A Tiny Shed, for a Tiny House

 Welcome all who have seen this sign!

 We have been getting a lot of questions from passersby, neighbors, and strangers. Notes have been left in the screen door, we've been stopped while we're doing yard work, and a couple people have knocked on our door. I decided to post a sign with the web address for the blog and an e-mail address for anyone with questions. Feel free to e-mail Jacob or I at tinygypsyshack@gmail.com  

 Finally the last of the siding is up! Jacob and Marie worked very well as a team cutting, and nailing in the last of the siding. Next I'm going to spend a weekend painting the primed siding boards yellow and the fascia will be painted the pale blue color of the window trim. We are going to finish the corners where the siding meets with some vintage style corner molding that we found at Limback Lumbar Co. in Ballard. They also have the molding that we are going to special order for our interior window and interior door trim.  

Jacob used plywood scraps and new pressure treated 2 X 4 to build this little shed on the hitch of our trailer. We're going to put our tank-less water heater, propane tanks, and 220 volt electrical breaker box to meet up with the two 110 volt connections for on grid hook up in this trapezoid shed.  Doors to be added later with hinges and locks.

Tiny Shack Under New Management

 The siding is up!

 This last month Marie decided to search for new employment and is now zeroing in on being the gypsy shack's project manager. Thanks to her superior skills and experience the house is really kicking into high gear. Not to mention Jacob is totally worn out but very proud at the end of the day.

 The hitch end of Gypsy is the only wall that hasn't been sided. Jacob, Charlie, and Marie are hashing out a plan to put a small shed on the hitch to house our propane tank, tank-less water heater, our grid electrical hook-up, and our water hook-up. There was a slight upset when Jacob realized he had glued and screwed a 2x4 over our VIN (vehicle identification number) sticker. Without this sticker we are unable to get this trailer licensed or insured. Luckily Eagle Trailer company, with the help from Tina at Tumbleweed, was very understanding and are mailing us a new sticker that we can place in a convenient, visible location.

 Marie painted trim boards and Jacob got them all nailed into place. Our loft windows are so tall the window trim underneath the window had to be cut into triangles to fit between the peaks of the roof. After spending a day making a template and then cutting with the jig saw around the wheel wells, Marie and Jacob worked really efficiently as a team getting the siding cut and put up, Marie made cuts on the chop saw while Jacob got the boards nailed into place.

 While Jacob was working on things outside Marie was also cutting and puzzling the foam board insulation into the walls. We have our first layer of insulation completely done! We're using spray foam insulation to fill the small cracks.

The front wall of Gypsy is made up of 6x6 beams to help support everything. Because of this we decided to use fiberglass bat insulation because it will fill that space easier. I also made the request of having a porch light and an outlet on the narrowest side of the door so the fiberglass insulation will work around all the electrical work and fit in snug.

Electric, Plumbing, and Insulation OH MY!

  Charlie and Jacob spent this last week working on the electrical and plumbing for the tiny house. The biggest hurtle was translating my imagined requirements into reality. I've been spending time going over all the possibilities for outlet positions. I've decided that I want all my outlets at waist height because I plan on getting a rabbit later and I don't want the cords to be tempting. They also had to convert my understanding of construction into reality. Apparently a "Sim square" is not an actual construction term. All of my building experience has been playing the EA game The Sims. I told Charlie I wanted my sink in one Sim square under the window and my propane stove top in the square next to it. 

 The counter should be three Sim squares. Jacob understood that in reality each Sim square is converted to two feet by two feet. It's good I had a translator because Charlie looked at me like I was speaking Tralfamadorian.

Next step was establishing what appliances I will be wanting and where they should be going.

  I'm really wanting a washer/dryer set up but I've decided not to worry about that immediately. For now Charlie and Jacob will wire and plumb for a potential washer/dryer but the actual machine can be added in later or potentially never.

I decided where all the lights should be and where corresponding switches would go.

 I'm really impressed with how well Charlie and Jacob executed my bizarre requests.

For insulation we had originally planned on having a professional come do blow in insulation. After looking more into it and talking with some people from Dunn Lumber and at Home Depot we decided it would be more cost effective and about the same R value to just use foam board like we did in our floor. Jacob has been working on cutting that and getting it all installed.

 The porch light and main room light I found at Ballard Reuse and the bed loft light, kitchen light, and bathroom light I found at Second Use.

Tiny House Big Update!

I have been neglecting my photo duties... The holidays were very preoccupying, one thing we did was decorate our tiny house with white LED lights! Jacob and Charlie got the dutch door all snug in the house and all the windows have been installed and sealed. The following blog is just a mass photo upload to catch everyone up visually on all that has been done. In March Charlie is taking time off work to help Jacob power through the next step of construction. More updates to come!