Chapter 14

The Trailblazer

With or without building experience, you can easily construct a six-room, full bath cabin from numbered, ready-to-assemble parts for only $4,475.

WHILE definitely a kit type of structure each plank and board coming to you precut and numbered. The Trailblazer be­longs in this book by virtue of its "log cabin" construction.

One of the newest Norge designs (their Forest Hills) The Trailblazer provides plenty of light and air as there is a picture window in each of the front rooms, and two double windows in the dinette-kitchen.

A third bedroom, a screened porch, and plenty of closet space all combine to give you real comfort and easy vacation living. A thing of beauty as seen from the inside as well as the outside, the plank walls are finished on both sides with a natural rustic beauty that the usual method of construc­tion could never equal. You can build The Trailblazer easily, quickly, and without professional help—then move in the minute the last board is locked into place! The interior weather-tight walls require no additional covering. They can be stained or painted  to  suit your  individual  taste.

This big 24x41-ft.-8-in. cabin can be de­livered to your site in a reasonable time (depending on your location)—which delivery should be timed with the completion of your foundation.

A continuous footing of masonry is rec­ommended, since it is imperative that the house be erected on a firm foundation. The foundation carries the entire weight of the building, and must be so laid as to preclude any possibility of shifting, once the super­structure is placed upon it.

Make certain that the foundation is prop­erly squared. The piers or columns on which the main under-girder rests are set below the top of the outside foundation walls.

Upon receiving your pre-cut cabin, first lay out the walls and partitions in separate piles. Place piles near to where they will be used—high numbers on the bottom.

First set floor joists in place, firmly nail­ing all double joists together. The floor­boards, precut to correct length, bundles marked to indicate the rooms for which they have been specially cut. Planks on the front and rear walls have a shelf mor­tised at the top to receive the floor boards. No base molding is required.

Interior walls may be painted or stained as desired. They need no additional covering.	The walls are easily erected from sturdy 2x8-in. planks which are tongue-and-grooved.  interlocked at corners.

Nail floor boards, starting at the front wall, into floor joists with 7 or 8d cut floor nails, and toenail them into the end wall (grooved planks) with 4 or 6d finishing nails. It is suggested that you rip a board to fit snugly between the wall and the last board which has been laid.

The walls and partitions may now be erected. By following a strict alphabetical and numerical sequence, the walls and par­titions will fit perfectly. Never tap directly on the tongue of the plank with your ham­mer. Use the tapping blocks provided, as they are grooved to protect the tongue from damage.

When the second and third row of planks are fitted, the doors may be eased into posi­tion. Make sure that all doors are in the proper places and that they open as indi­cated. The sides of the outside door frames are double-rabbeted, providing unusually tight joints. Make certain that the door frames are placed in the center of the door openings. All doors are ready-hung in the frames.

When the building progresses to the seventh and eighth wall planks, the win­dows may be tapped into place. Be sure that the sides of windows with the putty are on the outside. Tap each window down firmly until it will go no lower, as the sill or lower part of the window frame must rest solidly on the wall plank underneath. After the window has been set in posi­tion and the laying of the wall planks has progressed to the top of the full height of the window, the plank immediately above the window may be positioned. Make cer­tain that there is a space of at least 1½ in. between the underside of this plank and the bottom of the groove cut in the top of all window and door frames. This space is necessary to permit settling of the walls, otherwise the upper planks will be held up by the top of the window or door frame, and when the lower planks settle, spaces will appear between the upper and lower planks. This opening above the window or door will be covered by the top facing of the frames.

Dripcaps, which fit above the outside door and windows, are furnished for the dual purpose of shedding water and for ornamentation. Dripcaps should never be nailed to the window or door frames, as they may prevent settling of the walls. Nail through the top dripcap board into the wall plank containing the groove cut for the purpose.

Caulk around window and door frames on the outside of the house, and on top of the dripcaps, to prevent any possibility of leakage.

As the walls and partitions will settle with time, making a tighter and tighter construction, nailed members may prevent complete settling.

No nails are used in  walls. They are firmly secured by the Tregaard Interlocking System.	Here  builder taps  purlin into  place on    gable.    Note   double   thickness.

In this connection no upright studs, wallboard, tiling or furring strips should be nailed to walls or partitions for at least six months after the build­ing has been erected, as this will prevent the walls from settling.

When the outside wall planks have been placed in position the ceiling joists may be attached. Nailing strips are nailed to each side of the abutting joist ends. Do not nail until the squared joist ends are in close contact.

Protective flashing strips are applied to prevent leaking. These should be placed over the joint formed by the roof of the left-side building extension and the side wall. If metal strips are not available the joint can be protected by bending shingles to fit. Caulk the tips of these shingles (which extend six inches up and against the side planks) with oakum, or caulking compound. Shingle ends should be pressed firmly against the planking, completely closing the cracks.

After all ceiling joists have been put into place, the gables may be erected. The gable is the triangular portion of the end of the building from the level of the eaves, to the top of the roof. It is suggested that a few boards be laid across ceiling joists to walk on while working.

As the gable planks go up, each plank end, which is cut on a slant, should be nailed to the gable plank underneath with one 8d common nail, the nail being driven downward. Nails should never be driven horizontally in any of the walls or partitions, except where specifically noted in these instructions. This should be remem­bered. The weight of the superstructure will press the planks together should any variation of position occur due to settling or slight wood shrinkage.

The beams that run the entire length of the cottage, supporting the roof and lock­ing the upper portion of the building, are called purlins. When several purlin sec­tions are required to span the length of the building, they usually join over the inside gables.

Special mortises have been cut into the gable planks to hold the purlins and the ridgeboard. No nails are required as the purlins lock securely in place.
A number of iron staples, one-quarter inch thick, are furnished to securely fasten the purlin sections together. When nailed down flush with the top of the purlin, the center of the staple should be directly over the joint formed by the purlin ends.

The 4x6-in. beam extending across the very top of the cottage is the ridgeboard. A 1x2-in. strip is nailed in the center of this ridgeboard. the ends of the roofboards form the two slopes resting against it.

The slopes of the gable planks are now covered with the 2x4-in. channel beams, cut out to fit the planks. These channel beams are nailed to the sloping sides of the small, triangular shaped top gable plank only.

The beveled end of the channel beam should not reach to, or touch the outside plank wall. Leave a space of about one-quarter inch. The purlins are nailed to these channel beams after having been pulled upward in their cut spaces as far as possible toward the peak of the cottage. The small clearance space left on the lower side of the purlins, and the one-quarter inch left at the lower end of the 2x4-in. channel beams, allow for any possible set­tling of the gable.

To make certain that the gables are in perfectly upright position, temporary bracing is suggested. Nail a 2x4-in. beam, about four feet long, across the center of the ceiling joists directly underneath the ridge­pole. Nail 1x6-in. boards to this beam, the other  ends  to  the  side of the  ridgepole.

To brace the gable ends nail one end of a 1x6-in. board to the ridgepole, just inside the left gable, and extend this board, diag­onally, to the fourth or fifth joist (from gable end) and nail to joist. To brace right gable, repeat this operation.

To keep roof and gables in proper align­ment, nail 1x6-in. boards to the gable planks from the purlins in each side of the roof, the boards slanting inward, forming right angles with the sloping sides of the gable, and extending downward to ceiling.

The end of the six-inch plank should butt the four-inch underside of the purlin. Another board extends from the ventilator down to the ceiling. Cornice boards extend from the ridge­pole down to the eaves. These are nailed to the ends of the purlins. The top edge of the cornice boards should be flush with the top of the roofboards, forming one con­tinuous surface. The cornice boards are largely decorative and form part of the trim of the building.

The fascia boards, also trim members, extend the full length of the building at the eaves. The ends of the fascia boards are nailed to the ends of the cornice boards, and to the roofboards, one of which should be laid in position at each end of the roof, on both sides of the roof slopes, and three others spaced about seven feet apart on both sides. These boards will hold the fascia in place until the roofboards are at­tached.

Nail the wooden member, which is at­tached to the fascia boards, to the under­side of the end of the roofboards. This wooden strip is beveled on top to conform to the slooe of the roof. The roofboards may now be placed in position.

left is a large room with a picture window suitable for a den or bedroom. Beyond is the  living room.

They are nailed to the purlins and to the top surface of the uppermost wall-planks in the front and rear outside walls. Boards have been cut so that all joints will appear directly over purlins. After all but the last two boards have been laid, measure the remaining opening, and then rip the last board so that it will fit tightly both to the second board and to the cornice trim.

The roofboards may now be covered with the roofing felt. This is laid in horizontal strips, beginning at the eaves and working up to the ridgepole. As the shingles are laid, the first row is to be placed along the eaves, with the divided part up toward the ridgepole—this row will serve as a starting strip. Place another row directly on top of this row with the divided part down.

Continue laying the rows of shingles up to the ridge, leaving about five inches ex­posed on each row and the successive courses from there on up to the ridgepole. If the shingles do not indicate area on each which is to be left exposed, leave the lower five inches of each shingle exposed.

To form hip shingles to cover the ex­treme top of the building, cut shingles into three pieces of about 12xl2-in. squares, and bend over the ridge. These hip shingles should overlap each other about six inches.   All shingle rows should extend about one inch beyond the fascia and cor­nice boards.

When ready to attach the foot-square ceiling blocks, make certain that the rows bordering the room are the same size. After the building has been erected, individual room measurements should be taken to determine any fractional variation from measurements on plans. In determining the width of the blocks for the end rows, add twelve inches to those of the room meas­urements. For example: if the length of a room is nine feet four inches add the twelve inches to the four inches, giving a total of 16 inches. This figure, 16 inches, is then divided in half, and the result, eight inches, will be the width of the two rows of ceiling blocks bordering the two sides of the room lengthwise. The ceiling blocks are nailed to furring strips with 3d blue lath nails or one-half inch staples. The two end rows of the 1x2-in. furring strips, to accommo­date these eight inch blocks, would have to be placed eight inches from the walls on both sides of the room. It must be remem­bered that furring strips are attached with 6 or 8d common nails, crosswise to the ceil­ing joists, and therefore at all times running parallel with the front (front elevation on plan) of the building.

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