Special consideration was given in the selection of which Spray Foam Insulation to use as not all Spray Foams are alike. Icynene provides two types of spray foam, a water based propelled open cell and a chemical based propelled closed cell. The propellant used impacted our canary differently. One was tolerable, the other not. Though the closed cell has a …
Insulation
The Icynene Insulation spray foam was applied in late December taking 3 days to complete. Electrical hook up and thermostat for the radiant floor heat was completed. Heat was turned on and the interior cleaned up ready for installation of interior partitions come January.
Roof Substrate Canary Considerations
Traditionally roof substrates are made of CDX plywood. However the glues used in manufacturing the CDX plywood gas off slowly and impact many canaries, despite being covered with underlayment above and insulation below. A safer product is corrugated metal decking material, 20g typically. This is available in custom cut lengths similar to standing seam metal panel roofing. Other alternatives to …
Roof Substrate
Through the last 2 weeks of November and into the first 2 week of December, work progressed on installing the corrugated metal decking to close in the roof from the elements. Work finished around the 12th along with the installation of the upper windows and door to the attic. Patient Chickadee is now closed in and set for winter!
Andersen Windows
Though installation of the windows and doors posed its own issues, selecting the window and door material proved almost daunting. Our canary is highly reactive to soft woods – one of the main reasons this first build is concrete and steel. As most standard wood windows are made from pine or other softwood, an extensive search was conducted for manufacturers …
Windows and Doors
The first 2 weeks of November were unusually warm with temperatures approaching 70 degrees. Taking advantage of the good weather, the doors and first floor windows installation was completed. The upper-level attic openings frame bucks were prepared and installation awaiting completion of the roof substructure (corrugated metal decking).
The Eaves and Fascia
The next task in preparing the structural roof was to add the eave extensions between the gable walls. This was followed by connecting the metal fascia, a somewhat difficult task as parts of the eaves had a 90% flange and others a 45% flange requiring intricate and detailed metal cutting. The roof was now ready for the corrugated metal sheafing. …
The Roof Valleys
Installing the roof valleys was somewhat demanding. It required measuring 4x’s before cutting, then adjusting so that the plane of the rafter roof lines matched the plane of the valley beam. Three valley beams ran the length from the main ridge beam to the attic floor, and 3 others intersected with these long beams. Once set, the valley ridge beams …
The Roof Begins
After the ridge beam was set, work began on fabricating the individual rafters. It is a laborious, time-consuming activity. After measuring the length, the 16” steel beam is cut on the 45 degrees at each end. Then a further 45 degrees cut on the bottom is made creating a square face flush with the outside joist of the attic floor. …
Ridge Beam Set
To assist the 2-man work crew, a Genie boom lift was rented. It allowed the easy lifting into place of the steel material. After the top plate was complete, the Ridge Beam was set and placed. Measurements were taken and the cutting of the rafters began. There are about 90 rafters to cut and 3 gable ridge beams to set …
