Our small house building project update and a tribute to our spunky jobsite cat!

Penny at work on the Beekeeper's Bungalow (Point Roberts, 2012)

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Saying goodbye to our job site cat.

Penny loved to climb ladders, both in our tiny house and on building projects. Watch her climb to her sleeping loft!

It’s been a very long time since an update and it’s time to catch up. August had a lot in store for us, both bitter and sweet, with the sudden loss of our amazing job site cat and all around beloved friend Penny comprising the bitter and the sweet covered by a great reunion with friends from far away and just getting caught up in the wonderful social season that is summer. In the midst of these other happenings, much work was accomplished on the house, too. We had many deliveries of material - windows, doors, siding, roofing, pergola material and insulation.  The metal roofing is also black but can’t really be seen from anywhere as the roof pitch is quite low. We installed the 32 foot lengths in a single day, getting some navigational, lifting and moral support from a great neighbor and friend, Robin Woods. We have yet to install the roofing trim pieces (have to wait to get the siding fully hung), but it is flashed and certainly doing its work shedding the rain that’s begun quite early this year!

Penny doing an inspection in 2012.

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Marvin Integrity Wood-Ultrex Windows & Doors

Once the roof was on, we moved on to the window and door installation. This went smoothly, for the most part, with the windows being a breeze and the doors being a bit more fussy but working out beautifully in the end. We went again with Marvin’s Integrity line and really like the large clear surfaces of glass and the smart looking black exteriors, especially now that the siding is going in and they can show to their advantage. 

Cedar Pergola (in progress)

The pergola material (rough cut 6 x 6 cedar) arrived along with the cedar shiplap siding and we were able to build up the simple structure quite easily, even lifting the 12 foot 6 x 6 material into place with no issues. The harder part was taking the measurements and cutting the posts down (in place) to their proper height, but even this wasn’t too great a challenge. We plan to in-fill between the posts to provide a light shading screen though we probably won't get to finish it until the rains taper off next spring. Until then it'll likely remain a bit messy!

(And, hey...we also starting siding!).

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No. 35 - Shandraw Cottage (320 sq ft, 16' x 20', house with Porch, Kitchenette and Bath)

No. 35 Shandraw Cottage

12' x 20' backyard loft style cottage. 320 square feet, post and pier foundation, porch, kitchenette, and bath.

No. 35 - Shandraw Cottage Floor Plan

12' x 20' (320 square feet) with loft

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little Mod Cottage for the backyard, beach, or retreat!

The Shandraw Cottage is a client-designer collaboration. It is now available as a free downloadable PDF plan. A SketchUp Model is available for this plan.

DETAILS:

• Bedrooms: Loft or main floor.
• Bathrooms: 1
• Floors: 1 + loft
• Conditioned space: 320 sq. ft. + loft space
• Porch: 64 sq. ft.
• Overall dimensions: 16' x 20' with 4' x 16' porch
• Foundation type: Post & Pier
• Heating & Cooling: Optional
• Print size: 24" x 36"
• Immediate PDF download with license to build
• Design criteria: International Residential Code
• A modifiable SketchUp Model is available for this plan.

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Let's get the roof (sort of) put on before the rain gets us wet!

Me with my GIANT daikon radish and a bunch of kale - it already feels like home!

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Monday: Braced Wall Panels

This was an interesting week - we spent Monday preparing for our shear wall and roof framing inspection - it was a day of many nails…it seemed as though there was always one more spot to put in some nails.

A Portal Frame with Hold Downs (PFH) was required for our front wall to resist lateral movement during a seismic event. Overhead is a 20' 4x12 header!

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Tuesday: Our Rainy Shear Wall Inspection Day

We had torrential rains on Tuesday morning and spent the earlier hours sweeping out the rain that had come in through windows and that found its way in through the long screws the hold down the insulation on the roof. Then we had our inspection, which was a pass and very smooth.
 

Our nailing schedule was 3-in on center around the Portal Frame!

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Wednesday: Porch Roof

Wednesday the house had dried out (we have done enough building now that I no longer have a massive panic attack every time our plywood gets rained on…though I do wonder at times if the weather gods go searching through the atmosphere looking for houses without their papering on yet…We raised the beam for the porch into place and got the rafters installed and then put the plywood and roofing felt on it. Balances out the house nicely and it’s going to be nice to have a wide covered stoop to come home to. 

Our porch called for simple framing with a modest slope. It's awaiting some sheathing here.

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Thursday: Installing the Front Wall Soffit

Thursday building the soffit across the front of the house. We’ve planned it to allow the front rooms of the house to catch as much sun as possible, lend an aesthetic, and also act as a chase to house outdoor speakers and lighting.

Our front facing soffit is deep for lighting and audio speakers (music for gardening). We used leftover 2x4 material for the framing. We've have virtually no wood waste on the project.

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Friday: Making the Walls Weather-Resistant with Jumbo-Tex Paper

Then we moved on to papering the house. We have all but the last layer up front on and we’ll do that in the morning, along with nailing up some last plywood that needs to be added around the porch to catch siding properly. As rain is becoming more and more a part of our forecast (weird summer!) we opted to tack on some large sheets of plastic over the roof to keep things dry. Our roofing is on order and arrives on the 17th, the windows will arrive the following week.

We almost finished the papering but ran out of staples!

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Preparing for the next stage: 

• We also spent some time this week ironing out interior details.
• We are ready to place our siding order and sourced the 6 x 6 cedar columns that will make up the pergola across the front of the house.
• We also designed our kitchen and made the purchases of the counters and cabinetry while it was on sale.
• And lastly, we were able to locate where to put our inside electrical panel - had a variance given by the power company that allows for a good placement in the house. So the week went…a combination of small and large things done. Still feeling like a smooth and attainable build...

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No. 34 - Palo Verde House Plan (Free PDF Download)

No. 34 - Palo Verde Free House Plan Download

This house plan calls for structural insulated roof panels (SIPS) and insulated concrete form walls (ICFS), and insulated slab.

An Oasis in the Desert!

The Palo Verde is a client modification of the No. 31 - Fraxinus plan. This is a free downloadable PDF plan. A SketchUp Model is available for this plan.

DETAILS:

• Bedrooms: 2
• Bathrooms: 2
• Floors: 1
• Conditioned space: 735 sq. ft.
• Garage: 672 sq. ft.
• Overall dimensions: 21' x 35' with 24' x 28' attached garage
• Foundation type: Insulated slab with deep footings
• Construction type: SIPS & ICFS
• Heating & Cooling: Ductless Mini Split Heat-Pump
• Print size: 24" x 36"
• Immediate PDF download with license to build
• Design criteria: International Residential Code
• A modifiable SketchUp Model is available for this plan.

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The week in pictures: Porch posts, finalizing our shear walls, and insulating the roof

This wall is ready for Tuesday's shear wall inspection. Ready for plywood! Installing trimmer studs to catch the sheathing. Porch beam up! Local 8x8 western red cedar porch posts are up; tomorrow we build the roof! Installing exterior roof insulation today.

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Ithaca House: Beams, Rafters & Roof Sheathing!

The summer weather is here and we are making great progress on our house!

Last Sunday we built the interior load bearing wall - a stud wall area and two built up posts where a more open entrance area will be. We built the overhead beam in place from 2 x 8 material as the location where our rafters would meet and be attached.

This week we installed our 2 x 12 rafters front and back. They were 18 foot lengths and we overhung them 2 feet in the front for an eave that will eventually be boxed in to house speakers and lighting, and extended for aesthetic by attaching them via pergola to some posts yet to be installed up front.

We also had our roof sheathing (⅝” CDX) delivered along with the foam insulation that we will use for exterior insulation.

The plywood we installed today - it went quite smoothly and just about concludes any heavy lifting required for this job. It’s been a smooth process, quite a joy to work on!  The simplicity of the design is delighting us at every turn!

This week we’ll continue work on the roof. We’ll nail the plywood down, paper it, and then prepare the framing around the outside for the exterior insulation. Then we’ll install all the foam boards. We hope to perhaps install the posts for the side porch and get that underway as well. We’re also placing our metal roofing order this week. Looking forward to having a roof on before summer’s end!

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