Construction Guide

This chapter discusses how to finish the exterior of your Yankee Barn including siding, trim, skylights, roofing, windows and doors, pentroofs and skirt boards, clapboards and cedar shingles.

Your Yankee Barn package includes all the siding, trim and decorative details needed to finish the exterior of your house (unless deleted from the package at your request). Yankee Barn supplies the trim cut to width, prestained, and shipped in random lenghts.
Although you can perform many of these small finishing tasks at almost any time prior to completion of the house, it is a good idea to take care of them promptly. By doing so, your house will look completely finished on the outside.
If exterior lighting will be installed on the house, wires should be run prior to installing the finish trim. See Chapter 9: Electrical/Mechanical for more information.
For suggested trimming methods, refer to the exterior trim details included in your construction plans. The following trim information has been arranged in a suggested sequence of events, though you may choose to rearrange it to suit your priorities.

Suggested sequence for installing exterior trim and siding:

1. Complete the installation of all wall fasteners (see Chapter 3)
2. Corners and corner boards
3. Roof trim
4. Doors and windows
5. Site-installed Shiplap, clapboards or shingles.
6. Pentroof and skirt board (for houses with vertical siding)
7. Skylights
8. Roof shingles

Yankee Barn Homes site installed vertical siding is pre-finished on all sides with one or two coats of machine applied Cabots® Exterior stain and shipped in random lengths. We add an additional 25% for selection and cutting waste. The siding packages will be wrapped in protective paper and clearly labeled. The pallet should be set well off of the ground in a flat area, and further protected with additional tarps until ready to be applied.

If not already installed, the exterior sheathing should be covered with a good quality building wrap, which is supplied with the siding. Overlaps and seams should be carefully taped.

Window and door trim is shipped pre-stained all sides and some preparation of the trim will be done on site according to the trim istallation sheets in your plans. Please refer to the siding and trim installation sheet in your plan package to become familiar with these details. We send a gallon of the siding and trim stain and it should be applied to all raw cut ends and edged before installation.

Yankee Barn Homes supplies different trim options. Primarily the options are 2" thick pine trim, described above, 5⁄/4" red cedar boards, or 5/⁄4" primed pine boards. Check your plans for your selection. Trim is ripped to width and left long to cut on site. It is prestained front and back.

Barn Style 7/4 (nominal 2") rough sawn pine is generally used with vertical shiplap to create the more rustic look. It includes thicker and wider trim pieces, sloped eave overhangs, decorative wooden roof ridge cap, as well as horizontal pentroofs over windows and doors, and skirt boards at the base of the walls. Options include, gable overhangs, plumb fascias (for easier attachment of gutters) and sometimes an additional drip edge. Occasionally the heavier trim is used with white cedar shingles or clapboards (without pentroofs and skirt boards).

Traditional Trim includes 5/4 (1-1/8" trim) and is available in “A” grade cedar or primed Eastern White Pine trim (used when a solid color is selected). Traditional trim includes roof trim (fascia and rake) as well as corner boards and window and door trim. Eave roof soffits can be sloped or horizontal with a frieze board. Fascia and rake boards have an additional 2" board to accent the trim. Options include gable overhangs, and the more decorative returns at the corners where the eave and gable roof trim meet.

Trim is supplied in random lengths. Avoid cutting the longer pieces to fit small places; save them for the longer runs and use short pieces to fill in. Use scarf joints to splice pieces. Stain all cut ends using the extra stain sent by Yankee Barn Homes. Caulk trim in accordance with common building practice and any Yankee Barn details provided. The prestained 2" pine trim should be nailed with 2-20d galvanized nails every 16" to 24". Yankee Barn supplies 2 1/2" stainless steel nails with the cedar trim.

Corner boards extend from the bottom of the roof to the lowest point of the skirtboard (or siding if there is no skirtboard). Refer to the Illustration 6.4: Corner Detail.

To install corner boards:

1. Take a can of the expanding spray insulating foam provided, and insulate the voids formed at the ends of the gable wall panels. Be sure to check for voids at the bottoms of the wall panels.
   Using plywood or shingles, shim the verticle corners so they are even and flush.
2. Wrap the corners with the air infiltration paper supplied, staple and tape.
3. Cut to length and fasten the corner boards in place with the nails provided. 6" and 8" rough-sawn boards are used together to form the corner. The siding dadoe should face out.

Before the roof trim is installed, be sure to straighten the eve overhangs either by shimming to a taught string or by snapping a chalkline and trimming the rafter ends. The last 9" or so of roof sheathing is left off to allow saw travel for this operation. Plywood is provided to finish the eve sheathing. In most cases, the use of a backer board at the eves will cause interference with window operation (casements) and is not recommended.

Nail the 2 x 8 rakes and fascias to the edges of the roof panels with 20d nails provided. The tops of these boards must be flush with the roof sheathing.
The “traditional” trim option has a two piece vertical fascia and horizontal soffit. See your plans for details. Nail the 5⁄/4" cedar rakes and fascias with 2 1/⁄2" stainless nails provided.
Rakes and fascias must be installed prior to application of finish roofing.

6.5.1 Eave Trim

To install Sloped “Barn Style” Eave Overhang Trim (see eave detail):

1. Check that foam used during roof panel installation expanded to fill voids. If not, add expanding spray foam.
2. Snap a reference line at the vent location. Install the soffit vent. Install the prefinished plywood soffit.
3. Nail prefinished chamfer strip in place.
4. Install fascia and shingle molding flush with roof plywood.

It is up to the customer and builder whether the corner intersections are "butt and by-pass" or mitered.

To install Traditional Eave Overhang Trim:

1. Review plans to determine if you will be having roof returns or gable overhang.
2. Snap a reference line for nailing blocks and frieze boards. Install nailing blocks to support soffit and soffit vent.
3. Measure down from the top of the roof plywood to the rafter tail bottom. Cut a saw kerf along the back of the fascia at this measurement and beyond, to accept the front edge of the soffit vent strip.
4. Install the soffit vent by slipping the bottom edge into the saw kerf in the fascia and nailing the back flange.
5. If your plans call for roof returns, they must be installed before gable trim. Install in the following order, the fascia, drip edge, and return cap. Keep in mind that the return cap will need to be sloped and flashed.

6.5.2 Gable Trim
Review your elevations and roof layout plans to determine if you will be having returns or gable overhangs. At the top of walls, fill the void between the top of the wall panels and the bottom surface of the roof with spray foam.

To install Rake Gable Roof Trim with No Overhang:
2" Gable trim with no overhang should have a dadoe along the bottom edge to hide the top of the shiplap.On shingle and clapboard houses the rake can be padded out so the siding can be slipped behind the rake or be flush against the cdx with the siding fit against the trim.

To install Rake Gable Roof Trim with Overhang:
Be sure the ending roof panel has been trimmed to the correct overhang. At the top of the walls, fill the void between the top of the wall panels and the bottom surface of the roof panels with spray foam. Install the frieze board under the gable overhang to finish off the joint between the wall and the roof. Again, with shiplap siding, there should be a dadoe along the bottom edge of the 2" RS trim. At the peak where the soffits meet, install a 4" wide board to cover the joint between roof panels.
Nail the rake to the edges of the roof panels with nails provided. The tops of these boards must be flush with the roof sheathing. Install the shingle molding.

Skylights may be installed virtually anywhere in the Yankee Barn roof system, but in most cases, the skylight opening will be framed into the roof system when the roof panel is built at YBH. If Factory framed rough opening are used, skip to step #7

If skylights will be located and cut into the roof on site, you and your builder should review skylight placement and adjust as necessary. Keep in mind that plumbing codes in some areas specify minimum distances between operating skylights and vent pipes above the roof line.
Yankee Barn supplies Velux® brand skylights. We normally supply Velux® flashing kits (for metal roofs, roofers will fabricate their own flashing kits). Velux offers various accessories which can be purchased from Yankee Barn Homes to enable you to open the skylight even if it is out of reach, and allow you to shade the skylight to minimize heat build-up in warmer weather.
If the skylight opening will be cut into the roof panel on site, the skylight opening will interrupt the structural integrity of the roof panel. This can be restored by using the Yankee Barn skylight support package (made of 4 x 4 beams which match the rest of your post and beam frame).
Skylights are most easily installed before applying the roofing material.

6.6.1 Skylight Framed with Support Kit

1. Begin by laying out the skylight location from the inside. Mark and cut the interior skin 1 1/2" wider on all sides than the rough opening. Carefully, cut and remove interior skin, rafters, strapping, and insulation to this oversized rough opening. (Temporary support for the roof may be necessary at this stage.)
2. To insure continued ventilation of the roof sheathing, the ends of the cut rafters will need to be notched to allow venting around the skylight. Cut a 1" x 4 1/2" notch at the top of each rafter above and below the rough opening.
Installation of the skylight support kit.

Illustration 6.6.1A: Skylight Rough Opening

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3. Remove additional foam insulation and support the interior skin with 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" blocks. Squirt some expanding foam insulation into the groove before driving these blocks into place.
4. Rip 2"x8" or 2"x10" framing lumber to match measurements from inside of the roof sheathing to the inside face of the roof finish. These should be cut and pre-assembled first on the floor. The inside of this box should equal manufacturer's specified rough opening for the skylight. Apply a bead of cauling to the top of the box frame and slide into place. Spike the box frame to the ends of the cut rafters.
5. Carefully caulk the inside corners of the box frame and the line between the box frame and the roof finish, with silicone caulking.
6. Cut out the roof sheathing flush with the inside of the box frame. A skill saw or flush cut trimming router bit work well for this operation. Nail the plywood sheathing to the new rough opening on 12" center.
7. Cut strips of Grace (or equilivant) Bituthane 8" or 10" wide and wrap the inside face of the rough opening framing from the exterior sheathing to the interior finish boards of drywall. This will keep any interior conditioned air from reaching the roof system insulation or sheathing.

6.6.2 Installing the Skylight

Install the skylight according to the manufacturer's instructions.

6.6.3 Finishing and Trimming the Skylight - (Steps 3 & 4 not necessary if openings are pre-framed at the factory.)

You can use a variety of conventional roof finishes on Yankee Barn vented roof panels. The most common is asphalt or fiberglass shingles. Normally, a laminated, architectural grade shingle is installed over 15# felt paper. Lighter weight shingles are not recommended because there is the risk that the joints between the roof panels may telegraph through a light-weight shingle. Metal roofing or wood shingles or shakes can also be used.
In colder climates, install ice and water barriers at eaves to prevent leakage in case of ice dams. This is required by some building codes.
Yankee Barn roof panels are vented. Your builder will install a self-flashing, baffled, ridge vent. (For a metal roof, it may be necessary to specially request a vented ridge cap.) There are many types on the market.
For metal roofs, sliding snow or ice at doors and walkways can be a hazard. It is best to design your walks away from the roof eaves. Snow guards to prevent sliding snow are available from your roofing contractor.

Though most windows are delivered to the site installed in the panels (a big advantage, especially with larger sized windows on the second or third levels) occasionally windows must be shipped loose to be installed using standard building practices.

6.8.1 Loose Shipped Windows
Occasionally unusual sizes or tempered windows must be special-ordered from the Andersen factory, and sometimes arrive too late to be installed by Yankee Barn Homes before shipment. The exterior trim and extension jambs will be included with the window.
Because the actual number of loose-shipped windows cannot be determined until after the wall panels have been constructed in the Yankee Barn shop, you and your builder should establish an allowance per window to cover the installation of the units. If site installed windows are required, all manufacturers suggested flashing and sealants will be sent with the house, as well as full instruction for installation.

When walls with stacked windows are built in the factory, ice and snow guard is installed under the bottom nailing flange of any stacked windows in the “B” and “C” panels. A wide, extra flap is left hanging, meant to be pealed and sealed to the nailing flange of the window below. Be sure this flap is sealed completely before the trim is installed.

6.8.2 Greenhouse Glass
The glass for the roof area is shipped in its own crate, and packed in another crate are the extruded aluminum pieces used to install the glass. The extrusions form a simple-to-install but effective glazing system. The base extrusion has a rubber gasket for the glass to sit on, and forms a guttering system to drain away condensation. It is screwed down onto the greenhouse’s roof beams. Once the glass is set in place, the cap extrusions can be screwed to the bottom extrusions. The extrusions have a long lasting baked on bronze finish, so no painting is needed. The extrusions must be cut to length and drilled for the screws.

Construction sequence:

1. Screw the base extrusions and glass stops in place, following the instructions from the manufacturer and using Yankee Barn’s "Greenhouse Detail Sheet."
2. Starting at one side of the greenhouse, put the first piece of glass in place. It helps to have one person inside the greenhouse to help support the glass as it is lowered into place.
3. Attach the cap extrusions to the base extrusions, again following the instructions from the manufacturer. Be sure the rubber gasket has formed a good seal all the way round.
4. Caulk extrusion joints with bronze silicone provided by Yankee Barn Homes.
5. Repeat this sequence for each remaining piece of glass.
6. Put on the trim covers and install the mullion end caps.
7. Attach the rakes, subfascias and fascias; it may be necessary to rip and notch them to fit above the extrusions around the perimeter of the glass. Use the screws provided by Yankee Barn so they can easily be removed if it is necessary to change a piece of glass. It is helpful to cut the subfascia in shorter lengths to match the width of the glass, so only one section of subfascia must be removed to change a piece of glass.

6.8.3 Andersen® Doors
Install the sliding or hinged glass doors in accordance with the instructions packed with the door. Hinged doors come setup; sliding doors are knocked down. Note especially the flashing and caulking details provided by Yankee Barn Homes. Insulate around the rough opening with non-expanding spray foam. Use non-expanding foam to avoid distorting the frame.
Rough sawn trim, stained and cut to width, is supplied to finish the outside. Length is cut to suit on site.

6.8.4 Entry Doors
Install the prehung wood entry doors in accordance with common building practice. If head casing is exposed, then flashing needs to be installed. If the door is under a pentroof or roof overhang, no flashing is needed. Due to the range of entrance hardware homeowners can choose from, the door handle and lockset are not supplied and the door is not bored.

6.9.1 Skirt Board
The skirt board fits between the corner boards and the door trim. Refer to Illustration 6.9.1: Skirt Board Detail.

To finish the wall panel/sill connection:

1. Secure the downlap of the wall panels to the first floor deck and sill with 8d nails provided at 6" o.c. Install a strip of infill cdx on the downlap to just below the sill.
2. Nail the 2 x 12 rough sawn skirt board in place with 20d nails provided; refer to Skirt Board detail for proper positioning. The Skirt Board has a beveled top edge, and hangs down below the sill to create a finished edge along the bottom of the wall.

Houses with clapboards or shingles do not have skirt boards or pentroofs.

6.9.2 Pentroofs
In New England barns, pentroofs were used to protect windows and sliding door hardware from the weather. The pentroofs incorporated in most Yankee Barns serve this purpose and provide a pleasing visual accent to the vertical siding.

Refer to the elevations for an exact layout of the pentroofs for your particular design.
The pentroofs should be installed beneath the copper flashing, and should shade windows without restricting their use. Remember to keep them high enough to clear swinging doors and casement windows.
See Illustration 6.9.2: Pentroof Details.

To install the pentroofs:

1. Snap a line below the flashing to match the thickness of the pentroof measured across the angle cut.
2. Install brackets at the ends of the pentroof, either side of windows, at splices in the pentroofs and approximately 6' o.c.
3. Install chamfer strip.
4. Install the pentroof.
5. Install end blocks.

Some gable ends are trimmed with a simple joint cover. This is installed flush against the wall, with the beveled edge up and under the flashing. In some cases, the flashing can be bent down and then covered by the joint cover or trim.

6.10.1 Clapboards
The optional red cedar clapboards are prestained and graded to be applied with the rough side out. We supply stainless steel nails, air infiltration barrier/building wrap, flashing, as well as the clapboards and trim.

Cedar Clapboard Installation Instructions:

1. Apply housewrap using staples or roofing nails beginning one foot beyond a corner and wrapping around the corner. Overlap by 8" minimum at the horizontal and vertical laps. For horizontal laps, be sure the upper piece overlaps the lower piece.
2. Install cedar trim: corner boards, door and any remaining window trim, eave and gable chamfer strips using 2 1/2" stainless steel nails. Use aluminum window flashing at window and door head pieces and roll flashing under doors. We recommend 15# felt paper splines behind all trim.
3. Layout clapboards approximately 4" to the weather. The first course of clapboards should be at least 8" above grade. The butt edge of the clapboard should be flush with the window flashing.
   Whenever possible the lower sill of the window should also be flush with the lower edge of the clapboard. See Illustration 6.10.1: Clapboard Detail around Window.
4. Carefully fit clapboard joints as tight as possible cutting the last piece 1/16" long. Nail clapboards with 1 3/4" stainless steel nails at least 12" o.c., and into studs wherever possible. Where studs are 16" on center, nail every 16".

6.10.2 Cedar Shingles

Traditionally, cedar shingles are left unfinished to weather but are available in many factory applied colors. Yankee Barn Homes will also prime or stain the trim. The installation sequence is the same as for clapboards until the actual application of the shingles. The shingles are applied 5" to the weather. Normally the shingles Yankee Barn Homes supplies are squared and rebutted.

Yankee Barn supplies timber frame porches and open entries to match the rugged frame of the main house. They are supported on rough sawn posts (unless otherwise requested) and a plate of KD Douglas Fir beams. The posts are not pressure treated. If there are any walls on the porch, Yankee Barn supplies the same siding as on the main house (usually 1x8 shiplap boards). The siding is nailed directly to the porch posts and framing. The back of the boards are visible inside the porch and may have to be restained. If you want a more formal interior, you can order additional material to finish the interior.

There are three different porch roof systems. Most commonly, the rafters are rough sawn stock, typically 4" x 6" at about 32" on center, and stained the same color as the posts and plate. The roof sheathing is 2x6 V-groove tongue and groove Spruce planks, which also forms a finish ceiling below. The ceiling must be painted or stained on site.

A second roof system is 2" x 10" KD rafters and 5⁄/8" CDX plywood sheathing. This roof system needs a finish ceiling below, either a sloped ceiling on the bottom of the rafters, or a flat ceiling installed on ceiling joists. Often Yankee Barn includes 1x8 boards to finish the ceiling. They may be V-groove boards to match the ceiling in the main house, or rough sawn shiplap boards to match the siding on the house. Many other low maintanence materials are available also.

A third roof system is for the insulated roof panels on the main house to continue over the porch. This is initially the most expensive roof system, but it is best if there is a possibility that the porch will be converted to heated space in the future. If roof panels are used, they will have the same ceiling finish as the main house, e.g. V-pine boards.

Check the specifications with your plans for what will be supplied with your Yankee Barn.

The beams are to be cut to length on site. Common rafters are precut and notched, but because of the many variables in porches, you should expect to trim them a little to fit perfectly. Yankee Barn will supply stock for any hip rafters or jack rafters, but they must be cut on site. Roof trim to match main house is supplied.

The porch beams are usually prestained to match the trim of the main house. You will have to stain the underside of the roof decking on site.

If your trim is white or a light colored stain, you may want to request that the porch frame be stained to match the siding.

Yankee Barn does not supply the floors or decking. Your builder installs a conventional deck, usually using pressure treated joists and one of a variety of decking materials. The Yankee Barn posts are set on the decking (we recommend using one of the metal post bases to minimize exposure to moisture). Yankee Barn does not include porch rails, doors, screening, or the moldings to install screening.

Yankee Barn Homes prestains the front and back of the vertical shiplap siding and rough sawn pine trim, or the optional clapboard siding and trim. The bottom surfaces of any exposed roof overhangs are supplied prestained to match the exterior finish. Therefore, little exterior staining is required. You should plan to promptly top coat the exterior. Cabot® recommends that a top coat be applied within 90 days using their acrylic stain. When restaining, a semi-solid stain will cover the wood grain and may look like paint; a semi-transparent stain or a thinned stain will retain more of the look of the wood. Exterior wood or metal doors will need to be stained or painted on site. Be sure to protect doors from moisture prior to finishing.

6.12.1 Touch-up
Extra stain is provided to touch-up the siding and trim. This will be required primarily where saw cuts have been made in the trim material.