Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter! He has risen indeed!
After hangin with the family Margo and I snuck off to work on the house... We re-painted the trailer, wired and installed brakes and reflectors, confirmed the measurements of the subfloor by putting it on the trailer, cut the bolts that will be connecting the framing to the trailer, cut and attached the blocks that we are using to bolt the subfloor to the trailer.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Oh happy day...
Today was beautiful! I think it was the first sunny day that we have both had off in a very very very long time... So, we worked on the Tiny House! We were able to get quite a bit done today because two of our friends ( Kyle and Sam) came and helped us.
Today we accomplished:
1) Reinforcing the trailer with steel beams, we were able to rent a welder from Home Depot.
2) Cut and welded the new axles (6k lb capacity each) and then bolted them onto the trailer frame. (this was a lot of work...) Also cut any extra unneeded metal parts off of the trailer frame, like the steps, etc.
3) Framed the three boxes, made of 2x4's, that will make up skeleton of the subfloor.
4) Painted Rustoleum on the new weld spots to protect from corrosion.
This was my first time ever welding, and I loved it! Sam and Kyle did the majority of the welding but by the end I took over and made the last few welds. It turned out great and all the welds look really good.
Next step is to finish painting the trailer, put on some lights, and take it to the DMV to get a home-made trailer title. Because we changed the weight capacity and structure of the trailer, we will need to get it re-licensed.
-Jeff
Today we accomplished:
1) Reinforcing the trailer with steel beams, we were able to rent a welder from Home Depot.
The welder
4) Painted Rustoleum on the new weld spots to protect from corrosion.
This was my first time ever welding, and I loved it! Sam and Kyle did the majority of the welding but by the end I took over and made the last few welds. It turned out great and all the welds look really good.
Next step is to finish painting the trailer, put on some lights, and take it to the DMV to get a home-made trailer title. Because we changed the weight capacity and structure of the trailer, we will need to get it re-licensed.
-Jeff
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Testing the waters...
So the big question that many people ask us when we explain that we're planning to live in a cottage of less than 200 square feet for a few years is:
"Do you know that you can do that? Are you sure you won't drive each other crazy sharing such a small space?"
First of all, we're blessed to get along quite well, and truly enjoy spending time together (almost all of the time!). But now we have actually tried the concept and are able to say YES, we can do it and enjoy it, too!
For our one-year wedding anniversary we spent the week up in Vancouver Island, Canada, in a small village called Sooke. It is just outside of Victoria, so we were able to spend some days in the city when we wanted to.
We rented a beautiful cabin for the week, which was built in the early 1900's by some settlers, and recently renovated on the interior to include modern plumbing and a kitchen. The cabin sits on cliffs overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca (for those of you non-Northwesterners, that is the body of water between Washington State and Vancouver Island, Canada). Gorgeous views!
And the best part of the cabin was, it was less than 200 square feet in size! It was a great test of our concept of living in a tiny space, and you know what, we really enjoyed it. It was layed out in a very cozy manner, with a great room that doubled as kitchen and eating area, a bathroom with shower and toilet, and a separate bedroom off of the great room. We felt really comfortable in the space.
"Do you know that you can do that? Are you sure you won't drive each other crazy sharing such a small space?"
For our one-year wedding anniversary we spent the week up in Vancouver Island, Canada, in a small village called Sooke. It is just outside of Victoria, so we were able to spend some days in the city when we wanted to.
And the best part of the cabin was, it was less than 200 square feet in size! It was a great test of our concept of living in a tiny space, and you know what, we really enjoyed it. It was layed out in a very cozy manner, with a great room that doubled as kitchen and eating area, a bathroom with shower and toilet, and a separate bedroom off of the great room. We felt really comfortable in the space.
We can't wait to have a tiny cabin of our own! :)
Monday, April 2, 2012
What is the Tiny House Movement?
So for those of you who are just now joining us on our journey, I'd like to share a little bit about what a "Tiny home" is and the motivations behind our choice to pursue micro-living.
First of all I should say that we are not doing this because of difficult economic times--we both have great jobs and have been steadily working our way out of debt (student loans and one car payment, no credit cards) by living very frugally and making big payments on debts every month. As we've been doing this, we have begun to adopt a generally more minimalist lifestyle, and have learned that by choosing to live only with what we need, we're not so burdened down by all the "stuff which begins to own us.
We've known about the Tiny Home Movement for a few years, and have always been interested in trying such a step, but we finally made a decision in February of this year to just go for it.
We are building a small home that is less than 200 square feet in size, on the foundation of a utility trailer for mobility.
This is an opportunity for us to take a very large step in the direction of simplifying our life. We want to live in a space that is only what we need, and stop living is spaces where we waste so much energy by heating and cooling spaces that we seldom use.
This is a great choice for us at this time because we are not planning to have children for a few more years, and although we may end up moving in the next few years for Jeff's medical school, putting the home on wheels gives us mobility to continue to be homeowners wherever we are able to tow it.
We are so excited to be on this journey together, pursuing a dream for a sustainable future.
We are building our home primarily from salvaged (reused) goods, in an effort to show what a classy, well-crafted space you can create without creating new waste for the landfill.
Of course, this is a choice that works for us, and may not be right for everyone. We don't believe that everyone should make this step, only that it is the right step for us to take. We hope you'll join us on the journey as we learn how to build a home together.
MICRO-ACTIONS:
If you're interested in learning more, here is some suggested reading:
www.tinyhouseblog.com
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/blog/
www.rowdykittens.com
-M.
First of all I should say that we are not doing this because of difficult economic times--we both have great jobs and have been steadily working our way out of debt (student loans and one car payment, no credit cards) by living very frugally and making big payments on debts every month. As we've been doing this, we have begun to adopt a generally more minimalist lifestyle, and have learned that by choosing to live only with what we need, we're not so burdened down by all the "stuff which begins to own us.
We've known about the Tiny Home Movement for a few years, and have always been interested in trying such a step, but we finally made a decision in February of this year to just go for it.
We are building a small home that is less than 200 square feet in size, on the foundation of a utility trailer for mobility.
This is an opportunity for us to take a very large step in the direction of simplifying our life. We want to live in a space that is only what we need, and stop living is spaces where we waste so much energy by heating and cooling spaces that we seldom use.
This is a great choice for us at this time because we are not planning to have children for a few more years, and although we may end up moving in the next few years for Jeff's medical school, putting the home on wheels gives us mobility to continue to be homeowners wherever we are able to tow it.
We are so excited to be on this journey together, pursuing a dream for a sustainable future.
We are building our home primarily from salvaged (reused) goods, in an effort to show what a classy, well-crafted space you can create without creating new waste for the landfill.
Of course, this is a choice that works for us, and may not be right for everyone. We don't believe that everyone should make this step, only that it is the right step for us to take. We hope you'll join us on the journey as we learn how to build a home together.
MICRO-ACTIONS:
If you're interested in learning more, here is some suggested reading:
www.tinyhouseblog.com
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/blog/
www.rowdykittens.com
-M.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)