Back On Track…Race to the Finish

I'm back working on the trailer house after taking about a month off to work on the big house. As we prepare to put the (actual) house on the market next month, we had a lot of projects to do. We replaced the old plumbing pipes, replaced the old wiring, built a closet into one of the bedrooms, painted the whole inside of the house, pressure washed the outside, reglazed and scraped and painted all the windows, painted the front porch, and repaired some vinyl siding. Now we are mostly done, and I have 10 days to finish the tiny house before we take it on the road for the first time. So I have registered the trailer and got it all street legal, and now I'm in a mad dash to finish it. To meet this timeline I had to streamline and simplify a lot, based on some developments to our re-settlement plan. These changes include nixing the built in shower in favor of building a stand alone shower structure at our final destination, as well as some minor layout changes. The floor is done, and I did about 50% of the insulation today. Tomorrow I will finish insulating and begin installing the siding. These pictures aren't the best quality, but I seem to have left my camera at a friend's house in North Carolina last week, so I used the computer's picture capture feature. Take it or leave it.

Outside is Basically Done

After much other stuff going on, I have finally finished up the siding. Timelines don't seem to work very well for this project. But, it sure feels good to be done with outside. I still have to put some trim type stuff around the rafter ends, but now I can move to the interior. The next thing will be framing the bathroom wall inside, and then laying the hardwood floor.

We Have a Door!

Finished up the front end and made the door. It was a lot of fun, since my poor framing skills created a door frame that is not exactly rectangular. Lots of trimming and filing was involved. It's a Dutch door, as you can see, made from pine planks over pine tongue-and-groove. Pretty simple and easy, but rustic and visually appealing, in my opinion. As you can see, the Goober crew thinks the door is pretty fun.

One Side Done...

More of the same…here's a bunch of pictures. Enjoy. As you can see, the left side is done and the front is around 50%. Hopefully I can knock out the other side tomorrow and finish up the front.

Starting the Siding

Began siding this afternoon. It is all 8 inch wide beveled cedar siding, with 1x4 cedar trim on the corners. The siding has around 2 inches of overlap, so about 6 inches exposed. Cutting out the wheel well portion was a real beast, which is why the second board on the side doesn't look quite straight. Whatever. This is the side with the furring on. 1/4 inch furring goes in first, to create a tiny air gap between the siding and the wall itself in case any water gets in; that gives it a way out so it doesn't stay caught in there. The furring is placed over the framing studs and the siding attached with ring-shank siding nails. The front with furring and the first siding board. The framing in the front is a little trickier than the sides, so I will be adding furring to the top as I get up there. Also our water heater got here today. It is an Eccotemp L10 tankless propane heater. All it needs is a hose going in, and hot water comes out. It's got an electric ignition system, so no pilot light to worry about. Plus it will actually be mounted to the outside of the trailer in a little "shed", so no venting concerns either. Here's my stopping place for dinner. We have all day tomorrow to work on it before I check back in from leave.

Finally…some progress

Finished up the bay windows and the put the porch on. In the pictures, you can see the door frame going in also. There was a shipping problem with the cedar siding, but that is resolved and it should be arriving this afternoon. So now its on to putting the siding on and making the door. Also, our little stove oven arrived today for the kitchen. Cool.

Windows Y'all...

I know you're probably getting tired of reading about my windows. I got it. I'm tired of working on them, so we're even. I got them in and about half of them are hung. This has taken me forever because I suck at making windows. There's tons of filing and trimming so everything fits and opens and stuff. Sawdust everywhere (which is why the windows look so dirty). The cedar siding should be here early next week, so stay tuned for that when it gets here.

Making Windows Part II

Finished framing the 4 side windows for the main room. Here's some pictures of how I did it. There is an outer frame which is fitted to the window opening and fixed therein. Then there's an inner frame with lattice-work in the middle. The window panes go on either side of the lattice-work, sealed in with silicone glue/sealant stuff. Then the outer trim is attached which locks the panes in place. The lattice work has notches carved out so it all fits together snug…no screws on the inside. Once it's all assembled, its fitted into the inner frame and glued and screwed in place.

Wrapping up...

Alright; the exterior is all sheathed and I put the housewrap on. Just in time too, because a mega-storm nuked us right after I finished. I am on leave now, so my weekend project will be to finish or at least complete a significant amount of the windows. Once they are done (I'm roughly halfway done now, not counting the one huge window), I can install them and put the cedar siding on. That will hopefully look sweet and it will mean the exterior will be 100% done, so I can start on the interior. Okay, I still have to trim the bottom of the housewrap. Whatever.

Back Again

Now that I'm back, I have resumed work on the tiny house. I will be finishing up the exterior next, so first thing to do is the windows…I was planning to buy them, but apparently windows are mega expensive and it takes four or five weeks to get them custom made with tempered glass. That's time we don't have, so I decided to make them myself instead. A window is a window, right? I have ten windows to makes total. These are the two I made today. They're still pretty expensive because I'm using oak wood for the frames (which ain't cheap), as well as polycarbonate instead of glass since its 200 times stronger than glass and relatively easy to cut. But, I will still save well over a thousand dollars making them myself, so that seems reasonable to me. Once all the windows are finished, I can put on the exterior cladding, and then the outside will be basically done. Then I will get some long awaited leave from the Army and I will start work on the inside. Keep us in your prayers as we start approaching the deadline to have everything finished!

Last Post For a While

The roof is done. Well, I still have to put on the fascia trip and stuff, but for all intents and purposes it is done. This was my main goal to have complete before I leave. So this will be my last post for a few months while I'm out of the country. Be sure to check back on the blog next year for more updates once I start building again.

Putting the Roof On

Only got six panels on today…it was a busy day. I went to go vote after work, which took forever, then I had to get a haircut and then we had to watch The Two Towers with dinner. So not much done today. Plus the mosquitos were really massing forces. Hopefully I will finish the roof up tomorrow.

Roof Cladding

Outside view…roof cladding all in place.

Interior view from the main loft.

Interior view from under the main loft. Not much different. And below are my helpers taking a break and getting some chow. Pretty tuckered out.

I think I set a new standard yesterday in shady construction techniques. In one fun filled four hour period I: 1) sawed with a skill saw while holding the wood with my hand and knees. 2) Nearly guillotined myself with a monster sheet of plywood trying to solo muscle it onto the rafters. 3) Balanced precariously on the roof ridge while screwing and hammering the last plywood sheet, including one event where I hooked my feet on the top and suspended my body down head first so I could reach the bottom edge to secure it. Awesome. We all came out unscathed, the roof is sheathed, we're ready to put on the metal roofing. So mission accomplished. In retrospect, if I had two other dudes working with me and a medium sized step ladder I probably could have gotten it all done in like an hour with no near death experiences. But anyone who knows me knows that's not how I roll. I apply one of my old military mottoes to these situations: if it don't suck, it ain't worth doing.