Rafters going up.
After spending several months working on the design for Naj Haus and learning how one actually goes about building a tiny house, I started construction in late June 2013. My build site is in Oregon and I’m currently living in California, so it’s going up in fits and starts as I can get time off work. Fortunately I don’t have any real deadlines to worry about.
I’ve learned so much from other tiny houser blogs so I wanted to share some of my experiences, with a focus on those things I found particularly tricky. I am definitely not an expert so take everything with a grain of salt and do your own research; these are merely to get you thinking.
So far my posts of the construction process seem to fall into three categories:
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TECHNICAL POSTS
(probably only of interest if you are building your own tiny or you like to geek out on architecture. Note: I’ve gotten behind on these but the chronicles below include some technical info.)
The eagle has landed: the trailer comes home to roost
Floor construction: what lurks beneath
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BUILD STINT CHRONICLES – experiential overviews with lessons learned
Blood, sweat, tears, blueberries & the most awesome three wall ever…
Chapter 1: June 21 – July 21, 2013
- floor framing and attachment to trailer, wall framing
“Raise high the roofbeams, carpenters!”
Chapter 2: Aug 21 – Sept 10, 2013
- wall sheathing, temporary loft, ridgeboard raising, rafters
Autumnal sheathing: slowing down, buttoning up, closing in
Chapter 3: Nov 7 – Dec 3, 2013
- rafter blocking and ties, gable end framing and sheathing, flying rafters/overhangs, skylight framing, roof sheathing
Wrapping up the old year, toasting in the new
Chapter 4: Dec 20, 2013 – Jan 6, 2014
- skylight curbs, roof membrane and exterior insulation, house wrapping, enclosing eaves, fascia
On becoming
Chapter 5: Feb 13 – Feb 25, 2014
- finished fascia, metal roof, windows and flashing
Leaves, sneeze and at least the eaves blossom
Chapter 6: Apr 10 – Apr 22, 2014 (but was only able to build a couple days)
- finished enclosing gable end eaves
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ESOTERIC MUSINGS OF A CARPENTER
(for those of you who want to follow along with the convoluted things I think about as I build)
Doing justice to complexity: a love affair with a tiny house
Telling our stories: radical acts of inspiration (posted on TinyHomes.com wherein I talk about the importance of keeping a construction journal and/or blog)
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The measure of a moth.
Naj Haus 