Siding / Framing Question

[Logscaler]

Hi Everyone - I am framing my sugar house and have a question. Where the roof rafters meet the top plate of the wall - between the roof rafters - should I close that in tight from the top plate up to the roof sheathing? - or - should I leave it open to allow for ventilation? The reason I ask is that I was told that if I left this area open it would allow for better draft. Thanks!

[michelle32]

On mine the front is closed and back is open. We had to much draft it was hard to keep a steady boil. If you leave it open make sure you wire it to keep out critters.
Keith

[red maples]

I would seal it up!!! those critters are real pests!!!! making nests and chewing up everything!!! just make sure you have "vents" you can open but keep them closed when your not boiling

[Logscaler]

Thanks for the info. I was going to close them up until my neighbor mentioned the ventilation. I think I will close the space in with the siding and then stick some soffit vents in to let the air in and keep the critters out! Thanks again!

[PerryW]

I left mine open.

[tyrod2]

I have a light on the porch of my sugar house. one day there was a bird nest on top of the light. I tour it down and put an old coffee cup over the top of the light.Next day bird nest was on top of the coffee cup. Tour it down and put a rock on top of coffee cup. Guess where the nest was at the next day? Right on top of the rock.:lol:

[red maples]

those phebes here same thing. squirrels go into my old shed because they were left open and made a nest in a 5 gallon bucket. I had some moving blankets, lawn mower with a bag attached, big holes chewed through them. had 2 babies and they scared the heck out of me went in there 1 night before I knew the nest was in the bucket no light in there and 1 started to scream at me thought I was gonna have a heart atttack. had to change the underwear

[Saw Filer]

Could be like mine with no siding at all so far. Too windy in there for even the critters to be comfortable. It has a roof now though, and I will side it all the way to the roofers when ever I'm done waiting for my siding. What are you going to do for a cupola? Thinking timberframe yet? I could help you with that if you have a couple thousand hours to kill.I ain't doin' much till mid January.
george

[peacemaker]

close in every other one and put some flaps on the others so u can open them

[3rdgen.maple]

Seal it up that is what couplas are for. You can leave it open and vivite pest or screen it in and invite bees and bugs. I set mine up so they were removable. After opening them up a few times I realized all it did was blow the steam around the sugarhouse. Have never opened them since and that was about 20 years ago.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Close them up. What draft are you trying to improve? if its the arch fire put in a door as close to the fire doors as possible if its for the steam open windows depending on wind direction. Having cold air come in from up high just makes you cold all over the shack. Plus new shugar house rules want critter proof shack with screens over the windows:mad:

[red maples]

another reason I think because the cold air is coming in too high then has to sink to push the heavy air up. right??

can you put in small draft "slide doors" down low like maybe 6 inches off the floor in the walls to create a better up draft? they could be adustable. what do you think?

Ok next question...

If the wind is blowing into your copula through 1 side do you keep that door closed and just keep 1 side open and allow the wind to pull out the steam or open both doors to get a cross breeze through the copula to draw out steam. or just go by trial and error to see what works best??? just courious

[3rdgen.maple]

The only time I close a coupla door is when rain is coming in from that side which is not the norm. Old school is to build your sugar house so your coupla faces north and south so the western winds don't blow in. Kinda got a rhyme to it.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I had mine open for a couple of years and it is amazing that the sugarhouse is about 10 times cleaner now year around and I hardly get any dust inside at all. I had a lot of leftover lap siding white pine boards that were 5/8" thick and I used them to close it in tight. I went to Lowes and bought the brown 8" x 16" screened venelation vents and installed them every 4 or 6 feet, I can't remember now which it was. This allows the building to breath but seals off all the dust and I was also getting ash blowing back inside the building also before I sealed it off.