You are completely right about building memories for yourself. Today's crappy I want it now attitudes are a big problem for our country. I am a Veteran and at 68 I find it difficult from time to time to get work done but somehow we manage. Laminate floors, fixing my 02 GMC truck to keep it going I think you get my meaning. Anyway we enjoy watching keep up the good work, keep Govt as far away as you can and keep building those memories.
Your skill sets are pretty impressive on this journey. You are certainly not afraid of hard work, nor taking on big jobs. You’re showing how much can be accomplished by continuously working together toward a big goal. You have accomplished a lot in a relatively short time.
It has been my understanding from other sources that traditional battens were only nailed on one side and the other side is left free to move with the shrinkage of the wood as it dries.
Wow, that’s turning out nice, and Mag is super excited for their New Sponsor Mud 😂. Y’all are going to do just fine, when you start building your house.
Your gutter you should run into a barrel and you can use that water for the mill blade and save carrying it up to the mill. The over flow can run down the hillside.
You need a building to hold the mill to cover and protect the mill as well as providing a work place to be dry while experiencing bad whether and still be able to get work done.
If you do not use any of my suggestions I understand. It is your set up and what makes you happy is what matters. You are living the life and I am as well, although you are doing it for real and I am doing it vicariously through you.
From the rocky start with the shed floor to how you have progressed since, I believe you will be making a nice and sturdy house. I've enjoyed watching.
The work you did will definitely hold those battens. But your batten nails should only go in the center and not contact the original boards at all or if you think more nails are required then nail to only one of the boards so as the gap opens the batten will move with the side it is nailed to and continue to cover the space without cracking.. If you put nails in the battens through the boards then there is a very good chance that the boards will split just as you said .
Since I have very little experience in kilns, although I used them in our mills, lumber, chip, and firewood,.. oh and shakes and shingles.... our kilns had to have ventilation for moisture to release... tell me you have a plan for that as a little air escaping would seem to be a good thing since your going to have positive air pressure inside.
Your problem is you shouldn’t have a trim at the bottom it will hold water and limit the life of timber and let the water inside the battens should run the length if the boards top and bottom and as I said before the boards should run past the foundation so water doesn’t get between or a metal flashing.
Many people don't realize how difficult it is to film, edit, publish, and still make such great progress on a project. If I attempted the same of me making a sandwich, it would take so long I'd starve to death! haha You guys have a great eye for aesthetic, it looks beautiful. You will be so happy you took the time to make all your outbuildings match the same design. Think of the legacy you are creating for your family. Not just your homesite, but also a full video documentary of the process. Incredible! Keep waking up determined, and going to bed satisfied!
Battens are to cover the gaps. They only need to be held on by the minimum nails/screws to hold them in place. The cross boards that you have is all you need.
John why no damp course between railway boards & your framing? The water is just wicking up ? Is the front middle beam meant to be partly off the front railway board?? 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧
It does scare me how you nail the battens to both boards. It will definitely hold with both boards as they shrink. If the shrinkage is enough those boards and or the battens are going to crack. The oil based paint that Meg used will fill the cracks once they happen in the battens or in the boards. You should paint it eventually anyway.
I believe the product you need for polycarbonate is Sik-a-sil. Silicone may not adhere to polycarbonate very well but sikasil does it is made for it. 😉
