Two weeks ago...
I’ve never blogged before but a few people asked me to do this to follow my tiny house building process. It seems like a good idea so here goes…
Although my house is only at the stage of having the trailer insulated it has been a work in progress for months. This is a Cliffsnotes version of the experience since it has seemed somewhat long and time consuming already but certainly a lot of fun!
I have been thinking about a tiny house for several years and in that time they have become quite popular. Since I rarely watch t.v. most people have probably seen a lot more about them than I have. Now and again I look around to see if anyone has come up with the perfect floor plan but it is never "just right". Then circumstances changed and I realized it would be a good idea to get a little more serious about looking into the build process. I thought I would create a design of my own to start building in a few years. I wanted to have something ready to go for when the time was right. After creating a design that I believed to be just fabulous I contacted Perch & Nest to consult on my design and see if it was doable. We made an appointment to discuss it and have my design drawn up.
When I had my appointment at Perch & Nest and saw my first tiny house in person I knew I might want to move my timeline up a bit. It was so exciting! Originally I thought I would save up and do the project in cash, building the whole thing myself. During our meeting it was mentioned that RV financing can be done on tiny homes. Just to see if it was possible I called USAA and asked them about financing. Yes, they could do it. Hmmmm….. I check on insurance, no problem. Hmmmm…. With interest rates possibly going up this year wouldn’t it be better to just lock that loan in now?
Looking at the complexity of building on a trailer I realized that it might be better to go beyond having them draw up the plans, they should build the shell. If I had them just build the shell then I would still need a couple of years to work on the inside. That means if I want a tiny house in two years I should start now. Hmmmm…..
Done! I signed the contract with Perch & Nest then got the loan and here we go! After really looking at plans Jo gave me a few things to think about. I kept trying to rework them and realized I needed 3d software to make it work. I looked at many programs but I really wanted something free since I only planned on doing this real quick floor plan to show to Jo so they could put it in their software and we get this all settled. Ha! After much looking and several false starts I found Sweet Home 3d and it is perfect for what I needed. It is free, easy to use good for basic planning. About 100 hours at the computer and 4 or 5 totally different designs later, I think I have it.
A few key things in my first design were an 9 ft nanawall door transitioning into a 9 ft nanawall window and under the floor storage for 18 ft along with a walk in closet and galley kitchen. I have dropped that down to 9 ft. Panoramic door and an 8 ft Panoramic window, a shorter closet and storage under only 9 feet, the kitchen but it is still a galley kitchen. What I gained with the shorter closet is a walk in loft with very few stairs, so I don’t have to crawl to make my bed or at least as much, stability with the window to door arrangement and less weight by less raised floor. I also gained more area in the living space and my toilet room has its own door, you can shower without blocking the toilet or visa versa. I moved my master bedroom to the loft and made the old master room the guest loft which will now be open to the rest of the living area with a futon couch. From this I gained a bunch of living area and I realized I probably should not design too much around my mythical guests. The point is, not much stayed the same. My amazing initial floor plan has very little in common with my current floor plan. I have spent HOURS moving things around inch by inch to come up with what I have.
Meanwhile, my 36ft trailer was ordered. At first I planned on a slightly larger gooseneck trailer because they are easier to tow. That changed just after my first meeting with Jo when she mentioned they don’t tow their larger trailers because it just gets too complicated with up to 21,000lbs behind you. They call in professionals. Gee, I’ve towed one or two small trailers in my life, what could go wrong? I realized I could ditch the gooseneck, I’d call the professionals in when it needed to move. It’s not like I will be towing it around the USA like an RV. For vacations I’ll get an RV. This is my house. It won’t move often but I definitely want it fairly simple to move it, that is why I am doing it on a trailer. I decided to go with a 36ft. trailer and use the space I would have lost to the gooseneck for storage.
I was also able to attend the NC Tiny House Street festival with my friend Michi and see an array of tiny houses. This gave me great comfort, I had started to question if this was going to be a mistake, maybe too small. When I saw tiny houses of similar size, with the same type roof, I felt much better.
The trailer has been insulated and we should be ready to frame. Unfortunately, now we are having issues with the windows. We thought we had it all set until the window quote for my Panoramic windows came back much higher than anticipated. Actually, I’ve expected this call and tried to save up as much as I could in anticipation of this. However, we are currently looking at various options to bring the windows back down to budget. That would be the best way, then I could use the money saved for a few other goodies I need, like a screen for the Panoramic door.
I am starting to stress about all that needs to be bought and in what order. While I don’t have a timeline I need to meet I also don’t want to do something in the wrong order and have it cost more. If it needs to be done during the framing process then I want to make sure I include it. I have no doubt I will go over budget, that is a given, but I would like to do it smartly (so I get the most for the money) and as little over budget as possible.
Another problem is my desire to start buying the finishing touches, like bedding and dishes, before I even have the windows figured out so it can be framed. =)
5/20/17
The last several weeks have been all about windows and doors. Many many many hours about windows and doors. Nanawall makes a very beautiful product that was an inspiration for my house design.
However, in the end it might not be the best bi-fold door for a tiny house. Panoramic doors makes a bi-fold door and window with the weight supported in the bottom. This will most like be better than a top hung door for a house that will end up being moved around and it does not require any special framing. The doors can also be independently operated and do not have visible hardware. The best part, they are significantly cheaper than the other options because they offer vinyl. So there has to be a downside, right? There would be. It is that they do have a seamless transition like the Nanawall and a few other brands out there. I really wanted that. But I found out that it was not in the cards for me anyway. We need some framing support after the wheels and I have a connection between the window and door that is part of the system that holds the house to the trailer, fairly important stuff. There are a lot of differences between building and building on a trailer. Not as easy as a box on wheels, a lot tougher than foundations, definitely good I didn't try this at home. What I am going to end up with is a 9 ft bi-fold door, a one foot post, then an 8 ft bi-fold window. The means it doesn’t matter that Panoramic doesn’t have the transition system because it isn’t in the cards. However, I do think it will be very nice and open. Especially since there is a 9 ft slider directly across from the 9 ft accordion door. A key difference between them is height. The bi-fold door is 8 ft tall and the slider is only six. But I was able to get internal blinds in the slider which is fabulous.
Panoramic is coming out with a screen system soon as well. I hope it is soon!
We have the window plan. We will order the windows soon. I have a few questions regarding window efficiency that I am going to talk to a window specialist about on Monday, then we will order! The shell will be done in about 4 weeks but the Panoramic door might take up to 6. All said and done, I should have this in hand within 8 weeks. That’s crazy.
In between structural support thoughts and windows I always think about colors. The exterior is the worst. I don’t know what I will do. I spend a great deal of time looking at exteriors. The weight is an issue with everything I do because of the length of the trailer and the doors I don’t have a lot of room to spare with weight. The max is 22,000 lbs. I really won’t be certain until it is on the way to me and hopefully they can stop and weigh it but I should have 10,000 lbs for EVERYTHING that goes inside (floors, walls, appliances, fixtures) and the exterior siding. Of course that would mean my own belongings have to come out unless I give put in weight allowance for that too. And… I also have an 6 x 17 ft deck I want to make in 4.25 ft sections that go in the storage area when transporting. Oh my.
And there are so many details I have not touched on yet.
Here is where we are now....
Here is where we are going over the next 4 weeks....
Tom installed a time lapse construction camera that I sent today and I think we are going to end up with a very cool video of the construction!!!
So, more to come. =)
