Winter Break and finally Sun!

  After taking a break from building for three months, the cold, constant drizzle finally let up and it was warm and dry enough to start working on Foxglove again. It was really a very mild winter here, only one snowfall and February was the warmest on record ever. I was pretty busy with the new puppy, Radar, so I'm not complaining.

The exterior of my tiny house hasn't changed but soon I will get some exterior Ranchwall paneling and cedar shakes. I've also requested a quote for the three remaining windows in the gable ends and over the French doors. I'm planning on creating stained glass inserts for these; a sun motif at the front end over the kitchen greenhouse window, a moon and stars motif over the bedroom window at the other end, and a Salt Spring Island and ocean motif over the French doors with Orcas frolicking in the water and a Bald Eagle flying overhead.

Meanwhile David has been helping a lot with the wiring, plumbing and installing the shower stall. More accurately, I have been helping him.There is still some wiring to do but I've been able to finish insulating the bedroom and cover that with vapour barrier. As well, I ordered a composting toilet and it arrived just this week. It's compact like a regular toilet and needs only a 12 volt adapter to plug in to a regular electric outlet for a fan to vent to the outside. There is a separate container for urine (which apparently is what causes odours) and a handle to 'turn' the compostable material. It only needs emptying after about 60-80 uses. Not as expensive as the behemoth Sun-Mar composting toilet either, I had the 'joy' of using one of those at a friend's cottage on Wolfe Lake, Ontario and was definitely not impressed!

The shower stall had also arrived and was awaiting for the walls to be built around it.

So the walls got built, and as usual, nothing lined up like it was supposed to! It's become a bit of a joke that nothing is square or plumb in this build but hey, it's all working out in the end. 

The walls looking towards the back. You can see a bit of the wiring and pex plumbing in these pics.

The view from the bedroom looking to the front

The shower stall (36" x 36") with cement boards in place. Getting the shower basin level was no picnic but it's done. The cement boards were also placed square on the studs (no cutting to fit) so the tile will go up easily.

Here's one more view from the front. Another foot of cement board needs to be cut and installed above the existing boards.

And here's my new buddy, he loves chewing on blocks of wood lol.

He's grown a lot in three months!

Roof, Windows and Tragedy

Hi Folks, yes I know it's been a while. I've been holding off until the roof is done. We got the windows installed, I even did most of that myself. I also got a deal on two skylights, both 24x24 inches, and as I had only framed for one 24x48 skylight, I had to do some re-configuring with the roof of course. The plus is that these skylights are the venting kind so I will be able to open them in the summer to let the hot air out.

The first skylight is installed!

Another major reconfigure was the decision to build a raised platform spanning the wheel wells so that we can easily access the plumbing that runs underneath for the shower and bathroom sink. I didn't want to punch holes through the floor and it's better that the plumbing is kept inside so as to prevent freezing in the winter. Not that it gets very cold here compared to the massive snow storms already hitting the East. I feel for ya!

I also insulated and put up a vapour barrier along the back wall of the bedroom (as seen in the top background of the two photos above). I don't have any electrical going through there so it was ready to be sealed up. 

Whoo Hoo! I just got a call from the courier and the shower stall base has arrived. It is 36" x 36" vinyl base with reinforced bottom so it will be both spacious and solid. I plan to use glass tiles in shades of watery blue and green for the walls. A splurge, I know, but I love my showers!

I've also ordered a ceiling fan from Del Mar Lighting in Florida of all places. And yes, it was a good deal, even with the shipping! It's a bit smaller at 34" diameter and has a bronze finish. I also have a bronze finish on the French door lockset and plan on getting a bronze faucet for the kitchen sink (one of those nice high faucets) and much of the other lighting.

Here's a pic of the ceiling fan, nice eh?

It was while we were installing the lockset for the French doors that tragedy struck. Little Doudou, my little Bichon building companion, was accidentally run over. She was lying nonchalantly under the trailer but must have moved to the front of a friend's truck parked by the house and simply was too small to be seen as he drove off. We were both devastated and miss her terribly. I found a sheltered spot by some cedar trees and buried her there so she will be close by.

Finally, we found a roofer who was available and was able to start the next day. Installing metal roofing is better left to the experts I say. Pretty reasonable too. It's just the now constant wet weather that slowed things down. Here is a pic of the front of the house with the roof mostly done.

There will be a window over the french doors, it's just covered up for now.

So with the roof almost done, it is now safe to work inside (read Dry) and continue with the wiring, plumbing and insulation.

As a final footnote, here's my new buddy, he will be joining us this weekend I hope. Still debating over his name but now Radar is the new fav!

The roof goes on and all wrapped up

Hi there! Lots of time has lapsed again. Slow progress with the constant blistering sun and heat but progress it is. It's starting the feel like a home now with the walls sheathed and half the roof sheathed as well. We are planning a blitz tomorrow to finish the roof, including laying down the tar paper and strapping for the metal roof. I have picked out a sky blue colour for the metal which should look great with cedar shake siding. Also just got news that the windows are ready for pickup so I guess I will be busy installing those while I wait for the roof order. Time is pressing as we will soon be entering the rainy season. In fact, it's forecast for the end of next week. 

I've added a transom window for the shed dormer over the french doors. The board leaning against it is to keep the pesky chickens out!

More boards leaning against the back wall are drying out in the sun. They will be used for strapping on the roof to prepare it for the metal roofing.

Now the house has a layer of breathable Tyvek house wrap sealed with Tuct tape. It was one of the easier jobs. I built two scaffold ladders which are secured with screws to the house for a platform to walk on while we work on the roof. 

Here is a view of the inside looking towards the front and kitchen area. The kitchen window at the front is to be a Garden window, like a mini greenhouse. Also we added four rough cut cedar beams across the kitchen area at the front and the bathroom area at the mid-section. These will become storage lofts as well as adding visual appeal!

One of two beams installed across the bathroom area. A skylight is planned for the bathroom too.

The Walls are up!

Wow, it's been a month already. I didn't realize so much time had passed! The weather has definitely been a factor in the building progress, starting with frequent downpours at the beginning of the month. I would spend a good part of each day cleaning up after the rain in the morning and tarping everything up again at the end of the day. What a pain.

Then Mother Nature decided to turn on the light switch and for the last three weeks it's been sun sun sun! With the sun however, comes the heat, so I can only work on the tiny house for a couple of hours in the morning (I'm not a morning person LOL) stopping until almost 5 pm when the shadows from the trees provide some much needed relief. Which is why I'm working on this blog entry in the middle of the day - way too hot to work in the sun! I had to take the tarp off to put the top 'plate' on the walls and it was stifling under it anyways.

So here is a photo journey of the build so far.

Can you spot the glaring error here?

The elevated area that juts out is where the head of the bed will sit. It will be built on a platform (like a Captain's bed on steroids) with loads of storage space underneath.

 Way up on a ladder

Hello down there!

Finally, the front wall is sheathed. I'm standing at the kitchen window.

The rest is almost sheathed, I'll cut out the windows when I'm done.

The large opening on the right is for a set of French doors I got on sale at Home Depot. Nice.

Standing inside the 'living room' area with a sofabed I just scored for $25!

Me in my living room, come on in!

The floor is done! (almost)

After a quick trip to Kelowna to meet up with my sister Anne, it was back to building. First step was the framing for the subfloor using 2x4's on 16" centers. This was done in three sections. I flipped the direction of the joists on the tail section after reading that it would be stronger that way. Time will tell if that was the right decision. It was also very frustrating at times trying to drive 3 1/2" screws into the wood even using an impact driver (my favorite tool!) and pre-drilling holes on the corners. Something to do with hand & eye coordination that will hopefully improve with practice!

While this was going on, a special order arrived. A beautiful glass bowl for the bathroom sink. It will sit upon a live edge maple plank that will be used as the counter.

Then came the flashing. I started with a 50 foot roll of 36" wide galvanized steel. Boy, was that heavy! So after using that on the first section, I switched to aluminum for the mid-section over the axles and the tail section - it's so much easier to cut and handle. We flipped the frames over to attach the flashing and then bolted each section to the steel frame of the trailer. Then the insulation was put in (the super easy part). I was going to use the Styrofoam insulation but the Roxul was much cheaper and much more environmentally sensitive.

Finally it was time to complete the subfloor by laying down tongue & groove plywood sheets. Things got pretty slow last week though, between news of a friends death, a chicken keeling over with an apparent heart attack and then to top it off, my Bichon got so sick I really thought she was going to die too. So that's why this post was delayed. So the subfloor is almost done, just a few more sheets to glue and screw down - once I figure out why nothing is lining up evenly in the last section - next post!

Prepping the trailer is done

I spent another couple of days painting the trailer with black Rustoleum paint and then David wired it for brake lights. It's a bonus when your boyfriend is also a mechanic! 

There's still the emergency brake-away kit to install but that can wait for the time being.

In the meantime, I downloaded a free program called Floorplanner.com and was able to work out a decent floorplan in record time. I've also downloaded Sketchup from Google but I really don't have the patience right now to spend time learning another program. Floorplanner was super easy.

So here is the layout for my tiny house!

Tomorrow I'm off for a few days to Kelowna BC to meet up with my sister Anne. I plan to stock up on some Okanagan wine! When I get back it will be time to start building the subfloor. Stay tuned! 

Hello and Welcome

Thank you for stopping by, sit down and stay awhile and I'll tell you a story about my tiny house build since I moved to British Columbia. Salt Spring Island that is, ah paradise; oceans, big cedar trees, bald eagles and salmon. I don't remember what got me onto the idea of building a tiny house for myself, but once I did, I was hooked. I've always been fascinated by 'alternative' dwellings such as strawbale, stacked cordwood  and adobe construction. To me a tiny house means freedom; freedom from want, freedom from need, freedom to choose how and where to live. And since I'm in my mid-fifties with no building experience, I figure it's now or never!

Trailer Trash

The first step (after lots of reading, research and ridiculously high quotes for a custom trailer) was to find a suitable trailer to build on. An ad for a gutted travel trailer showed up on the local island network for $200. I went to see it and found this:

The insides were ripped out already but still a mess, no matter, it was all going to be trashed anyways.

So I bought it, had it towed to the build site and then the destruction began! All of this would not have been possible without the help and guidance of someone very dear to me, my boyfriend David. With his invaluable help, we were able to demolish the trailer in about three days and with three trips to the dump for another $180. David taught me how to use a SawsAll, I was in charge of sorting and recycling whatever possible.

The holding tanks exposed. The grey water tank was repurposed into a veggie bed!

What a mess!

The stripped frame before sanding with a wire brush and the welding added. That's Dou, my adopted Bichon, helping me.

Then came some welding to strengthen the frame and add more places to attach the subfloor to the frame. It's looking a lot better with a primer of rust paint.

In the meantime, I had an opportunity to tour another tiny house on the island. I believe this is the Cypress model from Tumbleweed Homes.

Vivian, the owner, had this built for her at a cost of $21,000 for labour, still a bargain compared to the cost of a house!

A cozy reading nook in the front 'parlour'.

 Another tiny house enthusiast demonstrating the width of the living space!

A view from the front looking towards the back. The sleeping loft is above with a bathroom and closet space to the side.

In the kitchen. The mini fridge is located under the propane stovetop.

Snug sleeping loft.

My next post should be soon with the trailer prep finished and the framing of the subfloor begins!