Ranch Cabin Build

[ktjones]

liking this thread! KJ

[HHBuck]

x2

[STXH]

Awesome build!

[wlee15]

Praying for good weather this weekend. We are planning to go up Friday evening with the 80+ pressure treated 2X6's need to complete the deck. With the deck installed it will be easier to get the roof on (a stable platform for Ladders) and finish the small amount of welding that remains. It will also make it easier to get the concrete floor poured in the bathhouse because we can mix it in a wheel barrel on the deck. I feel that the decking is going to be key to getting things to move along quicker.

there will be aprox 800 #12 2-3/4" self tapping screws to secure the 2x6 lumber to the frame. I am expecting to have to pilot hole each and every screw with a drill bit to make it easier to connect. Does anyone have any experience using the Teks brand self tapping screws for decking? Here is the link to the screws for reference: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Teks-12-x-2...Count/50146324

Any suggestions? We thought about welding in some angle Iron so that we could use smaller length screws by installing the screw from below through the angle iron into the board. But I decided that in the long run the boards would adhere better going into the square tubing. Another reason is that down the road when a board needs to be replaced it would be easier to just back out a screw from above then to have to crawl down below the deck to uninstall. What are your thoughts?

thanks again for all the replies and encouragement, and we look forward to hearing any suggestions or experience you have that will make this build easier.

~William

[Stolle]

Praying for good weather this weekend. We are planning to go up Friday evening with the 80+ pressure treated 2X6's need to complete the deck. With the deck installed it will be easier to get the roof on (a stable platform for Ladders) and finish the small amount of welding that remains. It will also make it easier to get the concrete floor poured in the bathhouse because we can mix it in a wheel barrel on the deck. I feel that the decking is going to be key to getting things to move along quicker.

there will be aprox 800 #12 2-3/4" self tapping screws to secure the 2x6 lumber to the frame. I am expecting to have to pilot hole each and every screw with a drill bit to make it easier to connect. Does anyone have any experience using the Teks brand self tapping screws for decking? Here is the link to the screws for reference: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Teks-12-x-2...Count/50146324

Any suggestions? We thought about welding in some angle Iron so that we could use smaller length screws by installing the screw from below through the angle iron into the board. But I decided that in the long run the boards would adhere better going into the square tubing. Another reason is that down the road when a board needs to be replaced it would be easier to just back out a screw from above then to have to crawl down below the deck to uninstall. What are your thoughts?

thanks again for all the replies and encouragement, and we look forward to hearing any suggestions or experience you have that will make this build easier.

~William

I would give it a shot without pre drilling first. They are self tapping so should work well with drilling a hole first. Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Dale Moser]

How heavy is the tubing again?

Don't spin them too fast and burn up the tip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sendit]

Praying for good weather this weekend. We are planning to go up Friday evening with the 80+ pressure treated 2X6's need to complete the deck. With the deck installed it will be easier to get the roof on (a stable platform for Ladders) and finish the small amount of welding that remains. It will also make it easier to get the concrete floor poured in the bathhouse because we can mix it in a wheel barrel on the deck. I feel that the decking is going to be key to getting things to move along quicker.

there will be aprox 800 #12 2-3/4" self tapping screws to secure the 2x6 lumber to the frame. I am expecting to have to pilot hole each and every screw with a drill bit to make it easier to connect. Does anyone have any experience using the Teks brand self tapping screws for decking? Here is the link to the screws for reference: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Teks-12-x-2...Count/50146324


Any suggestions? We thought about welding in some angle Iron so that we could use smaller length screws by installing the screw from below through the angle iron into the board. But I decided that in the long run the boards would adhere better going into the square tubing. Another reason is that down the road when a board needs to be replaced it would be easier to just back out a screw from above then to have to crawl down below the deck to uninstall. What are your thoughts?

thanks again for all the replies and encouragement, and we look forward to hearing any suggestions or experience you have that will make this build easier.

~William

I have used several hundred of those screws attaching 2x4 and 2x6's to 1/4" wall square tubing without a problem in my safe room. This is using 18V Milwaukee 1/4" impact drivers. I recommend that you predrill the wood as the self tapper doesn't do that well in wood believe it or not. Using a #3 is better than a #2 Phillips driver also.

[wlee15]

How heavy is the tubing again?

Don't spin them too fast and burn up the tip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some is on 11g but most will be 14g

The reason I expect to have to pre drill is Because I do not want to burn up a bunch of screw heads. If I make a pilot hole 1/2 the size of the shaft I figure it will go in pretty easy.

[Dale Moser]

Ranch Cabin Build

Those will go through 14ga like a dream, and 11ga just fine..just slow them down some.

No pilot hole necessary.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wlee15]

I have used several hundred of those screws attaching 2x4 and 2x6's to 1/4" wall square tubing without a problem in my safe room. This is using 18V Milwaukee 1/4" impact drivers. I recommend that you predrill the wood as the self tapper doesn't do that well in wood believe it or not. Using a #3 is better than a #2 Phillips driver also.

Thanks Sendit! You and Dale have helped us form a plan. We are going to pre-drill the decking and then see if the self tapping screw goes easy through the steel (it should). If not we will pre-drill a smaller hole in the steel before inserting the screw.

Just purchased the wood and screws from Lowes.... not cheap but i think pressure treated should last a long time and these big heavy screws should hold up better than standard deck screws.

What would you all recommend on weather proofing or sealing? Our plan is to let the wood air out and dry before using a good wood stain. Will that be enough or should I stain then use a sealant too? Trying to make the investment last as long as possible so putting down the extra money to do it right now will be worth it. The front deck will be covered and protected from the sun. the Side decks will be open and completely exposed to rain and sun.

Thanks again everyone for the words of encouragement.

[wlee15]

I'm liking it. Can't wait until you start inviting us out there hunting.

LOL the line is getting longer.....

[wlee15]

Well the weather did not cooperate fully but we did make some progress.

I had a friend ask me how the build was going at the super party I had. I told him what we have done and showed him a few pictures and he was impressed. He said "I would love to come out and help you one weekend." I told him we were going next Friday and he volunteered to com along. He is far from an outdoors-man so I totally expected him to not follow up or have an excuse to not go. On Thursday morning he called me, and asked if we were still going, with the weather and all etc. I said yes I still planned to go, and he said OK great I will come help. WOW I was surprised but so happy to have the help.

We headed out to Rocksprings on Friday. The weather going out was BAD. There was some sleet in San Antonio when we left but it was light and well above freezing so it melted immediately. All the way up I-10 through Kerrville it was fine. As soon as we turned on Hwy 41 toward Rocksprings the temp dropped below freezing and the sleet started coming down. By the time we hit the Gavin store it had turned to a mix of freezing rain and sleet mixed. (Pics 1&2) It wasn't too slick to continue on but it made us begin driving well below the speed limit. We made it out the property with no issue and luckily we were west of the weather. We spend that afternoon chipping the ice off the trailer full of lumber and transporting it down to the build site. We huddled around the campfire enjoying food and cold ones Friday night.

Saturday morning was a complete surprise. I was expecting it to be colder and icy, but it was dry; low temps but no wind. We were pretty comfortable. We started building the West side of the cabin first. This side is about about 14' long so we cut down 16 footers and laid them in place. We pre-drilled the lumber and installed the screws using cordless impact drivers (18 and 20 volt varieties) I have to say that all the worry I had was for nothing; they went in like a hot knife through butter. (pics 3&4)

We continued on the front deck with 8' boards and completed the 30 foot run from the bathhouse to to the East side of the cabin. All in all we used 595 screws to fasten the deck AND we only had 1 failure!!! Actually the screw did not fail; somehow the screw stripped the square tubing, to be safe I threw that one away and used another one with a steep enough angle to create a new hole (because the new screw could not bite into the tubing) it worked like a charm so the board looks as if there was no failure at all.

We decided to call it quits for the day and have some time to enjoy a BBQ, some beer and a fire again.

Sunday Morning was WET. Light rain/Mist dampened our efforts to complete all 3 sides of the deck. that side is 20' long but it will be easy to get that done in a few hours time. I need to get out there soon to finish up. Maybe this Friday??

[Gunnyart]

That'll be a great place to sit

[DUKFVR]

That is looking Great!

[Puncher51]

Man that’s looking awesome!!