Learn the skills to build a stunning backyard getaway

BY DA N C A RY

Retreat
The illustrations and dimensions shown are for a 10 x 12-ft. structure. We chose this size for a few reasons. First, these dimensions lend themselves to easier calculations. Second, you wont need any lumber longer than 12 ft. (so you shouldnt need to special-order materials at most lumberyards). And finally, depending on the specific codes in your municipality, a 10 x 12-ft. structure may not require a building permit. (Note: The screen house that we built and photographed is actually almost 10 x 14 ft.; we increased the width to fill the space on the site. As a result, the framing spacing in the photos doesnt exactly match the illustrations.) Building a structure that features so many exposed parts and joints is more time-consuming than building a typical framed-and-sided structure. The location and appearance of every cut end, joint and fastener must be carefully considered because almost nothing is hidden. In many respects its more like a woodworking project than a construction project a great opportunity to showcase your craftsmanship.

Wed all like to get away

once in a while, but a trip to a favorite vacation destination isnt always feasible. Fortunately, getting away doesnt necessarily require traveling to a far-off place; you can create a private retreat right in your backyard. To prove this point, we designed and built a screen house for a guy we knew could use a getaway: Vern Grassel, carpenter, woodworker and frequent HANDY contributor. Inspired by Japanese teahouse designs, the screen house is large enough for a patio set and a couple of additional chairs, so Verns family can dine there. It features a hip roof (all four sides pitch toward the center), exposed rafter ends, an exposed-rafter-andbead-board ceiling, cedar shingles and sliding doors. Tastes vary, and we realize you might prefer to modify the design of your structure. To make that easier, we organized this article so that separate sections describe the construction techniques for building each component. You can apply these techniques as needed to create your own structure.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT JACOBSON, MIKE ANDERSON AND LARRY OKREND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE BY VERN GRASSEL ILLUSTRATIONS BY MIKE ANDERSON

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SCREEN HOUSE

For more detailed drawings of our screen house, go to

BUILD THE BASE

We built our screen house on a freestanding deck, but you can also build a structure like this on a poured-concrete slab or paved patio. If you choose to build on a deck, you must be sure that the deck is adequately framed to support the weight of the structure as well as additional forces such as snow loads. (Check with your local building inspector for framing requirements in your area.) To keep bugs out, be sure to screen under the decking or around the perimeter (photo, right). Its also easier to apply the deck finish before you build the structure.

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Shingles Building paper Self-adhesive flashing Drip-edge flashing

Front panel

Side panel

Screen Top and side screen moldings

Outside cap Bottom screen molding

BUILD THE WALL PANELS

Inside cap

1-1/2 x 1-1/2-in. horizontal trim 6" spacer

Inside panel 4 x 4 x 91-in. posts

8-in. lap siding

PANEL DETAIL
FRONT PANELS (6) SIDE PANELS (6) BACK BACK PANELS PANELS (4) (4) FRONT FRONT PANELS PANELS (2) (2) 5-1/2" DOORS (2) 3-1/2"

Inside edge

Outside edge 89-1/2" 32-1/4" 28-5/8" 84" 28-5/8" 87-1/2"

29"

29"

32"

35"

The walls of this screen house are made with individual screened panels that are attached between posts, bottom plates and top plates. We built the panels in the shop and then assembled each wall on site. We calculated a panel size for each wall by subtracting the post widths and dividing up the remaining length of each wall into equal-size panels. Then we made multiple identical panels for each wall using an assembly-line process. For example, we built each set of wall panels by cutting all of the parts, staining them and then assembling each panel like a kit. Staining the parts before assembly allowed us to easily coat all surfaces before adding the screens. The wall panels were built 1-1/2 in. narrower than the post thickness so that the trim does not protrude past the post faces. Rip 2x4s down to make the 1-1/2 x 2-in. panelframing members. (Save the 1-1/2-in.-wide cutoff strips to use as molding and trim pieces.) Assemble the frame for each panel with 3-in. deck screws (photo 1). Clad the bottom section with cedar lap siding attached with 1-1/2-in. ring-shank siding nails (photo 2). Next, stretch screen across the top section and attach it with 3/8-in. stainless steel staples (photo 3). Rip 5/8 x 1-1/2-in. pieces of cedar to use as the screen molding to cover the top and side stapled edges of the screen. Rip 1 x 1-1/2-in. pieces of cedar to cover the bottom screen edge. Repeat the same assembly process for all of the wall panels.

35-1/4"
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31-5/8"

31-5/8"

35-1/2"
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RAISE THE WALLS

FRAME THE ROOF

A hip roof is made up of four main components: the ridge board, the hip rafters, the common rafters and the jack rafters. The ridge board is the top horizontal board that forms the peak of the roof. The hip rafters are the corner rafters. They bisect each corner at a 45-degree angle. If the building is square, a hip roof forms a pyramid and there is no ridge. The common rafters are located at each end of the ridge and along the side of the ridge. The jack rafters are the shorter rafters that run from the side of the hip rafter down to the wall top plate. Cut the roof components to size (see Rafter Construction, below). Begin building the roof by attaching two common rafters at each end of one side of the ridge (see illustration callouts, below). With the help of one or two friends, raise the ridge and attach two more common rafters to the ends of the other side of the ridge board. Then adjust the ridge height so that the birdsmouths are seated on the top plates and pull tight to the sides of the front and back walls. Attach the common rafters to the top plates with framing nails or deck screws.

Next, attach one common rafter to each end of the ridge board and to the center of the side walls. The ridge board is now locked in place, and you can attach the remaining common rafters, hip rafters and jack rafters (photo above). The final step in framing the roof is to attach the blocking that closes the openings between the rafter ends and above the top plate. Cut a 13-degree bevel along the top edge of the blocks, and cut each block to fit between the rafters.

RAFTER CONSTRUCTION
Designing a hip roof (calculating the rafter layout and component sizes) is a skill thats best left to experienced framing contractors. But if you know all of the components dimensions, construction is not as difficult as you might think. Weve included illustrations and details for the components necessary to build a 4:12-pitch hip roof for a 10 x 12-ft. structure.
22-1/2"

Hip Common Inner Jack Ridge Outer Jack

RIDGE BEAM DETAIL

25-1/2"

After youve assembled the wall panels, you can move them out to the construction site and build each wall. Assemble the back wall first. The bottom plate and posts of each wall are joined with half-lap joints. Mark the post and panel locations on the bottom plate. Cut the half-lap notches in the bottom plate and posts. Lay the posts, bottom plates and wall panels on a flat surface such as the deck and assemble them with 2-1/2- and 3-in. deck screws (photo 1). Then attach a top plate to the tops of the panels and posts. Move the back wall into position, making sure that it is plumb, and temporarily secure it with angled braces. Then assemble each side wall, raise it into position (photo 2) and attach it to the back wall. The front wall is built slightly differ-

ently from the back and sides because you need to leave an opening where the doors will be installed. Separate bottom plates are attached under the two front panels. The back half of the header is a continuous 2x8 that fits into notches that are cut in the top inside face of each post. The front half of the header is pieced in between the posts on the front of the wall. After youve constructed the front wall, raise it (photo 3) and attach it to the side walls. Then attach the second top plates to all of the walls, overlapping the seams between walls (photo 4). Finally, check that the walls are square to each other and secure them to the base. We drove 1/4 x 5-in. lag screws into the deck joists located below the decking (photo 5). Use concrete anchors when installing a screen house on a poured slab.

HIP RAFTER DETAIL

112-5/8" 4" r. 103 5-1/8"

22-1/2"

22-1/2"

TOP VIEW

45

25"

1-1/4" 13

45

COMMON AND JACK RAFTER DETAIL

OUTER JACK: 31-1/2" 4" r. 109 COMMON: 81-1/2" INNER JACK: 56-3/4" 3-1/2"

JACK RAFTER TOP VIEW

1-1/4" 19 45

17-1/4"

21-1/8"

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ATTACH THE ROOF

HANG THE DOORS

Shingle reveal jig

The two sliding doors are simple frames constructed of 2x6 and 2x4 boards. Assemble the door frames with dowels, pocket screws or floating tenons. The doors hang and travel on a manufactured aluminum sliding door-rail system (see SOURCES ONLINE, below). The bottoms of the doors feature a groove, and floor guides fit in the groove to keep the doors in alignment. Mount the rail to the inside face of the front wall header. Then mount the roller brackets to the top of the door and fasten them to the rollers in the rail (photo 1). Attach the bottom-alignment guide to the floor (photo 2). Instead of using a typical latch, we opted to attach a few rare-earth-magnet washers to the inside faces of the doors. The magnets are strong enough to keep the doors closed, and they are hidden in the door frame (photo 3).

We created the look of a tongue-andgroove board ceiling with a lot less work by attaching 1/4-in.-thick beadboard plywood to the rafters before we attached the sheathing. We cut and attached the bead board so that the beads run parallel to each side (photo, p. 19). Keep in mind that the panel seams must be at the center of the rafters. Place each panel on the roof and snap a chalk line to mark the cut lines (photo 1). Tack the bead board in place with 1/2-in.-wide x 1-in.-long crown staples or siding nails. Repeat the process to cut and fit 3/4-in.-thick sheathing over the bead board. Then drive 1/2-in.-wide x 1-1/2-in.-long staples or 8d sheathing nails every 8 in. to secure the sheathing and bead board to the rafters. Be careful to drive the nails into the rafters so that they are not exposed inside the structure.

Attach drip edge to the sheathing and then cover the entire roof with building paper. Roll out each layer across each side, starting along the bottom edge. Each row should overlap the previous row by 4 to 6 in. and the hips by 12 in. We chose to use cedar shingles to match the rest of the structure, but you can use asphalt, synthetic or composite shingles. Note that the framing was not designed to support heavy roofing materials such as clay tiles or natural slate. Follow the manufacturers instructions for installing the shingles. Many roofing contractors dip cedar singles in waterresistant sealer before attaching them to the roof to enhance their longevity. We made a jig that butts up against the previous row of shingles to keep the reveal spacing consistent (photo 3). Attach the shingles with 1/2-in.-wide x 1-in. crown staples. Cut the shingles at the end of

To get more information on the project below, as well as other outdoor projects, go to www.HandymanClub.com and click on Web Extras.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN PERSONAL GETAWAY

A backyard retreat can be as simple as a garden bench under a tree, or it can be a more elaborate enclosed structure. What you choose depends on the space you have and how you plan to use it. The advantage of an enclosed structure, such as a screen house, is that the walls and ceiling provide shelter and a sense of seclusion. Even a 6 x 8-ft. area is large enough for a couple of chairs and a small table. Building a small structure can offer advantages: It takes less time, costs less and uses materials that are manageable sizes. When choosing a location, think get away. To create a true retreat, select a site far enough from your main living or working areas that it will be a specific destination rather than a place you routinely pass through. u
SOURCES ONLINE
For online information, go to www.HandymanClub.com and click on WEB EXTRAS.

each row to follow the hip and ridge lines. Then make overlapping cap rows, using 4-in.-wide shingles, to cover the seams at the hips and ridge (photos 4 and 5).

Specialty Doors (6-ft. aluminum track kits [2], No. H200A/6)

866-815-8151

Lee Valley & Veritas (magnet, No. 99K32.11; cup, No. 99K32.54;
matching washer, No. 99K32.64), 800-871-8158

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