We get by with a little help from our friends

As we are moving toward the end of July the pressure is on to complete this project by the end of August. Though this may be an unreasonable expectation, Ben and I are still working toward this deadline (we do have a 2 month buffer in there). Much of the building delay is on us but Lowe's can also share in the blame. A combination of misinformation, lack of customer support, and inability to deliver materials in a timely manner has stalled roofing and siding the house. Not even the great work of Lucas, Jenner, and a few others can make up for the crappy service we have received from so many others and I would not recommend Lowe's for any of your home-improvement needs.
Moving along - With help from Tiphani and Justin we have the water heater installed and the storage cupboard covered and taped, and trim boards stained. Ben and our friend John got the door installed this past weekend and I have spent much of this past week staining more trim boards.

staining trim boards

our refrigerator

Another aspect of this project is downsizing our personal belongings so that we fit our family of 3 (Tumnus included) comfortably into 135 square feet without putting alot in storage. This means taking stock of which belongings are worth keeping, which will need to come to the tiny house with us, and which we can part with. At this point we have an ever-growing garage sale pile in out living room.

Storage Compartment

Our productive weekend concluded with work on the storage compartment (housing our water heater, electrical board, and propane). This piece of the process has presented to be quite a challenge; Our water heater is larger to suit our needs/wants so we needed to make the piece larger than our plans called for. As well we could not just build it out as we couldn't impede access to the electrical box and crank that were on the tongue of the trailer. So we had to build out and up. Ben and his dad came up with a great design and I got Jenner on my side deciding to build temporary supports on the tongue that can be moved when needed. While we are not yet done, the following pictures document what we were able to accomplish on Sunday.

Completed the drip edge

Added Z-flashing on ends for additional protection

Ben and Leon's design included metal strapping bolted to the support beam.

On the "tap" list for today a selection of
Angry Orchard Ciders and a selection of Uinta brews

Makeshift supports to raise the wall onto

The house as it stands as of Sunday evening.

Next weekend we will complete the compartment and begin the trim around the windows (in preparation for siding...unless our roofing comes in and then we will be putting that up...

As always, if anyone is interested in coming out to help or watch or bring us delicious vegetarian cuisine (thank you Nanny and Tom for cooking for us!!!) just ring or text Ben or I, we are always happy to have help and support. Dad, Leon, and Jenner - we miss your company out at the house incredibly!

Moving Right Along

Its been awhile but we are finally having a productive weekend again. We've been getting a lot of smaller projects done - taping, completing house-wrap, trimming, etc. - and ordering - roofing, door, siding. Our water-heater came in and we have begin work on the storage compartment for the water-heater, electrical board and propane tanks. One more day left in the weekend.

Trim for windows, door and corners.

Flashing in the valleys

Trimmed house-wrap

Finished covering and taping

Drip-edge around wheel-wells

Cutting boards for storage compartment

Safety first!

Outer wall of storage compartment

Flashing doorway