Getting ready for the build….

It has been a while since we posted last.  While we may not have had much to show, we have been very busy working through design details, discussing with various suppliers, and ordering a number of parts and components.  We pushed the design limits of what we seen in a Tiny House in various areas and it resulted in us having to leave some of the more conservative suppliers behind.

With time ticking by, we knew that winter weather was around the corner and it became clear that we would not finish the envelope (basically the weatherproof walls and roof) before the cold and snow set in.  So we came up with the brilliant idea that all we needed was to rent some space in an old barn, unused garage, or warehouse for a month or two.  We spent about a week on that goose chase.   Looked at dozen buildings, spoke to a few folks, and called and researched quite a few more.   They either did not have a 14′ door way, wanted exorbitant amount of money, or were not interested in just a couple of months.  We then thought of building a frame, but soon realized that would also be a lot of work and expense for just a very short window.   Decision made – we will just deal with the weather.

Our trailer arrived back in November, delivered from Canada by Derek at Sierra Shipping.  He was great.  It was parked in the driveway and the first task was to erect the custom made steel frame that would surround our 13′ (3.9m) open span and still allow for a roof top deck.  Given it was close to 300 lbs, we enlisted our neighbor Steve to assist.  We then painted it black to keep it from discoloring.  It was not until the frame was up that we could finalize the measurements and complete the drawings and start construction of the Steel Walls.

While we waited for the walls, we decided that the driveway was not really the best place for this house as it was being built.  Perhaps the blue tarp that we draped it in made it stand out a bit in the neighborhood.  But the drive also slopes a lot, making it awkward to level and it took up a fair amount of room which made backing out of the garage a 10 point turn.   So we came up with another brilliant idea.  Let’s add a crushed stone driveway so we can park it in the back of the house.  It would be out of the way and it can serve as a guest house when we are not on the road.   Decision made.