Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Show Must Go On! Roofing and Siding

Hi friends!  I haven't been able to make much progress on the micro house over the last few months.  The micro house wasn't in moveable condition by the time I had to report to work in Washington.  So I decided I would travel to Portland during my weekends to continue work on the project.  Two months later and I've barely spent any time on the project.  Fruit harvest and preservation season has been too compelling to ignore!
Before I moved to Washington, Ken and I placed tar paper over all surfaces to protect the plywood.  Then the vapor barrier also needed protection from the sun and rain for my unpredictable length of absence so we decided to temporarily place the siding panels. 
Quite a lot of figuring was involved in this seemingly simple step because we wanted to attach the panels in such a way that we could remove them a few at a time to cut window openings and then put them right back in place.  We cut a finish piece called a "bullnose" to cover
the tops of the panels and cut all panels to length using a tin snips and occasionally an angle grinder for trimming down the width of a panel.  We also predetermined how to cut the end panels so that corner moulding could be placed effectively.  The progress went quickly once we got started.  The down side is that I will have do the work twice, but I just didn't have all the windows, flashing, moulding, and door figured out in time for the hasty departure.

As predicted, all the metal was a bit overwhelming, but after Ken and I installed the first window with moulding, I was satisfied with the look.  Now...order a few more windows, buy barn siding flashing, build fenders, install windows, cut siding, install a door, screw down all the siding, earthquake and hurricane ties, put in a few more screws in pieces that might catch wind on the road, put on the tires, check lights and brakes, check weight, get a moving permit, and then it should be good to transport.  Easy, easy....uhg!