You’re going to build a what???

My apologies for being absent on here for a while. Life, as it has a habit of doing, has become rather busy. Last thing I posted was that it was going to cost an excessive amount to upgrade the trailer so i was requesting prices from a number of firms to get a trailer built to my specifications. The bids came it from £2000 – £3000 and I’ll be going with one of the lower options when I have the money to do so.

In the meantime I managed to pick up some part time work that very rapidly seems to have become full time for the next few months. I’m working long hours which has left me virtually no time to even think about the tiny house, let alone update the blog. However, I’m clearing off some debt, which is a big weight off my mind but means that it’ll be spring before I’m likely to have any time to get back to working on the house.

I’ve also been rather unlucky with having the really bad weather arrive at exactly the point where I couldn’t spend any time at the house. This had lead to a significant portion of the woodwork becoming waterlogged. I’ve had to take all the framing apart, separate out what’s good and get that stored away. most of the OSB sheeting that was stacked under tarps has soaked water in from the edges and seems to be unusable now. I think a good half of the timber i bought is now trashed. on top of that I need to get the old trailer moved off site for the winter and, with no time to get it to a point where it is towable (which would require significant welding) I’m looking at just going in and cutting it into pieces and taking it to the scrap yard.

The end result of all of this is that most of the year’s work is scrapped, along with about £1000 in costs for the trailer, steel and timber. After being quite depressed about this for a while, I’ve decided that the only thing I can do is chalk it up to experience and remember that I’ve learned a great deal along the way from it. I will start again in the spring with a custom trailer which will be designed explicitly for the house and allow me to move straight into the build phase knowing my foundation is solid.

I’ve learned enough this year to prove to myself that I’m capable of building my tiny house, that my basic plan is viable and the rest of the things I collected to go into it are still tucked away safely in store and will come out as and when needed. The new house will be a little bigger, as I can spec the trailer the way I want and will be 18 x 7.5 feet when finished. I will also have a 3 foot fold down deck outside which means I will be able to use the full 18′ as interior space, significantly increasing my living area. The basic layout will be unchanged but allow me a bit more storage space and living room while still being a size that can be reasonably towed by something like a 4wd or a van.

I’ll be keeping an eye out for useful bits and pieces for the house but I’m unlikely to be updating much over the next few months, though I’ll be keeping an eye on my tiny house friends and staying in touch. Life is ultimately a journey which has ups and downs, I’ve had both this year and it’ll be interesting to see what the next year brings.

Peace, out.