When we stepped away from the framing project, it was "dried in." At that point, the building inspector is going to want to look at it, to make sure you used the right amount of nails, the right sized lumber and tied it all together in accordance with the local building codes, which aren't much different than the building codes laid out for your area in the International Residential Code. He's going to want to inspect plumbing and electric, insulation and HVAC, as well as the final product. Most inspectors are willing to combine the inspections, but unwilling to pull back insulation for the first three.
Foundation and Floor: Start and finish there
Walls and Ceilings
Framing the Roof
Roofing the Little Home
Insulate the Little Home
Before he gets there, you'll want to run out your gable studs (between your plate and rafters to extend your wall to your roof on the ends.) The most important one is the one that supports the ridge. It's also the easiest, because it is a square cut. The other gable studs will be cut on a bevel, and while it isn't required, running a 2x4 plate to the bottom of the rafter, will make installation easier. The bevel you use on the saw is equal to the pitch of the roof, but marked in degrees. You figure this out with speed square, but if you used a 4 pitch, the bevel is cut at 18.4 degrees. Alteratively, you can run these studs "flat" (3 1/2" side will be what you nail siding to) and cut them on an angle instead of bevel. You'll also want to support the ridge from the break between the two boards, down to the strongback, with a 2x4. After you have the gable ends studded up, you'll want to run out the plywood sheating.
Sheds have a different standard than do residences, to include the fact that sheds won't have plumbing and may not have electric. The cleaner your cuts and more precise your work, the less deep he'll dig in his inspection. Walk through with him. It shouldn't take long, as this is 4 simple walls. He'll point out the mistakes you made and leave you a list of things to correct. Some of those might be correctable on the spot, before he finishes writing it up, if your helper tags along. The "re-inspection" may be his second walk around.
Often there is a bit of animosity between the builder and inspector. It should be noted that his job is to make sure that proper construction reduces the chance for structural and component failures. It's sort of like a quality control inspector. There's no good reason for either party to be belligerant, but humans are prone to negative characteristics, and having bad days.
But there will probably be a few days between the phone call to inspect, and his time available to do so. During this time, you can start working on things that don't hinder his vision of your framing. Put up the wall sheathing if you didn't already. Install the windows and doors. Frame out your skylights. Run your electric. Run your plumbing. Trim out your soffits and put up your siding.
What we didn't initially frame is the wall below the windows. Look at the rough opening requirements for your windows. Measure down from headers and mark the sides of the jack studs for that opening. Measure up from the bottom plate to that mark, and deduct the 1 1/2" for the sill plate. That is the height of your "cripple studs." Measure between the jack studs, below the header. That is the width of your sill plate. Nail the two outside cripple studs to your jack studs and toe nail your other cripple studs into the layout. (If it's a 3-0 window, this can be just one stud centered, or you can run the studs on layout, which may be two. If it's wider than 3-0, it'll probably be at least 2 studs.) You may have to force the sill plate in place, or pull the studs into it. As long as the sill plate will fit nicely between the jack studs at the header height, it is the right width. The studs beside it are simply bowed. You'll also need to put cripples in above the header. Those will only be a few inches and fill the space between top plate and header.
When you set the windows, you want the gap left and right to be the same, but you can set it on the sill plate or elevate it above it. For that, it's easiest to put a piece of scrap wood between the window and sill plate. And it easiest to have your helper on the other side of the window. You need 3 screws on each side of the window. Top and bottom corners and the middle. These go through the outside flange into the jack studs. Put in a single corner screw, once the window is centered, then plumb the window and put in a second screw. (If you use nails, as recommended, use roofing nails.) Check to make sure the other side is plumb and run out the screws. You'll want to make sure that the gap between window and frame is the same, and after installation, make sure the window open and closes correctly.
Doors are very similar, but you'll want to start both by checking the sill for level. Dry fit the door and install your shims on the bottom of the frame if necessary. After you're sure the bottom is sitting level, pull it out and run a good set of beads of caulk where the door threshold will sit on the floor. When you put the door back in, it's staying. Your helper will shim up the door on the sides. You'll want to make sure the door striker plug is removed or removable after installation. The first thing your helper will look at is that the gap between door and frame is universal, about an 1/8th inch, all the way around. You'll check the sides for plumb. When it's plumb and the gap is right, put 6 screws through the brick mold into jack studs (or 16d finish nails). This will hold it in place while you open the door and go in to finish up the shims. The most important side is the hinge side. The primary shims are behind the 3 hinges and at the door latch. After you have the shims right, you'll want to run a 3" screw through the hinge/strike plate into the jack stud. It's easy to overtighten these screws, and pull it out of alignment. Check the door again, to make sure the gap is the same. Open it. It should stay open. Check it in a half open and almost closed position. It should stay where you put it (assuming no wind). If it doesn't, it's out of plumb, or the hinges are pinching the frame. That 1/8th inch gap is the easiest way to see where the problem is. If there is a problem, the gap will be wrong, in that spot.
Next up is soffit. Beginning front and back, You'll likely want to run the soffit level, rather than on the pitch of the roof. At the corners, level back from the fascia boards to the wall, and then pop a line from corner to corner. Pull a string on the bottom corner of the fascia board and use your hammer to tap it straight. Next you'll want to run a 2x4 flat on and above that line. If you run this crooked, or off the line, it's going to be very obvious.
Run this 2x4 past the corner of the structure, by 22 1/2". This should be level with the inside of the outside rafter, and will help form your "birdbox," that part on the corner of your soffit that accomodates the lower soffit. Next, you'll run 21" (approx) joists between the fascia board and the 2x4 you nailed to the wall, beside the rafter tail. You'll go through the same procedures on your end walls, though you'll have to be more precise in cutting and measuring the 2x4 that you nail to the wall. It's going to be much like a mini-rafter, and run from your birdbox (leveled back from your fascia board on the corner) to the center of your wall directly under your ridge. All 4 of these should be the same, with 4 pitch angles (or the pitch of your roof).
You'll run the 21" soffit joists on the end walls as well. The birdbox is a matter of building a structure to nail to. Your last joist should be nailed to the inside of your rafter, so you need to build this out 1 1/2" which is as easy as adding a 2x4 under the rafter and nailing it to the end joist/2x4 runner, and then adding one that fills the gap between the top of that and the rafter, and adding a nailer to the inside corner.
The single most likely place for your structure to experience rot are those birdbox corners. This occurs because water is almost guaranteed to drip down the corner and most don't paint/protect the most vulnerable parts of the wood at that spot, the end cut. It is normally the case that these cuts are 45 degree bevels at the most vulnerable parts. If you stain no other part of the substructure, stain the wood in the bird box, including any end cuts, before you nail them up. When these boards begin to rot, many will just slap up some metal fascia/soffit to cover it up.
I highly recommend you include multiple levels of protection for this corner. Stain it, caulk up the end cuts, and then cover it with metal, with significant overlap, and a bead of caulk.
After you have framed the soffits, you're ready to begin finishing them. A roof needs to breath. Your ridge vent provides one end of that, and soffit vent provides the other. There are many types of finish product you can chooose from, but for our sake, we're going with vinyl, vented soffit, which is sold in 10 ft lengths. Our 2 foot soffit means you'll want to cut this into 23 1/2" lengths. You'll want to run J-channel or F-channel on the wall where it meets the soffit. F-channel is designed for use where you are only nailing to the wall, but is more expensive. Because we built a soffit frame, you can use the J-channel. This will catch wall side of the soffit. The fascia side will get nailed with a small nail, or staple to the bottom of the fascia board. Along the edges, it interlocks, but at 24", you'll also need to nail the centers. It goes pretty quick and it is easy to get out of square. It stretches easily, but you left yourself a 1/4" play on both ends. After you've ran the soffit, you'll run fascia cap (metal) that catches the outside edge of the soffit panel, and covers the entire fascia board, sliding up behind the roofedge.
You're going to need a small metal bender for the corners in particular, and metal snips. Wiss makes the best hand tools for this.
After you have the soffits finished, you can start the siding. Measure down from your soffit and mark the same distance on all four corners, and snap a line which accomodates the top of the "starter strip" for the vinyl. The starter strip catches the bottom of your first piece of siding. Cut and install your four corner pieces. Run another piece of J-channel at the top, to catch your top piece of siding. Run J-channel around the doors. If your windows don't have integral J-channel run it there. Here, appearance of level is more important than is level. By measuring down all siding lines should run parallel to the soffit, making it look level. Vinyl stretches, so, it'll be real easy for you to get out of level as you run the siding (or to fix it if you do).
At the top, you'll need a piece to catch the top of the last piece of siding, inside the J-channel, and there is a special tool to make it catch inside that. The tool is cheap and easily perforates the top. The J channel alone will be sufficient on the gables, but on the front and back, you'll need that extra strip, along with under the windows.
Vinyl can be cut with a utility knife, wire snips, or a circular saw, with a paneling blade turned backswards. It is extremely easy to work with. Don't try to stretch it, and it only needs a nail every 16", into the plywood. Roofing nails are the presibed form, and if you put up rigid foam insulation, it's easy to stick the top and hold it in place, after you snapped the bottom in place. It will expand and shrink in the sun, and is prone to cracking if hit in the winter. You'll want an overlap that accomodates the expansion and contraction, or it will buckle and come lose, as well as provide musical entertainment.
There are many other siding solutions, with metal being another fairly easy and cheap, low maintenance means. Buy your materials at the local vinyl supply store, not a big box store. You'll have more choices, better service and advice. When you say that you need that tool for the top of the siding, they'll know what you're talking about. If you walk in and tell them that you're building a 16 x 16 shed with a 2 foot overhang and gable roof, they'll be able to tell you precisely how many "squares" of siding you need, along with how much starter strip, and J-channel, and how many soffit and roofing nails. Same with the metal roofing. If you go to Lowe's, your choices will be limited to the colors and lengths they have in stock, and should you decide to use metal siding (which is more durable), they won't know that "rat channel" is the best starter strip.
Staplers are a necessary item for parts of construction. The most commonly owned version will wear your hand out quick. It's better to get one that has the stapler lever opposite the common and has some padding. This will be sufficient, but it's also more efficient if you have a hammer stapler on hand for those times when you're running a lot of staples, without the need to hold a corner in a precise point with each staple. With a hammer stapler, you can cover a lot of area, quickly (i.e. tyvek). For best results make sure both use the same size staples. Don't try to use the longest staples you can buy. if you're stapling paper, you only need 5/16" or so. If you go too deep, you'll have the "head" sticking out in your way, and have to hammer it in. if your staples aren't laying flat, you're staples are too big.
Foundation and Floor: Start and finish there
Walls and Ceilings
Framing the Roof
Roofing the Little Home
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