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.

Workshop Level

Working on the joists for the workshop area to the right when you walk in the door. Trying to decide where/if to have a step going up, how to frame that in given the no-floor and that it will be directly on top of the old refrigerator walls. Standing up 3 feet in the work space and looking around, into the loft, the kitchen, out the windows; it feels nice. Hard to quite grasp how much more there is to do.

Half a Half

Couldn't resist putting one of the corrugated sheets temporarily up top to see where the previous screw holes lined up with my layout. Cheap thrills.

Four Rafters Up

An interesting day. Began thinking, "I need help." Got help. Was sufficiently stubborn enough to alienate help. Continued on my own. Did a little inverse tangent equationing. Finished the day somewhat proud. The arcs. The arcs. Hopefully not in the rafters.




{AND the license arrived today in the mail. $20 for a five year permit through the DMV. Permanent trailer plates.}

RIGID FOAM, how nasty?

I'm going in circles. Rigid foam insulation, nasty. How nasty?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

what goes between the studs... what goes between the studs... what goes between the studs...

FOUR WALLS!

Precious, I think they're great.

Living in Santa Rosa

Not Bad.

NOW HERE, an animation from the Great Handcar Regatta 2009.

PART II

Work Day with dad & a TERMITE

He has incredible patience, and I bow to him: thanks for working with me today dad, for sticking those mortises in the top plate of the north wall. (The highlight of his day was uncovering his absolutely glorious-looking 1 7/8" chisel, sharp and shiny after all these years.)

Re: a TERMITE

The wood I have does not seem to be infested. Nevertheless, it came from an old chicken coop barn with a few small locations that had termite damage. Seeing one termite today was alarming. I killed it. I am wondering with what measures I should proceed. Please add suggestions as comments if anyone reading this has tips. I do not want to fumigate with a heavily toxic medley. The wood I am using seems to all be solid and good. But this one termite--what a little bugger! Are there more? Greg suggested I pressure wash the whole thing once I finish framing, let it all dry out, and then go ahead with siding and all. Any other suggestions?

A few photos from the day showing how it's coming along.

Featured Link

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(Thanks to Hana Permillerkins and tremendous family, in New Zealand, Indo, France, Oregon, or where is she next?)

Another Day

A bit more progress.

Really, just need to decide Decide how I want the wall in the kitchen to take form in order to form it. Did a lot of sitting on top of the ladder as the sun set, imagining that hitch-side wall.

Working on this project brings up some core issues: 1) trusting myself, 2) the gender spectrum, 3) my stubbornness, 4) the abundance in this country I have access to, my selfishness coupled with my desire to see my friends around the world unafflicted by the greed for natural resources by the richest in the world, 5) where do I fit in? / what do I want to do with my life [next]?

One place some of these issues collide is regarding the nastiness of some of the building materials I have scavenged (see entry ALL THE BAD CHOICES I'VE CHOSEN: Killing the Planet, Killing Myself: Why I'd rather

be building with straw and mud, period..). Though on the one hand I feel good about keeping them out of the dump, on the other hand I am (slightly) killing myself as I work with them and aware of how toxic some of the materials are to all the workers involved in the process of making whatever material I'm using.

Thoughts.

Closer to Two Walls

Not plumb, yet. The rain cleared, allowing fine time to work. Isn't the tarp wrapping around what will be the northwest corner nicely?

Before Typhoon Melor

A wall and a half came up. Great heightened joy!

The first growth fir from the barn is delicious to frame with, and it's face will be left exposed on the inside. The north wall now stands 10' from the base of the sill plate with room inside for 3' of storage beneath the workshop. The tippy top of the roof will (as per DMV regulations) be just under 13'6" from the ground.

(the 2"x6" coming through the center is a temporary mast for the tarp, though it's hardly the rain protection I'd envisioned)

ALL THE BAD CHOICES I'VE CHOSEN: Killing the Planet, Killing Myself: Why I'd rather be building with straw and mud, period.

? but the rot...

I used this on the 2"x6" redwood decking that I ripped down to 2" x 3 5/8" to be the base sill plate. The decking was salvaged from someone in Santa Rosa and has places with dry rot. I don't like the decision I made, nevertheless, I do not want the rot to transfer from the redwood to the fir framing the rest of the house. If anyone has any alternative options to the nasty wood preserve, please leave a comment here!

? but the rust...

Another decision I don't like. The paint seems like it will do a superior job at keeping rust from eating away at my foundation, but the stuff is nasty. If anyone has any hot ways to keep rust off steel that are less nasty, please comment here.

? rigid foam insulation

sure, yes, by all means, insulate your house, insulate the heck out of it, depending on the climate you live in, that is probably a good idea. nevertheless, this rigid foam is nasty. i know i've got to get more articulate with these things, i'm just giving a first stab at articulation here. the hanging shiny particulates when you cut this stuff is not good for babies, other humans, plants, soil, water systems and so on.

Can he sail?

Can I weld?

Don't know. But that appears to be what's going on. And the angle iron is all attached around the trailer, ready for sill plates!
Attached: liquefying metal, the white hot seam barely stirred, electrifying tools if you're not careful, omnipowerful, and confusing to the muscles because they couldn't smush metal together, yet (with their doing?) right in front of the body, metal was just squished in a deciding come-together even if 1/4" out of place. White hot. Hindsight rocks.

Don't forget gloves when you're grinding.

(Heck of a picnic Greg and Janelle! Beware of "Metal Fume Fever" I've been nauseous a week.)

An Extra Here: Photos from the mock laying out

Featured are 6" thick 3'6" x 9' rigid foam industrial refrigeration walls spotted by the illustrious Shantytown outside of a northern California winery by the side of the road. They will become a good portion of my floor.

Above: Imagining the bathroom.

Pictures can be deceiving, it's actually HUGE.