Post 17 (Nov. 15)-The Roof! The Roof! The Roof is on FIRE!

That's to say, roof is done and it's lookin' HOT!

This has been a month of tremendous progress, as well as a month that has inspired and humbled us.  The two most exciting accomplishments of the past over a month (wow, a long time with no posts) are--the plumbing is 90% done and the roof is (as you can see) DONE!

LIFE LESSON:

Calling experts pays off.  Kacey and I thought that we could do the whole tiny house ourselves with no help from experts or specialists.  Two things contributed to this assumption: 1) we overestimated both our skill and our YouTube instructional videos, and 2) we also underestimated the artistry and expertise of plumbers and roofers.  We elected to have the plumbing done by Letts Plumbing and the roof done by Barth Roofing.  To all you Bay Area-ers out there, if you need a plumber or a roofer, consider this your hands down, two-thumbs-up recommendation for both companies.  We are so lucky to have found great companies whose owners and employees are artists, innovators, and experts.  Their work is much better than ours would have been and we are so glad we called the experts.

ABOUT THE PLUMBING: 

So, Kacey is really good at pretty much everything which led us to believe that he could do everything himself, including the plumbing.  We called Letts Plumbing for a consultation and possible prying of ideas, and after talking with Shane for 10 minutes, Kacey knew that working with Letts Plumbing was practically money in the bank.  Here's what I mean: because our tiny house is so, well, tiny, much of conventional plumbing simply wouldn't work; and because it's new construction, it was pretty much a blank canvas.  Shane and his team were so innovative in designing plumbing so that we will have all of the comforts of home, even on the road. Shane thought outside of the box, using some ideas from mobile home plumbing and being creative with locations of pipes and vents that we never would've thought of. He thought a lot about vibration and flexion and took that into consideration with design of the drain in the shower and the pipes outside. Also, since the grey water waste line hangs low, he designed it to be easily removable for travel. 

ABOUT THE ROOF:

You're probably not surprised to read that we also thought we'd do the roof ourselves.  Then, we started thinking, "Hmmm, the metal is sharp, the roof is high and steep, and it could be really damaging and detrimental to have a leaky roof." We've also read about a tiny home builder falling off her roof and breaking her back. With that in mind,  we met with a number of companies before finding Barth Roofing.  Barth seemed to have the highest appreciation for the tiny house movement and were very reasonable with the price compared to the others. For months, we had our hearts set on finding a red roof that would exactly match the red of the windows.  We got samples from more than 4 companies and all had slightly different shades of red.  As my heart sank, Kacey said, "What if we got dark bronze to match the hardware on the front door?" I looked at him like he was crazy.  Two nights later, I said, "Kacey, I think the bronze roof actually would look really nice."  He probably knew I'd agree with him all along.  Thank goodness for his patience.  We ordered the dark bronze roof and after a few weeks of being put off by the rain, Barth Roofing's Alameda and his team were at our house.  Within 7 hours, the roof was on, and beautiful! 

We started sleeping in the tiny house months ago, pretty much the night we got the plywood on. Last night was the first night in there with a real (not Ace Hardware tarp) roof on.  The rain on the roof this morning could have been a spa soundtrack--so soothing, and was much warmer. 

WHAT'S NEXT:

Kacey is meeting with the team at Suntrek Solar on Thursday of this coming week to determine the size of the solar system we need, which entails how many batteries and panels we're gonna need to power our little gem.  Once the electrical work is done, the exterior siding can (finally) go on, we can insulate the house (just in time for winter?), and we can put up the interior paneling. There's a few other finishing details such as the counter top, window trim, ladder staircase, finishing the cabinet doors and drawers, as well as moving in.  

DOWNSIZING:

Kacey and I have begun the process of de-accessioning.  Already we've gotten rid of 57 pounds of paper and 7 BIG boxes of clothing and miscellaneous crap.  It's pretty cleansing.  

This is the fresh water/city water hookup with a pressure regulator.  

A zoomed out view of the hot water heater and the space where the propane tanks will be.

A look at the plumbing under the hot water heater.



We insulated the pipes. 

A look at the plumbing where the propane tanks will be.  This also shows where the fresh water comes in and is dispersed.  Also, take a look at the easy-to-change water filter (the white thing in the center-ish of the picture).  

We insulated those pipes, too.

The plumbing outside the trailer.  Specifically, it's the hot and cold water feed to the washer/dryer and the kitchen.  The black pipe is the gray water clean-out. 

The plumbing underneath the trailer.  The P-trap shown is from the shower.

The plumbing behind the washer/dryer.

The spigot with the green knob is for any outside water usage like watering plants.

A view of the plumbing behind the fridge.

 
This is a pop valve that Shane installed for us. He thought this would be the best for us to use so that we didn't have to have any holes or protrusions through the roof.   Kacey put the 2x4s around it so that even after the spray-in insulation goes in, the pop valve can still ventilate.

The knobs in the shower.  One controls temperature and one controls flow.  Shane installed these glorious stainless fixtures he found through his plumbing supplier who, after hearing they'd be installed in a tiny house, gifted them to us. 

A look at the roof! Notice how beautiful it is!

The hard-to-see hardware on the front door was the inspiration for the color we chose for the roof. Thanks to Marika at Ashby Lumber for her suggestion in using this color of hardware. During the conversation of what color hardware to use, I  would have never guessed that we'd be picking the same color for the roofing. 

Post 16 (Sept. 27)-Moving Indoors

Kitchen countertops and a cubby for the stove.  There must be a technical term for that. Maybe it's cubby.

Still no metal roof, but soon, Barth Roofing is going to do the roof for us!  Still no exterior siding because we want to have the plumbing and electrical done prior to putting up the siding.  So, we've decided to continue to work on the interior of the house.  It's very likely that the outside of the house and the inside of the house will be done at the same time.  Wouldn't that be... funny?

For the past few weeks, we (95% Kacey and 5% me) have been working on building cabinets for the kitchen.  David Gates, if you're reading this, we have so much respect for you!! Making nice cabinets is no small feat!  The cabinets along the wall will be the same heights as the stove once we build the toe-kick.  It won't be any ordinary toe-kick.  It will be a drawer!

We continue to be thankful for our great team and are excited that Shane from Lett's Plumbing is going to do the plumbing for us this week.  And, Kristen from Chic Interiors (whose new website looks awesome) is going above and beyond, now helping us plan the electrical.

Not too much to report tonight, so now for the pictures!

We also built two interior walls.  This is one.  Each of the walls is 7 inches deep.  One will be storage, the other will house the electrical panel.  My mother said, "You have two interior walls in that house?!" 

The kitchen sink will be an under mount below that window.

Post 15 (Sept. 6)-Windows, and Showers, and Doors, oh my!

The door is in permanently--sealed and everything!  The gothic window above it is also sealed.  AND, we put the hardware on the door and locked it for the first time!  We have house keys to our tiny house woot woot

This day has been a long time coming.  We first had the windows delivered in June and waited until today to finish the install due to a couple of imperfections from the factory.  Ron at ABS Building Supply helped us repair and replace the necessary parts, and today we put in the last two windows and permanently put in the front door!  And the handles on the door woo hoo!

On his day off this week, Kacey built a frame for our shower with the advice of Shane from Letts Plumbing (who, by the way, was awesome!).  I came home from work on Friday and Kacey was using this greenish, definitely moldy-looking wood to frame out the shower.  I didn't say anything, but I was thinking--shouldn't he use wood that's not going to mold since it's going to be so close to the shower??  Kacey then mentioned that he didn't want to waste any of it.  Before I could say, "Why??" Kacey said, "It's really expensive since it's been green-treated and is mold-resistant."  He is almost always one step ahead of me.

The frame is solid.  I mean, Shrek could shower in our tiny house and the trailer is likely to bust before the shower does.  Do me a favor and ignore the faulty logic there.

The inside of our 32 x 35 shower.  It's surprisingly roomy in there.

I already mentioned that Shane from Letts Plumbing advised Kacey on how to frame out the shower.  He did so much more!  We are always so nervous about inviting contractors over because we are so excited about this tiny house and to many, we are just another, very, very small project that is more complicated than it is exciting.  In preparation for the plumber's visit, Kacey had all of these questions in the event that he had to do all of the plumbing himself, that he was able to throw out the window when Shane arrived because Shane was so excited, so knowledgeable, and so creative.  We are so glad he's joined the team to help us bring this project to completion!

Pat at Ashby Lumber continues to help us out big time, too.  We ordered some rough cut cedar 2 x 4s and with rough cut wood, you pretty much just cross your fingers and hope that you get some good pieces.  We don't know what Pat did, but the 2 x 4s that we got are b-e-a-u-tiful!

Also on our team and knocking it out of the park is Kristen at Chic Interiors.  She is doing an amazing job helping us visualize what the interior will look like and make decisions!

 Every now and then, Kacey and I long to be back in Colorado.  We miss the community and the help-your-neighbor mentality and the strong safety net.  Right now, after a long, hot day, we are vegged out on the couch in the big house feeling very, very lucky.  Despite our somewhat hermitic tendencies, Kacey and I are building a community of professionals, friends, family, and neighbors who are on this tiny house journey with us.

A final thought before we're off to Grizzly Peak to watch the sunset (!!!)--I am the kind of person who, if left to her own devices, may interpret life as a series of touching sadnesses.  The kind where life is so heartbreakingly wonderful that it leaves me sighing with a gentle kind of sadness.  Kacey is the kind of person who, if left to his own devices, may interpret life as a series of irreverent comedies.  The kind where life is so strange, so absurdly hilarious that you can't help but throw your hands in the air and laugh.

So together, we meet in the middle.  The heartbreakingly wonderful and the absurdly hilarious become fun and joy.  For example, today we joked that a J-roller (a tool we've found to be practically useless, though was touted to us as the most important tool in putting the flashing on) is actually a gag-gift among general contractors or the absolutely least wanted present at white elephant gift exchanges.  The kind that get passed around year, after year, to one unlucky victim after the next.  They tell their buddies, "Yeah, man, this year I got stuck with the J-roller.  Dammit!"

Despite the hiccups, the frustrations, and the staple guns through the fingers, we are having fun.

Gus, still interested in his antler.  Much more so than flashing, silicone caulk, or even shims.   

I ALMOST FORGOT!!  THIS IS THE GOOGLE IMAGES STREET VIEW OF OUT HOUSE.  THE TINY HOUSE IS ON GOOGLE MAPS. HOLY BUCKETS!  MAKES IT SEEM REALLY QUITE OFFICIAL.

Post 14 (Aug. 30)-PEMDAS/Daring Greatly

Presumably, if you're reading this, you, at one point or another, learned about the order of operations in a math class.  You know, PEMDAS, or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (or perhaps Pretty Elephants May Die, Albeit Suddenly).  If I were to ask you this question:

3+2^2(1+8),

you would freak out a bit (let's be honest, it's been a while) and then respond with 39 (hopefully.  If not, let me know and I can help you out).

Turns out, there is a similarly defined order of operations when putting the trim on the roof and house.  Kacey and I must have been a bit late to class on the day that they taught that.  Here's what we did: measure and cut the trim to size, put it up to make sure it fits; take it down to stain it, and put it back up; realize that to paint the outriggers, we need to take the trim down; so, take the trim down, paint the outriggers, put it back up; realize that we need to put the furring on the exterior of the house before putting on the siding; take the trim down; put it back up.  WE PUT THE TRIM ON FOUR SEPARATE TIMES. Here's the actual* order of operations:

1. Measure and cut the trim to size.
2. Put it up to make sure it fits.  
3. Take it down.
4. Stain the trim.
5. Paint the outriggers.
6. Put up the furring.
7. Put the trim back up.

* subject to change--who knows what we'll have to take it down for next! :)

Today, we put in hardwood floors.  Once again, we are so thankful that we are building a TINY house.  Putting down hardwood floors in a space bigger than 190 square feet would be very tiring, indeed!  I am very excited about the hardwood floors because it is representative of visible progress.  And also, I was here to help!   

For the past two weeks, I'd been in Denver, and Kacey made HUGE progress on the front shed of the house that contains the air conditioning heat pump, tankless hot water heater, and propane tanks.  

The reverse "L-shaped" shed on the back of the house was built in two weeks!  

The inside of the shed on the back.

Kacey sent me texts as he progressed through the shed construction and revealed that he was frustrated that it was taking so long.  He and I must have different perceptions of time.  From where I sit, the shed came together phenomenally quickly and I am so impressed.

Also between the last post and this one, Kacey and I stumbled upon some very unsettling "don't-ever-build-a-tiny-house-what-are-you-thinking" articles.  In researching for this project, we'd read similar articles and were aware of the competing pros and cons of building tiny houses, but we hadn't read any since we'd started the build and were sobered by them.  What if we don't like living in this space?  What if we have to park it in a trailer park that is no more cost-effective than our current house?

A well-timed text from my friend Kimberly shook us out of our anxious stupor:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly..." -Teddy Roosevelt

Our tiny house project is a huge risk, full of uncertainty and doubt.  It is testing and strengthening our relationship in ways we couldn't really have predicted.  It is making our backs ache, our fingernails dirty, our Sundays less restful.  It is challenging our previously fairly defined sense of self, adding uncertainty where previously there had been little, and challenging us to wear a different set of lens as we interact with the world around us.  We are daring greatly.  And it's pretty amazing.

This one's for you, Kimberly!

Gus prefers chewing on his antler over the sound of the compressor.  

Hardwood floors woot woot

Here they are again! 

And again! For the detail-oriented among you, yes, that is a different washer/dryer unit.  We traded in the 4.2 cu.ft unit for the 2.3 cu. ft. unit.  It'll be plenty big for all of the clothes we won't have.  I jest.  See the picture below to marvel at the amount of closet space we'll have.

Oh, and our shower stall!  Kacey was adamant about finding a one-piece fiberglass shower stall.  Something about his shower in Denver leaking like a sieve.  After weeks of searching, we found one! 

See all that space there?!  That's our closet!  

Post 13 (July 28)-Build a tiny house, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

Our tiny house--with decorative lights from my friend Stephanie!  

Seems the posts are further and further apart--shame on me!

First, and most importantly, this project is totally overwhelming!  Kacey and I were joking the other day that we could teach one of the Do-It-Yourself classes about building tiny houses, and we would kick it off it, "Raise your hand if you want to have the most stressful year of your life!" "Make some noise if you want to watch money disappear!" "High-five the person next to if you, in the next year, want to contemplate throwing in the towel and living in the street!"  "For those of you who did not raise your hands to all three questions, please stand up and exit the building.  Tiny house construction is not for you."

In the past month, we've contemplated picking up side jobs as auctioneers (totally do-able, ask me if you're interested), math tutors, nannies, petroleum transfer engineers, novelists, automotive technician coaches, and even semi-professional dog walkers.  All to fuel our unfortunate habit of wanting to build a nice house with quality materials.

Before this project, I was sure about a couple of things:

1. My style is more "modern" than "rustic."
2. I would never want to own my own business.
3. I value having three full weeks of different outfits.
4. Construction work can't be that hard.
5. With Kacey's experience in remodeling his house in Denver, his knowledge of power tools, our teamwork, and my people skills, we can definitely build this tiny house together, without any help.

Five short months later, I am equally sure of five things:

1. I have no idea what my style is.  A fact that, bless his heart, is confusing and frustrating for Kacey.
2. I would definitely consider owning my own business.
3. I could pretty happily have one week's worth of outfits (provided that I wouldn't be judged too harshly by others).
4. Construction work is insanely complicated.  Now, I look around at cities and I think that it is a veritable miracle that we have any cities at all, let alone towering skyscrapers, mass transit, and beautiful architecture.  There are, indeed, many things to wonder at in this world.
5. We can't do this project ourselves.  It is totally overwhelming.

We have enlisted the help of many to get us to where we are now and to help us move forward.  Recently, we've leaned on Pat at Ashby Lumber, Zoran (an electrician referred to us by Kacey's friend Charlie), my Grandma Dee for financial advice and safety considerations, and most recently Kristen Gablenz of Chic Interiors.  Instead of spending countless hours obsessing over what type of shower unit we should install, we thought, "Why not enlist the help of someone who actually knows something?"

This is the most overwhelming project either one of us has ever undertaken.  I really didn't think it would be that hard.  I was sorely mistaken.  Don't mistake my recent realization for regret or trepidation.  I am thrilled to be tackling a project that is so far outside of my comfort zone.  I am proud of our relationship and now our partnership.  I am so much more knowledgeable about and respectful of the Herculean effort that goes in to modern-day structure construction.  We are so lucky.

This past month has not been without its progress, however.  We have appliances!  We have cedar trim on the outside!  We have purchased a composting toilet!  We are solidifying layout and floor plan and will soon start putting on the exterior siding.  

We joke that once the exterior is done, and we've taken pictures for the blog, we'll have no incentive to continue building.  I can just write a blog post every now and then and put a picture from Pinterest in.  You'd never know... :)  But seriously, knowing that you're out there, applying gentle pressure to keep us on task is wonderful.  Thank you.

It may not look all that different, but do you see the trim around the outrigger and the windows?  You're looking at 20 hours of work.  

Notice how the trim runs straight along the side of the house.  You're looking at 3 hours of work.  No biggie ;)

Look at how beautifully the trim on the side outrigger lines up with the trim on the back of the house!  Only 3 hours of work, no biggie ;)

Look at how pretty the trim is!  Only 2 hours of work.  No biggie ;)  Originally we wanted clear cedar, meaning that is has no knots.  It was prohibitively expensive, so we went with the cedar you see in the picture--so glad we did.  We love the richness of the knots in the wood.

Our stove and oven!

Gus admiring our new appliance.  Before we had the appliances in the tiny house, Gus did not like being in the tiny house.  Now that the appliances are in there, he can't get enough!  He's a strange dog.

Washer/dryer combo machine--so cool!

Our (almost) full-size fridge.  Because some of us are tall and eat a lot of food (*cough* Kacey), we wanted a fridge that could hold a week's worth of food :) 

Our french door and gothic window.  Do you look at the window and think, "Hmmm, that's crooked!" You're not alone.  We are getting it replaced :)