 Framing and foundation: The house is built on an 8.5 x 24-foot trailer. Stick framing on 24-inch centers is sheathed with plywood. The house extends (with support!) about two feet over each side of the trailer bed. This would make it a "wide load" for moving but we don't plan to move it.  Insulation: Ceiling insulation (rigid foam with spray gap filler) is in place. We're using the extra bits and pieces in the bathroom area walls (likely to have more moisture) and other small wall spaces (over windows, etc.). We'll put fiberglass insulation into the rest of the wall cavities and just bought the first batch to get started.  Floor: After searching around for suitable reclaimed wood, I think we'll be back at Lumber Liquidators buying unfinished pine boards like the ones we used in the screen house. It's hard to beat the price at $1/sq foot—and we like the look. Note to self: This is something we need to order right away.  Heating: Our Kimberly wood stove from Unforgettable Fire awaits install. We're waiting for the pipes and need to build the woodbox it will sit on...but we can't put any of that in place until we have the walls, ceiling and floor installed. |  Windows/doors/roofs: We installed 11 window sliders and three glass doors for loads of light. The roof is topped with corrugated metal, but still needs gutters. We're planning on incorporating a rain barrel when we get around to the gutters.  Walls and ceiling: We've just started framing the bedroom and bathroom walls and decided they won't go all the way to the ceiling to keep things more open. For now, we've decided on a white bead board ceiling and flat, white-painted walls, with one barnwood-covered wall behind the sofa. Plus, a barnwood bathroom door and stained pallet wood as window trim. We hope to put up the ceiling and walls in the next week or so. We've wired for three ceiling fans but will take our time to find the right fans.  Kitchen: We've made a counter-height table and plan to build our 9-foot counter to match it. Our faucet and giant sink arrived. (The sink might be a little out of scale for our house.) We have an alcohol-burning stove/oven ready to install and we just ordered our fridge (GE's 5.6-cu-ft Energy-Star under-the-counter model). We've wired four over-the-counter pendant lights.  Garden: It exists inside our heads at this point...We have a stack of long pallets we hope to transform into raised beds. And then we need a fence. Around here, there's no point in planting without a fence. |  Siding: Our siding is a mix of pine boards and corrugated metal. Biggest oversight: We forgot to install a rain screen behind the siding. Some of the nails popped over the winter and we had to put in a few screws on the ends of some boards. The toughest-to-reach side of the house still needs most of its siding. We're hoping to get some decking in place to make the remaining siding install a little easier.  Power: We've pulled most of the electrical wires through the walls, and the two breaker boxes (one for solar, one for grid electric) are in place. We're still researching our solar panel/battery purchase, but we'll want to put in an order this week. Grid-tied electric is almost ready to hook up for the biggest energy hogs (hot water heating, water pump, refrigerator).  Bathroom: Much on the to-do list here. The commode is largely built, but we need to buy a bucket for the sink and a water trough for the shower/tub and then do all the plumbing. Still to decide on: water heater and water pump.  Decking: Our three-sided, wrap-around deck is still (for the most part) a sketch. We're going to build it as a stand-alone structure, not attached to the house. And build it in removable sections, in case we need to make changes. More postholes are the next step. |
And there's more. But I can't think about it any longer. Time to get out and work on this:
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