Dry (mostly)

My pop came by again and helped me get the last window and the slider door installed. This is the last window that went in, and the first to get trim. Hoisting the 60"x80" slider door up to hip height with limited clearance was the greatest challenge. We definitely used our degrees from the university of redneck engineering that afternoon.

Now that all openings are filled, I am out of the wind and weather for the most part. next on the agenda is sealing the roof leaks!

Drying in

My Dad and I spent the better part of a day installing windows. All but two openings have been filled. One of the remaining is for a slider door, and the other had a broken frame when I received it. Both of those will be installed in the next few weeks. It'll be really nice to be all sealed up for the winter.

It was truly nerve wrecking to cut an opening in the aluminum. It wasn't all that difficult, but there was no turning back once the process was started.

Here's a little contrast. As you can see, the trailer is parked about 2.5 feet from my home. I can stand in the trailer and smell dinner on a good day. On a bad day I can stand in the trailer and hear my kiddos getting out of line.  

The tin can with a wood floor.

 We busted out the making tape for some floor planning. Although this seemed really caveman(ish) , it worked very well for us. It allowed us to feel each space and make minor adjustments prior committing to plumbing and electrical rough in.

In this photo, the chair is where my new toilet will be. We were very happy with how much room there seems to be in our 10x55' space.  

Floored

Fueled by frosty beverages, I have spent free time this month completing the subfloor of the Spartan in 2 hour increments. 30 minutes to set up, 30 minutes to remember how I did this last time, 30 minutes of work, and the last 30 minutes for cleanup. I had a lot of help from my 4 1/2 year old though, so that really kept things on pace.

 I went about it one sheet at a time. I layed the sheet down and snugged it up against the last one, marking the rafters where crossbracing was needed.  I then removed the plywood and cut braces on centers so that everything was very snug. After that, it was just gluein' and screwin'.

 I finally scrounged up the better part of a day and completed the job. I'm glad the task is done, and so is my wife because this means it's time to do some floor planning. We tried using graph paper and then CAD, but neither worked out. Both methods cost a lot of time, and the result was inaccurate. I think we'll try chalk or pencil on the plywood. I know, I know, that's really backwards, but that's just how I'm living!

Weeks just passing by......

 We installed our first window about a week ago. I bought one prior to ordering the rest just to make sure that I didn't make a very expensive mistake. Installation methods for wood frame homes are pretty simple and straightforward, but on a trailer with 2" aluminum studs I spent many late nights researching what others had done.

 In the end, I followed the direction of the manufacturer. The downside to doing things their way is that I have to use exterior trim. Initially I considered sandwiching the windows between the skin and the studs, creating a very clean exterior finish. That would have required removing or at least loosening 2 of the 4 structural elements framing the window. It would have looked good, but made it nearly impossible to deal with any problems that arise in the future.

 So now we are considering trim options. The trim is really only needed to conceal the flashing tape and nailing flange. I ripped some cedar into 3" widths and it looks like it will do the trick. I may buy some paint that matches the window color and try that out as well. We are still considering all options, though, and we don't have to decide any time soon. It's nice to be faced with a decision that doesn't need to be made immediately.

I started framing the floor a few days ago. I'm just using treated 16'  2"x6" lumber for the joists. The scrap 2"x6" that were the old joists are getting diced up to be used as cross bracing at 4' intervals. We've decided that our finish floor will probably be some type of salvaged antique wood. So the plywood sub floor that's going underneath the finish floor is just 1/2" cdx plywood. My daughter and I did a thorough cost benefit analysis of plywood types ranging from 1/2"osb to 5-ply 3/4" tongue and groove A-B plywood. The cheapest option was about $200, and the most expensive was $750. We're somewhere in the middle balancing the necessity of quality and application with our checkbook. She's so damn sensible.

New Heights.

As it turns out, the floor joists went as the floor decking did. Again, it felt somewhat wasteful at times, but I had to factor in the labor associated with modifying and repairing what already existed. I have been reminded many times that building new is way easier than renovation. If ease were my main concern, I would have bought a new singlewide. Something tells me that I wouldn't be sharing our adventure in that case! Finding the balance between using what exists and starting new is the key. 

My wife's cat has found new heights to judge me from.

Well built does not mean well engineered.

I spent much of the day today removing the plywood floor. It felt like a waste sometimes because I was often removing large sections of good plywood. There were, however, enough cut outs and rotten spots to justify full removal because I would end up with a patchwork floor if I tried to piece it all together and would probably end up with an additional day of labor as well. These efforts cost me 2 circular saw blades and totaled a borrowed reciprocating saw before I broke out the chainsaw. That saw chain is now totaled as well, but it worked like a charm and was fairly inexpensive. I wish I had used it before I broke all the other tools.  That process was fairly simple, just cut and pry. Removing the ductwork, however, proved to be a little more challenging. The duct work for the old air conditioner was basically just a sheet metal channel between 2x6" floor joists. It sounds simple enough but the sheet metal had been sandwiched between the wooden joists and steel web trusses you can see below. In addition, all three of those components had been through-bolted in a way that I could not access both ends of those bolts and they were free spinning. I'm sure that you'd like more technical details, but it's late, and I'm getting frustrated just thinking about this. All along, I've felt that this trailer was extremely well built. It's strong. It has served it's purpose much longer than many conventional wood frame homes have or will in the future. That's much of my attraction, it's a survivor! But being well built does not mean that it was well engineered. What I mean is that the people who built this trailer never considered dis-assembly. Maybe that was intentional, maybe not. The bottom line is that if something is to be built, It should be built in a way that it can be deconstructed without having to be destroyed. That beautiful and potentially re-usable ductwork now lies in a mangled, twisted pile because I had no option but to savagely beat, cut, twist, and tear it out from between structural members. It really looks like it's been through a garbage disposal. This wrecking bar assault also cost me a few 2x6"s. For some people, this kind of brutal demolition is a good outlet for their anger but for me, the destruction was the source of the anger.