Down to the Details
I’m finally getting to the super-exciting part of the whole project where the details get to shine!
looking like a tiny house
i finally finished installing the salvaged barnwood siding on the two long exterior walls last week. i’m pretty pleased with the results.
cold weather, progress
the weather has turned downright chilly over the past week or two. but progress continues, and i’ve reached a couple more milestones in the construction process. the metal roofing is complete and the space is fully dried-in.
i’m choosing to install the wood siding as a rain screen. basically, instead of mounting the siding boards directly over top of the building paper, there is an air gap between them. this allows the wood siding to breath and dry out more quickly and easily. this method provides a more durable envelope. the wood furring strips that will hold the siding off of the sheathing are installed and i’ll begin installing the siding shortly. i’m pretty excited to see how it turns out. stay tuned.
Eyes, a Raincoat, and a Hat
PS1 is progressing nicely. This has been a big week for continued evolution and transformation:
Eyes:
On Monday I cut the openings for all window openings, which lightened up the space inside tremendously. It’s exciting to see how open and airy it feels. And the aspect of looking out from within emerged for the first time. Imagining the outside context, and how on a house on wheels, this is much more of a fluid and changing scene. An interesting notion that sparks novelty and excitement in this architect mind.
Raincoat:
Once I cut the openings for the windows, it was a quick dash to install the windows and weatherproof the envelope asap. after some steady rain, a little water, some head scratching, troubleshooting, and finding a flaw in my weatherproofing, i’m fairly confident that the little house is completely “dried in” or rainproofed.
Cap:
Yesterday and this morning brought the addition of a nice red-orange metal roof. Quite dashing I think.
A big thank you to Michael Mooney for the assist on installing the metal panels!
Process photo gallery here.
Dried In
Framing is complete and the structure is dried in. Good thing on a rainy, rainy day like today. I’ve been working on some of the details that are about to be installed such as the entry door and salvaged redwood decking.
It’s finally to the point where I can get a clear sense of how big the space really is. It’s quite exciting!
PS1 Gets Spacial
Finally lifted the second long wall and the roof. It’s been an interesting process. I’ve only had access to help sporadically, so I’ve been developing techniques to make these moments easier with fewer people. For example, I created hinges that pinned the walls to the floor deck and ensured that when lifted, the wall would settle in the right spot at the edge of the floor and not be able to tip too far. And I built the roof in two sections on the ground in the shop with bolted connections so it would be stronger. Then, we lifted the light sections by hand up on top of the walls. Everything has gone together brilliantly.
It’s exciting to start to see some verticality and space!
Gallery here.
latest ps1 progress
i’ve been framing walls, gathering materials, developing the details for a few key places, squaring and sheathing the first wall, and researching where to source the last of the materials i’ll need to finish building the shell. below are some results, including the tiny stack of red metal roofing. so cute!
coming soon: verticality and space!
alternate view via simpleviewer gallery here.
PS1 construction process: floor
I recently completed the floor deck for Pocket Shelter prototype one (ps1). Here are some process photographs and some construction detail notes.
Little House for a Little Boy
I’m working on the first prototype for a line of ‘Pocket Shelters.’ They’re small (under 200sqft) structures that merge green design and building with voluntary simplicity. I’ll be moving into it when it’s complete along with my partner and our 2 year old son.
I’m building the entire thing ‘virtually’ in 3D CAD to allow me to work out the construction details and have a very accurate idea of my materials and methods. Below is a snapshot of my working model.
