Is it the first rule?
Tiny House Build...
- Thread starter bigfelipe
- Start date
- Replies 287
- Views 23,911
There is a guy down in Angier on Craiglist that gets odd-lots in of building material. I got my T&G pine for .50 ft about 2 years ago.
Link to one of his ads: https://raleigh.craigslist.org/mat/d/cabinet-materials/6251219162.html
Link to one of his ads: https://raleigh.craigslist.org/mat/d/cabinet-materials/6251219162.html
I have seen bad stuff happen with aluminum spacers and steel ones are not cheap.
OP
Updates....
Thursday I prepped to level the THOW in it's new home location...
Marked the tires and location for leveling pads under the low/back side of the house....
Dug it out, leveled it and put a layer of sand in the holes to make it easier to remove later...
Then mixed 14 bags of concrete and poured the pads. Then moved the THOW back to the previous spot over the pads...
Thursday I prepped to level the THOW in it's new home location...
Marked the tires and location for leveling pads under the low/back side of the house....
Dug it out, leveled it and put a layer of sand in the holes to make it easier to remove later...
Then mixed 14 bags of concrete and poured the pads. Then moved the THOW back to the previous spot over the pads...
OP
Today we set about leveling the house. Picked up some railroad ties and headed out there. Man those suckers are heavy...
Cooked my little electric chainsaw after 3 cuts and switched to the sawzall but we got them cut into 2 and 3 foot lengths for the cribbing and got the structure jacked up and leveled out....
Cooked my little electric chainsaw after 3 cuts and switched to the sawzall but we got them cut into 2 and 3 foot lengths for the cribbing and got the structure jacked up and leveled out....
OP
I need to do some shimming and I want to change up the front cribbing a bit, but overall I'm very happy with how sturdy it is. Plan on adding jackstands in the cent of the trailer frame to take any bounce out of the floor too.
I have the door and windows out there now too. So, once I get the last of the shimming done and interior wall framing finished, I'll lay out the windows and get them framed in. Plan on shimming tomorrow and setting the front door....
I have the door and windows out there now too. So, once I get the last of the shimming done and interior wall framing finished, I'll lay out the windows and get them framed in. Plan on shimming tomorrow and setting the front door....
OP
So, we've been busy and I've been laid up with an injured back, but we're staying busy with it. Put the door in last week, got the cribbing shimmed up and got everything from the windows to the deck to the stairs laid out. Today we started cutting out the windows...
I'll update with pics tomorrow evening...
I'll update with pics tomorrow evening...
Not trying to be a killjoy but if you don't plan on moving it around much why is it on wheels? I had a nice shingle roofed 12x16 shed delivered and setup on my own land for $3000 about 10 years ago, I carpeted and insulated it and put in AC. I actually lived in it when I was out of work for a couple of months. I had a porta john delivered and serviced weekly, and I joined the local Y which was only 15 minutes away so I worked out and had a shower every day. It would cost maybe a few hundred dollars to move it to a new location.
IMO real tiny houses look great in pictures but they are always completely devoid of the normal "stuff" you never think about but have to put somewhere.
IMO real tiny houses look great in pictures but they are always completely devoid of the normal "stuff" you never think about but have to put somewhere.
Last edited:
OP
To each their own. Not killing my joy. Tiny living isn't for everyone...
Where to begin... It's on wheels for a few reasons. It's a mobile structure the exists in a legal grey area. If it was site built it would be a big no no. Also, it's going to be moved to land once we buy some. I can move it with my expedition. That's how it got into the pasture.
Glad you roughed it in a shed and it worked out for you. I could make that work short term if I had to I suppose. My ol' lady, not so much...
This is a real house, just small. We just finished revising our budget. We'll have about $6k in it after budgeting 5k. It would be a good bit less but building materials are insane right now. Lumber is double what it was this time last year. Again, not a shed, a complete house. It will have a full kitchen with a fridge stove, sink, and all, even a table to eat at. It will have a full bath with a tile shower, toilet, sink, etc and on demand hot water. It will have a bedroom with dressers and a wardrobe closet. It will have a living room with a split system heatpump, wood stove, 60" tv, couch, table , ceiling fan, etc. There's a good deal of storage built in and a modular 8x12' deck attached to the front. It has 7 functional insulated windows, a full glass door, fully insulated floors, walls, and ceiling(properly vented even!), state of the art composite flooring, and a bed for the doggie... Literally the only thing that didn't make the cut was the washer dryer. If it was 4' longer that would be there too, but we didn't need it since we'll be on her folks' property and this will eventually be our guest house/spare bedroom when we build our bungalow.
What else dos it give me, you ask? NO DEBT... I will be paying $150 to help with power and internet per month to live there. That's it. No mortgage, no big household bills, nada... It's freedom on wheels. When we sell our house in Raleigh, we'll take the proceeds and buy some land to start building our dream house, a 550 sqft bungalow with no mortgage. We'll have the tiny there as a base of operations while we build it.
OP
So today was a great day with one exception... I nearly became batman... I was adjusting the roof tarp and heard the weirdest noise coming out from under the soffit. An electrical buzzing noise. Nope... It was a HUGE bat. I must have stunned it banging on the soffit with my hammer. It fell on me and flapped around a bit then fell on the top rung of my ladder. While I was screaming like a little girl and trying not to fall off the ladder, it got its bearings and flew off... Never seen a bat so big here. Usually they're like mice with wings. This thing would scare a sewer rat...
fieldgrade
waiting...
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
This is simply amazing. Living completely within one's own means while realizing a dream. What a novel concept.
Last edited:
OP
Now to the pics...
Put the door in the last Thursday. Worked out the staircase dimensions so I could locate the window beside the door with certainty. I managed to get the rise and run worked out to an 8" step. Pretty happy about that. I thought it was going to be steeper. Window goes above...
I finished shimming it up Sat morning and we measured and cut out the window openings. Looks like a prison like that. lol...
I started cutting the studs and framing the headers and had to throw up a window temporarily just because...
Put the door in the last Thursday. Worked out the staircase dimensions so I could locate the window beside the door with certainty. I managed to get the rise and run worked out to an 8" step. Pretty happy about that. I thought it was going to be steeper. Window goes above...
I finished shimming it up Sat morning and we measured and cut out the window openings. Looks like a prison like that. lol...
I started cutting the studs and framing the headers and had to throw up a window temporarily just because...
OP
I'm super excited because we have a 4day weekend this week. Look for big progress. We'll be putting the metal roof on, ALL the siding and trim, building the deck, and hopefully getting another coat of paint on it...
Should be finished with the exterior and ready to finish the interior platform and wall framing next...
Should be finished with the exterior and ready to finish the interior platform and wall framing next...
Z
Zedhound
Guest
just a heads up with a TV that big you need to be about 10 feet or more away or the picture will be pixelated. I suggest a small tv or its just a waste of money and space, maybe a 40 something inch
OP
Don't know what kind of crappy TVs you watch, but my shite is HiDef... I have to turn the resolution and refresh down 'cause it's TOO real dog...
In all seriousness though, it's the TV we currently have in the living room and I was surprised to see that it fit. So, I'm going with it. Gonna be like having a theater in there... lol...
Last edited:
fieldgrade
waiting...
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Love this thread and can't wait to see the finished product. I am trying to convince the wife to stay in our current house another 6-8 years, then build a 1000-1200 sq ft bungalow once our youngest (12 yr old) goes off to college. Plan on a guest house for when the kids visit. Current house will be paid off by then, so we would be in a similar position. Lots of inspiration in this thread!
fieldgrade
waiting...
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
2A Bourbon Hound OG
Charter Life Member
Benefactor
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
We downsized from that to about 2500 last month, and now thinking about moving into her mom's place that's around 1500, now that her mom is in a nursing home. I keep saying it's impossible, but we lived happily in 1100 as newly weds, and had our first child there, after I had already owned two somewhat larger homes while I was a bachelor.
Last edited:
Where will you keep all of your tools (and other "outdoor" stuff)? I love the concept, but struggle to see a path (for me) to getting what seems like the necessary things to fit. I guess that's part of the process, though - realizing how much stuff isn't necessary.
She can't...
Shipping containers work well.
OP
Eventually, what Dave said. My plan is to have a couple shipping containers parallel to each other with a covered drive between them. That will make my shop, storage area. That won't be until I have my land. Currently I used a 9'x21' public storage space as my shop for work. It will continue to be used while we are in the tiny house.
We'll have some basic gear in the house with us. I put a ceiling in it so there will be a loft above. The left half will me some mechanicals(primarily the 12v pump and water tank, also the lineset for the mini-split), but the right/front half will be misc storage. Our packs for example, will be in that area. There is also a locking tack room on the barn near the house. I can store our camping gear there as well. With no horses on the property anymore, we store yard tools and such in the barn.
OP
So busy weekend... Didn't quite hit our goal of finishing the outside. Still have all the wood siding and wood trim left... Friday we picked up some material but didn't get much done due to the rain.
Saturday we built the modular deck. It's three 4x8' deck panels bolted together and bolted to the LVL. Haven't picked up the stair materials yet as we hadn't decided on the design yet. Probably going to be a 5' staircase with a wrap around bench/railing.
It will be stained a medium grey, semi-transparent when we are finished...
Saturday we built the modular deck. It's three 4x8' deck panels bolted together and bolted to the LVL. Haven't picked up the stair materials yet as we hadn't decided on the design yet. Probably going to be a 5' staircase with a wrap around bench/railing.
It will be stained a medium grey, semi-transparent when we are finished...
Last edited:
OP
Sunday things really got in gear but craftsmanship takes time... I spent the whole day making the custom tongue and groove soffit wrap using some aged pine I have been storing for something like this.
I cut, glued and bradded each piece together, then installed them in alternating sequence with 5" and 7" board widths...
I did a simpler alternating tooth pattern on the rear as the overhang is shorter and it wasn't worth the effort to miter all those corners again...
Along the rakes I cut full length boards flat-out, with a single V-groove running under the edge. kinda gives it a "beam" look from the edge...
Also, installed the drip edge all the way around with nice folded and crimped corners...
I cut, glued and bradded each piece together, then installed them in alternating sequence with 5" and 7" board widths...
I did a simpler alternating tooth pattern on the rear as the overhang is shorter and it wasn't worth the effort to miter all those corners again...
Along the rakes I cut full length boards flat-out, with a single V-groove running under the edge. kinda gives it a "beam" look from the edge...
Also, installed the drip edge all the way around with nice folded and crimped corners...
OP
Today I finally got the roof on! Went with a standard metal roof in bare galvanized 26ga. I don't have money in the budget for stand and seam like I'd prefer, but this lets you see the roof edge. So that's a plus...
1st piece laid in place to see how it would look. (great close up of the soffit detail too!)
Cut the pieces one by one and pulled them up. It was a chore...
got it all screwed down though!
1st piece laid in place to see how it would look. (great close up of the soffit detail too!)
Cut the pieces one by one and pulled them up. It was a chore...
got it all screwed down though!
OP
After the roof was finished, we wrapped up the rear soffit vent and started working on the metal siding details... Finished the housewrap and flashed the door frame and windows. Ran the same metal as the roof around the corner from the door to the window on the tongue and a 3' band to the left of the door. Everything else you see will be covered in the 5" pine T&G horizontally. I have to pick up some Z flashing tomorrow to cap off the metal band.
Here's how it looks currently...
Here's how it looks currently...
This is really looking good. A nice fold-out awning over the deck would make it! Does your door have any sort of security glass in it? I'm asking because I have a similar door which has only double-pane window glass in it and I'm looking at options for making it more secure.
OP
It's a normal door. Tempered glass, but that's about it. There's going to be a small metal awning over the door, but that's it. Don't like roll up awnings. They look like crap when not in use and don't hold up well in any case. There will be a table on the deck, probably with an umbrella.
Call any of the window tint companies and ask about "security film". I have it on my back door that isn't visible from anywhere except the screened porch. It makes the glass virtually impossible to kick in.....
