Dormer Wrap Up 2

I installed the nailers along the diagonal valley rafters in the south dormer today. Here's a look at all the nailers (on the right) down the southeast valley rafter.

When I put the sheathing on the outside of the dormers, each valley rafter forms a tiny air pocket where it crosses over the top plate on the wall.

I filled each of those air pockets with insulation while they were more accessible--before applying the sheathing.

Half of the sheathing done on the south dormer...

The south dormer is now done!

Also see:
Dormer Wrap Up 1


For those following the adventures of my cats...

It has not been George's summer. He has crashed to the floor of the JayBee twice after climbing into the rafters. He has been scared out of his wits numerous times when the neighbor's dog randomly comes running through the yard. Yesterday, the DOG ran up the driveway and excitedly circled George--and George did not wake up from his nap! I was up in the JayBee's rafters at the time. I thought that George had to be dead not to wake up with a large dog bouncing and breathing heavily around him. But, then, I saw his paw twitch and I realized he was just sleeping very soundly. He looked like this...

I was afraid the dog would jump on him, so I was yelling at the dog and yelling at the dog's owner. George still didn't wake up. Two or three minutes after all the commotion was completely over and all was quiet, George woke and sat up. He must have then smelled the dog because he ran off to hide!

Finally, last night, George ended up getting sprayed by a skunk. He has enough stink on him that, if you pet him, your hand stinks afterwards. Poor guy. It's tough getting old--and not being as on top of your game as you once were.

Dormer Wrap Up 1

I have been working on the finishing touches on the two dormers. I am installing nailer boards on the four diagonal rafters.

The top edges of the nailers are sloped at a different angle than the top edge of the diagonal rafters--to catch the edge of the roof sheathing I will install on the dormers.

My brother caught me up in the dormer rafters.

I am also installing blocking between the dormer rafters--before installing the plywood sheathing on the outside of the dormers.

The north dormer is now done!

Halfway through installing the blocks on the south dormer...

All the south dormer blocks are now done.

Also see:
Dormer Wrap Up 2

Rainy Day Project: Rocking Chair 1

August in Maine is usually dry, sometimes dangerously dry. Not this August. I have lost a lot of building time to rain. I'm not sitting around twiddling my thumbs, though. One of the projects I have been working on is a rocking chair that I plan to use in the JayBee.

A lot of tiny houses save space by making all the furniture built in to the tiny spaces. Often in the living area this means the seating is a bench with a cushion. This would never work for me! I'm no longer young, and I see a chiropractor on a regular basis as it is; I need to have seats that are comfortable and provide good back support.

Below is a rocker (minus its cushions) that I've had for years. It has a smaller footprint than most rockers (so will be easier to fit into a tiny house), and it is comfortable. As you can see, the chair has seen better days. Unfortunately, the caning had been stained the same color as the wood on the chair (something you are never supposed to do!), so it had become really brittle. The stain has been shedding off the caning for years (making quite a mess, thank you very much), and the caning was broken in a number of spots. The chair really needed a makeover.

First, I removed all the caning from the back and sides. This takes a long time!

Then, I removed the worn out and torn upholstery in the seat.

I installed new cane webbing in one side of the chair...

...and in the other side as well. If you approach this step with patience, it actually goes pretty quickly.

I installed new cane webbing in the back of the chair. At this point, I left the caning alone to let it dry completely before trimming the edges.

The springs were in really good shape but, on their own, they moved around a lot, so I used lacing (from my rug-braiding supplies) to stabilize the springs by tying them to the sides of the chair.

I covered the springs with a piece of canvas.

On top of that, I layered some batting, some memory foam, and another layer of canvas. (I already had the canvas, memory foam, and batting, so none of these things cost me anything.)

I added some jute trim around three edges of the seat. (I also added a layer of canvas to the underside of the chair.)

Then I built a padded bumper for the front edge of the chair. The seat and back cushions will be covered with the same fabric as the bumper.

Finally, I trimmed the edges of the cane webbing in the back and sides of the chair. This step took a long time!

If it keeps raining, I guess I will have time to sew the chair cushions. I'll post a rocker update when the cushions are done.

Roof Rafters 17

I trimmed up the rafter tail ends on the north dormer today. At first, I thought it was going to be a quick job because I had the routine down after finishing up the south dormer. Turns out, though, that maneuvering a ladder along the slippery hillside on the north side of the JayBee is really difficult. At least I got the job done.

After I trimmed the rafters, I took a slew of measurements so I can cut some sheathing to cover the wall side of the dormer.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
Roof Rafters 9
Roof Rafters 10
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Roof Rafters 12
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 16
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up


When I heard some bald eagles making quite a ruckus, I looked up and saw three other raptors flying around. (Only caught two of them in this photo.) Not sure exactly what these are; they look bigger (and certainly differently colored) than bald eagles. Looks like the eagles have some competition. This is exciting. When I first moved here, it was rare to see bald eagles. Now, not only are there a lot of bald eagles, I guess there are also other raptors moving in.

George came into the JayBee this afternoon while I was up in the rafters and talked up a storm. At one point I said, "I hope you're not thinking about climbing up here." (Remember, the last time he did that, he ended up falling instead of climbing back down to the floor.) Well, I turned around, and this is what I saw--George climbing the ladder.

When he got to the top of the ladder, instead of climbing up onto the scaffolding or ceiling joists,

he immediately started trying to find a way back down.

He actually tried to go down the slick side of the ladder, instead of hopping down the rungs--which basically meant he slipped and fell to the bottom! Goodness, this cat is going to end up breaking a leg! He seems to have survived this latest fiasco okay.

Roof Rafters 16

How does a woman who has received a diagnosis of severe carpal tunnel in both wrists, and already knew she has severe arthritis in both thumbs build a house by herself? The same way she has been doing it all along--one step at a time, with judicious use of clamps and such to make it as easy and doable as possible.

Further progress on the south dormer...

Today I managed to trim the rafter tails on the south dormer. What a struggle! I was out there in the bright sun, the air wasn't moving at all. I had to move the ladder inside, then outside, then inside, then outside. Several times, I had to retreat from the sun and sweat just so I could breathe. Finally, I was done. This may not seem like much, but I had been worried that I wouldn't figure out a way to cut all the rafter tails to the same length, so this feels like quite an accomplishment.

The JayBee has a new cover! All that dragging of the tarps back and forth over the ridge board and rafters had popped quite a few holes, and rain was starting to leak in. Did I remove a layer or two in the process? No; I couldn't scare up the energy to do that. I wore myself out just getting the new layer up there. So, there are now four layers of tarps that I'm dragging back and forth.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
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Roof Rafters 12
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up


Every time I move a tarp around, George (and sometimes Bear) comes running over so he can crawl under it. Even when it is baking in the sun!

Roof Rafters 15

This morning, after I crawled up in the JayBee's east-end loft to peel the tarps back off the roof, I found myself just sitting up there, daydreaming, I guess--even though it was hot enough up there that sweat was pouring off me. I realize the JayBee is a long way from done, but it feels like a cozy home already to me.

Progress on the south dormer--made when I haven't been dodging rainstorms.

The JayBee has a different profile when it's covered now.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
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Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 14
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Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up


I think it's so cute when George holds his paw up in the air while he's sleeping.

And he has no idea how much he is risking when he sleeps directly underneath where I'm working!

Roof Rafters 14

Here are photos of progress on the north dormer. It's not completely done (the tail ends of the rafters need to be trimmed, etc.), but it's done enough that I'm moving on to build the south dormer now.

Also see:
Roof Rafters 1
Roof Rafters 2
Roof Rafters 3
Roof Rafters 4
Roof Rafters 5
Roof Rafters 6
Roof Rafters 7
Roof Rafters 8
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Roof Rafters 12
Roof Rafters 13
Roof Rafters 15
Roof Rafters 16
Roof Rafters 17
Roof Rafters 18
Roof Rafters 19
Roof Rafters 20
Roof Framing Wrap-Up