Going slowly.....

Believe it or not, I'm still working on the aluminum flashing.  The last few weeks have been busy, and I haven't been making enough time to get out to the work site.  On the good side, I did find a local supplier that is willing to deliver the sub-floor materials to the site for a very reasonable fee!  More to follow soon....

Aluminum Flashing - Take 2

After my previous blunders with my attempt to install the aluminum flashing, I decided I needed a change in strategy -- so I went ahead and removed all the nails.  The roll of flashing that I had used had so many holes and tears in it that I decided to start with a new roll.  As I got underway with my second attempt, I did something that should have occurred to me sooner: tape the edges down.  One product that works wonderfully for this: Gorilla Tape!  Gorilla Tape is like a heavy-duty duct tape, and it can take a little effort to cut, but the payoff is that it sticks really well to just about anything -- wood, metal, etc.

I can't believe how much easier this made things!  The flashing stopped sliding around underneath me, and even the nails seemed to be going in quicker than before.  I spent a little more than half the afternoon, but I'm really happy with the results so far.  The flashing is laying down much flatter than before.

Hopefully I can finish up later this week, and then we can start working on the subfloor framing!

Making Waves!

....and not in a good way, unfortunately.

I've been nailing down the aluminum flashing to the trailer, when I noticed that I've already made a big mistake:

Notice the nice big "wave" in the flashing?  That's what happens when you don't spend enough time getting things perfectly straight!  Now I think the best course of action, at this point, is to remove all the nails and screws, trim off the flashing that already has holes in it, and start all over again.  No, I'm not thrilled about doing this, but I would rather do it over again and do it right than have problems later on, like when I try to install the insulation for the flooring.

I'm beginning to realize that there are all kinds of little things that could go wrong with this kind of construction work.  Then again, sometimes I just jump into things before I've thought through everything.  Oh well, if nothing else --  at least all of you can learn from my mistakes!

Dave's Tiny House

While I wait for the weather to warm back up, why not go over to Dave's site, Sonoma Shanty, and check out his really neat design for his own tiny house?  The plan is 10' x 20', and is disguised to look like a shed.  Hope he gets started soon!  Thanks to his previous building experience, I'm confident Dave's gonna do a really good job with this!

Adventures With Aluminum Flashing

OK, so I've started to get the ball rolling by installing the aluminum flashing on the trailer.  When you buy flashing at the home improvement store, it comes in these big tubes of varying widths (the one I get  is 20 inches).  It kind of looks like aluminum foil, but is much stronger and tougher -- in other words, don't think you can just rip off a piece!  That's when these little guys come in handy:

Tin snips make easy work of cutting the metal.

When you first cut the tube open, expect the tube to "explode" all over the place:

After getting things unwound, I was able to start fastening down some of the flashing:

Lately I've been using screws -- but I'm wondering if I'm better off using nails or staples instead?  Getting the flashing to lie completely flat on the deck takes some patience, and I'm thinking that the roofing nails I have might be more appropriate for this application.

Oh, and one more thing: BE CAREFUL after you cut the flashing.  Remember how your mother always told you to be careful touching the inside of tin cans?  Exact same principle applies here.  If I had been smart, I would have been wearing my work gloves, but I wasn't -- and now I have a small cut on my left thumb.  Luckily, it was a shallow cut, and it doesn't sting much, but I'm letting that serve as a warning, both to me and everyone reading this -- STAY SAFE when you're out there working. 

Finally! Some good weather!

Well, it's been a cold and rainy spring.  This week, however, things finally improved.  I went out to see how the trailer was doing:

 None the worse for wear, as far as I can see.  A couple of birds decided to use it as a "pit stop," however.

I also realized that I might have to do a little bit of "clearing" around the trailer -- lots of grass, brush, and weeds around.

I realize that, in retrospect,  it's probably a good idea to get a trailer first before you start working on the framing for the sub-floor, due to the fact that there can be slight variations with trailer manufacturers and the dimensions they use.  Fortunately, the 2x6 studs that I've cut up so far seem to fit just fine:

I can tell that Niall at Humble Homes really did his homework on this!  I'm sure glad I didn't have to do it all by myself!  Another thing I'm going to have to figure out is how to transport 16' studs -- I'm guessing I'm going to have to rent some kind of truck for that.

Hoping the weather stays nice -- we'll see if I can start putting down the aluminum flashing next week.

A Really Neat Tiny House Project in China

While I'm still waiting for this rainy and cold April to come to an end, check out Alex's article over at Tiny House Talk about an architecture student in China who built a 75 square foot tiny house, which includes a kitchen, bathroom, and laundry facilities.  It also has a cool-looking stairway to get up to the loft.  Very impressive for such a small amount of space!