Ice Hut Build

[Fishnwire]

We got a fair bit done today, but I didn't take as many pics as I normally do. My Father-in-law was not feeling well so he took the morning off and rested. I got so into working alone and not stopping to confer with a partner that I forgot to document things with the camera.

 

I started by cutting out the jigging holes. There's going to be four...three on one side and one on the other. I put them as close to the joists as I could and still have room to work the sabre saw. I actually used a jigsaw for most of the hole, using the sabre saw only for the tight sections. I tested them with the pails I'm using as inserts and was happy, so I began fitting insulation.

 

I used the jigsaw to cut the insulation...it didn't make nice edges, so I cleaned them up using this baby here...

 

 

It's an electric knife from my kitchen. I got it when my grandmother gave up her apartment a few years ago and have almost never used it. It was great for shaving off a little bit at a time to get a good fit. I think I dulled up the blades or burnt out the motor a bit...because by the time I was done it wasn't working so great. Oh well.

 

The sections that had jigging holes were a little more effort. I fitted them in and them laid down in the mud and traced the edge of the hole in the floor board. Then I popped them out and used the jigsaw the cut the hole. It sounds easy...and by the fourth one it was, but it took some friggin' around to figure it all out.

 

 

 

 

It took a while and generated a fair bit of mess, but I finished the fitting the insulation and cutting the four holes. I was ready to skin the bottom with 3/8s ply. By this time my Father-in-law was feeling better (or just left out) and came out to help.

 

 

 

I cut the ply to size, laid it down and (on the sections with jigging holes) marked them from the bottom. I used the jigsaw to cut the holes and then screwed 'em down. We finished just at dusk, so I needed the flash for the last pics.

 

 

 

Then with the help of the my Father-in-law's neighbour (who I happened to attend high-school with) we flipped 'er back over. I stuck the inserts in and they all fit like gloves. Check out the Old Man with a jigging rod pretending to fish. We were both feeling pretty stoked.

 

 

Tomorrow, it's all about a massive erection...the walls go up. Finally I will have something resembling an actual edifice. I'm pumped to see that and take a few pics to post here. Then the roof goes on and once that happens I'll have a dry, heat-able space to finish most of the work.

 

I'm still eager for suggestions, questions, or criticisms...thanks for those and thanks for checking out this episode of "Ice Hut Build".

[irishfield]

You'd better clean that insulation cutter before Christmas Day !!

[Billy Bob]

"Tomorrow, it's all about a massive erection"......

 

(sorry there was no way in hell I could let that one go)

[Fishnwire]

"Tomorrow, it's all about a massive erection"......

 

(sorry there was no way in hell I could let that one go)

 

 

I was trying to fly low under the radar on that one Bob...otherwise I'd have mentioned something about how "hard" the job will be.

[BassAsin]

Search kijiji and other classifieds for cushions from a tent trailer or older trailer. They work perfect for bunks/benches. I use Therm-a-rests for mine. They inflate to about an inch thick. When not in use they roll up and fit inside a storage cooler I have in the hut. If you lok back to the pictures I posted of the Nipissing gtg on Callander Bay you will see that my benches/beds fold down from the wall. They are supported by straps and legs. I made them 24" wide and 6' 5" long. Couch cushions can be cut down to a better thickness but it is a bit messy.

Where did you get such a clever idea Blair?

[danbouck]

It's looking great, keep the updates coming

[Fishnwire]

It's looking great, keep the updates coming

 

 

Thanks Dan. I will.

[Freshtrax]

Thats it im burning my shack this sping and building a new one. Yours makes mine look like a outhouse ans all you have is a floor! Great work. A funny note on mine i built it in the garage. When i went to move it outside it wouldent fit out the door. We had to remove the roof

[lew]

This entire post has been great from beginning till now. Always interesting to follow along on these building projects.

 

Thanks for letting us tag along during the process fishNwire

[Jer]

Looks like a great hut, lotsa room inside which is nice.

 

I was just curious, do most huts have an insulated floor?

[Billy Bob]

Looks like a great hut, lotsa room inside which is nice.

 

I was just curious, do most huts have an insulated floor?

 

I have never been in a ice hut that had the floor insulated...as a matter of fact...all the ice huts that I have been in were't much more then 1/4 plywood sided shacks with 1/2" or so insulation board glued to the inside of the walls and ceiling with a small propane heater....and they were very warm to fish in...they didn't have satellite TV, a Lazy Boy recliner or a wet bar with a full kitchen but we did catch some fish in them....

Edited December 16, 2011 by Billy Bob

[mercman]

..they didn't have satellite TV, a Lazy Boy recliner or a wet bar with a full kitchen but we did catch some fish in them....

 

Th bar and the big screen TV are usually in the basement Bob......The Rumpus Room...Sheesh.

[Fishnwire]

Looks like a great hut, lotsa room inside which is nice.

 

I was just curious, do most huts have an insulated floor?

 

 

Most do not. At least most I've been in do not. I figure that's why even hours after the stove is lit and it's comfortable enough to take off your mitts and coat there is still ice and snow on the floor that never melts, let alone dries up. I don't want that.

[Fishnwire]

I have never been in a ice hut that had the floor insulated...

 

 

Yes, but have you ever been in a hut whose floor you would consider sleeping on?

[Pikeslayer]

git ur dun :thumbsup_anim:

[Billy Bob]

Yes, but have you ever been in a hut whose floor you would consider sleeping on?

 

LOL.......I haven't been in a house yet a ice hut that I would consider sleeping on the floor....too old for that... ...as a matter of fact my favorite camp ground these day is Camp MGM Grand....or Camp Sheraton, or Camp Ramada...this year's best camp ground was none other then Camp Cliff.... ....see where I'm going with this...

 

And I'm just pulling your chain....I REALLY think this is going to be the #1 Ice Hut (Resort) for the 2011-2012 season....but we have to wait for the finished product before any OFC awards can be presented.....

 

Bob

[Jds63]

This is a great post, thanks for taking the time to document the build. Its a good distraction while waiting around for some cold weather for the ice to begin to setup, looks like we may be 2 weeks behind for safe ice here.

[I'mHooked]

Thats it im burning my shack this sping and building a new one. Yours makes mine look like a outhouse ans all you have is a floor! Great work. A funny note on mine i built it in the garage. When i went to move it outside it wouldent fit out the door. We had to remove the roof

 

Now THAT'S dedication! Removing the roof of your garage so you could crane lift the ice hut out!

[Nipfisher]

Where did you get such a clever idea Blair?

 

 

Which idea Matt? I'm full of them. You gonna take me out to one of your secret back lakes this winter?

[Nipfisher]

I spent an hour in my hut this morning adding some exanding foam insulation to the gaps between the joists. I am going to add a bit of insulation (free stuff from my bathroom demo this past spring) and finish some of the walls with some thin ply.

 

Can't wait to see the finished product fishNwire.

[walleyejigger]

lookin sweet,

 

never hurts to overload puckboard with screws, as it will shrink in cold weather and expand in warm, enough so that it will snap a few of the 3/8" bolts that we use to secure it.

 

i dont know about you, but the weather the last 3 days has been depressing, i usually have my hut out by christmas but i'd be very surprised if its out by the 1st week of january this year, i did walk out on the ice last weekend and it was plenty safe to walk on but i wouldn't do it today.

 

at least we're back to freezing temps.

 

lookin forward to next update

[Fishnwire]

Had another good day today. It was almost 10 degrees above zero yesterday, and almost 10 degrees below zero today. I added a few layers to my ensemble and got to the site about 9 am. My buddy Jamz and my Dad joined me and my Father-in-law shortly after and we formulated a game plan. It was rainy yesterday and cold all night so there was a pretty decent sheet of ice on the floor. We were worried that the walls would slip off the edges as we put them up, so with a bucket of hot water and some rags we melted and soaked up the ice where the footers would go. The first wall was the hardest...we nailed braces to the sides and the four of us grunted it into place...three guys held and one guy spiked the braces in place. Then we screwed the footers down.

 

 

That's Jamz pretending to work...I'll admit we "staged" that shot. Once we had that wall in place and secure we took the brace off one side and put another wall up.

 

 

Then the third...

 

 

 

And finally the last one, which was a bit of an effort, but eventually went into place.

 

 

Yeah, it's pretty big...I know.

 

 

With the walls all up we cut the plywood for the sliding windows, and fit them in.

 

 

You'll notice that on this one I didn't stain far enough in...I don't know why I did that, but I'll have to touch it up in the spring.

 

Then we started fitting insulation. It's 2 inch Plastispan foam board. We just used a handsaw to cut it and the electric knife for the occasional trim needed. We finished the 12 foot north wall and 8 foot east wall that will have the door on it.

 

 

 

With a little less than half of the insulation to go, I'll soon finished that and then start on the roof. Once that is on I can insulate it and then panel the walls. Then I'll have a heat-able space to work in for the bulk of the remaining work.

 

I found out today that I've got a free stove and stove pipe waiting for me at my Brother-in-law's. He was debating putting it in his garage but decided against it. I'm hoping to pick that up tomorrow, along with the 2x4s and 1/2 ply for the roof. I need a few more sheets of 2 inch foam board for the walls as well. If I get that far by Sunday night (Gotta be back at work on Monday) I'll be quite happy.

[Nipfisher]

Will you have to be sitting or bending down to see out the windows? Nice to have at least one up at standing height. Maybe frame one into the door?

[Fishnwire]

Will you have to be sitting or bending down to see out the windows? Nice to have at least one up at standing height. Maybe frame one into the door?

 

 

The long window is at the perfect height to see outside lines while seated at the bench jigging an inside line. The low slider is so I can open and close it from bed...also the height just above that window is perfect for a folding countertop to prepare meals on or whatever. The high slider is placed so that it won't be blocked when the bench in front of it is in the folded up position.

 

I might put one in the door, but probably not this year.

[Tom McCutcheon]

The sooner it is finished the better I envision a City Building inspector making points by coming around and asking for a permit

 

Looking good.