Siding, Windows, More Siding -- Looks Like a House!

It is window time! The first and smallest downstairs window has been installed on the port side.  This window will be in the kitchen area. It was generously given to me by K, a gallery and picture frame shop owner friend. The big blank space aft of it shows where the display wall of the inside gallery/studio area will be.

Taking a break from our staining, C and I washed this and the loft windows, scraping off the labels first. As I came back out to the house with some cleanser I could see her rag swinging back and forth as she polished the glass, and it was the first moment of really domestic-looking activity in the house. Very exciting.

Here is a view through the tangles of lush greenery up at the starboard side of the house.  Through the open doorway may be seen the small kitchen window.  And aft of the open doorway, on the starboard side, the second downstairs window is now installed.  This one was one of the two purchased from the building materials salvage fellow up the Ohio River from here, and since it had been in a display unit in its previous life, the interior trim was on it already. This was a boon for me, but a bit of a puzzle to install, since the window had to be installed from the inside of the house, not the conventional procedure.

And Bingo! Kyle has started slapping up the siding, cutting each piece to fit between the previously installed corner trim boards.  A digression was made to install cedar window trim, in preparation for continuing up the port side to the bottom edge of the notched 1" x 10" board under the eave.

A closer look at the edge of this window trim shows where a paint marker was used to put a strip of black paint down beside it, so none of the very shiny adhesive flashing would show, in case of any possible gap between a siding board and the window trim. 

Kyle custom-formed both brown-painted metal drip-edges here, one over the top of the window trim board, and another over the top edge of the window itself. It is details like this which show the promise of longevity I am hoping for in the construction of the tiny house.  This studio/gallery/home will be a treasured posession, no matter the length of its journeying time, and my design and construction choices, as well as Kyle's, make this clear.

Okay, now here is the preparation for the pièce de résistance in the window department. The view is upward into the interior, looking forward. Kyle has cut  the opening in the stern wall sheathing and is ready to install the big double window for the window seat area inside.

Kyle recruited his son, D, to come by and lift the other side of this hulk, each of them feeling his way up a ladder with hands full, until they could tip the window unit into its opening.  The process was made a little more exciting by the fact that the gravel parking area sloped somewhat steeply down into the bushes at the stern of the house; good thing the two of them make an effective team from much practice together on their farm.

After shims are nailed in place inside to secure the window unit and make it plumb, level, and centered, the outside flanges on all four sides of the unit are nailed into the sheathing, and next Kyle may be seen applying the adhesive flashing tape to seal the gap between window and rough opening. This window unit is the other one acquired through B, the salvage professional, and it has screens (only one is shown here).  Incidentally, the starboard window and three of the loft windows are screen-less at this point, so there will likely be no sleeping out in the house until those are made, perhaps using some of my surplus canvas stretcher strips as screen frames.

Here is a view looking aft from the bow wall.  All three windows are visible.  It makes a big difference in the light, and how nice to look out (for now) on the leafy greenery. The aluminum extension ladder is positioned the same way a wooden ladder will be, against the port wall, so a person may climb up and shift his or her weight more easily sideways off the ladder to sit on the loft floor. The plan is to construct a ladder that may be either folded up (hinged, like the letter Z) to be stored at loft height against the port wall, or possibly brought up to serve as a railing along the whole edge of the loft. More on that design project anon.

I thought D's 1985 military issue pick-up truck looked particularly good with the tiny house, and asked him to back it up to give the effect of the truck towing the house.  The colors went well together!

More siding seems to be veritably flying up onto the house!  And, ruh-roh!  Kyle has gotten ahead of the indefatigable (hmmm...) Brushketeers, and had to WAIT until we stained those last three lengths of siding for the port side.  They needed to be the longest lengths we had -- 16 feet -- so there would be no butted seams. So instead he began the siding on the stern, which went quickly too.

Here, in a photo of the stern, may be seen the holes that were drilled in the siding through which Kyle threaded the various wires for taillights, brake lights, and turn signals, as well as for a license plate light.

I include this picture to commemorate the last siding board staining session on Saturday afternoon!  All the siding boards have now been stained on all six sides. There is a little more staining of eaves and corner trim on the actual house itself, which will be done as the scaffolding is moved around to finish the roof trim.  Whew! It looks much more beautifully glowing than this picture implies, though the variation in the grain and knot patterns may be seen well here.

And I had to include this view of stain drips splattered down the house wrap just to mention that using a foam brush over one's head to brush transparent (i.e. very watery) stain on the eaves is really NOT too great of an idea.  As much stain went down the wall and down my arm as got onto the wood I think... I am bringing over some of my nice bristle artist's oil painting brushes for the next eave-staining session.

And likely to be included in the next staining session will be the delicate task of staining the actual outward-facing edging on the interior loft window frames, as it is quite pale and noticeable from the outside when the loft windows are open.

Ta-da!! It's a little house!  Kyle sent me this picture yesterday morning.  How fantastic it looks!  Of course the starboard siding is not all installed yet, nor is the bow siding (and shed!) in place, but what a lovely sight!  It is inspiring to think of the companionship involved so much so far in this creation.  I love thinking about the energy of various friends and well-wishers that is reflected in the very boards and nails of this place; I will happily carry the memory of these companions with me where I go. 

This companion, who looks a little like the Loch Ness monster here (but cuter), will be accompanying me in actuality, and likely gazing out a window from this very observation platform.  I will stop for now, as she  (Minnie) is strongly suggesting it is bedtime.