Another Week of Building in the Tiny House: Roof Progress

Well, having to really step it up on getting things done. So what happened this week? 

Tuesday we installed the door. Normally, that is easy. But we were having a Monday 2.0 that day.

So things were not going smoothly. We also measured and cut the support pieces needed to hold up against my husband climbing the roof to add the shingles later. 

We had found that when we installed the roofing sheets, my husband couldn't support his weight on those. He had to carefully find the beams from the truss pieces to navigate the roof. Well, with adding shingles soon, we don't want to risk him falling through. So we cut those pieces to install and reinforce the roof.

Kinda looks like a messy puzzle up there. But it will be strong! And ultimately, that is all that matters.

Wednesday was when we installed all but 6 of the support boards.

Thursday we finished installing the support pieces. It was good knowing that he wouldn't come crashing down. We started the roofing process. Managed to get as many rows as we could reach without climbing on the roof.

Saturday is when the real work started. When he came home from work, we were all dressed and ready to get to it. Starting the shingle process was scary for us all. First, because it was so high up. Second because the angle of the roof is too steep. Definitely should not have made it so tall. It was an all day affair with just one break for a quick lunch. We finished the one side.

Sunday after church was another day of building. We had to make a stop at Home Depot for more nails. Then when we were nearly finished with the other side of the roof, had to stop again for my husband to go get more. Note to others - just get the bigger box. So what if you have leftover nails? At least you can finish the job uninterrupted. 

After resuming, we soon realized we were out of shingles too. So we raided the other shed and started using leftover shingles that the previous owner had left.  Sadly, even those were not enough. We were about 2-3 shingles shy! We also didn't have enough of the ridge caps pieces.

Not the most comfortable job, but we did get to the halfway point before needing to stop.

What did we learn this week? 

Hmm, strengthen everything! Add more supports, don't be shy. 

If you think you need 8 packs, get 9. Miscounting or misjudging is a pain in the rear. Literally. Just look at that picture above! It also means more stops at the store and less time to build.

The steeper the incline, the more pain you will have in your back, legs, ankles and feet. My husbands ankles swelled this weekend. And I was painfully losing feeling in my hands and feet. 

That is all for this update! We have plans for this week. Each day when my husband gets home from work, we have to do a another task. Until his paycheck, we will be working on completing the siding. Once we have the final supplies, we will be right back on the roof finishing the last bit. Then we can call the outside officially finished! I can't wait for that time.  Our family has been suffering the effects from the stress of finishing this project by the end of this month. Just another week and a half to get this thing livable!

The Tiny House is Getting a Roof

This weekend, we had a lot less time to work. Mid-week last week my husband learned that his work schedule would change. Again. From Tuesday to Saturday he was switching back in a Monday to Friday frame. Which meant we got in a couple hours Saturday evening, and did what we could on Sunday after church. Wasn't as much as we had hoped. But the roof is at least in progress! 

            My sons and I added plastic to the remaining walls. 

Our first task when my husband came home was to add the plywood at the back of the tiny house. This was to finally close it off. My husband also added the plastic to that. Which was great. Winds have been kicking up and blowing dust into everywhere. 

Putting on the roof boards was a nightmare. First off, we had the angle way too steep.

3/4 of us builders have some level of acrophobia. If you don't know what that means - it is a fear of heights. My sons and I had to be on ladders while my husband balanced precariously on top of the truss pieces.

It was a long and slow process, but it is finally finished! My husband and I hope to never have to redo this roof. We hope to hire someone next time. For now, we are grateful that no one fell (though we had close calls), no one crushed or sliced fingers and all the pieces fit into their proper places. 

In the end, we managed to complete 4 rows of shingles. Which meant an entire pack of the shingles we bought. 

What we learned - don't laugh! 

Okay... we are completely doing this from what we have researched and what I remember from helping my dad with building projects. But doing shingles on the roof - I never really had to do. So after getting to the last piece of shingle we were placing on this round, my husband realized that there was a plastic strip on the back of the shingle that was coming off. He started peeling it and came to find that it covers a sticky strip to help hold the shingle in place as you tack it down! We felt like fools. Could have been working so much smarter, but we naively worked harder this time. NEXT time, we will peel that strip as we continue to work on the roof. 

Because of the steep angle, we decided the best way to do this would be to work bit by bit. We measured and cut the asphalt paper strip (can't remember what that is called). After attaching it, we can put up 4 rows of shingles before needing to put the next strip in place. Working in this pattern will give my husband the grip he needs to keep balance and not come tumbling off the roof.  

That is all for now. If we work only on days when my husband is off, we have about 5 days left to have a fully livable structure for my in-laws by our deadline. However, we are looking at putting in work hours after my husband finishes a work day. Guess we will see how that goes! 

Until next time! 

It Has Been a Year Already?! Israel

I was trying to clean up my laptop and realized that I had a folder with more Israel photos that I hadn't posted on here. That got me to thinking, it has been a whole year since my husband and I took that trip. We both look back fondly to our time there. It was amazing! Such a rich landscape of history, modern beauty, and friendly people. Even when we went to Palestinian restaurants. There was no animosity! Our guide was a Jew and he had great relationships with people from all walks there. It makes me sad to see the conflicts they have there now. However, I didn't get this post going to talk about what is happening there. I wanted to share some more great photos. My favorites. So enjoy! 

I love this one, because the serene land was speeding by, but we glimpse in stopped motion the divide that is meant to separate Israel from enemy lands. You could say it is No Mans Land there.
 

Jericho is not just a Bible story. It really exists and it really is as the Bible described. A ruin. Not one city that was built on it after its destruction was able to withstand the curse. You can see each level of a new civilization that was built on the previous one. Really was amazing to walk around.

My favorite memories often included walking the trails and just gazing at the beautiful waterfalls. Surrounded by rocks and scraggly brush, a lone waterfall just makes it all so magical.

Seeing military vehicles and personnel is a common sight around Israel. Instead of feeling intimidated though, it made us tourists feel safer. And they were always friendly! I think the only soldiers that weren't, were the Muslim ones on the Mount. They glared and made the kid in our group remove his IDF hat while on the Mount. Seemed childish to me.

Speaking of THE Mount, which has a different name depending on which group of peoples is talking about it, this really cool tunnel leads to it. They were doing some excavation work when we were there. Below the tunnel, to either side, you can see the men's side and women's side of the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall.

When we went, Israel had just opened up again after the pandemic. There was no one else on the Mount that day, besides the soldiers guarding it. It made for a peaceful visit. They didn't even heckle us, besides telling the kid to remove his hat. 

Well, I'll add more later. There are some more photos I found of places that we really enjoyed. I hope you are traveling! Let me know where you are going.

About Halfway Done... Right?? Tiny House Update 4!

Wow... I think I can officially say we are halfway finished. At least I hope I can say that. I'm so ready to be finished with this build! We are getting fried. Really, really fried. And I'm not talking just in getting so much sun. You can see a new tan on most of us. I think the girls are the only ones not really showing a change in color. 

No, we are fried in the sense that we just want to be done with it all. We have sacrificed game time as a family. We have had plenty of nights where sandwiches were all we could manage to make and eat. Just too tired to do more. 

But I digress. Let's look at our progress this 'weekend' shall we??

On Sunday, we finished installing the truss pieces. That was after we had to take care of the newly formed wasp and hornet nests we found. Each with a single bug busy building. 

Once those were cleared, and the truss' in place, we had to decide what to tackle next. We are currently waiting for another ladder to be delivered. We would be able to put the roof on easier with that. We settled for installing siding in the meantime. 

Before putting up the siding, we covered the plywood walls with this plastic sheeting. What you are looking at is a full single piece of plastic. We used this to prevent the dust from getting through cracks.

This siding, called sheathing, was AWFUL to install! Using screws on this flimsy thing had them going completely through. But nails didn't hold it together at all. And we couldn't get the stud finder to work through it and the plywood. So getting them anchored was a pain. We managed to complete one wall (minus the very top), as well as start the other two walls that we had enough plastic for. 

Feral cats rampant around here, using whatever spaces they can for breeding and nursery. We used some fine chicken wire around all the edges to prevent any cats from taking up residence.

Monday, Monday, Monday....

We installed windows! Two sliding windows. Looks fantastic. Always pay attention to the fine print details when buying windows. We made the mistake of thinking the size that the hole needed to be for the window was what size we ordered from the hardware store online. But in reality, we needed about a half inch more all around to make it fit. Since my husband didn't have a jigsaw to cut the hole the right size, he had to use a hammer and chisel to widen the space.

Tuesday wraps it up!

Our final building day was a frustrating one. The wind was near nonstop. No rain has meant that the dirt we call a yard is dusty. Blows into our eyes, noses, ears and yes, even into our mouths. But we managed to at least get one end pieces up in the roof top. And we completed what we could of the siding. Have to get more plastic to wrap the rest of the building before completing that.

Next weekend, we should have the ladder needed to hang the roofing! Once that and the door are added, we can officially declare the outside done. I think of that as being quite the monumental moment for us all. And I'm hoping that will bring back our second wind.

Any lessons for this portion of building? 

Hmm, paying attention to measurements of windows is crucial. Not just by the size in bold on the website. But how much room you will need to fit things around it. 

I'm beginning to consider the possibility of wearing swimming goggles while we work... okay, no. That won't work for someone who is blind without glasses. But seriously, we need some kind of idea for how to keep the dust out of our eyes. I wear my glasses and a ball cap to no avail. 

That is all until next weekend! See you then!