GUINEA MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD
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Early October Progress
Posted on October 18, 2012
We had another trip to prepare for, so in went the stairs/ladder and we finished up the exterior paint (aside from the door and touch-ups). After getting back from the northern VA adventures, it was time to finish the propane lines! Finally we could test the water heater, oven/stove, and the Newport P9000. As much as I wanted a woodstove (and still have the one I bought sitting in storage), this little heater is a good option for tiny houses because of how little clearance it needs around itself. I ended up buying the woodstove from myself to save for another house down the road 🙂
Besides all these pictures, I have a video treat for you all coming up. If only I could get it to load…I took today off from work, so I’ll do my best to post the vid today sometime in between my various construction projects.
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- Flooring planks right after staining.
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- And right before staining.
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- I love how each board takes the stain differently!
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- Mixed up something a bit more redish orange.
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- View down the stair/ladder combo. This was a test-run to see if everything would fit.
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- I needed to stain the ladder to match the stain I put on the stairs, so apart it went!
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- Sanded down the sides, and ready for stain.
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- I used the darkest stain I had here. I might come back and put a warmer stain over it to change it up a little.
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- Ladder put back together.
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- Trying out the stair/ladder idea.
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- Here you can see the dilemma…this ladder was used on a bunk bed so it wasn’t made to angle. I predict some customization….
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- We took chunky blocks of scrap wood we had lying around and cut them into a more pleasing shape, then stained them.
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- …and now we have ladder feet! It also moved it higher so it attaches better to the loft.
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- Here’s where the stove goes. I stained the inside to match the cabinets.
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- Here it is in place. Needs an end panel! I sense more staining in my future….
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- We used scrap luan from the walls to cut this end panel to size. I love using up all the scraps…this project has turned me into a bit of a construction material hoarder…
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- Here’s that same panel stained to match the cabinets.
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- And here it is installed!
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- Newport P9000 propane heater.
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- I also stained the luan panels around the composting toilet. I’m now thinking about painting the chair since there’s no golden oak colors in the house aside from this…
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- Here’s the end of a countertop. Since these came from the ReStore, there’s no end caps to finish them off.
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- This is probably where I get my material hoarding from – see the date? 2007?? It’s a beige paint he used in their own house, sealed in a canning jar and PERFECT for the ends of the countertops.
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- Sanded and painted!
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- Here’s a shot of the soffits painted to match the roof color.
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- The second green coat is done and so is all the trim.
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- More trim.
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- Just an alt view since I never seem to get this angle.
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- I also framed out another window. Here you can see the interior of it framed.
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- Here’s the exterior part in-progress.
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- And installed. I was nervous about staining these so dark, but I like how rustic it feels.
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- Prepping the interior for the long trip north.
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- Getting ready to leave!
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- It’s cool with the lights on I think. A good reminder that this house is, in fact, attached to a trailer.
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- Going down the mountain! Yes, we have proved that you can successfully haul a tiny house up and down curvy, mountainous roads. Fear not, tiny housers!
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- Stopped at the hardware store 🙂
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- First time attempting to pull this into a gas station. Inches of clearance!
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- This was actually fun…we gave a quick tour to a few folks at the gas station, including to a guy planning to build his own tiny house.
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- In-progress view from the bathroom.
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- Back to work…one hole down to the bottom of the trailer to connect to propane, and another hole through the cabinet/end panel to attach to the heater.
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- Farther away shot of the same thing. It’s the space where the stove goes.
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- The heater is hooked up! And yuck…you can see how badly we need to enclose the wheel wells here. Caulk and spray foam everywhere on them…
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- Testing the stove top.
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- Testing the heater.
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- Lumber for the door jambs.
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- More staining! I love this! …..
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- Putting in the first piece on the bathroom doorway.
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- And same thing on one of the closets.
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- Bathroom doorway with the rest of the pieces.
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- Same thing with the closet. Now I just need to put some trim around the doorways!
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- I went with green for the closet doors. These are hollow core doors so they won’t weigh much, and they are used so not really in stain-condition. I like the green accent. I also plan to use chalkboard paint and cork. You’ll see soon 🙂
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- Really bizarre corner cabinet I picked up at the thrift store. Two questions – what the heck was this used for before? And what the heck am I going to do with it?
Heating options for the tiny house
Posted on March 30, 2012
It may seem a little early to think about heating the wee house, but it’s actually pretty appropriate so I know how to alter the framing if needed. Will a window be in the way, how will it vent, will it take forever to ship, etc.? So I’m down to 3 options after a ton of research:
Tiny wood stove
Tiny wood stove: Jotul F602CB
- Environment
(wood = renewable; used stove = awesome) - Society (helping out someone who’s selling this on c’list; and it’s ADORABLE)
- Economy (cheaper option for me; money in someone else’s pocket)
- Logistics?
(nightmare to transport and install)
Tiny gas stove
Tiny gas stove: the Mini Franklin
- Environment (gas/propane = non-renewable; new stove = not awesome)
- Society (support a local business selling it; and it’s also ADORABLE)
- Economy (have you looked at the price??)
- Logistics? (much easier to transport and install than the wood stove)
Electric stove
Tiny electric stove
- Environment (electric = non-renewable unless it runs on power from solar panels; new stove = not awesome)
- Society (I’m saying no on this category since it’s from a big box store and shipped from who-knows-where)
- Economy (super cheap)
- Logistics? (easy transport and installation)
So far the Facebook poll I put up has the wood stove winning. That’s the ideal choice in my head, but I’m not sure about reality. If I can get the used one, I’m in! But if it’s sold by the time I can make the 2 hour drive, then I’ll either have to buy a new one (ouch) or go with the gas one (also ouch).