The Roof!
This was another pretty good week, even if it doesn’t look like much. The cabin has had a “temporary” ridge cap made from 2 by 6’s and flashing tape since last fall. This week, with help from Tim, we finally put up the remaining fascia and rake flashing plus the ridge cap, something I’ve been looking to get done for almost a year. Additionally with help from Wylie and his friend Caz, we put up the last roll of wainscoting and — as predicted — it’s just a few inches short.
I found some YouTube videos to help us with the final steps of putting on the fascia, rake flashing (the part that goes over the edge of the roof on the gable), and the ridge cap. The parts NOT shown in the videos were that: (1) Much of the work had to be done up high, as shown above; and (2) Getting the plastic off the metal pieces is a total pain. The tractor and a pallet provided a nice stance, except that it slowly lost altitude. Thus, we put the small ladder underneath to provide a semblance of security.
The rake flashing includes putting up a “z” shape piece of metal (left photo) on top of the roof right next to the gable edge. The rake flashing then fits over the “z” and was screwed into the fascia (right photo). This makes for a very secure edge. Rivets are supposed to go into the top of the rake flashing, but I haven’t done that yet and I hardly think it necessary.
The left photo above shows the gable fascia as it went through the winter last year. The right photo shows the gable fascia and rake flashing now. It should be bomb proof!
The ridge cap has bent over metal that slips over the top of z-shaped pieces of metal that are installed between each rib of the standing seam roof. Butyl tape provides a seal underneath the z-shaped pieces and you can see where the sealant squeezed up next to the screws. The z-shaped pieces are caulked over the ribs and have a foam section that allows air to flow (left photo). The right photo shows the first section of the ridge cap installed. We have cut off the metal on the ridge cap that hooks over the z-shaped pieces for about 10 inches closest to the photographer. The next section of ridge cap overlaps these 10 inches.
The above photos show the z-pieces of the metal installed. On the left you see the water-proof underlayment between the metal sheets as it was all last year. On the right, I have cut the underlayment so the the airway between the SIP panels and the OSB roofing layer can flow freely. Thus, air can now flow from openings at the bottom of the metal sheets up through the venting on the ridge cap and allow the “cold roof” to function as planned. The foam in the z-pieces keeps bugs and such out at the top, and we put furnace filter between the gaps at the bottom for the same reason.
Tim and I were both pretty stoked after we got the final piece of the ridge cap installed. Like the rake flashing, some rivets are supposed to be installed, but that’s probably overkill. The “z” pieces really hold the ridge cap on tightly.
Wylie and Caz came up to finish up the wainscoting. Both photos above show them measuring, but they also cut the foam (at least most of it), installed it (again mostly), and screwed on the wainscoting. A clear example of child labor that went well.
As noted in the previous post, I ended up just a few inches short of wainscoting. Well, I suppose that’s consistent anyway…