Loft Advice

[learning]

Maryjane,

I had an interesting comment made to me the other day that sort of goes along with yours. Our club has been very fortunate to have the infamous Bob Tavares of Boston fame, move to the area. For those of you that don't know Bob, he is a third generation pigeon man that used to write for both the Racing Pigeon Bulletin and Digest. While in Boston, he pretty much owned the competition for a lot of years up there. He is the kind of guy that has forgotten more about racing pigeons than I could ever hope to know.

Anyway, he came over to the house the other day to see how I was coming along. He seemed very imperessed with the layout of the loft and after a while he made a comment to me that I though was very profound. When I asked him if he thought this would give me a good start to getting back into racing he smiled and said "Just remember, guys have won consistently flying out of orange crates". This was his way of saying that regardless of what you put them in, as long as it provides for the basic needs of the birds, it is going to be up to the fancier to bring out the best in his or her birds.

Very sound advice from a very, very intelligent man.

Dan

[roxtar]

Yeah but orange crates don't provide you with a place to sleep when you and the wife get into an argument.

[learning]

Roxtar,

Don't laugh, I am currently in a dispute with the county over just that matter! It never fails to amaze me that no matter what you do, everyone wants their little piece of the pie. This seems to hold true especially for the government. The only problem is that by the time everyone has their piece of the pie, the pie is bigger than the baker can handle!!

Dan

[roxtar]

That's a crying shame. As I said in a previous thread, it's a good thing we live in America where our neighbors and government are free to tell us what we can and can't do in our own back yards.

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

H. L. Mencken

[learning]

Roxtar,

The good news here is that unlike George, who's unfortunate circumstances have also put him at odds with his local authorities as documented in another post, I am pretty sure I am going to be o.k. I obtained the last required documentation for the permit yesterday so all that is left is to go into the county office, pay my money and get the permit. At least I hope it all goes that smoothly. The bad news is that this little distraction is going to end up costing me in the neighborhood of $350 before it is all over. The good news is that once I have the permit, nobody can say boo to me.

Just thought you might want an update on that front.

Dan

[roxtar]

Originally Posted by learning

I obtained the last required documentation for the permit yesterday so all that is left is to go into the county office, pay my money and get the permit.....

Good, I'm glad to hear it. I had a little trouble with my neighbors too when I first started building mine, even had the Humane Society called on me but all went well. I just wish government would stay the heck out of our lives.

[learning]

O.K. folks, some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that after some $350 and a ton of hastle, I now have my building permit in hand and can move forward on the loft. YEA!!!

Now the not so good news. The next step in construction is the exterior siding. I was all set to use the Smart Side siding they have here at Home Depot. It is pretty economical, easy to install and comes pre-primed. That was until I found a web site that says it is defective and will rot withing 5 years. He is an installer of siding and used to install the stuff but stopped after numerous complaints about it. He has plenty of photos to support his claims. Now I am leary. I am very interested in steel siding but I am having difficulty getting prices and installation information. As you can see from previous pictures, the loft is framed already with studs which are 24" on center.

Can anyone help me that has experience with this type of siding? What can I expect in the way of cost? How is the stuff installed? Any information you can share would, as always, be greatly appreciated. If someone has had really good results with other products please chime in.

Thanks A Ton,

Dan

[Lovebirds]

Wouldn't steel or any kind of metal siding make the loft colder in the winter and hotter in the summer? Unless you're insulating of course........

[learning]

Yea, that is one of my thoughts also. I know that people have used the stuff with great success however. I am not sure if I would need to insulate or not. Being in Georgia the winter isn't usually much of a problem (except this year!) however the summer is very hot and humid at times.

Renee, what did you use for your siding? From the pictures it looks like regular R-11 plywood siding. How has it held up for you guys? What did you use to paint it (primer, etc.)? Any special precautions you would warn against?

Thanks In Advance,

Dan

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by learning

Renee, what did you use for your siding? From the pictures it looks like regular R-11 plywood siding. How has it held up for you guys? What did you use to paint it (primer, etc.)? Any special precautions you would warn against?

Thanks In Advance,

Dan

We used 5/8" T-11 siding and we used a exterior grade stain. We put two coats on it when we built the loft in 2001 and haven't touched it since.

[learning]

Thanks for the info Renee. I just got back from Home Depot and now I am thinking about Hardi Panel siding. It's a concrete fiber based product. It's heavier and will probably be a bit more of a pain to install but they say that once it is in and painted, it will last 50 years. It is only $2 a sheet more expensive than the Smart Side stuff and is actually cheaper than the R1-11. Go figure?! Do you or your husband have any experience with this stuff? Sounds almost too good to be true.

Oh well, thanks again in advance,

Dan

[learning]

Well Folks,

It's now early March and I am back from a much needed vacation in Disney World with the family (very crowded but a lot of fun with the two boys!), I have my building permit and am ready to get back at it.

I ordered the Ondura roofing today. It's a pretty neat product. It is a corrugated ashphalt panel that comes in 4' X 8' sheets. You just nail it down over purlins and you're good to go. I ordered 40 sheets and 8 skylight sheets (translucent fiberglass version of the regular sheets) and I am ordering the Hardi Panel siding next week. Needless to say my walet is significantly lighter right now! I have half of the roof pulins up and will try to finish those this weekend. March is going to be a very, very busy month.

With any luck I will have a weather tight building by the end of the month and then it is on to the interior. Wish me luck!!

Dan

[learning]

For those that care,

Just a quick update on the slow progress. The roof is almost done! And I didn't fall through one time, (almost did once but we won't count that!). To say I will be relieved when the roof is complet is a real understatement. Thank God my father in law was able to come up and help some. The roofing isn't that bad, it's the climbing up and down that ladder over and over that is the killer.

Anyway, I will try to finish up the roof next weekend. After that it is on to the siding. I have a feeling the loft may have to take a one month respite from construction as I need to take some time to figure out the new alarm system we got this weekend! Check out the "Ultimate In Loft Security" thread under Loft Designs for details!

Later,

Dan

[mr squeaks]

WoW, Dan! That looks like some LOFT!

Of course, we will expect an extensive tour when you are finished! Better slow and safe than fast and sorry!

LOOKIN' GOOOOD!

[TerriB]

Your loft is really shaping up nicely! It looks like those white roof panels will add quite a bit of light to the interior.