Building a tiny house is one of those odd projects that seems to move slowly yet moves incredibly quick. While the visual results may not seem great, the amount of work is often mind-numbing.
Since the start of January and the initial deck installation, the tiny house has undergone considerable change. The casual passerby sees walls, window cutouts, a roof frame, and more! The builder sees more than one inspection passed, anchor bolts in place and fastened tight, hundreds of cuts both by hand and power saw, galvanized screws sunk into place and holding the house together, an electrical schematic worked out, plumbing parts ordered, plans for alternative energy and possible solar conversion, and, most importantly, lessons being taught and learned and skills growing alongside confidence.
Just yesterday as Channel 7 news showed up at the build site, a group of young men was working together to put the ridge board and ceiling joists in place. By the end of today the roof will be sheathed and almost ready for ONDUVILLA roofing shingles. By next week the windows will have come in and will be set and shimmed into place. It is a sight to behold and one I never get tired of.
I think one of the most enjoyable parts of this project though is getting to know the students. I work hand-in-hand with them, side-by-side. I teach and they learn. They teach and I learn. For a nearly 40-year old guy it is overwhelming to keep up with the phrases and slang terms they use so regularly. According to a few our walls are “lit” and the dual-pitch roofline “slays.” It is a bit funny to be the old guy to so many young ones. Despite our cultural and age differences though, we are making it work, and we are bringing the Tiny Blue Devil to life!
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- Just a box
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- Cutting out the windows
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- Raising the roof into place
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- Adding joists
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- Adding more joists
It looks like a great project. You mention “more than one inspection passed”. What kinds of inspections are these? What code are they following? What will happen to this house when you are finished?
This is a school project so in order to comply with the insurance policy of the program and in order to protect the students we have to undergo the same inspections a foundation house would. We have had our trailer inspected, our subfloor, our tie-downs, and our framing. When the house is finished it will be auctioned off at the 2017 TinyHouseNC Street Festival.
That’s great. I think all tiny houses ought to be inspected as if they were on a foundation. Such inspections allow for DIY building, unlike RVIA certification. A THOW could easily be put on a “foundation” by removing the wheels, if it had those inspection signatures. The biggest challenge is local codes that dictate a minimum size for the house. I understand that progress is being made on that issue.