I had met a unhoused man a few years ago in Eugene who told me that he didn't consider himself homeless. "Even though I don't have a house, I have a heart, the place where the home lives, so I will always have a home, no matter were I am as long as my heart is beating". I like that idea and have taken it as guidance and a lesson going forward and at the same time recognize that our hearts may not be our only home.
In thinking about my home and the concept of "home", I considered all the many homes that I seem to have. There is my primary residence of course but surprisingly there are many more. Like the homes of friends who welcome me, the hearts of all those that care for me, special places in nature, all the waters of the world, my body and the most important one of all, my own heart. To that impressive list of homes I'm currently in the process of adding two more. The first lyes near my primary residence, just out back in fact. It's my friend Sara's old place, sort of. She had a tiny house build for herself and asked to put that in my backyard. I said yes.
That was an arrangement that lasted for several years until sadly, Sara succumb to a hart condition and passed. Sara was a very bright and determined woman who died the way she planned, in her own bed, in her own home with a good friend at her side.
I spent last summer stripping Sara's tiny house completely off its trailer and salvage most of it to use in the rebuild and other projects. I then modified the trailer to better accommodate a house being built upon it. I cut to off the fenders as they are not needed, were hard to seal and transmitted heat & cold through the floor that they penetrated. Then the building began this past summer.
I took my time building the the first floor, making as flat, level and strong as reasonably possible. I used a high quality, tongue & groove, 1 1/8' CDX plywood for the subfloor.
Once the floor was secure I started building and raising the walls. That went fairly quickly and easily with the assistance of a wall jack.
I used "advanced framing" methods such as 6" studs, spaced on 2' centers, corners that are open to insulate in order to optimize insulation and minimize thermal bridging. Sara's house had been hot in the summers and hard to heat in the winter. I want this house to be as comfortable and easy to heat & cool as possible. I think that comfort & economy can go had & hand to make a cozy, affordable home going forward.
It was fascinating for me to watch the transformation from open space, to a deck like place and then the walls really started to delineate a living space.
All the lumber used on this project was transported here via my venerable minivan, even the 20' 2" x 4", 6" & 10" wide boards.
It was once the ceiling joists were laid down that the place started to feel like a shelter. Somehow, even without plywood sheathing, the framing members alone were enough to suggest a habitation.
Once the second floor went up things felt noticeably different. The stairs were a relentless reminder that there was more that meets the eye to the 1st floor. They served an invitation upwards to another, associated but separate space. The view from up there is pretty nice too.
Building the hip roof was a challenge for me. I'd never built one before and looked forward to the challenge.
The hip roof is more complex to build that I ever imagined. It's also more that a interesting architectural feature. Turns out that it's an excellent way to distribute the roof loads evenly and does a great job of tying the 2nd floor walls together. I could tell that because as it filled in with rafters; king, hip & common, the 2nd floor got stiffer and stiffer.
The small house is located right next to the garden which seems to be attractive arrangement.
I had started this project in the spring determined to get a roof on it before the winter rains started. I didn't quite make my goal but got close enough. The hip roof took longer than expected and the rains came a bit early and heavier then usual. I wanted a metal roof but had never installed one before. So I decided to hire a roofing crew to get a roof on before the the whole thing became waterlogged. I had always wanted to try doing a metal roof but am glad I decided to forgo that experience for now and ever so happy that I wasn't out in the winter rains trying to figure out the intricacies of such a thing.
Now that the roof is on I should be able to take a breather once my fall yard chores are complete. I'm looking forward to that break and also to getting back to work on the small house. Next the windows need to be determined and framed in. Then I have to rebuild the scaffolding, removing all the horizontal 2x4s that tie the outer supports to the house so that I can finish the sheathing.
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