All Categories

Well, Hello Winter!

11/16/2014

Winter has come on rather quickly in our part of the world. Snow, ice and wind now rule the day (and night too). In addition, we've each had some non-tiny-house projects to take care of during the last couple weeks, so construction slowed down a bit. All that means I've lost my race with the weather, and tiny house living will have to wait for spring. Initially that was disappointing but I have to say, it's really taken some pressure off.

One of the really great things about the space that we're building inside (besides the fact that it's inside)

TURN ON IMAGES to see winter snow on picnic tables

The first snow of the season moves in .

2 Comments

Another Gorgeous Fall Day....

10/28/2014

2 Comments

What to do on a day when the weather is impossibly gorgeous, the leaves are turning and falling, and the whole thing is capped by a wonderfully blue sky?
Well, like a few other people around town, I spent a good chunk of the day painting!
I don't really care for the way the cedar stain/sealer smells, so I am happy to be able to do this job outside. The color,

TURN ON IMAGES to see painted cedar boards for tiny house.

2 Comments

Closing in

10/18/2014

1 Comment

As autumn closes in, we're also closing in my tiny house--the ceiling is going up! Because it was designed to feature the beautiful curved rafters, the construction of the roof is sort of inside out or from the bottom up.
With the rafters up, the ceiling can go on, and then the layers of waterproofing, insulation and roofing. The tongue and groove car siding we're using for the ceiling should provide a nice firm surface for all that activity to take place and I'm looking forward to getting this baby ready for the weather. But in the meantime I'm also enjoying the view from inside--take a look!

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved ceiling of the tiny house.

A view from inside: The curved ceiling of the tiny house.

TURN ON IMAGES to see changing leaves against a blue sky.

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved ceiling being put up on gypsy style tiny house.

TURN ON IMAGES to see autumn leaves on green grass.

1 Comment

"You Nevah Write, You Nevah Call...."

10/4/2014

2 Comments

Yes, it's true. I've been a bad communicator. It' not just the blog, it's also the coffee dates and the Skype dates--all have been neglected. Mostly that's because I've been busy working and building. But also there's the storytelling issue. I like a story that has a beginning, middle and end. You know, a conflict resolved, a problem dealt with. But right now this house-building is a story with multiple ongoing plot-lines, only a few of which have begun to show any signs of resolution.

TURN ON IMAGES to see nearly finished wall inside tiny house

Here's one: it's the story of the interior walls that were going up at a great pace until I ran out of wool and had to decide whether to order more and have extra, or try to sub in something else.
I ordered more and waited for it to arrive. True, there was plenty to do while I waited for it to arrive, but I was still annoyed

by the "not quite done" appearance of those walls, taunting me while I did other things.
Oregon Shepherd got the wool out quickly, I went to work on installing the paneling, insulating behind it as I went, and then--sand, and brush, brush and sand--today I put on the last coat of finish, Yay!

There's also the story of rafter construction, an involved process, described here and revisited repeatedly throughout the build. Each one had to be constructed individually, concurrent with our other tasks. Then sanded, finished, notched to fit on top the walls, checked, adjusted and installed--phew!
Yesterday we installed the last one!
A friend had stopped by to see how the build was going and I got a picture of her looking up as a very satisfied builder looked down from said rafters.
So those are two things that are showing some level of completion, but really, until those two things happened, I felt adrift in a sea of ongoing sanding and finishing and painting and discussing and decision making.

TURN ON IMAGES to see builder and friend admiring curved rafters

Last rafter in-- Jim breathes a sigh of relief!

Each day we arrive at the house and one of us will say, "What do you want to work on today?" And then we're busy all afternoon, sometimes together, sometimes separately, chipping away at whatever's next.

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved rafters complete

The lack of landmarks at this point in the process, the sheer number of individual tasks, and the onset of cooler weather, have combined to give me occasional fits of anxiety. But then friends will come by and comment on the progress that has been made, or someone will text to say they're proud of what I'm doing. That helps.

So does standing back and seeing the rafters all in place, like a set of giant, prehistoric ribs. When you stand under them they define a space that is both archetypal and uplifting.
I like to watch visitors as they step carefully into the house, survey the interior space, and then look up. Most stand there for a moment, eyes tracing the contours of the barely defined overhead space, and then try to put words on what they see and feel. Very often it's a simple, "Wow! I like the curves!" Although things will naturally be more closed in when the floor is raised and the ceiling is up, the curved rafters will still be visible and I'm sure that some of that feeling will remain.

2 Comments

"Mama Said There'll Be Days Like This"

9/28/2014

0 Comments

Just after I began to build tiny, I came across an interview with Gabriella Morrison that really resonated for me and I saved it. You can read it here. The part that struck me was where she talks about the doubts that she and her husband experienced while coming to the decision to build their tiny home. Family and friends doubted them and they doubted themselves.

0 Comments

Odds and Ends of Tiny House Progress

9/11/2014

0 Comments

The walls keep going up! The insides are made of "V joint" tongue and groove paneling and I really like seeing all the color variations in the wood. As I was painting finish on them today, it occurred to me that I haven't mentioned why it is that the interior walls are going up already, when there is nary a trace of plumbing or wiring in place behind them.

Well, I've chosen to put both plumbing and wiring inside the living space, rather than hiding them inside the walls as is usually done. Some people (not mentioning any names!) have told me this is an odd decision. Oh well. Some would say a tiny house is an odd decision too, so I suppose I am irredeemably odd.

TURN ON IMAGES to see interior pine paneling wall.

Interior corner wall.

0 Comments

Visualizing the Space

9/7/2014

0 Comments

TURN ON IMAGES to see unfinished interior of tiny house with curved roof

We've started to accumulate a lot of junk inside the tiny house--odds and ends and important boxes of stuff that we don't want to leave strewn around the warehouse space where we are guests.
The other day, just for fun, I arranged some of that junk to approximate the projected layout of my caravan. That empty space against the far wall is

0 Comments

Pardon Me While I Wax Philosophical

9/3/2014

0 Comments

TURN ON IMAGES to see tiny caravan house with curved roof being built

Although it was offered at my junior high, I never took shop. In fact, I probably never considered the possibility of taking shop for more than 30 seconds. I was only dimly aware of it at the time, but there was an unspoken assumption that kids with an aptitude for academics didn't take shop unless they were really slacking off. Shop was for boys who

0 Comments

"Be the Water"

8/27/2014

0 Comments

Adventures in Wrapping and Flashing

TURN ON IMAGES to see friends helping with wrapping the tiny house

There's nothing like a steady string of summer storms to make me glad we're building under cover. The storms also made me obsess on wrapping and flashing. A friend came over to the build site to help us maneuver the 9 foot roll of house wrap around the house. (Thank you, Brigitte!) Although I prefer the look of wood to house wrap, it was still pretty satisfying to see it go around the entire structure.

0 Comments

One Week, Two Landmarks

8/20/2014

0 Comments

tiny house, walls, plywood sheathing, vardo, curved roof, gypsy caravan, shepherd's hut

Plywood sheathing pretty much complete!

Last week we reached two landmarks--
#1 - we got all the plywood sheathing on the house, and
#2- we threw away our first garbage can full of waste.

(Before you get too impressed about there being only one can of waste so far, I should acknowledge that there are

0 Comments

<<Previous

Well, Hello Winter!

Another Gorgeous Fall Day....

Closing in

"You Nevah Write, You Nevah Call...."

"Mama Said There'll Be Days Like This"

Odds and Ends of Tiny House Progress

Visualizing the Space

Pardon Me While I Wax Philosophical

"Be the Water"

Adventures in Wrapping and Flashing

One Week, Two Landmarks

Archives

My Tiny Home

Photo Gallery

Categories

People and Places to Love

Big THANK YOUs to