100 Hours of Construction
Last week marks the first 100 hours of construction. So far, everything is progressing nicely and every moment working on the tiny house is fun and a learning experience to say the least. It wasn’t that long ago when the first hour of construction began. Since then, it’s been a steady race to finish the exterior and beat the winter weather of Maine.
The Beginning
As with any idea, there is a beginning. This story begins the moment I decided to build a Tiny House on Wheels. To say there is a lot of planning involved is an understatement. In addition to all this planning, I had no construction skill sets. I never framed, shingled, sheathed, or used power saws before. So, I certainly had lot to learn. Regardless, I wasn’t going to let my inexperience get in the way of building my tiny house.
It’s a good idea to brainstorm and research as much as possible. I highly recommend drawing a few layouts, look at other tiny houses for ideas, and watch YouTube videos of other people and their tiny homes. All of these are excellent tools for planning your ideal tiny home.
Once I had a layout, budget, and appliances picked out, the first big step is to buy a trailer. Sounds simple enough. Well, not really. There are a variety of types and sizes. However, all it takes is a little time and energy to figure out which trailer is the right one. Read this blog for the full story on how I chose my trailer.
Once the trailer was purchased, only four short weeks later it arrived. Now, it felt like this project is real and ready to move forward.
Hour One
That first hour was amazing. The construction was on it’s way and every moment was pure bliss as the floor frame and subfloor are put together board by board.
But the hour quickly turned into several hours of great work. In all, it took 13.5 hours of work between two people to complete the subfloor. Read this blog for the full story.
Main Floor
The main floor framing and sheathing step required more time and planning. The framing and sheathing came together nicely after some trial and error, and the fact I forgot about framing one of the windows.
I’m also very happy with the ZIP System for sheathing. Although it costs slightly more, in my opinion it saves time and requires less materials.
A major challenge was cutting around the fenders. It helps to create a template out of cardboard for that first cut. Then, it’s a matter of placing the zip panel over the fender and make minor cuts and adjustments until it fits perfectly. This process takes some time and patience to get it right.
In all, it took 38 hours work between two people to finish the main floor and sheathing. Read this blog for the full story.
Loft Floor, Storage Loft, and Roof
At this point, the tiny house is taking shape. Next, the focus is the loft floor, storage loft, and roof. The roof presented a challenge as I miscalculated the pitch. Thankfully, this was discovered early while planning the installation of the skylight. Only a quarter of the roof had to be ripped apart and rebuilt.
Other then the roof mishap, everything else went according to plan. In all, it took 38 hours of work between two people to complete the loft floor, storage loft, and roof. Read this blog for the full story.
Starting to look like a Tiny House
Up until now, the tarp had to cover the tiny house in case it rained. But now, it was time to shed that tarp forever by shingling the roof and installing the windows. This task went quickly. I’m guessing because I wanted to stop worrying about the tarp, and in the end, the roof looked spectacular.
In all, shingling the roof took 10 hours between two people to complete. Read this blog for the full story about shingling the roof.
On one morning before work, I took a good look at my tiny house. It’s amazing at how well everything is coming together, and I’m still enjoying every minute of it. It really looks like a tiny house.
100 Hours
After 100 hours, most of the exterior is done just in time as the leaves are starting to change and the temperatures drop. Construction started at the end of July, and its now early October.
The progress and pace are good at the moment. Up until now, the minor setbacks were easy to overcome with a little thought and homework. As construction continues, it’s important to stay one step ahead. At this point, the priorities are to finish the exterior and plan for electricity, propane, and plumbing.
A lot of hard work has gone into the Tiny House on Wheels, and I look forward to the next 100 hours and beyond.
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