The 3rd Installment to Our Tiny House Project

Well, this 'weekend' (my husbands days off) was a busy one. We got the frames up for the closet after church on Sunday. Rather simple process. But it still took a while.

Found out that the truss frame pieces we had cut were not right and had to test adjustments. So only one was completed that day. But my husband also made a makeshift sawhorse to help on this project. Engineering at its best!

I cut the little branches that would get in the way when we start adding the roof. Here's a hint - make sure you know if there are going to be branches or trees in the way BEFORE you start putting this together. We made the last minute change to make it taller, but forgot about the tree branches that hang too low over it.

I admit to getting frustrated by this point. After all, my sons and I are just sidekicks. We can walk boards to where they need to be. We can bring more nails when dad is getting low. Or hold a board steady when he cuts it. But we can't really assist further than that. So when something doesn't line up, and that is normal, I get to feeling pretty useless. Don't get me wrong, my husband is doing all he can to get it right the first time. But we are human. And as such, mistakes are inevitable. 

Monday was another busy day. I had a hospital visit to make that cut into our work time. We also had to make a trip to the hardware store to get roofing materials. But we did our best and managed to finish all the truss pieces, as well as chopped down the branches that would be in the way.

Tuesday had another break in our schedule. I had a party to host. Which was good for our kids. They had friends to come hang out and play for a while. And I got to host a great get together for some homeschool friends. We only managed to get half the truss pieces installed before we had to end the work day. This was also because we ran out of the L brackets to hold them up.

Things we learned

I mentioned knowing what trees or branches might be in the way.  We had originally planned the shed to be shorter, which meant that no cutting would be needed. However, my husband started asking about storage. Storage would be great! As we started planning the roof though, we realized that adding in storage might not work so well. So that is still in the air. However, the shed is already tall, so branches had to go.

Measure, measure and finally, measure again. We are working on a plan that resides inside my husbands head. Each measurement is taken multiple times. Otherwise we find we are slightly off from time to time. Thankfully, it has not required additional purchases for more wood. 

Be prepared to have to go to the hardware store multiple times. Not only because someone enjoys just breathing in the scent of home improvement, but because miscounting means more screws and brackets might be necessary. My husband wants to make absolutely sure that this thing can withstand anything. Understandable! But that means we sometimes run out of certain brackets or plates to hold things in place after he uses more on them than he had thought he would.

Next up...

So what is next? Depending on the weather and time, we may continue putting up the truss pieces during my husbands work week, in the evenings. We are supposed to get rain sometime this week, which wouldn't be good for this untreated wood. 

This process isn't as fast as we might like though. 2 of us stand on ladders, while the other 2 lift the piece up to those on ladders. Ladder people then lift up to the end of the wall frames and hold in place. Dad jumps on his ladder to glue and screw the piece to the wall frame on each side, while 2 people hold it taut with ropes and the 3rd person holds the boards themselves. Talk about an arm workout... 

Then we have to add the roofing layers. We have the sheathing plywood, followed by that black paper-like roll (yep, not even caring to look up what that is called), then comes the shingles and a vent. 

Lastly, the exterior needs the outer siding, installment of 2 windows and a door. I can't wait to get that finished. My husband and I both agreed. We never want to build one of these again. And no, I refuse to allow him to build the second story of our house. IF we ever do, we will be hiring someone!