The Mad Housers

Construction - Hi-Hat - Assembly

Blueprints Materials and Cut Guide Assembly Instructions 3D Sketchup Model Deployment checklist

Step 1 - Setting the floor

If you haven't already, flip the floor panel over and install the rails. The rails helps the floor studs from pulling apart under the pressure of the hut's weight; they also serve as a sacrificial layer between the floor and the cinderblock it sits upon.

Turn the floor panel back over and place on the cinder blocks. It's important to make sure that the floor is flat and level; a floor that's not flat will have problems when you try to put the roof on later.

Use a level to check for levelness. To check the floor for flatness, sight from corner to corner, or lay the ridge beam from corner to corner. Diagonal gaps or bumps will indicate high or low corners.


Step 2 - Put up the back wall and a side wall

Put in the back wall and a side wall, sliding them up snugly against each other and against the floor. The flap of the rear panel should cover the rear stud of the side panel completely. Screw down the panels to the floor and to each other at the corner.



Step 3 - Put up the second side wall

Put in the second side wall and attach it at the corner to the back panel, but do not screw the side panel down to the floor yet. This will allow you to swing it a little out of the way to install the front panel.


Step 4 - Put up the front wall

Slide the front wall into place, screw it down to the floor, and attach it to the side walls. Screw down the second side wall to the floor.


Step 5 - install the loft supports

Pick a height that is at least 2 inches taller than your client, and mark a line at that height on the middle studs of the back panel and the side panels - don't worry about the corners. Screw the loft support studs so that the tops of the studs are at the marks, reserving the long loft support/ladder support stud for the side wall stud closest next to the doorway. Use two screws per support to add strength and to keep them from twisting. The long stud should clear the floor by at least three inches; otherwise, it'll get in the way of installing the floor insulation.


Steps 6 - Install the loft, square the hut.

Carry the loft in through the front door. Using at least three volunteers, lift the loft up, tilted, and drop onto the loft supports. Although it may not be touching all of the loft supports, it should at least be over them.

Do not screw the loft into place until you square the hut. Although the hut may start out flat at the bottom, it's possible for the walls to twist or sag at the top corners, like a shoebox without its lid. It will be impossible to install the roof properly unless the top is squared.

To square, measure diagonally across the top corners of the hut. You can either do this from outside the hut, using ladders, or by having folks standing on the loft (although the loft isn't screwed down, it's safe enough resting on the supports).

Both measurements should come out to around 120 inches. If not, you have two options: push the shorter diagonal out or pull the longer diagonal in.

To push the shorter diagonal out, stand on the loft wedge the ridgebeam between the loft and the front wall against the short corner. The ridge beam can then be used as a lever to bully the loft into position:

To pull the longer diagonal in, use a heavy tie-down strap to crank the long corners inwards:

Once the diagonals are within a half inch of each other, screw the loft panel into place against the studs, right above the loft supports.


Step 7: Install flooring, ladder, gables

At this point, your tasks are split into two types: those "up top" on the roof, and those "down below", which aren't. These two types of tasks can be run on parallel tracks. If there's a group of volunteers, it's good to have two people up top working on the roof exclusively.

Up Top: install the gables and "topper". This is akin to the first three lower walls; you want to attach the gables to the topper and the topper to the wall, but you do not want to screw down the gables! The gables should be able to swing outwards to allow the roof panel to drop into place easily.

The topper should be put on the side wall next to the door.

Down below: drop in both layers of the asphalt impregnated sheathing and top with the floor covering. Nail it down. This not only insulates the floor, but it also brings the floor up to the level of the doorway's bottom plate stud. The ladder to the loft runs between the outer edge of the doorway and the long loft support. Be sure that the ladder rungs don't intrude into the door's closing arc; also, make sure to screw the ladder rungs in instead of nailing - a person leaning outwards from the ladder could potentially pull off the entire rung and causing an accident.


Step 8

Up Top and down below: Here come the most exciting part of a hi-hat build: handing up the roof panel. You'll need two folks on the loft and at least two folks on the bottom

Down Below: