Rowan's Tiny Home

I have been on hiatus the last few weeks, and will probably be again for the next few as well. Unfortunately. I am currently enrolled in a summer intensive masters program which has me in classes 8:30-8:30 4 days a week, with assignments to be completed on the weekends. I had considered setting up some flood lights, but the next step is to frame out the windows, and I figured I wanted to get that right and not just work on it piecemeal. Where it stands now is that the plywood is on the roof, and a tarp is keeping it all safe until I can get back into it. I'm so thankful for my dad's shop and his boy toys. My mom ran the forklift, so getting the heaving 1/2 inch ply up to the top was super easy. I came to the realization that I am not a fan of heights. I was able to do it, but on my knees, or scooting around on my butt. Funny though, because when visiting cn tower in Toronto, I could have literally done a summersault on the glass floor while other peo...

I've been waiting to put up these drawings until they were finalized, but then things keep changing a bit as I'm building. I figure I'll update everything again right before closing up the wall, but for now I think these give the idea. Floor Plan South Wall - looking from the inside. North Wall - looking from the inside. Side Walls

Maragaret found me a tiny copy of Lester Walker's "Tiny Houses" - a book I have seen and love, but only in large versions before. A friend Paul made me this twirly piece. Not only beautiful when it moves in the wind, but also for the outside and lightweight (made of cedar). Perfect! Technically a house "making" gift, a plane"let" donated by my parents.

Up until now I have been battling rain and the end of school stuff, working in very small windows of time. Now this week, in the gap of time between work and grad school I am trying to get as much done as possible. So here is what we have accomplished.... but of course I forgot to take the final photo of all the walls actually up and leveled.  The North wall. Screwing this brace made it much easier to brace the walls while attaching the studs. A carpenter friend suggested adding a 10 penny (10d) nail in between the screws to add strength against shearing. Margaret posing with the "enforcer"- the pipe wrench we use to twist the studs back into place. Margaret an I were able to finish the two side walls after we finally figured out how to calculate the roof angle. At this point, with all the walls stacked on the deck, it felt a little like a pop-up book that had yet to be opened.   And finally it goes up! Maple helps hit in som...

After competing with the rain, my father and I finished sheathing the subfloor with 1/2 inch ply, Because of the odd spacing of the floor joists I needed 7 sheets for a 6 sheet job, but I will be using some of the extra for my window/ door headers and my dad already used some of it on another job. Note about tarps. Definitely go with the more expensive sort... I went through one in only one storm. Now that I've switched to some heavy duty visqueen it has lasted through a number downpours. I plan to invest in a much larger tarp to help cover the walls once they are up.

It was a slow beginning as I took Memorial Day weekend to level and measure the trailer and to pick up the pressure treated 2x4s from Slutsky's Lumber.  (Slutsky's in Ellenville is a small operation with a big heart and great quality lumber, and what I am not able to get reclaimed will most likely be gotten there. My goal is to never step foot into a home depot type store for this project  1. Because I am trying to buy local out of principle 2. I have cried at big box hardware stores before and often leave without what I need after an hour of wandering around.)  No planning or reading of other tiny houses can completely prepare you for the start. This weekend I learned that every trailer is definitely unique and requires unique solutions. For example, after talking to the spray foam insulation guys, I decided to forego the aluminum flashing on the bottom. This way closed-cell insulation can be sprayed from the bottom at the same time as the walls. Bonus too is th...

After figuring out what would make my ideal home, listing my storage and living needs, my design ended up being 24 ft long. This is a bit longer than most tiny houses on wheels, but since I am looking for a home that needs to only move occassionally I figured the extra length was worth the extra weight. The trick was finding the perfect trailer to match. I finally found Appalachian Trailers in Pennsylvania. The people there were incredibly helpful and flexible with the design, well priced, and upon measuring the final trailer, amazingly accurate and square. She is a 24' 12K pintle hitch deck over, with no decking or rub rails. She weighs 2,400 pounds. (One of the most difficult aspects of designing the home has been figuring out the weight. I have estimates, and have been comparing those figures to the actual material as they are placed on the trailer. I'll make sure to put those numbers up at the end in case anyone can benefit from it.)

I have long been obsessed with building my own small home on a large piece of property, a dream which has been sidelined by numerous life changes and circumstances. Inspired by the growing tiny house movement I have decided to work backwards, putting the house before the land so to speak, and to build my own home on wheels. This decision has been influenced by the desire to simplify my lifestyle, the adventure of personally creating my own home, lack of desire for a mortgage, and the realization that I am a single 32 year old who has had to move back into my parents' house to finish grad school, with no real job or financial security.  That can definitely have you start thinking of alternatives.  What is below are my prelimenary sketches of the house. Although I have more precise renderings, with stud and sheathing placements, those are currently be redone since getting the actual trailer.   This view is of the half loft. I needed to find storage space...