Author: bigman

I'm the big man that has to fit inside a tiny house!
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Ventilation: fresh air needed

A tiny home’s air quality is affected by pollutants more than a larger home, simply because there is much less air inside a tiny home.

My goal is to build the tiny home as air-tight as I can, to minimize the amount of air that leaks in or out. This also means that planning for a means to bring fresh outside air inside the house is very important.

The trade-off is every hole cut in the wall reduces energy efficiency.

On one hand, we have the exhaust fan with louvers that close when the fan is turned off.

8" Metal Shutter Exhaust Fan
8″ Metal Shutter Exhaust Fan

This fan’s only insulation is the louver, which doesn’t form an airtight seal. In hot or cold climates, this is not sufficient insulation.

According to the Department of Energy’s “Whole House Fact Sheet” (pdf), one option is to manually cover the opening(s):

Since standard fan louvers do not insulate or seal tightly, a cover should be constructed to airseal and insulate this hole …. The cover may be installed from the attic side (if attic access is easily available) or from the house side. Covers for both sides could be included in excessively hot or cold climates. Homeowners must remember to remove cover(s) before operating the fan and to replace cover(s) during seasons when the fan is not in use.

I can see that getting real old, real quick.

No solution, yet. Just something to think about.

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I ain’t no monkey

The deck-height is starting to become a nuisance.

Detail of the deck height
Detail of the deck height

As you can see, the trailer is jacked up and levelled on cinderblock. On top of the trailer is the subfloor, then the floor. Now that I’m working on the third wall, I have to scramble over it to get onto the deck. This rapidly became annoying as I had to climb up to measure the distance between studs, jump down (carefully!), go cut the blocker, climb back up and then glue and screw it in.

Rinse, repeat.

So, what do I do when I have an itch? Scratch it!

Remember that wood from the trailer?

Boards removed previously from trailer
Boards removed previously from trailer

Say hello to my little friend!

New Stairs
New Stairs
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Working on that big ol’ wall…hello, Mr. Sun! Ahh!!!

Got cracking on the big wall that runs the entire length of the house–20 feet long.

It turned out I was no match for my most fearsome nemesis:

100º temperature
Hell called; they want their heat back

I started adding in studs, spacing them out with blockers  as required, however after a few hours I started getting dizzy and nauseous, so I called it a day.

Overheated
Overheated

Now before you ask, yes, I was drinking water: I downed a 32 litre bottle in no time. The issue was I wasn’t drinking enough water, and I probably should’ve taken some salt.

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Working on the 3rd Wall

Sorry for the lack of updates!

I’ve been working on the third wall — the 20′ long one that runs the entire length of the house.

As of now, I have the studs all cut (will have to go back later and cut the headers and cripples for the windows).

Last weekend, I assembled the “outline” of the wall: the first and last stud, the top and sole plates.

English: Diagram illustrating parts of a Wall ...
1. Cripple 2. Window Header 3. Top Plate / Upper Wall Plate 4. Window Sill 5. Stud 6. Sill Plate / Sole Plate / Bottom Plate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The biggest challenge was getting the sole plate around the wheel well and spare tire hitch. I messed up and mis-cut the wood for the wheel well, but the spare tire hitch went well.

The next step is to cut the wood for the cross-beams between studs, then install them and the remaining studs.

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Rain, Rain

Lots of rain, lately.

English: rain
English: rain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I discovered that the floor had been getting a bit of rain, so there’s a possibility that the insulation is wet. I’ll have to cut open the aluminum under-barrier later and take a look, but it will make sense to get the roof up first so I only have to do this one time.

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Bill got ‘nothin!

Tropical Storm Bill rolled into town the other day.

Radar image of Bill
Image courtesy National Weather Service

The ground was already saturated, raising fears of flooding. I went to the build site to verify the tarps were in place and secure.

 

One of the tarps was ripped; hanging over the corner of the walls caused extra stress that caused the tarp to rip. I repositioned the tarp and retied the ropes so water would not enter via the tear.

Frogs have taken up residence in and around the underside of the trailer and wherever the tarp is on the ground. I suppose because it is wet and there is lots to food for the  (mosquitos!), this makes a good habitat.

English: Photo of a Frog
Photo of a Frog (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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The Porch

The Tiny Home has a little 4’x4′ porch which is little more than a square hole right now.

I’ve been kicking around ideas for what to do. Here are some ideas:

Wooden Slats

I saw a nice wall hanging at Target that would look really cool as a porch.

The hanging’s slats are too thin to support a person’s weight, so I’d have to either reinforce it or build my own.

Tile

If I go with tile, I would need something to support it. I could make some supports out of steel and then powder-coat them to prevent rust.

Steel

Speaking of seel, I could make supports out of steel and weld expanded metal to the top as the deck/porch. I’d leave it to rust because that would look cool.

Deutsch: Streckmetallzaun Verwendet an der Inn...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What do you think?

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First Walls Going Up

I powered through and got the first two walls raised! There’s no going back now.

To start, I needed to trim part of the wall that hung over the wheel well. I’d measured it a little long and it needed to be flush. The Japanese saw worked nicely here.

Trimming wood with a Japanese saw
Trimming wood with a Japanese saw

For the first (long) wall, I attached a couple of 2x4s, one at each end, with a single screw so it would hinge and prop up the wall when I raised it. This allowed me to raise the wall by myself.

Ready to raise the first wall
Ready to raise the first wall

After I got the wall up and reasonably plumb, I clamped the bottom.

The wall upright and clamped
The wall upright and clamped

Next I worked on the adjacent wall, so as to provide stability. I needed to cover everything with a tarp (the next week is predicted rain every day), and I was concerned that a single wall would be easily knocked down by wind or the weight of the water on the tarp.

I quickly assembled the second wall, starting with the footplate. I went to look for a 4x4x8 in my wood pile for the header and realized I hadn’t bought any in that size. GRR!!! No problem. I used a 2×4 temporarily to anchor the top of the studs. I screwed in just 1 or 2 screws in each stud and didn’t use glue.

With that, I threw the tarp over everything and tied it down as best I could. By this time it was 1:30 am; I went late because I didn’t feel like I could leave it with only one wall.

The two walls tarped up
The two walls tarped up. Phone ran low on power so flash didn’t work 🙁

Whew! The next wall is the longest one in the build. It should go faster because I’m more confident and know what to expect.

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Cutting more wood

It is raining so I’m spending the time prepping wood. Besides ripping it to the correct length, I’m drilling pocket holes on each end so it will be ready to go.

 

Sawdust from pocket hole prep
Sawdust from pocket hole prep
Prepping wood for studs
Prepping wood for studs