Monday, September 28, 2015

Rake Soffits

 The funny thing about shou sugi ban is, because it's so dark, and my camera is so bad, it can kind of just look like... a void.

So, do you see that (apparent) void where you used to be able to see through to the roof sheathing and outriggers? That's actually a 1x6 tongue and groove shou sugi ban cedar soffit! And let me assure you, it is beautiful.

(Oh, and some siding. More on that in another post!)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Electrical Wiring - Part 1


Disclaimer: Electricity is dangerous, so I am never going to write a blog post about How to Wire a Tiny House as if I'm now an expert or something. There are books about wiring; read those if you really want to know the nitty gritty. All I'll write about are my impressions of the process and my personal experiences with wiring a tiny house made of SIPs.

So, how was it? Well, for at least the first 90% of the process, it was... torturously slow and rife with hand-wringing impasses and ignorance anxiety. One of the first receptacles I wired, I re-wired twice before I was satisfied. I scratched my hands all up, I cussed a lot, I even accidentally stabbed myself in the face with needle-nosed pliers.

This stuff is harder than it looks!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Wheel Well Boxes and Landing

Building something complex like a house involves long series of "Have to do X before you can do Y, have to install Z before you can do Y, have to finish A before you install Z..."

I've been battling my way through such a sequence toward the end goal of installing the siding. Before I can install the siding, I need to install the door--thus completing dry-in--and its trim, and before I can install the door, I need to finish the wheel well boxes and entrance landing, to provide an elevated floor for the door to sit on.

And that landing is finally done!