms very bright. Even good modern digital cameras do not have much dynamic range, so cannot correctly expose these objects. Therefore, I am using High Dynamic Range (HDR) techniques this year. I simply take a range of exposures so the dark parts are correctly exposed, and the bright spots are correctly exposed. Then I take this series of photos and run them through HDR software to combine them all into one photo. Here is one I just made using 5 separate images with 5 different exposures. You can see the ice is very nicely exposed so the tops are not too dark and the bottom is not blown out. One aspect of the photo I did not expect was how well the background would look. The trees here have even more detail visible than I remember seeing with my own eye. This photo, of course, is not finished; I would never want such a distracting background. High Dynamic-Range Imaging at Wikipedia Monday, December 1. 2008House Moving
That is outhouse moving, of course. The first improvement I made on this property was digging the outhouse hole. The lot was pretty dense with alder then, so I chose a spot for the outhouse I was pretty sure would not interfere with any sort of plan I would later devise. The location I chose later turned out to be the very worst spot! The surrounding trees were dead or dying and there was a dead branch hanging right over the spot. I didn't notice these deadly trees because I never even bothered to look up. Also, after I built it, the outhouse hole filled with water in the spring because the driveway I later built funnel snow melt right into it.
I moved it this way. I built a sled onto the side of the house, tipped it over, then used a cable winch to drag it over the snow to the new location. That place is pretty tight because it is between the shed and the camper. It is the only location I think will not flood in the spring. So once I got the house over the new hole, I had to carefully tilt it back up onto its foundation. If it fell, it would ruin either the shed or the camper. It was not hard to winch up, then align over the new hole. But now I am concerned it might tip over in an earthquake. There's always something to improve. Monday, September 29. 2008Major Framing CompleteIt is still a while before I can sheath the walls and install the roofing, since there is minor framing to complete first. I have to install lots of bracing and blocking. These photos were taken on the first frozen morning of the winter. I can still work in frozen temperatures for awhile, but the darkness in the evening adds a second handicap. Monday, August 11. 2008First of 8
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