I am SPARticus--but my kingdom for a reciprocating saw!

[IraRat]

Spars are up, and not at all as painful as I thought it would be:



Those two in the front don't look equally spaced apart, and that's because they weren't. (I used the wrong mark at first and went back to fix, but I wanted to take the photo while this huge cloud was approaching.) Spars are all poplar, 2-up laminated, for a total of 1 1/2" square.

See the framing for the AC in the front?

This is a bit of a puzzle, because the unit will fit in from the outside, but not from the inside. This has to do with two little legs on the bottom of the AC, which I'll either remove or use as part of the exterior support system. Not something I can worry about now--because I framed this perfectly, giving it an extra 1/8 all around--but this had to be done NOW anyway. Another decision I made was to use a double spar at the bottom, so raise it off the floor 1 1/2". The unit CAN sit flush on the floor (it's built that way), but instinctively, it seemed to make more sense to raise it a little. (Floor vibration???)

I didn't follow the Cubby plans as to spar spacing. They're 12 inches or less apart, except for the two around the fan, which are 14. (See below.)

Notice the one side door cut on the left. We'll get back to that.

Now, here's the framing for that fan at the very top, or just an open vent, haven't decided yet:



I made it 14 1/16". So when they say a 14" opening, it had BETTER be a 14" opening. I just used single cross pieces here. Didn't see the need to make this double.

Now, back to that wonderful door:

It was a b**** cutting that birch around the door opening with this little cheap triangular hand/utility/drywall saw that I had just bought for this purpose. So newbies here, if you can beg, borrow or steal for a reciprocating saw for this chore, by all means do it. I didn't even do the OTHER one yet, because I was so exhausted yesterday from this. (And I'm going to hve to do the same thing for my EXTERIOR skins.) The cut was fairly clean, but I'm not too concerned about any roughness. It will be belt sanded anyway.

Today, I'm not gonna kill myself. It's Father's Day, and if it doesn't start pouring, I'm just going to cut that other door and into the pool we all go. During the week or next Saturday, I'll run my ground wires. Then just wait for my bendy birch to arrive from Massachusetts.

[Geron]

Spars are up, and not at all as painful as I thought it would be:

.

Ira,

That looks great. Unless your camera angle is off the TD looks square i.e. the spars look very even when the space is view between them - no racking. Seems you're really doing a great job.

Geron

[mikeschn]

I made it 14 1/16". So when they say a 14" opening, it had BETTER be a 14" opening. I just used single cross pieces here. Didn't see the need to make this double.

Actually, you do want doubled up pieces here... The roof vent was designed to be dropped into a framing of 2x2s, and the screws end up offset from the outside edge of the wood by 3/8". If you use 1x2s you'll be hitting air instead of a spar!

Mike...

[Chris C]

IraRat,

Don't give up your kingdom for a recip saw. That's more for demolition than it is for building. A more finished cut can be made with a jig saw. And a jig saw is something you can use for many different kinds of projects. If you are planning on putting a sink in your galley, you'll need a jig saw for that step. Now, if you really get frustrated and want to just give up and destroy your tear..............THAT's when a reciprocating saw would come in handy!

[McTeardrops]

Irarat

My fan fit in a 14" opening, but the ceiling trim piece won't!

[TomS]

Ira,

I agree that you should double up the spars around the vent opening. You want to make sure your screws hit a solid frame when you install that vent.

Also, be sure to run wires to vent opening before you seal up your roof. I just checked my RV parts catalog. Ventline makes a powered vent for 14 x 14 inch openings that run on 115 volts.

[IraRat]

ARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!

Thanks, Mike (and Tom)--that's why I come here, for info like this. But I'm SO pissed off at this fact that I'm gonna use PINE for those 2 pieces around the fan!

Geron--thanks for lying so well to make me feel good!

Chris, I tried my jigsaw (that's the one new tool I DO have). I did it today on the second door, working from the outside. It was the length of the blade, or my skill, that told me, "Ira--stop right now." I REALLY screwed up about an inch, he FIRST inch I attempted. It kept wanting to dig into the framing. So I stopped with the jigsaw, and the two sides and bottom side are cut (by hand), but I didn't do the arch on top.

Like I said, this was a physical NIGHTMARE.

Every back and forth and back again of the saw sounded like, "DUMMY DUMMY DUMMY...STOP STOP STOP...HEART HEART HEART...ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!

Lenny, there's a trim piece for that fan? I don't even want to think about that now.

Tom, Ventline, huh? I know I found a 115 elsewhere, but don't remember where. Maybe that was the one. I am definitely being influenced by peer pressure to put a motorized fan in, and that's okay. With AC, my reasoning just doesn't see the logic. But I KNOW that after I spend the money and put it in, months later, I'm gonna say, "Oh, I'm so glad I put that motorized vent fan in!"

What ese am I gonna say:

"I could have bought 12 cases of Bud with THAT money!?"

I might still run that fan 12V to a small battery, for a bunch of reasons.

One other thing about my spars:

Not visible are 5 deck screws connecting each laminated pair. They were all glued and screwed together with no problem, but when I made a run to the store to buy a stick for the remaning one I needed, it kept section-splitting when I installed a screw. (I bought more extra poplar than I needed, so no problem.)

Seems that HD sells a "Babcock" brand which didn't split at all, but mixed in with those was this other brand, wth a green sticker, that DID split.

Weird, huh? Also, some pieces were light, others dark.

[angib]

A more finished cut can be made with a jig saw. And a jig saw is something you can use for many different kinds of projects.

The thing I wish someone had told me before I got to 50 (OK, one of the things I wish someone....) is that you can buy down-cutting blades for a jigsaw as well as the normal up-cutting blades. Down-cutters have to be treated a bit more carefully and the pendulum action of the saw must be switched off, but nine times out of ten when using a jigsaw, you want to be working from the 'good' side of the material, so you don't want splinters pulled up as normal blades do.

Andrew

[Woody]

Down cutting jig saw blades are primarily used for laminate work, and available at the big box stores. I use them all the time for finish work , like Angib stated it is easier sometimes to work from the good side of the wood

[TomS]

Ira,

My catalog shows that Ventline 110 Volt fan at $80. They sell the garnish (the interior trim) separately for $5. That about half of what I paid for my Fan-Tastic fan.


I didn't use screws when I laminated my spars. I simply ran a bead of glue between them and clamped them together. It took me week because I only had enough clamps to make two spar assemblies at time.

Even if you decide to put a non-powered vent in there now. Run that wire anyway. That way, you can always go back and add one later .

Another trick to avoid splitting is to drill pilot hole before sinking those screws.

[IraRat]

Another trick to avoid splitting is to drill pilot hole before sinking those screws.

I knew that, but I was too lazy.