It is mentioned in some tales that are traced back to Al-Sâdiq (PUH) that when Gos showed the prophecy of Noah and his followers knew that the relief is coming and he will gain victory over his enemies of disbelievers after a patience of long time over great troubles. Whenever Noah used to call them to the religion of truth and to work by it and worshipping the Truth (True God) they used to revolt against him and hurt him badly with his followers and that was in a time period of three hundreds years since the day of his sending, and he used to in that time period to call them by day and night but they run away from him and then he called them in secret and they didn't answer also, and called them in public but they ignore him for their pride and never cared about him or about his calls, then he started to call for their destruction, so then Angels came down to him ordering him to stop calling for their destruction and to take patience and bear them to complete the reason for that, so he answered and obeyed, and started to work again calling them to worship God and left out calling for their destruction and started trying to guide them as he used to be before for another three hundreds years, until then when this time period was over and had been dispaired for their unbelieving, started to call for their destruction again, but then angels came down with orders from God for him to be patient and so he obeyed, then he got back calling his people to worship God for a three hundred years, but nothing worked with them, and he continued with them until the end of this time period for nine hundreds years, then the patience of his followers was over and went to him complaining for what they did and still facing from the people in public and from the tyrants.
Then they asked him for the relief and calling for their relief and so he answered their request then went to pray and calling over them so then Gabriel came down sent from God and said to him: God had answered your call over your people, but before doing so God wants you to order your followers to plant some seeds, and he had appointed some quantity of it, and they should take care of it so that when it grows and gave the fruit God will give relief over them, and then he (Gabriel) taught them what to do, so then they went happy and knew that the relief is close and that God will give victory to His religion with no way out even if the disbelievers did not like it.
Then they obeyed what they had been commanded to do so, they planted the seeds and served them as perfectly as possible so then when it gave the fruit and they ate them they came back to Noah to see his promise, so he got back to his Lord and He commanded him with what He commanded in the first time and so they did what they did before for planting the seeds and serving them. Then they got back again to Noah and he asked God again and God commanded him as the first and second time so they doubted about his religion and his calls for there is a contradiction and two thirds of them quitted their religion and only one third stayed faithful, but that was faced with the fear of their enemies and bearing the disrespect from the disbelievers, then the believers and them who stayed faithful insisted on him to call for the relief and for the destruction of disbelievers so he called God and asked Him to do what was promised and for the relief and He answered his calls and ordered him to make the Ark.
This dilation was to filter out the hypocrites that worship God and they are on the edge, so that when they get goodness they are fine with it and when they get badness they revolt and then lost the life and the after-life, this is the obvious losing, and to keep the true faithfuls and distinguish between them and the bad mixture, and they said to him (Noah): no one stayed from us except this little group and they are afraid for themselves to be doomed if the relief is delayed, then Noah prayed and asked his God to do what is promised for the destruction of the enemies of the religion so God inspired to him that your call had been answered so go ahead and make the Ark, so there was fifty years between the answer of the call and the flood.
And from the great prophet (PUH): When God wanted to destroy the people of Noah, He inspired to him(Noah) to cut boards of teak (teak is a great tree doesn't grow except in the land of India, its wood is black and thick and hard to decay, as mentioned in the closest language resources) [the previous note is exactly what is written in Arabic in the book and not my own notes], so when he cut them out he did not know what to do with it, so then the Angel Gabriel came down to him and showed him the shape of the Ark and there was with him a box that had one hundred and twenty nine thousands nails in it, so he nailed all the nails and they were exactly enough for the Ark, and God ordered Gabriel to teach Noah how to do it. Its length was measured on the ground to be of one thousand and two hundreds arms and its width was eight hundreds arms, and its depth was eighty arms, then Noah said: O Lord who will make it and help me to do it, so God inspired to him to call for his people and in the public and whoever can work to work with him for an exchange of good wages, so Noah called in his people and told them whoever worked with him with goodness of will as I order him to do he will get a nice reward and a nice wage, so they answered and started to work everyone with his own experience and his job and so they helped him to make it.
They even used to mock at him and say that he is making a ship on land, and in some tales it is told that the Ark was covered on top with a great cover (dish-like cover) to avoid the rains and the heat of the sun, and of course it had ways to the outside from doors and windows to let some air in and for the breathe of the animals and the rest of creatures inside it, all of that was made perfectly. It is mentioned also that it had great two pearls, one of them light in the day time by sun, and the other light in the night time by the moon and by them they used to know the timings for the prayers, and they stayed in the Ark before landing on earth again for one hundred and fifty days and nights, and also said they were six months.
In tidings, that after he finished creating the Ark, God ordered him to call in Syriac, and it was their language that day, for all the people and animals so that no one person nor one animal shall be absent, so when all came, every type of animals got inside in pairs, and the people that answered his calls and been faithful to him were eighty men, so then God said: take with you two of each pair. And in some tales that the period of creating the Ark was one hundred years and then God ordered him to take two of each  pair, and the eight pairs that God mentioned in His Holy Book are the ones that Noah carried in the Ark, so God said (in the Holy Book): and He hath provided for you of cattle eight kinds(Al-Zumar:6), two of sheeps and two of goats and two of camels and two of cows, so it was two pairs of sheeps: one is the known to people and used breed, and the other was a wild one used to be on mountains and God allowed eating from its meat, and also two of goats, pair people used to breed, and another one which was wild and that is the gazelle, and two of cows, one people used to breed and the other one is the wild one, and two of camels and they are "Al-Bokhâti" and "Al-'Orâbi" [seems they are Arabic names for well known types of camels, could not find any translation for these two names], and both of them people used to breed. So these are the eight pairs that Adam got out from paradise with him or might be revealed on him after he was down from it to make a living from them for his children and him from their meats and their milks and their breeds and their hairs and wools as drinks and food and clothes and forniture.
The creation of the Ark was in the location of Al-Kufa mosque, so when God wanted to destroy the people of Noah and Noah did take for every type of animals a special position in the Ark and prepared necessary things of food and water, and until all animals were in the Ark from various birds and beasts and no one is awaited to be in from people nor animals, then waters started going out from earth by springs and the sky started to hammer with non stopping rains, so God did say in the chapter of Al-Qamar (The Moon): Then opened We the gates of heaven with pouring water, And caused the earth to gush forth springs, so that the waters met for a predestined purpose, And We carried him upon a thing of planks and nails(11-13). The meaning and God only knows: so We made the the earth full of springs and then the water of the sky and the water of earth did meet together, so water flood everything and everything sank and thearth shaked and the sun eclipsed, then Noah said: Embark therein! In the name of Allah be its course and its mooring. Lo! my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful(Hud:41), then the Ark moved and turned around to where God desired, and Noah looked to his son and he was confused standing and falling, so he called him: O my son! Come ride with us, and be not with the disbelievers(Hud:42), so his son answered: I shall betake me to some mountain that will save me from the water(Hud:43), then Noah said: This day there is none that saveth from the commandment of Allah save him on whom He hath had mercy. And the wave came in between them, so he was among the drowned(Hud:43), then Noah asked God to save his son from being drowned, so he raised his eyes to his Lord calling for help and taking refuge in God's mercy then he said: My Lord! Lo! my son is of my household! Surely Thy promise is the truth and Thou are the Most Just of Judges(Hud:45), so He said: He said: O Noah! Lo! he is not of thy household; lo! he is of evil conduct, so ask not of Me that whereof thou hast no knowledge. I admonish thee lest thou be among the ignorant(Hud:46), this is the speech of the Exalted who takes revenge from every one of pride and doesn't believe in the doomsday, to His obeying slave, who works sincerely towards his Lord, and who's thankful for His gifts, who obeys His commandments and stays away from whatever He forbids, and he is His slave and His creature, and He had gifted him his prophecy and his message and Sent him to his people and his time, so it was like if Noah was unaware and surprised for what his Lord wants, and that the relation of family has no value without believing in God, so when God awared him for what has to be from him towards his Master, he woke up and apologized saying: My Lord! Lo! in Thee do I seek refuge (from the sin) that I should ask of Thee that whereof I have no knowledge. Unless Thou forgive me and have mercy on me I shall be among the lost(Hud:47).
So it is traced back to Abi Ja'far Muhammad ben 'Ali Al-Bâqir (PUH) in a long speech for him: There is no relation between God and anyone else, the most beloved by God whoever is faithful to Him and obeying His commandments, then he (PUH) said: I swear by God that no slave can approach to God except by obeying (worshipping), we don't have any relief from hell and no one has any reason before God, and whoever is obeying God then he's a follower for us, and whoever is against God, he's an enemy for us, and our love is taken except by the faith and the good of deeds. So, the Ark then sailed in waves like mountains until it reached Mecca and went around the Holy House, and everyone on earth did sink even the high mountains and nothing survived except the Holy House.
In some tales it is told that it was called the "Protected House" because it was protected from being drowned, and it was told also that the flood and the water from skies and earth from springs continued for forty mornings until the water was above everything and sank everything and everything that had a soul died, so then Noah raised his hands to the sky and said: O Lord, your mercy, your mercy, Have mercy on us, so then the rain stopped and the springs stopped and the clouds were gone and the weather came back again as normal as it was and the winds stopped down and everything was calm, and the whole world was all water and the earth as one one passage way, and then God ordered the earth to swallow its waters and the water of the sky remained on the face of earth and so from it were the seas of this world for God, the Exalted, ordered Gabriel (PUH) to drive the waters to its current form, and God had stopped it by His own power and His will.