Obstacles, but finally, Walls!

We're completely exhausted at this point from three consecutive days of building. But we're dedicated to working through the week and next weekend, to try and catch up (the goal is, after all, weather tightness before snow -- and knowing Rochester, that will likely be before Halloween). We are certainly making progress, but let me just say (sorry if you've heard this already on every other tiny house build blog!), everything takes longer than you think it will.

It's shocking, really, how long it can take to get a trailer level. We spent half our day today checking level, extending the lift jack, adjusting the screw on a support jack stand, lowering the lift jack, and repeating.

In the end, since the ground is so much lower on one side of the trailer, we had to have one support jack on the back extended over two feet high, while the one on the opposite corner is screwed all the way in to its shortest setting.

Here Jeremy and all of us are relaxing under the popup awning while we wait for the rain to subside a bit.

This is one of the rocks we put on the tarps to weigh them down against the wind. Great for the wind, but we have a tendency pull the tarp off and fold it over the rock, making it invisible under there...until you trip over it. Again and again. All day. Really, it's a miracle none of us have broken an ankle tripping over these rocks :)

Finally started laying out the studs for the south wall.

We got this far before I realized, with a sinking feeling, that I had measured incorrectly. It was late, and we needed a supply run anyways, so we just called it a night. Tomorrow morning, I get to start by ripping out the nails on most of these studs, moving them a few inches left, and re-nailing them. Still, I'm happy we noticed the mistake 6 studs in to the 19-stud long wall!

Subfloor Progress

After several days of the laying under the trailer and screwing up the aluminum flashing, that step is finally done and it's time to move on to the remainder of the subfloor. Working above was still hard work, but so much faster.

First batts of wool insulation going in.

We dry fit the OSB over as we went down the length of the trailer.

Next step was vapor check; here you can see all three layers: insulation, vapor check, OSB.

Last of the vapor barrier down!

Didn't get a picture of the completed subfloor since we had to run around cleaning up and pulled a tarp over the completed subfloor within seconds of the rain starting. Rain has been a near constant so far during the build, but we've been able to keep things pretty safe and dry so far by having tarps ready to pull over at a moment's notice.

Build Day One

The build has officially commenced! Jeremy's arms and neck are very sunburned, and my arms and hurt from holding an impact driver up above my head while laying under the trailer on uneven ground. But progress has been made...although we called it a day when it started to rain, so I don't have a picture of the final progress so far.

This past Tuesday, the driver we hired from UShip delivered our trailer to us!

Despite not having the right size ball to hitch our trailer up, not to mention that we don't have a truck (had to rely on family there), here we are, parked at the build site at last.

To give more head space inside, we're using a deck-between, with drop axles, and also going to use the trailer itself as the subfloor (rather than building the subfloor on top of the metal). Thanks TinyHouseBuild for that advice, I think we'll appreciate the extra room when it comes time to sleep in the loft! Attaching flashing directly to the underside of the trailer poses its own challenges, however...

It didn't occur to us until we were about to attach the aluminum flashing how difficult it would be to work around the trailer wiring, not to mention axle attachment points and other obstacles.

From below, you can see how we became good friends with tin snips in order to fit the flashing around obstacles like this tail light. Later, the aluminum tape and I will have some bonding time to fix how messy I am at cutting with tin snips.

One more shot from the perspective where I spent most of the day. From this angle, it looks like we've made more progress than we have. The aluminum flashing is only 24" wide, so it will take 4 long rows to cover the underside of the trailer. Build day one has ended with only 1.5 rows done (but we're getting better at it, so we'll see how tomorrow goes).

Call for Tools: Build Day One Approaches

Our trailer is finally completed! Sadly it took nearly twice as long as expected due to the drop axle supplier failing to come through for the fabricator. But, as of today, a shipper began the drive up from Florida with the completed trailer, and should arrive by Tuesday evening. If all goes according to plan, I'll get it titled and registered in New York, and moved to the construction site before the end of the week. Then, this upcoming weekend (July 26-27) will mark the official start of construction!

As day one approaches, now is the time to get our hands on tools that will be needed. We'll end up buying or renting anything we need but can't get, and some helpers has already committed to bringing some of these, but when and for how long are unknown. We also have some of these tools already on hand (including hopefully everything we need for day one), but could use second/different ones (like stronger and larger drill bits than we have, longer extension cords, more tarps, et cetera). So, if you have any of the following and are willing to lend them to us, please just let us know!

Drill Bits

Miter Saw

Circular Saw

Jig Saw

Saws-all

Framing Nail Gun

Smaller Nail Gun(s)

Compressor and pneumatic cable for nail guns

Staple Gun (for Tyvek)

Clamps

Belt Sander

Orbital Sander

Framing Level/Plumb Level

Framing Square

Measuring tape

Vacuum

Dust Masks

Work Gloves

Tarps, Bungee Cords

Ladders

Extension Cords

If you're interested in helping out with the build, stay tuned for updates here. I'm hoping to schedule the wall-raising day as a fun little gathering for anyone who's interested in giving us some time and work, in exchange for food and drink.

Material Acquisition Round 1

Still no news on the trailer front, though hypothetically they're hard at work (or so I assume based on my credit card statement!)

These days of waiting have been filled seeking out other materials. I made a "red list" for the highest priority items, like items for the subfloor and wall framing studs, and a "yellow list" for anything not needed immediately for the exterior to be finished (Tyvek, for example, can safely go for months without being covered by proper siding, so siding is yellow). I've made progress ordering things, and items have started to arrive...and pile up:

What else are you supposed to do when you get ten boxes in the mail?

It was fun to stack those boxes of sheep's wool insulation, but when we added a few thousand pounds of lumber and 120ft^3 of Roxul to the mix (both fun things to fit in Alexi, our Honda Fit):

Tying the hatch with string is totally safe, right?

Diagonal, scraping the dashboard on one end, past the seal of the hatch on the other...but they fit!

The Tetris skill involved in arranging these trips with five 1'x2'x4' blocks of Roxul at a time are not fully captured in this image. Shifting was an entertaining maneuver in which you couldn't actually hold the stick from above.

Then we had to answer the question "Does your address have a loading dock or forklift?" This was in reference to my apartment, mind you. Still, luckily we were able to get them to deliver using a truck with lift gate, and then it was just up to us to disassemble and carry in this pallet one piece at a time.

Add to all that a few tarps, jack stands, and aluminum flashing ordered for direct delivery, and you have a dining area (and entrance to the hallway, and former storage location for one of our bikes, and...) that's been completely replaced by this:

At some point I think my ~400ft^2 studio apartment will not be able to hold any more! We're eagerly awaiting the trailer so things can start going out, not just come in!

Sketchup

Finally, you get to see Sketchup pictures!

First Up, we have the framing. After waffling back and forth for awhile, I decided to use 16" on center studs rather than 24", but to otherwise follow most of the tenants of advanced framing (as small headers as possible, no headers on non load-bearing walls, header hangers instead of jack studs, single top plate, rafters aligned with wall studs, etc). The walls are 2x4 rather than 2x6 to save interior width, but I will be adding rigid insulation sheathing as well to bring up the R value (picture below). By the way, this is intended to be the North side of the trailer (thus the mono-slope roof points South for the benefit of solar panels).

Skipping over the next layer up since that's rather boring (just sheathing), and here you can see the Roxul "Comfortboard IS" sheathing mentioned above, with furring strips over top and the door and window trim in place. If you look close at the top, you can also see the standing seam steel roof.

Same wall shown, now with siding, windows, and door in place. The rectangular windows are all the same size (and that size is also repeated on the opposite wall), and all sliding style. The smaller square window sits right over where the kitchen sink will be, and will either be fixed or awning style (we have up until the order is placed to decide). I'd also like to point out that the colors for windows, siding, door, trim, roof...well, everything really is subject to change. All the colors as drawn are there mostly to help distinguish between the different parts. We're leaning toward a simple clear-ish natural oil for the siding, and something very bright for trim (think red, chartreuse, royal blue, or something), and then we could bring that trim color inside as an accent to pop against mostly natural tones. But again, that's not set in stone!

Just for fun, here's the opposite (South) side from all the previous pictures. You can see solar panels sitting up there, which are drawn the same size as the Volther PowerVolt PVT panels, which I'm hoping will become available in the US before I start purchasing the electrical system components. I'll be sure to do at least one post on the electrical (and whole energy system) design in the future!

And this is an isometric view from the front left (Northeast) corner. The area in the front with windows on three sides will be a booth-style multipurpose table for everything from our computer/office space to dining to board game area.

At some point in the past, I had some nice pencil sketches of the floor plan, and version 2, and 3, and...you get the point. But being the opposite of a pack rat (whatever the word for that is) means that once the Sketchup model was drawn, I threw away the hand sketches in short order (despite that they might have been a better way to see the rough floorplan). Still, you can get a pretty good idea from this drawing. Starting on the right is the table and bench seats; bottom-center is a futon that folds out into a full size bed for guest(s); across from that, stairs to the main loft, with substantial storage underneath (possibly including our TV, not yet decided on that); further to the left is the kitchen, with sink, stovetop, and oven (under counter) on the top, refrigerator (under counter) and plenty of prep space (that counter is about 5' long, for reference) on the bottom; finally all the way to the left is the bathroom, accessed by a pocket door, and containing a 36" square shower, small sink, and composting toilet. You can also see the tube steel joists that hold up both lofts: on the left is the main loft which will have our queen size bed and space for clothes, and on the right is the most likely location for our TV, video games, etc: not unlike the "media loft" from hOMe Tiny House. Last note about this interior view is that I'm aware large swaths are left undrawn, like the inside walls, for example. This is intentional: we'll draw them if we need to, but only later in the process after the exterior is done.

I think that's a pretty good set of drawings for now. Let me know you have any questions about our layout, materials, Sketchup, or anything else!

Trailer!

We've ordered the trailer! After months (years, really) of planning, we've taken the first tangible step.

Also, with the magnitude of investment that a tiny house trailer is, now it's going to be hard to turn back! Everything is getting very real, and that's scary. But it's also very exciting! Over the course of the next "3-4 Weeks", while the trailer is fabricated and delivered, I'll be headed over to lumberyards, home improvement stores, and placing orders online for materials; we also are going to spend this time trying to acquire any tools that we can by borrowing from friends and family.

Head over to the "budget" page for some idea of what we intend to purchase, if you're interested. It's mostly what you'd expect, with the caveat that we've decided on materials that are a little bit more environmentally friendly ("environment" both in terms of lower embodied energy where possible, and in terms of low/no VOCs where possible). Those materials will cost a premium, which will in turn slow down our construction process some: I can't pay in cash for everything yet (but hope to save enough money from my job as construction proceeds). But I believe it will all be worth it in the end. Maybe we'll only end up staying in the JR House for a few years, or maybe it will be much longer. Who knows? Either way, we're excited to build a home to live in that's made of materials we at least researched and chose consciously.

On a separate note, Sketchup drawings are pretty much as finished as they're likely to ever be. I just have to get some good screen grabs and type up some accompanying descriptions, and then you can get the first look!