Project #2!

Redoverfarm · April 25, 2014, 06:49:24 AM

Jason gluing the subfloor can present some problems. I guess a person should carry a putty knife around and smooth it down before laying the sheeting on top. But with all I have laid I generally use screws to install and it seems to draw it down a little better.

Skylights would probably work great. But I would caution that they are better suited for a shingled roof rather than metal. I installed Pella in my family room and hot tub room. You might recalled seeing them. They were curbed and included the flashing. Never had a bit of problem and they have been there since 2004. I checked on some for my sister @ Lowes and they had curbed skylights w/ flashing that were very reasonably priced. If I recall they were under $200.

If you have power you might consider what I just purchased for the apartment. Not only do they heat but also are air conditioners as well. I would imagine you would probably get more use out of the air conditioner than the heat in that small structure especially in the loft area. If you are interested let me know and I can give you the site that I bought from. Free shipping and a multitude of choices. You probably wouldn't need but a small 9,000 BTU which would suit your size. Suppose to be very efficent and quiet.

pocono_couple · April 25, 2014, 07:52:31 AM

thanks rich, you are totally correct about the limited availability and the space considerations of a wood stove..
this is one that I love, but there is no question that the expense is considerable.. and there is no way that it would burn through the night!
http://www.marinestove.com/codinfo.htm

we have also considered a gas stove
http://regency-fire.com/Products/Hampton-Wood-Gas/Cast-Iron-Stoves,-Fireplaces---Inserts/H15.aspx

this is probably just as expensive.. when you factor in the expense of installing the wood stove..

what is your heating plan?

April 25, 2014, 07:56:05 AM

Hi john, thanks for the tip on the sky lights.. i may get to check them out today.. it would be helpful to look at the heating cooling unit that you are installing.. i think you are correct that the 9000 btu unit would be just about right..

good tip with the putty knife!

rich2Vermont · April 28, 2014, 09:44:26 AM

Both those stoves are gorgeous, and were part of our search. Cost and space trumped pretty, in our case. I thought I had posted something on what we did for heat, but I can't find a record of it. We ended up with a direct vent propane heater. In retrospect, we should have bought a higher BTU model, but instead have an 8000 BTU HouseWarmer from Northern Tool, a model not sold anymore. At the time it was on sale for $400. We had the local propane company bring a 100 gallon tank, and hook it up. That worked okay, but took a long time to get the whole cabin warm. This winter we supplemented that with an 18000 BTU Mr. Heater that uses propane canisters. We didn't need it every time, or for longer than a couple of hours.

pocono_couple · April 28, 2014, 04:06:23 PM

Rich, i seem to be following the same path that you forged! I spent some time last night looking at direct vent propane heaters.. rinnai gets very good reviews.. it is good to hear your assessment of the size of heater.. we may go for the 11-12k btu model.. in the end, i think that keeping our power to a 30 amp feed from my brother in laws house and using gas for heat and for the stove is the way to go.. although i don't give up on the wood stove idea easily!

so.. here is the next update.. this past weekend was interrupted a bit by stage crew duties at school. it was tough sitting in the booth for the bulk of a beautiful saturday, but gotta pay for the bills somehow! We picked up three loads of materials from Lowe's.. and I finished the sheathing and got the staging in place for the roof.. after all was said and done, and I was driving home last evening, it dawned on me that I really should be putting the loft in next.. that sure would make working on the rafters a lot easier! - too bad i did not think about that before.. so, I might have to work on that next.. and that may mean adjusting some of the brackets that I put up, but it will be worth it..
This is what things look like now...

stage crew was not the only distraction this weekend.. my brother in law has figured out that it might be nice to have an extra hand around the orchard

On Sunday afternoon we tackled a bunch of small jobs around the farm.. and the high light was that I got to drive , not one, but two of the tractors

ok, so I am 54 and I get a kick out of driving the tractors.. that is ok, isn't it? To tell you the truth, a train line runs by the farm, and when I hear the locomotives coming up the track, I have to resist the urge to run down and wave at the engineer and watch the train go by

So, this is one of the tractors..

and here is the other.. it is vintage, but not the oldest in the barn

I have a lot to learn about driving tractors! but I did get to turn over my father in law's garden with a shovel implement.. that went well till the PTO became disengaged.. but we managed to deal with that and finish the job..

This week is filled with tech rehearsals for our play, so there wont' be any work on the house till Saturday.. let's hope for nice weather!

April 28, 2014, 04:59:44 PM

Jason here is the site of the Mini-split systems.

http://www.younits.com/ductless-mini-split.html?filter_application=461&filter_heating_capacity=468

And here is one they have listed. There are several brands but I think Mitsubishi would be a better choice. I went ahead and looked at their 9,000 unit. Here it is. I think it only draws 12 amps so it does not require a lot of power to operate.

http://www.younits.com/msz-ge09na-muz-ge09na-mr-slim-wall-heat-pump-21-seer-9-000-btu-3-4-ton.html

You would also have to have the line sets(refrigerant lines and communication wire) They have an install kit that includes all of that which is here. A lot of the retrofit to older construction utilizes a outside conduit or trough to run your wires & pipes from unit to unit but if you are considering this type of system you can run it within the stud walls to keep it hidden.

http://www.younits.com/15ins1438-15-installation-kit-for-ductless-mini-split-systems-1-4-x-3-8.html

I know your primary concern is for heat but I would imagine that you would also benefit from Air Condition if the summers are like they are here for 2-3 months a year. With a small structure it is hard to get large enough windows to ventilate it properly to cool it off. The loft is going to be your biggest obsticle in that respect.

pocono_couple · April 28, 2014, 07:14:04 PM

thanks for the info, john.. you are correct about the heat in the summer.. there are always a few nights that can be rough.. we have found that a ceiling fan does the trick here at our home, but i am not sure about how one of those will fit into the tiny house.. i think we need to get the roof on so that we have a good sense of the space that we have.. and then we will make a decision at that point.. I hope that spring has truly arrived in your neck of the woods.. it has been teasing us here in north east pa.. but we are getting close!

pocono_couple · May 04, 2014, 05:57:42 PM

No time for driving tractors this weekend! I was determined to remain focused on the construction project, and things turned out pretty well. Of course, I did not accomplish everything on the list, but I made steady progress. The first item on the agenda was the loft.. With the finish ceiling on the joists for the loft, we should have about 82 inches of headroom.. that should be fine for us, and we don't have any real tall friends.. so it should be good all around.

Having the loft floor in place was a real help when it came time to tackle the rafters.. Under the category of things I would have done differently.. I went with a full 16 foot 2 x 12 ridge board.. that was pretty heavy.. it was heavy just loading it on the trailer.. it was really heavy trying to manipulate it by myself at the roof level! But a little planning went a long way, and eventually, I got it in place.. it sure is fun to put rafters in after the first few are in place! Next time..I will piece together the ridge

By the end of the afternoon on Saturday, I had almost half of the rafters up.. had to quit early so that I could get to school for a theater production.. got home after midnight and into bed close to 1 am.. so it was not a particularly bright or early morning today! in fact, there was a threat of showers a good part of the day.. we had some sprinkles, but not enough to make me seriously consider putting the tools away..

I started off the morning by cutting the remaining rafters.. and then got them all in place.. spent some time thinking about the best plan for the gable overhangs.. the plan only calls for 8 in. of overhang, so I decided to build then separately and attach them to the house.. Then on to the plywood.. the half sheets are no problem.. the full sheets proved to be a bit difficult to handle because there were gusts of wind... I kind of had to time it right when I was ready to drag a full sheet up!

There are a few gaps, but things fell in place pretty well, for the most part.. the plywood is on except for a very narrow strip that I will need at the top.. leaving some space for venting.. plywood does not always behave when cut in thin strips, so I was thinking about just planing down a few boards to 5/8ths. and using them instead.

So here is where I left things today..

I checked out sky lights.. we wanted one that is operable.. and by the time I bought the extra flashing kit, etc.. it was approaching $600, so I bypassed that idea.. Because of the particularly steep pitch of the roof, I am wondering if I can't just fit one of the windows that I have in the rest of the house in the gable ends.. that would give us plenty of light and an alternate escape plan in the event that we were in the loft and needed one! I would put one in each end , hoping that if they were both open, we might get a nice breeze up there.. Because they are stock size, the cost just $127 a piece.. and they are reasonably good windows.. so I might go that route.

Hopefully, next weekend I will be able to add the overhangs and put shingles on the roof.. things are looking pretty good!

Don_P · May 04, 2014, 09:51:42 PM

That JD5400 is a nice machine...I got a serious case of tractor envy using one of those

For the top strip on the roof, I usually do what you're suggesting, a solid board rather than a narrow plywood strip. With most dimensional shingles you don't even need to plane down a 1x, the 1/8" difference between 5/8" sheathing and a 3/4" board is unnoticeable up near the ridge where other stuff is going on.

May 05, 2014, 05:07:25 AM

thanks for the tip, Don... I am looking forward to getting the roof finished and the house dried in.. then there will be more time for driving tractors and other farm activities!

archimedes · May 05, 2014, 08:18:43 PM

Interesting project. Looking good.

pocono_couple · May 06, 2014, 03:56:30 AM

thanks, archimedes.. it has been a lot of fun so far. This has been a great time for building.. not too hot - no bugs ( although we are anticipating the bloom of the apple blossoms in a week or two, so there should be plenty of bees pretty soon! and, lots of anticipation about how fun it should be to have a tiny place of our own at the orchard..

pocono_couple · May 12, 2014, 05:04:51 AM

It was an exhausting but satisfying weekend! I thought that I could devote the entire two days to the house, but then realized that I had a tech rehearsal for our upcoming dance production at school. That took a six hour bite out of the middle of Saturday, so I did not even get to the orchard till about 5 in the afternoon. But, that left 3 hours of day light - so I tackled the overhang on the back side of the house.

Sunday morning everything was damp, but the sun was rising behind the mountain, and the promise of a beautiful day was reassuring. We started with a walk. It just happens to be around full bloom for many of the varieties

I had this crazy fantasy that we might be dried in by now and that we would have the opportunity to camp out in the house during the bloom.. guess that will have to wait till next year!

Got to work around 9 am and did not stop till 4:30... by then, it was all I could do to muster the energy to put my tools away! It is pretty challenging to work on a 12 over 9 pitch roof.. the one bright side is that you don't have to stoop over quite as far! I still had a lot of preliminary work to do before breaking out the shingles.. some trim work and then the lower drip edge.. then the ice and water shield ( no fun doing that by myself), tar paper on the upper parts of the roof.. then drip edge along the rake.. and then the shingles! lots of up and down on the ladder!

But I made it up one side and took a few photos from the ridge...

I put the straps over the ridge in place.. and I still have to fill in part of that gap - that can wait for next time.. at this point, it dawned on me that I really did not have the inclination to get started with shingles on the second side, but I forged ahead and got it prepped.. ice and water shield along the eaves.. and tar paper and drip edge in place so that the next time I get down I can start shingling right away..

I was hoping to get a lot further than this

but I am actually quite content with the progress that I made, given the time that I had. Thank goodness for advil

pocono_couple · May 18, 2014, 06:38:17 PM

Well, another weekend has past, and once again, I did not quite finish everything that I had planned.. but that is par for the course! The real milestone for this weekend is that the roof is finished.. no more carrying bundles of shingles up the ladder

I won't be missing that for a while ! So now I can focus on other things that will make the project begin to look like a house..

I was hoping to get the door and all six windows in, but I spent most of the morning dealing with little issues with the ridge of the roof and then we had a rain shower this afternoon which slowed me down..

So, this is where things stand at this point.

When I stopped in at my inl-laws to make a final cup of tea for the afternoon, I told my father-in-law that I had put in three windows. He asked if they were the kind of windows that open.. and i said "yes, just like a real house"! I am not sure that he has totally caught on to the idea yet

One more week of classes, and then final exams next Monday.. after that, I will have significantly more time to devote to the project.. and that is good because on the ninth of June we leave for Maine for a week long community service trip with students, and when we return, my wife will begin work at the orchard. It sure would be nice to have the house in good enough shape to at least camp down there a few nights each week. We need to finalize our decision for the exterior. The plan calls for vertical board and batten, but I am leaning towards a horizontal siding... maybe what they call around here, novelty siding.. Regardless of the actual material, we have the paint scheme set.. the same yellow that my wife picked out for a shed project that we did at school two years ago, with white trim. It should look sharp.

This is looking like a busy week at school, so I doubt that I will have an opportunity to do any work during the week.. I guess that I will just have to rest up and be ready to go next Saturday!

May 25, 2014, 06:36:20 PM

I hope that everyone is enjoying a meaningful Memorial Day Weekend! I had the opportunity to spend Friday - Sunday at the orchard. Friday evening I finished the second gable end - tar paper and two windows... After a short bike ride and eggs for breakfast at my mother-in-law's on Saturday, I tackled the last side of the house.. tar paper and one window.. and then got the door in and the little portico hung.. not sure about the final placement - it is a bit high right now with the thought that we will fit an exterior light beneath it which needs to clear the screen door which will be a necessity. The second option is to place the light to one side or the other and lower the portico.. that will be my wife's decision - but feel free to chime in

So now we are dried in !! and, I framed in the two closet areas.. I also used Friday to do some shopping! I stopped at two local lumberyards.. the first one I have used quite a lot for our Bear Creek house, but they did not have the type of siding that I am looking for.. I have seen it referred to as Novelty Siding.. it is tongue and groove with a bit of a scallop at the top instead of a V groove. The second guy is much closer to the tiny house, and I have bought a few things from him.. and I have been very satisfied.. he is a young guy, and he works hard - I respect his work ethic. And, he has the cutters to make the boards I want

So I ordered both the siding and regular V groove for the interior. The bill comes to just under 2k. I asked him if he wanted a down payment, and he said, no and that I can pick up the interior wood next week! wow.. nice to work with folks like that

So, I am planning the electrical layout.. getting ready to pick up the insulation.. and really getting excited to finish off the inside.. I told my wife to wait till I got things cleaned up before coming out to check our the recent progress.. she was thrilled.. when she saw the loft, she suggested that we make a spot for the porti potti up there.. the loft is 9 feet long.. and there should be plenty of space , so that is a great idea.. no negotiating a ladder in the middle of the night

She is 5' 2" , and she is thrilled that she has standing headroom in the loft.. the benefits of being short!

Today I turned my attention to other things - lent a hand round the orchard.. did some garden work, cleaned and organized my brother-in-law's garage where I am storing my tools and materials, did some chores for my father-in-law.. and mowed grass.. first time on the x mart mower.. the job was to mow between trees.. without hitting any of them !! things went relatively well.. I scared up a bunch of baby bunnies.. ended up hitting one guy wire.. bummer. that is going to need to be replaced...

We did finalize some planning for the house.. we will run a sub panel from my brother in law's house.. maybe 30 or 50 amp. depends on how expensive the wire will be for a run of about 120 feet. And we will install a vented gas heater along with a small ( 20 inch) gas stove .. time to order those and to run the gas pipes.. Looking forward to lots of time to work this coming week.. final exams tomorrow ( yes, on the holiday ) but then free most of the rest of the week!!

pocono_couple · May 31, 2014, 07:29:28 PM

Well, I was so focused on working the last day and a half, I forgot to take any pictures! But, an update is in order just the same.. We spent our first night in the tiny house!! sleeping bags and mats sufficed, and it was kind of special to wake up in our loft

My goal this weekend was to get the electrical work finished, and I am almost there. I still have to drive two ground rods into the ground and hook them up.. because we are running a sub panel, we need a separate ground, and the ground bar in the panel needs to be separate from the neutral bar.. I have two of the circuits hooked up to the breakers and three more to go.. the wiring is all run
1 circuit for the "living room" 20 amp
1 circuit for the loft 20 amp
1 circuit for the sink side of the "kitchen" including the small refrigerator 20 amp
1 circuit for the stove side of the "kitchen" includes the power needs of a gas stove 20 amp
1 circuit for the lights.. 15 amp

it looks like everything should work.. but time will tell. of course, I have no power to the box yet.. we need to dig a trench and run wires 120 feet. I am going to need some heavy duty wires for that run!

I also took time to make sure that I have nailing surfaces for all of the interior wood paneling.. added some extra depth to the rafters so that they will take the full 7 inches of insulation that I plan on putting in the roof. installed the pro vent panels for venting purposes.. I went to Lowes to see if they had the old time metal sofit vents.. and they did not.. i guess it is a specialty order thing these days.. at least in our area where everyone uses vinyl.

And, perhaps the biggest moment of the weekend.. my father in law stopped by for an inspection.. he was pretty impressed .. so, even at 54 yo, it is still kind of nice to make a good impression on one's father in law

a couple of loose ends to manage and then it is time for insulation.. and then i can begin installing the interior paneling, then things will really start to get exciting!

pocono_couple · July 31, 2014, 08:50:59 AM

time for an update!

Electric service is a 30 amp sub-panel run from my brother-in-law's house. That required a trench that was about 120 feet. Fortunately for me, the digging was relatively easy. I took the advice of the folks at the electrical supply house ( much cheaper than Lowe's, by the way - and more reliable advice as well) and installed the conduit and then used the vacuum method of drawing a string through the length of the conduit. I tied a plastic bag to the string and got on the other end with the vacuum.. after the 4th failed attempt, I started to worry just a bit.. I sure did not want to dig that conduit up again! ( probably should not have covered it till I was set, but I wanted to get the sod back in place as quickly as possible, hoping to leave the yard looking relatively undisturbed) .. But the string made it the entire way the 5th time. and we pulled the cable. The folks at the supply house and I agreed that we really only needed one hot wire since we were only drawing 30 amps and had no 220 type devices in the tiny house.. I had everything connected up and was excited to test out the circuits in the house... pretty disappointed to find the the odd numbered circuits did not work -- instant panic, thinking that surely I messed something up behind the now finished walls.. It took a little testing to get to the bottom of the problem.. of course.. with only one hot wire, only half of the breaker positions were going to be activated

so a little re-configuring in the panel and we had power everywhere...

So here are a few pics of the interior.. I just primed some of the siding and will begin installing it later today.. I have to keep focused.. school is just around the corner, and I really want this project to be finished by then!

this is a pic, looking in the front door.. Sunny, our cat, was not terribly excited about the tiny house at first, but he seems to be settling in..

it took Sunny a few days to master the ladder ( he does not have front claws) but he likes the loft now!

the folks from the gas company came yesterday and installed the tank and connected lines to our stove and to the heater.. we still need to convert the stove to propane use.. they seemed to be running out of time yesterday afternoon.

the other side of the "kitchen"

we decided against installing a sink, opting for using basins instead so that we retained full use of the counter space..

for those with keen eyes, you will note that the plums and peaches are in at the orchard... peach short cake is on the menu for tonight

so , that is a quick tour of our tiny house so far.. we are enjoying the space, and my wife is spending a whole lot of time working here at the orchard and at the farmer's market 3 days a week.. it certainly is convenient to be close by.. now it is time to get back to work!

Redoverfarm · July 31, 2014, 09:48:45 AM

Looks like a comfy little space. Glad things are coming together for you. The little set backs I like to think of a "job security".

pocono_couple · July 31, 2014, 10:57:25 AM

good to hear from you, john... thanks! I hope that your summer is going well... after I posted about folks with keen eyes.. i took another look myself.. that is a tomato and a nectarine! well.. they are in too

pocono_couple · August 02, 2014, 06:01:54 PM

The folks from the gas company hooked up our stove and heater, but I still need to convert the stove to LP, so we have not used it yet. A former student stopped by this week to lend a hand.. it was nice to have company, and we made good progress.. the front and one side are now ready for paint. I used oil primer on the ext. boards - I was advised that this would keep the knots from bleeding through - but I am not so sure

I still need to prime some of the trim, and then I will be ready to apply the finish colors. white for the trim and a light yellow for the siding.. I can't wait!

scattered showers were forecast for today and tomorrow... maybe some neighboring towns got some rain, but we didn't.. maybe a little later.. the farming relatives sure would enjoy a good steady rain - it has been kind of dry, but the peaches are in and they taste wonderful!

if you are looking for a destination for a road trip and would enjoy some peaches.. stop by, and I will give you a tour of the tiny house!

August 05, 2014, 08:47:46 AM

The clock is ticking down.. only a week and a half left before I have to return to prepare for the opening of school... so, I am pretty motivated! I got a lot of painting done yesterday.. this morning I will fill some nail holes, do the final caulking... and prepare for a second coat.. then I will put the first coat of white on the trim.. I am hoping that the primer is going to keep the knots from bleeding through, but that is asking a lot!

also have to trim the corner boards, but I will wait till the siding is complete all around...

pocono_couple · August 18, 2014, 08:43:08 AM

the tiny house is really becoming a home now.. baked my first batch of cookies in the new stove! Oatmeal/craison/ white chip cookies.. for those who might be curious

We built the house thinking that we might stay at the orchard 2 nights a week.. but the reality is that we have been there practically all summer.. and it looks like it might be a close to permanent thing the next few months which happen to be the busiest of the year for folks who grow apples, peaches, pears, and plums... this past weekend was rather busy with the Peach Festival run by the local church.. if anyone happens to be near north east PA - put the weekend of October 18-19 on your calendar.. that is the weekend of the apple festival which happens to be the major event of the year in sleep Wapwallopen..

new land owner · August 18, 2014, 08:59:07 PM

Looks great, nice project.

pocono_couple · August 19, 2014, 02:35:36 PM

thanks, i see that you are a fan of the real wood interior too! looks like a great place to relax..