Ceiling Installation Cont.

Just another photo.

Ceiling Installation

Lunchbreak. So very nice to work with wood again rather than polyiso****

This is old oak flooring found free on Craigslist from someone doing a remodel.

ANIMATION I've finally uploaded

Tiny enormous house on the road.

From the Shakedown Cruise!

Mother Earth News

I'm reading an informative article on making your own cellulose blow-in insulation from 1977. Note the "hot topics" . . .

HOT TOPICS >> Insulation • Hard cider • Grow rice • Beekeeping • 100-mpg car

FREE REMOVAL of OLD REDWOOD FENCES/BARNS

With experience in deconstructing structures quickly, careful to save all usable materials & leave a clean space behind.

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EXAMPLE OF PREVIOUS WORK. References available upon request.

Dealing with the Ceiling

Foaming in where there were little gaps, then blocking (little 3/4" pieces to support the rigid from the bottom so it won't sag over time), and then just a small beginning at putting up the oak flooring as the ceiling.

Rigid and Electrical

It's as if there's electricity...

Just chugging along. As I run out of material, the rigid foam puzzles become more and more fine tuned, er, scrappy.

Day of Rest

Biking over to a feast with family and friends. Tomorrow is International Pie Day. We'll see how the trailer puts out...

All Day with the Foam

A nice long day alone with the foam. Cutting and puzzling together off-cuts for the second layer of insulation all along the inside walls where I haven't finished. Basically what I did was put the two layers of polyisocyanurate (yes, that stuff, this particular variety of rigid foam) in and glued in the sections of the wall where a diagonal brace spanned. For the other cavities (space between studs and blocks) I put just one piece in, knowing after the house wrap process, I could still access the cavity from the inside to finish the wall insulation.

A brief update.

Alotta Progress!

Roof insulation, IN.

Ice & Storm, or Ice & Water, or whatever they call it, IN.

Corrugated galvanized steel roofing, slid of the roof, hit the ground, hoisted back up, now it's ON.

So that's the long side of the roof. The short side still needs the mechanism so it can be lifted up in it's entirety from the inside. But I went ahead and built the roof without venting. Perhaps I'll kick myself about this in the future... I'll report back.

Short/Loft-side of roof: Incomplete, yes.

Big thanks to Ben for helping me flush up that rigid in the roof! It was a two person gig, hitting the rigid up, tapping it back down, patting and batting.

So next up is to figure the side details (small overhang on the long sides or no? flashing how?) and then screw the roof in on the long side. Then, or before, sand down, wax job, and nail up the oak flooring I will be using for ceiling.

The big question mark on the horizon now is what to use for siding. I have some corrugated aluminum and old redwood fencing I partially planed that I would like to use. I don't have enough though. I've spread the materials around the trailer to get a sense of how far I could stretch it... Thinking about more corrugated metal perhaps with wood trim and details.

Local with an abundance of materials? Let me know!

Slow Going

I'm just not feeling like working with the rigid foam these days. I know I must to finish this house, but I'm stalling. Instead, I tinker away at things that are more inviting: interior finish work (a little shelf for spices near the oven/stove), laying out materials to envision the siding, usually things with wood.

I did finally draw up an electrical rough, with the idea of running conduit under the trailer and then up into the walls where desired. Though I'm not sure whether coming through the floor or drilling into and up through the sill plate would be preferable.

Suppose I still haven't finalized whether to vent the roof or not. I did get some big pieces of the rigid foam I'll be using for the ceiling glued together with some PL construction adhesive (since I will be sandwiching two pieces of 2 1/2" rigid foam, making 5" insulation in the ceiling). I laid them on top of each other and loaded up as much weight as I could find nearby to smush the pieces together.

...

More Rigid

Got help from Dr. Deedle today. Thanks!

So much!

With forecast saying rain Tuesday, it's been a push. Mom, Dad, Greg, & I have been persistently working on what needs to get done: insulation in (mostly me), insulation patched (mostly Dad and Mom), insulation pieces picked up from ground (tireless, ever-loving, amazing Mom), housewrap on (mostly Greg). We got halfway around the house with Tyvek (Tyvek...). The $2 roll I found at ReStore in Santa Rosa covered the north wall (with the door). Then I decided to purchase a new roll, which I didn't want to do, but figured made the most sense considering the critical point I was at given the weather forecast.

As the sky darkened, Greg & I hoisted up the metal roofing, and put tarps over the two walls left unwrapped. Lastly, we finagled those two 3'6" x 9' refrigerator walls in through the front doors and down as the floor (hopefully for the last time).

Sitting in the space is a completely different experience now that you can't see through the walls. I haven't realized that yet though. It's like I'm stuck being able to see through the walls. I must say too, I sure liked that house without walls. It's so nice to climb though the studs. But ho! It's getting cold outside! And I'm ready to move in. Lots more to do before that though...

I still haven't decided about that roof.

A lot more Rigid Foam

Not such a bad day, Fats Waller helped. Got a lot of the rigid in, but the forecast says 70% rain Tuesday... hmm... what's my plan?

Tiny House Blog

A local, Kent Griswold, who keeps the fantastic Tiny House Blog up, running, and full of diverse info, has just put up a post on this project. If you're curious to see, please follow this link. I wrote a little manifesto this morning, at least one of the puppets on the board of directors did, I think...

In Kent's words:

I am developing this blog because of my love of small spaces. I have always dreamed of having a cabin and have done research over the years. Tiny houses have also become an interest to me in the last couple of years.

The goal of the tiny house blog is to discover the different options available for a person looking to down size into a tiny house or cabin. I will be looking at different type of construction, from logs, to yurts to modern and the unusual. I will also do book reviews, look at alternate energy for heat and electricity.

I want to encourage feedback and ideas to make this an informative blog. Stories of people who are living this dream. Pictures of tiny houses and cabins, etc. My goal is to publish weekly and more if possible. Thank you for sharing in this experience with me.

INSULATION BRAINSTORMING

So what if I need more, what will I choose....

Thoughts:

"Greensulate" ...available in 2010 LISTEN (you must click on righthand scroll: "New Ingredient for Insulation")

"Home Grown Insulation Gets Fungi"

"Fungus Yields Insulation and Packaging Material"

Rigid Wool Insulation...

Papercrete...

Light straw fill...

ATTN. SANTA ROSANS

DON'T MISS:

The Imaginists Theatre Collective's Project 104 Presents

L’école de Maldetête: The School of Headaches

November 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28

All shows at 8:00 p.m. except

November 15th at 2 p.m.

November 21st at 10 p.m.

A timeless tale of lovers who lose their love to lovers who love others.

A ridiculous, reverent tribute to the great Molière, complete with rhymed couplets, gender-bending silliness and the coming out of many closets.

Written by Brent Lindsay.

Awarded a 2009 CASH Theatre Grant from Theatre Bay Area!

Winner of a 2009 Boho Award from North Bay Bohemian!

The Lesson

RELAX.

This Insulation...

Patching together from what was someone else's garbage...

I thought this bountiful load would be enough to do the whole house... though as I begin to install it, I realize I was wrong.

I find myself cursing this toxic product and it's itchy existence.

I don't know what to do exactly. Many of the space between studs here that seem to be insulated between with rigid foam ARE, BUT, they have only one layer of 1 5/8" and I had been planning on doubling up, and do plan (?) on this, so to have 3 1/4" creating an R-value of about 21. So many decisions. I will not purchase more to finish the house with. I would like to use a completely different kind of insulation. Now that I've begun with this, I wonder what my best option is for continuing. I also had been giving a heave hoe to get the house wrapped and roof on before the rain storm will supposedly hit Wednesday. This evening I had the notion that maybe that was causing more stress than necessary. I paid attention to the tension around my eyes and in my chest. Only two of these rigid stuffed cavities between the studs are glued in. Tomorrow I will continue cutting and re-assess how far off I am from what I need, re-assess if it's possible to get the insulation in and house wrapped in order to put the roof on before Wednesday. If that seems to stressful, I will continue cutting the insulation to fit, but then label it and remove it for dry-keeping in the garage until this storm passes.

THIS INSULATION ...might be the death of me. If not, I'll live to see an encapsulated house... particulates to the wind... what a crime!

ACK! THE ROOF: TO VENT OR NOT?

Reader beware...

Nuances of this roof:

• Rafters (2"x6" ripped to 6" "exactly") are running parallel to the width (not length as is standard)
• I'm planning on using two pieces of 2 5/8" rigid foam between the rafters, (potentially) leaving about 3/4" space for venting (holes in rafters and blocking could allow for venting from side to side of the house, OR from eave through rafters up to ridge)
• There is 2"x6" diagonal blocking (not 6" exactly) with an 18 gauge metal strap nailed into it
• I'm stubborn about not wanting to use plywood for sheer strength
• the vapor barrier on the roof (bitchathane/ ice & storm most likely... .... ....) needs a consistent uniform surface to lay upon; Therefore, if I do vent at the top, I imagine I'll need to sandwich a few layers of corrugated plastic (same stuff ridge vents are made from)
• It is possible to vent the longer side (seen with the diagonal in place) but not the loft side (which will have a hatch roof that pops up)
• There will be small windows at the loft level to open for ventilation

IF NO VENTING
PROS: I just want to put the roof on, enough already

CONS: worried about mold developing in ceiling

IF YES VENTING
PROS: the roof is vented! longevity
CONS: pain in the neck, less space in loft's head room

BOTTOM LINE:
I have to make a decision. The rain is coming.

Windows and Doors IN, Insulation Begun

Not all, but nearly. Greg went to work. Though I felt like I was doing twice as much, the insulation installation is less than rewarding.

BIG DAY

Today the framing on the trailer, that looks suspiciously like a house, hit the road! At first, anxiousness, and feelings of being out of control, reigned. But once down the driveway, realizing the solidity of the framing and seeing it handle motion flawlessly, I was able to ease up and enjoy the spectacle.

We drove up the hill where there lay a pressure washer.

That cleaned the chicken coop right out. Then we drove down, over, and up the hill to the dump, where we weighed in on the truck scale.

Bare trailer began at: 1400 lbs

Today with the framing: 2320 lbs

Making the added framing: 920 lbs

(My estimate for the framing weight was 1000 lbs, based on the fact that 1' of the lumber I'm framing with weighs about 1.5 lbs. There's a bit more framing to do: the window box and the loft side of the roof, which will open)

Nov 10th, just like Nov 9th

Except, today, I finally bought an impact driver. Seven years ago I almost dropped out of college when the construction crew I worked for said they'd give me an impact driver if I stayed. They almost won me over! Why has it taken me so long to buy one? It's a big purchase. There was a sale on the Makita combo kit, with the impact driver and drill, lithium-ion batteries, 18 volt. And so, finally.

And you'll notice a diagonal brace going across the rafters. It has a 18 gauge strap nailed the whole length, as well as wrapping down the sides, nailing into the other rafters near the ridge beam and to the corner toward the eaves.

Greg!

I am solely responsible for all mistakes on this monstrosity. Greg is responsible for smiling in the morning, putting up some good battles, having a truck with a strong engine, & making this home better than it would have been if we'd never met in front of the tire shop where we learned, as we waited, we were both working on building a house on a trailer. Small town.

A Door

Not this one...

at least not after I found This one at the dump, double paned, brass hardware...

My Jungle Gym

It'll be a bit of a pitty to put in walls.

Invaluable Friends

Some mornings begin with bad attitudes. Bad attitudes do little to help a home's construction. Get rid of the bad attitude!

Once that was done, & it took a little while, bracing ensued.

Sometimes Slow

Not much of any progress today. Many braces to put in. It's hard to imagine my timeline, especially when my body's energy is low. Will I be finished by the end of tax season? Finished enough for someone else to move in?

Tonight I've gone through and tried to articulate the priorities. Here they are in a few chunks.

• Diagonal bracing
• Horizontal blocking
• Interior framing
• Extract rusty nails
• Hose down

Put rigid foam insulation in walls (do before housewrap where bracing is on interior walls)

Housewrap (before or after welding on corner pieces?)

• Drill vent holes in rafters
• Metal diagonals on long side of roof, wrapping down to rafters
• (Put rigid foam insulation up into spaces between rafters, put temporary ceiling piece to hold it up--before roof goes on?)
• Cut rafters to length
• Tar paper
• Flashing?
• Corrugated roof on

• Decide structure for opening roof
• Build interior box frame
• Drill vent holes
• Metal diagonals on short side/interior box
• Attach hinges
• Tar paper
• Corrugated roof on

• Grind down 2" x 2" angle iron
• (get 1 gallon Rustoleum)
• Weld to sufficient lengths
• Paint each length and remaining ribs
• Weld corners in place
• Bolt to wood corners
• Weld cross-members (need to get, 2 pieces @ 8')

Sometimes house-building must be set aside for boat-building, no?

And meeting people like Adlai Karim in the BART.

And purchasing a used Bosch Jigaw.