Things that have happened

It's been quite a while since I've written about my build progress. This is because I am a horrible blogger.  Not trying to be down on myself, just being honest. Some people keep journals or diaries and have a lot to say every day about their life and thoughts and what's going on in the world, and other people... don't. There's a big difference between thinking, "I should keep some sort of record documenting this project, maybe a blog", and actually making the time to maintain a blog.  So, no apologies, but, as a pledge to myself, I will try to be more diligent in my blogging. In the same vein as during my semi-annual cleaning of my desk, I tell myself I'll keep it neater from now on.

So, to the task at hand, what have I actually done to my tiny house? Well, since my last post on the subfloor, a lot! It is completely enclosed and weather tight.  I have the walls up, sheathing, a roof.  Windows and a door. I don't have the permanent, attractive siding, or the finish roof. Right now the roof is covered completely by an ice and water shield, which works great.  I haven't actually done anything to my tiny house in months, though, and am not sure when I'll get back to it. Another more pressing project came up.

I think I've mentioned that I live with my de facto in-laws, my de facto wife and our daughter in my in-laws' house. The front entrance to the house --an old house, about a hundred years-- was built without a proper foundation.  No footings, just bricks and a few courses of concrete block under the walls. My guess is that it was originally a porch that had been enclosed, but who knows for sure.  This front entrance, about 4' by 12.5' had the front door to the house, a tiny closet and the tiniest, worst bathroom I've ever seen (when I sat on the toilet my knees touched the wall.) Over time, the front entrance had sagged quite a bit, which caused problems with the plumbing.  The toilet had been "fixed" many times over the years, but fixed only meant not leaking.  The bathroom was still horrible. Well, long story short, it started leaking again.  My FIL called a plumber (didn't ask me), who told him that the floor seemed bouncy near the toilet, which probably caused the ring seal to break, which probably meant that the subfloor was rotten under the tiles. The plumber removed the toilet, then my FIL started to chip away at the tiles around the toilet flange.  The removal of tile revealed rotten plywood, which necessitated the removal of more tile and plywood, which revealed rotten floor joists, and that the minimal foundation that did exist was crumbling.

The FIL got a couple quotes on various options --lifting the existing front entrance and having a foundation built under it ($12,000), or tearing the whole thing down and building a new, larger entrance and bathroom ($34,000). Considering the whole house is only worth about 120, neither of these options were acceptable.  After some coaxing I convinced him we could do it ourselves for much cheaper.

So, thus began a larger side project.  I'd take a break from building my tiny house to rebuild the front entrance of the main house.  And that's what I've been doing since roughly September. Tore down the old entrance. Dug out the old foundation. Dug a bigger and deeper hole for the new foundation --the addition sticks out farther from the house than the original. Got building permits. Poured the footers. Built a cement-block foundation wall. Poured a concrete floor. Framed it, sheathed it, roofed it, just before the winter weather hit. Things slowed down a little after that. Lots of little details on the inside, things that I've never done before and didn't want to mess up. But the good news is it's almost done! The new toilet is officially working.

Here are some pictures of the addition.

The old front entrance The old front entrance

The foundation is finished The foundation is finished

framing for the new addition was constrained by the silhouette of the old entrance framing for the new addition was constrained by the silhouette of the old entrance

installing the roof sheathing installing the roof sheathing, with the help of some senior citizens

the new shower is a fiberglass one-piece that had to be put in before the front wall was framed the new shower is a fiberglass one-piece that had to be put in before the front wall was framed

exterior trim and lights installed exterior trim and lights installed

UPDATE: After many months of bad weather and working on the interior, the FIL and I put up the siding, and it kind of rocks.