#doinglifetiny

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We Have Land!... Now What?

So we bought six acres of dirt! No utilities, perc test passed, soil sample passed, title insurance (which was a pain) but it finally passed. A few signatures later and we had our land! And it was covered in a couple feet of snow...

Looking north east on the property

Looking north west on the property

Looking east on the property The deal seemed too good to be true (spoiler: it was but absolutely worth it). The pictures above is how we bought the property in February. It borders national forest on the back two sides and is going to be the last house on the road, there is only one other house on the road. AND right across the road is a reclaimed dump, basically an adult playground (amazing for biking, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, hiking, it's like a giant park). After the due diligence was complete and we officially owned the land it was time to get to work.

Looking west over the property from the road Our original plan was to build a geodesic dome, then a full size house, then an A-frame, then full size house, possibly a tiny house and back to the full size house. We changed our minds a lot...but one thing was for sure, we had to pick the perfect spot for the structure we were going to build. Read the full article

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Time to Start Installing the Tiny House Roof!

Because we were building under a tarp that kept filling with water, we rushed into installing the tiny house roof. This was so over our heads! Pardon the pun ;P The plans we had gave us a good idea of what was needed but we needed more depth for the 6" of insulation that was desired. We did a bunch of research and came up with a solution. BTW, researching things for this tiny house build took up SOOOO much time, if you thinking of building your own be ready to sit in front a computer quite a bit.

Bird mouth cut for roof rafters We decided to use birds mouth cuts on the 2x6 roof rafters. We thought this would be quickest method that would meet our needs but the quick part was very wrong. Each side of the boards had a different angle that needed to be figured out first. Fun maths ensued and we came up with depths and angles that were just about perfect, if only our walls were that accurate... Our big mistake here was not creating a jig to mark and cut each angle and depth, so all the rafters came out slightly different.

1x2 spacer boards required for insulating the roof We attached 1x2 spacer boards to each of the tiny house roof rafters to give the required air gap for the roof insulation. We got an amazing deal on some Tech Shield foil coated OSB paneling that we used to sheath the tiny house. Really this stuff should only be used on the roof, which we found out later while doing more research. Oh well, live and learn.

All the roof rafters installed Each roof rafter was glued to the top plate and fasteners were used on each end to secure them in place. To help access the rafters more easily, the bedroom and storage lofts were framed. Because our walls were a bit... unique from not supporting the middle of the trailer, the bedroom loft framing turned out slightly uneven. A detail not noticed until the interior siding was going up.

Installing roof insulation 6 inch rockwool insulation was carefully installed in between each rafter, this gives the roof an R-23 insulation rating. Much better than the R-13 that the plans we bought were going to give us. While rockwool is not as nasty to work with as fiberglass insulation, it is still pretty bad and caused some angry itchy moments.

We did get a couple nice days while installing the tiny house roof Installing the tiny house roof went fairly smoothly, especially compared to everything else up to this point. We did have some issues with rain filling up the tarp in section of roof that did not have rafters yet, though got lucky that it never spilled into the house. Read the full article

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Tiny House Framing Begins!

Now that the sub floor is done, the exciting tiny house framing begins. We bought tiny house plans and drawings off the internet as we had no idea how to build a house. The plans really helped in figuring out how to support windows, space studs and dimension the house.

Framing first wall Though we ultimately did not build by the plans, we were glad we got them. Instead we opted to use advanced framing techniques, like California for more efficient corners and 24in stud spacing to reduce weight. The design phase was quite intense, hoping we made the right decisions for a lasting house. All studs were glued before being screwed together and a layer of foam was placed under the sole plate that would get bolted to the trailer.

Framing walls in section Each of the log walls was done in two sections to ease hoisting it in place. It is really incredible how heavy the framing is! This method provided its own challenges trying to decide where to break the wall in half, or close to. This first wall was the learning curve! We made so many mistakes. One of the biggest was not ensuring the trailer was COMPLETELY level. Also messed up in not supporting the middle of the trailer. At one point we thought we had made a wall section too long and spent hours trying to pry it in place, cut bits off, measuring and remeasuring. Turned out that the trailer was sagging in the middle causing the tops of each section to be a couple inches off from the bottom. What a huge dug moment that was.

First wall done!

Cantilever base wall Once we finished the first wall, we decided the bedroom loft, at back of trailer, needed a couple extra feet in it. This spur of the moment idea was accommodated by adding a cantilever to the back, which was completely outside the original design. So we just made it up as we went.

Building under a huge tarp The usually nice autumn in Idaho turned nasty on us early with frequent downpours and early snow. In order to keep building and not get everything soaking wet we bought a HUGE tarp. The tarp was a life saver but also a bit of a PITA. Rain water would pool in the middle and cause it to droop into the house and rip the spikes from the ground. Eventually we got the framing done with it taking FAR longer than expected. Who would have thought tiny house framing was so difficult? Read the full article

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Tiny home hydronic in-floor heating!

Hydronic in-floor heating!!!! We had ordered some pex-al-pex piping (So much easier than straight pex) and heat shields a few weeks before the trailer was ready to try a novel concept in tiny houses. There is a reason this is rarely done on THOWs. What a freakin PITA!!! Only half the heat shields were initially installed as the other half had to be secured against the sub-floor OSB, beneath the vapor barrier, as each sheet of OSB was installed.

Hydronic in-floor heating installation. This caused a lot of frustration and we even considered abandoning the system several times. In-between each floor joist, we installed 6 inch rockwool insulation as we had read that a cold floor was one of the major complaints from a lot of tiny home owners. Rockwool was chosen for it's thermal mass, high insulation value and moisture resistance.

Securing the pex with spray foam. We spray foamed the long return line to secure it if we ever moved the house and to give it extra insulation value. Next it was time to install the vapor barrier and sub-floor OSB.

Installing vapor barrier and OSB. In order to get both sides of each each shield properly screwed into the OSB, we had to crawl beneath each sheet with the far side on the joist. This proved to be extremely challenging as the angle of the OSB had to be very shallow to not pull the pex out of alignment or rip the joist mounted heat shields from the joist. Many angry hours went into this whole process, the only way it got finished was hoping the end results would be low maintenance, low energy and worth it.

Finally finished the sub-floor! Read the full article

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Having fun while building is a MUST!

Most afternoons we would break out the kayaks and go for a float down the river to rejuvenate from the day's labor and heat.

Kietz thought he'd hitch a ride for a bit. There is always a bunch of wildlife running around here but one day we were especially lucky and got fairly close to some moose! Had only ever seen moose up here one other time on a 4x4 trip a few years ago. (Now we have a calf and her mom living on the ridge our property is on and frequently see them).

A pair of moose. A massive fire broke out near the river we float which closed down access to the area. We were able to get quite close to it and saw some flames while the air was buzzing with helicopters and planes. The fire ended our kayaking in this area for several weeks as fire crews battled the blaze.

Huge fire very close to civilization. Unfortunately, this area gets a lot of fires every summer, this one was the closest to civilization any of them have been for quite some time. It was amazing to watch how the planes coordinated with the helicopters and ground crews. The helicopters were filling up their buckets from the river right in front of us.

Quite a site to see a jet that big so close to the ground. One of the few benefits fires bring around here are the prospect for great morel mushroom hunting. For a couple years after an area has been burned, morels show up in abundance and it is always fun hunting for them! We had a great hunt, scoring some huge morels.

Morel mushroom hunting. Read the full article

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The trailer arrives!!!

We were so excited the trailer was finished a week early! That weekend we packed up the truck with the dogs and camping gear and started the long journey to bring it home. Spent Friday driving and setting up camp just outside of town so we could get an early start back home the next day.

What an awesome tiny home trailer! We opted for the optional galvanized metal base flashing to prevent rodents and inspects from chewing through a wood one, no rot worries if water gets down there and it provides better protection against road debris should we ever need to move the house. The squared wheel flashing is an awesome feature of this trailer as well. Final dimensions of the trailer are 28 feet long and 100 inches wide and cost just shy of $7,000. As soon as we saw the build quality, features and sturdiness of the trailer, we knew we had made a good choice to get a tiny house specific trailer. Once the trailer was hitched up we headed back to Idaho with a stop off at Home Depot for the first round of supplies to build the sub-floor. The Mahindra tractor we chose to buy is on the right :) We would not have been able to do any of this without it.

It's finally on the land! After unloading the supplies, we went right to work building the sub-floor support structure and adding insulation. To alleviate as much thermal bridging between the metal trailer and house structure, 1 inch R-5 foam insulation was installed on all metal surface and base of the trailer.

Foam insulation to mitigate thermal bridging. The sub-floor support structure was bolted to the trailer through the insulation and we covered all exposed bolt heads inside the structure with silicone to prevent condensation. We were especially worried about condensation because we had special plans for the floor…

Structure support bolt with silicone to help stop condensation. Some tips we learned during this process: The 2×6 framing on top of 1 inch foam was lower than the 1 inch foam around the edges of the trailer. We thought the sub-floor would squish the foam around the edges but it did not and caused the sub-floor to be slightly bowed around the edges. Definitely level the trailer very well before starting any of this work. For whatever reason, we did not decide to do this until later and it has caused many issues along the way. Read the full article

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We're Supposed to Build What...on THAT...How Exactly..?!

After buying the land, we contemplated many different house types eventually settling on a tiny house, built on a trailer. We chose a tiny house on wheels because it allows us to be mobile, if we needed, we completely own it, can build it ourselves and we want to downsize all of the materialistic things we've become irrationally attached to. Deciding on the trailer size was the first difficult decision (many more to come).

Enjoying a lovely evening on the land The trailer had to be large enough to feel comfortable with our two dogs, a royal Bahamian potcake named Koda and a pitty mix named Kietz. It also needed a large kitchen that didn't feel cramped, a bathroom that didn't feel cramped (especially the shower), a bedroom large enough for a king bed, a living room that is large enough for us to have our ridiculous gaming PCs (we love our video games!), all of which was seeming impossible to fit in a TINY house, without feeling cramped... See the trend in our thinking? To not be CRAMPED! HA! After doing some research online and tons upon tons of measuring in our current rental house deciding if a tiny house was even possible, we decided a 28 ft. trailer would be sufficient for our needs, even with the dogs. Then there was the next dilemma, buy a trailer or restore a trailer. There are benefits and drawbacks to both.

Kietz "helped" move some dirt too Initially we were going to purchase an old RV on Craigslist, rip it apart, restore the frame, then build it up from there. Sounds easy enough, especially since trailers specifically built for a tiny house are 3x-5x more expensive than just buying an old RV off Craigslist. The benefits of buying one second-hand were enormous, we would be able to re-use some of the pieces and parts from the old camper and we could pick one up the next day. The wait times for a tiny house trailer was 6-8 weeks out and we would have to travel about 18 hours to go pick it up.

30 tons of 3/4″- driveway gravel Though buying and restoring a used camper sounds fantastic, through many hours of research we decided to get a tiny house specific trailer. There were too many unknown factors while buying a used trailer plus the amount of work it would take to strip down to the frame and restore it. Plus, what were we supposed to do with all the scrap? Dropping it at the local transfer station would have cost hundreds.

There were just too many unknowns with the used RV options and we needed to get dried in prior to the snow flying! (supposed to be an epic ski season up here :D) We decided to purchase our trailer from a tiny home specific trailer company, with the flashing installed under the cross members. Purchasing a tiny house specific trailer was the first best decision!! (Spoiler: it has made building a hell of a lot easier! We couldn’t imaging building on a restored trailer; If you’re thinking of doing that, do yourself an enormous favor and just buy a specific one, it is so reassuring that it is new, certified and designed to handle the weight of a tiny house.)

Fire got a bit out of control, lighting the ground and a stump up After the order was placed for the trailer, we decided to get some plans started, after all we had 6-8 week before we could start construction. Both of us have some building experience but not nearly enough to build our own plans. So we found some online plans that were specific to our trailer size and we liked the layout and shape of the house (mostly, we rearranged it later). With the plans in hand (not really, they were digital) we decided to purchase windows and a door and start designing the house the way we saw our lifestyle would fit.

Spreading the driveway gravel During the whole trailer decision debacle, we were working on the land and preparing it for the trailer. This involved building the driveway, creating a flat pad for the garage, clearing trees, laying 3/4″- blue stone base layer and erecting a gate.

Digging gate post holes Read the full article

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Tractor Time!! Lets Move Some DIRT!

We still had tons of dirt to move and stumps to remove to create a driveway that allowed us to get on and off the build site. We also needed to build a pad for a garage and extend the driveway to the garage pad. What tool would be most useful for such a variety of work? A tractor!!!!

Is that tractor falling off a cliff? No, it's the driveway :( We rented a couple different tractors to get a feel for what our property needed. The first was a smaller 21 hp tractor that we initially thought would be enough to move the necessary dirt...

Puny little tractor After half a day of use, we decided we needed a bigger tractor. So we rented another larger tractor, and this one got some work done! The larger tractor got twice the amount of materials moved in half the time of the smaller tractor.

That's more like it Neither tractor was very well taken care of, as they were rentals, but the better of the two rental tractors was a well abused 59hp Kubota with a backhoe. It sounded like it had never been greased, as any bucket movement caused a terrible squeal.

House pad is done! Our logic in renting tractors was to get a feel for what size would suite our needs for caring for the land (clearing land, hauling logs, snowplowing, tree planting, fence post digging, etc.). There is a downside to renting, EXPENSIVE $$$$! The rentals were completely outrageous, with over $3,000 spent on 5 days, FIVE DAYS of work, PLUS they charged us to fill up the equipment at $6/gal!! (local price is $2.95/gal)! Definitely would have filled it up ourselves if we had realized how expensive their special gas was.

Smoothing out the driveway After contemplation of rental prices and what our future needs for the land are going to be, we settled on buying a tractor. Which was such an ordeal. Comment if you want to know more about the process of buying a tractor, what we looked for and what we ended up choosing. It’s fun, stressful and frustrating. We settled on a machine that was priced below it’s class but was little known in the area. Everything depended on getting a solid tractor to move forward with the property, it was the single largest hold-up in developing our land. http://www.doinglifetiny.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/16-1024x768.jpg Old car door found in driveway Since the land is across the street from an reclaimed dump, we found a bit of historic rubbish hiding in the brush and top layer of dirt (car door on the right in picture above plus a crushed camper from the 60’s or 70’s). http://www.doinglifetiny.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20190708_130313.jpg Driveway gravel being delivered Read the full article

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The Clearing Begins

Cutting down the trees was the easy part, clearing them, stumps and all the underbrush took far more effort. In order to speed this process up, we rented a mini-excavator for a week and set to work.

Stacking cut down trees with the mini excavator That little machine made quick work of all the fallen trees. Since time was our main concern, we opted to stack the logs in several piles to be dealt with later. The pile above quickly became the largest as it sits between the house site on the left and the driveway on the right.

Clearing the driveway We also used the little machine to start leveling out a house pad, though we still had no idea what type of house we were going to build. Britt loved operating that mini-excavator and it was just incredible how much work could be done with it.

Start to level the house pad area Level the pad proved to more of a challenge than excepted as we had to dig down the embankment between the pad and driveway (where the logs are piled in the picture above). In the end we had a roughly level 50ft x 40ft pad and dug 6ft down into the embankment.

A very stubborn stump In order to smooth out the pad, build the driveway and remove some stubborn stumps, we decided to rent a tractor. Read the full article