What are you doing about a bathroom?!

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 Chrissy Lou1 Comment

This is a really common question people ask when they first hear about my tiny house. Good thing I’m pretty comfortable talking about poop!

I’m planning on using a composting toilet following the methods outlined in the Humanure Handbook. This eliminates a lot of questions about how I’m going to manage waste water.

Even though I don’t plan to use them, we did install the pipes and drains for a regular flush toilet. This way, if I ever find a place to park that has access to sewer lines I can swap out the composting toilet for a real one. I’m not squeamish about the composting toilet and would probably choose to keep it regardless of where I park. However, composting toilets don’t meet code in most Vermont cities. So if I want to legally park in a city, I would need a flush toilet. Also, if I decide that tiny house living isn’t for me this might make it easier to sell the house.

Pine Siding

November 15, 2015November 13, 2015 Chrissy Lou3 Comments

I found a bunch of pine shiplap at ReSource that I started to stain a beautiful dark brown. The T1-11 is 8′ tall, my house is 11’3″ so anything above 8′ will be sided in pine. The pine with be put up horizontally and I think the vertical T1-11 will be a cool contrast.

We decided to stain the backside of it to speed things up. But not until after CJ sanded a bunch of it. oops. Thanks CJ!

All the trim will be pine stained the same color – Thanks Sarah and Erika for staining a bunch of the trim and siding!

I’m endlessly grateful for all the help from so many amazingly beautiful people!

This was the week that I discovered timelapse on my iphone. Hope ya’ll are ready for a million more nausea inducing videos!

#hotroofer

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015 Chrissy Lou1 Comment

We still need to finish the last details, but the metal roof is on! I was surprised how easy it was to install the roof…

but if I’m being honest, I didn’t even install it. Seth and CJ installed it while ~~I stood nearby and took a bunch of selfies~~ I worked on other things. I think they were motivated to work quickly so they could get inside and watch football. slackers…

Siding

November 9, 2015November 13, 2015 Chrissy Lou1 Comment

I like the look of T1-11. I also like that it comes in panels and is relatively easy to install. I wasn’t so crazy about the maintenance associated with it. T1-11 is pretty vulnerable to moisture and can require a lot of upkeep. We opted for LP Smart Side -a wood composite siding- for the exterior. It comes in 8’x4′ sheets and it was pretty easy to install. It’s also pre-primed so all we have to do is paint – except it’s been really tough for me to decide on a color!

The front end, over the hitch, hasn’t been sided yet because we’re going to build a storage locker there. This locker will protect the electrical panel and provide a little extra storage. Under the locker, there will be a little roof to cover the propane canisters. My appliances will run off of bbq propane tanks. I’m not sure yet how often they will need to be swapped out. I’m guessing a least once a month in the winter. It will be more convenient to swap the tanks out if they’re not completely buried in snow.

The siding had to be cut to fit around the wheel wells. Seth sorta eyeballed the first cut – I trust him, he’s good at this stuff- then we traced a template for the rest of the cuts. It wasn’t perfect and it took a couple of tries but we got it. Hopefully, that’s the hardest part. We then filled in the gap between the siding and the wheel well with silicone to prevent moisture inside the house. Thanks Mike for helping with this part!

Kitchen Window

November 7, 2015November 4, 2015 Chrissy Lou1 Comment

This GIGANTIC window was only $35 at ReSOURCE! (I told you they were amazing!) The window had an extension jamb – a frame that fills the depth of the wall space* – that had to be removed before installation. If any of the screws holding the jamb in place were stripped, it would have been a nightmare to remove. Once again, we were lucky. The jamb came off easily.

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The rough opening for the window was too small when we went to install it. Probably my fault (I still don’t have a clue what I’m doing). But luckily it was a easy fix and after removing a small section of the header, the window slid perfectly into place.

*Further proof that I have no idea what I’m doing: I googled extension jam so I could give a simple definition because I couldn’t think of one myself – even though Seth explained it like 100 times. Found out it’s not spelled jam.

Shut the front door!

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 Chrissy Lou1 Comment

LOVE LOVE LOVE this front door I picked up at ReSOURCE for only $65! Seriously – ReSource has been an amazing resource (see what I did there?) throughout this whole project. Last summer, they had a sign outside their store advertising a tiny house building workshop so I stopped in to chat. I couldn’t participate in the workshop but I was connected with the Youth Build program which was interested in building a tiny house. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to work together but it was through these conversations that I got the ball rolling.

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I was so worried that something would go wrong while trying to install it. It was screwed shut – helpful so the door didn’t fly open during transport!- so I didn’t get to make sure the door opened and closed properly before buying it. I figured for $65 it was worth the risk.

Totally worth it – I’m over the moon! We’re still on track to finish before the snow arrives, but I’m a little worried. There’s been some pretty chilly morning and we’ve already seen some flurries. Brr!