Weather The Storm

After spending a month roaming around Asia, I'm back! That means it's time to get back into the groove, and continue the construction of The Wandering Gypsy.

So I have walls... But can they survive speed bumps, pot holes, and 70 mph winds?

 

I have to strengthen my walls to make sure nothing falls apart while I'm traveling around the country! Fortunately for me, Jimmy used to build houses in Florida, so he knows all about how to build houses to withstand hurricane forces. I bought 100 feet of metal strapping, and put one solid piece all the way around the whole house. Now, not only are my 4 walls connected to each other at the corners, but they have a giant "belt" holding them up!

In my house, I'm choosing to have stairs instead of a ladder to get into the loft (where I'll sleep). The walls need to be raised up a bit to give me more head room, so we measured the height of the house so far, and built some knee walls (short walls) to extend the house up as high as possible without exceeding 13'3". That is the height of a semi, so anything they can go under, I'll be able to clear. Similar to the main walls, I built these guys on the ground before lifting them up. I called in the cavalry for this job, and got my dad to come help.

To strengthen the house even further, we ran metal cabling from the top plate of the wall, through the bottom plate,  and then hooked onto the trailer. The house now has 5 points where it is anchored from top to bottom. Throughout the build,  I'll continue to tighten the cables, and they may loosen over time. When working on the interior siding,  I'll need to find a way to have access to the top bolts of these cables so that I can tighten them as needed.

 

In continuation of the loft, I installed the 4x4s across the width of the house to become the floor joists of my loft floor. I'll be putting tongue and groove pine over them, and leaving the 4x4s exposed underneath. The house is really starting to shape up!

I can't help but think of the storms we go through in this life. With the right amount of support, we can weather anything life throws against us. God, my family, and my friends are my anchors. I can lean on them for support, and I'll be their lifeline whenever needed. Make sure to have a strong support network before facing the storm!

"Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope." 

- Epictetus

Obstacles Are Weak Walls

The wall framing is tedious, thought provoking, and important. Each corner of the house must work with the others. They need to be the same height, come together at a perfect 90° angle, and support one another. A house cannot be simply "four walls". The walls need to be a cohesive unit that work together.

The neighbor that I spoke of in my last post is Jimmy Jackson. He used to be in construction, and has been out of work for a long time due to falling off a roof. He broke his hip, and things are tough for him. He has so much knowledge and experience that I am able to tap into as I work on this house! Learning from mistakes is good, but learning before you make the mistake is even better!

Jimmy and I framed the first wall on the trailer before lifting it into place. They others we did on the ground, and then lifted and maneuvered them into position. For the walls, I followed Tumbleweed's design to the centimeter. I do not want to mess anything up at all!

 

Here comes the tricky part... I'm not working on a level surface. I can't use a level to tell me when the wall is in the correct place! Jimmy had the solution. We nailed blocks of wood to the floor, and used a 2x4 to brace the walls and keep them in their correct position. We used the Pythagorean Theorem to get each wall into position before attaching the brace.

As you can see, we did not get lazy with the braces!

 

As you're framing walls, take the time to lay out your stud placements.  That is, mark where each stud should be on both the top plate and bottom plate. It will make everything smoother, and will help you catch mistakes BEFORE you make them! Another interesting lesson is this : When using long screws, sometimes they want to give up before they're all the way into the wood. If you put some hand soap on the tip of them, it helps the screw keep going! (And the job site smells better)

With every passing day, this crazy dream of mine begins to become reality. I've had the desire to take on this challenge, but I've let obstacles get in my way. " I don't have enough money. I don't have enough time. I don't know how to (fill in the blank)." What are these, other than excuses? Worthless excuses that I told myself for 6 years before I chose to put aside my fear, and jump in. 

"Obstacles are weak walls without foundations;  if you fear them,  they will defeat you. But the fact is, that they are even afraid of you. So why are you frightened?"

 - Israelmore Ayivor

The Road To Success Is Always Under Construction

Week 1 of working on "Gypsy," as I've so aptly named my creation, went very well! I put a lot of thought and consideration into this part of the build, as the foundation is definitely the most important part of the house. If this wasn't strong, then one good "bump" or a gust of wind while driving down the road would cause the whole house to just fall to pieces. 

I installed galvanized metal sheeting onto the decking of the trailer, as well as a layer of plastic house wrap. The metal is overlapped at each seem, and the house wrap has no seems at all. Not only do these provide a small factor of insulation, but they will also do a fantastic job at keeping out moisture, bugs, and anything else that thinks it can come up through my floor!

As you can see, there is a corner of the trailer that does not have any metal or plastic covering it. That little corner will be my "porch." Basically, you WANT water to be able to run through that section, and not get trapped anywhere! I know it's tiny, but isn't that the point? Many people completely cut this out of the design, but I like the idea of being able to sit or stand outside when it's raining, without getting wet. That 2'x2' square is really all I need! This will especially come in handy when the dogs are needing to go out... I can stand in the dry area while they run out and get all wet!

Once I completed the "wrapping," I was able to begin framing the floor. I learned a few lessons within the first 30 minutes of this step...

1. If you need a piece of wood to be 85", measure the full 85". Do not think, "Well, the entire piece is 8 ft = 96", so I'll just cut off 11" and it will be perfect." DON'T DO IT! The guys at Lowes loaded 92.5" studs into my truck instead of 8 footers. Due to that fact, the pieces I cut all ended up being 3.5" shorter than they were supposed to be.

2. Do not screw or nail any of the framing together until it is all measured, cut, and is certainly correct. I won't even explain how that lesson was learned, as the embarrassment would very likely kill me.

With all the framing complete, and put together, I went around the trailer and attached corner braces in all the major corners. Then, I spread corner braces out along every joist, and attached the joists to the trailer. This way, the entire framing is actually screwed to the trailer itself. You can NOT have too many attachment points! GO CRAZY!

Alright, so here comes the fun part... Insulation. The plan for this tiny house is to NEVER have to be connected to the grid. I need all my heating or cooling to be held tight inside the house. Due to this, I decided to go a little wild with the insulation. I bought big sheets of 1 inch thick foam board, and 8 cans of spray foam for gaps and cracks. I did one line of the spray along the crack where the 2x4's meet the trailer, and then fit the foam board into the space before the foam insulation could harden completely. Then, I did a 2nd layer of spray all the way around the perimeter, before fitting another piece of foam board in. Lastly, I did a 3rd layer of spray foam around the perimeter, AGAIN. That's right... 2 inches of foam board and 3 rows of spray foam. There isn't a single gap or crack that air can come through!

Once all of the insulating is complete, the last step can be started. I used 3/4" plywood as my subfloor. I started out with 1/2" and determined it would be too weak. I cut the plywood to fit around the wheel wells, and yet once again, did not cover the porch area. The only tweak I decided to make at this point was to put blocks of my scrap wood along the "seems" of the plywood. This way, I will never have one sheet of the plywood trying to rise up above it's partner. With the "dead" wood in between the joists, the seems are just as solid as the rest of the floor!

(Ok I lied, I got excited and put plywood on the finished sections
before completing the framing at the back end of the trailer....)

TA DA! That, my friends, is how you frame a foundation on a trailer.

The neighbors are all driving by very slowly, but I just keep telling myself that they're staring at me... not the trailer. ;)

One neighbor actually stopped and asked if he could help me build it because he's bored these days with no construction projects to work on! Hey, I'm definitely not turning down an extra pair of hands! The neighbor across the street talked to me for awhile, and then brought me a huge tarp that was brand new and still in the packaging. Since it was supposed to rain, he thought I could use it, and told me I could keep it! I'm feelin' the love.

"A house must be built on solid foundations if it is to last. The same principle applies to man, otherwise he too will sink back into the soft ground and be swallowed up by the world of illusion."

- Sai Baba

I Live In My Own Little World, But It's OK... They Know Me Here.

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my next post... ok, well maybe not.

Either way, here it is folks! On February 3rd, I was finally able to drive up to Fayetteville, Tennessee to pick up my beautiful, 18 feet long, 7 feet wide, bundle of joy. 

Here he is, my new "baby."

I really can't describe the feeling I had when I stepped foot onto this trailer. You look at it and see a trailer. I stood on it, and I saw my kitchen rise up before my eyes. I saw myself awkwardly leaning over the edge of the roof in an extremely unsafe fashion, while installing the sky light that is letting beautiful sunshine come in and fill my home with the type of warmth that only the sun can provide... I saw my little, elderly, beagle curled up on the floor, letting that warmth soak into her bones. I saw maps scattered around on any flat surface, containing the roads to the many destinations this home and I will reach. Now, today... when all you can see is that treated lumber decking and the freshly painted wheel wells... please try to picture a home. It will be a home where I can always retreat to. A home that will follow me across this country. A home that fits my personal beliefs, aspirations, and goals.

You can say a home is where your heart is... but I don't leave my heart anywhere.

My home, will be wherever I am.

"Never make a home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it - memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way, it will go with you wherever you journey."

-Tad Williams