Tiny Free House » Construction

Got Plywood!

Michael Janzen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:34:37 +0000

A few weeks ago I scored some used plywood and OSB sheathing. We just found the photos we took so I thought I’d post news of this lucky find. Sheathing will add a lot of rigidity and strength to the shell. The only disadvantage is that they won’t give me the look the way I want but I think I can still do something with pallet boards on the exterior to achieve the finish I want.

After removing all the nails I’ll put it on the exterior walls and interior ceiling. But first I need to put some roofing on it and insulate the roof. I’ve had little luck finding anything suitable for the roof but I’ve also had little time to scrounge around… so at the very least I’ll cover it before the rain starts with roofing felt and possibly a tarp. At this point the less rain on the house the better.

The plywood is now stored in the shed/shop at the farm… well protected from the rain. It will stay there until I started putting it on the house.

Construction Progress Report – Framed Eaves

Michael Janzen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:38:55 +0000

It was a bit hot this past weekend but I got to spend a couple days working on the house. I had planned to put more boards on the roof but realized that I needed to first finish the eaves. They took a bit of time to build but I think they look pretty good, so even though I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped I’m still happy with my progress. I came up with the 16×16 diamond window in both eaves on-the-fly and plan to make little opening windows for ventilation.

I also realized the side windows were too high and needed to be lowered so I threw a temporary support in, unscrewed a couple pallets, cut them up and reframed. I only got one window lowered before I called it a day on Sunday.

Next Steps:

Lower other side window.
Finish putting boards on roof.
Finish filling in pallet boards on sides so I have something to screw the milled pallet boards onto.
Finish roof (roofing felt and shingles (The jury is still out on the final roofing material)).
Mill up a bunch of pallet boards for the siding.
Wrap it up with house-wrap.
Screw on the milled pallet board siding.
Install the windows I got free off craigslist.
Mill up pallet boards for trim around the windows and door.
Build the door from pallet wood, and install.
Seal the exterior with some kind natural free finish. (I’m open to suggestions.)

At that point I’ll be ready to move to working inside the house. My plan is to get all this done before the rain starts. At my current slow pace I think it’s possible. Here are a few more photos.

Construction Update and How-To Videos

Michael Janzen — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:38:27 +0000

I took the day off from work we took a half-day trip up the the farm today. I spent a few hours working on the Tiny Free House, shooting some photos and video. I hope this is the beginning of a series of trips that will get me a lot closer to completing the Tiny Free House. Here are a few of the videos I shot.

How to take apart pallets

Tiny free house tour

How to work with the pallet boards

Demonstration of attaching pallet boards to the roof

Nice view of corn field

Crop duster flys over the Tiny Free House

The Roof is Framed

Michael Janzen — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:29:38 +0000

I took the day off from work today and went up tot he farm and finished framing the roof. After searching all my usual haunts for long pallets with no luck I broke down and bought 18 2x4s for the roof which cost about $28. I figure the money I’ll save in gas is will offset this little investment and it should be easily reclaimed by selling some of the free stuff I’ve collected so far. In fact the weather is just right now for a garage sale to do just that.

Anyway it felt very good to have this milestone complete. It also feels good to have a safe roof over head. I didn’t want to use pallets in the roof because it just seemed like asking for trouble. This roof shouldn’t collapse on my head.

The next step is to close up the roof with roofing felt, tin or shingles. I’ve already got enough scavenged roofing felt but I still need some kind of roofing material. Initially I was hoping to find an old metal shed someone wants hauled away, but I’ve been thinking more about using flattened #10 tin cans. I’ll need to do an experiment before I start collecting the 200 cans. My imagination tells me it will work great but my practical side tells me I’m crazy… but we knew that right?

A finished roof will give me some shade to work in while I finish up the interior wheel well and bathroom wall framing. I’d like to get all the rough framing work done before I start closing it in with pallet boards so it’s easier to work in there under the hot sun.

I’m also still on the lookout for insulation but I’m pretty sure I’ll use styrofoam packing peanuts stuffed in old plastic grocery bags. The bags should hold the peanuts together and keep the whole process of putting peanuts in the walls and ceiling less messy. The interior will be sealed up the same way are the exterior with pallet boards.

Here’s what it looked like after I cleaned up my mess at the end of the day:

I plan to put bracing in at the peak to keep the roof strong. Instead of framing the roof normally I made simple trusses on the ground and lifted them into place and then added cross bracing between each truss. By adding a little metal or wood plate at the peak it should help keep the roof together for a long time.

Spring has sprung and tiny house building resumes!

Michael Janzen — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:52:27 +0000

I finally have time blocked off to get back up to the farm and get back to work on the tiny free house. The weather is perfect and there’s a pile of pallets is waiting for me. I’m really looking forward to spending some time outside working too. I work in front of a computer screen all day and while the winter here in California is mild, I still feel like I’ve been cooped up too long.

My next steps will be to first decide on the final roof design. Even though it takes up a little floor space I think I’m going to go with the asymmetrical roof design below. It’s unique, cute, stronger, and the steep roof pitch should be pretty good for solar panels if I can find some free ones.

I plan to take a rope and a couple of boards and mock-up the roof line just to get a good idea of how much floor space I’ll loose by having one short 48-inch wall. Google Sketch-Up is handy for picturing the house in 3D but nothing beats standing inside the real thing, especially when designing a tiny house where every inch counts.

Check back next week to see my progress! In the mean time you might be interested in some free tiny house plans I posted on my tiny house design blog.