Tiny Free House

Yesterday, before the rain started, my father-in-law and I got the roof covered with corrugated steel. So now the structure is mostly protected from the weather. To seal the house up I just have the end wall to cover with plywood, a layer of housewrap to add, then windows and a door. I’ll need to build a door, but I have everything else already. It feels nice to be back on the horse.

I also want to thank my father-in-law for all his help on the roof. He not only scored the material but had the necessary agility, at 20 years my senior, to fling himself on top of the roof and finish the ridge. He came off with a double back-flip.

Here are some photos of the house with it’s tin roof. First photo by Sherry Johnson.

I spent another half day at the farm this past weekend right before the storms blew back into northern California. I got a few more pieces of plywood screwed onto the exterior of the house.

The only wall left is the back wall and then I’ll trim off the bottoms of the plywood where they run too long and cut the wheel well openings. The trailer has no fenders like you see on so many tiny houses built on new trailers so I’ll need to frame the wheel openings in with wood and cut the exterior wall sheathing and siding over the wheels in arches to make it look right.

I’m still on the lookout for the right kind of roofing. I’m holding out for corrugated metal roofing. I hope to finish the roof before moving onto the siding.

Katie and I made an impromptu trip to the farm yesterday. She got to spend five hours playing with her Grammy and Pop and I some plywood on the outside of the tiny house. Once this layer is down I’ll wrap the walls in housewrap and then screw on a layer of pallet boards on for the final exterior finish.

I’m still hunting for roofing material and currently thinking I may just focus on searching for some scrap corrugated roofing. After experiencing extreme winds and rain this past winter it just seems like the smartest solution for roofing is to use some kind of real metal roofing.

Below: Here’s what it looked like when I left. We’re expecting another storm this week so I resecured the tarp before I left.

Above: A mid-day shot with the tractor working the field in the background. This year the farmer that works the 40-acres has planted four separate crops for organic seeds, bok choy, swiss chart, carrots, and radishes. The carrots are right behind the tiny house.

Below: A close-up of a date stamp on one of the recycled pieces of plywood I’m using.

…and lastly Katie posing for a photo with the tractor :-)